Liverpool in recent games under Kenny Dalglish have shown signs of improvement. But why has this happened? What is Kenny doing that Roy Hodgson wasn't? Well I hope I might be able to answer that question.
I think that the key difference is the back four. Yes, Liverpool are looking like they pose more of a attacking threat with Fernando Torres scoring 3 goals in four games in Dalglish took charge. I feel this improvement in form stems from the organisation of the defence.
Under Hodgson the Liverpool back four consisted of Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel and Konchesky. Of this back four there is only one player, Glen Johson who is recognised as a good ball player. The others are known as efficient defenders all know for their combative attributes more than anything else. With Kyrgiakos at the heart of that defence there is also a lack of pace (when Carragher played under Hodgson the same applies). This led to him dropping deeper, which meant that the other 3 had to do the same, to ensure he isn't playing the opposition forwards onside. Dropping deep and not having players you cant play the ball from the back is footballing suicide and can turn games into attack v defence training sessions.
With the defence dropping deeper left space "between the lines" which meant Meireles and Lucas had to drop deeper to cover the space. This basically meant that Liverpool were surrendering large areas of the pitch to the opposition which Kuyt and Maxi would have to cover defensively leaving Torres isolated. Now this would be fine if the team had two traditional holding midfielders and wingers with pace to expose the space the attacking team leaves behind it. For example Manchester City have operated with a similar system this season with Yaya Toure, De Jong and Barry in midfield. The wingers in the side are Johnson and Milner who both have pace and can expose gaps teams leave when attacking them. Liverpool don't have this pace in Kuyt or Rodriguez and Torres is left in 2 v 1 situations far too often with the centre backs. Therefore they don't pose a threat when they are defending deep and are set up to be picked apart by the opposition. This theory was shown in the second half performance in the recent performance against Everton when Agger was injured at halftime to be replaced by Kyrgiakos.
When Kenny Dalglish took over there has been a major change in the defence. The back two consists of Agger and Skrtel neither of whom lack pace and Agger is exceptionally good on the ball. Dalglish has also started playing youngster Martin Kelly at right back and moving Glen Johnson to left back. Now they are playing with one stopper (Skrtel) and three ball players (Agger, Johnson and Kelly). This template is followed by all the top sides in the Premier League for example Manchester United have Evra, Rafael and Ferdinand who are excellent on the ball with Vidic as the stopper.
With this change in the back line it has allowed Lucas and Meireles to be more forward thinking and push higher up the pitch and in turn has led to Maxi, Kuyt and Torres becoming more of a threat in the attacking third of the pitch. This was noted by Zonal-Marking who described the reasons Liverpool won,
"Simple passes combined with good movement from Torres and forward runs from midfielders caught out Wolves’ defence, and Liverpool were comfortable after their second goal, despite a couple of nervous defensive moments."
These deep runs weren't possible under Hodgson as the team was playing far too deeply putting to much pressure on attacking players to defend rather than concentrate on attacking. When players like Rodriguez and Kuyt are expected to defend deeper it leaves far too much space in between them and the goal to make them an attacking threat and leaves Torres isolated. Now with the support of the two wide men Torres is starting to look like his old self by getting on the scoresheet.
Another benefit of a higher line is that Glen Johnson can play to his strengths, under Hodgson his defensive weaknesses were exposed as his teams centre backs kept dragging both full backs deeper putting him in positions around his own penalty where he was uncomfortable. A key aspects of the first goal against Everton was Johnson burst forward even though he was playing out of his natural position he wasn't asked to defend deep and allowed to get forward.
Conclusion
The players bar Kyrgiakos are the same but they are playing with a higher line which I think is due to an improvement in morale and confidence aswell as a tactical/selection change Dalglish has implemented. These changes have led to a more attacking style of play with the side keeping the ball on the floor rather than being pin back in their own half and hitting long balls towards an isolated and demoralised Fernando Torres.
No comments:
Post a Comment