To contrast from the more common debating points right now (I.e have we bought too many players/are they good enough), I thought I'd create a post where we can stop dwelling on the transfers we have made, and start focusing on what we already have at our disposal.
Now I understand we are going through a little rough patch at present. By no means do I think we are this poor as a team. Yes, we got humiliated against West Ham a week back, but when you compare the two teams on paper, it's quite obvious that it wasn't a lack of quality that lost us the game.
Could it be more down to the system that is deployed by Brendan? Is he using the wrong players or the wrong system? Or is he using the wrong players in the correct system?
I hear talks about how Sturridge nor Balotelli can play as a lone striker. Personally I think this is nonsense, as recalling the end of the 12/13 season when Suarez was banned, we had Daniel Sturridge scoring for fun. He and Coutinho had established an excellent understanding of each other's games. The system wasn't too dissimilar to what we had saw for the most part of last season. In my opinion, there is no reason as to why we should not be able to continue that.
The team I'd elect for is the one below. There are two changes I would make. I would take out Markovic for Coutinho, and Balotelli for Sturridge. I think Mario adds something else to the team; however, I also feel that he sacrifices aspects of our game too. For me he lacks the energy and dynamism to make it into a fast counter attacking team. He is often found dropping deep when play advances forward. He dwells on the ball too much. He disrupts the quick flowing football we were renowned for. Markovic on the other hand is a complete differently problem. I feel, given what he showed at Benfica, that he has all the attributes to be a successful player here. However, he is too similar to Lallana and Sterling in that he likes to run forward and attack players. We need someone with that vision and composure in deeper positions, and Coutinho provides this well. This is the team I'd select:
Mignolet
Manquillo Skrtel Lovren Moreno
Gerrard Hendo
Lallana Coutinho Sterling
Sturridge
Your team/thoughts?
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