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Liverpool FC gets ready for a challenging season aheadFor Liverpool Football Club, last season (2014-15) started and ended on a hugely disappointing note. More disappointing if you were still hung-over from a season before that when Suarez and Sturridge were hammering the opponents. Let’s accept it, these 2 made Liverpool look better than they were in totality.I say they made Liverpool look “better than they were” because though the team scored 101 goals, they conceded 50 goals as well. And this came to haunt them big time when Suarez was gone and Sturridge was sadly sidelined with injury again.Liverpool trying to spend money they got from Suarez sale on players who did not even tick Liverpool’s Transfer Committee’s Parameters and their desperate last minute acquisition of Mario Balotelli highlighted their dismal and desperate preparation, let alone the performance on the pitch.Most of the followers of the club saw the problems in open and waited for a few agonizing months to see if the club is learning from the mistakes and if the once top flight club will rise to the occasion again. So, have they learnt their lessons? Have they made better choices, in terms of preparing the team for the new season? The club has invested yet again. And this week they got what they have been wanting for a long time now. Their answer to the goal dearth problem last season – Christian Benteke.But, the Answers to these 6 Questions may decide where the club stands in Premier League table come May 2016.
#1 Will the back room reshuffle change the dynamics?
The club needs to answer whether the reshuffle in the back room help the team in changing its fortune. First team coach Mike Marsh is replaced by Gary McAllister and Sean O’Driscoll is the new assistant manager to Brendan Rodgers in place of Colin Pascoe.
In an honest opinion, the club followers have given a mixed reaction to this reshuffle, but Brendan Rodgers did go on record last season that a lack of support and/or stealth from back room staff didn’t help the club in a season where it had to deal with Champions League football as well. Sean brings to the table a mixed past, whereas, Gary was always a huge fan favorite while he played for Liverpool, winning UEFA cup, League Cup and FA cup.
Now the changes are done. What impact it brings to the team is the question that will be answered sooner than later.
#2 Can the team rely on its defense?
Liverpool leaked 50 goals last season and it was not just the amount of goals, but the manner in which they were conceded. Dejan Lovren on whom Liverpool spent £20 million never looked settled at all. He was a shadow of his Southampton Self. He made bad choices and was even physically dismantled many times.
Mamadou Sakho looked good based on his individual ability and Skrtel was brilliant at times. But, as a unit, they failed badly, again and again. Leads were given back on many key moments. It came to a stage where a Liverpool Fan knew that it’s not over until the whistle is blown, as a goal can be conceded from anywhere, at any moment.
The club has definitely invested to fill the gaps and Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez has impressed in the pre-season. But how exactly the Defense Unit works in the Premier League will be the key indicator again.
#3 Who will provide the inspiration and control from midfield?
Steven Gerrard in his heydays had inspired the entire Liverpool Team, week in week out. He not only controlled the Possession, but was an Engine for their Pressing Game. And don’t you ever forget the unlimited number of long passes that reached the right legs and the back of the net.
Now that Gerrard is gone, the focus is right on Jordan Henderson and James Milner. They won’t be able to complete their job without the performance of the likes of Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen, but the team will look for an inspiration from these 2, when the chips are down.
And don’t forget the role Emre Can may play in reviving the Energy that lacked in so many key games for Liverpool last season.
#4 Who will score the goals?
Now this is a big one: Someone needs to score goals. Literally no one scored goals last season for the club. Liverpool strikers (Daniel Sturridge (4), Ricky Lambert (2), Mario Balotelli (1) and Fabio Borini (1)) Scored 8 Goals until the end of April 2015. Everton’s back four scored more goals than them.
The club needs to remind themselves that Suarez and Sturridge scored 52 times between them the season before. Brendon Rodgers has not denied that at the end of the day, everything and everybody was tried, but the goals never came and that in itself was the single biggest problem the team faced.
So, who will score this season for Liverpool? This is what Liverpool has planned:
Danny Ings: scored 11 times for Burnley in 2014-15 Season
Christian Benteke: scored 13 Times for Aston Villa in 2014-15 season (He finished the season enjoying a great form)
Sturridge (provided he is fit): Well, if he is fit, it doesn’t need a reminder that he is a Goal Scoring Machine and scored 21 times in 2013-14 Season.
Liverpool will have at its disposal the Raw talents of Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino and Lazar Markovic and you won’t obviously forget the little Brazilian magician of Liverpool – Philippe Coutinho, who is capable of recreating the magic in the new season. Liverpool will depend on these guys to create more goals and to score their own every now and then.
Liverpool will depend on these guys to create more goals and to score their own very now and then. But, they need a Poacher to Score 20 odd goals for them in 2015-2016.
#5 How will we look at Liverpool\'s Transfer Committee at the end of the season?
Last season highlighted an utter failure of the transfer committee at Liverpool. It’s such a known fact now that the money from Suarez’s sale brought into the club some eye brow raising names to the club – Rickie Lambert at the age of 32 (though his talents were never questioned), Lazar Markovic, Alberto Moreno, Manquillo, Lallana, followed by the “Super Mario”.
With the exception of Emre Can and Lallana to some extent, most of the above mentioned, showed a spark only once in a while and that was not enough to take Liverpool to Top 4, as their lack of confidence and their fragility were exposed in the big games. Most of them never looked like players who can perform for a Premier League club consistently.
The club has obviously rested their trust on the likes of Lallana, Markovic and Moreno. How will they perform can make a huge difference for Liverpool and their own careers alike. How well Roberto Firmino and Origi work as a supply chain? And how well Sterling can be forgotten or replaced will tell a tale come the end of season.
#6 Does the Gaffer hold the key?
You cannot doubt his ability to manage the big names in the club (though you may still wonder how he dealt with Gerrard situation, but that has become a debate of its own). He brought the best out of both Suarez and Sturridge and these two literally took the club to the top.
Tactically, most of the times, except and sadly at crucial times last season (when it has been a disaster), he has been lauded. But until now, no one in the club is sure of one formation or combination. The team suffered from this last season.
The best thing he brought to the club is the kind of football which the fans admired, especially in the 2013-14 season. It was fast and exciting; sometimes the game was over in the first 20 minutes. Best thing was, they still looked for more goals!
But what plans he has to make sure the mistakes are not repeated and this team (assumingly has the potential) is able to play as a cohesive and most importantly (and this was surprisingly missing last season) energetic and stealth unit in the new season, holds the key.
