You cannot help but find any number of doom laden facts regarding Liverpool’s start to the EPL this year – apparently it’s their worst opening since Moses trotted down from Mount Sinai with the latest offering from the Almighty regarding the offside rule… or something to that effect.
After another stalemate at Anfield against a brutally organized Stoke City, leaving Brendan Rodgers again with no home victory in the league as yet, one could be forgiven for thinking the pressure may be starting to grow on the young Northern Irish manager.
Benitez was deemed too obstructive, disaffected fans did for Roy Hodgson, whilst unimpressed owners dethroned The King. Liverpool FC, once a bastion of stability (a little reference there for Liverpool fans), has recently seen a higher than desired turnaround of managers and in today’s game where immediate success is not only desired but expected. Rodgers could be suffering right about now.
But he’s not. Or at least doesn’t seem to be. The fans aren’t calling for his blood, the owners realise they need a long term strategy to complete a holistic overhaul and even the players recognise what Brendan is attempting to craft at the club and so far all three remain resolutely behind him.
This, I think – as do many others I speak to, is definitely a good thing.
Watching several Liverpool matches this season I have been repeatedly impressed by the attempts made to build something lasting, introducing a philosophy and style of play that is attuned to skillful players and crucially integrating some impressive youngsters into the team at the same time.
Liverpool’s Academy has consistently been labeled as one of the best in the world, and yet the number and quality of players coming into the first team has been disappointingly low. This could be for several reasons, of which there simply is not the time here to discuss. However, now whether through necessity or invention the youngsters are starting to really make an impact.
Much press has been given to the progress of Raheem Sterling in recent matches and rightly so, but in the match against Stoke and also Manchester United I was personally impressed by the efforts of Suso. Suso is a player not afraid to receive the ball, look after it, take a player on and most importantly look for a forward pass. Too many players can play possession football by passing backwards and sideways, that’s the easy part – but incisive passes played forwards through opponents and their structure is the real art to playing possession football.
If Rodgers is given the time to instill his ideas on one of the youngest, if not the youngest EPL squads this year, then whilst current results are not materializing there has been enough positive moments to indicate the future could well be bright at Anfield once again in the years to come.
Yes there is a long way to go, and yes some new players are very much needed – including someone to finish the nice moves off, but with time and work I think Rodgers may well begin something attractive at Liverpool that can please fans and neutral spectators alike. Without wanting to unfairly bash Stoke who operate on a totally different budget and level of expectation, I know which type of football I enjoy watching as a football fan, and which I just get bored by.
Pass and move has always been the Liverpool groove and with a little patience the beat will be strong once again on the red half of Merseyside. Fact?