I seriously don't think playing 4 CB's was the problem here. We have played CB's as full backs before if you people didn't have such a short memory. Carragher as RB and LB and Agger as LB. Toure was quite often played as RB at Arsenal and Sakho also as LB at PSG. Besides, if you think of the alternative would Wisdom have done better than Toure? Toure played quite well in this game. Would Enrique have done much better than Sakho? Enrique was actually quite terrible when he came on and this is coming from an Enrique's fan.
No, the problem was not 4 CB's. The problem was a general lack in quality in certain areas within the team which was not addressed during the summer. First off is the CM pairing Lucas and Gerrard. Us fans are so afraid of criticizing Gerrard, but he is at this moment with his current form, the weakest link. Gerrard's game was never about positioning, keeping it neat like Alonso's. It is about speed, strength, stamina and power, storming foward, attacking the goal, quick passes to the strikers and long hollywood passes that bypasses the defence. Now that he has lost his stamina, his performance has severely dropped. The equalizer against Swansea, he was guilty of ball watching Shelvey storm pass him. In this position, we need someone like Alonso more. Someone who can dictate the flow of the game from deeper, someone who is perfect at positioning and someone who can disrupt the flow of the opponent as well. Then there is Lucas. Lucas has improved tremendously and he is now a very decent DM. But he is also no Makelele, Hamann, Yaya Toure, or Mascherano. He is very slow and again his positioning is also not his strong suit. He couldn't read a game the way better DM's can. If his partner, Gerrard, is doing well, as in the early part of the game, he can play very well as well. But once Gerrard's performance drops, he can't plug the gaps anymore. It's like seeing someone trying to block bullets with a big leaf.
Then the so called number 10 position, which is the key to BR's formation. With Coutinho, we can keep the ball and be creative. Without Coutinho, we were never gonna apply pressure to the opponent on a consistent basis. (And to think that some posters on here thinks Coutinho doesnt do anything
). Henderson has also improved tremendously, but when you look at him, he plays very stiff. He has tactical ability alright, but he doesn't have the smoothness and speed of thinking as Coutinho. He has the capability to chase down balls, run with the ball, and score the occassional goal. But his creativity is lacking and his final pass is also lacking in quality.
Then there is the other weaker position which is Aspas. Aspas is not useless but I don't think he is the right personnel to play a wide forward role, not in the premier league anyway. With goals only coming from Sturridge, Sturridge needs to play central and this leaves Aspas having to play out of position most of the time, and this leaves him in an awkward position. I actually do like his play. Sturridge is often found guilty of not finding Aspas, who had ran into good positions. To me he is more a fox in the box, but with Sturridge playing as the main striker, the partnership between him and Sturridge is not working.
To me, Moses is actually a very good fit to the team and I hope we make his transfer permanent. We are really lacking a wide right foward and a more athletic and strong DM in the center if we want to play Gerrard. Right now I would probably play Henderson where Gerrard is playing now and stick Gerrard out right. When Suarez comes back he can play in the hole. I see BR's system more of a 4-5-1 than the pure 4-3-3 than chelsea used to play under Mourinho.
Mignolet
Johnson Skrtle Agger/Sakho Sakho/ Enrique
Henderson Lucas
Gerrard Suarez Moses
Sturridge
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 11:24 pm
