One of the most noticeable things about Liverpool’s performance against Newcastle United yesterday was despite giving away to the Magpies in the possession stats, we still came out 3-0 winners. To be perfectly honest, the Reds didn’t play at all well in the first half, but despite this, the Reds had the best chances and managed to get a deflected goal by Maxi Rodriguez. A lot of the time, in the first half especially, Newcastle dictated the play, but invariably did nothing in possession, leaving the Reds to be more incisive when on the ball. This cutting edge was in stark contrast to some games under Roy Hodgson where the Reds had a similar problem to the Toon Army and were punished for their defensive frailties.
Under Rafa Benitez, the Spaniard’s style of play emphasised the need for playing possession football. There was a need for high pressing to retrieve possession, and then keep the ball for long spells so to ensure control of the match. Despite this, the Reds did struggle to be incisive, and against lower teams who came to defend at Anfield, the Reds tended to struggle to break teams down despite long periods of possession.
The approach has changed somewhat under Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke however. Despite taking similar attitudes to off the ball strategy, pressing high up the pitch, and ensuring that from the striker’s back, that pressure is always on the opponents, the attitude in possession is somewhat different. Rather than focusing on the belief that possession is King, and defensive shape being paramount, a lot more risks are being taken on the ball to pick out a killer ball and set up an attack.
Continue Reading on Page 2 . . .
Its all down to a hard working midfield, supporting the forwards when on the attack and supporting the defence when under attack. they work hard in the midfield and need backup on the bench to ring the changes when needed, hence we are looking at Adam and kenny would like to keep Aquilani.
your half correct mate but must realise the reason we have less possession is because of the quality of the players not the tactics. Alonso, Mascherano compared to Lucas and Spearing. Once we get world class centre mids and very good winger the possession will be higher and attacks even more fruitful. Also worth noting is despite the brilliance of Suarez he tends to lose the ball quite often, which albeit is not always his fault (bad pass to him or a quick pass on) does effect possession stats. Kenny knows possession is key, he admires arsenal and barcelona as much as anyone and will be looking to create a similar system with a pass and move ethos. Expect to see a turan, nasri type player purchased for the wing, a clever tricky player that keeps possession very well with a keen eye for goal and pace.
against “bigger” teams, this lack of possesion could be a problem..
one reason for this is that kenny is playing two defensive midfielders in the centre of midfield..they can huff and puff in the middle but neither lucas or spearing is reknowned for their passing or the ability to keep possesion.. when we have a full strength squad, i wud like to see just one defensive mid being played along with a ball playing, box to box centre midfielder..
I thought the biggest change was Suarez. Even without Gerrard u can see most the time Suarez usually tracked back to help the midfielders to provide the killer passes to Kuyt or Mareiles
Guys, I think you have missed one fundamental factor .. they have changed the way the mid-field works all together adopting a more Barcelona fluid style where defensively two men press the opponent with the ball and the rest cut out all the options. This takes a lot more energy as the whole team needs to work as one, rather than three separate units/lines. This also protects the young lads as there are always two players closing the opposition down.
This means opposing teams tend to get to half way and then pass it backwards as there are no options going forward and due to the pressure from two men – however they retain their possession ration.
Offensively, once Liverpool get the ball – the mid-field rush forward sometimes ahead of the attack to support them and to get an attempt on goal ASAP. They dont tend to do twenty passes on the half way line (which would increase their possession stats)- its a lot more decisive like the Scum was with Ronaldo. Best of both worlds which is why we are keeping clean sheets whilst at the same time looking very strong going forward and scoring lots of goals – especially from mid-field.
If we continue this and add a little bit of additional quality I believe we can really make things happen next season.