IT’S been well documented that Brendan Rodgers has an unusual footballing philosophy for someone from the UK, so much so I’m surprised there hasn’t been a petition from the press to check his passport to ascertain whether he is actually from Carnlough, Northern Ireland and not Cadiz, Spain.
His ‘tiki-taka’ methods will be put into place slowly but surely at Liverpool over the coming months as the players come back from the Euro’s or their holidays in drips and drabs.
But what I was pondering is who will welcome the new tactics and flourish, and who will flounder?
Let’s start with who I believe will prosper under the new system:
1) As I stated at length during my last blog, I believe Jonjo Shelvey will thrive under this type of football. He has the technical ability and awareness to be able to slot into this system seamlessly and with his hard-working nature he will be surely be a more favourable selection ahead of Adam for Rodgers.
2) Luis Suarez. After looking at the tactics Rodgers employs it’s quite probable that we will see Suarez in an inside left/right role and not as the main striker as he played under Dalglish most of the time. From this position we will see him at his best; creating space for himself and manipulating the full-back which he is one of the best at. His work-rate is exemplary as are most of his footballing skills but one point where Brendan may focus is his passing skills which will most likely be worked on. This shouldn’t be a problem as the training that Brendan will put in place will be focussed on ball retention and pass accuracy, hopefully boosting Suarez’s pass accuracy from last season’s total of 75.4%.
3) Jordan Henderson. As stated in a previous blog, Jordan is a player that has had his critics in since his signing from Liverpool but at only 22 he has time and an abundance of potential on his side. He has the engine and the passing ability to adapt into the new system nicely. Brendan will see him as an excellent tool to the Liverpool squad as he has good defensive and attacking abilities and will run his heart out for this team.
4) Another player that I believe will excel under Rodgers is Lucas. His ascension to becoming a key figure in our team is testament to how much he has improved over the years. His passing and demolishing abilities in the middle of the park will be welcomed back with open arms after having no defensive midfielder on a level with Lucas’ ability during the second half of last season. His passing accuracy during his 12 Premier League games last season was 85.6% and 82.6% in the opponents half; something we hope he can replicate come next season.
5) I really believe Raheem Sterling may be given a lot more opportunities next season; well at least I hope he will be. Even though he is only 17 years old, he has shown why he has been touted as one of the most promising Liverpool players coming through the ranks. He has a shed load of pace and doesn’t shirk his defensive duties, constantly seen running back to help his full-back in the reserve and U18 games. That old adage of ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ certainly applies to Raheem and I for one am excited about how he will perform under the new boss.
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Now onto the five players that may not be able to adapt into the new system:
1) Top of the list as you probably guessed is Jamie Carragher. A Liverpool legend that has played at the highest level for 16 years with the club. The problem is that he has been born and bred with the British ‘lump-it’ style which Rodgers isn’t familiar with; as a result Carra will find it tough to break his way into the team with the likes of Agger and an ever improving Martin Skrtel ready to partner each other at the heart of the defence. I think Jamie will know himself that this season will probably be his last, as the old saying goes you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Hopefully Brendan can find him a slot on his coaching staff come next season when he may just hang-up his boots.
2) Charlie Adam. We all know that on his day he has the ability to carve open the tightest defences. His passing and vision doesn’t worry me, it’s the shift that he’ll have to put into each 90 minutes that irks me as he has tends to adopt the ‘Stephane Henchoz’ facial expressions after a worryingly short amount of time. Brendan Rodgers has said that the players should be able to ‘wring the sweat out of their shirt’ after every training session and match. If Charlie wants to be a part of this team he’s going to have to improve his fitness and sharpness, also his tackling as I think everyone is now sick of the sight of him steam-rolling opponents onto the turf just outside the box.
3) Stewart Downing. It’s safe to say he has not performed to anywhere near the level we and he knows he is capable of. With no assists and no goals in his first season for Liverpool it’s obvious why he has had his critics and why his inclusion in the England squad was met by a furore. His passing accuracy is sometimes suspect along with his control of the ball at times. His passing success last season in the opponents half was only 72.5% which is something he can improve on. Compare this to Maxi Rodriguez who had a pass success of 85.2% in the opponents half and it tells a story. The other stat which must improve for him is his successful crosses. Last season only 20.9% of his crosses were successful which is poor for someone of his standard. The 39.6% shooting accuracy could also be improved upon if he is to get the amount of games he wants next season. His standard of work-rate was good last season but I’ve a sneaking suspicion Brendan will be asking him to improve in all areas and if he works hard in training and favours the tactics, then we could finally see the Stewart Downing we paid £20m for.
4) Jay Spearing. I’ve been one of the biggest fans of Jay since his rapid progression from him seemingly set to become just another one of the academy lads being released or sold to a lesser club to becoming a steady centre midfielder with much improved confidence in himself to perform at the highest level. Personally, I’d love him to stay as a squad player; I think he’s deserved that after last season and how hard he has worked. He’s not the quickest out of the blocks but he does put his foot in where other people may refrain from and as I said his passing ability has come on tenfold since his breakthrough into the first team. For these reasons, I might be completely wrong by placing Spearing in this bracket and saying he may not be able to shine with the new tactics so I hope he proves me wrong. If he is given some chances and performs well then I’ll be delighted for him, it’s just that with the impending arrival of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Shelvey’s rise it looks as though he’ll have a tough battle on his hands to force his way into Rodgers’ XI.
5) Seen as I would have been struggling at this point I probably would have had Dirk Kuyt as number 5 but now he’s left for Fenerbahce it’s all academic as to whether he would have suited the fresh tactics. His work rate, undoubtedly, would have fitted in with new bosses’ philosophy. It would have been his technique and first touch that maybe would have held him back from getting as many games as he’d have liked.
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The player not mentioned who would flounder under BRs system is Gerrard. He is adept at the long ball but the Euros showed his short comings in possession football