Firsts first, Liverpool were impressive last night. They moved the ball around well and their transition from defence to attack was more impressive than it has been throughout the season. Granted, they were aided by the fact Everton deployed the toothless pairing of Victor Anichebe and Dennis Stracqualursi up front, but this was one of the most impressive displays served to the Anfield faithful in a season that has been mixed to say the very least. Steven Gerrard was imperial in the centre of midfield, grabbing the second hattrick of his career, a feat that was achieved largely due to the sterling work of Luis Suarez up front. The Uruguayan was not a constant menace to Everton's well drilled back four, but when he did manage to evade his (numerous) markers, it was to devastating effect, as he laid on two of Gerrard's goals. This prompted the captain to speculate about the potential of an attacking trio involving himself, Suarez and Liverpool's other expensive striker, Andy Carroll.
Feasibly, these three undoubtedly talented players do possess complimentary attributes that could see them form the sort of forward line that Liverpool fans have dreamt of for some time. Carroll, at his best, is a devastatingly imposing target man, capable of being the sort of focal point that players of Gerrard and Suarez's ilk love playing off. Such potential was on show last night, with the £35 million striker occasionally flicking the ball into the path of the oncoming duo, and the noted contribution of the Uruguayan in the build up to Gerrard's final two strikes. However, these signs came infrequently and should not mask a problem that has dogged Liverpool throughout this season, that problem being that they have not scored enough goals.
It has been well documented that the Reds have the lowest chance conversion rate in the division, a surely disturbing figure to supporters of the club, especially when considering that Kenny Dalglish lavished almost £60 million on Carroll and Suarez alone. Neither player has contributed regularly enough in front of goal, the former contributing a paltry three league goals and the latter an only marginally better six. This would suggest, to me at least, that neither player are suited to playing alongside one another, and last nights performance did little to convince me otherwise.
Carroll is at his best when he is the focal point of the attack, his goalscoring record for Newcastle in the 2010-11 season shows that (11 goals in 19 league appearances). However, at Liverpool he has thus far been asked to mostly act as the foil for Suarez, who in turn has been asked to play off the shoulder of the last defender. This is an unnatural role for both players, and has subsequently hindered their contribution to the team in front of goal. Previously, Carroll has been most effective when playing as a lone striker, with a box-to-box midfielder (such as Gerrard) playing off him and quick, direct wingers supplying crosses to him from out wide. Suarez, meanwhile, has been at his most menacing for Liverpool when given licence to roam up front. His most impressive moments last night was when he was allowed to run at Everton's back four, and so it would seem that to ask him to play in tandem with a striker of such different styling is to the detriment of the team.
This would appear to leave Dalglish with a dilemma heading in to next season, that being whether to persist in his dogged stance that the Carroll/Suarez partnership will pay off, or to offload one of them, which is likely to be to the detriment of his reputation. Currently, Liverpool play a style of football that is focused on getting the ball into dangerous pockets of space in the final third whilst keeping things compact in defence and midfield. Both Carroll and Suarez could be accommodated in this system, though it's my belief that the former would require greater service from the wide areas, with neither Dirk Kuyt or Jordan Henderson being natural wide outlets. There has been speculation (speculation being the key word) that Suarez may seek a move in the summer after the outcry from the race row between he and Patrice Evra earlier in the season, so King Kenny's hand may be forced anyway. If the 2010 World Cup semi-finalist were to leave Liverpool in the close season, he is unlikely to be missed by anyone other than Liverpool fans, despite the fact that he has at times illuminated what has been a drab league campaign at Anfield. Were this to happen, it would give Carroll the opportunity that you sense he craves to show he is not an expensive flop, rather a player being deployed alongside an unnatural bedfellow. My suspicion that a parting of the ways with one of these lavish signings, coupled with one or two first-team recruits, could elevate Liverpool to the top-four status that Dalglish's transfer outlay should bring.
*A quick aside...anyone that was doubting Steven Gerrard's ability and fitness going into this summers European Championships got a rude awakening last night. He was outstanding from start to finish and could well flourish for his country in the right formation.
No comments:
Post a Comment