I'll admit it: when Brendan Rodgers made the decision to move Steven Gerrard into a deeper role, I had reservations about whether the Reds captain could pull it off. Visions of Istanbul plagued my thoughts, and his first couple of games in the new deep-lying playmaker/defensive midfielder role seemed to confirm these fears. Thankfully, Gerrard is performing with distinction in his new role, and Man City will have to curtail the skipper's influence if they're to have any hope of winning on Sunday, and Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes there's a surefire way to achieve this.
In his column for the Daily Mail today, Keown argues that City City 'must get behind Gerrard' and 'isolate him':
"City can have success if they flood players in behind him [Gerrard]. If Samir Nasri and David Silva can get themselves in behind Gerrard, they can use Edin Dzeko to draw out the centre halves and create space. The City midfielders can then exploit that with clever movement and work the ball in to create chances".
Several teams have used similar tactics this season, and it's true to say that Liverpool seem to struggle when opposition teams flood midfield.
With Yaya Toure in scintillating form, Gerrard will need to be at the top of his game to combat City's attacking riches, and it seems likely that Brendan Rodgers will play someone alongside him in a bid to to combat the threat of midfield being overrun.
Lucas is the obvious choice, and having gained some valuable match-fitness in last week's extended cameo against West Ham, he'll probably get the nod over Coutinho on Sunday.
Given Gerrard's influence, and the team's weakness when overrun in midfield, it surprising that more teams don't man-mark Liverpool's captain - or at least put him under constant pressure - in a bid to take him out of the game. Manuel Pellegrini is a shrewd manager, however, and I'm sure he'll have some kind of plan along those lines.
Gerrard vs. Toure will certainly be a memorable battle, and with 22 goals already this season, the Ivorian will need to be effectively shackled. Is Gerrard up to it? And who should come in alongside him: Lucas or Allen?
As always, I advocate going with the strongest possible attacking team. Forget about fear - just go for the throat, and that means playing Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez and Sturridge. Yes, there's a possibility that City may target Gerrard, but the Reds should play their own game, not show fear by kowtowing to a rival team.
Author: Jaimie K
In his column for the Daily Mail today, Keown argues that City City 'must get behind Gerrard' and 'isolate him':
"City can have success if they flood players in behind him [Gerrard]. If Samir Nasri and David Silva can get themselves in behind Gerrard, they can use Edin Dzeko to draw out the centre halves and create space. The City midfielders can then exploit that with clever movement and work the ball in to create chances".
Several teams have used similar tactics this season, and it's true to say that Liverpool seem to struggle when opposition teams flood midfield.
With Yaya Toure in scintillating form, Gerrard will need to be at the top of his game to combat City's attacking riches, and it seems likely that Brendan Rodgers will play someone alongside him in a bid to to combat the threat of midfield being overrun.
Lucas is the obvious choice, and having gained some valuable match-fitness in last week's extended cameo against West Ham, he'll probably get the nod over Coutinho on Sunday.
Given Gerrard's influence, and the team's weakness when overrun in midfield, it surprising that more teams don't man-mark Liverpool's captain - or at least put him under constant pressure - in a bid to take him out of the game. Manuel Pellegrini is a shrewd manager, however, and I'm sure he'll have some kind of plan along those lines.
Gerrard vs. Toure will certainly be a memorable battle, and with 22 goals already this season, the Ivorian will need to be effectively shackled. Is Gerrard up to it? And who should come in alongside him: Lucas or Allen?
As always, I advocate going with the strongest possible attacking team. Forget about fear - just go for the throat, and that means playing Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez and Sturridge. Yes, there's a possibility that City may target Gerrard, but the Reds should play their own game, not show fear by kowtowing to a rival team.
Author: Jaimie K
No, Nick, that's not what I'm saying in the slightest. The art of reading, digesting, and properly interpreting things properly is clearly dead. This is not an article about Rodgers' man management per se, and I don't suggest, imply, or hint that his management style 'doesn't work'.
ReplyDelete* I clearly state that I have reservations about the 'manager as mate' style working *in the long term*
* I also clearly state that things 'are going well right now'.
There is precedent for the father figure approach failing at LFC, and that came in the Roy Evans era. The players loved Evans, but some of them took the pi$$ because he was too friendly with them.
Like Rodgers, Evans' teams played exciting football, and between 1995 and 1997, could've won the league.
The point I'm making is simple: being too friendly with the players may work in the short term, but I have reservations about it working in the long-term.
lucas for me bcos he can free up gerrard when were in attack and fall in defence when we are under pressure
ReplyDeleteIf we go all out attack, playing both Sterling and Coutinho, we could end up up a couple of goals behind I feel, they are a real threat up front.
ReplyDeleteI would go with Lucas or Allen, and if need be bring Coutinho on later if we need to chase the game.
Unfortunately, we dont have experienced CL players who know what is needed at home, otherwise we could treat this as a home CL game which needs to be won.
At least we have this game in our own hands, there is nothing worse than depending on other teams to do the business for us, its a must win title game, getting CL next season is great, but if we can do the impossible and win the league, I probably wont be sober until next August.
I never doubted Gerrard would shine in his new role he's a class act. Problem for city if Toure spends his time taking Gerrard out of the game this will effectively take Toure out of the game. I don't mind that scenario.
ReplyDeleteagree with JK balancing carrot and stick is an art. Hope BR gets the balance right.
ReplyDeleteMan City is a terrific team and likely the deepest and most talented team in the league. Still, all season this statement has rung true; when we press and attack the ball, we win. When we don't, the we rarely get a good result. I say play to our strength and press and attack. The key will be Jordan Henderson. He wasn't as effective last week as in previous weeks but I hope all the guys get god rest and come out like a pack of wild dogs......
ReplyDeleteyeah. i think with £30m we can buy ricardo rodriguez. he has more experience than l.shaw. beside that he quiet young too.
ReplyDeleteI feel like you're on to something here. Shaw is part of a good Southampton attack that features Lallana, Rodriguez, Ramirez and Lambert. He's impressive enough bombing up the wing but he's rarely the guy at the end of anything. It's not totally clear if he's an essential component or just a guy who's got a bit of pace to drag defenders wide while the real talent does the goal scoring.
ReplyDeleteHowever I'm happy for Rodgers to make that call. He'll have watched him very closely and will be able to say if Shaw has the skills, awareness and attitude that will help him fit at Liverpool. We can only make general comments about how good we think he is (or isn't) while Rodgers and the whole LFC staff will have a much more scientific way of going about this.
Someone else pointed out to me that the fee repays itself over the career of the player and that's true. To pay this much at such a young age means you get 15 years of service for your money, or an additional transfer fee if he gets sold. That makes it better value. If Rodgers can be sure that this guy will be our starting left back for a decade and a half then it's a no-brainer and in fact good value.
I shake my head at disgruntled Arsenal fans. The idea that they can't enjoy consistently high-quality football just because there isn't a trophy at the end of the season isn't something I can agree with. Football is about the 90 minutes on the pitch, the actual game itself. Fans get so caught up in the need to win things ... if that was the case then most Liverpool fans will have been in hell for the past 23 years except for a brief moment in 2005. That's a path to misery as a football fan and honestly it smacks of entitlement. They should appreciate what they've got before doing something stupid and ending up mid-table without even a top 4 spot to complain about.
ReplyDeleteI think people are reading too much into it. If Wenger feels he hasn't got the hunger then he will make the hard decision himself and quit. Sounds to me like people are looking for excuses and answers when the hard truth is that football is often just about luck, confidence and hope. Let's see Everton and Liverpool stay in Europe for more than a season before we anoint this new breed of super-manager and put the old guys out to pasture. It's certainly not as easy as it sometimes might seem.
ReplyDeleteHe's very deliberate about it so I think he knows what he's doing. This is a method he's likely developed over his whole managerial career. It would have also worked well at Swansea and now it's working here. We've got an immensely qualified sports psychologist at the club too and they'd be working together to get the right blend. On the other hand I think your personal dislike is clouding your judgement and you're suggesting it's a problem mostly because it irritates you, not because you have considered it in any scientific way. Do you really have any evidence to back it up? That's highly presumptuous of me, I can see that, but if it's not true then you'll rebuke me and that's fine.
ReplyDeletenutjob site has been taken down
ReplyDeleteGetting behind Gerrard seems pretty easy as he often remains quite static, it's my only criticism of Gerrard in this position. Jonjo Shelvey did it with ease so you'd think that Nasri and Silva would be able to as well.
ReplyDeleteIt would make sense to throw Lucas in there but at the same time I look at Demichelis and he is nothing but a liability, I pointed him out for the game against City at the Etihad but unfortunately he didn't play that day. He just passes the ball straight to the opposition so many times during a match, SAS would feed off it. So, there's a case for Starting Coutinho too.
I second ya!!!
ReplyDeleteIf this is the case i would play Lucas instead of Coutinho to give it more balance in 3 areas defence, midfield and attack. Whomever controls the possesion more has a big say on this match. We definetely need to flood our midfield and control this game overall
ReplyDeleteI think this 'precedent' you speak of re: Evans is totally irrelevant. That was well over a decade ago, and just because it happened in the same club, it doesn't mean it will happen again in an organisation featuring a largely different administration to what it was in the 90's.
ReplyDeleteLook, it seems to me that you are implying his management style doesn't work, albeit in the long term. When you say you have reservations about it, that's basically telling everyone that you have your doubts about it's effectiveness, hence you doubt it will work. Besides, I IMO highly doubt that a 'short term' method is still strong enough to bring a title, let alone a team that finished 7th the previous season (!).
I don't think you have anything to back up your claim that it's not a great long term solution. With 5 games left, Roy Evans' side were not this close to the title, and had in fact stuffed up a number of chances, while Liverpool under BR at the moment right at the end of the season have the best momentum, and have peaked at exactly the right time. So if Liverpool win this year, you can't just say, 'ok, but in the long term this method won't work, because look what happened with Roy Evans' team', because you can't look at that team, as they didn't win the league, did they? We have no idea how they would have ended up in the following years if they won a title.
The comparisons between BR's team and Evans' team end at their similar playing styles and their democratic leadership methods. One key thing that BR has given Liverpool and Evans didn't is steel. I admittedly never watched the Evans teams simply because I was quite fresh in this world, but people tell me that this team has a whole lot more steel about them.
I also don't believe the idea that managers like Mourinho keep a professional distance; maybe Wenger does, but Mourinho? Definitely no, maybe not even Fergie. For example, when Inter won the UCL, I remember seeing footage of Materazzi and Mourinho having a really emotional embrace together after the match outside the stadium or something, like they were father and son. Players who experience a professional distance from their manager don't just do that! Also, wasn't Fergsuon like a father figure to Ronaldo?
JK, it's perfectly okay to be a father like figure to your players. Back here in Sydney, my favourite rugby team signed the Alex Ferguson equivalent coach of the competiton 6 years ago, and in his second year, he won them the title, breaking a 31 year drought. The reason he was/is so fantastic because he develops strong and close relationships with his players, and it gives them a lot of self belief, and the attitude to win for their coach. In fact, one of our title winning players, who grew up with his grandmother, followed this coach from the previous club just to be with him, because he's like the father he never had (and they've both gone off together again to a new club). Being 'father-like' and being 'soft' don't come hand in hand.
We always raise our game when these big teams come to Anfield .BR always seem to work out a plan against big teams at Anfield this season and i believe the outcome will be the same three points.Cheers
ReplyDeleteAre you a hulkamaniac?
ReplyDeleteJK i simply agreed with you,30 mil is an awful lots of money and not even a world class left back is worth that much atm and why the english always felt that their players is worth more than the world class? why they always made the fuss out of tiny talent shown by their players and i think simply they felt they're a class above the others? Just what do you the english is smoking over there in england.
ReplyDeleteGood say @prateek,why don't you fork out the money for a non world class player who have not even play or prove he's worth a mentioning in europe games.
ReplyDeletehaha...firstrowsports.eu
ReplyDeleteAgreed 100%. Although Shaw has definitely hot the potential to become world class, especially under Rodgers, Caentroo us a far better option at the moment for a third of the price
ReplyDeleteInteresting concept. I remember in the 08/09 season when teams tried to man mark Gerrard and all got hit 4 or more goals. Man U, Villa, Newcastle, Madrid. The only team that made it work was Chelsea and that's when Essien was in form. Now on your concept, this is where BR has gain my respect. He prepares the team per each team we play against so am sure he will change that tactic if that where to happen. LFC can switch formations and make it fit as a glove.
ReplyDeleteLet them flood midfield. I quite like the idea of Sterling, Suarez and Sturridge going one on one with their defenders. My guess for today would be we start with a diamond midfield.
ReplyDeleteWhat Keown seems to forget is that if they have players running in behind Gerrard, they still need to get the ball there too...It's all simple on paper. I bet you we will not give them an inch to pass today. Aggression like against the Toffees and Arsenal. Let them worry about US. Let's see how they handle US.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is a left back a anywhere in the world that would cost more than £30 mill at the mo so that means England must have the best left back in the world right now and he's only 18 . England will win the World Cup for sure . Saurez cost us 23 mill so if shaw can give us what surez does plus 7 mills worth extra of quality on top then its a great deal ?????? Glad your not the boss cares cause you'd end up taking us down the same road Kenny did.
ReplyDeleteGive to them nothing and take from them EVERYTHING!!! AHU AHU
ReplyDeleteGerrard has been superb in the quarterback role. Dictates the tempo, starts counter attacks and has supported our defence extremely well. The player LFC have been missing for many a season is Xabi Alonso but it seems Rodgers has found the answer in Gerrard.
ReplyDeleteCoentrao for me all day. I wanted him at LFC for a long time. At 26 he has the experience and coupled with the price tag it's a no brainier. I don't think BR would spend that sort of money on a 18 year old who has not achieved anything in the game as yet. We already made that mistake with King Kenny. In saying that I am not adverse to Shaw being at LFC but for that price it can only hinder him and put unneccary pressure on him.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, City will have virtually the same issues at the other end, especially if, as expected, they have to line-up at the back without Kompany and with Lescott deputising. We were the superior team in this fixture last season and were only denied a point or more at the Etihad by Lee Mason and his little book of dodgy refereeing decisions (loaned to him by Howard Webb I believe). There's no reason why we shouldn't feel confident about outscoring them if we put out our best team. I say let them worry about us rather than the other way round. If anyone needs shackling I'd say it's David Silva, who's guile and ability to find space is a constant threat.
ReplyDeleteIt's always funny to me to read how the English media unearth the world's best players in England all the time yet the national team can barely get past a quarter final at the world cup. Shaw, like Cashley Cole before him, is overhyped. The only actual world class player to come out of England in the past two decades is Steven Gerrard. Yet for some reason the media actually get people to believe people like Joe Hart, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are top class players. They're good, don't get me wrong, but there are about 20 players better in their respective positions. Shaw is just like that. He's a good player with potential no doubt but 6 or 7 million should be more than enough to sign him. I bet you it will be enough to get Davies at Swansea and he's just as good as Shaw.
ReplyDeleteOne of the few times I've ever agreed with one of your articles JK. To be honest I don't think we even need a left back. Flano is doing a fine job and we have Jose as back up. Why spend 30 mil on a defender when we should be spending it on another cm or attacking midfielder.
ReplyDeleteKompany and co had only conceded 2 goals I'm the last 7 games. It's definitely a plus if he is injured.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "IF we get into the CL"... ?? 😊
ReplyDeleteIf he is, whatchya gonna do...?
ReplyDeleteNice one richards mate good lad see you at anfield in summer transfers
ReplyDeleteI am gonna run wild on this blog brother.
ReplyDeleteCan I remind people who think signing Shaw is a good idea that we are talking about paying 30 million for a left back? Just let that sink in for a few seconds...
ReplyDeleteFSG is up for investing in young players I know shaw fits that bill I get that, but do you guys realise that no matter how good this kid gets we will never recoup that amount back in the future? He is a self confessed Chelsea fan, as soon as they come in with an offer he will snap their hands off.. What if he gets injured??
I'm sorry but no full back is worth 30m, all up for signing the real guy, half the price and CL proven, which btw, 30m could go towards 2-3 CL quality players!
Which is why 30 million for Shaw is an absolute joke.
Yeah agree with this, put out the most attacking team, Rodgers knows how to combat this tactic anyway, so if things start going pear shaped I'm sure Lucas will come on for Coutinho.
ReplyDeleteAlso on a side note, Sakho in place for Agger this game, better suited for containing Dzeko.
ReplyDeleteWell he's got away with playing quarterback so far but some time soon the refs going to spot all those handballs
ReplyDeleteIt's all about speculation, like a stock market it's supply and demand shaw is a rare breed a left back that's wanted by everyone lol is he worth 30 million no way will someone pay that I think so....
ReplyDeleteYeah no point with going defensive. We know what works for us, and we should stick with that. I hope Sakho is put in there too. It's a home game, the crowd will be roaring louder than they have for a while, and we'll use that to our advantage by dictating to City what we want.
ReplyDeleteWhat handballs are you referring to? Is his leg his arm?
ReplyDeleteWhat Gerrard has learned to do is to abandon the space when the midfielders press on him and drop back into a sweeper position behind the centre backs, who push up slightly. This gives Gerrard additional passing options out wide as the full backs can find space if the central midfielders have filtered in to close him down.
ReplyDeleteIt's relatively easy for a quality team to escape like this, and it is a massive risk for the pressing side to follow the playmaker into that deep position. They risk having four of their players taken out of the game with a single simple forward pass.
They can do as Chelsea do, and just abandon interplay between attack and defense: so you have those four attackers who can press riskily but who also have sole responsibility for goalscoring, and six players in permanent defensive roles. But City don't tend to do that. Their fullbacks will be sucked upfield too. This means that City's press, when they play it, will be very dangerous for them, because of Gerrard's excellence with the long pass, and Sturridge and Suarez' ability to make the right runs and to control the ball when they receive it. We've done teams that way from the Villa game onwards.
If City play to Keown's plan (they won't), Liverpool will make chances virtually every time they press high and centrally.
But whatever they do, I think it's going to be hard for City to win today. I think we have too much for them, and with knocks and injuries throughout their team, well, I think they'll find it hard to cope with our movement over 90 minutes. I've watched them struggle away from home against teams who play our kind of football, such as Dortmund and Ajax, already this season. They were lucky to beat us at their place. We are the best team in the league, and have been for over a year now. This is our day. Chelsea is more of a worry!
The quarter finals at the world cup is actually pretty good when you think about it. Most England fans would be happy to see us get one stage further but no one's under any illusions that we could win anything. 2002 was probably our best chance but we suffered with injuries and went out to a pretty good Brazil side, who won the tournament.
ReplyDeleteAshley Cole was the best left back in Europe for getting on for a decade. Lampard and Rooney have won everything at club level and like Gerrard, at their peaks, would have played for any European club side and any international side in the world. There's a danger of underrating English players because we don't like English media hype.
I've yet to have anyone show me a better fullback of Shaw's age-group in world football, though I keep asking. There are a few good ones around: I do like Plattenhardt; but he's a few years older than Shaw, and actually not in his class. Would like to hear your suggestions! Let's have no talk of washed-up players like Coentrao, who couldn't hack it at the highest level.
Oh, you said Ben Davies. I've only seen him against us, found Swansea dull to watch this season. But I'm not sure he's as good as Shaw: he's not as quick, he's not as authoritative coming forward, he doesn't cross as well, and he's a bit physically, well... he's a shortarse.
ReplyDeleteWell we've got Clattenburg for this one - could be an omen as he was in charge when we beat Manure earlier on their own turf .....
ReplyDeleteI've a hunch this game will be decided on correct / incorrect pen decisions . The passion and emotion at Anfield today has to be worth at least two goals for us . Cmon you Reds !
Can't see it anywhere...is Kompany playing or not?
ReplyDeleteagree !
ReplyDeleteFor me d battle of this game is down to GK. Depends on who had a bad days with mistake
And at 19, it makes the performance all the more impressive - my money he's back next season, picking up a good amount of games - cup games, and league games around CL
ReplyDeleteLast I heard is on the bench -they will want to keep us guessing ....
ReplyDeleteConfirmed #LFC team v @MCFC: Mignolet, Johnson, Flanagan, Sakho, Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Suarez, Sturridge
ReplyDeleteConfirmed #LFC subs v @MCFC: Jones, Toure, Agger, Aspas, Moses, Allen, Lucas
Konpany is in the starting eleven.
ReplyDeleteWon't be the popular prediction - but I think this will be another demolition job - 5-1.
ReplyDeletelmao
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! Demichaelis is a joke defender. We will destroy him. Toure, Kompany, Aguero are all jaded. Navas has lost form and Dzeko is unreliable. And we are on absolutely deadly form.
ReplyDeletethe value makes him not even worth the discussion...
ReplyDeleteIts another Carroll!
ReplyDeleteAgain you snipe at someone.
ReplyDeleteYou should take your own advice regarding properly interpreting things, e.g. Rodgers' transfer pedigree. He has not by any means "wasted big money on a series of players who don't contribute to the cause". Firstly, he is not in total control over transfers, he sits on a committee. Secondly, every single non-loan 'flop' (exactly 2 players) costed under 10mil...not exactly big money. Third, only Assaidi and Aspas can be said to have no future at LFC...Sakho Mignolet Coutinho and Sturridge have been successes, Ilori and Alberto are for the future, and then there's some loans that didn't work out.
ReplyDeleteAs for this idea of Rodgers' being too buddy buddy, you're basing your thoughts off this one article from Coutinho. Gerrard and other players have said more than once of BR that part of why they respect him is that he is not afraid to be tough on all of them, so I would say his management style is probably (because we don't really know, do we?) a mixed bag. The other thing we know, if we properly interpret the situation, is that Rodgers has gained the trust of his players. The first half of his first season wasn't great as he implemented his ideas, but by early 2013 and through now things have been trending up and up and up, and that has happened because the players trusted him and his methods and that trust led to results. He has proven that he is perhaps the most tactically astute manager in the league, and he doesn't play favorites...players get into the team on merit. He has without any doubt earned their respect and trust, and that's not something that disappears with form.
He is not worth more than £15m. An over-hyped British player is what he is. Let City or Chelski have him
ReplyDeleteRather buy Ben Davies from Swansea.
ReplyDeleteAdam Mathews from Celtic far better than both
ReplyDeleteWill Enrique be healthy enough to come back as the old Enrique? If he can then at least there will be no panic-buying a LB.
ReplyDeleteI agree
ReplyDeleteYou need to have both the father-figure and the tough approach to coaching. Some players need a little fatherly approach whiles others need the coach to show toughness else they will mess up. So I will say knowing which players need which approach will help get the best out of them. A good coach needs both
ReplyDeleteLike I said Ben Davies is just as good.
ReplyDeleteYou say Coentrao has averaged 6 goals/assists over the last 5 seasons, but over the last 3 (his time at Madrid) he's only totalled 1 goal and 3 assists. Pretty poor considering he plays at one of the best clubs in the world, and has often featured in midfield for them. His attitude has also been brought into question several times.
ReplyDeleteShaw is eight years younger, and has already had two very consistent seasons in the Premiership. Yes, he'd cost a massive sum of money, but you're buying into his future, as well as being confident of consistent performances now. If we want to be one of the top clubs in the world again, we have to take a risk now and then on the biggest talents. Guaranteed if Chelsea or Man United sign him, and he develops into one of the best left-backs in the world, we'll all be berating the club for not taking the chance and spending the money on him. We've shown that we like to do things the right way, spending small sums on talents to develop, but to be at the top again, we need to take risks and spend a big fee now and again.
Brendan Rodgers is a brilliantly unconventional manager, he almost reminds me of a school coach more than a modern PL manager. Not only is he tactically brilliant but by caring about the players so much he gives them huge confidence on the pitch and makes them develop a sense of loyalty to both him and the club. You can be a father figure to the players yet maintain authority and respect and even if you ignore our position at the top of the league just looking at the way the teams playing at the moment shows that what he's doing is working pretty bloody well!
ReplyDelete