Liverpool's lack of mobility and pace in midfield has been cruelly exposed on several ocaisions this season, most notably against Spurs, Norwich and Swansea. However, against Chelsea last Sunday, there were no such problems, and former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie believes that Kenny Dalglish has now come up with an effective strategy to address the the midfield mobility issue.
The Swansea game in particular was unconformable to watch - Liverpool's midfield was completely overrun at times, and the lack of pace in the team was painfully apparent. What made the difference against Chelsea though?
Speaking on LFC TV, Gillespie observed:
"I think the difference was Craig Bellamy. He was dropping back into that middle area of the pitch to give Liverpool an extra man. They didn't have that extra man in the middle, and they got outplayed against Swansea in that area.
"I think Kenny has learned from that, and he's dropped Bellamy back in there. It was a far more composed performance. Everybody looked comfortable with the ball, and knew exactly what they were doing.
"That extra presence and mobility in there and that little bit of sharpness helped the midfield no end, and it also helped Luis Suarez close down Chelsea's defenders
I would agree with Gillespie here. In the second half, Bellamy was shunted out to the left, and the team lost that pace, mobility and sharpness in midfield. Chelsea capitalised on the extra space, and the game turned in their favour.
Liverpool's advantage was restored though when Jordan Henderson entered the fray; he did a similar job to Bellamy, and added extra bite and mobility in a crucial area of the pitch.
It seems clear that when Lucas and Adam play together in midfield, Liverpool need someone like Bellamy in the team to complement them, and I hope Kenny sticks with his new strategy in the coming weeks.
Jaimie Kanwar
The Swansea game in particular was unconformable to watch - Liverpool's midfield was completely overrun at times, and the lack of pace in the team was painfully apparent. What made the difference against Chelsea though?
Speaking on LFC TV, Gillespie observed:
"I think the difference was Craig Bellamy. He was dropping back into that middle area of the pitch to give Liverpool an extra man. They didn't have that extra man in the middle, and they got outplayed against Swansea in that area.
"I think Kenny has learned from that, and he's dropped Bellamy back in there. It was a far more composed performance. Everybody looked comfortable with the ball, and knew exactly what they were doing.
"That extra presence and mobility in there and that little bit of sharpness helped the midfield no end, and it also helped Luis Suarez close down Chelsea's defenders
I would agree with Gillespie here. In the second half, Bellamy was shunted out to the left, and the team lost that pace, mobility and sharpness in midfield. Chelsea capitalised on the extra space, and the game turned in their favour.
Liverpool's advantage was restored though when Jordan Henderson entered the fray; he did a similar job to Bellamy, and added extra bite and mobility in a crucial area of the pitch.
It seems clear that when Lucas and Adam play together in midfield, Liverpool need someone like Bellamy in the team to complement them, and I hope Kenny sticks with his new strategy in the coming weeks.
Jaimie Kanwar
I just watched the match back on Chelsea TV and it was shocking what they were saying about Liverpool through the whole match and Johnson's goal was called a tap in..I really love beating Chelsea what a joke they are.. Liverpool are in a class of the greatest clubs ever Chelsea are nothing but bought $hite and they know it...
ReplyDeleteGod that Swansea game was horrible to watch, they were so much better than us all over the pitch
ReplyDeleteTo be fair they outplayed Man Utd for most of the game last weekend. Nathan Dyer is well tasty. He gave Enrique more problems than any other player this season and gave Evra all sorts of trouble too.
ReplyDeleteGiven our abject lack of pace I'd love to see those transfer rumours to Anfield confirmed in January. He won't cost us anything like the obscene amount spent on Downing.
Yeah sure......we all know what happens when Liverpool are in for someone....price inflation
ReplyDeleteLiverpool are on a 9 game unbeaten run and on the up big-time, I see us playing well from here on in!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe need the best midfielders in the EPL to be a success. Squad players will not do the job as the season progresses. If need be look out for the best available. Lucas is still not good enough.
ReplyDeleteLucas still not good enough for you?
ReplyDeleteYeah, and with that kind of non-sense you're still not good enough to support a club like Liverpool.
Go and find yourself a new club with better midfielders etc...
I see your name frequently on these blogs and everytime you have it in for Lucas. He is the least of our problems, and is actually a decent player.
ReplyDelete