One of the keys to any good side, or great side is the balance between attack and defense.
Over the years we've seen some great defenders and some great attackers.
To me, the key to a great side is not only balance but also the transition from defense to attack, and the key to that transition is keeping the ball, obviously.
So now we get into the realms of percentage passing, and the different ways in which players pass.
Some players will play a difficult pass when it's on, and others will try to force it.
When the pass is on (player wide open, accurate pass) it's still a fairly safe pass.
When the pass is forced (player marked or other players nearby, ball has to be put on a sixpence) it's a much higher risk pass.
Henderson has shown great vision over the last couple of games, has shown his passing range and his accuracy, but he hasn't tried to force passes.
He's got about a bit, put in good tackles, made a nuisance of himself, played some great passes, pressed well, got in around the box and shown good awareness.
He's been defensively sound and has broke well, in fact on the break he's been very good.
He's chipping in with goals and getting assist as well.
Now he needs this to be consistent.
Gerrard on the other hand will try the outrageous: he always has, it's part of what makes him a great player.
So we can safely say that Stevie tries to "force" more passes than Henderson.
It's a direct style and is very effective when he's on his game.
In fact on top form he's still one of the best around.
Not the best presser, but "quarterbacks" the team well and scores and assists.
Great crosser.
Allen plays fairly safe passes, is tenacious and is an all round good player.
He get's a bit indecisive around the box, and isn't very good defensively on set pieces, but these are minor quibbles.
He's good at passing and moving and plays long safe passes when he plays long.
He looks for the ball and uses it very well for the most part and presses very well.
Lucas is effectively a sweeper at times when the CB's split.
He's good defensively, is an accurate passer and "steers" the team along with Allen and/or Gerrard.
He's not going to score goals, but he allows others to get forwards who might score them.
He's a safe passer, but has an eye for a long ball when it's safe or someone is open.
Good in the air for a short fella.
He is BR's transition man to turn defense into attack.
He does this by keeping the ball and keeping it moving (movement opens up space).
On BR's zonal diagram, all these players occupy different zones. The zone is a guideline as to where a player should be in relation to his team mates as the team either pushes up the pitch or is pushed back, keeping a definite shape and moving as one within their given zones.
Players will swap positions, and in that case they take up the positions defined by the zone they are in (like wide players swapping, or SAS, one short, one long).
Midfielders do that as well, so it's really important to get players who compliment each other.
I think that's the difficulty our midfield faces.
Getting the balance right is imperative if we want to have a shot at the title.
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