People say we played well in the first half. We didn't. We weren't close to wrapping the game up. We had one chance made from short passing, in the sixteenth minute. All our other chances were freak chances like against Leverkusen and Roma - from free kicks, high pressure and their errors and more often than not made individually and finished individually by Suarez for instance. And sure, chances are chances, but we need to create more on our own. Our midfield is not strong enough. With Gerrard drifting off or hiding, Lucas and Allen are left to themselves. No help from Agger or Skrtel. Our buildup is frustratingly slow, no movement, no creativity and no recognization of each others runs. Lucas and Allen don't know each other yet, that's excusable, but what about Lucas and Gerrard? Downing and Suarez?
Gerrard was the stand out worst performer. What was his role defensively? He defended like Suarez, leaving their six attacking players to Lucas, Allen and the defence. What did he offer to our attacking play? As the advanced man in the three man midfield he should offer creativity, overview and precision. He lacked all of these things in a manner that Shelvey, Hendo or even Adam wouldve been an upgrade on him.
It's early days and these lackings are fixable, but we need to make sure the players know their roles, each other and want to run into the mile-wide holes in their defence and defensive midfield. And that's even before mentioning the mental and defensive mess that is our beloved redmen..
Over to you Rodgers. I hope you've been busy!
