Liverpool will now see the squad depth tested
Just when everything seemed to be going so well.
Granted, Liverpool’s lifeless 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby at the weekend was yet another clean sheet, their fourth straight in the Premier League, but it came with the unfortunate departure of midfield lynchpin Lucas Leiva. Injuring his thigh, Lucas is facing a month on the sidelines which is such a major blow to Liverpool and their aspirations of a top-four finish.
Furthermore, their clean sheet run came to an end at the expense of England’s new golden boy Harry Kane, but thanks to the most unlikely of sources in Mario Balotelli Liverpool edged to a 3-2 home victory over Tottenham.
Tottenham immediately demonstrated what we were missing with no Lucas – Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson lacked the tactical discipline and awareness to follow players running in behind, which was then exacerbated by Emre Can’s inconsistent ploy of coming out of position to intercept passes before any move gained momentum (although overall Can was excellent).
Raheem Sterling battles against West Ham
First Alex Song and now Lassana Diarra – my long-term and short-term replacements for Lucas have now both been snapped up by West Ham, which is particularly irritating!
Diarra would have provided good cover for the Brazilian as a proper defensive midfielder who harries the opposition, whereas Henderson, Gerrard and Joe Allen, Lucas’ supposedly deputy, are all more attacking midfielders.
The win over Tottenham took Liverpool’s unbeaten streak to nine in the league, and they are the only unbeaten side left in 2015. However the upcoming fixture list is horrendous, with daunting trips to Crystal Palace and Southampton in the FA Cup and Premier League respectively, before Manchester City are welcomed to Anfield in another match vital towards finishing in the top four. That’s before even considering the two-legged clash with Besiktas in the Europa League.
Of course, every league game is important, as they all reward three points for a win, but when playing fellow top four contenders such as Southampton and Manchester City (who may well yet become dragged into the fight for Champions League places), denying them points becomes as important as obtaining your own.
In order for the Reds to come through this fight for a top four place as well as sustain Europa League and FA Cup challenges the entire squad will need to be on form, as Liverpool approach their 40th game of the season, having only played 43 in the entirety of the last campaign.
The captain has shown that he struggles playing 90 minutes these days
Many of the squad players will get chances in the cup competitions so that the regulars do not face burnout, allowing the intensity of the team to remain high until the end of this longer season. Brendan Rodgers can therefore continue to employ the high pressing game and 3-4-2-1 formation that has served Liverpool so well since Christmas.
Mario Balotelli’s goal could be the catalyst for him to kick on and show the world why we paid £16m for him and why many believe there is a world-class striker inside the Italian behind all his ‘other’ qualities.
Yet it could also signal a return to the bench, or the stands and continue the seemingly inevitable of an exit in the summer.
However, the only way to get the best out of players is to play them regularly and for the manager to illustrate his belief in the players. Lucas himself was in the wilderness in the early months of the season before Rodgers realised a change in formation was needed from the 4-4-2 diamond and a proper defensive midfielder was required.
With the extra games coming up and the likes of Daniel Sturridge needing to be nursed back to match sharpness, there still remains an opportunity for Balotelli to make an impact at Liverpool, alongside the likes of Joe Allen, Fabio Borini and Adam Lallana (I excluded Rickie Lambert here as he knew his status at Anfield when he arrived and what would be required of him).
Emre Can has been great in defence but is seen as a future central midfielder for LFC
Defensively Liverpool have undergone a huge improvement which was desperately needed given that offensively the Reds haven’t been clinical this season – hardly a surprise with Sturridge’s injury and Luis Suarez’s departure to Barcelona. With Kolo Toure having been successful with Ivory Coast (finally) in the Africa Cup of Nations he joins the other in-form centre backs in Martin Skrtel, Emre Can and Mamadou Sakho, allowing for a little bit of quality depth.
Conversely, at the back rotation is less necessary as the defenders need to know each other’s games inside out so that they remain in the right positions. While the energy of the forward players needs to be maintained with changes, this is not as important for the defence.
Finally, Simon Mignolet has been enjoying a renaissance of late which increases not only his confidence, but that of the defence as well. The Belgian made a couple of wonderful saves in the win against Tottenham, particularly from Erik Lamela. If he can continue this upturn in form then he may well remain at Anfield next season, though there remain plenty of doubters.
Liverpool spent an awful amount of money in the summer increasing the depth of the squad and ideally the quality as well. So far this season the results from the new signings have been mixed, but they will need to settle down now and show their worth if Liverpool want to end this season with success. Everyone will be getting one more chance, but they need to take it if they want any future at Anfield.
