Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds __________ ?

Thankfully for Liverpool, the answer to that against Notts County wasn't failure. It could well be the reason for defeat against Manchester United on Sunday though. Two goals up at half time and Liverpool were cruising. For the second game running, Liverpool have only narrowly avoided defeat by failing to take control of the game in the second half. For the second game running, we have looked completely out of sorts in the second half of the game. I don't want to be critical about the win against Aston Villa though. That was a highly resilient performance against a highly underrated team. But this was another matter altogether. I don't expect Liverpool to be walloping Notts County 5-0, but I do expect them to have the professionalism to see out a game they're winning 2-0 at half time.

And so, failure to do that has potentially cost us four players. Yes, that's FOUR including Daniel Sturridge limping a little at the end, even though it it doesn't seem to be serious. Joe Allen was our best player at the start of last season, but Jordan Henderson's incredible development has pushed him far, far ahead of the Welshman in the pecking order while Aly Cissokho was never going to be first choice left back so early into his career at the club. Which leaves us with Kolo Toure. Kolo Toure, who has been our best defender thus far, injured his groin in extra time. Extra time which we shouldn't have allowed in the first place. We now look incredibly lightweight at the back. Can we realistically expect Martin Skrtel, however much I rate him, to start his first game since that confidence-shattering game against Oldham and keep the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney (depending on his impending Chelsea transfer) out? It's not that I don't think Martin is a good player. He was our best defender two seasons ago. But his confidence is certainly shot and I would not be surprised to see him making a defensive error on Sunday.



Joe Allen played well without really doing anything extraordinary. Raheem Sterling had a really good game, even filling in at right back at the end of the game and actually getting power into his shots! Luis Alberto, however, showed glimpses of what he could be if he develops as expected. I am turning into a big fan of the Spaniard, and though he might take time to develop, he has all the ingredients to succeed at a high level. What I noticed about him yesterday were mainly two things - firstly, when he is running with the ball, the ball seems to be glued to his feet, à la Coutinho. His touch is silky and will only get better. Secondly, he has the vision to see passes that the opposition doesn't see. He may not be able to execute them yet, and his passing is something I expect will develop over time. Footballing intelligence is something that may or may not develop over time, so it is good to see a young player at Liverpool who seems to have it from the off.

I would be pessimistic and say that the most we can hope for against Manchester United on Sunday is a draw. I could be whining about FSG and how they've starved Brendon Rodgers of signings, which will lead to a defeat against the Mancs and endless ribbing from United supporting friends. But what I've learnt from years of supporting this club is that we always raise our game for the big games. The most intense rivalry in football will give the players reserves of adrenaline. It is against the so called 'lesser' teams that we play a 'lesser' game. We'll dig deep against United, and win, lose or draw, I'm sure we'll do our best. Which is all fans can ask from the players really. Let's all hope Martin Skrtel plays a blinder on Sunday. Goal-line clearance from a van Persie strike and a Kop end goal from a corner from me! Haha!

Follow me on twitter @yashasvid and read this article on Empire of the Kop!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Grit, blood and sweat

Remember Manchester United last season? Their entire season was probably the worst I've ever seen any team play for such a long period of time and still win the league. Thirty eight scrappy 1-0 wins will do very well for me, thank you. Job done. A win away from home. and being perfectly honest, this win speaks more about the character of the team than a 6-0 demolition of Newcastle, however enjoyable that might be. We haven't seen this sort of 'grinding out results' mentality in recent years. The last I remember it there was during our title challenging 2008-09 season in which we score late goal after late goal to keep us in the hunt.

That was not a vintage performance by any stretch of imagination. After the first 35-40 minutes, we looked toothless in attack, and had  a few heart stopping moments at the back. Benteke in particular, came close to scoring twice, forcing Mignolet into two world class saves. I would really have brought on Raheem Sterling late on when we were under serious pressure and used his pace as an outlet.

This was really a game of two halves:

The first half:
We were, to put it quite simply, utterly brilliant in the first half. This was death by football as Rodgers envisaged it. When this 35 minute performance translates to 90 minutes, we might well be THE most formidable team in the league. Patient on the ball, incisive when the opportunity presented itself, constantly pressing without and with a massive amount of possession. The Daniel Sturridge goal was absolutely beautiful. Right from the dummy by Coutinho to the finish. Lucas was imperious in the holding role, constantly breaking up attacks and Benteke was starved of any sort of service. This will be a very formidable side if and when Suarez returns to the first team.





The second half:
Now let's not sugar-coat it in any manner - the second half performance was atrocious. Having said that, the team did display a defensive resilience that we certainly haven't seen in recent seasons. Pepe Reina is a legend at Liverpool FC, but the number of times opposing teams have won or drawn against us when they've only had one or two shots at goal has been pretty high over the past few seasons. It is easy to argue that Simon Mignolet has already won us 4 points with that penalty save against Stoke and a couple of sensational saves against his international colleague Christian Benteke. Let me just go ahead and say what all Liverpool fans are thinking at the back of their heads here. Mignolet might not be able to distribute the ball as well as Pepe Reina, he may not be as comfortable with the ball at his feet, he may not have any direct assists at the end of the current league campaign, but that isn't what a goalkeeper is supposed to do. Plus, he has plenty of time to improve on those aspects. Too many times last season Pepe Reina left me wondering, "what was he doing there?" It is still very much early days and Reina might pull off blinders for Napoli like he was for us, but he's there. And Mignolet is here. And I'm happy to have him with his shot stopping abilities even if he does pot the occasional goal kick straight out of play.

Toure was exceptional in shackling Benteke apart from those two heart-in-mouth moments. Remember how Benteke completely manhandled Martin Skrtel at Anfield last season? This was a far cry from that. Gerrard and Lucas were very disciplined defensively and looked inspired yesterday as he made block after block and tackle after tackle, though Lucas was caught in possession a couple of times that left me holding my head. Henderson was tidy in the middle with his tireless work rate and simple passing. He even provided a bit of width down the right when the team needed it.

Coutinho and Aspas though, were anonymous for the majority of the game. You could take that as either a positive or a negative though - that we can even win without Coutinho at his best. That Rodgers is building a team that is more than the sum of its parts, so the system will function well even if one of our key men has an off day. Coutinho did show terrific awareness with his dummy for the Sturridge goal though! Aspas was really brilliant with his positioning on many occasions including the buildup to the goal. He kept finding pockets of space that made him very difficult to deal with, though there was finally nothing home for him to shout about.





It may still be very, very early into the season, but 6 points from 6 is a fantastic start. If you were being ultra-critical, you could say that the game should have been put to bed in the first half so that we weren't under so much pressure in the second. Haven't we kept saying that grinding out those scrappy 1-0 wins is the hallmark of a title winning side? Last season we had 6 points after 7 games. Seven. Now we have 6 points from 2. Two. Let that sink in. Bring on them Mancs!

PS: All photos and videos courtesy of the excellent @MostarLFC.

Follow me on twitter @yashasvid and read more of my views on Empire Of The Kop!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Post match review - Liverpool vs Stoke

It's the first game of the season and we've just lost 3-0 against West Brom away from home. Oh wait! It isn't 2012-13 anymore, is it? Sadly, it isn't 2008-09 either, when we deservedly won 1-0 away at Sunderland, went on to beat Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford and went on to mount a title challenge that most of us remember only all too vividly. It IS 2013 though, and we've just won our first game of the season for the first time since that breathtaking season against Stoke City at home. Now, I am not suggesting for one minute that we will replicate those heady days and challenge for the title, but after four seasons of 'starting from scratch', we finally seem to be getting a sense of 'we know where this team is going'.

The win against Stoke was nerve-wrecking, to say the very least. Robert Huth shot left the crossbar shuddering for a good while. Daniel Agger's inexplicably pointless handball when he was getting to the ball anyway sent sighs of 'here we go again' through every Liverpool fan across the world. But then, there was also dazzling movement up front.  There was a ferocious bottom corner strike by Daniel Sturridge. There was Coutinho, bewildering defenders across the pitch. There was Iago Aspas, trying to prove he can be more than just a squad player even if Liverpool keep Suarez and add another attacking midfielder to the mix. There was Jordan Henderson, adding a bit of end product to his tremendous running and tireless work rate. There was Kolo Toure, ably replacing the irreplacable Jamie Carragher. There was Simon Mignolet recovering from a shaky start to end as the hero of the match as he made a fantastic double save to deny Jonathan Walters from the penalty spot and then Kenwyne Jones' follow up. And perhaps most importantly, there was a spirit, a hunger, a will to win in the squad perhaps not as visible in recent seasons.


But if there was an aspect of Liverpool's play that was especially breathtaking, it was their fluidity and sharpness in attack. We look much sharper at this stage of the season than at other times in recent memory and our passing has an incisiveness that is refreshing to see. Indeed, if look at how each player influenced the game, we see that Lucas was a rock in the middle, breaking up play and finding short, simple passes to Gerrard to build the game up. Gerrard was the fulcrum of the entire side as he dictated play, finding passes to Coutinho, Johnson and Aspas to advance up the pitch. Gerrard also had the highest number of attempted and completed final third passes. And then of course there was Coutinho, gliding past players effortlessly, finding Sturridge time and time again and making us a very potent attacking threat. If we look at the player influence heat map, this is borne out.


And here is how Coutinho and Aspas fared with their passing in the final third.



The fluidity and sharpness in attack, as demonstrated by Coutinho roaming all over the pitch, bode well and make us a very difficult team to defend against. Gerrard's incredible passing range and vision makes him an ideal candidate to dictate play from the middle of the park. And Toure's addition adds to the defence the steel they lacked last season. However, I still worry about cover for Lucas. Lucas is a top quality defensive midfielder, harassing opponents, breaking up play and feeding Gerrard or Coutinho to create the damage. Joe Allen, in my opinion isn't cover for him. Joe Allen is an altogether different kind of player who really can not do what Lucas does. We need cover for Lucas as I have been saying for weeks and weeks now. I also get the feeling that Rodgers trusts neither Martin Skrtel not Sebastian Coates, which makes adding a central defender to the ranks a priority too, bearing in mind Agger's injury record. I, for one, would be happy with our attack if we keep Suarez and not sign another attack minded player. I believe we have enough options there if we count Raheem Sterling and Jordan Ibe as players in and around the first team squad as well.

Victory against Stoke may or may not have shown us much. But it certainly showed us that the squad seems to be more determined to do better than ever. This may partly be down to the type of characters Rodgers has brought into the squad this summer, but it definitely does bode well for the future. I, for one, am quietly optimistic about this season.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Pre-season debrief

We're finally there. The business end of the season. That said, how exactly has pre-season been for the club in terms of performances? What have we seen so far from our players to give us optimism for the season to come and what could be better?

THE HITS

1. Philippe Coutinho: The ability and the importance of this young lad's considerable skill to Liverpool's season cannot be overstated. He is absolutely vital, a cog in an engine without replacement, this season at least. He is absolutely vital to Liverpool's hopes for a top four finish. I already shudder with the thought of how we would cope should Coutinho get injured at some stage. His sublime pass to Sturridge against Celtic is a perfect example of what we should expect with the two working in tandem and he could be a more important player this season for us than Suarez was last. Brace for bids for him at the end of the season if his highly impressive form continues.

2. Iago Aspas: This, based on pre-season form at least, looks to be a highly inspired signing by Brendan Rodgers. 4 goals and 3 assists in the pre-season campaign show him to be a player with plenty of trickery in and around the box. I would say he needs to improve him composure in front of goal as I can remember a chance he had against Vålerenga(?) in which he blasted the ball against the keeper when he was one on one. A little frustrating, à la Luis Garcia, but exactly the kind of players fans will love to watch and enjoy. A definite quality addition to our current squad.

3. Jordan Ibe: No one who has watched this kid play in pre-season could have not been impressed. He is direct and has great pace and power. He seems to be slightly better built than Raheem Sterling as well, but has half a season less of Premier League experience, which means I would put him at the stage right now of where Raheem was last season. I'm not expecting him to get too many games in the first team, but a really bright prospect for the future if he keeps developing at the rate he is.

5. Kolo Toure: A very astute signing by Rodgers. He looks like he will slot right into the void left by Jamie Carragher alongside Danny Agger. Good in the air, reads the ball well, and has a winning mentality. Carra is Carra, but this is about as close as we will get to a replacement. I would still want another center back though, considering Agger's injury history.


THE MIXED BAG

1. John W. Henry: Supporter's opinion is decidedly mixed on our owner. While I appreciate the sense of financial stability he seems to be bringing to the club, I also feel he is placing far too much importance on immaculate implementation of Financial Fair Play. And considering there is always a way around that, like Chelsea and Roman Abramovich, it is anybody's guess whether FFP will be a hit or a miss. We did good business bringing signings in early, but a net profit in the transfer window as of 14th August does not bode too well. His stance on Luis Suarez has been very refreshing though, and a slap to player power. Yes, Suarez should NOT have signed that contract last season if he intended to leave this season anyway.

2. Luis Alberto: We haven't seen too much of him during pre season, the goal on the volley against Vålerenga was sublime and something we've seen less and less of since Gerrard in his pomp. He seems a good passer of the ball and looks like and excellent prospect in a couple of years. Sporadic opportunities in the first team this season, mostly off the bench.

3. Jordan Henderson: Still hasn't convinced me completely, but showed definite signs of progress last season and looks to be getting better game by game. Changed the dynamic of the game when he game on against Olympiakos. Tireless, has bundles of energy, and I wouldn't yet say "he'll never be good enough for Liverpool", like I could say with certainty for the likes of Stewart Downing and Jay Spearing. His confidence seems to be increasing with every game he plays and I feel he could play a very important role in the Liverpool midfield this season.


4. Raheem Sterling: The Liverpool Academy's next big hope. He had a good run in the first team last season, but I would be genuinely surprised if he did this season. If he did, I can only imagine we have failed to replace Stewart Downing. He tailed off badly towards the end of last season but seems rejuvenated and free from the niggles that plagued in the second half of the last league campaign. That said, I still can't imagine him playing the entire campaign. Really quick, but needs to improve on end product. He is only 18, after all! Also, needs to cut out of the off field controversies and focus on the football. He has all the support he needs at the cub and a manager who isn't afraid to play him at the right time.

THE MISSES

1. Luis Suarez: A very good player with a very bad agent, Liverpool's star striker has made an absolute shambles of trying to get out of the club. He pushed the club so far that he forced and owner to put his reputation on the line and retaliate, and might not get his move away from the club at all. That in itself may prove to be key for Liverpool. The fact that it is a World Cup year and the fact that he is suspended for six games actually works in the club's favour as Suarez can really not afford to down tools.

2. Martin Skrtel: A Skrtel on form and an Agger on form would be, in my opinion, one of the best defensive pairings in the league. I had hope Skrtel would really knuckle down in pre season and prove his worth to Rodgers, but it just hasn't turned out that way thanks to his injury. It looks like he'll only be playing cup football this season.

3. Transfers: How long has it been since Rodgers said that we have improved the squad and we now need to improve the first team? Either FSG are not really backing him or we are struggling to get the right quality of player in. Either way, it seems like the Rick Parry era all over again. We have already left signings too late on too many occasions and then either overpaid at the death or gotten in poor quality replacements. Not learning lessons here.

Here's how I see us lining up, towards the start of the season, and considering we don't get any new signings in before we play Stoke.

Liverpool vs Stoke - My Starting XI


That said, if we still manage to strengthen the squad and keep Sturridge and Coutinho fit, I see us really kicking on into the top 6 at the very least. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Steven Gerrard - Captain, Leader, Legend



Leaders have many ways of leading. Some lead by pushing those around them to do well, some by not being afraid of giving you an earful, while yet others lead by not being afraid of giving competition a torrid time. However, once in a generation comes that rare breed who leads by possibly the most important virtue of a leader – example. Over the past decade, Steven Gerrard has become the very embodiment of that.

It is not hard for any football fan to remember the times Steven Gerrard has grabbed the Liverpool team by the scruff of the neck, hauled them back into games, and eventually dragged them past the finishing line. Whether it is hammering a last gasp 25 yard intervention into the top corner against Olympiakos, making last ditch tackles at right back against Milan – in the probably most miraculous final ever, producing another last second equalizer against West Ham, hammering a hat-trick against Everton in his 400th league game, or coming off the bench at half-time to slam a hat- trick past a hapless Morgan de Sanctis in the Napoli goal, Gerrard has been there, done that.

In Steven Gerrard, Liverpool have a player with a vision few players in the modern game have, and an ability even fewer do. In any team, his presence will lead to more goals being created, as well as scored. 

After over a decade of fantastic service, in which he has single handedly led the club to countless victories, Liverpool definitely owe their captain a happy swan song. They must aim to become a team whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts; and then deliver to the man, who is among one of the best in the world and regarded by many as the greatest player to ever pull on a red shirt, the magical European nights at Anfield that he craves a return to. No one deserves it more than him.

In time when loyalty is in short supply in football, Gerrard, over the course of his career, has rejected as out of hand offers from Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. And then turns around and thanks Liverpool for their loyalty to him. Such is the greatness of the man.

Steven Gerrard, you will never, ever walk alone.

“Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, but yes, I think he just might be. He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals; but most importantly, he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can’t learn that. Players like him are just born with that presence.”
-Zinedine Zidane on Steven Gerrard