28 Nov 2012

Negative approach? Brendan Rodgers gets it wrong again...

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has gone for safety again for tonight's away game with Spurs, preferring graft and stamina over flair and imagination.

Rodgers has picked the same team that drew 0-0 with Swansea at the weekend; a team that consistently struggled to create chances, and never really looked like winning the game.

Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing retain their places, and the selection of Henderson is, IMO, a negative.

Sahin and Shelvey are more attacking players; they've both scored goals this season, and actually carry a goal threat, whereas Henderson is energetic, staid (when it comes to taking creative risks), and defensive-minded.

If Rodgers really wanted to win the game, he would've selected Shelvey or Sahin; the selection of Henderson arguably indicates a cautious, safety-first approach, which is disappointing to see.

TEAM:

Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Downing, Suarez, Gerrard, Enrique, Sterling, Henderson, Allen

SUBS:

Shelvey, Suso, Wisdom, Sahin, Carra, Assaidi, Jones

If Rafa Benitez was still Liverpool manager then I have no doubt he would've chosen exactly the same team. It bears all his hallmarks (safety first; thinking too much about the opposition etc).

Andre Villas-Boas has done the opposite of Rodgers and gone for the strongest possible attacking line-up:

SPURS LINE-UP: Lloris, Vertonghen, Gallas, Dawson, Walker, Dempsey, Lennon, Bale, Sandro, Defoe, Dembele

Obviously, I hope Liverpool win, and I'll be delighted to be proven wrong about Rodgers making a mistake. Perhaps choosing Henderson and Downing will turn out to be a masterstroke? #Doubtful

Jaimie Kanwar


202 comments:

  1. Well, the booing of one of our own players did do wonders to Lucas. Actually, when people started booing him I started having a closer look at him and found that he wasn't half bad. Gerrard got away with the same mistakes Lucas did, but he's a local lad. Football fans can be a very strange species.

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  2. I didn't say that, did I. In another comment I actually praised Rafa for what he has achieved at Valencia and Liverpool.

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