Liverpool FanZoner Rich Garnett says a change of philosophy has helped the Reds as they prepare for their Champions League showdown with Basel.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results then thank God Brendan Rodgers has changed the record.
Whilst the needle of consistency jumped wildly all over his A-side, the B-side has brought a groove of steel and determination, seldom seen during this campaign.
Kolo Toure and Lucas Leiva starred in Madrid but found themselves back on the bench four days later. Rather than take the hump, they have waited for a second opportunity - which they probably knew was coming - and have taken it.
It might go against Rodgers' swashbuckling philosophy but to put it simply the rot needed to stop and it has been stopped.
Substance has temporarily replaced style and in doing so four straight defeats has been succeeded by four games unbeaten.
And what of Steven Gerrard? The club legend ruthlessly dropped by his manager who has lost all faith in him?
Pull the other one.
Steven Gerrard on the bench is headline news because he is Steven Gerrard. It is also common sense that at 34, he and the team might benefit from him sitting out the occasional match. The benefit could not have been more obvious against Leicester.
Perhaps more alarming is the current lack of quality without him. Rickie Lambert cut an isolated figure against Sunderland until Gerrard entered the fray and started to find the big man with regularity.
It is difficult to understand why Rodgers' other midfielders cannot replicate the range of passing that his captain does but it is something that they will have to learn to deal with.
Right now, Rodgers has gone back to basics to try and rediscover the winning habit and something like the form his magicians treated us to last season.
Whereas this conservative approach is welcomed - given what has gone before it - there must be boldness to Liverpool's play as they approach their biggest game of the season so far against Basel.
A confident Liverpool should dispatch their Swiss opponents without getting out of second gear, but confidence is the most fragile commodity in football and it certainly has been nowhere to be seen at Anfield this campaign.
The manager has called for a collective performance. Presumably that means one in which Lambert and Coutinho exchange more than three passes.
Gerrard is certain to start but he must be sufficiently supported by the likes of Henderson and Lucas if he is to charge Liverpool into the knock out stage of the Champions League.
Ten years ago this week, Olympiakos were famously beaten 3-1 on route to possibly the club's most famous European triumph. That was with a team that contained the likes of Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Neil Mellor and Antonio Nunez.
Liverpool have much more talented players at their disposal today but they must show that they have the character to match their predecessors, of which Gerrard is the only survivor.
A simple victory here could set the Reds' season off on an upward trajectory that so far has not looked forthcoming.
If the future of Liverpool Football Club is without their inspirational captain, then the current crop must show they have the ability and desire to stand shoulder to shoulder with him when it matters most.
By Liverpool FanZoner Richard Garnett. Follow him on Twitter here, and don't forget you can follow @FanZone too!
petikan dari LiverpoolTeamTalk
About the Author
0 comments: