So, I was sat in the stand to watch this one. I think when you are there watching it there, it becomes clearer why the crowd are angry, angrier than those watching on TV anyway. On the TV you just don't get the full sense of aimlessness that pervades the team at times. But I digress, let me start at the start before I focus on one key area, 3-4-3.
I arrived early and the crowd was excited, 30 minutes before a game. The reason? Namely the first team looked a total departure from the last few weeks and the better for it. Lovren was gone, Moreno and Sahko were in and, most importantly, Sturridge was back!
"Great!" I said, to the attractive (and nonplussed) Chinese girl beside me "433 is back!". She didn't understand. It must have been the Irish accent. 5 minutes in and I didn't understand either. Emre Can's designated role in the game was to stand beside Skrtel and do 5 yard shuttle runs back and forward, while the game played out beside him, like a man playing bulldog in the middle of a barn dance. It was inexplicable, his involvement in the first 45 minutes non-existent. Meanwhile the midfield were a holy show.
Milner picked up a yellow card for his first tackle and played horribly for the rest of the game. Lucas has definitely lost a yard of pace, but at least was disciplined and tackled (unlike Milner who seemed to want to use Brownian motion to decide where best to go). But this was the creative hub, the heartbeat of the team! Uninspiring is a generous description. In turn they were flanked by a two fullbacks, one who gets forward well, but perhaps is a little defensively naive, the other offensively predictable but defensively solid. But these are wingbacks at best, not the sides of a midfiel diamond. Consider that for a moment, our midfield 4 were 2 FBs, a crocked DM and a winger masquerading as a CM. Milner, with the best will in the world, will never be more than a runner in the middle and at 29/30, its late int eh day to be learning his game there.
Up front Benteke was used as a lightning rod but that's not his game. It's also not Liverpool's game. It was ugly. I thought Sturridge did well for a player just back, but it will take a 5-6 games before he is even back to par. The first half was a write off, in which playing 343 did the team and the midfield in particular a massive disservice.
The second half actually started badly, but the goal was a sweet one, coming out of the blue to be honest. Ings made a very good run and his performance that game was encouraging, he certainly brings bite to the game. But my assessment is that he is a very straightforward player with little imagination, effective against Norwich, but might get lost against the bigger sides. However, I have a lot of time for players like him, the Kuyts, the Bellamy's of the game and I was very pleased at his hunger and desire. I was deadset against him signing, but now think he might actually be a very astute acquisition.
It was after the goal everything went wrong, you could feel the nerves set in as Liverpool crept back, the equalizer almost felt inevitable. After that Liverpool stepped it up and wasted a few good chances, but you felt that Norwich had settled at that point and were happy to play the game out. It was the collective failure of confidence in the five minutes before the Mignolet flap that cost the points, not the individual error itself.
So those were my thoughts on the game as I saw it from the stand. The positives were Moreno, Sahko (MotM), Ings and Firmino, all who played well. The negatives were Milner (and this might be harsh) Lallana, who did nothing after coming on. The big problem though was 343.
343 says one thing to me... "I don't trust one of the CBs". So why play them? 343 as Liverpool play it is actually 523 in terms of personnel (with one of the 2 continuously running over to the wing!). The midfield is a shapeless mess. It also negates the true strength of Benteke (the warm-up before the game was hilarious, powder puff shots followed by bullet headers) since everything is narrow. Liverpool were better after halftime simply because Ings ran in behind Norwich time and time again. Quite simply, from the first to the last minute Liverpool were set up wrong with players in unsuitable roles - that is the manager's fault.
For example, Moreno has the name of a bad defender... but he is only as good as the Cb beside him. That, until the weekend, was Lovren, who is barely competent at his best (we praise the games when he doesn't make a mistake, that's the level he is judged at). Meanwhile Sahko is beasting his man, winning 1-on-1s, finding feet with sharp passes (he does have a horrible running style though)... how could anyone look at that and think Lovren is more capable? It was out of a need to protect Lovren and Skrtel Rodger's came up with 3-52 which then became 343... as soon as the novelty wore off and teams (united) figured out how to undo it it became redundant. Yet, when the chips are down Rodger's goes back to it like a small child with a security blanket. I cannot understand it. 1 man up front and we end up with 3 CBs marking him while the midfield is pulled apart. Even the goal comes about because the backline lines up to defend the corner, but the second ball (the midfielders job) is lost. That's how all our goals are conceded now, not first phase, but second ball when the lack of midfielders give the opposition a chance to pop shots in from the edge of our box while 5 defenders stand in a line in front of them.
So, 343, lost Liverpool 2 points on Sunday. It might have its uses in difficult games away, but the game on Sunday was done a massive disservice not by player selection but deployment into that formation.
