Liverpool FC Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2012/13

Be Bold, Be Brave
by Paul Tomkins

It’s obvious that passing from the back can lead to mistakes – one such error cost Liverpool the win against City.

Of course, no-one really looks at how often goals are conceded when a defence clears its lines, and in so doing gifts possession back to the opposition. As Brendan Rodgers said after the match, it’s easy to smash it up the pitch.

Liverpool displayed the excellent passing and pressing traits that so many of us had hoped to see, but in the end gifted the champions a point. Being confident in all situations, and learning to make the right angles for one another, is not necessarily something that comes overnight.

This will be wavelength football – passing as a team and pressing as a team – and that takes time.

For this game, Rodgers made several bold decisions. He was already without the imperious Daniel Agger, and then Lucas Leiva lasted only two minutes. That’s a big chunk of the spine removed from the equation.

And yet the manager still started with 17-year-old Raheem Sterling and 21-year-old Sebastian Coates, and introduced, as an early replacement, 20-year-old Jonjo Shelvey.

From that moment on, Liverpool were as young as I can remember seeing in a Premier League game, particularly in the outfield positions. It was the Reds’ youngest starting XI for almost a decade, but once Lucas was replaced by Shelvey, the outfield ten had an average below 24.

However, aside from a couple of slips at the back, it was not a naive performance in any way, shape or form. It was bold, brave, gritty and determined, with a satisfying sprinkling of skill and verve.

The start to this season, as dictated by the fixtures computer, was never designed for easy first steps under a new manager. It was almost cruel, but you need to play these teams at some stage. All the same, implementing a new style of play was going to be challenging in the circumstances. For a game and a half – i.e. whenever the Reds have had eleven men on the pitch – the football has been very encouraging.

On paper, based on the activity so far, this looks like being Liverpool’s best transfer window since 2007 (in terms of the potential and value for money of the players brought in). However, the Reds have also lost a few players, some of which weren’t by choice. It’s hard to say if the squad is stronger now than it was last season – it may well not be at this precise juncture – but the changes are important in terms of transition. And, of course, more signings may follow.

The four new signings thus far have an average age of just 22.5 – neatly comprising a 21, 22, 23 and 24 year old – and all are full internationals. Despite that, they are obviously not yet at the peak of their powers. In 2010 the players purchased in the summer window had an alarming average age of 30, so this is far more refreshing. It is based on long-term planning (although Şahin is obviously only on loan, and therefore, as things stand, represents the short-term).

Given their age, perhaps the newly-signed quartet are not necessarily ideal for an instant impact, but I believe this is an approach based on the bigger picture. Add Raheem Sterling – snapped up towards the end of 2009/10 but who, at just 17, is like the proverbial new signing – and the average age of ‘new’ players in the squad drops by another full year.

By contrast, the players Liverpool lost this summer were hugely experienced. The average age of those five first-team players is 31.5. Again, that experience may be missed initially, but at the same time they did not represent the future of the club. That may make the initial transition harder, but every game a youngster plays is experience in the bank for later.

If you get the transfers right in just a single season, it can have a positive effect for years to come. In 2007/08, Liverpool signed eight players for the first team squad, with an average age of 23.1. Five were undoubted hits; an above-average return (and one of the failures was due to a controversially-denied work permit).

After most put in at least three or four seasons at the club, including a second-placed finish a season after they arrived, six have been sold, for what already makes a profit of £20m. The two still remaining – Martin Skrtel and Lucas Leiva – are still at a good age and worth far in excess of what was paid for them.

In the next few years, that policy got somewhat derailed, for various reasons. But now there seems to be a sensible policy in place again.

It’s already clear that Joe Allen is a quality act. He has come in and looked instantly at home, completing almost all of his passes despite a wide range of executions and directions. So far he’s passed the ball 143 times and found a red shirt on 135 occasions (94.4%). Frankly, that’s incredible.

He hasn’t looked in the slightest bit overwhelmed by the history and expectation, and that’s always an important factor when players join Liverpool.

Of course, some new signings start well – possibly due to the excitement and adrenaline – and then fade away. But it’s hard to see this young man suffering that fate. He appears mentally strong, and to possess no technical deficiencies.

Others may take time to settle, and for Roma, Fabio Borini certainly fit this category. But once he found his confidence, the goals started to flow at the turn of the year. This is his third club in three seasons, and it can be unsettling, constantly adjusting and then readjusting. Hopefully he’ll settle in for a good few years at Anfield.

Borini has superb movement to get himself into dangerous positions, and while he has only one goal so far, the work-rate he offers is top-class. He frequently regains possession in the opposition half, and that’s something Rodgers clearly looks for.

It can often take strikers a while to get off the mark, and once Borini gets his first league goal, he should find himself a bit more relaxed in front of goal. Part of the curse of the new striker is trying too hard, which is probably why so many good ones start with barren spells.

The loan signing of Nuri Şahin is certainly an exciting one. It’s a shame that it’s not a permanent deal, given his pedigree, but it’s great to see such a talent at the club, even if it only lasts 12 months.

(It seems to me, from the outside, that Madrid did not want to sell him this summer. Maybe they will feel differently in a year’s time, and maybe the player will be seduced by the Kop. Liverpool are really in a no-lose situation, bar the few million in wages which, of course, even purchased players must receive. If he does well, Liverpool will benefit. If he doesn’t adapt, or gets injured, there’s no hefty transfer fee to worry about losing.)

Şahin, a creative deep-lying midfielder, excelled in Jürgen Klopp’s fast-passing, high-pressing Borussia Dortmund side, so he should feel at home at Liverpool under Rodgers. He’s already experienced German, Dutch and Spanish football, and played over 30 internationals for Turkey. That’s some CV by 23.

I remain a fan of the generally underrated Jordan Henderson (22), although he probably has a few more rough edges to his game than Allen (22) and Şahin (23), both of whom have played more football in their careers. Liverpool are amassing real strength in that area of the squad, particularly with the progression of Shelvey.

While football is a results business, the interesting part is in how those results are achieved. Rodgers’ approach is well defined, and the best managers stick to their principles in the face of adversity. This often sees them labelled as stubborn, but if they believe in a style that correlates to success, then they should work on improving it, rather than simply abandoning it at the first signs of difficulty.

Do the right things consistently enough, and the results will eventually come.