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comparison between Liverpool FC and their rivals' current squads. By Red Rum
22 Jul 2013 16:40:24
Below is a brief comparison between Liverpool FC and their rivals' current squads and also a short analysis of where we need to improve to achieve success.
--------------------------LIVERPOOL FC--------------------------------
------------Mignolet----------------------------------Jones---------------
Johnson-Skrtel-Agger-Enrique---------Kelly--Coates--Toure--Robinson
--------Gerrard-Lucas---------------------------Allen-Henderson--------
Downing----Suarez----Coutinho----------Aspas-----Alberto-----Sterling
------------Sturridge----------------------------------Borini--------------
---------------------------CHELSEA FC----------------------------------
-----------Cech-----------------------------------Schwarzer--------------
Azpi'---Luiz--Cahill---Cole-----------Wallace--Ivanovic--Terry--Bertrand
------Essien-Lampard--------------------------Mikel-Ramires------------
Mata-----Oscar----Hazard--------------Schurrle----------De.Bruyne----
----------Torres---------------------------------Lukaku---Ba------------
---------------------MANCHESTER UNITED---------------------------
----------De Gea---------------------------------Lindergaard------------
Rafael-Evans-Vidic-Evra------------Varela-Smalling-Ferdinand-Buttner
----Carrick-Cleverley--------------------------Anderson-Jones---------
Valencia-Kagawa-Young--------------Nani---------Rooney--------Giggs
--------Van.Persie---------------------------------Hernandez-----------
-----------------------MANCHESTER CITY-----------------------------
---------------Hart---------------------------------Pantilimon-----------
Zaba'-Kompany-Nastasic-Clichy------Richards-Garcia-Lescott-Kolarov
-----------Fernandinho---------------------------Barry-Rodwell---------
Navas-------Y.Toure-------Nasri--------Silva-------Negredo-----Milner-
---------Jovetic---Aguero----------------------------Dzeko--------------
------------------------------SPURS-------------------------------------
--------------Lloris-----------------------------------Friedel-------------
Walker-Kaboul-Vertong'-Ekotto-------Naughton-Dawson-Caulker-Rose
-------------Sandro----------------------------------Parker-------------
--------Dembele-Paulinho----------------------Holtby-Sigurdsson-------
--Lennon-----------------Bale---------Dempsey------------------Chadli-
--------------Defoe---------------------------------Adebayor-----------
---------------------------ARSENAL FC---------------------------------
-----------Szczesny---------------------------------Fabianski--------------
Sagna-Merte'-Koscielny-Monreal---------Jenkins'-Vermaelen-Santos-----
--------Wilshire-Arteta---------------------------Diaby-Ramsey------------
Walcott---Cazorla--Podolski------------Oxlaid-Ch'--Rosicky---Gervinho--
------------Giroud------------------------------Bendtner--Chamakh--------
---------------------------EVERTON FC---------------------------------
-------------Howard-----------------------------------Robles------------
Hibbert-Jagielka-Distin-Baines----------Coleman-Alcaraz-Duffy-Oviedo
---------Gibson-Fellaini----------------------------Barkley-Osman-------
Naismith----Mirallas----Pienaar-----------Deulofeu---------------Gueye-
------------Anichebe--------------------------------Kone--Jelavic-------
Above are the current squads of each 'Top 7' team in the English Premier League.
Here is a list of aspects where Liverpool struggled last season and need to improve before the new campaign gets under way.
1 ) We struggled to beat top teams due to lack of strength in depth.
2) We struggled against set pieces and crosses.
3) We lacked cover in defensive midfield and struggled in the absence of Lucas.
I have set the squads out above into 2 teams per squad so you can see the depth of players that each team possesses.
As you can see Chelsea, Spurs and both Manchester clubs have the strongest of squads. You can clearly see the strength in depth that they have compared to the other 3 teams. Chelsea's second team could easily be a top 10 Premier League team on their own. Same goes for Spurs and the Manchester teams. Whereas, Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal have slightly weaker 2nd teams. Also take note that Liverpool have brought in 4 new players but will be losing at least 8. We have brought in Mignolet, Toure, Alberto and Aspas. And we have parted ways with Carragher, Carroll, Shelvey, Suso, Galucsi, Ngoo, Wilson and Reina looks certain to leave too. However, Rodgers has said he is looking to bring in 1 or 2 more players this summer too.
To address my first point regarding the lack of strength in depth we need to have 'game changers' on the bench. We need creative players who will come onto the pitch and make a difference. Imagine we are 2-0 down at half time against Chelsea. Who do we bring on to make a difference? Borini, Sterling, Alberto, Allen? They are players who have bags of potential to become world class players. However, they aren't the kind of players who can change a game especially against a top side like Chelsea. The only players you look at and think "they MIGHT get a goal" would be Henderson or Aspas but still goals are not guaranteed with these 2 players.
If it is Chelsea who find themselves 2-0 down against any team, look at the players they can bring on to make a difference. Ba, Lukaku, Schurrle, De.Bruyne, Ramires. Not only do you need strength on the pitch but also on the bench.
When you look at the strike force of each team you can see the strength each team has. Chelsea have Torres, D.Ba and Lukaku. Man' City have Aguero, Negredo, Jovetic and Dzeko. Man ' U' have V.Persie, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck, Spurs have Defoe, Adebayor and Dempsey, Arsenal have Giroud, Podolski and Gervinho, Everton have Anichebe, Jelavic and Kone and Liverpool have Suarez, Sturridge, Aspas and Borini. As it stands with Suarez we have a good quality strike force and it will be key for us to keep him if we want to stand a chance of competing for a Champions League place. When you look at the player from an outside perspective he is quoted as being worth up to £60m with interest from Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. If these teams are prepared to add Suarez to the squad it is because the can see how past his behavioural and attitude problems and can see how he will improve their teams and help them gain success. We also need to look past the issues with Suarez and keep him in order to achieve success. If we lose Suarez we need to look to another 'World Class' striker to replace him as our strike force would not be as strong as our competitors' if we didn't strengthen.
Set pieces and crosses were something we struggled with last season. I remember watching many games last season where I had to cover my eyes when we conceded a corner or a free kick because of the way we struggled to deal with the situations.
We need a defender who is dominant and confident in the air. Skrtel CAN be good in the air and hopefully he will regain his form and defend like he did in the '11/'12 season, but Ideally another powerhouse defender would be good for the defence.
Mignolet, as well as being an excellent shot stopper has the confidence and ability to come out and punch the ball clear or catch the ball from corners, crosses and set pieces so I am confident he is the correct man for the job and he will help decrease the chances of us giving away sloppy goals.
Set piece training will also be key to how we cope with these situations. Likewise, set piece training on an attacking front is essential as we failed to take advantage of potential game changing opportunities but as I say if we bring in a player or 2 who are confident in the air then our chances of scoring from these situations will be increased greatly.
We also need to bring in a defensive midfielder who can cover for Lucas and provide competition for him. We should not make the same mistake as we did last season and head into the league with only one recognised defensive midfielder. Again this is due to lack of depth within the squad. Look at the other top teams. Chelsea have Essien and Mikel, Spurs have Sandro and Parker, Man' U' have Carrick and Jones, Man' City have Fernandinho and Barry etc.
If you look at each of our rivals you will see that they all have at least one fast paced winger, who is capable of charging at the opposition and creating opportunities to score and pulls defences out of position creating dangerous opportunities. Man' United have Valencia and Young, Man' City have Navas and Silva, Spurs have Bale and Lennon, Chelsea have Mata and Hazard, Arsenal have Walcott and Oxlaid-Chamberlain, Everton have Deulofeu and Pienaar, whereas Liverpool have only Ibe and Sterling. We do not have any experienced wingers in the squad as our rivals do. Downing is a winger we do have but he is not fast enough running down the wing, he has good technical ability and is good with both feet but is an average player in my opinion.
Overall, I feel that our squad is currently equally as good as Arsenal's squad and slightly stronger than Everton's squad. Arsenal have proved they can achieve a Champions League place season after season and with 1 or 2 more additions Liverpool will have a squad capable of achieving fourth place as well. I do not however believe we are ready to challenge at the top yet as I feel our squad is just not as strong as the likes of Chelsea and the Manchester teams. It seems to me that it will be a race for 4th between Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal as it stands, but there is still plenty of time to add quality before the end of the transfer window.
I feel that before we are ready to compete at the top we need:
A powerhouse defender
A defensive midfielder
A fast paced winger
And probably another left back as back-up.
Obviously these are the current squads and several changes will be made within each team before the transfer window closes but my analysis is merely to show where we currently are in comparison to our competitors and where we need to strengthen to improve our game.
I hope you found it an interesting read.
Red Rum
02 August 2013
Insightfull as always rum...
enjoyed
01 August 2013
Great post Red Rum. Have to totally agree with what you say. My first XI would be a bit different though, as Aspas is much better than Downing, Coutinho was born to play AM and Toure will most likely displace Skrtel(but we'll see). I also think Wisdom can be counted on as CB and seems preferable to Coates. Additionally Ibe can outperform Downing at RW albeit being a bit young and should thus probably be used sparingly.
Let's see if we can bring in those players needed to strengthen the areas we are still lacking in. Papadopoullos for CB and Bernard/Konoplyanka for LW/AM cover would have me flying over the moon. We are being linked with the Benfica lad that plays LB/LW/WB but I've no idea if he is any good. We defo need backup for Lucas in case he gets injured again, plus competition at DM will only up his game.
Zari
30 July 2013
Definitely a good analysis and I agree completely. It seems we are already loaning the Benfica left back for cover - as Robinson doesn't seem to be ready just yet.
It's sad to see we leave big businesses at the end of the transfer windows though.
Only if we can get Sanchez or Di Maria on the wings, Eriksen as the game changer, Xabi Alonso back and Papadopoulos as CB then I'm sure we can get top 4 !!
26 July 2013
First i dont think chelsea had a strong squad last season. They have a fantastic first 11. Last season they struggled because they lacked depth in their squad but with signings of schurrle, van ginkel and bruyne and lukaku, i think they have a title challenging squad.
Looking at spurs second team, clearly parker is old and will only go down, sigurrdson not good enough, dempsey is more of a squad player, adebayor also not good enough. I think spurs dont have a strong squad and that showed in the end of the season when they lost out on champs league.
Arsenal is just a shade ahead of us i think. They have been over performing now for two seasons. They need a good GK, a good defender and a strong defensive mid. So it's very surprising that they have been running about all summer to sign a striker which i think is not that much of a priority.
Liverpool i'll say have over the past 2 years have strengthened their squad and also with academy players making the step up. You point out a need for a powerful defender but me thinks thats not needed. with toure, agger and skrtle and kelly too, i think we are equipped in that dept. What we need is cover for lucas and a left sided attacker (my dream signing will be bernard). Coutinho will be better playing attacking mid. Glen Johnson is not a good defender and he loses the ball too often. But i think right back can be left for a season or two. At left back we do need cover for enrique who i believe has the most strength out of the squad.
Overall i feel that we have a good squad though not as good as the manchester clubs or chelsea and only slightly behind arsenal. I think the key is Arsenal paying us 45 mill for suarez. While they celebrate their "marquee" signing and dont strengthen their other areas we can overtake them by spending the 45 mill wisely on good players.
amar
26 July 2013
Couldn't disagree with most your assessments more if I tried Red Rum!
-Gamechangers. Chelsea have some yes, I don't believe UTD particularly have many maybe nani, I believe Ferguson was the gamechanger for that team.arsenal proved they don't have any last season, as did Tottenham, everton haven't got one, city maybe dzeko who died down after his little sueprsub spell of 5 games.
Strike force-adebayor and dempsey...really?
Welbeck...got 1 or was it 2 goals last season? Hernandez...will he even get a game?
Jovetic yet to hit 15 goals a season....
Don't get me started on arsenals, or evertons
Torres if he EVER fires on all cylinders again willbe good, lukaku will need to actually play, and Ba may have been a diamond amongst pebbles at newcastle
23 July 2013
Good post mate still think we could do with another striker who can lead the line as an impact sub. Completely agree on the DM front felt for Allen last season he is not physically able to protect the defence and looked weak, I like him as a player but we need to get specific cover for Lucas, maybe Coady is the long term solution.
Anyway good post mate
Kobi
23 July 2013
Well done and thanks for taking the time to put that together.
Andy K
23 July 2013
So you think we should aim to sign a list like this:
-papadopulous centre back
-ben arfa winger
-cissokho left back
-and a defensive mid (can't think of one atm)
Sounds good to me.
23 July 2013
Great read. Well put together must have taken ages. Agree totally where strengthening is required. Seems the press do too. As players for all four areas are linked daily
Fingers crossed.
Carlo
22 July 2013
Powerhouse defender - papadopoulos
Defensive mid - jorginho
Fast winger - shaqiri/Bernard
Left back cover - cissohko
22 July 2013
Spurs second team isnt that good
22 July 2013
A very good article Red Rum. Excellent read. Thanks.
The real AG
22 July 2013
Don't see how Tottenham has strength in depth. Are Dempsey or Adebayor game changers?
From the teams above Tottenham and Everton have the worst strength in depth. Sigurdsson? Really? Henderson is far better.
Yes we got rid 8 players and brought 4, but the 4 give more strength in depth than the 8(except Suso and Reina). Also we will bring at least one left back and someone to strengthen the midfield(attacking wise).
Also just to add no team will use 11 subs. So even though it was an interesting read, I fail to see how giving 22 players make a team stronger than the other. You need just 5-7 "first team" players to warm the bench, meaning 5-7 players who will be impacting a game, not 11. The other 4-6 are a luxury and this starts to mess with the team (see City and their primadonnas).
So I don't see that we are far behind the top 4, I feel we are 2 top players behind top 4. And by 2, I mean Coutinho or Suarez kind of players. Players we know of their quality, not just potentials.
22 July 2013
Great post Red Rum,
I am of the opinion that we are not all that far behind the top 3 sides you mentioned to be honest. Given how many games Lucas, Allen, Kelly and Suarez were missing for last season. Borini's hardly kicked a ball either really. These guys will be so determined this season, along with the improvement in Downing and Henderson, I really don't see too many weaknesses apart from left back. Rumours have it Sissokho deal has been done and therefore according to BR, another attack minded player is all we are after. I feel even if Suarez leaves we will replace him with a versatile front man and we will have a great squad of players, well able to rotate in various positions all over the pitch. I honestly think we will surprise a lot of people this season. I know BR has said we are targeting top 4, but then he has to, I'm sure behind closed doors he will be saying to the squad ya know what we can win this thing. He's not gonna set himself up in public for a fall. Looking at some of the posts on this site he'd be crucified wouldn't he lol. Gotta say I haven't felt this excited about a new season for quite some time. Once again cracking post, well done Simonpw
22 July 2013
Fantastic analysts and thoughts!
KOPBOY
22 July 2013
Very good post Red Rum, i think most Fans would agree with what you have had to say, especially with the areas you have highlighted that we need to strengthen before we become Title challenges again, Enrique has no competition, Cissokho looks likely to join on loan to rival for Left back, Lucas has no competition at all when hes injured or suspended we struggle dearly Fernando of Porto would be a good addition, The winger and Defender are tricky though as i really believe in Kelly & Wisdom we can have that powerhouse in defence and on the wing Sterling & Ibe look very comfortable on good on the left so if we are to buy a winger who ever it may be must be able to play mainly on the right but able to interchange, overall i fully expect us to get a top 4 spot as i feel Bale will leave Spurs will cost the dearly & Arsenal are so unpredictably when there good there very good!
22 July 2013
I feel we need two top quality centre backs, a powerhouse midfielder but one with an aspect of techical ability, a quality right winger or a midfielder who can play on the right and another centre forward, although i am not sure how that would work with sturridge. And downing has to go, i am fed up of seeing people saying we need him because he is a defensive winger or he is a good squad player. No. He isnt good enough and is getting on, i dont see what he offers and surely is a major weak link.
Other than that, our team as a whole have an amazing ability of cohesion and understanding, so not muxh else is needed to break down opposing defences.
Anonymous woolback