Throughout his turbulent tenure as Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers has always shown a desire to experiment.
Last season, the Reds toyed with back fours, back threes and midfield diamonds as they marched to a surprise runners-up finish in the Premier League, and following a summer transfer window in which the Anfield gaffer called for ‘multipurpose signings’, they’ve gone on to test five different formations already this year. Unfortunately for Rodgers, none have resulted in a consistent winning formula.
Not that systems are where Rodgers’ philosophical tinkering ends; since he took the Anfield helm in 2012, we’ve seen Stewart Downing at full-back, Glen Johnson at centre-half, Steven Gerrard tossed between defensive midfield and No.10, Jordan Henderson utilised on the wing and Raheem Sterling called upon to fill in at virtually every position from wing-back to centre-forward.
Perhaps his most ambitious experiment yet came against Manchester United yesterday afternoon as the Reds lined up in a 3-4-3 for the first time this season, with goal-shy summer signings Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert dropped in favour of Sterling for the lone striker slot.
An unfamiliar position in an even less familiar system, is Raheem’s role up front simply an experiment too far from Brendan Rodgers?
On the face of it, the England international boasts many of the natural prerequisites for that role; pace, trickery, incisive movement and invention on the ball, and Sterling has demonstrated a unique adeptness to understanding new positions incredibly quickly throughout his Reds career. Last season for example, he proved equally effective in his few appearances at right wing-back, particularly during an intoxicating one-on-one battle with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the FA Cup, as he did during his prolonged period at the tip of Liverpool’s midfield diamond.
Although there are certainly more eye-catching aspects to the 20-year-old’s game, his versatility and it’s accompanying intelligence is a huge asset for any manager – one could argue Brendan Rodgers is almost obliged to utilise it as much as possible. The Liverpool gaffer tested Sterling up front during the latter stages of a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid and although he struggled to affect the scoreline, he certainly looked lively and relatively comfortable.
Yet, if there’s one integral attribute Sterling lacks as a striker, it’s ability and composure in front of goal. “He dribbled through the Spurs defence like Ricky Villa, but his finish was more like Ricky Gervais,” Brendan Rodgers quipped back in August after the young attacker dazzled his way past the Lilywhites only to tamely trickle the ball into Hugo Lloris’ hands, and that epitomises where Sterling’s game is at right now.
No doubt, the Liverpool star knows how to get on the score sheet, averaging one goal per five appearances throughout his short Premier League career, but not with the dependable efficiency of an out-and-out striker.
Rodgers’ temptation was understandable against the Red Devils. With Daniel Sturridge a permanent absentee through injury, Rickie Lambert struggling to transition his industriousness to potency from his Southampton days and Mario Balotelli yet to find his first Premier League goal since moving to Anfield in the summer, Sterling is Liverpool’s joint top scorer in the league this season with three goals.
Combining that with averages of 2.5 chances created and 3.1 successful dribbles per match, in addition to four assists in 16 outings, he’s been the Reds’ most potent attacking threat by quite some distance this year. So why not get him as close to the goal as possible? Especially against United’s ever-injured, ever-shaky back three.
But Sterling’s limited lethality really told at Old Trafford. Rodgers claimed the difference in the 3-0 affair was the form of goalkeeper David De Gea – one can easily flip that assessment on its head and argue the absence of a quality finisher severely reduced Liverpool’s capacity to score. Sterling had five shots at goal, equal to United’s Robin van Persie, but never came close to beating the Spaniard’s wiry frame.
And what did playing up front teach the youngster yesterday afternoon? Although capable in that role, it won’t be the ultimate position of his footballing peak – most likely No.10 – and put even further pressure to perform on worryingly young shoulders. Sterling’s already being asked to put in talismanic displays on a weekly basis for the struggling Merseysiders.
Perhaps last season it would have proved a successful ploy against the United – the kind that would lead to pundits and the press heralding Rodgers as a football genius. Yet, Alan Hansen once emphatically argued that periods of prosperity are the appropriate time to experiment and change things up. Bouts of poor results and eroding confidence, on the other hand, are not, regardless of how counter-intuitive that may seem.
Combating their own issues of recent weeks against the Premier League’s most in-form side was enough of a struggle for Liverpool’s players on Sunday, and Rodgers’ tinkering with roles and formations was an unnecessarily added burden.
Not that Sterling should now be ruled out as an option for Liverpool up front. Against the right calibre and style of opponent, it’s a selection that could prove inspired. Yesterday afternoon however, it was a simple case of the right idea with the wrong execution.
Until Liverpool’s floundering form improves, Rodgers should be keeping things as familiar and simple as possible.
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