Liverpool FC Forum

[aCe']

He had a good game and to a large extent he has Gerrard to thank for it. One of the big issue with Adam is that he sometimes shies away from controlling the game from deeper areas in the middle of the pitch. Today wasnt much different, except he had Gerrard taking up the responsibility when he drifted away. Lets not forget that at Blackpool, he had a free roaming role so sticking to one position or playing that deep to recieve the ball and buildup play is all a bit new to him at the club. Gerrard has the awareness and intelligence to realize that and in many occasions he gave Adam the space and freedom to play his more natural game by slotting in to cover his position. In the second half with Henderson coming on, Gerrard for me was all over the place putting tackles in and going forward in equal measure. Its promising for all and especially for Adam because if we can maintain that sort of understanding between the pair, a midfield trio of Lucas, Adam and Gerrard could prove very successful.

[raven_g20]

How do you expect him to take control when that part is CLEARLY given to, probably, the only brazilian player who has ZERO football skills? Who gets the 1st pass from def? Lucas. Who moves the ball and controls mid-game? Lucas. Who we expect to make the game for the team? Lucas. If Daglish actually decides for once to put Adam in his place and give him the "captains role" with Gerard also in game and Maxi or i dont know who else (where is Meireles when u need him...) then we will see difference. We cant continue havin Lucas play that position. Its pathetic and stupid that no1 notices that especially the coach team.

[damjan193]

How do you expect him to take control when that part is CLEARLY given to, probably, the only brazilian player who has ZERO football skills? Who gets the 1st pass from def? Lucas. Who moves the ball and controls mid-game? Lucas. Who we expect to make the game for the team? Lucas. If Daglish actually decides for once to put Adam in his place and give him the "captains role" with Gerard also in game and Maxi or i dont know who else (where is Meireles when u need him...) then we will see difference. We cant continue havin Lucas play that position. Its pathetic and stupid that no1 notices that especially the coach team.

Put Adam in a defensive role

[aCe']

Adam is yet again demonstrating his lack of defensive awareness by getting caught out of position for the umpteenth time today... To be fair to the guy, he's not a central midfielder but he's asked to do a job there... With no Lucas in the side, our midfield is looking more exposed than ever.

[only me]

Adam is yet again demonstrating his lack of defensive awareness by getting caught out of position for the umpteenth time today... To be fair to the guy, he's not a central midfielder but he's asked to do a job there... With no Lucas in the side, our midfield is looking more exposed than ever.

The problem is that he hardly contributes to the Attacking role as well...He should get the Hendo treatment ,cool on the bench.

[metalhead]

Adam is yet again demonstrating his lack of defensive awareness by getting caught out of position for the umpteenth time today... To be fair to the guy, he's not a central midfielder but he's asked to do a job there... With no Lucas in the side, our midfield is looking more exposed than ever.

The problem is that he hardly contributes to the Attacking role as well...He should get the Hendo treatment ,cool on the bench.

He was good today, but as Ace said he can't do the job defensively, his passing was great as usual and he did cut inside a few times.

[aCe']

Adam is yet again demonstrating his lack of defensive awareness by getting caught out of position for the umpteenth time today... To be fair to the guy, he's not a central midfielder but he's asked to do a job there... With no Lucas in the side, our midfield is looking more exposed than ever.

The problem is that he hardly contributes to the Attacking role as well...He should get the Hendo treatment ,cool on the bench.

He was good today, but as Ace said he can't do the job defensively, his passing was great as usual and he did cut inside a few times.

I thought he was rubbish to be honest. He lost the ball a countless number of times and the goal we conceded was a direct result of poor play and awareness by Adam. As many other mentioned, his shortcomings forced Gerrard to sit back a bit deeper and try to provide the defensive cover that Adam failed to offer.

I still think that he could offer the side something but its getting blatantly obvious that its not going to be as a part of a central midfield duo. Against United when he played alongside Lucas and Gerrard, I thought he did a decent job and it seemed like we had a good balance in the middle of the park with Gerrard tracking back to cover for Adam when he ventures forward or gets caught out of position.

[parchpea]

Adam doesnt have everything in his locker but he is creative and looks to be positive with the ball and we dont have too many llike that really. I think hes doing ok for what we paid and has made a decent contribution to this new look side.

He has been brought in to replace Meireles really and whether you think thats was right from a business and football perspective. We made £6m profit on the swap and probably a 50% saving in wages.

Thats the way we are operating now I guess, keeping the squad lean and value for money. Pretty much all the players on bloated salaries have been let go or loaned. We have invested in terms of transfer fees however the squad has been trimmed and the wage bill slashed and Charlies a good example of that policy.

Whether we can meet expectation and keep the fine margins from a business perspective as well is another thing all together.

[tubby]

Adam doesnt have everything in his locker but he is creative and looks to be positive with the ball and we dont have too many llike that really. I think hes doing ok for what we paid and has made a decent contribution to this new look side.

He has been brought in to replace Meireles really and whether you think thats was right from a business and football perspective. We made £6m profit on the swap and probably a 50% saving in wages.

Thats the way we are operating now I guess, keeping the squad lean and value for money. Pretty much all the players on bloated salaries have been let go or loaned. We have invested in terms of transfer fees however the squad has been trimmed and the wage bill slashed and Charlies a good example of that policy.

Whether we can meet expectation and keep the fine margins from a business perspective as well is another thing all together.

Depends on what the objective is for FSG. If it's a top 5/6 finish then I think collectively we have enough. But if it's top 4 and getting into the CL then we need a few additions of proven quality. Players like Adam are great squad players but essentially we are looking like a 2 man team again, struggling to break teams down at home of all places.

I'm hoping FSG realise this and splash out in January.

[Thommo's perm]

Decent player in the style of Alonso

[damjan193]

Decent player in the style of Alonso

Alonso knew how to defend.

[Thommo's perm]

Decent player in the style of Alonso

Alonso knew how to defend.

I know

[Benny The Noon]

He isnt good enough and continues to show it each game he plays .

[Thommo's perm]

He isnt good enough and continues to show it each game he plays .

Lucas?

[aCe']

Adam doesnt have everything in his locker but he is creative and looks to be positive with the ball and we dont have too many llike that really. I think hes doing ok for what we paid and has made a decent contribution to this new look side.

He has been brought in to replace Meireles really and whether you think thats was right from a business and football perspective. We made £6m profit on the swap and probably a 50% saving in wages.

Thats the way we are operating now I guess, keeping the squad lean and value for money. Pretty much all the players on bloated salaries have been let go or loaned. We have invested in terms of transfer fees however the squad has been trimmed and the wage bill slashed and Charlies a good example of that policy.

Whether we can meet expectation and keep the fine margins from a business perspective as well is another thing all together.

While I do agree with his creativity and decent contribution from an attacking perspective, I cant help but think about all the negatives that come with his inclusion in the starting 11 as a central midfielder.

For me, the most important thing about being a central midfielder in a midfield duo is getting the balance right between going forward and protecting your back 4. Adam fails miserably in the latter. If you want to analyze his game further, you can say that even going forward, his build up play has been disappointing to some extent (fails to control games and up the tempo when needed) and the amount of times he loses possession is unacceptable for a player at this level.

Again for me its less of a criticism of the player and more a point that should be addressed by the manager. Hes an attacking midfielder asked to do a job further back and unlike the likes of Modric, Fabreagas, Gerrard..etc who are capable of playing both roles comfortably, he lacks the tactical awareness and defensive positioning to be effective overall when played further back.

I wont dispute the fact that hes decent given what we paid, but that in no way justifies his constant inclusion in the side in the current role or the decision to get rid of Meireles. The latter for me is twice the player Adam is in the CM role and the decision to sell him is right up there with the worst mistakes the club has done in the transfer market in the past few years.   

On the second part of your post, I find it interesting that a Liverpool fan of all people would talk about owners cutting down on costs. The transfer fees we paid more than dwarf any sort of wage cuts we might have made in the past 18months. Going back to your example of Adam, I'm almost certain (as certain as you can be without having the facts) that Adam earns more than Meireles who was reportedly on something like 30k per week. Probably more than double that amount. Its a similar story elsewhere as well with Bellamy, Downing and Enrique all probably earning more than Ngog, Jovanovic and Konchesky.. You could argue that by letting Aquilani and Cole leave on loan we somewhat slashed the wages but for me the 2 cases dont present enough evidence to suggest its some sort of policy by the owners to keep the wages down.

Regardless, something needs to be done about the Adam situation in the side. I'm still hopeful that a midfield trio of Lucas-Adam-Gerrard can provide the balance needed (the ManUtd game was promising) but I can see Kenny favoring a 4-4-2 in many occasions and atm it doesnt seem like we're doing anything to try and address the Adam issue.