Liverpool will not repeat last term’s success…
SEE MORE:
Balotelli beds Eglantine Flore Aguilar: Reds striker beds French mistress
Liverpool 1-1 Everton highlights: Watch the goals, here
Barcelona Sterling: Los Cules want wonderkid
6) Teams are man-marking Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard excelled during the 2013/14 campaign in the deep-lying playmaker position. He picked up the ball at the base of midfield, and could spray beautiful long passes, or shorter zipped ones at will. Having watched the success of this, Liverpool’s opponents are closing down the captain quickly, even when he has the ball in his own half. It’s led to a series of poor individual performances.
5) Other sides now press and hassle Liverpool, just like Liverpool did so ruthlessly last term
Pressing and aggressive defending is not a new concept, but Liverpool totally epitomised it last term. It set the catalyst for their game tempo, and frightened their opponents. Now though, the Reds are essentially being beaten at their own game. West Ham and Aston Villa have already pressed Liverpool to death, meaning the Reds couldn’t maintain possession, or create any chances.
4) The switch of focus from counter attack to possession football
In Brendan Rodgers’ first season, Liverpool nearly always finished the game with higher percentage statistics than their opponents, but they ended up seventh in the table. Last term, possession was put on the back burner, with the Reds making goalscoring a priority instead! Strangely, there is now little spark or magic in the final third – and while Liverpool pass the ball around the back, completing some nice triangles in midfield too – they’re simply not creating chances – like they were last term when they let the opposition have the ball and explosively counter attacked.
3) The time it will take for the new signings to gel
Adam Lallana is improving, Lazar Markovic is still very young and Alberto Moreno has been largely good. But with Dejan Lovren’s inconsistency, Emre Can’s injury, Mario Balotelli’s lack of goals and Rickie Lambert’s worryingly poor start – the £120m plus Rodgers spent in the summer is looking very expensive. While the new guys are talented, none have hit the ground running – and to keep up with Chelsea and Manchester City, they would have needed to.
2) There’s no way Liverpool will be as lucky with injuries this time around
With a tiny squad, Liverpool picked almost the same starting XI every match (in the second half of the season especially) last campaign, and won most of their matches to boot. This bred unity, fluidity and on-field relationships – but with an early injury to Daniel Sturridge, and the addition of Champions League football, this will just be impossible this time around.
1) No Luis Suarez
There’s no amount of money that could really have replaced what Luis Suarez brought to Liverpool last term. 31 Premier League goals and a batch of assists and game winning contributions fired the Reds to within touching distance of title glory. Any team would miss a player of his stature, especially in the inspirational form he found in 2013/14. Mario Balotelli, sadly, is not in his league.
