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The
long-running saga that is Charlie Adam’s transfer to Liverpool appears to be all-but
completed which has led many to wonder how Kenny Dalglish is going to fit
all of his midfielders into one starting eleven and still have room for
strikers and defenders, and maybe even a goalkeeper.
Clearly,
the answer to that question is that Dalglish isn’t going to play every single
one of his midfielders - he’s bought
Jordan Henderson because he’s an exciting prospect for the future; Lucas
Leiva has become a vital part of the team; Jay Spearing is also an exciting
talent and is an added option in midfield; Adam
is a fine creator of chances and had a good season with Blackpool in the Premier
League last year; and Steven Gerrard is.. well, Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool
have also been linked with a variety of wingers, most predominately Aston
Villa’s Stewart Downing, Juan Mata of Valencia and Wigan’s Charles
N’Zogbia. The latest buzz, though, is that the Anfield club have had two
bids for Downing rejected by his club – the
second one amounting to around £18 million – which could lead the club to
focus their attention on highly-rated Mata,
also a target for Arsenal.
On
their way out of Liverpool – because the Reds are allowing other clubs to own midfielders – are, apparently, Raul
Meireles, Joe Cole, Alberto Aqualini and Christian Paulsen, although I,
personally, would keep Meireles because a) he was one of their best
players last season, mainly under Dalglish, and b) because it’s an extra
option in midfield; he can play defensively but bursts forward too.
Even
if the Portuguese midfielder does leave, though, Liverpool will have plenty of
opportunities to rotate their squad, which can only be a good thing - as long
as they keep the players happy, of course.
Last
season, Dalglish preferred to play four in defence, although he did experiment
with three at the back against Stoke (2-0 win), Chelsea (1-0 win) and West Ham
(3-1 loss). For now, we’ll consider the following as the preferred back-line:
This could obviously change, i.e. Martin
Skrtel could come in for either Jamie Carragher or Daniel Agger, while Fabio
Aurelio could be the preferred choice at left-back (although, that’s doubtful,
and Liverpool
are being linked with Newcastle’s left-back Jose Enrique, which would be a
decent acquisition.) Agger would probably prefer to play on the left side on
central defence but the above is just a rough idea.
Here, Dalglish has a few options; he
could play two defensive midfielders with three attacking players ahead and
then one striker up front:
In
this kind of formation, Luis Suarez is more likely to play out wide, possibly cutting
in to support Andy Carroll, with Martin Kelly bombing on down the right flank
from defence. If neither Downing nor Mata – or N’Zogbia – are signed, then
Argentinean winger Maxi could be another option, if
indeed he stays at the club.
This
formation could have many variations; for instance Adam could push up a little
more to act as a link between the attacking side of midfield (Gerrard) and the
defensive side (Lucas). The two wingers – whoever they may be – could also push
up further, creating a 4-3-3 formation.
This
is of course assuming that Gerrard will be fit for next season and will play a
major role for Liverpool; it isn’t too ludicrous to suggest that Gerrard could
struggle to get into the side if Adam, Lucas and possibly Jay Spearing,
Meireles or even Henderson perform well in the middle of the park and, with
Meireles and Henderson – and to a certain extent Adam – looking to burst
forward, an out-and-out attacking midfielder may not be needed.
Henderson
and Gerrard could be used in an almost box-to-box sense here, with Lucas
covering and the two wingers supporting Carroll:
An ever-so-slightly more conservative approach would be to play one defensive midfielder, three across the midfield and then two up front:
Either
Gerrard or Lucas could be replaced by Adam here, depending on how attacking
Dalglish wants to be, while Henderson could also play on the right side of
midfield.
Dalglish
could also play a slightly more basic 4-4-2, which could see Suarez play in
behind Carroll or, as above, alongside him:
Again,
Downing can be replaced by any winger, and maybe Adam could come in instead of
Lucas for a more attacking approach. Many people have questioned Dalglish for
spending around £28 million on midfielders who could well spend most of their
time on the bench. Firstly, transfer
fees are meaningless, especially to a club (or, owner) with so much money
and secondly, to reiterate – it’s another set of options and it’s another couple
of players to help Liverpool compete in the various competitions they’ll be
involved in this season and, hopefully more, next season, as a European spot
must surely be the aim for the coming season.
A
kind of 5-4-1 formation could also be utilised by Liverpool this term, with three
centre-backs, two ‘wing-backs’ and wingers, with Carroll again the ‘lone’ – but
actually with plenty of support – man up front:
Here,
Kuyt and Suarez could switch wings or even play a little more centrally, i.e.
just off Carroll. Aurelio would probably be the best option for a left
wing-back (although Johnson would be more than adequate in this position,
despite being right-footed). Obviously any potential purchase – Enrique – could
also be used here.
Liverpool
could probably do with an extra centre-back, perhaps one with pace and they
have been linked with Christian
Zapata and Stefan
Savic in recent weeks (both of whom appear to have snubbed a move to
Anfield), as Carragher, Agger and Skrtel could struggle in this area but, with
Kelly and the left-back doing their jobs, as well as Lucas tracking back, Liverpool
should have plenty of cover defensively. This formation would also allow for
great counter-attacking, especially from the wings.
Dalglish
could actually take out the wingers from this set-up and play with more central
midfielders but still have the wing-backs bombing on ahead, which would
probably work better for the wing-backs in an attacking sense (leaving them plenty
of space to run into):
Here,
Gerrard would have something of a ‘free role’, with Jay Spearing – or Meireles –
doing the defensive work along with Lucas, while Adam again links attack and
defence. This could leave Carroll a little isolated at times if the wing-backs
fail to get forward but, if this is the case, Spearing could be replaced by
Henderson, a more attack-minded player. Lucas would have to do a lot of cover
work but that is something he would thrive at.
These
line-ups could, of course, all have slight variations; Dani
Pacheco is another option up front; Pepe Reina could leave the club but
Brazilian Doni
is a target, while Brad Jones is another choice; Sotirios
Kyrgiakos was recently given a one-year extension to his contract so could
feature at the back.
These
are only rough – i.e. not precise and by no means complete given that Liverpool
seem to be linked with a new player every day – guidelines for Liverpool’s
system next season. It is clear that Liverpool have lots of options, with not
only different formations available to Dalglish but also multiple players
available to play in the same position.
The
only problem will be keeping certain players happy as they are forced to take a
seat on the bench – but Dalglish is renowned for his people skills. Liverpool’s
rotation policy is going to be fascinating to watch, as an outsider, next
season.
Images
from This11.com.
