The key to unlocking our top 4 potential

LIVERPOOL FC have been searching for the No 10 playmaker or someone to play in between the lines between midfield and attack for many years. They have tried lots of different players in that position, even Steven Gerrard was played there and up to date he was the most successful.

Unfortunately we have also seen Yossi Benayoun played there, Robbie Keane tried to be forced in there, Harry Kewell, Luis Garcia, Vladimir Smicer and my personal favourite Bruno Cheyrou – the new Zidane – all playing there with varying degrees of success but mostly failing.

What most of these players had in common is that they were mainly wide players who liked to come inside and find space, so they seemed to be ideally suited to play just off the front and link the midfield to the attack. However in truth none of them came close to hitting the heights of the two seasons that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres linked up, when they were truly frightening.

Fast forward to January 2013 and welcome Philippe Coutinho to Anfield. The diminutive Brazilian attacking midfielder joined Liverpool FC from Inter Milan for a fee of £8.2 million pounds.

I was first aware of Coutinho when he played in a Champions League game for Inter Milan against Tottenham Hotspur. Coutinho was playing as an attacking winger in the two games but like a lot of players, he was over shadowed by Gareth Bale’s performances in both legs.

I do remember being impressed with him though and thought that it would interesting to see how Rafa Benitez developed him. Of course Benitez was sacked shortly after and Coutinho suffered a few injuries and a lack of form and confidence resulted in him being loaned out to Espanyol for six months during the 2011-2012 season. There he made 16 appearances and scored 5 goals.

It appeared that he would return to Inter Milan and resume his career, however things did not work out for him and come January 2013 Brendan Rodgers was more than happy to add him to the Liverpool FC first team.

Whilst excited with the signing, people were still unsure of his ability and his physical condition; he had been injured for a long period and with Inter Milan letting him leave for a relatively small fee there were certainly question marks about his signing.
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The first thing you notice about Philippe Coutinho is his slight build and being only 5′ 7″ tall you would have been right in worrying whether the physical nature of the Barclays Premier League would suit him. However, what Coutinho lacks in stature he more than makes up with footballing ability, both on and off the ball. He has the ability to spot a pass those vital few seconds before the defenders near him know what he is going to do and his movement gives Liverpool FC a fluidity in attack.

Just look at the goals scored by Jordan Henderson against Aston Villa and by Daniel Sturridge against Fulham for an example of his great passing ability.

A surprising aspect of his play however is his strength on the ball and willingness to track back and work hard for the team. Many foreign players of similar builds to Coutinho initially struggle to adapt, but he took to the Premier League like a duck to water.

Initially he was played on the left of the attacking 3 behind the main striker, Brendan Rodgers soon saw that Coutinho had adapted well to English football and so he was moved to play just off the main striker who was Daniel Sturridge. That move also meant that Luis Suarez was moved to play as the left sided attacker, not Luis’s best position but Liverpool FC looked at their sharpest and most fluid in attack when Coutinho was the link between defence and attack.

With his ability to play on the left of the attacking three and as the No10 it was great to see him and Luis Suarez interchanging and linking up with Daniel Sturridge and even more promising was the linkup between Coutinho and Sturridge in the final few games of the season.

With Liverpool FC scoring 41 league goals in the games after Philippe Coutinho joined compared with the 31 leading up to his signing, could the numerous 0-0 results at Anfield be a thing of the past?

Could the boy from Brazil be unlocking those defences and leading us to the top 4?
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