He would certainly sit deeper than Charlie Adam ever would, and the Scot would likely be relegated to the bench in preference of the Gerrard/Henderson pairing in front of Agger. The Dane has shown himself to be a competent defender alongside Martin Skrtel, and it would be a roll of the dice indeed to bring him out of his comfort zone.
Now Carroll is certainly no Demba Ba, but Gerrard can hit a pass just as well as Yohan Cabaye, although it may be beyond Adam to shield and harass to the extent that Cheick Tioté was able to do.įirst, Dalglish brings back Jamie Carragher and splits up a quite fruitful central defensive partnership in order to move Daniel Agger forward into midfield. Newcastle showed us that consistent pressing, coupled with accurate long-balls forward, yields results against Ferguson's men. With Tottenham Hostpur breathing down their necks in the league, With Nemanja Vidic as a long-term absentee and Sir Alex Ferguson feeling that he has no better midfield options than rusty ginger Paul Scholes, I genuinely feel United are there for the taking. Manchester United will be a different proposition entirely. Unless they can retain the ball and put pressure on the Vincent Kompany-less back line, Reds fans are likely in for a nail biter, hoping that Pepe Reina can deal with wave after wave of attacks. It will be absolutely imperative that someone does get forward enough to support Andy Carroll (who I assume will get the nod ahead of Dirk Kuyt), as Liverpool cannot let him be as isolated as he was against City in the first leg.Ĭity simply must attack, therefore in the Carling Cup match Liverpool will likely sit back (not quite as deep as they did on Wednesday) and look to hit on the break. In all likelihood Adam will anchor a three-man pyramid with Henderson and the club captain taking turns to burst forward as well as press the opposition's handlers in midfield. Liverpool's central midfield options currently stand at Adam, Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Jonjo Shelvey. In his defence, Adam wasn't recruited for this role, but he is really the only option that Liverpool have. Liverpool's summer recruit just doesn't have the mobility and discipline to maintain a constant awareness of enemy player's movements in that space directly in front of the defensive line.
Lucas is not only a fine tackler and short-range passer of the ball, but his instinctive positioning was honed by the tactical grindstone of Rafa Benitez and has been greatly missed.Īdam may very well be able to win the ball off David Silva or Wayne Rooney when they are in possession, but marking the space they attempt to exploit is what really constitutes a world-class holder. Liverpool's success against the top clubs is due to the midfield closing space and restricting passing options for the opposition's creative players. The two league cups are Liverpool's only realistic shot at silverware this season, and you can be sure that Dalglish is thinking about his starting lineup already.Ĭharlie Adam was brought off the bench to replace Spearing against City, but the tenacious Scot is nowhere near a like-for-like replacement. January 25th is the second leg against Manchester City in the Carling Cup while on January 28th the club have a date with Manchester United in the FA Cup at Anfield. It remains to be seen how long Spearing will be out, but if his layoff will extend past these two matches the team could be in serious trouble.
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