Champions League Disappointment

Greetings Kopites and Liverpool supporters.  Apologies for not getting my usual blog done the day of the match, but with everything going on in the St. Louis area combined with Thanksgiving etc, it was a bit overwhelming.  That said, let's focus on the team.  Questions abound.  Poor performances still plague a team that was only two results away from winning a league title just a season ago.  And if not for a silly penalty given to the Reds months ago, the team could already be eliminated from the Champions League.

This team becomes ever more maddening the more we seem to watch it, if for no other reason than players we try to defend and managers we want to speak up for are beginning to give us little reason to do so.  Outside of Rickie Lambert, who seems to have established himself as one of the few players deserving of a long stretch in the starting 11, nobody can put together a long run of form let alone a solid 90 minutes.  Being a former goalkeeper, I have stood up for Simon Mingolet many times because few realize the difficulties of the position if you have not been the man between the sticks.  Yet, even I could not see much reason for such a long rebound on Ludogorets initial goal.  And while some can say the ball should never have reached that area, everyone's favorite punching bag, Glen Johnson, whiffed on a header that lead to an equalizer.

Problems persist and new ones pop up left and right.  There is almost always someone who is completely within their rights to complain about some portion of the starting squad.  Players who have shown talent, disappear at the most shocking of times and those that have played poorly still manage spots in the team.  Let us not dwell on the failures of the past and now look forward to potential solutions.  The first thing that must be decided, on a somewhat regular basis, is some form of a solid formation.

I have always favored a two striker system and still believe that when Mario Balotelli is healthy, coupled with the sudden emergence of  Rickie Lambert's form, that is the system to use up top.  But that does leave concerns in the back.  People will say I am mad, but if the manager continues to play only one striker, then perhaps the team should employ what would amount to a 3-5-1-1.  In that sort of formation, I would put all the defensive chips on the table.  Play all three center backs as the 3 with Skrtel, Toure and Lovren; have Manquillo and Moreno as part of the 5 as wingers but with more of a defensive role; have Henderson, Gerrard and Coutinho as the central portion of the midfield and then Sterling as the point of the midfield and Lambert as a striker.  Personally, I don't feel that leads to much attack but perhaps it would shore up the defense.  Another option would be a 4-2-3-1 with whatever defensive four you chose; Gerrard and Can/Lucas as the 2; Henderson, Sterling and Coutinho as the attacking midfield and then a striker.  Again, perhaps not the most attacking minded or talented but it seems apparent that with the current talent and inconsistencies being shown that the diamond 4 does not seem to be working.

Another solution for this club would be to add some talent in January.  Yes, it would seem that the Reds have become this year's Tottenham, spending their millions on depth only to have it gel together as well as water and oil.  Thus some  may argue that spending more might be unwise.  However, the lack of striking options and the porous defense have to have stop gaps put in place at the very least.  Top level players are unlikely to be offered in the mid-season transfer window, but Liverpool just needs talent.  At this point, I believe many supporters would welcome about anyone if they did not have to see certain players regularly in the team sheet again.  The biggest question for the transfer window is whether Brendan Rodgers is pulling a Balotelli again or is being truthful that he has no plans to bring in anyone.

Though many are against the head man and are seeming to be proven correct in their reasons, it still seems too early to sack someone who was on the verge of leading Liverpool back to the promised land such a short time ago.  However, this team can ill afford to drop back to obscurity in the European ranks.  Money does not have to be thrown at the problem, but it looks each progressing week that training ground tactics are not going to solve the problems either.  To go into January so blatantly stating that the club will not add a single soul would be foolhardy at best and a poor judgement of one's managerial skills as well.  With the exception of the few, chesty people sitting behind a keyboard, nobody wants this club to fail simply to gain a new bench boss.  But the proof is in the pudding as they say.  This club has to look in the mirror from the owner down to the man who washes the kits.  Everyone needs to be doing a better job.

No matter what the pundits say or we believe in our own minds, there is simply too much talent there.  Sure, there are better players and players we all would have rather signed at certain periods than the ones on the team.  But these are Liverpool players and all are professional footballers for a reason.  Each man needs to look within themselves and ask if they are doing enough to deserve not just a paycheck, but the honor of pulling on that shirt week in and week out.  Right now, not everyone if they are honest should be able to tell themselves yes.  But all is not lost.  Champions League is still in Liverpool's own hands.  There is enough season left to still make a run at the top 4 domestically.  The challenge is for every single person to do what they must and maybe even a little more to obtain those objectives.  To my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving.  Cheers to all the rest.  Walk on.  YNWA.