Liverpool must be careful of doing a Spurs this summer
Rewind to last summer and you’ll remember a very similar serious of events transpiring south of Liverpool at White Hart Lane with Tottenham. Gareth Bale left the English capital for the more glamorous capital of Spain and the more illustrious footballing institution known as Real Madrid. In response, rather than trying to make one blockbuster signing to replace him, Daniel Levy and the Spurs hierarchy went after numerous players to try to fill the void that was left by the Welshman’s departure.
All told, the club would spend over 100million pounds, not finish in the top five and play some of the most inconsistent football of the entire campaign. Their dealings in the market were widely criticized as having backfired, with only Christen Eriksen being the one summer signing to have made a significant impact at the club. Roberto Soldado only managed six goals in 28 appearances after terrorizing La Liga for years. Paulhino also contributed to the Spurs cause with six strikes, but his overall performance on the season was a microcosm of the league campaign in it’s entirety. And lastly, it must be said, that Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela were all massive flops – for the amount Spurs spent, the return could not even be considered sub-par.
Will Liverpool remain a force to be reckoned with despite Luis Suarez’s departure, or will Steven Gerrard and the rest of the club be hit hard much in the same way that Tottenham were after the loss of Gareth Bale?
Fast forward back to the present day, and you just have to wonder if Liverpool fans are concerned of their club acting in similar fashion. With the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, manager Brendan Rodgers has been on a whirlwind spending spree that has no signs of stopping yet. The Reds gaffer has already brought in Southampton and England pair Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, Emre Can from Bayer Leverkusen, and the highly touted Lazar Markovic from Benfica. If rumors are to believed, Rodgers looks set to continue his massive reinforcement campaign, with the club being linked to interests in Paul Pogba, Marco Reus, DeAndre Yedlin, Ben Davies, Antoine Griezmann, Dejan Lovren and Wilfried Bony – but is this the path the club should be on?
Say what you will about Liverpool’s performance last season, but they finished in the place that they earned. While they did not defend like champions, and thus, finished second, but they certainly attacked like a side that could call the league their own – but how much of that was due to Luis Suarez?
"“When I came in, people talked about how Luis didn’t score regularly, how he didn’t get enough opportunities or take them. In the last two years we’ve proved with the number of chances we create that you can get goals. But it is not just about him. We scored 101 goals last season and he had 31 of them. We have goals all across the team and will bring in players we think can assist with making them.”"
While it is certainly a no brainer that bringing in creative players to put chances on a silver platter for others will net you goals, will Liverpool still manage to succeed despite 30% of their goals now wearing the famous Barcelona kit? Rodgers seems to think so;
Can Daniel Sturridge replicate his form from last season without Luis Suarez?
"“In the times Daniel (Sturridge) has played up there without Luis, he has shown his qualities. But the onus is not really on one player, the strength of us has been the team.”"
In his own right, Daniel Sturridge is a talented attacking player. The England man netted 21 goals last term, which was good for second in the league behind Suarez’s 31. However, Suarez was the second most creative player in the side with 12 assists, one behind captain Steven Gerrard who registered 13. Rodgers seemingly has nipped that issue in the bud by bringing in Lallana, who, by the numbers, was the most creative English player in the league last season. The argument that will be raised however, is that Lallana’s success was due part and parcel to his partnership and understanding with both Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez.
Much will be expected from Rickie Lambert (left) and Adam Lallana (right), while Emre Can is seen as a long-term replacement for Steven Gerrard.
The good news, as you are all aware of, is that Lambert has come to Anfield with Lallana, but the problem now arises of what to do with the starting XI. Add to the mix the fact that Liverpool already have Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho on the books, both of whom has brilliant seasons for the club last year, but the club also brought in Lazar Markovic, and a talent such as him will need significant time on the pitch else the move for him will have been for naught.
There is no argument against having quality in depth for a club that now wants to not only continue their challenge for the league title, but will be aggressive in their dealings with the Champions League, Carling Cup and the FA Cup. However, Liverpool and Rodgers are running the risk of compromising the cohesion going forward that made them one of the deadliest attacking sides in the country.
Brendan Rodgers may be playing with fire this summer – too many signings in may see Liverpool’s vaunted attack regress in its effectiveness
One can assume that Lambert and Lallana will want to be used in tandem as much as possible, and with Lambert far less interchangeable going forward than Suarez was, will that mean Sturridge will be deployed on the wing more often than not? What does all this mean for Sterling, will he be subjected to coming in off the bench for the majority of his appearances? What about Coutinho and Markovic as well, how will this effect the pair of them?
On paper, Liverpool are arguably even more deadly than when they had Suarez. Their attacking options put them right up there with City and Chelsea, and surely (for now) better than Arsenal and United, but will it all come together? Will Rodgers be able to pull another tactical masterstroke and get all of these players on the same wavelength, or will it all come crashing down? Should he have kept faith in Sturridge and Sterling, and brought in one marquee attacking signing that would have been supported by additional role players?
Time will certainly tell if Rodgers will be able to mastermind Liverpool’s options into another deadly attacking force, but unless the club wants to go the way of Tottenham last season, Rodgers may want to scuttle his recruitment of attacking players before he’s left with a few options too many – after all, to find form and keep it, not only do you have to constantly play, but too much squad rotation will never end in consistent quality performances.