Liverpool FC

[Josedinho]

Can't see 442 being the weapon of choice for most Liverpool games.
Also don't buy that Charlie Adam can't play in a 442.

Rangers sold him for precisely that reason.

Blackpool did not play 442 in a single game Adam started

Holloway has also talked about having to change tactics to fit round Adam

Rangers sold him for a tenth of what Liverpool have paid for him so I think they may not have seen his full potential.
I don't think Blackpool and Rangers have/had the quality of players that Liverpool will have around Adam.
Blackpool changed there tactics to fit around Adam as he was the driving force of the team. It was key to the teams success that he got forward. I expect him to have a different role at Liverpool.
Liverpool would expect to have much more possession than Blackpool had in most of their games last season. Tactically Holloway wasn't great. He had a go which made it interesting but it was probably his downfall in many games.
As I said previously I don't think 442 will be the formation that Liverpool go for but I don't think it would spell disaster if Adam was to line up in a 442 in home games against bottom half teams especially if Kuyt and Lucas were in the midfield too.

[kinboshi]

This season I think the following will be used in the midfield:

Gerrard, Kuyt, Lucas, Downing, Adam, Henderson

which looks a lot more promising than last season:

Gerrard (injured for lots of it), Kuyt, Lucas, Spearing, Poulsen, Cole, Maxi


I thought Spearing did pretty well in quite a few games last season, but surely he can't be anything more than a marginal squad player this season?

[kinboshi]

The sooner he's in the first team, the better.

[Waz1892]

From Opta Index

Downing has averaged well over 30 appearances a season in the last 5 seasons. He has also managed to complete 135 successful crosses in the last 3 seasons. That’s more than any other player in the league. Only four players, some of the best ever Premier League midfielders, (Stevie G, Giggs, Fabregas and Lampard) have created more Premier League chances than Downing since 2004.


Fan of the Downing signing. Not sure anyone has answered how you fit a LFC system to accomodate Adam though!

TY.

[77dave]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/virals/2011-07-22/video-liverpools-luis-suarez-diving-uruguayan-game-show-kid

[sweet potata!]

haha good find dave.

[77dave]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/top-10-lfc-tattoos

Anyone fancy a tattoo?

[boldie]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/top-10-lfc-tattoos

Anyone fancy a tattoo?

Canadian Brit clearly waiting for the next giro to come in before he gets his tat finished.

[The Baron]

Good post dan.

. He needs a guy to ping it in early and accurately and that guy is Downing..

Great post.  Downings ability to put in that early cross that defenders find so difficult to deal with is pretty much unparrelled in the premier league and having Carroll on the end of it has the potential to be a very good combination.

OK, great, whoopteedoo..you have someone who can ping a ball on to Carroll's head. (Whether you should pay £20mill for that and, effectively turn Carroll into a £55mill player is a different matter IMO)

Now, what if Carrol doesn't play? Does that means Downing gets benched immediately as well?

I'm still undecided about Downing, and wasn't crying out for him to be signed before he joined.  But you surely can't overlook a player who created more goal-scoring opportunities for other players than any other last season (that's not counting Skrtel's assists for the opposition)? 

There's lots of talk on Liverpool forums about getting another ball-playing centre-back.  That's all well and good, but many seem to be over-looking the primary role of a centre-back, which is to defend.  Downing's primary role as a winger is to create chances for his team-mates, and this seems to be a role he's pretty good at n'est pas?  It seems that because Adam isn't as good as others with his movement off the ball, and Downing doesn't score enough goals, and Carragher isn't the fastest, and Kuyt doesn't do fancy step-overs, and Gerrard tries to do too much himself, and Carroll was £34.5M too expensive, and Suarez this and Johnson that, etc., Liverpool are eleven players short of a 'top class' first XI.

As a Liverpool fan, I'm really looking forward to the new season and getting behind Kenny and the players.

[The Baron]

This is the question. I have a feeling you'll see unfixed formations with the ball. Much more rigid without.

And hopefully a team great than the sum of it's parts. Kenny is great at doing that.

So what's the plan with Adam then?

famously you can't play him in a midfield 2 (4-4-2) as he gets overrun

Blackpool played two workhorses next to him to give him the freedom to create

You can get Henderson and Lucas to do that, but Gerrard?

4-3-3, 1 up and 4-5-1?

[The Baron]

The first meeting of the supporter's committee is coming up in August. If anyone has any pressing questions for Ian Ayre or our owners please PM me.

From a personal point of view I'm really excited about it.

[The Baron]

This is the weirdest logic I've read on transfer policy.

Read an article earlier about Charlie Adam, and how good he is defensively as well as with his distribution and set-pieces.   I didn't realise he considers his best position to be centre-half!  The article (I'll try and find it again) was comparing to Pirlo, and saying that Liverpool have another Alonso now.

Behave. One good season in the PL and he's the new Alonso.

Amazing.

If I were you, I'd be seriously worried about your club's ambition. Downing, Adam and Henderson have zero experience at the highest level in club football and yet cost 46mill between the three.

Only Henderson could use the argument that he's one for the future, as the other two certainly aren't. They'd be expected to hit the ground running.

Zero experience at the highest level in club football? They have all played multiple games in the English Premier League which is the best club football league in the world with the highest standard of club football in the world. The relevant stats for them which Liverpool require from new signings are some of the best within that best league in the world. They are all internationals on top of that and played european club football to boot. Sure, they haven't played Champions league but so what? Liverpool aren't in the CL. Tevez has played a handful of CL games and he costs the same as those three put together and he's a whinging bastard.

I was referring to CL football. That's the pinnacle of club football and none of the three aforementioned have any experience at that level and still cost a combined 46mill.

Stats don't make good footballers. You can use stats to make anything look good should you wish too.

Surely the point is that if they haven't played CL football, they're not good enough for your club?

As for the bit about being internationals, do me a favour. Downing has 27 caps but is a bit part player at best, whilst Adam has 11 caps and Henderson has 1. Hardly experienced international footballers.

Edit: My mistake, Adam played a couple of Champs League games for the mighty Rangers.

[boldie]

The first meeting of the supporter's committee is coming up in August. If anyone has any pressing questions for Ian Ayre or our owners please PM me.

From a personal point of view I'm really excited about it.

Can you get a guarantee that Kuyt will be playing every game, please? Thanks.

[jizzemm]

The first meeting of the supporter's committee is coming up in August. If anyone has any pressing questions for Ian Ayre or our owners please PM me.

From a personal point of view I'm really excited about it.

Can you get a guarantee that Kuyt will be playing every game, please? Thanks.

haha

[boldie]

WP today.