Liverpool and the Midfield Puzzle

For The upcoming 2011/12 season Liverpool have been very active in the transfer market bringing in players like Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson to an already packed midfield that boasts some of Liverpool’s key players.

You could easily accuse the Reds of having a bloated midfield with Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva and Dirk Kuyt joined by Raul Meireles, Alberto Aquilani, and Maxi Rodriguez all pushing for a starting place. Then of course there’s the youngsters, Jay Spearing and Jonjo Shelvey, and fringe players Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole, all presumably behind Kenny’s newcomers. That’s 13 midfielders and wingers all together (with Milan Jovanovic sold to Anderlecht) that Kenny Dalglish must find a role for within his squad.

So with all these midfield players and two talented forwards in Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez to take into account when picking a starting XI, how does Dalglish solve a midfield Puzzle like the one at Liverpool FC?

Taking into account a lot of the deadwood within the team, Joe Cole and Poulsen in particularly will certainly have to impress in training to get a starting place in the team, with rumours circulating that Cole might even be shipped off to West Ham or QPR. Then we have the ‘will he won’t he leave’ saga surrounding Aquilani who certainly looks set to be a creative element in Liverpool’s midfield if pre-season is anything to go by.

However, even if Liverpool got rid of a few of these players, Dalglish will still struggle to find a role for all of these players. A 0-10-0 formation certainly isn’t possible and it will be very difficult to get the best midfielders like Downing, Gerrard, Kuyt, Aquilani, Meireles, Lucas, Adam and Henderson all into one giant midfield system.

So what does this mean then for Liverpool? No Europa League in the upcoming season means players like Shelvey and Spearing will find it harder to get first team experience, especially if Liverpool make a push for good League and FA Cup runs this year, they’ll need the best players to play week after week. However a lack of space on the pitch should, in theory spill over to a stronger bench, something Liverpool have lacked really since pre-Benitez era and it’s a problem that has persisted until now. Then you have to consider that so few places in the starting XI will surely create greater competition within the squad to for a starting place, which should result in stronger performances on match day that should mean better results.

If we look at the attacking midfielder role within Liverpool as an example, Steven Gerrard has been first choice for years with no-one in the squad really competing for his place. Now we have the likes of Meireles, Aquilani and Henderson all wanting to play in that role Gerrard has turned into his own. So we have to assume that anyone who is charged with the task of playing behind the striker and creating chances will be the best man for the job on that day, rather than just being selected due to reputation. Next season Liverpool fans could find that a player’s status within the club and to the fans will account for nothing when it comes to squad selection, which can only lead to good thing to come.

The hardest part of the midfield puzzle however will be the formation Kenny Dalglish uses to not only take advantage of his huge choice of midfielders, but also to take into account the striking partnership of Carroll and Suarez. It would be too easy to assume that Dalglish will go with a flat 4-4-2 formation just because that’s what he did last season and with past teams. Last season he didn’t have the central or wide midfield options he has now and it’s this tactical flexibility and the variety of different types of players that may prove to be Liverpool’s greatest solution to this puzzle.

Looking at this squad it would be easy for Liverpool to play any variety of 4-5-1 (i.e. 4-2-3-1, 4-3-2-1, flat 4-5-1, 4-1-4-1), or to utilise both Carroll and Suarez in a 4-4-2 variant (i.e. 4-1-3-2, 4-1-2-1-2, Diamond 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1). However it would be just as easy to adapt a Barcelona style 4-3-3 formation, making use of Lucas, Adam and Aquilani and their passing abilities in a midfield trio similar but not as good as, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, with Suarez playing on the right in the “Messi” role and Downing on the left, offering crosses for Carroll in the centre of a front three.

With an almost infinite amount of possibilities for tactical style and formation, the overflowing midfield selection will undoubtedly become Liverpool’s greatest asset next season, with a team for every occasion being more than possible. Counter-attacking? Go 4-2-3-1 with Lucas and Adam sitting deep. All out attack? Go 4-3-3. Want to limit the oppositions passing ability? Go 4-3-2-1 with Gerrard and Aquilani behind the striker. For every team and for every system that will be used against Liverpool, the sheer depth of the squad should allow them to have a counter-system in place to give them the best chance possible.

This midfield puzzle will perhaps still persist for awhile, certainly until January when the next transfer window opens and Liverpool have the opportunity to drop more deadwood or bring in more variety, because the bottom line is some of the players in the squad still aren’t good enough. The youngsters will improve and some of the newer and older players will adapt to new systems. The strength in depth Liverpool have for midfield may perhaps protect weaknesses at the back if our pre-season ‘form’ continues into the new Premier League season (however with Reina in goal as opposed to Doni, we should see more clean sheets than 0-3’s).

The best way to solve this midfield puzzle however looks to be a combination of squad selection and tactical system. If Liverpool can nail down that right system to play against the opposition and pick the correct players, what appears to be a bloated midfield choice could become Liverpool’s greatest strength.

After all, if Liverpool can’t be certain who they’re going to pick week in and week out, how can their opponents ever hope to feel suitably prepared?

Have Brazil lost their Samba Spirit?

The 2011 Copa America was supposed to be the tournament where Brazil made up for their shortcomings at the World Cup in South Africa last year, a tournament they were once again favourites to win but ended up slumping to defeat to eventual runners-up Netherlands. It was a match that is probably best remembered for the freak goal the Dutch scored after Wesley Sneijder swung a cross into the box only for Felipe Melo and Julio Cesar to both flap it and end up in the back of the net.




This year’s Copa America would prove to be as equally disappointed, especially for a team renowned for its attacking flair. With only one win in the tournament against minnows Ecuador, and with three draws in the competition to the likes of Venezuela (0-0), Paraguay (2-2) and Paraguay again in the knockout stage (0-0), it was no surprise to see Brazil miss all four of their penalties after showing a lack of killer instinct in front of goal all tournament.

It seems then that the Selecao have lost that attacking flair, the Samba spirit that Brazil were once famed for in football tournaments. The Brazil of today is very different to previous squads we’ve seen in recent years and a far cry from the great Brazil squads of the 1970’s not just in personnel but in ideology as well. Brazil has taken a defensive shift in the way they approach their matches, something that happened under previous coach Dunga and from the results of the Copa America, something which current coach Mano Menezes looks to continue with.
Then again looking at the team in its current state can we surmise that Brazil has just not developed the attacking talent it once blossomed with? Garrincha, Pele, Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are all famed for their fantastic attacking instincts and the magic they produced on the ball, but they were all the best of their generations. Nowadays the best Brazilian footballers seem to be the defenders, Dani Alves, Lucio, Lusiao, Thiago Silva, Maicon and David Luiz are just a few of the top quality defenders Brazil has to offer and are all currently playing at top clubs around the World. As far as the attack goes the quality players are limited, with only Neymar, Alexandre Pato and the midfielder Ganso the standout players of the strike force. But even then Neymar is somewhat unproven outside Brazil and his team mate Paulo Henrique Ganso is exactly the same yet both are made the centre of Brazil’s attack and creativity.

However the Brazilian coaches should have seen this coming. With Ronaldo’s and Ronaldinho’s retirement from the national team, Luis Fabiano stepping up but then returning to Brazil and seemingly ending his club career at 30. Former World Player of the Year Kaka, looked an impressive prospect but has looked a shadow of his former self ever since leaving AC Milan. The attacking options have become limited as time goes on and the country can’t produce the strength in depth to make up for it.

One of the last few great attacking players left in the Brazil squad is Robinho. He performs well every time he wears the shirt but even consistent players like him haven’t been enough to lift the team and produce results on the pitch, he can’t do it all alone.

We can’t just blame a lack of quality in depth, in time Neymar and Ganso will become even better than they are now and new players will come along to fill the voids left by past players. Instead maybe the Brazilian coaches need to evaluate their approach. They haven’t helped the team in the past few years. Dunga and Menezes showed a tactical inconsistency flicking between three up front, to one solitary striker to even a narrow 4-2-2-2, all of which meant players didn’t get used to playing within a system as a team. Then of course there’s the overly defensive nature of Dunga and Menezes which in comparison to Carlos Alberto Parreira (1994 World Cup winning coach) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (2002 World Cup winner) is a total change from the attacking philosophy which won them two World Cups in eight years.

The real question at hand is how are Brazil going to recapture the Samba spirit that has won them five World Cups? A managerial change isn’t the answer, Menezes’ men have disappointed a nation at the Copa America but it would be unwise to get rid of him so hastily especially with Brazil hosting the next World Cup in 2014. As they aren’t participating in qualifiers it might give Menezes a chance to let his younger players develop within the squad and nail down a tactical system he and his team are happy with.
Brazil are in a very difficult situation and the squad, coaching staff and the nation as a whole are going to have to look deep within to find the solution. The World Cup in 2014 could turn out to be a huge lift to the team and the players may be inspired to produce performances on the pitch to match the expectation of a nation that has lost its spirit.

Three Years in the Making – Liverpool finally have the missing players to step into the roles left empty from previous campaigns.

It was only 3 years ago when Liverpool FC were pushing Manchester United all the way for their first title since 1990, however it wasn’t meant to be and the Merseysider’s finished an disappointing second place, their best ever finish in the Premier League and with only two losses all season, a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham away and an embarrassing 2-0 away defeat to Middlesbrough. In spite of those results Liverpool racked up an impressive 86 points which at the time was the highest ever points tally for 2nd place.

Nowadays that incredible season for Liverpool seems a distant memory compared to recent performances, in the 2009/10 season they crashed down to 7th in the League and last season Liverpool flirted with relegation under former manager Roy Hodgson before being lifted to 6th under the leadership of club legend Kenny Dalglish and ending the season with hope for next year.

Under Dalglish Liverpool were a team transformed, players were producing the performances fans had remembered from that title challenging season in 2008/09 only a few years ago. He’s also gone about rebuilding another team that can start competing for honours and get back into the Premier League top four and more importantly, Champions League football.

With the new arrivals in January and this summer Dalglish has built himself another competitive Liverpool squad that can again start to think about making an impact at the top of the table. Suarez and Carroll have given Liverpool variety upfront, Suarez being a player who can drift out wide as well as cut inside from the wings and Carroll, a strong centre forward who’s good with the ball in the air and possesses a powerful left footed shot. Both have shown early signs of a good strike partnership and if time keeps allowing both of them to play together they can terrorise defences the way Toshack and Keegan did for Liverpool back in the 70s.

Then of course we have the summer arrivals of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing.

It is unknown what role Henderson will play at the club but for £16m it would be foolish to see the youngster stuck on the bench, not to mention a waste of money. He was an important player for former club Sunderland, creating 39 more scoring chances than any other of his team mates. However playing a similar role to Gerrard may limit the youngster’s chances, but perhaps he’ll be pushed out on the right as an alternative to Dirk Kuyt.

Charlie Adam has seemingly been brought in to finally replace Xabi Alonso as a Deep Lying playmaker with Lucas Leiva taking on the defensive midfield responsibilities. Whilst at Blackpool, Adam was instrumental in creating opportunities with his crosses from deep, which could come in handy with the likes of Carroll waiting inside the box. The newest arrival, Stewart Downing, is the perfect fit on the left wing and can compliment Adam in the centre of midfield providing floating crosses for Carroll to head into goal.

It will ultimately be down to Kenny Dalglish to get all his new signings as well players like Raul Meireles, who impressed fans a lot last season, to gel together and begin playing the fluid, flowing football a lot of old school Liverpool fans are used to. With the plethora of midfield options it would seem likely that Dalglish play some sort of 4-5-1 variant, whether it be two holding players in a 4-2-3-1 or a more compact 4-3-2-1, with Suarez and Gerrard behind Carroll as the lone striker, and either Lucas or Adam as the holding midfielder flanked by a couple of wide men.

Either way Liverpool have a much more rounded squad than ever and can have no real complaints as far as squad depth goes, with reserve and academy players like Jay Spearing and John Flanagan showing some real progression and promise under Kenny Dalglish last season. It’s too soon to start suggesting Liverpool can win the League, but breaking into the top four would be a good start along with some good cup runs to go with league performances. The Liverpool squad now is certainly looking its best since that successful of season 2008/09 when they finished second.

If Liverpool and the fans are patient then maybe their first league title since 1990 will eventually arrive, but we have to be realistic as there are no easy fixes in football and it will take some time before Liverpool can ever be expect to be crowned champions.

What now for Owen Hargreaves?

Let’s make no mistake about it at the 2006 World Cup Owen Hargreaves was England’s best player. Spurred on by booing England fans, Hargreaves gave great performance after great performance to turn the fans opinion of him and by the end of the tournament he was one of the few England players to come out with an enhanced reputation, voted England Player of the Year by fans and later earned a £17 million transfer to Manchester United.

It’s a shame then that since that move to Manchester United, Hargreaves has been blighted with injury problems that has restricted him to just six minutes of play against Wolves in the past two seasons for United. After seeing specialist after specialist and suffering setback after setback in training and reserves games, it seems the most promising holding midfielder to come out of England since the early days of Paul Scholes, will soon be without a club in the summer and unlikely to find anyone to take him on long term.

Once upon a time in an England shirt Hargreaves looked like a young talent, hidden away by the Germans of Bayern Munich, able to keep possession of the ball, command a midfield and pick out a pass as well as pick his runs at goal. In Germany at the 2006 World Cup, Hargreaves turned the opinions of all England fans when he showcased his talents and the reason why then manager Sven-Goran Eriksson selected this unknown entity to play for his country.

His arrival to the Premier League as a United player was supposed to only further Hargreaves’ brilliance, only for it to end up as a tragic series of unfortunate injuries, a list so long in fact that Hargreaves has been restricted to just 26 appearances since joining in 2007, meaning Hargreaves has cost United over 650k per appearance. A hefty price to pay for any player, never mind one that was still unproven playing in England.

When you look at United’s squad now, a player like Owen Hargreaves could have made a real difference. Right now United look lost without the likes of Giggs and Scholes playing in the centre of midfield, with Carrick having seemingly lost all the abilities United bought him for, Fletcher sidelined and Gibson inconsistent. United have craved a technical and creative midfielder all season long, a player exactly like the Hargreaves of England at the 2006 World Cup, unfortunately for Ferguson then, that the Hargreaves situation has turned out the way it has.

The question remains however, what next for Owen Hargreaves? Manchester United looks unlikely to give him a contract extension. In fact they’d be mad to give it to Hargreaves another chance knowing full well how injury prone the player is. For United it would be better to cut their costs this summer when Hargreaves’ contract runs out. However where can he go? The old adage is that no-one who leaves United goes on to do well. Knowing that for Hargreaves it might be best to take a leaf out of Dean Ashton’s book and retire early and go into coaching or something. I would be very surprised if any club worth the player’s time offered him a long term contract, especially knowing his medical history. He’s been out of the game for nearly two seasons and even the best of players will show signs of lack of match practice and not to mention fitness.

Only time will tell where and when Owen Hargreaves, former England player of the Year and perhaps the last of the truly great English holding midfielders, finally ends his traumatic time at Old Trafford and Manchester.