At the moment it’s a little difficult to see where Jay Spearing fits into this Liverpool side. He’s not yet as good as Lucas Leivas in the holding role (but then who is?) and he doesn’t have the same range of passing as the likes of Charlie Adam. When you consider that he’s yet to score his first Liverpool goal (despite coming close on a couple of occasions) it’s clear that this is a youngster that has struggled to carve out his niche. What isn’t difficult to see, however, is that this is a young player with bags of talent and a big future – let’s not forget that he’s just 23-years-old.
Indeed, it’s beyond me how so much talent has been placed into such a small package. He’s been at Liverpool for 15 years now and has been the standout player at just about every level of football. It only makes sense then for him to make it in the Premier League. Which is why this stat is so interesting:
Liverpool have won 72% of the games in which Spearing has started and only 53% of those he hasn’t. His being in the first XI is clearly a force of good for the Reds.
But statistics only ever tell you half the story. Those Liverpool fans that have been watching Spearing closely this season will tell you: the boy is something special. At the moment he has been able to break into the Reds first team as a consequence of Lucas’ injury, but he has still managed to show that he has a future with the club.
The only problem he has, as I alluded to earlier, is that it’s difficult to say what his actual role in the team is. He’s good at keeping the ball and passing neatly, but he doesn’t seem capable of spraying out Hollywood style crossfield balls. He can also break-up the opposition’s play, but isn’t as good in this role as Lucas. In short, the longer he keeps playing and doesn’t give Kenny Dalglish an idea of what role he’s best suited for, the less chance he’ll have of getting games in the future.
For that reason, it’s difficult to say what’s going to happen when Lucas returns from his injury. The only way he’ll get games is if Dalglish opts for an ultra-defensive system with Spearing and Lucas deployed behind Gerrard in the centre of midfield. The Spucas combination may aid the Reds defensively but would it provide enough going forward?
At the moment all Spearing can do is keeping working hard and keep helping Liverpool win games. Hopefully along the way Spearing’s skill-set will develop and we’ll be able to better tell what kind of role he’s suited for.
Follow @ThePerfectPass on Twitter for details on all the latest updates and various football-related musings.
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.
What kind of talent are you talking about???
Spearing, Henderson, Downing ??? Joke. People achieve great stuff at 23 so how young are our players? Young is 18-20 and you can say there is a talent. At 23 you should know your game and prove your self as a player already.
Plus the cowardly tactic of Kenny Dalglish.
We are jokers man. That”s why we get our ass kicked.
We start with Suarez alone up front and no balls to serve him from the clueless midfield. Joke man. I am really disappointed. We are mediocre team lets face it. But for me is really difficult to swallow this fact. Instead of watching the embarrassment i am writing comments.
spearing is mid table standard, as are downing, henderson and adam. these guys will cost KD his job.