100% agree with everything here. And yes, we don't have the luxury to spend half the season looking for the right formation again. Either Rodgers will get it right away or he'll go.
Your line up away to Stoke..
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100% agree with everything here. And yes, we don't have the luxury to spend half the season looking for the right formation again. Either Rodgers will get it right away or he'll go.
Even if Firmino is not fit, I would still go with this formation. Just choose someone else (based on current form and fitness) to partner Benteke: Ings, Origi or even Lallana. It will not be ideal, but still a lot better than going with the half-baked 4-2-3-1 approach and destroying Benteke's confidence by sticking him up front without much support.
There is absolutely ZERO width in that team. We can't be reliant on Clyne & Gomez to be providing width at the cost of defensive stability.
Who provided the width when we nearly won the title in 2013-14 with the 4-4-2 diamond? Johnson and Flanagan were our full-backs.
It's not a perfect formation, but it's the best use of our current resources.
Sterling
When we played the diamond, Sterling played in the hole. This is well-acknowledged. He even played Moses in that position. So you're wrong.
He played Sterling there sometimes, he played him a front three with Coutinho behind too. Suarez, Sterling and Sturridge interchanged, roamed and gave us width. How many goals stemmed from each of them going deep or wide to play in a team mate? Its a bit myopic to say we only set up that way. We were incredibly flexible across those four positions.
I'm not arguing against your point about what currently looks like the way to go with these players, I agreed and posted something similar. I just don't think we'll stick with one set up, because we never really have under Rodgers, he wants movement and flexibility in attack. As far as Benteke goes, his perceived lack of flexibility in that isn't too dissimilar to Sturridge's. It can work.
A big of the problem with Rafa's 4-2-3-1 is that we didn't end up sitting back and hitting teams on the counter for much of the time. The players / team we had was so good that we were able to control the game and possession but unfortunately lacked the creative spark to really make the most of it. The Torres / Gerrard combination definitely enjoyed the early ball and run in behind defences though.
On paper Benteke and Sturridge should be able to play together because Sturridge is so keen on roaming and pulling out wide.
The issue with playing two up top is that we're heavily invested in floaty attacking midfielders / forwards who all need game time. Unless we're planning on continuing to switch up our system regularly (which I hope we're not) we're going to struggle to make the most out of what we've got.
The diamond is an attractive proposition but I'm not sure we're good enough to pull it off.
The issue with playing two up top is that we're heavily invested in floaty attacking midfielders / forwards who all need game time. Unless we're planning on continuing to switch up our system regularly (which I hope we're not) we're going to struggle to make the most out of what we've got.
The diamond is an attractive proposition but I'm not sure we're good enough to pull it off.
I don't think Benteke and Sturridge would be a good pairing. In a two man attack, at least one player should do a lot of work on the ball. Sturridge does do some work on it, but not enough to carry an attack the way Suarez could.
If we play a two-man attack, it has to be centred around Firmino as the main on-the-ball guy. With Benteke OR Sturridge playing next to him.
Re: the issue of game time for our floaty AMs, it's just the unfortunate product of signing someone like Benteke. It's either Benteke or the AMs at the moment I think - if we go with Benteke (which we have to), I think we'll have to abandon Markovic. I also feel that Lallana might become obsolete in 18 months.
Neither of those are naturally wide players, though both can drift out there.Sterling is a natural born winger and it was second nature for him to drift wide. Ibe and Kent are about our only true wingers at the moment.
All 3 possibly. Definitely Markovic and Firmino. You'd think Lallana as well if Lucas starts.
I think, based on the news coming out and pre-season line ups, Rodgers will go with:
Mignolet
Clyne
Skrtel
Lovren
Gomez
Lucas
Hendo
Milner
Coutinho
Ibe
Benteke
Though I wouldn't necessarily go with that.
Mignolet
Clyne
Skrtel
Lovren
Gomez
Lucas
Hendo
Milner
Coutinho
Ibe
Benteke
Though I wouldn't necessarily go with that.
Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry has told Sky Sports Live that he believes that, of all the strikers currently playing in the Premier League, Liverpool’s new record foreign signing Christian Benteke is the one he’d pick as a striker partner at the moment.
Seems as though former footballers and pundits rate Benteke more than some of our own fans.
Hope he gets a goal against Stoke and scores a shitload this season.
Seems as though former footballers and pundits rate Benteke more than some of our own fans.
Hope he gets a goal against Stoke and scores a shitload this season.
To be fair I think a lot of fans are coming round to the Benteke signing.
Those that still haven't soon will because he's gonna be a beast for us.
That wonder strike did him a lot of favours. Fans are fickle like that.
I think he's a good player, always have, but the money we spent is too much. We need a top class striker. I'm not convinced he is that yet.
I think he's a good player, always have, but the money we spent is too much. We need a top class striker. I'm not convinced he is that yet.
If he scores 20 plus goals it's money well spent. It's that simple really.
At first glance, I thought Henderson had totally bamboozled Lovren by pulling off an incredible back spin fake shot about 3 seconds into the clip. Then I realized that it was Lovren's block that caused the ball to return to Henderson. That would have been a very sick trick if it happened the way I initially thought it did.
Anyway, have to be concerned with some really poor Lovren defending there - he continued to make his big turn after the block and showed his back to Henderson for half a second, instead of just unwinding his turn (i.e. half turning right) so he never lost sight of the opponent.
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