Wow. Things have been a bit hectic lately so I haven't had much time to blog. Hopefully, they will settle down a bit now though so with any luck, I can get back to my regular blogging schedule.
A couple of weeks ago, I briefly mentioned that Liverpool were in an unbelievably poor run of form and that October would be a tough month for them. Unfortunately, things look much bleaker than I would have thought possible (I really thought that we would at least have 3 points courtesy of Blackpool). The only upside in recent times has been that those American owners have finally gone (here's hoping the new American owners are better!).
Now, the key challenge going forward is to improve results on the field. With that in mind, I found this article talking about the way that Liverpool now play under Hodgson to be really fascinating.
The first thing I would say is that I still think we should give Hodgson some time to get things right. Removing him now would do be unfair on Hodgson as he really hasn't had enough time to stamp his own style on the squad and for the squad to adjust to the way he wants to play. However, discussing his tactics is obviously fair game (and ever since I started playing FM2010, I have to admit that I find the whole topic really fascinating)!
The second thing I want to say is that I don't really watch Liverpool games as I just don't have the time. What this means is that I have no real idea if the playing style being adopted is indeed as the author claimed. In other words, I'm taking a lot on faith here!
With all that said, from reading the article, it certainly seems like Hodgson is trying to fit square pegs into round holes. Reading that article reminded me of when I first started to play Football Manager 2010. If you read my gaming blog, you would know that I spent a fair amount of time analysing the players I had and devising some tactics and playing styles to cater to the strengths of the players I had. Fundamentally, my view is that, until you have had time to buy some new players that fit the system you like, your only real tactical option is to play to the your existing strengths.
Granted, this is a game I'm talking about, but I'm pretty sure the principal is true to real life football as well.
Anyway, the biggest concern I have about the current Liverpool tactics is with Torres.
Torres is not and never has been a target man. However, this seems to be the role that he is being asked to fill. As I said above, I don't really watch the matches anymore as I don't have time. However, I have a tendency to believe that he is being asked to play as a target man as many of the match reports I see all mention the fact that he is often left alone up the pitch without any real supply or support. Of course, this may not be a huge problem if Hodgson can buy a traditional target man during the Winter transfer window. At this point, I guess a lot will depend on whether he has any money to spend.
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1 comment:
Hodgson is a disaster. I don't want him managing the club for even ONE more game. Give him time to get the team playing the way he wants? He HAS the team playing the way he wants, and thats the problem.
Let me put it this way:
- big club playing a small club: generally take the front foot in attacking the other side, looking to win by exploiting their superior skill
- small club playing a big club: unless they are running off adrenaline from being newly promoted, have delusions of grandeur or are suicidal, they tend to defend stoutly and hope to grab a goal or two via counter
Hodgson has Liverpool playing with a small-club mentality. Hodgson's tactics appear to be to stand off the ball and defend by closing ranks at the back, hoping to soak up the pressure then hit on a quick counter. Small clubs have realised this, and are taking on the mantle of the big club by attacking Liverpool instead of the other way around. Hodgson's Liverpool only come out of their shell once they are up the creek, which is why you keep hearing about better 2nd half performances (i.e. when they need to pull their finger out and attack like a big club after ceding advantage to the other team for all the first half!)
Benitez was knocked for his supposedly negative tactics, and was also supposed to play a counter-attacking game. However the difference was in their approach to getting that counter-attack opportunity. The hallmark of the team under Benitez was when it operated properly as "the red machine" - i.e. pressing the crap out of the opposition and forcing them to make mistakes, hopefully further up the field so that they can take advantage with their own rapier thrust counter attack.
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