Loss Highlights Lack of Tiki-Taka Experience

IT’S not unusual for any fan to have high hopes for their team after a good performance the previous match-day, especially when it was against strong opposition, but, taking into consideration the adoption of our new system, Arsenal were always going to be a giant hurdle if truth be told.

Playing a team well rooted in their own tailor-fitted tiki-taka style with lots of quality and experience in their starting eleven was always going to be a real challenge because when the style of play is the same, it’s mostly down to quality and chemistry.

Before we start losing all our hair, mulling over our defeat to Arsenal, albeit at home, we need to realize that Arsenal have been playing with our new found style since Arsene Wenger arrived at the club and they have been building their teams to that effect ever since. Liverpool on the other hand, though noted for good passing and possessive football, have still got some work to do in the field of tiki-taka.

The superiority of their style clearly shone through in last Sunday’s game. They were clearly more dominant, relaxed and secure in possession, key components of the tiki-taka style that are only attainable over time.

No doubt (in my eyes) we missed Carroll in that game. Arsenal’s backline was quite impregnable and with the potency of our football philosophy failing to match theirs, we needed a change of plan. Sadly, no Big Andy in the dug-out meant that the hit-in-hope long ball strategy could at no point in time be employed to our benefit.

I’m not pointing fingers, neither am I trying to undermine the usefulness of tiki-taka, but there will be times when it will fail and its quite disturbing that the exit of some of our more resourceful players over the summer didn’t mark anything more than speculation and not the entry of new blood with a bit more diversity to their play. Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini are good and quite highly rated players but all three seem to be tailored for tiki-taka. Does this mean that Brendan Rodgers has no backup plan or is he so confident that his new style will reap reward sooner rather than later?

In my last article, I highlighted the need for consistency and how vital it would be (and pretty much still is) to carry on the form and mentality from good performances. Another essential thing however, is for the team to be able to recover from setbacks such as last weekend’s defeat in time for their next game. Hopefully with tiki-taka such incidents will be few and far between because poor runs of form and losing streaks will cost us dearly.

I’m quite certain Brendan Rodgers will be eagerly awaiting the January window, but till then tiki-taka seems to be our only option. Our lack of experience in our new found style will prove to be a disadvantage in some of our tougher fixtures but if we are able to fare reasonably against relatively lower opposition, we might just scrape through and still be within touching distance of a top four finish come January.
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