As it’s international break, PJ Vaughan decided to do a piece on some young players he would love to see at Liverpool in the future.
Max Meyer
(Midfielder, Schalke)
Max Meyer is an attacking midfielder with an eye for a goal. He has all the skills required to be a play at the head of a diamond midfield. He’s renowned for his skill and pace and has been compared to Mario Goetze, having already been capped by the German national team. Joachim Low rates him so highly he picked him in his 30-man provisional World Cup squad.
Liverpool were linked with a £8 million move for him in the summer. However Chelsea have also been following his progress. It’s only a matter of time before other big clubs take an interest in him.
Cost £10M
Plays like Lionel Messi
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As it’s international break, PJ Vaughan decided to do a piece on some young players he would love to see at Liverpool in the future.
Max Meyer
(Midfielder, Schalke)
Max Meyer is an attacking midfielder with an eye for a goal. He has all the skills required to be a play at the head of a diamond midfield. He’s renowned for his skill and pace and has been compared to Mario Goetze, having already been capped by the German national team. Joachim Low rates him so highly he picked him in his 30-man provisional World Cup squad.
Liverpool were linked with a £8 million move for him in the summer. However Chelsea have also been following his progress. It’s only a matter of time before other big clubs take an interest in him.
Cost £10M
Plays like Lionel Messi
.
Belgium smashed Andorra 6-0 on Friday night and Liverpool forward Divock Origi, currently back on loan at Lille, was at the heart of the action—scoring one and assisting another.
Origi led the line for Belgium, chosen ahead of Romelu Lukaku (who replaced him after 66 minutes).
The 19-year-old is a player Brendan Rodgers described last week as being somebody they expect to be “world class”. “We took a player in Divock Origi who we believe will be world-class and we’ll get him next summer,” said the boss.
“He is a top player. He has everything – the speed, the profile and he can play now but our deal was that we couldn’t bring him in now.
“That was unfortunate because he can run in behind, he can keep the ball, he can press and he can run.”
Origi has four goals in 9 appearances for Lille so far this season.
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Belgium smashed Andorra 6-0 on Friday night and Liverpool forward Divock Origi, currently back on loan at Lille, was at the heart of the action—scoring one and assisting another.
Origi led the line for Belgium, chosen ahead of Romelu Lukaku (who replaced him after 66 minutes).
The 19-year-old is a player Brendan Rodgers described last week as being somebody they expect to be “world class”. “We took a player in Divock Origi who we believe will be world-class and we’ll get him next summer,” said the boss.
“He is a top player. He has everything – the speed, the profile and he can play now but our deal was that we couldn’t bring him in now.
“That was unfortunate because he can run in behind, he can keep the ball, he can press and he can run.”
Origi has four goals in 9 appearances for Lille so far this season.
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Displacing Daniel Sturridge up front for England is not something Danny Welbeck is thinking about ahead of the European Championship qualifier in Estonia.
A thigh injury suffered on Three Lions duty last month has ruled Sturridge out of Liverpool's last seven matches, as well as this week's Euro 2016 qualifiers.
The 25-year-old's setback also meant he had to be replaced in the starting line-up to face Switzerland, giving Welbeck a rare chance as striker from the outset.
It was an opportunity he grasped, after scoring twice to secure a 2-0 win in Basle before netting four goals for new club Arsenal, as well as a close-range strike in the 5-0 defeat of San Marino on Thursday.
Welbeck is likely to get another start up front in Estonia, but the chance to put himself above Sturridge in the pecking order is not something he is thinking about.
"No, because I have been in squads with Daniel Sturridge before and we have played in different positions," he said.
"There is me, Daniel, Wayne [Rooney] and Raheem [Sterling] as well and all the other forward players, so you can't just say this is the opportunity to make my mark.
"Whoever is in the squad I am going to try my best in every single game and training.
"Playing as a centre forward and getting into those goal-scoring opportunities it becomes much easier."
England had to remain patient to find their way through the defence-minded San Marinese and are likely to have to do the same in Tallinn on Sunday.
"It's a quick turnaround," Welbeck said of the Estonia trip. "We have to travel out there and recover well as a team.
"We need to be prepared physically, mentally and tactically for the game.
"It's not going to be similar to San Marino and being away from home Estonia are going to try and win the game, but so are we."
Displacing Daniel Sturridge up front for England is not something Danny Welbeck is thinking about ahead of the European Championship qualifier in Estonia.
A thigh injury suffered on Three Lions duty last month has ruled Sturridge out of Liverpool's last seven matches, as well as this week's Euro 2016 qualifiers.
The 25-year-old's setback also meant he had to be replaced in the starting line-up to face Switzerland, giving Welbeck a rare chance as striker from the outset.
It was an opportunity he grasped, after scoring twice to secure a 2-0 win in Basle before netting four goals for new club Arsenal, as well as a close-range strike in the 5-0 defeat of San Marino on Thursday.
Welbeck is likely to get another start up front in Estonia, but the chance to put himself above Sturridge in the pecking order is not something he is thinking about.
"No, because I have been in squads with Daniel Sturridge before and we have played in different positions," he said.
"There is me, Daniel, Wayne [Rooney] and Raheem [Sterling] as well and all the other forward players, so you can't just say this is the opportunity to make my mark.
"Whoever is in the squad I am going to try my best in every single game and training.
"Playing as a centre forward and getting into those goal-scoring opportunities it becomes much easier."
England had to remain patient to find their way through the defence-minded San Marinese and are likely to have to do the same in Tallinn on Sunday.
"It's a quick turnaround," Welbeck said of the Estonia trip. "We have to travel out there and recover well as a team.
"We need to be prepared physically, mentally and tactically for the game.
"It's not going to be similar to San Marino and being away from home Estonia are going to try and win the game, but so are we."
Roy Hodgson has no intention of resting Raheem Sterling for Sunday's game against Estonia, but the England manager insists he will give the Liverpool teenager a break in the future if he feels he is losing his match sharpness.
Sterling was one of the few players to emerge from England's World Cup campaign with an enhanced reputation.
The winger is now regarded as one of Liverpool's most exciting players and he is also one of the first names on Hodgson's team sheet.
But the England manager, like his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers, is aware that Sterling is still just 19 years old and he aims to do everything he can to help the Liverpool player deal with the pressure that comes with being a star for club and country.
"We are conscious of managing the situation," Hodgson said.
"When he shows signs of not being quite as sharp, not doing as well, trying too hard, that might be the moment we think we have to manage this and give him a break."
Although he made it clear he was not telling Hodgson how to do his job, Rodgers spoke of the likelihood that Sterling would need a rest at times this year.
The Liverpool manager has already done that once this season, naming the midfielder on the bench for the Reds' home fixture against Aston Villa.
Rodgers said: "It is human nature there will come periods when they need the rest.
"I would think that Roy and his staff would have a look at things."
Hodgson clearly agrees with the Northern Irishman, but he does not believe this weekend is the time to rest a player who has scored three goals in six Premier League starts.
"I don't think the situation will need managing until he shows signs of suffering from it," said Hodgson, who only gave Sterling 45 minutes in the 5-0 win over San Marino on Thursday night.
"But that is not the case at the moment and I don't think Liverpool need to worry.
"In the first half against San Marino he was a lively as he could have been.
"At half-time I said 'I am taking you two off' (to Sterling and Jordan Henderson) and they looked at me like 'don't do that - we want to stay on' and that is quite nice."
Sterling was not the only man to impress Hodgson on Thursday night.
Andros Townsend got his reward for being "full of beans" in training all week when he banged in England's fourth - albeit against the world's worst international team.
Hodgson also praised Arsenal quintet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Calum Chambers for their efforts.
The average age of the starting line-up was 25 and not one player featured who was over 30 years old.
Hodgson thinks he is starting to develop a very strong team which will be even better in a few years' time - even though he may not be around the England set-up then.
"This team is mostly 21 or 22," the 67-year-old said. "And people will tell me people don't reach their best until they are 27 or 28 realistically.
"I am enjoying the moment where they gain experience and they are providing a lot of things which give us a lot of satisfaction.
"It is something which has happened and I have been lucky enough to be there when it happened. And I suppose I am bright enough to realise that I don't have to hang my hat on 30-year-olds if these guys are that good."
England take on Estonia this Sunday just 72 hours after the win over San Marino, but Hodgson is sure his team will be ready for the test in Tallinn.
"We won't have much turnaround time, but neither have Estonia," Hodgson said.
"The result against San Marino was good and we have to make certain people are aware against Estonia that we must not let anything slip."
Roy Hodgson has no intention of resting Raheem Sterling for Sunday's game against Estonia, but the England manager insists he will give the Liverpool teenager a break in the future if he feels he is losing his match sharpness.
Sterling was one of the few players to emerge from England's World Cup campaign with an enhanced reputation.
The winger is now regarded as one of Liverpool's most exciting players and he is also one of the first names on Hodgson's team sheet.
But the England manager, like his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers, is aware that Sterling is still just 19 years old and he aims to do everything he can to help the Liverpool player deal with the pressure that comes with being a star for club and country.
"We are conscious of managing the situation," Hodgson said.
"When he shows signs of not being quite as sharp, not doing as well, trying too hard, that might be the moment we think we have to manage this and give him a break."
Although he made it clear he was not telling Hodgson how to do his job, Rodgers spoke of the likelihood that Sterling would need a rest at times this year.
The Liverpool manager has already done that once this season, naming the midfielder on the bench for the Reds' home fixture against Aston Villa.
Rodgers said: "It is human nature there will come periods when they need the rest.
"I would think that Roy and his staff would have a look at things."
Hodgson clearly agrees with the Northern Irishman, but he does not believe this weekend is the time to rest a player who has scored three goals in six Premier League starts.
"I don't think the situation will need managing until he shows signs of suffering from it," said Hodgson, who only gave Sterling 45 minutes in the 5-0 win over San Marino on Thursday night.
"But that is not the case at the moment and I don't think Liverpool need to worry.
"In the first half against San Marino he was a lively as he could have been.
"At half-time I said 'I am taking you two off' (to Sterling and Jordan Henderson) and they looked at me like 'don't do that - we want to stay on' and that is quite nice."
Sterling was not the only man to impress Hodgson on Thursday night.
Andros Townsend got his reward for being "full of beans" in training all week when he banged in England's fourth - albeit against the world's worst international team.
Hodgson also praised Arsenal quintet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Calum Chambers for their efforts.
The average age of the starting line-up was 25 and not one player featured who was over 30 years old.
Hodgson thinks he is starting to develop a very strong team which will be even better in a few years' time - even though he may not be around the England set-up then.
"This team is mostly 21 or 22," the 67-year-old said. "And people will tell me people don't reach their best until they are 27 or 28 realistically.
"I am enjoying the moment where they gain experience and they are providing a lot of things which give us a lot of satisfaction.
"It is something which has happened and I have been lucky enough to be there when it happened. And I suppose I am bright enough to realise that I don't have to hang my hat on 30-year-olds if these guys are that good."
England take on Estonia this Sunday just 72 hours after the win over San Marino, but Hodgson is sure his team will be ready for the test in Tallinn.
"We won't have much turnaround time, but neither have Estonia," Hodgson said.
"The result against San Marino was good and we have to make certain people are aware against Estonia that we must not let anything slip."
After eight appearances so far for Liverpool, two as sub, Ashwin Ramesh analyses Mario Baltelli’s start to life at Anfield.
There is little doubt that Mario Balotelli is a talented footballer. He has the potential to be among the world’s best. But so far it hasn’t clicked at Liverpool.
Is it a case of him needing more time to settle? Is he not suited to Liverpool’s style of play? Do Liverpool need to adapt to accommodate him? Or is it a perceived attitude problem?
The Italian forward most definitely has big boots to fill. I’m sure none of us expected Balotelli to hit the heights of Luis Suarez from the word go, but we surely expect a lot more from the £16 million man.
Balotelli’s performances as an individual
The style with which Liverpool played last season was breathtaking. Two strikers, Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, up top playing with an incredible work rate and brilliant understanding. Constantly trying to run at the defenders and getting in behind the opposition, with Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson providing great support from midfield.
The worst nightmare for a defender is when a striker with incredible pace is running at you. It becomes very tough to deal with even for top class centre-backs.
These images from last season’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford depict exactly how Liverpool caused problems for teams in the final-third. The eagerness of Suarez (2nd image) and Sturridge (1st image) to get in the box and make something happen made it tough for the defenders to deal with.
Whereas Balotelli’s positions (against Everton in the images below) often haven’t looked threatening to the opposition and have been too easy to defend against.
There is nobody inside the box, and the lone striker in the team is either very deep or out wide. The fact that Balotelli didn’t have a single touch inside the opponents box against Basel highlights our biggest concern, although, admittedly the service that night from midfield wasn’t great either.
When players have made attacking runs, especially Alberto Moreno and Sterling, he hasn’t provided the killer pass. Instead he has often cut in to take a shot and waste the opportunity. Not that he shouldn’t be given the licence to do that, but he should consider other options around him too.
In the games he has played for Liverpool until now, I haven’t seen Balotelli pressing and running at the defenders. He needs to get in behind the defensive line more often. He sometimes kills the pace at which we counter by keeping the ball and trying to do too much. That one touch passing doesn’t look that effective with him in the team. Not that his passing has been bad, but for a player with such high quality technical ability, we do expect more from Balotelli.
Understanding with his fellow forwards
There seems to be a lack of understanding between Balotelli, Sterling and new signing Lazar Markovic. They’ve seemed to be playing more as individuals. Hence, Sterling has become ineffective at times. Plus, Markovic, who himself is finding adapting to life in England hard isn’t helping the cause either.
The only game this season where it looked like Balotelli would be a success at Liverpool was against Spurs, when he was paired alongside Sturridge. The movement of Sturridge caused problems for the defenders and created space for Balotelli – and Sterling – to exploit. Hopefully, with Sturridge returning against QPR, we’ll see promising signs of a new strike partnership.
Conclusion
Balotelli, at least as of now, doesn’t look like a forward who will make those intelligent runs we saw so often last season. Hence, it seems useless to put him in as the lone striker up front in a typical Brendan Rodgers type line-up.
We can’t write him off after only eight games at the club. He is only 24 and still learning. Plus, Balotelli can add something to our attack that Suarez could never offer, aerial presence. Rodgers might have to tweak a few things too to use Balotelli’s strengths more effectively.
Not many teams in Europe play the brand of football that Liverpool do. So, I’m pretty sure that it’ll take time for Super Mario to adjust to Rodger’s style and the players around him. Brendan needs to ensure that he doesn’t lose confidence.
A player of such brilliant natural ability shouldn’t go waste.
Ashwin Ramesh
Do you agree with Ashwin’s assessments? Let us know in the comments below.
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After eight appearances so far for Liverpool, two as sub, Ashwin Ramesh analyses Mario Baltelli’s start to life at Anfield.
There is little doubt that Mario Balotelli is a talented footballer. He has the potential to be among the world’s best. But so far it hasn’t clicked at Liverpool.
Is it a case of him needing more time to settle? Is he not suited to Liverpool’s style of play? Do Liverpool need to adapt to accommodate him? Or is it a perceived attitude problem?
The Italian forward most definitely has big boots to fill. I’m sure none of us expected Balotelli to hit the heights of Luis Suarez from the word go, but we surely expect a lot more from the £16 million man.
Balotelli’s performances as an individual
The style with which Liverpool played last season was breathtaking. Two strikers, Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, up top playing with an incredible work rate and brilliant understanding. Constantly trying to run at the defenders and getting in behind the opposition, with Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson providing great support from midfield.
The worst nightmare for a defender is when a striker with incredible pace is running at you. It becomes very tough to deal with even for top class centre-backs.
These images from last season’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford depict exactly how Liverpool caused problems for teams in the final-third. The eagerness of Suarez (2nd image) and Sturridge (1st image) to get in the box and make something happen made it tough for the defenders to deal with.
Whereas Balotelli’s positions (against Everton in the images below) often haven’t looked threatening to the opposition and have been too easy to defend against.
There is nobody inside the box, and the lone striker in the team is either very deep or out wide. The fact that Balotelli didn’t have a single touch inside the opponents box against Basel highlights our biggest concern, although, admittedly the service that night from midfield wasn’t great either.
When players have made attacking runs, especially Alberto Moreno and Sterling, he hasn’t provided the killer pass. Instead he has often cut in to take a shot and waste the opportunity. Not that he shouldn’t be given the licence to do that, but he should consider other options around him too.
In the games he has played for Liverpool until now, I haven’t seen Balotelli pressing and running at the defenders. He needs to get in behind the defensive line more often. He sometimes kills the pace at which we counter by keeping the ball and trying to do too much. That one touch passing doesn’t look that effective with him in the team. Not that his passing has been bad, but for a player with such high quality technical ability, we do expect more from Balotelli.
Understanding with his fellow forwards
There seems to be a lack of understanding between Balotelli, Sterling and new signing Lazar Markovic. They’ve seemed to be playing more as individuals. Hence, Sterling has become ineffective at times. Plus, Markovic, who himself is finding adapting to life in England hard isn’t helping the cause either.
The only game this season where it looked like Balotelli would be a success at Liverpool was against Spurs, when he was paired alongside Sturridge. The movement of Sturridge caused problems for the defenders and created space for Balotelli – and Sterling – to exploit. Hopefully, with Sturridge returning against QPR, we’ll see promising signs of a new strike partnership.
Conclusion
Balotelli, at least as of now, doesn’t look like a forward who will make those intelligent runs we saw so often last season. Hence, it seems useless to put him in as the lone striker up front in a typical Brendan Rodgers type line-up.
We can’t write him off after only eight games at the club. He is only 24 and still learning. Plus, Balotelli can add something to our attack that Suarez could never offer, aerial presence. Rodgers might have to tweak a few things too to use Balotelli’s strengths more effectively.
Not many teams in Europe play the brand of football that Liverpool do. So, I’m pretty sure that it’ll take time for Super Mario to adjust to Rodger’s style and the players around him. Brendan needs to ensure that he doesn’t lose confidence.
A player of such brilliant natural ability shouldn’t go waste.
Ashwin Ramesh
Do you agree with Ashwin’s assessments? Let us know in the comments below.
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Liverpool forward Fabio Borini believes he could forge a good partnership with fellow Italian Mario Balotelli but admits the variety of strikers at Anfield offers manager Brendan Rodgers plenty of permutations.
Balotelli has yet to find his form with just one goal, against Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets, in eight matches and was dropped for last weekend's win over West Brom.
Borini, who rejected summer offers to move to Sunderland and QPR, has had even less pitch time with just three appearances, with only one start.
The 23-year-old has shared the field with Balotelli for just 98 minutes but is confident they could bring out the best in each other.
"I have played with him before and found it really well on the pitch," he said.
"Not just because of the language but we were born with the same idea of football, as Italians, so it's really easy to understand each other even without talking.
"He's a player that can change the game whenever he wants. It's a tough league, probably the toughest in Europe – and I think he understands that.
"In the games, he runs a lot and is really giving himself to the team, being very unselfish."
With Daniel Sturridge set to return from a six-week absence with a thigh strain when the Premier League campaign resumes next weekend, Borini and Balotelli's replacement against West Brom Rickie Lambert, will find opportunities harder to come by.
However, that does not faze the Italian who thinks Liverpool's quartet of strikers provides essential variety.
"We have four completely different players so there is a good choice of players in the squad, because we can all do different things," he told liverpoolfc.com.
"We can all play together and we can all play on our own up front when it is a 4-3-3.
"It is a good selection of strikers and we can all learn from each other.
"I know there are some things that Rickie might do better than me, so I can learn from him. It's the same with Daniel and Mario.
"We all learn from each other if we have the right attitude. We can all play together.
"I've played in lots of teams but that's something I've never seen before – such a different selection of strikers."
PA
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Liverpool forward Fabio Borini believes he could forge a good partnership with fellow Italian Mario Balotelli but admits the variety of strikers at Anfield offers manager Brendan Rodgers plenty of permutations.
Balotelli has yet to find his form with just one goal, against Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets, in eight matches and was dropped for last weekend's win over West Brom.
Borini, who rejected summer offers to move to Sunderland and QPR, has had even less pitch time with just three appearances, with only one start.
The 23-year-old has shared the field with Balotelli for just 98 minutes but is confident they could bring out the best in each other.
"I have played with him before and found it really well on the pitch," he said.
"Not just because of the language but we were born with the same idea of football, as Italians, so it's really easy to understand each other even without talking.
"He's a player that can change the game whenever he wants. It's a tough league, probably the toughest in Europe – and I think he understands that.
"In the games, he runs a lot and is really giving himself to the team, being very unselfish."
With Daniel Sturridge set to return from a six-week absence with a thigh strain when the Premier League campaign resumes next weekend, Borini and Balotelli's replacement against West Brom Rickie Lambert, will find opportunities harder to come by.
However, that does not faze the Italian who thinks Liverpool's quartet of strikers provides essential variety.
"We have four completely different players so there is a good choice of players in the squad, because we can all do different things," he told liverpoolfc.com.
"We can all play together and we can all play on our own up front when it is a 4-3-3.
"It is a good selection of strikers and we can all learn from each other.
"I know there are some things that Rickie might do better than me, so I can learn from him. It's the same with Daniel and Mario.
"We all learn from each other if we have the right attitude. We can all play together.
"I've played in lots of teams but that's something I've never seen before – such a different selection of strikers."
PA
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