Jim Fishlock reflects on Luis Suarez‘s departure and looks at how LFC can replace the mercurial forward.
As the deal that we all knew was coming, was edging closer and closer I couldn’t help but think of the words to Frank Sinatra’s classic song ‘My Way’.
For the youngsters among you, it’s a timeless classic in my opinion and well worth a listen to. Whilst there are many great lines in the song, it was this part that particularly struck a cord with me.
“Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew. When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt. I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”
Although there is the obvious joke in there regarding Luis’ minor indiscretions on the football pitch, it’s the final few lines that really hit home.
During his time at Liverpool he really did face it all and stand tall. He suffered abuse from supporters, players, pundits and journalist alike. Now you may say well, he brought it on himself and, to a certain extent I would have to agree but lets be honest here, some of it was scandalous, some of it went above and beyond what should be acceptable.
But, to Luis’ credit, he never once let it affect his performances anytime he pulled on the famous red shirt.
Perhaps that’s the reason for the reaction to him begin sold? Perhaps its the fact that he has become one of the top 3 players in the world or perhaps it’s because we can’t quite see how we replace his goals, his ability to make something happen out of nothing, to play with such an infectious will to win that there is no such thing as a lost cause?
For me, it’s a mixture of it all. How can you replace all those things in just one player? The answer, quite simply is you cannot. Luis Suarez is irreplaceable for Liverpool Football Club.
That doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world. It doesn’t mean that we should give up on our targets for next season before a ball has been kicked and it doesn’t mean that whoever else walks through the doors of Melwood should be faced with the huge and impossible task of replacing our mercurial No 7.
Earlier on I said that Luis Suarez had become one of the top 3 players in the world. Of that, there is no doubt. But he wasn’t that when he arrived in January 2011. Although he had a decent start to his Liverpool career, his first full season producing 11 goals in 31 games, it was only after manager Brendan Rodgers took over that he really started to hit new heights.
In the two seasons that followed, Suarez racked up 54 goals in 66 games, he was at times, unplayable.
I don’t want to talk the manager up too much but it’s surely no coincidence that all that happened under Rodgers’ reign?
Rodgers has instilled a strong team mentality in this group of players and although we have lost our talisman, there are others just waiting to step up to the plate.
We saw when Steven Gerrard was missing for parts of last season how they all upped their games and at times, we looked a more solid side without him, remember the drubbing we handed Spurs at White Hart Lane?
Remember the start of last season when Luis was banned? We didn’t start too badly then did we?
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Phillipe Coutinho are all developing rapidly. All three of them are coming off the back of their best seasons in the red shirt. Who’s to say that in 2-3 years time we aren’t talking about any of those 3 being world class performers? Could anyone have honestly predicted Suarez’s rise to the top?
Then there is Daniel Sturridge, yet another blossoming under the guidance of Rodgers.
Last season we saw Rodgers employ different systems, all in order to fit both Suarez and Sturridge into the first XI. I feel that this season he will set the team up in his preferred 4-3-3 style more often than not and have Sturridge as the focal point of his attack. I am certain that Sturridge will thrive on the extra responsibility and I’d be willing to bet that he will get 30 goals next season in all competitions.
With Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana, Phillipe Coutinho and Lazar Markovic all able to play on the flanks in the front three then I believe there is more than adequate cover in those positions.
Of course, we will need to bring in at least one other forward player but for me, the main priority this Summer has to be to strengthen the defence. We need to stop conceding so many soft goals.
We can’t replace the Luis Suarez we have just sold, just like we couldn’t replace the Fernando Torres we sold. What we can do though is trust our manager and club to keep evolving and if needed, just slightly change the way we play and the way we go about things.
We are in a much better position than in January 2011, both on and off the pitch.
Yes, we have lost a world class player of that there is no doubt but, we have been in this position before and no doubt we will be in this position again in the future.
The team is still here though and the club still stands tall, perhaps, they all need our support now, more than ever.
Jim Fishlock reflects on Luis Suarez‘s departure and looks at how LFC can replace the mercurial forward.
As the deal that we all knew was coming, was edging closer and closer I couldn’t help but think of the words to Frank Sinatra’s classic song ‘My Way’.
For the youngsters among you, it’s a timeless classic in my opinion and well worth a listen to. Whilst there are many great lines in the song, it was this part that particularly struck a cord with me.
“Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew. When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt. I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”
Although there is the obvious joke in there regarding Luis’ minor indiscretions on the football pitch, it’s the final few lines that really hit home.
During his time at Liverpool he really did face it all and stand tall. He suffered abuse from supporters, players, pundits and journalist alike. Now you may say well, he brought it on himself and, to a certain extent I would have to agree but lets be honest here, some of it was scandalous, some of it went above and beyond what should be acceptable.
But, to Luis’ credit, he never once let it affect his performances anytime he pulled on the famous red shirt.
Perhaps that’s the reason for the reaction to him begin sold? Perhaps its the fact that he has become one of the top 3 players in the world or perhaps it’s because we can’t quite see how we replace his goals, his ability to make something happen out of nothing, to play with such an infectious will to win that there is no such thing as a lost cause?
For me, it’s a mixture of it all. How can you replace all those things in just one player? The answer, quite simply is you cannot. Luis Suarez is irreplaceable for Liverpool Football Club.
That doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world. It doesn’t mean that we should give up on our targets for next season before a ball has been kicked and it doesn’t mean that whoever else walks through the doors of Melwood should be faced with the huge and impossible task of replacing our mercurial No 7.
Earlier on I said that Luis Suarez had become one of the top 3 players in the world. Of that, there is no doubt. But he wasn’t that when he arrived in January 2011. Although he had a decent start to his Liverpool career, his first full season producing 11 goals in 31 games, it was only after manager Brendan Rodgers took over that he really started to hit new heights.
In the two seasons that followed, Suarez racked up 54 goals in 66 games, he was at times, unplayable.
I don’t want to talk the manager up too much but it’s surely no coincidence that all that happened under Rodgers’ reign?
Rodgers has instilled a strong team mentality in this group of players and although we have lost our talisman, there are others just waiting to step up to the plate.
We saw when Steven Gerrard was missing for parts of last season how they all upped their games and at times, we looked a more solid side without him, remember the drubbing we handed Spurs at White Hart Lane?
Remember the start of last season when Luis was banned? We didn’t start too badly then did we?
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Phillipe Coutinho are all developing rapidly. All three of them are coming off the back of their best seasons in the red shirt. Who’s to say that in 2-3 years time we aren’t talking about any of those 3 being world class performers? Could anyone have honestly predicted Suarez’s rise to the top?
Then there is Daniel Sturridge, yet another blossoming under the guidance of Rodgers.
Last season we saw Rodgers employ different systems, all in order to fit both Suarez and Sturridge into the first XI. I feel that this season he will set the team up in his preferred 4-3-3 style more often than not and have Sturridge as the focal point of his attack. I am certain that Sturridge will thrive on the extra responsibility and I’d be willing to bet that he will get 30 goals next season in all competitions.
With Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana, Phillipe Coutinho and Lazar Markovic all able to play on the flanks in the front three then I believe there is more than adequate cover in those positions.
Of course, we will need to bring in at least one other forward player but for me, the main priority this Summer has to be to strengthen the defence. We need to stop conceding so many soft goals.
We can’t replace the Luis Suarez we have just sold, just like we couldn’t replace the Fernando Torres we sold. What we can do though is trust our manager and club to keep evolving and if needed, just slightly change the way we play and the way we go about things.
We are in a much better position than in January 2011, both on and off the pitch.
Yes, we have lost a world class player of that there is no doubt but, we have been in this position before and no doubt we will be in this position again in the future.
The team is still here though and the club still stands tall, perhaps, they all need our support now, more than ever.
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If you use a bookmark to enter this site, please go to our home page, find the appropriate page and update your bookmark accordingly.
This may only be a temporary problem, so you can try hitting your browser's refresh button, however if the problem persists please get in touch by emailing us.
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We are sorry the page you requested cannot be found at the moment.
If you use a bookmark to enter this site, please go to our home page, find the appropriate page and update your bookmark accordingly.
This may only be a temporary problem, so you can try hitting your browser's refresh button, however if the problem persists please get in touch by emailing us.
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Columnist Aaron Cutler gives his take on Luis Suarez‘s departure and seeks to reassure worried fans.
And so it ends. A tumultuous, controversial, divisive, traumatic yet utterly brilliant three and a half years. It was fun while it lasted, Luis.
Suarez leaves for Barcelona, not as a Liverpool great but arguably the club’s best player in 30 years. A contradiction? Perhaps. But greatness befalls those who display true loyalty and achieve tangible success. Legendary status is bestowed on a select few – Dalglish, Gerrard, Rush, Souness – mighty figures who stayed the course.
Our Uruguayan menace, while a footballing genius, falls short of that particular pantheon.
Granted, we will miss those mesmeric skills, coupled with a sheer force of will that elevated him to another level entirely. But then nobody will miss the drama, the headlines, the suspensions..
Nobody need consciously blur the line between loyalty and morality anymore. Forever posturing, the time had come to negotiate an inevitable parting of the ways.
Abba once sang ‘breaking up is never easy’ and indeed losing the world’s best player certainly hurts. Yet Benni and Bjorn, those famed football philosophers, also wrote ‘the name of the game’, a pertinent reminder that commitment is not always a two-way street. The leaving of Suarez simply underlines football’s incessant rate of staff turnover. Players come and go, with true allegiance ingrained in the stands, nowhere else.
Remembering such will ease the pain.
Liverpool themselves will ‘go again’, as we did when Keegan bid farewell, when Rush turned to Turin, when Owen severed all ties, when Torres betrayed his adoring public…
Dwelling on the past is simply not our style. Suarez may have abdicated the throne but a worthy heir lies in wait.
That man is Daniel Sturridge – the second deadliest striker in England, lest we forget. A phenomenal talent in his own right, the England forward has long craved centre stage. Forced to share the limelight, he has played second fiddle, foil and pretender since joining Liverpool in 2013. Now is his moment to shine and rest assured he will clasp it with both hands.
The difference between Suarez and Sturridge is their projected career paths. The former saw Liverpool as a stepping stone, another rung up a ladder scaling the Nou Camp. But for Sturridge Liverpool is a destination. Well publicised struggles at Manchester City and Chelsea render this his last chance. He’s here for the long haul, with sights trained on firing himself into Anfield folklore.
There is another twist to this transfer’s finality, one that could benefit the reds in the long-run. Though not immediately obvious Barcelona’s acquisition will allow us to settle on a preferred style of play. For manager Brendan Rodgers has always favoured a 4-3-3 formation, this with one central front-man.
In order to accommodate Suarez and Sturridge together, Rodgers wavered from that platform somewhat, opting for a 4-4-2 diamond, an expansive 3-5-2 and an evolving 4-1-3-2 at different junctures. When reverting to type one of the deadly duo was forced into a wide berth for the sake of the team. A temporary measure, that was never sustainable.
Losing the league’s best player, and with him 31 goals and 12 assists, can never be looked upon as a positive; not even Alistair Campbell would dare spin such nonsense. But what it does do is allow Rodgers to press ahead the way he originally envisaged. Sturridge will become his main man and focal point, with any signings likely to compliment him in wider positions. A huge show of faith it is a belief that Sturridge himself has fostered.
An underrated striker he truly is the complete package. Pace, skill, movement, creativity and confidence, combined with a quite astonishing goal record, make him the complete modern day forward. A superb finisher his variety of goals echo Fowler in his prime.
36 strikes in 49 games would make him a club great at lesser sides, ones not party to the brilliance of Hunt, Keegan, Dalglish, Rush, Aldridge, Fowler, Owen etc. Likewise, breathtaking goals and displays against the likes of Aston Villa, West Brom and Everton would command Player of the Year recognition but for the Suarez spectre.
Basically, those currently in mourning should remember the younger, faster and more committed (to LFC) member of the SAS remains in situ. Sturridge WANTS to be here and deserves the mantle of Liverpool’s outright centre-forward.
The only variable threatening a glorious succession would be injuries. Our number 15 struggles to retain a clean bill of health, succumbing to ankle, hamstring and thigh problems since arriving on Merseyside.
Many question his stomach for the fight in that respect. It is said a slight knock or a series of questionable decisions are enough to dishearten and rob his focus. Perhaps resilience is the one attribute to be honed, that never-say-die approach something which so endeared his strike partner.
Then again that cool, composed and confident air has become a trademark, the maverick in him no doubt instrumental to an impressive rise. Why change that? Not everyone can tear an anus (ala Javier Mascherano).
Either way, the loss of our talisman is not quite the full-blown crisis rival fans and media outlets would have you believe. Liverpool may not plunder 100 league goals next term but their attacking options and style of play mean they’ll come mighty close. Our output is systematic remember, not solely the work of one man.
With Sturridge entrusted Rodgers and his committee will most likely identify options to field around him. Lazar Markovic is as good as signed, while both Wilfried Bony and Loic Remy can interchange in a front three. This is surely the way forward.
Our business thus far, though unspectacular, is decent enough. In Adam Lallana and Emre Can we have added much needed depth to a paper-thin midfield. Lallana’s creativity and tendency to carry the ball meanwhile will fit perfectly into our attacking principles.
The only concern is the lack of obvious first-teamers. Do any of the aforementioned command an automatic start? Buying in quantity, though encouraging, is not inspiring. Finding players good enough to impact our first XI is no easy task yet Chelsea and Arsenal have achieved just that. Both look set to push on.
Having secured a long-awaited return to the Champions League, Liverpool cannot – under any circumstances – rest on their laurels.
Buying from a position of strength, they need to hammer home that advantage. Seize the initiative and pull away from Tottenham and United, both of whom will be forced to settle for second, third, even fourth choice targets due to a lack of continental involvement.
NOW is the time to act and ensure we have the better end of this bargain. The presence of Sturridge compensates for the loss of Suarez himself. The real blow will come if the club squander the money received for him.
£75m for a near 28-year-old with excess baggage is a good deal with the potential to become a great one. Ian Ayre and co can make it just that. So here’s hoping FSG embark on a case of retail therapy, buy well gentleman and ease the pain.
Columnist Aaron Cutler gives his take on Luis Suarez‘s departure and seeks to reassure worried fans.
And so it ends. A tumultuous, controversial, divisive, traumatic yet utterly brilliant three and a half years. It was fun while it lasted, Luis.
Suarez leaves for Barcelona, not as a Liverpool great but arguably the club’s best player in 30 years. A contradiction? Perhaps. But greatness befalls those who display true loyalty and achieve tangible success. Legendary status is bestowed on a select few – Dalglish, Gerrard, Rush, Souness – mighty figures who stayed the course.
Our Uruguayan menace, while a footballing genius, falls short of that particular pantheon.
Granted, we will miss those mesmeric skills, coupled with a sheer force of will that elevated him to another level entirely. But then nobody will miss the drama, the headlines, the suspensions..
Nobody need consciously blur the line between loyalty and morality anymore. Forever posturing, the time had come to negotiate an inevitable parting of the ways.
Abba once sang ‘breaking up is never easy’ and indeed losing the world’s best player certainly hurts. Yet Benni and Bjorn, those famed football philosophers, also wrote ‘the name of the game’, a pertinent reminder that commitment is not always a two-way street. The leaving of Suarez simply underlines football’s incessant rate of staff turnover. Players come and go, with true allegiance ingrained in the stands, nowhere else.
Remembering such will ease the pain.
Liverpool themselves will ‘go again’, as we did when Keegan bid farewell, when Rush turned to Turin, when Owen severed all ties, when Torres betrayed his adoring public…
Dwelling on the past is simply not our style. Suarez may have abdicated the throne but a worthy heir lies in wait.
That man is Daniel Sturridge – the second deadliest striker in England, lest we forget. A phenomenal talent in his own right, the England forward has long craved centre stage. Forced to share the limelight, he has played second fiddle, foil and pretender since joining Liverpool in 2013. Now is his moment to shine and rest assured he will clasp it with both hands.
The difference between Suarez and Sturridge is their projected career paths. The former saw Liverpool as a stepping stone, another rung up a ladder scaling the Nou Camp. But for Sturridge Liverpool is a destination. Well publicised struggles at Manchester City and Chelsea render this his last chance. He’s here for the long haul, with sights trained on firing himself into Anfield folklore.
There is another twist to this transfer’s finality, one that could benefit the reds in the long-run. Though not immediately obvious Barcelona’s acquisition will allow us to settle on a preferred style of play. For manager Brendan Rodgers has always favoured a 4-3-3 formation, this with one central front-man.
In order to accommodate Suarez and Sturridge together, Rodgers wavered from that platform somewhat, opting for a 4-4-2 diamond, an expansive 3-5-2 and an evolving 4-1-3-2 at different junctures. When reverting to type one of the deadly duo was forced into a wide berth for the sake of the team. A temporary measure, that was never sustainable.
Losing the league’s best player, and with him 31 goals and 12 assists, can never be looked upon as a positive; not even Alistair Campbell would dare spin such nonsense. But what it does do is allow Rodgers to press ahead the way he originally envisaged. Sturridge will become his main man and focal point, with any signings likely to compliment him in wider positions. A huge show of faith it is a belief that Sturridge himself has fostered.
An underrated striker he truly is the complete package. Pace, skill, movement, creativity and confidence, combined with a quite astonishing goal record, make him the complete modern day forward. A superb finisher his variety of goals echo Fowler in his prime.
36 strikes in 49 games would make him a club great at lesser sides, ones not party to the brilliance of Hunt, Keegan, Dalglish, Rush, Aldridge, Fowler, Owen etc. Likewise, breathtaking goals and displays against the likes of Aston Villa, West Brom and Everton would command Player of the Year recognition but for the Suarez spectre.
Basically, those currently in mourning should remember the younger, faster and more committed (to LFC) member of the SAS remains in situ. Sturridge WANTS to be here and deserves the mantle of Liverpool’s outright centre-forward.
The only variable threatening a glorious succession would be injuries. Our number 15 struggles to retain a clean bill of health, succumbing to ankle, hamstring and thigh problems since arriving on Merseyside.
Many question his stomach for the fight in that respect. It is said a slight knock or a series of questionable decisions are enough to dishearten and rob his focus. Perhaps resilience is the one attribute to be honed, that never-say-die approach something which so endeared his strike partner.
Then again that cool, composed and confident air has become a trademark, the maverick in him no doubt instrumental to an impressive rise. Why change that? Not everyone can tear an anus (ala Javier Mascherano).
Either way, the loss of our talisman is not quite the full-blown crisis rival fans and media outlets would have you believe. Liverpool may not plunder 100 league goals next term but their attacking options and style of play mean they’ll come mighty close. Our output is systematic remember, not solely the work of one man.
With Sturridge entrusted Rodgers and his committee will most likely identify options to field around him. Lazar Markovic is as good as signed, while both Wilfried Bony and Loic Remy can interchange in a front three. This is surely the way forward.
Our business thus far, though unspectacular, is decent enough. In Adam Lallana and Emre Can we have added much needed depth to a paper-thin midfield. Lallana’s creativity and tendency to carry the ball meanwhile will fit perfectly into our attacking principles.
The only concern is the lack of obvious first-teamers. Do any of the aforementioned command an automatic start? Buying in quantity, though encouraging, is not inspiring. Finding players good enough to impact our first XI is no easy task yet Chelsea and Arsenal have achieved just that. Both look set to push on.
Having secured a long-awaited return to the Champions League, Liverpool cannot – under any circumstances – rest on their laurels.
Buying from a position of strength, they need to hammer home that advantage. Seize the initiative and pull away from Tottenham and United, both of whom will be forced to settle for second, third, even fourth choice targets due to a lack of continental involvement.
NOW is the time to act and ensure we have the better end of this bargain. The presence of Sturridge compensates for the loss of Suarez himself. The real blow will come if the club squander the money received for him.
£75m for a near 28-year-old with excess baggage is a good deal with the potential to become a great one. Ian Ayre and co can make it just that. So here’s hoping FSG embark on a case of retail therapy, buy well gentleman and ease the pain.
Liverpool midfielder Suso is back from Spain with just one aim - to fight for a first-team place at Anfield.
After racking up 20 appearances for Liverpool whilst still a teenager in the 2012/13 season, the Spanish-born star sought a loan switch for the following season to further his development.
La Liga strugglers Almeria offered the then-18-year-old a home, and he clocked up 35 appearances in all competitions, contributing three goals as they fought successfully to avoid relegation.
Now back at Anfield, 20-year-old Suso is older, wiser and in his opinion, a much-improved player for his stint abroad.
"After the season in Spain, I think I have become a better player - I learned a lot," Suso told Liverpoolfc.com.
"Obviously Liverpool are going to sign a lot of players because we are in the Champions League this season, and we have to have a good squad because there are a lot of competitions.
"But if I fight for my place, I do my best every day in training and when I have the chance to come on or start a game, if I do well, I could have chances to play a lot of minutes in the first team.
"I came here in December at Christmas when I had my week of holidays. In Spain, we have a one-week break at Christmas and I came here for two or three days to have a meeting with the manager.
"He talked to me, said he was happy with what I was doing and said that this season he wants me to stay here. I want to stay here and sign a new deal.”
Suso is under no illusions as to the pressure of top-flight football, and is in awe of Liverpool and the challenge ahead.
"For me, there is no bigger club than Liverpool. The crowd, the people, the stadium and the Kop - that's a feeling that you cannot explain. You have to live that just to know what you feel," he added.
"It's a really good experience. Last season I was at many stadiums and I never saw a stadium like Anfield.
“My option is to stay here, sign a new contract and fight for my place."
Liverpool midfielder Suso is back from Spain with just one aim - to fight for a first-team place at Anfield.
After racking up 20 appearances for Liverpool whilst still a teenager in the 2012/13 season, the Spanish-born star sought a loan switch for the following season to further his development.
La Liga strugglers Almeria offered the then-18-year-old a home, and he clocked up 35 appearances in all competitions, contributing three goals as they fought successfully to avoid relegation.
Now back at Anfield, 20-year-old Suso is older, wiser and in his opinion, a much-improved player for his stint abroad.
"After the season in Spain, I think I have become a better player - I learned a lot," Suso told Liverpoolfc.com.
"Obviously Liverpool are going to sign a lot of players because we are in the Champions League this season, and we have to have a good squad because there are a lot of competitions.
"But if I fight for my place, I do my best every day in training and when I have the chance to come on or start a game, if I do well, I could have chances to play a lot of minutes in the first team.
"I came here in December at Christmas when I had my week of holidays. In Spain, we have a one-week break at Christmas and I came here for two or three days to have a meeting with the manager.
"He talked to me, said he was happy with what I was doing and said that this season he wants me to stay here. I want to stay here and sign a new deal.”
Suso is under no illusions as to the pressure of top-flight football, and is in awe of Liverpool and the challenge ahead.
"For me, there is no bigger club than Liverpool. The crowd, the people, the stadium and the Kop - that's a feeling that you cannot explain. You have to live that just to know what you feel," he added.
"It's a really good experience. Last season I was at many stadiums and I never saw a stadium like Anfield.
“My option is to stay here, sign a new contract and fight for my place."
The projected sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona marks the end of a hugely successful spell with Brendan Rodgers; here Jack Lusby looks back at their relationship.
Luis Suarez’s projected move from Liverpool to Barcelona this summer marks the loss of possibly the Reds’ best player in decades.
The work of the Brendan Rodgers, in tandem with his Uruguayan charge, resulted in the best ever season of both manager and star striker in 2013/14; as such, it is an incredible disappointment that the pair have to part this summer.
The reported £75 million fee that Liverpool will receive for the services of Suarez this summer is a true marker of the development of Suarez into a world class player under Rodgers, and the manager’s role has been genuinely pivotal.
The relationship of Rodgers and Suarez throughout the past two seasons has been key to the success of the club of late, and this sale will mark the end of a fruitful two year fling.
On Rodgers’ Appointment
Signing Rodgers as manager at the end of May 2012, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner described the Ulsterman as “a forward-thinking coach at the forefront of a generation of young managers and will bring to Liverpool attacking, relentless football.”
The tip of this offensive spearhead throughout Rodgers’ tenure to date has been Suarez, and the manager told Liverpool fans sites in September 2012:
“He’s so clever. I mean if I think about me managing against him last year he was one of the players I thought: ‘You need to be careful of this little bugger!’…you know he’s so bright, he’s persistent, so his strengths for me are in and around the box, he can drop in and become free, become loose, and play as the loose forward.”
This role, as the “loose forward” has seen Suarez’s, and in turn Rodgers’, career at Liverpool flourish—this was particularly pertinent in the last season.
2013/14 Season
As this “loose forward,” Suarez showed his ability to adapt to the evolving tactics of Rodgers, particularly throughout 2013/14.
Suarez was equally as effective within a 4-1-2-1-2 with a midfield diamond as he was within a fluid 4-3-3; in the latter, the Uruguayan often cut in from the wing to support Daniel Sturridge.
In 2013/14, Suarez scored 31 goals in 33 league games, winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot and launching his name firmly into the footballing stratosphere.
Following Suarez’s incredible performance in the 5-1 victory over Norwich in December of last year, Rodgers was full of praise for the striker:
“I haven’t seen many individual performances like that before. It was a joy to watch, sheer brilliance from one of the best strikers in the world.”
Suarez is and was clearly the best player that Rodgers has managed to date, and the 2013/14 season—surely Suarez’s last with the club—was to be his greatest.
Suarez’s Behaviour
The main stigma within Suarez’s move to Barcelona is his involvement in a bizarre bite attack on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini whilst representing Uruguay at this year’s World Cup.
This, clearly, isn’t the first issue the striker has had whilst he has been on Liverpool’s books, or even before—at Ajax, Suarez was banned for biting PSV midfielder Otman Bakkal in 2010.
Throughout his relationship with Suarez at the club, Rodgers has approached his various transgressions sensibly.
The manager joined Liverpool following the allegations that Suarez racially abused Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra, but following his arrival Rodgers pressed the focus onto the football:
“We have to move on. We have to move forward. What’s happened has happened and let’s let it go now, however hard it is. We want to be winning games and doing our best for the football club.”
This treatment continued following the striker’s bite of Branislav Ivanoic, and his later pressing for a transfer to Arsenal.
David Anderson, writing for the Daily Mirror , credited Rodgers for the way in which he has approached Suarez’s often bizarre lapses of judgment.
“When the Uruguayan tried to force through a move to Arsenal in the summer…he did not burn his bridges with Suarez so that a rapprochement could be made when he did not go.”
This is completely exemplary of Rodgers’ treatment of the volatile forward throughout the two years in which they have worked.
Rodgers has made his name as a wholly pragmatic manager, as adaptable in front of the media as he is within his tactical makeup.
Few would have expected—even with previous blots on his copybook—Suarez’s bite on Ivanovic, just as much as his latest transgression, but Rodgers has belied his young years by showing a maturity when approaching such incidents.
Development Under Rodgers
Ultimately, the most demonstrative fruit of this relationship has been the sheer development of Suarez into a genuine world-class talent under Rodgers.
This can be succinctly put into context when comparing the performances of Suarez under former Reds manager Kenny Dalglish and the Northern Irishman.
According to WhoScored, in the season and a half Suarez was under the stewardship of Dalglish, the Uruguayan scored 15 goals and made six assists in 44 Premier League appearances.
This is a rate of 0.3 goals and 0.1 assists per game.
Under Rodgers in two seasons, Suarez scored 54 goals and made 17 assists in 66 league games.
This is a rate of 0.8 goals and 0.25 assists per game.
Furthermore, the Uruguayan was more successful in terms of key passes made, passing accuracy and accurate through balls; the data can be seen in the table below.
All results are averaged per game.
Under Rodgers last season, Suarez was awarded the Premier League Player of the Season, the FWA Footballer of the Year, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and shared the European Golden Shoe award with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Under Rodgers, Suarez has become a goal machine, and a more complete player overall, and it is due to this that interest from clubs such as Barcelona has arisen.
The Northern Irishman will be hard pressed to manage a better player in his undoubtedly long and successful career.
The treatment and development of Suarez has been a wholesale credit to his soon-to-be previous manager, and that is the legacy that should be taken from this sale.
Will Brendan Rodgers ever manage a player as good as Suarez again? Let us know in the comments below.
The projected sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona marks the end of a hugely successful spell with Brendan Rodgers; here Jack Lusby looks back at their relationship.
Luis Suarez’s projected move from Liverpool to Barcelona this summer marks the loss of possibly the Reds’ best player in decades.
The work of the Brendan Rodgers, in tandem with his Uruguayan charge, resulted in the best ever season of both manager and star striker in 2013/14; as such, it is an incredible disappointment that the pair have to part this summer.
The reported £75 million fee that Liverpool will receive for the services of Suarez this summer is a true marker of the development of Suarez into a world class player under Rodgers, and the manager’s role has been genuinely pivotal.
The relationship of Rodgers and Suarez throughout the past two seasons has been key to the success of the club of late, and this sale will mark the end of a fruitful two year fling.
On Rodgers’ Appointment
Signing Rodgers as manager at the end of May 2012, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner described the Ulsterman as “a forward-thinking coach at the forefront of a generation of young managers and will bring to Liverpool attacking, relentless football.”
The tip of this offensive spearhead throughout Rodgers’ tenure to date has been Suarez, and the manager told Liverpool fans sites in September 2012:
“He’s so clever. I mean if I think about me managing against him last year he was one of the players I thought: ‘You need to be careful of this little bugger!’…you know he’s so bright, he’s persistent, so his strengths for me are in and around the box, he can drop in and become free, become loose, and play as the loose forward.”
This role, as the “loose forward” has seen Suarez’s, and in turn Rodgers’, career at Liverpool flourish—this was particularly pertinent in the last season.
2013/14 Season
As this “loose forward,” Suarez showed his ability to adapt to the evolving tactics of Rodgers, particularly throughout 2013/14.
Suarez was equally as effective within a 4-1-2-1-2 with a midfield diamond as he was within a fluid 4-3-3; in the latter, the Uruguayan often cut in from the wing to support Daniel Sturridge.
In 2013/14, Suarez scored 31 goals in 33 league games, winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot and launching his name firmly into the footballing stratosphere.
Following Suarez’s incredible performance in the 5-1 victory over Norwich in December of last year, Rodgers was full of praise for the striker:
“I haven’t seen many individual performances like that before. It was a joy to watch, sheer brilliance from one of the best strikers in the world.”
Suarez is and was clearly the best player that Rodgers has managed to date, and the 2013/14 season—surely Suarez’s last with the club—was to be his greatest.
Suarez’s Behaviour
The main stigma within Suarez’s move to Barcelona is his involvement in a bizarre bite attack on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini whilst representing Uruguay at this year’s World Cup.
This, clearly, isn’t the first issue the striker has had whilst he has been on Liverpool’s books, or even before—at Ajax, Suarez was banned for biting PSV midfielder Otman Bakkal in 2010.
Throughout his relationship with Suarez at the club, Rodgers has approached his various transgressions sensibly.
The manager joined Liverpool following the allegations that Suarez racially abused Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra, but following his arrival Rodgers pressed the focus onto the football:
“We have to move on. We have to move forward. What’s happened has happened and let’s let it go now, however hard it is. We want to be winning games and doing our best for the football club.”
This treatment continued following the striker’s bite of Branislav Ivanoic, and his later pressing for a transfer to Arsenal.
David Anderson, writing for the Daily Mirror , credited Rodgers for the way in which he has approached Suarez’s often bizarre lapses of judgment.
“When the Uruguayan tried to force through a move to Arsenal in the summer…he did not burn his bridges with Suarez so that a rapprochement could be made when he did not go.”
This is completely exemplary of Rodgers’ treatment of the volatile forward throughout the two years in which they have worked.
Rodgers has made his name as a wholly pragmatic manager, as adaptable in front of the media as he is within his tactical makeup.
Few would have expected—even with previous blots on his copybook—Suarez’s bite on Ivanovic, just as much as his latest transgression, but Rodgers has belied his young years by showing a maturity when approaching such incidents.
Development Under Rodgers
Ultimately, the most demonstrative fruit of this relationship has been the sheer development of Suarez into a genuine world-class talent under Rodgers.
This can be succinctly put into context when comparing the performances of Suarez under former Reds manager Kenny Dalglish and the Northern Irishman.
According to WhoScored, in the season and a half Suarez was under the stewardship of Dalglish, the Uruguayan scored 15 goals and made six assists in 44 Premier League appearances.
This is a rate of 0.3 goals and 0.1 assists per game.
Under Rodgers in two seasons, Suarez scored 54 goals and made 17 assists in 66 league games.
This is a rate of 0.8 goals and 0.25 assists per game.
Furthermore, the Uruguayan was more successful in terms of key passes made, passing accuracy and accurate through balls; the data can be seen in the table below.
All results are averaged per game.
Under Rodgers last season, Suarez was awarded the Premier League Player of the Season, the FWA Footballer of the Year, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and shared the European Golden Shoe award with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Under Rodgers, Suarez has become a goal machine, and a more complete player overall, and it is due to this that interest from clubs such as Barcelona has arisen.
The Northern Irishman will be hard pressed to manage a better player in his undoubtedly long and successful career.
The treatment and development of Suarez has been a wholesale credit to his soon-to-be previous manager, and that is the legacy that should be taken from this sale.
Will Brendan Rodgers ever manage a player as good as Suarez again? Let us know in the comments below.
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