New season Old story?

WE ARE BACK!!! screamed the idiot box adverts dragging us all to our couches and ensuring that we stay there on matchdays. Pre-season was all about the Olympics and comparisons between the Olympic spirit and how we could compare it to the spirit of footballers. Nevertheless, the new season started off with a bang on the 18th of August.

My sights were firmly fixed on the match happening at the Hawthorns where Liverpool were the visitors. There was renewed hope in the Reds camp after 3 seasons of finishing outside the Champions League spots. Out with the old, in with the new was the motto propagated by Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool owners. They took the risk of facing the wrath of die-hard fans all around the world, when they decided to sack King Kenny and award his throne to a newbie, Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers had impressed with his tactics and knowledge of the game when he guided a team tipped to go down at the beginning of the season, to a respectable 11th position, in his first season in charge in the Premiership. not unsurprisingly, a 180 page dossier was enough to convince FSG that Brendan Rodgers was the right man for the job.

So, on to the game at the Hawthorns. It started out as it always does, with the home side exerting pressure in the opening stages. But as the half wore on, it was Liverpool who looked the most like opening the scoring. Had it not been for the familiar story of Luis Suarez missing a couple of sitters, Liverpool would have been 2 to the good within the first 35 minutes of the first half. The script though, could not have been written differently. Step up Zoltan Gera with a screamer in the 43rd minute and it was 1-0 to the home side.

The second half again looked to be going according to plan for the Reds, but everything changed when Steven Gerrard misplaced a pass that allowed Shane Long through and led to the sending off of Daniel Agger for the first time in his Liverpool career. That penalty was missed by Long, but more sloppy work by Martin Skrtel ensured it was 2-0 to West Brom by the 65th minute. From there on, there looked to be no way back for the Reds and it ended 3-0 on the night in favor or West Brom.

A few things that were clearly visible.
1. Physical strength can be the Reds undoing – West Brom were appropriately organized for the visit of Liverpool and they overpowered the Reds disposseing them easily in midfield with their physical strength. If the Reds do want to play their possession based football, they will have to ensure that more physical teams are not able to break them down this easily,
2. Shoddy finishing – Will it come back to haunt them again? It looks like that after the first game of the new season showed the Reds spurning 4 chances. If the Reds want to assert their ambition this season, they have to find a more prolific scorer up front and not give the strikers role to Luis Suarez.
3. Defensive line – the midfield for the Reds is not yet completely ready to play the possession based game that is desired by Brendan Rodgers and FSG. In such circumstances, playing a high defensive line with the wing backs moving up to support the attackers is nothing less than suicide. This frailty was exposed so easily by West Brom that if this is not corrected, even the poorest of teams will be able to break down the Reds in a counterattacking game.
4. Keeping the ball – working off the ball with high pressing is fine, but its criminal to give the ball away when you have it and there is no pressure on you. This was one of the reasons that Liverpool lost the game and was the cause for Daniel Agger getting sent off. The midfield must gel together well and ensure that they don’t give the ball away and commit silly mistakes which puts undue pressure on the defense.

Despite all these flaws, Rodgers looks to be doing a pretty decent job with the squad at his disposal. It must also not be forgotten that the true fruits of his hard work were visible in another game, the Swans 5-0 victory over QPR.
This was just the first game of the season, and as long as Rodgers can imprint his philosophy on a Liverpool squad that is threadbare by top 4 standards, the group will keep improving and could go on a run observed last season from Arsenal to nudge it into the top 4.
Only time will tell !!!

Premier League Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs Liverpool FC

We are down to the business end of the season and the next 8 matches will determine whether we end up playing in Europe or licking our wounds in the ignominy of defeat, playing in only domestic competitions for one full season. Next up along the way are EPL survival hopefuls, West Bromwich Albion. The premier league new boys who are now being guided by ex-Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, sit in 16th position on the table with 33 points and a goal difference of -15.

Liverpool travel to the Hawthorns trying to keep their momentum and winning run going. Liverpool’s last 6 games in the PL give a good indication of how Kenny Dalglish has transformed a once under-performing unit into one which looks like a well-oiled machine capable of grinding out results.

Last 6 games (latest left)
Liverpool: W W L D W W
West Brom: D W D D D L

Of the 6 aforementioned performances, Roy Hodgson has led West Brom in 5. He has managed to stall the losing streak that the club were going through and shored up the defense by reverting to the basics (tactics which failed at Liverpool). Their main attacking threat comes from Peter Odemwingie, who has scored 10 goals in his PL appearances this season. However, West Brom also pose a major aerial threat with Paul Scharner in particular doing his reputation no harm with some good performances over the last few games.

What has been impressive about West Brom since Roy Hodgson took over is that they do not give up until the final whistle is blown as was seen against Stoke City and Wolves.

Liverpool’s record against West Brom is quite good. Against the Baggies at the Hawthorns, Liverpool have won all in the last 4 meetings (in the past 10 years), scoring an incredible 15 goals. This certainly gives the reds some added inspiration, not that they needed any with a place in Europe at stake.

Liverpool have undergone a complete transformation under Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson will have a point to prove to Liverpool’s owners when his side meets the Merseysiders at home. The Reds now though have a strikeforce to boast about. Winter acquisitions in the form of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, with a Raul Meireles firing on all cylinders plus the inspirational Steven Gerrard give Liverpool plenty of firepower up-front.

Liverpool have already demonstrated that they will be a force to reckon with next season after impressive victories over Chelsea (1-0 away) and Manchester United (3-1 home). With ambitious owners and the King guiding his army, they will be a tough proposition for West Brom even at home.

Match begins 2:00 PM local time, 7:30 PM IST.