Adjust For The Crooked Sight

by SamFels on Oct 24, 2011 7:22 PM BST

Now he's just flinging himself into the post

A lot's been made of Luis Suarez's misfiring ways. I'd love to disagree, but the numbers make for a pretty solid argument.

34 shots taken, four goals. How does that compare to the other premier strikers in the league?

Van Persie: 7 goals off of 32 shots

Darren Bent: 3 off of 14 (I know, it's weird to call Bent a prime striker, but his stats kind of speak for themselves over the years).

Fernando Torres: HA! Just kidding...

Sergio Aguero: 8 in 25

Wayne Rooney: 9 in 39 shots

You get the idea.

What's weird about Luis Suarez is identifying what you want him to be. If you just watched him play with Uruguay, you'd assume he's a poacher finishing off the chances that Diego Forlan creates. You look at his record with Uruguay (22 goals in 51 appearances) and Ajax (81 in 110) and you'd think the same thing.

But then you watch him play for Liverpool, and with his habit of moving out wide and going through defenders, doesn't he appear to be more a creator? Not that finishing isn't his main objective is to score, but his games in red look more than just a scorer. It would seem the best would have been brought out in Suarez if there was another to finish off all that he's creating.

But that's not what Liverpool are asking of him right now. And his wastefulness, along with a bunch of others, is hurting them. Liverpool are far too much of a one man team right now while they figure out what's the best 11, formation, and tactics. We know that. But that works if that one man can carry you while everything else is sorting it. Think anyone cares that Van Persie is carrying Arsenal right now?

There are differences. Suarez doesn't get the service that Aguero and Rooney are getting right now. Liverpool are still much a work in progress, those other teams are not. But it's yet another problem that needs to be solved pronto.

-A chilling stat. Kenny Dalglish has only won two more matches than Roy Hodgson did, and that's having taken charge of one game more (thanks Football365). It's pretty obvious Liverpool are in a rut. It's obvious that it still hasn't been figured out as far as who goes where and when. We don't know what role Jordan Henderson plays best. We don't know if Andy Carroll fits at all. We know that Steven Gerrard can't cover for Lucas, but we don't know how he'll fit with Lucas and Charile Adam, or if at all. Liverpool have too many non-wingers playing the wing (Kuyt, Henderson, Bellamy). There's no answer if Lucas gets hurt. Who should partner Daniel Agger?

And that's probably not all the questions to be answered. And they have to be answered quick. The trip to West Brom next week is going to be tricky. Than it's Swansea at home. Then City and Chelsea. If Liverpool aren't armed for the back half of that with six points earned in the first half, there's every chance that Spurs, Arsenal, and shockingly even Newcastle will have opened up some room in the race for fourth. While getting something from Chelsea might not be the challenge it once was, you don't want to depend on it.

Oh, and there's one last question. Is Kenny the man to figure out all those questions? I don't think any one can say for sure.

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Comments

Missing Aqua?

I think I disagreed this summer with everyone saying that if he did not want to be here that he should go. Well I am not sure how much of an effort he would have put forth but I would love to have him as an option to feed Luis and AC.

Also, I am thinking that having another pass and move striker other than Bellamy would help remedy this. I already wrote in another article that I think we should go for a striker in the January window.

Also I think the team has not had time to gel. Man City is just crazy loaded and just now starting to click. Last season was their break in period. Granted they added Aguero etc over the summer but no one can argue their depth.

by NC Nole on Oct 24, 2011 7:56 PM BST reply actions

We're not really missing Aqua

Though in an ideal world, Rafa would’ve never been fired, he would’ve settled into English life etc.

We’re actually among the top teams in the league as far as creating chances, but the “clinicality” isn’t there. We need better finishing up top.

That being said, my biggest problem isn’t the offensive side of things. It’s defense. Only two clean sheets so far, and both occurred in games where our opponent played a good chunk of the game down a man. We blew 1-0 leads against Sunderland, United, and Norwich. Six lost points, which would have us in the top four and not too far off from City

by OmarLittle on Oct 24, 2011 8:50 PM BST up reply actions

Best Finishers?

Lately it seems that we have really had trouble getting the ball into the net. However we do seem particularly adept at hitting the post lately…
Who do you guys think are our best finishers? Here is my list in order.
1. Suarez – For all of his recent troubles he still is our best striker
2. Capt. Fantastic – If there is a big game and the pressure is on, who are you going to turn to?
3. Henderson – When he is in the middle the man can be deadly. The problem is that Gerrard, Adam, and Lucas are frequently the picks for the central role.
4. Carroll – Sure he doesn’t really fit in the pass and move offense but he can put the ball in the net normally. He had a great start to last season with Newcastle
5. Kuyt – Doesn’t have a great strike but he is always in the right place at the right time. Someone has got to tap it in from 6 yards

That’s going to be my top 5. What’s yours?

"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi

by Waldo Rastel on Oct 24, 2011 9:30 PM BST up reply actions

Depends on who is in form when

Maxi has been lethal at times, and there were other times he was, erm, less than lethal in front of goal. Bellers is a quality finisher, but as last week showed the club has to be careful about limiting his time. Played mid-week against Rangers and gassed out this weekend against Norwich.

I, like everyone else, love Suarez but I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a winger or trequartista rather than positioned as a center-forward. He needed to look more to pass anyway, he had Kuyt a few times Saturday and had an open Gerrard in the box and neglected to pass for an easy assist, shooting from a sharp angle instead.

Re: Gerrard, always felt he could be utilized similar to how Roma started having Totti furthest up the pitch circa 2006.

by OmarLittle on Oct 24, 2011 9:53 PM BST up reply actions

Chances...

… You say that Suarez “doesn’t get the service that Aguero and Rooney get right now”, but that’s not obviously the case. Rooney and Aguero both come deep and drift wide to get the ball, and Suarez has had more shots than the latter and nearly as many as the former. More than VP or Bent too.

I think some of this is just a fluke. It’s still a pretty small sample and Suarez (as well as the rest of the team) seem to have hit an inordinate number of bars and posts. But it is very concerning… we’re converting fewer than 10% of our chances while the other top teams are converting 15% or more.

When everyone is healthy I think the solution is a formation change. I think we need to be in a 4-3-3 that looks kind of like this:

-Reina
-Johnson-Carra-Agger-Enrique
-Lucas-Adam
-Gerrard
-Suarez-Carroll-Downing

Where all of Gerrard, Suarez, and Downing have a lot of freedom to interchange. If we continue to play in a 4-4-2 then Carroll must be in the lineup. The 3-5-2 worked very well in the two games we used it last season. In any case there’s no point building up play from the wings if there’s no one in the middle capable of connecting on a cross, and Suarez appears to be completely inept with his head. If we’re going to play 4-4-2 then Carroll has to be in there.

I continue to think that Bellamy should primarily be used as a late-game impact sub, to attack tired defenders with space. I think he’s best in that role.

To answer your questions, in order: Henderson plays best in a central attacking role, but there’s no room for him there (nor would there be room for Aqua, tho I still rate him very highly as a player); Carroll DOES fit with the way the team is constructed… it suits his game very well and while he hasn’t impressed tremendously he hasn’t had as many opportunities as Henderson and Kuyt despite being no worse; I think Gerrard can fit well with either Adam or Lucas, preferably both as above; if LFC doesn’t have wingers then it shouldn’t play 4-4-2 and attack sole from the wings; if Lucas gets hurts/suspended we should change formation; Skrtel should pair Agger for now — I think he’s capable enough, although I seem to be in the minority — although Carra will be first-choice until he’s in a wheelchair.

As for Kenny… it’s curious. He showed a bunch of tactical flexibility when he first took over, but has shown little more recently and doesn’t even use his subs. Adjustments are clearly needed. If he can’t/won’t make them then he might not be the man for the job.

I still expect results to improve once the finishing improves. And I believe it will.

by kindred on Oct 25, 2011 12:03 AM BST reply actions

Agreed with this in full

http://sportsandgrits.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 25, 2011 12:22 AM BST up reply actions

Interesting

I would love to have an organization like this.

-Reina
-Johnson-Kelly-Agger-Enrique
-Lucas
-Gerrard-Hendo
-Suarez-Carroll-Downing

I like the pairing of Downing and Carroll because of Downing’s use of the width and Carroll being tall. I really want to see more of Hendo in the middle because I think he has true star potential. I’m not totally sold on Adam and here is my reasoning. In the best case scenario, what elements does Adam bring to the pitch? He can make great long passes, but our system really does not utilize long passes. He really doesn’t shoot all that often and isn’t really all that fast. His touch isn’t fantastic and doesn’t really settle down the ball either. I honestly don’t know what he does or what is his purpose in the current scheme. Hendo at least has a wicked shot and can fit it quite well in the pass and move.

"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi

by Waldo Rastel on Oct 25, 2011 2:12 AM BST up reply actions

Best case scenario?

Adam distributes the ball sharply all over the pitch, gets forward in attack, provides a threat from distance that Lucas/Spearing doesn’t, delivers excellent service on set pieces, targets goal on free kicks, and doesn’t allow the other teams’ CMs to control the center of the park.

All of which he’s done recently, more or less. Adam has probably been our MotM in both of the last two matches. Certainly he was against United, arguably against Norwich, where he was essentially asked to play out of position (as defensive/holding mid) with a CM partner he’d never played with before.

Adam’s fine. He’s not Xabi Alonso, but he’s definitely not the problem right now.

That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing your formation, especially on the road against a team likely the park the bus. Not sure about Kelly at CB, tho. Seems like we’ve got two or three better options there at the moment.

by kindred on Oct 25, 2011 8:20 AM BST up reply actions

Adam is fine, I agree

but MoM against Norwich might be a stretch considering it was his needless dive that led to their goal.

"The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game" -Bill Shankly

by Bromantic on Oct 25, 2011 5:17 PM BST up reply actions

The goal...

… was caused by their substitute striker beating two defenders and the keeper to a ball lobbed wishfully into the center of the box. I’m not hanging that on Adam.

Maybe he wasn’t MotM against Norwich, but he was as good as anyone else out there.

by kindred on Oct 25, 2011 7:04 PM BST up reply actions

I disagree with that

He is most definitely at fault. He squandered possession unnecessarily and less than 10 seconds later (it is actually about 8 seconds) the ball is in the back of the net. It would be one thing if he was hit with a crunching tackle, but the wind blew a little too hard and he fell over leading to an immediate counter. He is definitely at fault. I agree the marking was less then spectacular, but that is also because Reina came so far, likely calling them off.

"The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they don't know the game" -Bill Shankly

by Bromantic on Oct 26, 2011 3:22 AM BST up reply actions

I see your point...

… I guess my point is that teams turn over possession many dozens of times each game. Almost none of those turnovers lead to goals. This particular one did, and the reason why it did was because of horrible marking by two defenders and a really bad goalkeeping decision. It’s not like Adam got his pocket picked and the Norwich player was immediately clear to goal.

So I’ll blame Adam for the turnover, and I’ll blame the back line and goalkeeper for the goal.

by kindred on Oct 26, 2011 6:53 PM BST up reply actions

It’s definitely a more offensive minded formation. I don’t really have a problem with Adam, in my mind he replicates a lot of the things that Gerrard does only slightly worse. Worse on free kicks and corners, too much tendency to use the hollywood ball (he’s getting better at this), and not as good at attacking (this one is a little unfair because Gerrard is really really god in attack). That being said I really don’t like him paired with Gerrard, replicating the things that Gerrard does.

Kelly has impressed me enough at the right back position that I would want to give him a run out in the center. I think we tried it during the preseason and it didn’t work out so well, but that was also the preseason where we looked terrible. Eventually, I would like to see Coates in that position but it seems like that might be a year or two out. We have seen Skrtel get forward occasionally from that position and totally flub his chances. Kelly would definitely be an offensive improvement and if he can shut down Ashley Young on the wing, I have confidence that he can play in the middle.

"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi

by Waldo Rastel on Oct 25, 2011 7:09 PM BST up reply actions

Skrtel's better in the air...

… which makes him an asset on set pieces. Other than that I’d want my CB to be more concerned with securing a clean sheet or two rather than bombing forward to lead the attack.

by kindred on Oct 26, 2011 2:56 AM BST up reply actions

Adam brings great set piece service

although I’d assume Gerrard, Henderson, or Downing could fill that void if he wasn’t around.

http://sportsandgrits.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 25, 2011 1:05 PM BST up reply actions

First post

Unlucky result on Saturday, I think the new pieces we brought in during the summer are still trying to mesh with the old stand by’s (Kuyt, Stevie G etc). May is a long way off and I see a Liverpool side that is ticked off about being shoved away by many as " second tier". Get the little things taken care of at Mellwood and the goals will come, this team just need to mesh and get a feel for each other! It is only October

by Orange and Blue 2014 on Oct 25, 2011 9:57 PM BST reply actions