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Last year, Liverpool took half a season to get used to their new manager’s theory of playing possession-based football.
Brendan Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish after his commendable display with Swansea the prior season. The journey wasn’t smooth to start with as he had to face the heat from many Liverpool supporters because the team wasn’t performing well and also because of the personality he replaced, although many liked the boldness and the philosophy he brought in with him.
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After a dreary start they steadied themselves and got a place in the top half due to the Sturridge-Suarez-Coutinho partnership and Suarez’s heroics throughout the season. Despite not getting the chance to play in Europe and finishing below their local rivals Everton, their season ended on a high with hopes of performing better in the next season.
While other teams were spending billions in the transfer market to thrive in this year’s league, Liverpool had a very frugal transfer window, spending 20 million overall compared to the 100-plus million of Tottenham.
The 2013-14 summer transfer window brought in many changes into the side as Rodgers added depth through the acquisition of striker Iago Aspas, attacking midfielder Luis Alberto and with a shrewd loan move for Victor Moses. Retiring Jamie Carragher was replaced with the experienced Kolo Toure and promising Mahmadou Sakho.
He also brought in a change between the sticks by bringing in Simon Mingolet and sending Pepe Reina on loan to Napoli. Along with all these he sent his promising young talents like Suso, Andre Wisdom, Fabio Borini etc. on loan so that they could get the game time they need which they probably wouldn’t have got at Liverpool.
While limited by how much he had to spend, Rodgers built a squad and system able to withstand the rigours of such a demanding season.
Their biggest achievement was in retaining Suarez at Melwood when the player seemed certain to leave for Arsenal FC after his dream move to Real Madrid failed.
Liverpool were looking to dominate and play positive, flowing football last season and Rodgers now appears to have his players well in tune with the demands of the system, and has more options to throw at it.
Rodgers has built a squad that now has a number of creative and goal-scoring threats in Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Iago Aspas and Victor Moses with Alberto, Ibe and Sterling lending support and defensive stability to Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure, Mahmadou Sakho and his side-backs.
As clearly told by the man himself, Liverpool FC’s main aim this time will be to finish in one of the top four positions and to win every other trophy possible. Even after the reinforcement pundits weren’t happy because Liverpool missed out on many promising talents this time and failed to boost the mid-field with a defensive midfielder.
Everyone predicted that they would be fighting with teams like Tottenham and Everton for that Europa place and finish 5th or 6th at the end of the season.
When this season started no one ever thought that this club which faced a managerial change last year, whose main player was all but set to leave for another club and has been under-performing for years now could perform and fulfil the expectations of its supporters. Let alone competing, many weren’t sure whether they would be able to resist the pressure exerted by the top and other promising clubs for a spot in the top half of the table, specifically the top four positions.
But now after 7 wins in 11 games and with 23 points sitting second 2 points behind Arsenal and a point ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool have surprised many and are now fighting it out with the big boys, returning to the upper strata of the table.
One of the factors for the transformation in Liverpool’s fortunes is Suarez and Sturridge’s partnership and their hunger in front of the goal.
Dubbed the SAS due to their military-like ruthlessness in front of goal, Liverpool shouldn’t have to worry as long as they flourish as they now have a balance in both attack and defence with the newly incorporated 3-5-2 formation which has 5 players taking care of attack and defence respectively.
The journey has been so far so good for Liverpool, but they need to show the kind of mentality that allows them to consistently control opponents not only with the ball, but also without it so that they not only dominate games, but also the table. The harder fixtures are coming up their way, and it will definitely not be a cakewalk for them.
They say that it is only wise to have a look at the table after ten games. Now eleven games in, Liverpool’s goals for the season appear clearly in sight. The Kopites have every reason to believe that their beloved team can go all the way this time.
As Bill Shankly said, “Aim for the sky, and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling, and you’ll stay on the floor.”
They need to do it for their supporters, for Bill Shankly on his 100th birth year and most importantly for the name they carry. LIVERPOOL FC!
