by laza » Wed Oct 31, 2012 7:23 am
This article from Kristian Walsh over at EPSN was for me a good read about BR handling of the game on Sunday
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A draw for Liverpool, but victory for Brendan Rodgers
Posted by Kristian Walsh
How quickly fortune can change. Within five seconds, delirium turned into despair; despair turned into delirium. The pendulum swings faster in a whirlwind. Suarez tapped in with what seemed the game's final breath, but Everton lived on with the linesman's misplaced flag. Liverpool will rightly feel robbed, Everton will feel a 94th-minute winner would have been robbery anyway. There's little room for anything but partisanship in a Merseyside derby.
Maybe not. As Brendan Rodgers stalked the touchline - gorging on his first taste of this unique rivalry - his mind ticked constantly, stripping emotion from the occasion. He had already done so with his original teamsheet: the rough and tumble of a derby game mattered little when selecting the quick, nimble, easily-devoured Suso. The 18-year-old did not hide, but he was given a hiding, Everton departing from the niceties that marked their early-season form and turned the game into a battle. They needed to.
Liverpool were impressive in the first 20 minutes, with Rodgers refusing to compensate for derby day necessities. They kept to the style so prevalent throughout Rodgers' tenure so far, though seemed happy to allow Everton have the ball before striking them ferociously on the counter attack. Whether that was down to design or Everton's frantic style is up for debate. But with each passing minute, confidence grew amongst Liverpool; within 20 minutes, they were 2-0 up. Rodgers had mainly stuck to his principles, a two-goal lead just reward.
But then the Merseyside derby became a derby game. Liverpool's recycling of the ball waned, constantly giving away possession under the pressure of Everton. Leon Osman dealt a body blow, before Steven Naismith had Liverpool against the wall. This was no longer a tactical game of chess-boxing, but a bar-room brawl. Liverpool, with youngsters such as Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling and Suso making their debuts against Everton, didn't look to have the experience to leave unscathed. They were not helped by their team-mates either. The midfield three of Liverpool were completely overran by Everton's compact five-man effort, with Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard struggling to find that sought-after control, while Joe Allen looked to do the role of five.
Enter Rodgers at half-time. The corner man cannot do much as the fight is taking place; once the round ended, his time had come. Now was not the time for partisanship. One of the major criticisms of Rodgers' time at Anfield so far is this infamous lack of a ‘Plan B', which is usually six foot three and sports a ponytail. What followed in the second half was far better than long balls to the head of Andy Carroll.
"Rodgers is said to be far too inflexible. Not so. At Reading, when his 4-3-3 system failed to gain the desired results, he moved to a 4-4-2 with orthodox wingers. At Goodison, he bent expectation, and with it the course of the game. He moved to a three-man central defence, with four midfielders ahead, the two wide players acting as wing backs when needed. Further forward were three skillful players: Jonjo Shelvey, who replaced Sahin at half-time, Sterling and Suarez. Liverpool were better. They gained control in the midfield once more. The introduction of Sebastian Coates gave Joe Allen help in combatting the Belgian battering ram Marouane Fellaini, and also allowed Allen to have the ball at his wondrous feet and look to drive forward.
The second-half was not a vintage display from Liverpool, admittedly, and still resides a good few strides from where Rodgers wants his side to be - but such bravery from him at half time is to be commended. His managerial style on Sunday was akin to Daniel Agger's performance in defence, both facing every difficulty and moving it away from safety.
Most would have decided to take the struggling Sterling off after his yellow card, with the 17-year-old's performance clearly hampered by the thought of a red card. Instead, Rodgers moved him central, away from the hard shoulder brutality, and offered him a free role bereft of defensive duty. It was good man-management, showing Sterling he trusted him to still perform his duty. That he did.
Most would have allowed half time to pass without incident, sending his team out for 15 minutes and gauging how the rest of the second half would proceed. Instead, Rodgers grabbed the initiative by the throat, seizing control from his Everton counterpart David Moyes. It is telling that Moyes took 25 minutes to respond to Rodgers' move, by which time the complexion of the board had changed.
But most importantly, most would have panicked in the midst of the pendulum swinging violently in the whirlwind of a local derby and attempt to match them blow-for-blow. Rodgers was clever, he was an incorrect decision from pulling it off successfully as Suarez stole in with less than a minute remaining.
But even in a 2-2 draw comes his own personal victory, an epochal moment of some sort. Rodgers finally had the moment where his decision-making changed a game. This was not as simplistic as bringing on the winner goalscorer in a game; this was shaking up the landscape, against the run of play, in his first Merseyside derby. It showed he has a tactical brain, and the testicular fortitude to use it. If he wants to make Liverpool successful again, and retain the faith of the supporters, he needs that in abundance. This, in his first real test of that, wasn't a bad start at a
Forever Red in this life and the next
