After six games without a win, West Brom finally ended their barren run with a 2-0 victory at Anfield last night, and almost certainly condemned Liverpool to yet another year in the Champions League wilderness. The defeat is arguably the Reds most damaging league result of the season, and in my view, the blame for the defeat lies squarely on the shoulders of Brendan Rodgers.
I've supported Rodgers all season, and I still believe in his overall strategy to move the club forward, but that doesn't mean he's above criticism, and last night, his decisions arguably handed the initiative to West Brom and ultimately cost Liverpool the game.
1. Starting Shelvey in an advanced role
I just can't see the logic in starting Shelvey in an advanced attacking role and leaving dedicated attackers like Fabio Borini and Raheem Sterling on the bench. It makes no sense whatsoever. Shelvey is not a striker or a number 10, and he rarely plays that role for Liverpool. Why not just go with aces in their places? Why change the shape of an effective team?
With Sturridge out, the lack of pace in attack needed to be addressed, and Sterling would've been the obvious option. Indeed, given his lack of playing time recently, he's fresh and rested, and would've been the ideal option. Having Shelvey on the field meant Liverpool started with four central midfielders. AT HOME. Why is this necessary? It affects the balance of the team, especially with the 20-year old roaming around the pitch unsure of his role.
On top of everything else, it can't make Borini feel too good to see a central midfielder preferred to him up front. What kind of man-management is this? How is this conducive to building morale in the ranks? Why spend £12m on a a striker if you're going to play a central midfielder in his place?!
Granted, Borini has flattered to deceive since arriving at Anfield, but playing a dedicated attacking player in the front three is surely a better option than putting a square peg in a round hole. To be clear, I'm not attacking Shelvey here - it's not his fault Rodgers played him out of position.
2. Taking off Jordan Henderson
This has to go down as one of the most catastrophic decisions of the season. The mind boggles as to why Rodgers made this choice. West Brom are a physically imposing team, and along with Lucas, Henderson did a great job of blocking the baggies off in midfield. With Liverpool - and Gerrard - pushing forward, the extra insurance and physical presence was necessary, and taking off Henderson basically handed the game to West Brom. Space opened up in midfield, and West Brom exploited this on several occasions, most notably in the build up to Lukaku's killer goal.
3. Taking off Stewart Downing
Another inexplicable decision. I'm not the biggest fan of Downing but he's playing well at the moment, and he was arguably Liverpool's best player on the night. Like Henderson, Downing is a physical presence on the field, and replacing him with the lightweight, inexperienced Coutinho was (IMO) the wrong choice. While it's great to see the Brazilian get his debut, why take off the team's most effective player on the night to accommodate him? Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding: West Brom scored twice when Henderson, Downing and Shelvey went off. Coincidence? Perhaps, but then again, maybe not.
4. Making the team lightweight
Rodgers' substitutions achieved nothing except handing West Brom the physical initiative. Out went three physically strong players (Henderson, Downing and Shelvey), and in came three physically lightweight players (Coutinho, Borini and Sterling). In my view, this weakened the team significantly, and inexorably led to West Brom gaining the upper hand.
5. Praising the players in defeat
After the game, Rodgers once again praised the players for losing. He stated that he 'can't fault' them; that they were 'outstanding' etc. How can he not fault the players?! LIVERPOOL LOST 2-0 AT ANFIELD to West Brom (!). Irrespective of the merits of the performance, that is an unacceptable result for a team supposedly challenging for the top four. Shots on goals and possession stats don't matter: the team lost, and to add insult to injury, Rodgers once again sent the clear message that losing at Anfield is okay.
I've been highlighting Rodgers' gross overpraise of the team all season, and I'm sure many of the fans who castigated me for doing so are now beginning to tire of his post-match press conferences. Praising players after such an abject defeat is an insult to the fans, especially those who paid £50+ for match tickets.
Additionally, the constant overpraise breeds complacency. Why would players bust a gut to improve/play better when they know that they'll be given a pass for losing? The likes of Agger, Enrique and Johnson put in shockingly bad performances, yet Rodgers can't fault them?! Conversely, he's more than happy to excoriate the club's young players in public.
Disgraceful double-standards. With his constant gross overpraise, Rodgers has dulled the team's winning mentality, and created a situation where senior players are perpetually in the comfort zone.
I support Rodgers, but he is his own worst enemy, and if his reign at Anfield comes to an abrupt end in the summer, he'll only have himself to blame.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
I've supported Rodgers all season, and I still believe in his overall strategy to move the club forward, but that doesn't mean he's above criticism, and last night, his decisions arguably handed the initiative to West Brom and ultimately cost Liverpool the game.
1. Starting Shelvey in an advanced role
I just can't see the logic in starting Shelvey in an advanced attacking role and leaving dedicated attackers like Fabio Borini and Raheem Sterling on the bench. It makes no sense whatsoever. Shelvey is not a striker or a number 10, and he rarely plays that role for Liverpool. Why not just go with aces in their places? Why change the shape of an effective team?
With Sturridge out, the lack of pace in attack needed to be addressed, and Sterling would've been the obvious option. Indeed, given his lack of playing time recently, he's fresh and rested, and would've been the ideal option. Having Shelvey on the field meant Liverpool started with four central midfielders. AT HOME. Why is this necessary? It affects the balance of the team, especially with the 20-year old roaming around the pitch unsure of his role.
On top of everything else, it can't make Borini feel too good to see a central midfielder preferred to him up front. What kind of man-management is this? How is this conducive to building morale in the ranks? Why spend £12m on a a striker if you're going to play a central midfielder in his place?!
Granted, Borini has flattered to deceive since arriving at Anfield, but playing a dedicated attacking player in the front three is surely a better option than putting a square peg in a round hole. To be clear, I'm not attacking Shelvey here - it's not his fault Rodgers played him out of position.
2. Taking off Jordan Henderson
This has to go down as one of the most catastrophic decisions of the season. The mind boggles as to why Rodgers made this choice. West Brom are a physically imposing team, and along with Lucas, Henderson did a great job of blocking the baggies off in midfield. With Liverpool - and Gerrard - pushing forward, the extra insurance and physical presence was necessary, and taking off Henderson basically handed the game to West Brom. Space opened up in midfield, and West Brom exploited this on several occasions, most notably in the build up to Lukaku's killer goal.
3. Taking off Stewart Downing
Another inexplicable decision. I'm not the biggest fan of Downing but he's playing well at the moment, and he was arguably Liverpool's best player on the night. Like Henderson, Downing is a physical presence on the field, and replacing him with the lightweight, inexperienced Coutinho was (IMO) the wrong choice. While it's great to see the Brazilian get his debut, why take off the team's most effective player on the night to accommodate him? Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding: West Brom scored twice when Henderson, Downing and Shelvey went off. Coincidence? Perhaps, but then again, maybe not.
4. Making the team lightweight
Rodgers' substitutions achieved nothing except handing West Brom the physical initiative. Out went three physically strong players (Henderson, Downing and Shelvey), and in came three physically lightweight players (Coutinho, Borini and Sterling). In my view, this weakened the team significantly, and inexorably led to West Brom gaining the upper hand.
5. Praising the players in defeat
After the game, Rodgers once again praised the players for losing. He stated that he 'can't fault' them; that they were 'outstanding' etc. How can he not fault the players?! LIVERPOOL LOST 2-0 AT ANFIELD to West Brom (!). Irrespective of the merits of the performance, that is an unacceptable result for a team supposedly challenging for the top four. Shots on goals and possession stats don't matter: the team lost, and to add insult to injury, Rodgers once again sent the clear message that losing at Anfield is okay.
I've been highlighting Rodgers' gross overpraise of the team all season, and I'm sure many of the fans who castigated me for doing so are now beginning to tire of his post-match press conferences. Praising players after such an abject defeat is an insult to the fans, especially those who paid £50+ for match tickets.
Additionally, the constant overpraise breeds complacency. Why would players bust a gut to improve/play better when they know that they'll be given a pass for losing? The likes of Agger, Enrique and Johnson put in shockingly bad performances, yet Rodgers can't fault them?! Conversely, he's more than happy to excoriate the club's young players in public.
Disgraceful double-standards. With his constant gross overpraise, Rodgers has dulled the team's winning mentality, and created a situation where senior players are perpetually in the comfort zone.
I support Rodgers, but he is his own worst enemy, and if his reign at Anfield comes to an abrupt end in the summer, he'll only have himself to blame.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
lol
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect to BR’s fanatic supporters I think enough is enough. Under BR we saw everything but the most critical thing we experience is that under his reign we don’t see the real progress he promised. The slight progress he achieved against Arsenal and Man City today he knocked it down. After the defeat from West Brom at Anfield I have to confess that I am not sure where we are heading to under him. It is something FSG must review with high sense of responsibility. Decisive actions must be taken.
ReplyDeleteZonal marking worked under Rafa where I remember us keeping multiple clean sheets.
ReplyDeleteThe problem we have is painfully slow build up play and the tendency to not go out of 1st gear.
We do not have the quality of Barca hence getting caught out in defence seems to have become the norm with all the misplaced passes.
Lampard has been a phenomenon but he scores his goals from a deep midfield position rather than playing as a no.10. Carlo ancellotti, and AVB both tried to play him behind the striker but he found it difficult to find space for himself and arrive unnoticed into the box which along with his long shooting are his forte. Even stevie G got found out in his second season as a second striker because he lacks that litmanan, Cantona finesse that is crucial for this role in the absence of blistering pace and intelligent movement.
ReplyDeleteShelvey prefers to face the play rather than receive the ball back to goal as does Raheem Sterling which is another reason both will suffer in this system if they are continually played in their current positions.
Both are 4-4-2 players. It will take along time for them to adapt.
Rodgers is out of his depth, a third rate manager who has only managed third rate clubs in the past
ReplyDeleteWBA employed the perfect game for away matches, soak up the punishment throw on a class striker for the last 10 minutes who has pace and power and score 2 goals against tired defenders ie Agger and Carragher. They did the same thing at Everton until Leighton Baines scored out of nothing and they had to come out of their shells and then conceded a second.
ReplyDeleteYou have to get to them early and score a quick goal and their tactic of defending at all costs is then thrown out the door.
I wasn't necessarily talking about the last few seasons as he in the twilight years now. Under Mourinho, Lampard played as a proper attacking mid. He played as the attacking midfielder behind Drogba, who was flanked by two wide players. Lampard had Essien and Maka playing behind him. Yep, I agree he found it hard under AVB and Ancelotti but there are different ways to skin a cat, i.e., different ways to deploy a attacking midfielder. Ancelotti wanted to use him as a version of Kaka, as the set up was similar to the one at Milan but Lampard doesn't play like that, especially in such a narrow system like Carlo prefers. Lampard does better when he has wide players that stretch the player, rather than loads of central midfielders playing in a diamond formation. That was too congested a system for Lampard and he was playing too close up front. He is not a Spanish attacking mid who likes to have constant short one-twos in the middle. The whole world at Chelsea had problems with AVB's tactics. There was a lot wrong under AVB, so its a period where a lot of things could be put up for discussion as to why Lampard didn't flourish. Under Jose, he was playing a standard attacking mid role, not too deep and not too advanced, but certainly played ahead of Maka-Essien. He had two wide players to stretch the play and create space. I think that is what Shelvey needs to try and learn. Exploit the space created by others, as Suarez will create space for other players all day long. Just like Drogba did, although in a different fashion, for Lampard. I disagree that Stevie got found out, he still did pretty damn well and especially considering he had that hamstring or groin injury he had to deal with in one of those seasons at least.
ReplyDeletethe subsitution he should have made against wba at nil nil was either borini or sterling for jonjo ...that simple
ReplyDeletehe also lacks bottle, hardly puts himself on the line or in the line of fire.
ReplyDeleteim totally fed up with him and skrtel
carra played more. who ever comes in will need to spend at least 50 mill, and you know what, no manager gets every signing right, some players need time. we have very little, unless 50mill goes on 2 proven players. but who would want to join
ReplyDeleteto true, maybe i live in hope to much.
ReplyDeleteso the bottom line is then, all the time we have these owners there is no going forward your saying?
stadium ???
we need a solid defence, thats my opinion, midfield can play higher then.
and gilstrap, i agree what your saying, were just not tough enough to many boys!!
Agree we had plenty of shots on but how many would have got past a full international goal keeper? It's not how many shots but the actual positions of these shots to put it in the back of the net! A large percentage of our shots were from long range!
ReplyDeleteGood point. We do not have the technical players to carry out the system I guess
ReplyDeletetwo worst player of the night were enrique and johnson. they created nothing and in front suarez was ineffective. BR should have started Borini, the shape of the team would have been the same as previous matches.
ReplyDeleteRafa was slated for years for his zonal marking philosophy then other managers at other big clubs started using it and they are praised to the hilt.
ReplyDeleteIf he had managed Carlise United, Grimsby Town, Workington and Huddersfield prior to taking up the Liverpool post, would his track record be seen as any better?
ReplyDeleteMan of the Match? This was his performance of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteIf he was this good before, the Mancs would have kept hold of him!
I agree. Wasn't Steve Clarke not a defensive coach at Chelsea and oversaw the same with us?
ReplyDeleteMate, it's too easy for people to have a bitch and a moan after a loss. They didn't see the big picture of how we controlled the majority of the game and, had Sturridge been fit, we would have annihilated them.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why he posted up those stats is to highlight the fact that we created 24 goal scoring opportunities.
ReplyDeleteSo, by having more than half a brain cell, I can deduct that the point is; had we been sharper in front of goal (or Foster not turned into Superman for a night) we would have scored a bucket load of goals.
We totally outplayed WBA, hence the fact that we created 24 scoring chances to their 4.
The downside being that they managed to put away half of theirs. If our ratio of chances created to goals scored was the same, we would have scored 12.
Is that too hard to see?
Maybe you should start looking on the official site.
ReplyDeleteYou never answered TomP.
ReplyDeleteWhat next for the club if Rodgers gets sacked, who would you have as our manager?
And, please, don't say Mourinho or Ancelotti.
totally agree here.
ReplyDeleteSeveral decisions were poor. Lucas has been dreadful lately but Henderson was hooked when we needed his energy in last 20mins.Stupid moving him wide left to accomodate shelvey!
van gaul or i would like to see carragher given a go with kenny as an adviser
ReplyDeleteIts clearly regress under Rodgers. Cant imagine why we even bothered to change managers in the 1st place.
ReplyDeleteFinally u start to believe that Rodgers is not the one. . .
ReplyDeleteYeah. Let's not forget that he was slated for his rotation policy which other managers also incorporated.
ReplyDeleteNow we have lost 2 games on the trot against teams we shouldn't be losing against. When is this madness going to end!
We are now a mid-table team. 12 points off fourth and 13 off the relegation zone. It doesn’t get more mid-table than that!
The League table doesn’t lie. The Blueshite across the road, West f***ing Brom and Rodger’s former team Swansea are above us.
At one point do we hit the panic button? When do we start to despair?! It is not as if a lack of spending is the problem. Our manager, scouts and Ian Ayre seem to be clueless when negotiating.
We have one of the highest agent fees in the league, 9th most expensive team in Europe (in terms of salaries and spenditure) and we are 9th in the League. It doesn’t add up.
People saying BR should be given more time, or that we shouldn’t end up like Chelsea rotating managers all the time are living in dreamland. The likelihood of BR turning out to be another Ferguson, Mourinho or Shankly is a pipe dream. He didn’t have the CV to be hired in the first place. It was a gamble! If I can see a work in progress then great I will back him. I just don’t see it… What I see is a defence in tatters, a GK who has lost his confidence, poor buys again in the market (Borini and Allen), a MF that is getting overrun and praising the team after losses to INFERIOR opposition. Something unprecedented until he was appointed. Henderson a Daglish/Comolli purchase is coming good and then what does he do against West Brom. He plays him out of position and then subs him. Shelvey upfront with Borini on the bench was another decision that was mystifying. So is Sahin and Assaidi. Finally some continental talent and one gets flogged off to Dortmund and the other never gets a game despite all the hype.
I have waited years for Liverpool to become a force again. Once we did under Rafa and there was hope back then! We were a force in Europe.
Then it all started going pear shaped when Rafa had one bad season after 3 transfer windows where the net spend was negative.
This experiment we have now may work or may not work. In the meantime we are falling further and further behind our rivals (if we can still call them that) into obscurity.
BR should be given until the summer and maybe another season if we have a strong finish but in my opinion we would have been better off giving Daglish and Clarke another season or bringing in someone with more experience. 1 step fwds, 2 -3 steps backwards seems to be the norm now.