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The northwest derby between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC is more than just another derby. It’s all about power and asserting one’s dominance on another. Manchester United yet again asserted their domination over Liverpool in the Premier League era by claiming yet another emphatic win over their arch rivals. They totally outplayed Liverpool in the first half and just when it looked like the Reds might be able to pull off a draw, they held on to win the match. I do not intend to discuss the details of the match, rather I wish to discuss the way forward for Liverpool.
The once mighty Reds have had a rollercoaster season so far. They have had a few emphatic wins accompanied by some terrible losses. They have dropped 15 points at home in the Premier League alone. So what do Liverpool need to do to get back to their previous form?
Have faith in the Youth Policy
Liverpool FC have been showing a great intent in developing young players. Last few years have seen the arrival of talented youngsters like Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey and Sebastian Coates. It has also seen the likes of Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly making it to the first team. While it might be glamorous to buy a player at 35 million pounds, it makes sense to buy them cheap and help them develop as per the needs of the club. At the moment, Liverpool’s youngsters are learning. They are experiencing the life of a Premier League footballer and that isn’t very easy. As time passes, they are sure to get better with their experience. Liverpool are on the right track, they need to have belief that their youth policy is going to pay dividends in the long run. It is equally important for the club to let the fans know of the club’s mission and how the youth policy plays a major role in helping the club achieve its mission.
Do not go the BCCI way
Hailing from India, I have watched a lot of cricket. At the moment the Indian cricket team, like Liverpool, is in a transition period. The BCCI has gone in for a youth policy. They are handing out Test caps to young potential performers in place of the established proven performers. In this period of transition, Liverpool need to acknowledge that experience plays a great part in a team’s performance. Just because a player isn’t in the range of 18-23 doesn’t mean he can’t be signed. Do not follow the BCCI. Assess how many years of good football the player has left in him and then go for the buy. Imagine you are a 17-year-old kid playing in the Merseyside derby. You are going to be wrecked with the intensity of the game. No matter how good you are, experience always matters. A good team needs to have the right mix of youth and experience. Liverpool need to make sure that they do not commit the same mistake that the BCCI is making and give due respect to experience while believing in their youth policy.
Give Brendan Rodgers adequate time
A good manager looks at the long run. Brendan has time and again told us that Liverpool will eventually get back to its old ways. Liverpool FC need to give him time to build his team. He has been at the job only for a few months. He will need time to get us back to where we were before. Changing a manager not only destabilises the team as players move in and out, it also hits the club financially. Brendan is the right man at the right place. He is young and will relish the challenge that he has been presented with. The Kop as well as the owners of Liverpool need to give him adequate time. More than the owners, it is the duty of the Kop to understand the vision of Rodgers and help him in achieving his goals. Get behind the manager. He is only 39 , he is learning and he is one for the future. He might have a few bad days like the one he had against United but the Kop needs to understand that he is after all human. Let him make a few mistakes. He is sure to learn from his mistakes.
Renovation Of Anfield must be hurried
The football world today moves in a vicious circle. You need to be financially strong to sustain top players and you need good crowds to get the money. And guess what brings the crowd? A team with good players. It is a vicious circle and revenues from tickets have become more important. Had I written this article 4 months back, I would have preferred that Liverpool move into a new stadium. The club has already announced that it isn’t going to build a new stadium. It has decided to renovate Anfield. Now that the plan has been put into place, better hurry up the process. Having a renovated stadium will enable the club to earn more match day revenue. Liverpool are a club with a huge fan base and it must not be a problem to fill up a 65000 capacity stadium. Building a new stadium would have led to even higher revenues but it also has certain issues and renovating Anfield looks to be the perfect thing for the club. Now we can only hope that the club moves fast and gets the work done.
Acknowledge the Demand and Supply principles
Liverpool have been outmanoeuvred in the last two transfer windows. They have failed to sign a lot of players while making some bad deals. What the club needs to understand is that if it goes after every player in the world, obviously the world is going to charge you high fees as it knows that you are so desperate to sign somebody up. We understand that a lot of talk is only rumour but the club needs to make sure that it is not behind many players at once. In the window we signed the big Andy, we sold Torres and bought Carroll on the final day of the window. I would rather not speak on the failure of both these players to live up to their price. After all, both were overrated. In the last window, it was again Andy but this time he was going out and Dempsey was due to come in. Yet again in a false move, Liverpool floundered, letting Andy go and not signing Dempsey. Simple reason – Fulham knew they were desperate for a striker. The demand was high and supply low. How can you then expect the prices to be low? Stay smart in the transfer market as it can make or break a team. Moreover, learn from the past and understand the Demand and Supply can alter the prices off a player in a huge manner
