Upsetting 1073

I thought Gerrard was quite anonymous, and Xabi had a lot of stray pbuttes. Somehow the team didn't inspire me when I saw it. Crouch does not work upfront alone, I thought we saw that in the beginning of the season, our good streak came playing two strikers in a standard 4-2-2 formation. This 4-5-1 has never worked with Liverpool and I hope Rafa will stop trying. it does sound very interesting, especially for the midfield, but none of our strikers are cut for it.

I still think the problem lies with Gerrard and Alonso. They are without a doubt our two best midfielders. They both like to operate centrally and pull the strings. The problem is, they are not good partnership in the middle bythemselves, they need Hamann or Sissoko behind them to shore up the defence. They need a tackler, which is why Sissoko is playing all the time. This means Liverpool start most games with three central midfielders, one of which rarely does anything going forward.

Chelsea have a similar situation, they play Essien, Lampard and Makelel, three central midfielders with Makelele only concerned in defending. The quality of these midfielders is not that much different from ours, (though Makelele is better than Sissoko). The difference lies with wingers and the striker.

Chelsea play a 4-5-1 when defending:

Makelele Robben Essien Lampard Cole Drogba

And a 4-3-3 (or 4-1-2-2-1) when attacking:

Makelele Lampard Essien Robben Cole Drogba

Liverpools problem that our wingers (Garcia, Kewell) are nowhere near as good as Chelseas. Neither are our strikers, especially playing upfront alone.

I think Liverpool would be in a better state had we sold SG in the summer for a pooload of money. He is one of our best players, but there are other areas which would need help more. A true RM is definately needed, as is a big strong striker (which Crouch is not). Playing Gerrard on the wing in 4-2-2 worked for a long time, and would work still, I just think he isn't as influental there, and he feels it as well, hence the anonymous display today.

Recap: to play 4-5-1 effectively, Liverpool need a new striker (no, Fowler is not the answer, I think) and a new right winger. This would allow Sissoko and Alonso to lay back, Gerrard to go forward from a central position and make the formation work. With Gerrard stuck on the wing and Crouch up front, it just will never work. I hoope Rafa sticks to 4-2-2 with Crouch and Robbie upfront, Sissoko and Alonso in the middle and Kewell and SG on the wings. Against weak opposition, drop Sissoko and put Cisse on the wing.

jussi