Liverpool's busy summer of transfers leaves Brendan Rodgers with an intriguing, new-look squad and a host of tactical quandaries to solve, one of which being just what his strongest midfield will be for the 2015/16 season.
"We had to ensure we brought in quality to help us improve and we have done that," Rodgers told reporters, including the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce on Wednesday. "The mentality of the players we signed was very important. I’m happy with those we’ve brought in."
He continued:
We had to bring in quality and players with ambition and I believe we have done that.
I’ve got an inherent belief in the players we have brought in that they can help us push on this season.
We are very hopeful that we will go on and be competitive this season and challenge on all fronts.
After a miserable 2014/15 campaign, which saw the Reds finish sixth in the Premier League, flounder in Europe and lose out in the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup, Rodgers will be targeting an improvement for the season ahead—as he says, these new signings must help Liverpool "push on."
Danny Ings, James Milner, Adam Bogdan, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino, Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke have all joined the cause this summer, bringing Liverpool's transfer outlay to £73.5 million before Ings' fee is decided at tribunal.
Three of these in particular will have a major impact on how Rodgers fields his first team in 2015/16: Milner, Firmino and Benteke.
So what is Liverpool's strong midfield setup for the campaign ahead?
Since taking over as Liverpool manager in 2012, Rodgers has showcased a penchant for tactical tweaks, and it is therefore difficult to predict which will be the 42-year-old's favoured formation for any given game.
For example, he switched to a radical 3-4-2-1 formation at the end of 2014, which sparked a mini revival in Liverpool's Premier League fortunes—Jamie Carragher's praise for this innovation, coming as part of Sky Sports' coverage of the Reds' 2-1 victory over Manchester City in March, is indicative of this pragmatic mindset:
Every manager puts the praise on their players and rightly so, but the job Brendan Rodgers has done is outstanding because there were five new players in that team who came in the summer.
[...]
There is no way Emre Can was bought as a right-sided centre-back or Dejan Lovren to play as a left-sided centre-back. Moreno was [not signed as] a wing-back. They weren't.
So these players have come to the club and Rodgers has been part of that, but he's found a system that suits these players that originally wasn't the blueprint of how the team was going to go forward. He's found a way of getting the best out of players now that wasn't originally the way they wanted to work.
Throughout 2014/15, Rodgers also deployed his side in a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 diamond—there are benefits to this in terms of unpredictability, but as Carragher attests, this was due to a haphazard transfer approach and several unsuitable signings rather than forward-thinking tactical movement.
The hope is that, this season, the Reds' signings are tailored to a particular system rather than the other way around. Following Liverpool's pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia, however, just what system this will be is difficult to gauge.
However, Rodgers has dropped a few telling hints throughout the Reds' warm-up schedule.
For example, Liverpool's pre-season opener in Bangkok, taking on the True Thai All Stars, saw Rodgers utilise a 4-4-2 diamond for the first half, then switch to a 4-3-3 after making wholesale personnel changes in the second half. Moving toward consistency of personnel from that point, however—such as against Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United—Rodgers primarily deployed a 4-3-3.
This has seen Liverpool undergo a successful pre-season period, with several key players thriving in a high-pressing system, but to suggest this is cut and dried would be reductive, as the personnel Rodgers has utilised throughout the Reds' pre-season tour will be swelled by some key names on their return to Europe.
Two of the most important players within this successful pre-season spell have been Milner and Jordan Henderson, and this duo will be central—both figuratively and literally—to the way Rodgers fields his strongest midfield in 2015/16.
Milner joined on a free transfer from Manchester City in July after five seasons as the Citizens' utility man, and he has already showcased just why he is one of the bargain signings of the summer. His excellent display against Adelaide has been the highlight of his summer on the field so far, with his remarkable industry spurring a masterful, boundless pressing game.
Rodgers will not have been surprised by just how effective Milner was in this situation, as he signed him to be utilised as a hardworking central midfielder. Milner explained how he prefers this role to the Liverpool Echo's Pearce on Wednesday:
I love playing in there because I think it is best for my attributes.
It is where I can play my best football. I think it’s my best position. I’m already getting goals playing in there and that’s what I can do.
I’ve always worked hard on my finishing and playing in the middle gives you more opportunities to score goals.
It is easier to score being there rather than being wide and shooting across goal and having tough angles.
I feel happy and contented. It’s only been a few weeks but I do feel good here. The whole thing feels right.
Milner has quickly settled into a dominant role within Rodgers' midfield, and his squad as a whole, which is evidenced by his two goals in the first three games of pre-season. He is effective in this central position, and it is having a profound effect on his on-field confidence, as the manager explained after Milner's goalscoring display against the Roar, again reported by Pearce.
"James Milner is a class act," Rodgers said. "We had to work very hard to get him in but we will see over the course of the season how important he is for us."
He later added: "When you see him playing in his favourite position, all his qualities come out. We wanted more goals from midfield and with James that was the idea. When he plays in that central area he can really penetrate the box."
It isn't just goals Milner adds, however. It is his intelligent passing ability, his contribution to Rodgers' favoured pressing game and the way in which he quietly inspires those around him—Milner will be guaranteed a regular first-team role as a result of this.
Throughout pre-season Milner's influence has perhaps had the biggest effect on new Liverpool captain Henderson, with the 25-year-old's own abilities complemented perfectly by his new team-mate.
Alongside former Reds midfielder Steven Gerrard, Henderson's ability was often buried under a disproportionate amount of legwork. Gerrard's decline over the final two seasons of his Liverpool tenure ensured he couldn't contribute significantly to Rodgers' pressing system, leaving Henderson to pull Gerrard's weight in that area while he was employed to dictate play from deep or drive toward goal when fielded as a No. 10.
Alongside Milner, however, Henderson seems revitalised. Milner's mobility allows Henderson to tap into his more nuanced attributes: creativity in possession, penetrating supportive runs and suffocating use of space.
On these early pre-season showings, Rodgers will likely have come to the conclusion that, whenever possible, Milner and Henderson must be deployed together in central midfield. Therefore, with these two positions tied down, analysing the roles of three other key players should point toward the Reds' strongest midfield for 2015/16.
Unhelpfully, this trio are currently out of action: Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can were left out of Rodgers' touring squad following their involvement at the Copa America and the European Under-21 Championship respectively. Rodgers will be looking to utilise all three as the Reds continue their pre-season schedule back in Europe, against HJK Helsinki and Swindon Town, and here supporters may get a better idea of his tactical thinking for the season ahead.
When considering Firmino, Coutinho and Can, three salient points must be considered:
- Can is best utilised in a box-to-box role, as showcased by his performances for the Germany U21s over the summer, with his driving runs from deep penetrating defences in a way similar to Yaya Toure.
- Coutinho's position on the field must match his shirt number: No. 10. A central playmaking role sees the 23-year-old's outstanding creative abilities maximised, as he proved when Rodgers moved to the 3-4-2-1 last season and when he remained in a midfield three on the return to a 4-3-3.
- Firmino's movement is arguably his key attribute, with the Brazilian able to ghost through defences with intelligence and guile—he is best used just off the central striker in a role similar to that of Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey during his 10-goal season in 2013/14.
Other players who will be disappointed not to see regular action in midfield 2015/16 are Joe Allen (box-to-box midfielder), Lucas Leiva (defensive midfielder), Adam Lallana (No. 10), Lazar Markovic (left forward) and Jordon Ibe (right winger). But compared to Milner, Henderson, Can, Coutinho and Firmino, they should be omitted from consideration for Liverpool's strongest midfield.
There will be occasions when Markovic and Ibe should be deployed as starting wingers and Lucas as midfield anchor. But more often than not, these players should be utilised as squad players.
But how do you fit Milner, Henderson, Can, Coutinho and Firmino into one lineup?
The key to answering this question may have come with the signing of Benteke.
A powerhouse striker, Benteke could thrive in a number of systems so long as Rodgers plays to his strengths. But for Liverpool to truly get the best out of the Belgian, he needs to be partnered in an attacking role.
For the time being—until Daniel Sturridge returns from injury and match fitness—this partner should be Firmino. Deploying the Brazilian as a deep-lying forward could see him benefit from Benteke's supreme hold-up play and aerial ability, with Firmino's movement and predatory instinct allowing the partnership to achieve devastating status, much like Ramsey's working with Olivier Giroud in 2013/14.
With Firmino partnering Benteke, this leaves Coutinho as the No. 10, Milner and Henderson in central midfield and Can as a deep-lying, box-to-box midfielder.
Therefore, ideally, Liverpool's strongest midfield should be fielded within a 4-4-2 diamond formation—that which so thrived during the Reds' 2013/14 title challenge.
The industrious pairing of Milner and Henderson is perfectly suited to the shuttling roles of central midfielders in a diamond, with their tactical intelligence also compensating for Can's swashbuckling runs from deep. Coutinho would be Liverpool's main supply line, either threading balls through for Firmino or using Benteke as a means to progress attacking play.
Using a 4-4-2 diamond would maximise the finest talent within Rodgers' Liverpool squad and would see the manager's tactical ideals realised.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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