I am not sure people are looking in the right areas when it comes to picking out our problems. We are creating a lot of chances and restricting the opposition to very few. To me that doesn't sound like it's the midfield that is failing.
I take your point s@int and of course you are right re: both creating and limiting chances.
Folk like to talk of football being a simple game, you pass, you move but you know and I know it's just not that straight forward. It's a given that our strikers aren't being clinical so... to explain
my position I'd like to focus on our Anfield draws and what I see as midfield's role in those draws.
In my opinion (and it's only that); we invariably start off well, our 'four' push on, our full-backs join in and the chances seem to come thick and fast (ooh er missus). When we add in your lack of clinical finishing, what we have is a Reds team going in at half-time either only one up or (as Saturday) nil-nil.
What I have been witnessing, (second-half), is us coming out with the attitude "more of the same lads" whilst our opponents, buoyed with hope, change things in the middle. Suddenly "more of the same" (
which was producing chances - not goals) becomes harder and the chances fewer.
Our opponents, usually, gain a foothold and as a consequence our attacking display becomes a defensive display out of necessity. Our centre two, instead of dominating possession, are left chasing possession. Our full-backs, instead of joining in attack, are now dropping back to defend. The thing is: if we can't score with loads of possession, naturally (in my opinion), it's more difficult to score with less. As much as we hope that the mantra of "more of the same" will prevail: it hasn't been working.
In the absence of a strike force not scoring freely you're left hoping that either: one goal will do or your midfield take up the slack. With a two in which (let's be honest here) only one is a 'threat' that's going to be hard but if that 'one' is needed to defend; it becomes nigh on impossible to get a goal return.
In summary: what we have is "a game of two halves". First half - a mis-firing strike force, a dominant midfield and attacking full-backs; creating numerous chances. Second half - a mis-firing strike force, a midfield and full-backs that are now defending instead of creating and the numerous chances become few and far between.
Less possession = less chances to convert and more defending - hardly the formula to succeed when we take into the equation a mis-firing strike force. The solution? Counter our opponents by playing three in the middle with three up front. I've heard the Roy-esque notion that by playing three in the middle you are somehow taking away an additional 'attacking threat' - utter bollocks.
If, for example, on Saturday (second half) we had drafted Henderson into the centre, alongside Charlie, in front of Lucas and played a front three of Suarez, Carroll and Bellamy - we wouldn't have removed an attacker but added one. Jordan isn't a right winger and as such (in a 4-4-2) he's no threat.
Finally (thank F**k, says you): I'm very clear in my 'gripe' with 'midfield' (and I can only 'speak' for myself) : it is
not with 'creation',
not with defending and
not with the personnel. My 'gripe' is that "more of the same" (in the middle), second half at Anfield, isn't working.