System Overload?

Liverpool have now won only 3 of 10 games, a statistic hard to take for the ever expectant Liverpool faithful. In the last 3 years, arguably the most turbulent in the clubs history (4 managers, a close shave with administration, 2 different owners, on-field incidents and inconsistent performances), Liverpool have gone from genuine title contenders to a team desperately clinging to European qualification contention. Despite this, there has been cause for optimism for fans such as myself. Under the iconic Kenny Dalglish the club saw a season in which spurned chances paved the way for bad results. Under Brendan Rodgers things seem unerringly similar.

Rodgers may well think Liverpool can outplay and out pass any team in the league, and they have indeed shown that more often than not. However, if the personnel is not there to turn the dominance into points then should the system that he swears by still be implemented? The worry is that there is no plan B in place to turn to when the possession and pressing football style is not working, a quick though immediately turns to the much more direct Andy Carroll. While Rodgers may not be at fault for the club beginning the season with less strikers than the previous year, despite the well publicised scoring issues, his faith in his beloved system has recently been questioned. While his confidence is admirable the results have shown chinks in the armour. Young and inexperienced wingers don't get beyond Suarez to fill the box, pressing high up the pitch means giving away easy chances despite conceding few, Gerrard plays more deeper in the absence of Lucas despite arguably being the clubs best finisher, only Glen Johnson plays the full-back role to match the philosophy and the finishing is dreadful. The only other striker in the squad, Fabio Borini, being injured does not help things and puts added pressure on young shoulders such as Suso, Pacheco, Sterling and Assaidi when they play.

This week Rodgers stated Liverpool are one or two signings away from being genuine contenders, a notion I completely agree with. Certain aspects of their game are superb, it is obvious where the issues lie. Rumours of the red-hot Klaas-Jan Huntelaar signing in January may not turn to done deals but were the club to have a born scorer in their squad then points may come on a much more regular basis. Let us remember that Suarez and Huntelaar scored 68 goals in 52 games when partnering one another at Ajax. Suarez, the Premier League's joint second top scorer with 7, is often a lone wolf fighting the cold on his own - something that certainly needs to be addressed in the next transfer window - and despite scoring goals his conversion rates are very low (around the 12% mark compared to Van Persie's 35%). While Suarez isn't the most consistent finisher his general play is sensational at times.

Players that have impressed me so far:

Luis Suarez - a wonderful footballer, highlighted by his goal at the weekend vs Newcastle

Steven Gerrard - legendary player who has it all and, along with Suarez, still our go to man. Has made more key passes and assists than any other player

Glen Johnson - in my opinion the best right back in the world. He thrives under the Rodgers philosophy and I firmly believe that if he played for Barcelona most people would agree how good he is

Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger - subject of £25m+ bids in the Summer, both have been monumental

Joe Allen - excellent footballer, brilliant at breaking up play and playing superb possession football (I am most impressed by him - often left to run the midfield on his own as Sahin and Gerrard play free roles)

Raheem Sterling - youngster has burst onto the season and looks set for a bright future. Dangerous and direct style

Fernando Suso - bags of talent but must add goals. Clearly a player with a big future

Andre Wisdom - young, strong, athletic, good on the ball (unfortunately not great going forward which doesn't suit the system but has age on his side to learn)

Players that have Disappointed me:

Pepe Reina - uncharacteristic mistakes are happening too often

Jose Enrique - one of the most unintelligent footballers I've ever seen. Positionally poor, bad decision making and not a great crosser or passer of the ball)

Joe Cole - weak, slow, off the pace. A shadow of his former self

Stuart Downing - I actually feel sorry for Downing as he can cross the ball well but no one is in the box to head it in. Last season he was on the wrong end of a lot of the 'hitting the post' misses. He must add goals to play the role well

Jamie Carragher - while he may still be a bastion of the club his legs are gone. Coates should play instead of him

So can Liverpool be a force? Most definitely, despite a low league position only 6 points separate them from 4th and it is evident that with a clinical striker things can easily change. Promised signings in January can of course influence any season and the groundwork is there to be seen. All the criticism of Rodgers system is, for me, ridiculous. The bottom line is if we had a clinical striker (RvP, Owen, Torres on-form, Nistelrooy) we would be much higher up the table, possibly even contending. The stats of chances created, possession, corners etc are there to be seen. To show how easily things could be different, should Liverpool had won 3 games they completely dominated - Man City, Stoke and Newcastle - instead of drawn they would be 4th! My prediction is that Liverpool will finish 5th and go to the Europa League Semi-Finals.