by LFC2007 » Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:19 pm
Not a chance with the current lot. Two wins back to back is the most we've managed all season in the league and we're nearly at the half-way point. I hear people say we're 'only' 5pts off the pace, but that only gives us a chance IF we can significantly up our level of performance and I can't see how that's going to be achieved without significant improvements to the squad by way of new signings. A more sensible selection policy would help, as would a greater emphasis on getting the ball forward more quickly when we're on the counter and greater savvy when we're being countered... plus more decisive play all-round esp from Suarez. You would also hope and possibly expect a degree of 'natural' improvement as the squad plays and trains together more often; the cohesion that ought to bring and the chance for the manager to put into place what he's learned should yield improvements, although this may take time and might not be so apparent in our play.
The question is really whether all the potential for changes in the way the team is managed can make enough of a difference to the way we play to get us fourth. That probably means finishing ahead of ALL of Arsenal, Spurs and the bitters and bear in mind they will all be expecting improvements in their own performances. In my judgment, while there is surely room for improvement with the current lot, it probably/almost certainly won't be enough to make up for a fundamental lack of ability and experience in key areas of the squad, especially in midfield and attack. We obviously lack strikers and wingers, probably a CM, too, especially the way Allen's performances have dropped off and Gerrard's clearly not got the legs to have the same impact at both ends of the pitch.
We are also, IMO, way too lightweight. The physical aspect of the game in England counts for more than in other leagues and you can't just replace players like Kuyt and Carroll (not saying he's the answer, though IMO he is 100% better than having no other recognised striker as we do), stick in Sterling, Suso, Allen and others and, with players like Gerrard dropping off, expect us to be the kind of robust outfit we need to be to not only cope with but overcome other sides in this respect. Not saying we need big heffers. A player like Alonso was a much stronger player in the tackle than Allen is who tends to get shrugged off all too easily for my liking, and nobody can say that Suso and Sterling, for all their talents, are as good at tracking back and getting stuck in than Kuyt was. We don't need more Kuyts necessarily but players that aren't so incredibly slight, inexperienced but who do have the ability wouldn't go amiss if we want to redress the balance of the squad.
That's why I get slghtly concerned when I hear we're in for players like Walcott and Sturridge as THE solutions this January to our striker problem. Good players, improvements on what we have, sure, but I just wonder whether we would be getting the balance right if we went down that road instead of going for a more rounded option. When I think of the kind of striker that we could do with, it's a player more in the mould of Dzeko or Huntelaar, even Llorente, than some of these supposedly technically gifted types who some say will fit right into the tika taka style of play. My query is why the rest of the team can't do their tika taka thing whilst placing less of a burden on the front man or men, who can instead focus more on hold-up play and sticking the ball in the net? OK, there is no point signing a player unless they complement the team, but there is also no point in sticking rigidly to a way of playing that has insufficient regard for the demands of the league and the need to be effective above all else. I think we're more likely to get the impact we need in the final third if we go for players who make us a more rounded outfit. Those players can of course still fit in to a more possession-oriented style.
The bottom line is that if we are successful we will have had to have played good football. I for one appreciate a range of different styles, which may be played at different times by different teams and at different times by the same team. Above all, though, I like watching us playing in a way that yields results. So let's think about what works in this division. For team's that aspire to be in the top four as a minimum it isn't playing like Stoke, but neither is it playing like we think we're Barcelona without a fraction of the talent to make it work, in a completely different league where it has never been proven to work. I'm not saying Brendan's gone that far, but when you see how toothless we have been in attack, how soft we are at times in defence and midfield, despite dominating possession, and how, for example, the manager has chosen to play Shelvey as a 'false striker', rather than give an actual striker (Ngoo, Yesil surely have to be tested at some point) a chance, I become concerned that we are getting the balance wrong. And that's why our future signings will be so important. Much could depend on how much backing the manager receives from the owners, and on the market, but this decision on how the team should be composed-- and January may well be too early to judge -- more than any amount of tinkering with the current squad will, IMO, determine the success of the manager.
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