My long held complaint about the lack of competitive bite in mid-field eloquently and more knowledgably expressed than I could in the following article from Dave Usher on ESPN Sport:
Rodgers continues to ignore defensive midfield in his Liverpool revamp
David Usher.
Liverpool have signed four players already this summer (Joseph Gomez, Danny Ings, James Milner and Ádám Bogdán) and been linked with dozens more, but none of the new arrivals -- nor any of those other reported targets -- occupy a position that many supporters would argue should have been a priority for some time; defensive midfield.
It's a curious situation, particularly as the two players who have filled the role in recent years have left the club or appear to be leaving.
So far, this summer the Reds have been linked to countless strikers, full backs and even creative, attacking midfield players. However, links to defensive midfielders have been few and far between, even though Steven Gerrard (not a defensive player per se but the one who usually filled the role in front of the defence) is gone and there is great uncertainty over the future of Lucas Leiva, the one natural player that Liverpool have for that role.
Many supporters would regard a player who can shield the defence as a major priority for Liverpool, perhaps second only to acquiring a top level goalscorer. When Kopites on social media and web forums draw up their fantasy shopping lists ahead of every transfer window, a holding midfield player usually features prominently on most of them. Yet when the window has closed none have arrived and very few have even been linked, because the one man who counts - manager Brendan Rodgers -- has seemingly little interest in acquiring one.
Rodgers has been in charge for three years and this is his seventh transfer window. So far 28 players have been signed under his watch but only one, Emre Can, could possibly be described as a defensive midfield player and even he has barely been used there, which makes the decision to persist with him at right back in the relatively "meaningless" final few games of last season all the more puzzling.
Why would you not want to take a look at him in his supposed "natural position" to give an indicator of whether he can be the long term answer there? It made little sense and begs the question; was he even signed with that position in mind? Presumably he can play there, although Rodgers' reluctance to try it does raise some serious doubts.
Most managers prefer a "destroyer" in central midfield and at the top clubs those players can also play a fair bit too, Nemanja Matic at Chelsea and Sergio Busquets at Barcelona being prime examples.
Rodgers appears to favour a playmaker over a protector, which is why Lucas has not been an automatic choice despite clearly being the most adept at shielding Liverpool's often suspect defence. Many Kopites would walk over hot coals to get Javier Mascherano back to the club and yet it's debatable whether Rodgers would even find a place in his side for him!
Nothing that has happened so far during this transfer window suggests that he about to change his stance on having the midfield "enforcer" the fans crave either. Milner has been brought in to play centrally and with Jordan Henderson as close to being an automatic starter as anybody in the squad, so unless Rodgers plans on reverting back to the midfield diamond that proved so effective in 2013-14 that only leaves one midfield spot up for grabs. Presumably it will be filled by an attacking player such as Philippe Coutinho or Adam Lallana.
This would explain why there are so few links to defensive midfielders. After all, it's not like there are none out there who fit the bill and provide an upgrade on the likable but somewhat limited Lucas.
It's interesting that Geoffrey Kondogbia has just signed for Inter Milan from Monaco. He's a name you often see put forward by Liverpool supporters as the kind of player the Reds' midfield lacks (and he is apparently a huge Liverpool fan), yet Rodgers showed no real interest in him. Perhaps, it was the lofty price tag (reported to be €40 million) that put him off, but more likely it's that he simply does not covet that type of player. If his top priority this summer was a player of that type, then presumably the money would be available to get one. It's not even his third or fourth priority, let alone his top one.
Rodgers' favourite shopping location is Southampton and yet he has reportedly not bid for either Morgan Schneiderlin or Victor Wanyama. Those poor lads must be feeling quite left out given how many of their teammates Rodgers has either signed or tried to sign. That type of player just doesn't float Brendan's boat it seems, but is it a co-incidence that Dejan Lovren looked much more assured when playing behind two strong protective midfield men?
Arsenal fans have been complaining for years about the lack of a strong anchor man, but Arsene Wenger persisted with small, ball playing midfielders such as Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta in the centre and as a result Arsenal were often a soft touch in difficult games, particularly away from home.
Last season, Wenger compromised a little and introduced the more defensive-minded Francis Coquelin into his side and the results were there for all to see. The Frenchman isn't the world's best in the position by a long way, but having a player of that type in the team benefitted Arsenal a lot last year. He might not play every game, but he's there if the situation demands it.
Liverpool have had that with Lucas, but if he leaves then what? Joe Allen? Right now that seems a more realistic possibility than someone being brought in from outside the club. You can't take transfer speculation entirely seriously of course, there's a reason the summer is traditionally referred to as "silly season" in England, but when there is such a clear trend to the names being linked you can certainly take something from that.
The names may not always be accurate, but if a club is being linked with dozens of goalkeepers then it's not unreasonable to think they are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper. If that club is rarely, if ever, linked with goalkeepers then it's safe to assume they are fairly happy with what they have.
In Liverpool's case they're being linked with a different striker every day because they are desperately looking to add a top striker to their squad. How many defensive midfield players have Liverpool been seriously linked with this summer, or since Rodgers arrived for that matter? Hardly any, and that tells you a lot.
If Liverpool were in the market for that type of player, they'd be frequently linked to players who fit the mould as the nature of modern football means it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep interest in players out of the press. There are so many parties involved in transfers these days and all are working to their own agenda so leaks are inevitable. It's usually in somebody's best interests for transfer rumours to be made public as it will end up sweetening the deal for somebody (usually the player and agent). Of the dozens of players that Liverpool are linked with each week, some they will have a serious interest in, some they will merely have made an enquiry about and there'll be others they would not sign in a million years.
Rodgers may not be completely averse to signing a defensive midfielder should the opportunity present itself, but it certainly does not look like he's going out of his way to find one. There is still plenty of time for that to change, but in three years as Liverpool manager there has been nothing to suggest that he has any interest in doing so and to most supporters that makes very little sense.
