For the first time in many years, I actually feel pre-season has ended prematurely and the start of the season is upon us, too soon. For some people, the summer can't end quickly enough, but for me it can only end when the aura of readiness is glowing from the side. I haven't seen that aura yet.
This bizarre feeling is coupled with another novelty, I'm not optimistic regarding our chances this season. I'm not looking out for odds on us winning it and I don't mention to my mates that this year is "our year". The fact that tomorrow marks our first game of the season, hasn't settled in yet. Perhaps this novelty is a good sign of things to come, considering what has happened every time I actually felt good about a season for almost two decades, perhaps not.
Rafa has worked hard this summer, and made some signings which will prove to be good for the team. But the signings most glaring are the ones he didn't make, or hasn't made yet. Whether it's Gareth Barry, or an attacking player who can actually beat his man and cross the ball accurately, remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: This Liverpool side is still missing something.
Fantastic four
The defence is where things look fine. We have 4 fantastic centre backs at the club, and most importantly, we have Daniel Agger fit again. With all due respect to Skrtel, who's been a revelation since coming in, we have sorely missed the presence of Agger, who brings an entirely different dimension of composure into our game.
Jamie Carragher will rightfully continue to start every league game should he be fit, but for all his shouting on the pitch and unrivaled experience, he is not the true leader of our defence. The young yet extremely mature Dane, who pushes himself for improvement every day, makes things tick for us in the back and is our most important defender, especially in terms of build up and distribution.
Bring forth the width?
Full backs are an interesting issue. Rafa has made no secret of the fact he's looking to get most of our width from this position, and he has went on and signed two players who are known to excel going forward. Degen and Dossena will be big improvements on Finnan and Riise, who have had an atrocious season before their departures (or imminent departures).
I feel Dossena is a player who will be much appreciated among the Anfield faithful. He's tough as nails, quick and pretty good on the ball. I wouldn't worry myself with his game on Wednesday.
Defenders take some time before establishing a perfect understanding with their team mates, and that was his main problem during that game. But what he does offer us is the ability to move forward with the ball and competently pass it to a team mate, already a massive improvement on Riise, who might have been the worst longest serving player I've ever had the misfortune to watch at the club.
Dossena has also shown to be a pretty tidy crosser, which isn't a surprise considering he has played as a wing back for his former club. We already looked a lot better on the left when moving forward with the ball during pre season games, and that's without having an established left midfielder. Considering that Aurelio should be back soon, left back looks sorted.
Degen is a bit of a mystery, but if you accept that Arbeloa will be our first choice right back then the signing makes sense. Arbeloa has all the makings of an excellent full back that just needs some nurturing. His positioning and awareness isn't perfect, but he has the ability and Rafa is the manager to turn him into a consistent performer. As far as working with defenders, Rafa is one of the best around and his defensive signings have been mostly spot on.
Degen will be the back up and the option when we need a primarily attacking full back. We have missed that option when chasing a game or trying to break teams down last season, teams who have come to Anfield to sit in their area and giggle at our full backs' inability to effectively join an attack. When a bench has 7 substitutes now, it makes sense to put a full back in there, and Degen is perfect for that role. Who knows, with the right defensive coaching, he might surprise a lot of us and cement his place in the team?
A Porsche engine in a Toyota?
Despite not getting Barry, we're spoiled for choice here. The problem isn't in the quality, rather than the compatibility. Mascherano is one, if not the best defensive midfielder around and he will be ever present once he gets back from international duty. Alonso will put the summer behind him and try to prove himself worthy to Rafa, which won't be an easy task. Perhaps, some people feel, this latest saga could be the kick up the arse that he needed. Some will say that our problem last season really wasn't the Alonso-Masch partnership, but the lack of quality options out wide who could compliment them...
But that's the thing; we haven't rectified that "problem". Instead, we have tried to change the central midfield to accommodate the "problem".
Alonso is the type of player whose form depends on the amount of passing options given to him. His strength is in his passing, after all.
When playing narrow, he struggles, because compressing the game means denying space. Space is something he needs to able to do what he does best, but Rafa will continue to adopt a philosophy which is detrimental to Alonso's game. It is evident by his signings, or lack of them. This is no surprise as he was planning life without Alonso, getting Gareth Barry, perhaps a less capable passer than the Spaniard, but a dynamic midfielder whose game is more suited to our team at the moment. When playing narrow, it is crucial that we have more mobile central midfielders who are capable of carrying the ball forward and under pressure.
Alonso is an ideal in a team playing with wingers, a team which stretches the opposition from byline to byline and offers space in the middle. A team we are most certainly not.
And carefully watching these developments will be Lucas. Since I don't expect Alonso to have a great season with the personnel we have at the club, a lot will fall on the shoulders of the Brazilian. Lucas' game is more suited in a team which doesn't rely on width to get goals, because unlike Alonso, Lucas feels more comfortable in tight spaces, and he's more competent venturing forward. A breakthrough season from Lucas could solve our problems in the middle, but that's a big if.
Plessis is another promising central midfielder on our books, and he will provide good cover for Mascherano. Notice the one I left out.
A non-positionable Skipper?
There are some things that will never change: The skies' blue colour, a Geordie's hideous beer belly, exposed in a Newcastle's game, and the question among Liverpool fans about Steven Gerrard's best, or next, position in the team. We all thought he was going to be settled where he was, just behind Torres, scoring tons of goals and creating more, being a menace to every team in the Premier League. But then Rafa went and signed Robbie Keane, an established and expensive forward whose best position conflicts with Gerrard's role last season.
So where is he going to play? The pursuit of Gareth Barry suggests that Rafa doesn't see Gerrard as a central midfielder. At least, as a central midfielder in a two-man midfield. What I thought Rafa was planning, is a three man midfield consisting of Gerrard, Mascherano and Barry, with Mascherano holding, Gerrard to the right and Barry to the left. Very strong on paper and capable of providing support to Torres, joined by two forwards roaming behind him: Kuyt and Keane, with Babel and Benayoun as other options.
But now with Alonso staying, Rafa has a bit of a problem. He can't play that midfield with Alonso instead of Barry, because Alonso is a deep lying midfielder. So if both Alonso and Mascherano start, we'll see either Gerrard or Keane moved to a clear wide role.
So what will we see? Gerrard on the right? Keane out wide? Gerrard as a central midfielder? The answer sadly, is all of the above. That is until we hit a good patch of form, and that will be when Gerrard is settled into a clear role. Perhaps and quite likely, it will already be too late.
An attack without a shape
Regardless of the role Gerrard finally settles into this season, we still don't have the attacking quality needed to challenge in any formation. We don't have the attacking midfielders for a 4-4-2, and we don't have the attacking midfielders for a 4-3-3. Signing a left sided winger/attacking midfielder/whateveryoucallit, is an absolutely necessity.
Should we not sign one, we will be relying on Kuyt, Babel and Benayoun to step up. Kuyt, despite having a pretty good 6 months, is still a very limited player, and does not have the quality to break teams down. He magnifies the team's general performance. If we play well, Kuyt adds a bit more tenaciousness which can really hurt a team under pressure, but when we lack ideas and creativity, Kuyt is the last guy you should turn to.
I feel Babel is our biggest hope. A good season from him can end our pursuit of a match winner on the flank, but though he might be a great player in the making, he is still very young and there are doubts whether he can make the transformation from a bright prospect who can change a game when coming off the bench to a consistent performer in the first team.
Benayoun is a player I like very much, he's a very clever player, and has been our best performer in pre season, but I don't think he can cement a place in the team. He tends to disappear in some games and what we need is someone who can carry the attacks when things aren't going well. Benayoun has done that to a limited extent.
Our biggest chance right now of establishing a top side is moving Gerrard on the right, Keane behind Torres and signing a top quality left sided winger. That team will have the right balance and shape needed to consistently perform, and will also have the option of switching between Gerrard and Keane at some periods of the game when we need to add some more steel in the middle and implement a continental style, that's without hindering Keane's game too much.
Should we not sign another player, there are some fears in my mind of Keane being Kuyt-ed into a wide role which will take the edge out of this game. That's not a role we should spend so much money on. We've spent the Keane money on an established goalscorer with fantastic link up play to ease our dependence on Torres.
Thank god for Torres.
Closing thoughts
I'm not pulling down the curtain and ruling out a possible title bid, people who have read my posts on this forum know I am not a doom merchant, far from it. But unless we strengthen on the left side and establish a clear shape to the team, we will flatter to deceive once again. Here's hoping Keane, a superb forward who can be a magnificent partner for Torres, is used correctly and played to his strengths. Here's hoping Gerrard settles quickly into a clear position in the team, and here's hoping Rafa can finally be backed in the transfer market to sign the match winner we crave out wide, in order to turn a good team into a great one.
Yours truly,
JohnDoe
This bizarre feeling is coupled with another novelty, I'm not optimistic regarding our chances this season. I'm not looking out for odds on us winning it and I don't mention to my mates that this year is "our year". The fact that tomorrow marks our first game of the season, hasn't settled in yet. Perhaps this novelty is a good sign of things to come, considering what has happened every time I actually felt good about a season for almost two decades, perhaps not.
Rafa has worked hard this summer, and made some signings which will prove to be good for the team. But the signings most glaring are the ones he didn't make, or hasn't made yet. Whether it's Gareth Barry, or an attacking player who can actually beat his man and cross the ball accurately, remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: This Liverpool side is still missing something.
Fantastic four
The defence is where things look fine. We have 4 fantastic centre backs at the club, and most importantly, we have Daniel Agger fit again. With all due respect to Skrtel, who's been a revelation since coming in, we have sorely missed the presence of Agger, who brings an entirely different dimension of composure into our game.
Jamie Carragher will rightfully continue to start every league game should he be fit, but for all his shouting on the pitch and unrivaled experience, he is not the true leader of our defence. The young yet extremely mature Dane, who pushes himself for improvement every day, makes things tick for us in the back and is our most important defender, especially in terms of build up and distribution.
Bring forth the width?
Full backs are an interesting issue. Rafa has made no secret of the fact he's looking to get most of our width from this position, and he has went on and signed two players who are known to excel going forward. Degen and Dossena will be big improvements on Finnan and Riise, who have had an atrocious season before their departures (or imminent departures).
I feel Dossena is a player who will be much appreciated among the Anfield faithful. He's tough as nails, quick and pretty good on the ball. I wouldn't worry myself with his game on Wednesday.
Defenders take some time before establishing a perfect understanding with their team mates, and that was his main problem during that game. But what he does offer us is the ability to move forward with the ball and competently pass it to a team mate, already a massive improvement on Riise, who might have been the worst longest serving player I've ever had the misfortune to watch at the club.
Dossena has also shown to be a pretty tidy crosser, which isn't a surprise considering he has played as a wing back for his former club. We already looked a lot better on the left when moving forward with the ball during pre season games, and that's without having an established left midfielder. Considering that Aurelio should be back soon, left back looks sorted.
Degen is a bit of a mystery, but if you accept that Arbeloa will be our first choice right back then the signing makes sense. Arbeloa has all the makings of an excellent full back that just needs some nurturing. His positioning and awareness isn't perfect, but he has the ability and Rafa is the manager to turn him into a consistent performer. As far as working with defenders, Rafa is one of the best around and his defensive signings have been mostly spot on.
Degen will be the back up and the option when we need a primarily attacking full back. We have missed that option when chasing a game or trying to break teams down last season, teams who have come to Anfield to sit in their area and giggle at our full backs' inability to effectively join an attack. When a bench has 7 substitutes now, it makes sense to put a full back in there, and Degen is perfect for that role. Who knows, with the right defensive coaching, he might surprise a lot of us and cement his place in the team?
A Porsche engine in a Toyota?
Despite not getting Barry, we're spoiled for choice here. The problem isn't in the quality, rather than the compatibility. Mascherano is one, if not the best defensive midfielder around and he will be ever present once he gets back from international duty. Alonso will put the summer behind him and try to prove himself worthy to Rafa, which won't be an easy task. Perhaps, some people feel, this latest saga could be the kick up the arse that he needed. Some will say that our problem last season really wasn't the Alonso-Masch partnership, but the lack of quality options out wide who could compliment them...
But that's the thing; we haven't rectified that "problem". Instead, we have tried to change the central midfield to accommodate the "problem".
Alonso is the type of player whose form depends on the amount of passing options given to him. His strength is in his passing, after all.
When playing narrow, he struggles, because compressing the game means denying space. Space is something he needs to able to do what he does best, but Rafa will continue to adopt a philosophy which is detrimental to Alonso's game. It is evident by his signings, or lack of them. This is no surprise as he was planning life without Alonso, getting Gareth Barry, perhaps a less capable passer than the Spaniard, but a dynamic midfielder whose game is more suited to our team at the moment. When playing narrow, it is crucial that we have more mobile central midfielders who are capable of carrying the ball forward and under pressure.
Alonso is an ideal in a team playing with wingers, a team which stretches the opposition from byline to byline and offers space in the middle. A team we are most certainly not.
And carefully watching these developments will be Lucas. Since I don't expect Alonso to have a great season with the personnel we have at the club, a lot will fall on the shoulders of the Brazilian. Lucas' game is more suited in a team which doesn't rely on width to get goals, because unlike Alonso, Lucas feels more comfortable in tight spaces, and he's more competent venturing forward. A breakthrough season from Lucas could solve our problems in the middle, but that's a big if.
Plessis is another promising central midfielder on our books, and he will provide good cover for Mascherano. Notice the one I left out.
A non-positionable Skipper?
There are some things that will never change: The skies' blue colour, a Geordie's hideous beer belly, exposed in a Newcastle's game, and the question among Liverpool fans about Steven Gerrard's best, or next, position in the team. We all thought he was going to be settled where he was, just behind Torres, scoring tons of goals and creating more, being a menace to every team in the Premier League. But then Rafa went and signed Robbie Keane, an established and expensive forward whose best position conflicts with Gerrard's role last season.
So where is he going to play? The pursuit of Gareth Barry suggests that Rafa doesn't see Gerrard as a central midfielder. At least, as a central midfielder in a two-man midfield. What I thought Rafa was planning, is a three man midfield consisting of Gerrard, Mascherano and Barry, with Mascherano holding, Gerrard to the right and Barry to the left. Very strong on paper and capable of providing support to Torres, joined by two forwards roaming behind him: Kuyt and Keane, with Babel and Benayoun as other options.
But now with Alonso staying, Rafa has a bit of a problem. He can't play that midfield with Alonso instead of Barry, because Alonso is a deep lying midfielder. So if both Alonso and Mascherano start, we'll see either Gerrard or Keane moved to a clear wide role.
So what will we see? Gerrard on the right? Keane out wide? Gerrard as a central midfielder? The answer sadly, is all of the above. That is until we hit a good patch of form, and that will be when Gerrard is settled into a clear role. Perhaps and quite likely, it will already be too late.
An attack without a shape
Regardless of the role Gerrard finally settles into this season, we still don't have the attacking quality needed to challenge in any formation. We don't have the attacking midfielders for a 4-4-2, and we don't have the attacking midfielders for a 4-3-3. Signing a left sided winger/attacking midfielder/whateveryoucallit, is an absolutely necessity.
Should we not sign one, we will be relying on Kuyt, Babel and Benayoun to step up. Kuyt, despite having a pretty good 6 months, is still a very limited player, and does not have the quality to break teams down. He magnifies the team's general performance. If we play well, Kuyt adds a bit more tenaciousness which can really hurt a team under pressure, but when we lack ideas and creativity, Kuyt is the last guy you should turn to.
I feel Babel is our biggest hope. A good season from him can end our pursuit of a match winner on the flank, but though he might be a great player in the making, he is still very young and there are doubts whether he can make the transformation from a bright prospect who can change a game when coming off the bench to a consistent performer in the first team.
Benayoun is a player I like very much, he's a very clever player, and has been our best performer in pre season, but I don't think he can cement a place in the team. He tends to disappear in some games and what we need is someone who can carry the attacks when things aren't going well. Benayoun has done that to a limited extent.
Our biggest chance right now of establishing a top side is moving Gerrard on the right, Keane behind Torres and signing a top quality left sided winger. That team will have the right balance and shape needed to consistently perform, and will also have the option of switching between Gerrard and Keane at some periods of the game when we need to add some more steel in the middle and implement a continental style, that's without hindering Keane's game too much.
Should we not sign another player, there are some fears in my mind of Keane being Kuyt-ed into a wide role which will take the edge out of this game. That's not a role we should spend so much money on. We've spent the Keane money on an established goalscorer with fantastic link up play to ease our dependence on Torres.
Thank god for Torres.
Closing thoughts
I'm not pulling down the curtain and ruling out a possible title bid, people who have read my posts on this forum know I am not a doom merchant, far from it. But unless we strengthen on the left side and establish a clear shape to the team, we will flatter to deceive once again. Here's hoping Keane, a superb forward who can be a magnificent partner for Torres, is used correctly and played to his strengths. Here's hoping Gerrard settles quickly into a clear position in the team, and here's hoping Rafa can finally be backed in the transfer market to sign the match winner we crave out wide, in order to turn a good team into a great one.
Yours truly,
JohnDoe
ditto
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