Assessment of Liverpool (against Manchester City)

As part of my course that I am taking, I am learning to make team evaluations and scouting assessments of clubs. I decided to make an assessment of Liverpool against Manchester City in their Premier League match.

Teams: Liverpool (3) v Manchester City (0) Goalscorers: Andy Carroll 2 (Liv) Dirk Kuyt (Liv)	Competition: English Premier League
Date: 4-11-11	Scout:

HOW THEY LINED UP: Liverpool (4-4-2) Reina: Skrtel, Carragher (C), Auerlio, Flanagan; Spearing, Lucas Leiva, Meireles, Kuyt; Carroll, Suarez

FORMATION COMMENTS

Seems as if they are playing a straight 4-4-2. Jaime Carragher (RCB) is on the same side with John Flanagan (RB) to keep him from being over awed with the occasion. It is his debut in the EPL. They are playing with two banks of four with their midfield and defending crew. Suarez showing deep as Carroll stays more as the centre forward that controls and holds up play.

KEY POINTS
General	Pressuring higher up the field, forcing Man City players into errors. Resulting into the first goal. Playing at a fast tempo. Quick passing.
Defence	Wingbacks could potentially be a weakness; Adam Johnson has been causing troubles for Fabio Aurelio, surprised that Mancini hasn’t put AJ on John Flanagan’s side. Centerbacks are doing a good job in keeping Dzeko and now Balotelli very quiet Flanagan hasn’t had much to deal with. Quite surprised about City’s inactivity on that front.
Midfield	Lucas Leiva and Spearing sits in from of the backline and gives them support. Closing down players fast They don’t venture forward often. They leave that job for the two wingers and forwards. The outside midfielders play box to box. When in possession, they get in support of Suarez and Carroll. On defense, they get back to support their defenders as fast as possible. Playing at a very fast tempo. Pressuring quickly and passing quickly.
Attack	Suarez checks deep so they can complete shorter passes. Also allows him to run at defenders which he likes to do. Carroll if possible, tries to stay further up the pitch. Whenever the defenders need to clear it up to him, they can trust that he can hold up the ball or flick on to oncoming attackers. Basically attacking with at least four players (two forwards and wingers). Fabio Aurelio has more of a license to get up rather than the inexperienced Flanagan. Quick short passing when in total possession of the ball. However when pressure is felt, they use to long ball as a safely valve and Carroll is able to control or flick to his teammates

THE TEAM
Reina	When needed to make a catch from a high cross, he did. Not many shots came his way.
Flanagan	(Debut) He was good for an 18 year old debuting in Anfield. Didn’t venture forward. Can show a good piece of skill
Carragher	Nothing too much to deal with tonight. Very comfortable performance. Being a calming influence for Flanagan
Skrtel	Same with Carragher. Won a few headers. But nothing much to deal with
Aurelio	Had little trouble in the first half with Adam Johnson. Got forward to add a fifth attacker since Flanagan stayed back.
Kuyt	Hard-working. Doesn’t show pieces of skill but he gets on with the job and does it pretty well.
Spearing	(Same as Lucas Leiva) Learning a lot from Lucas. Didn’t have much to deal with.
Lucas Leiva	Has a steadying influence in the midfield. Doesn’t do much in the attacking side but he does well protecting and supporting the back four. Closing down players fast
Meirles	Great ball to Andy Carroll for his second. Quality of his crosses very good. Central midfielder playing left mid. He wants to go further inside when possible. Still a threat going forward
Carroll	Taken both of his finishes very well. His support play was superb. Aerial ability- good. Close control of the ball.
Suarez	Lively, checking into deeper positions so he can run at defenders. He enjoys roaming from side to side also. Have to keep an eye on him. Stays close to Carroll to get on the end of his flicks. Him and Carroll seem to work very well together.
Substitutes:

MISSING KEY PLAYERS

Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson

ASSESSMENT:

This was a very good performance by Liverpool. They seemed more up to it than the City side. They were crisped in their passing. Finishing ever so clinical. Almost everything they touched turned into gold. Even John Flanagan had a pretty good outing in his first Premier League game. The combination of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll can be one of the most lethal combos since Henry-Bergkamp or Yorke-Cole. Suarez wants the ball at his field. Carroll also likes having the ball on his feet but where he is at his best is when he gets his head onto crosses. They are lively, playing in a faster pace than I have seen them this season. They were positive from the start. Chasing City defenders from inside their own half. Causing all kinds of havoc for the City defense. This performance is being done without the team’s captain Steven Gerrard. It seems that they are playing without the pressure of having to get Steven Gerrard involved. Liverpool seem different. They aren’t relying on one player like Gerrard or Torres. Everyone is getting involved rather than just a one person show. In fact, in their second goal, even though there weren’t consecutive passes made, everyone of the attacking four touched the ball. I think once the 11/12 season starts, this team will be one to reckon with. Probably a top four finish and possibly in the hunt for the Premiership title.

Drogba or Torres?

Chelsea takes on Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti (or should I say Roman Abramovich.) has a dilemma up top. Should he start Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres?

The choice is a very complex one. If it is based on form, it is simple. Drogba should start on Wednesday. The complex theory is that Roman is actually picking the squad and Carlo is letting him do this because Carlo should be grateful to stay on as manager after they fell asleep for two months in the season.

Another situation is Fernando Torres' record against Nemanja Vidic, who is currently Utd's best defender this season. Overall Torres has dominated Vidic however this year in their three matchups so far, Vidic has been out-performing Torres. Also El Nino has been off key since he changed from red to blue.

Even though he has not scored so far, Torres has started picking up some sort of form and it is possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The old adage: All it takes is one goal. Maybe Torres can find his form over the two-legged series.

180 minutes is too short of time to figure out if an out-of-form stirker is going to gain his form back. I would not trust him starting these games. Maybe coming on at around the 65th minute mark, I can see him sparking the game into life. However I would not give the keys to the car just as of yet.

Drogba, on the other hand, seems to always be frustrated by Vidic. Prime example when Drogba tries to choke out the Utd defender in the 08' Champions League Final. Has only scored a total of three goals against the Manchester outfit. He does seem to be the more in-form of the two and he is a trusty go-to-guy for Ancelotti in the clutch.

Anelka is not in the discussion because he'll more be on starting out as a right forward and be coming into deeper roles to get the ball and set up the attack. Nowadays, Anelka has not been chosen as a first-choice striker unless Drogba and Torres aren't available. Anelka should be considered over the other two, his form this season is better (he has 16 goals, Drogba-11, Torres- 9 in all competitions) and he does give center defenders more problems because he moves all around the pitch that it is possible to lose him as he drags himself in wide positions or in midfield positions.

On my complex thought: Why is Abramovich "picking" the squad? I think the Russian has an influence in putting Torres in the squad, even though he has not hit form yet. There is that 50 mil that was given to Liverpool in the deal for him. Also there is Ancelotti being grateful not to get the sack after a dreadful couple of months that actually took them out of Champions League contention. This is the same sort of form that got Big Phil sacked. So I can see that Carlo is just letting Torres play to please the owner. I don't think that is how a club should be run but I can understand how Ancelotti's hands are tied right now. He'll be back in Italy next season and enjoy not having an unbearable owner and team off of his back.

My opinion is that Drogba should start. Chelsea can't just hope and pray that Torres will finally step up his form. For this home leg, the sure thing is needed. Even though both player's forms aren't great, Drogba would be the sure thing at this point in time.