Luis Suarez scored his first goal in over two months against QPR on Saturday, just Liverpool’s 18th strike in the league.
This has become a worrying statistic for Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, as his side have begun to lose touch with the teams leading the Premier League.
Another concern is that Liverpool’s immediate rivals Chelsea and Arsenal are both beginning to show some good form.
The Anfield side have only managed to score more than once in a Premier League game on six occasions this season. This has left them with a measly goal difference of just five.
Compare this to the 21 of Manchester United and Chelsea with 15, never mind Manchester City’s whopping 34.
These scoring figures are pretty dismal, nobody can really argue that, but what can Dalglish do to improve them?
There are a number of arguments being put forward but GMF have come up with what they feel are the most suitable options for the Merseysiders.
Accommodate Andy Carroll
The £35million signing from Newcastle United has struggled to settle in at Anfield and has been spending the majority of his time sat on the bench.
This makes coaxing his best form out of him more difficult, as you cannot risk it while the team are struggling to finish games and not looking overly dominant.
However, the long-term benefits could outweigh the quick fixes in this regard, as a fully fit and firing Andy Carroll would surely lead to a great rate of goals.
His physicality alone is enough to occupy most defences, but couple this with the guile and movement of Luiz Suarez and you have a potentially devastating partnership.
Change The System
Although it is en vogue for Premier League sides to play the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation and variations thereof, a straightforward 4-4-2 could suit Liverpool.
Following on from the previous point, this would make it easier for Andy Carroll to fit into the side and give him and Luiz Suarez the chance to form some kind of understanding.
Another expensive summer signing struggling to make his mark is Stewart Downing, whom Dalglish purchased from Aston Villa for £22million.
The England international has failed to register an assist or goal this season, but he has been quite unfortunate so far. Downing’s strengths are taking opponents on and putting dangerous crosses into the box.
Having Luiz Suarez in the middle means there isn’t much likelihood of this tactic being overly effective, which has been illustrated by a number of positive performances from Downing ultimately ending fruitless in goals stats.
Having more to aim at in the box would benefit him greatly and could in turn help turnaround the fortunes of Carroll.
Buy A New Striker
The simplest answer to Liverpool’s little problem could also be the most effective in this case. With the transfer window looming ever closer, Dalglish may be well served to go out and purchase a proven goal scorer.
Dirk Kuyt is yet to register this season, Andy Carroll has not really got going at Liverpool, Luis Suarez has only just come out of two-month drought and Steven Gerrard has spent most of the season injured.
That means the vast majority of Liverpool’s main goal sources are not doing the job they would normally do. This is a problem around the Christmas/New Year period especially, with lots of games coming over a short amount of time.
If a team is struggling to find the net and is not seeing out games, February could arrive quickly and they, seemingly all of a sudden, have fallen too far behind their rivals.
January signings have been known to reinvigorate a side’s season and spur them on to greater feats in the second half of the year. If Liverpool were to bring in a quality striker, it could mean the difference between Champions League qualification and no European football at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment