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Is Liverpool’s Midfield Broken?

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TWO of the best central defenders in the league, one of the deadliest marksmen up front and Liverpool are still struggling to pick up wins.

So is it a case of a broken midfield?

Goals against Liverpool this season have come far too easily for the opposition.The triumvirate of Sahin, Gerrard and Allen has not been the poignant force that was hoped for when Rodgers sought to revamp a midfield that looked laboured when it featured Adam and Gerrard last season.

If Chelsea provided only one lesson for Rodgers on Sunday, it was that there is a problem in the current midfield and it needs to be resolved quickly before it turns into a crisis.

Time and again this season and Liverpool have been caught out directly through the middle of the park and Chelsea exposed the fractures in the centre with regularity. Oscar carved out his clear cut chance in the early minutes with a neatly played ball from Hazard, bypassing our midfield at a stroke and leaving our central defenders exposed. That he didn’t score was as much a mystery as a relief. Then Mata decided to take his opportunity to walk through the midfield uncontested and find space to again test the keeper. That he went for a ‘power blast’ as Niall Quinn described it, was enough to save the team from what would have become a certain defeat.

One argument could be that the system doesn’t work; the three midfielders are lost in a structure that relies on stretching the opposition with width and then closing opposition players down quickly if possession is conceded. If one player closes down the opponent with the ball the others don’t know which position to take up to squeeze the play. But I don’t buy that argument. It appears that there is another issue.

For one thing, Joe Allen offers very little going forward; his role is to dictate the play by moving the ball around to players near him while the more advanced players move to create space for a more probing pass. However, when he does get forward he invariably looks for a safe ball reducing the attack back to the start. This on its own is not a fatal problem but Sahin’s natural game is very similar, except that he will take on a shot when in a forward position and is more comfortable higher up the pitch.
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This sounds like he should complement Allen’s play but it is exactly the opposite. He looks to take up the same positions as Allen and rather than help to create space or offer a better option he gets bogged down and stifles the attacking move, hence the superfluous performance at Stamford Bridge. Align this with Gerrard’s reduced mobility and we end up with a largely static midfield all taking up the same positions rather than a dynamic and fluid midfield – but that is when the players have possession; when we’re on the back foot, we are at our most vulnerable.

Each time Liverpool lose possession, no matter where they are on the pitch, they are always one pass away from being exposed. This is purely down to the midfield three being incapable of supporting the defence. This protection is a must in a team where both full backs are urged to get forward. Of course, the absence of Lucas in this department is a contributing factor but the midfield should not be designed as such to rely on one specific player to prevent the opposition from cutting the team open. He is not some divine deity beamed down to heed Liverpool’s call for a defence. He is a player that should reinforce and improve the team when he returns not someone whose absence makes the whole machine collapse. The key problem is that Gerrard, Sahin and Allen are all very similar players and while the Chelsea game was Allen’s worst by some distance and Sahin was invisible, it should not be viewed as a one off.

A player further forward makes all the difference and this is why Shelvey has looked far more dangerous in open play than any of the other three. He is much more mobile and positions himself far closer to Suarez making him a comfortable fit at the point of the triangle. With Shelvey further forward off the ball, it allows the other two midfielders to be more decisive in their defensive work, protecting the back four and making our formation more robust. Additionally, Shelvey has got into a number of scoring positions and although he has not been prolific, this is a good sign for both the team and the player.

For the team it is good because it shows that the problem is due to personnel rather than the system and with the right bodies in place, the midfield will be more effective. For Shelvey, it is good because it shows that he has the potential to get a lot more goals in a Liverpool shirt and if he can improve his current average for LFC of 1 goal every 6 games, he could be a superstar.

One thing that is clear is that Gerrard is not the link between the midfield and striker that he used to be. And while the Allen, Gerrard, Sahin threesome may have delivered our two Premier League wins of the season, it’s not the right fit.
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22 comments

  • phil says:

    I strongly disagree with this article. Our defensive mistakes (Eg Agger’s marking at the corner for Chelsea’s goal, Skrtel’s back pass against City, Reina’s numerous blunders) combined with Suarez’ profligacy up front are what has cost us most points this season. Accepted Suarez is our most talented player and we are over reliant on him (how LFC have mis-manged the striker situation is incredible and embarrassing) but he misses a hat full of chances. We have plenty of possession but little cutting edge. We are suffering from years of poor direction and management which has limited our ability in the transfer market. Benitez unfortunately was left with two American crooks when he was building a team capable of winning the title: Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, Torres, Reina, Agger, Skrtel was the core of a fantastic team. Hicks and Gillet could not provide the finance needed to kick on from our 2nd place in 2009. Then after Hodgson, we looked to have a good team in Dalglish and FSG but Dalglish/Comolli’s player choices and the funds paid (£35m for Carroll, £20m for Downing) have left us with little finance for top quality purchases. It’s a long way back to the top from here but the cash wasted last season is why we are where we are, not our midfield.

    • brassle says:

      rubbish . rodgers wasted 15m on Allen . and FSG have only spent about 25 m net so its their fault they haven’t invested enough money

  • chunky says:

    I can only repeat what I said before Allen came. He is NOT what we need or want with his , proven times of side and back passing, breaking down attacking movements. Continual use of him will continue to be detrimental to any progress this season and a major cause for a below 10 position at season end.You can pass all game long but it wins you nothing.It is goals that win football matches and not this Americanisation of pass statistics !

  • James says:

    Id much prefer 2 strikers.. Gerrard and saurez. Stevies getting older and should be moved up front as he is a natural scorer. A midfiel of say shelvey/suso on the right with lucas and allen/sahin in the central roles and sterling on the left.

  • Yewku says:

    Brendan Rodgers has said that we’ll see the best of Joe Allen when he’s playing higher up the pitch, so we can assess whether our midfield is broken when Lucas returns (soon hopefully). I’m assuming he will sit behind Allen and Gerrard in midfield.

  • Omensa says:

    The problem is not with sahin n allen but is gerrard who is not comfortable with the short passes in the middle n leave the 2 at bay when gerrard loses the ball. Thereby compelling either sahin or allen 2 cover for him so this sometimes makes both lads colliade on the ball n the same time leaving space to exploit by opposing teams. The solution 4 now without lucas is definately not jonjo but the spanish playmaker suso who creates,hold n passes well than both gerrard n jonjo. The point is. Both allen n sahin are master pressers of the game that rodges possesses in his system and is his catylist to his success so he need someone like suso or suarez in the middle 3 that will utilise the balls won by either allen or sahin perfectly as ‘iniester’,cazola,cabaye,ben arlfa n silver does 4 their teams. The middl 3 isn’t the position 4 gerrard in this rodgers’ system but he tried 2 accommodate he gerrard as a lengend. That has affected the team so long since match day 1. His best game ever n now was against utd. The solution 4 lfc 2 flourish now without lucas in the middle 3 or lfc team is to play gerrard rather at the front 3 instead. With the front 3 for gerrard he can interchange in all direction by playing right,left and centre and we’ll flourish as well as reducing a little burden off suarez on goals n we’ll be winning a lot than drawing the games. In my opinion, the middle 3 in order irrespective of lucas being fit or not s’d be (lucas,allen,suso/suarez,sahin,jonjo,henderson and cole) front 3 (sterling,suarez,gerrard,assaidi,downing/enrique/johnson).

  • Red says:

    Yes, because Steven Gerrard *IS* there! But the larger problem is that LFC need 3 QUALITY strikers.

  • fotherinham says:

    the problem is not gerrard one of the worlds best , its that useless short arsed donkey joe allen
    he is too small , leaves the defence vulnerable , only passes backwards and is not commanding . sahins not great either

    get rid of allen and we will improve

  • marco says:

    Problem is Allen . He is not good defensive

  • Patrick says:

    Guys Allen is being played out of position. He is not a defensive midfielder and I think we should get off his back. He isn’t strong enough to be a DM and I agree that once Lucas is back we will see the best of him . Comentators were singing his praise when Lucas was in the team. I also agree Gerrard should play alongside Suarez or just behind him.

    • furble says:

      not true cos thats where he played for swansea last year , BR plays 2 def midfielders . the guy is damn poor doesnt deserve a liverpool shirt

  • hugo says:

    yes midfield is very broken . only lucas gerrard and suso are good enough to play for LFC . we need eriksen and 1 other too

  • simon says:

    we got top keepers , top defenders , one of best strikers in the world , yet we are rubbish .
    reason ? our midfield is crap .
    weak ,shapeless , negative , slow – gerrard is still great but not used properly by rodgers . so its allen and sahin who are holding us back

  • Gripper says:

    I would like Coady to play instead of Allen . He is faster and stronger and can pass a ball . Allen is our weakest link every week

  • santosh says:

    Joe Allen of a total waste of 15 mill.

  • jimmy says:

    worst midfield in premier . only gerrard is quality

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