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Attacking Midfielder – Check; Central Defender – Check; Full backs – Check; Striker – ?; and therein lies the problem. After a summer when much talk has been about Suarez moving to Barcelona and the biting incident. The harsh reality is that Liverpool is still short on strikers and after a season in which Liverpool plundered 101 goals, it is become increasingly necessary for them to address this vacuum.
A quick recap of the previous seasons when Liverpool had only one striker on their books. That was a couple of seasons back when Andy Carroll was loaned out to West Ham and Borini didn’t live up to his potential. Result – Liverpool finished 7th that season thus missing out on Europe all together. That was Brendan Rodgers innaugral season and Liverpool finished seventh that season. Realizing his folly, Rodgers went about constructing a team which would maximize Suarez’s attacking threat. Last season we saw the effects of that and a blooming partnership with Sturridge helped Liverpool run Manchester City close in the title race.
New Summer, New Plans
As soon as the transfer window opened this summer, it was not a question of “When” but “How much Suarez would go for?”. In the end 76 million dollars looks a tidy bit of business. The summer has been fruitful in the shape of Can, Lallana, Lambert and Markovic. But if there is one name missing that is of an out and out goal poacher. The struggle against Southampton signified the uphill task facing Liverpool.
Although clinical, it was the lack of that spark needed in the final third which doesn’t augur well for a Liverpool side. As it is, Loic Remy’s failed move and the lack of world class strikers in the transfer market has caused a lot of headache for the Reds boss.
The strikers that they have been linked with are Falcao, Lavezzi, Cavani, Destro and Eto’o. But as of now nothing concrete has emerged. So where do Liverpool go from here? With the acquisition of attacking midfielders along with the present midfielders, Liverpool can actually play to the strengths of Sturridge. The ideal formation would be 4-2-3-1 i.e. Moreno/Enrique/Flanagan, Skrtel/Sakho/Lovren, Johnson – Defense; Can and Henderson – Defensive Midfielder; Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic/Lallana – Attacking Midfielder; Sturridge – Striker.
While there are glaring misses in this formation notably Gerrard, this formation although less on experience would be the ideal fit for the tempo of Liverpool’s gameplay. Fast, Inventive and Incisive. These three qualities are which Liverpool need to address and that was what blew away teams last season. Understandably there will be a few teething problems and this is where the experiece of Gerrard, Lucas and Allen comes in play.
Replacing Can with Gerrard seems the most likely option to give the team balance but the Gerrard option is something which will be a factor in the big games. Allen and Lucas on the other hand offer solid passing and defensive cover.
Issues Upfront
If the team is to challenge for the top four/ title then injuries are going to play a key role. All the title contenders already have strikers in place i.e. Chelsea, City and Arsenal as well as United. An injury to Sturridge is what will cause severe damage to title aspirations, although Sterling can play the striker or the false 9 role which teams nowadays revert to in the event the team want to play strikerless.
Although Rodgers would prefer someone of pedigree, it is an option that Rodgers can exercise. Fluidity in movement and interchanging of positions will hold the key to making this formation a successful one.
While this is alright hypothetically, it is the applicability part that is going to be an issue of concern. Ideally this should be Plan C, Sterling is still growing as a footballer, so it is necessary not to overburden him. How Markovic rises up to the challenge is another factor that will be looked into once the opportunity arises. Borini has been termed surplus to requirements but in hindsight might be a good backup given his form for Sunderland last season.
The new season has commenced with the top teams already looking to set the pace, Chelsea have been electric, City clinical while Arsenal and Liverpool have struggled but still have three points on board. It may be too early to predict a winner but the lack of a striker is going to hinder Liverpool’s chances more than ever. An outside bet would be to approach Gyan, a proven player with Premier League experience. Strikers of Premier League pedigree are anyway hard to come by so if the opportunity arises, Liverpool should grasp it.
Given that there is a dearth of world class strikers available on the market, Balotelli’s name has been mooted more by the media than the club itself. While there are no official reports of a Liverpool approach it wouldn’t be a bad addition in any event to the Liverpool squad. Other than lethal finishing, there will also be hint of unpredictabality that Balotelli will bring to the team. He also ticks the right boxes from the owner’s viewpoint: Proven Premier League experience, young player with a sell on value as well. It might seem outlandish at the moment but from a Liverpool perspective why not?.
The achilles heel might be the unwanted attention and the baggage Balotelli attracts. Whether the decison makers at Anfield want to deal with the publicity and also there is the isssue of squad harmony. Keeping all these issues in mind, it will be interesting to see Liverpool’s move and who will be the final block in this jigsaw puzzle is something to moot about.
