There are mixed messages coming from Brendan Rodgers at the moment but the Liverpool boss is trying to quietly change Liverpool's style of play, writes Matt Briggs.
"If Plan A doesn't work, Plan B is to make a change to make Plan A more effective," said Brendan Rodgers soon after he was appointed Liverpool boss in August 2012.
And with a short-passing game inspired by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona as a Plan A, it was what every Liverpool fan wanted to hear, but three years down the line and no silverware to his name it looks as though Rodgers has tinkered with his philosophy, but don't let him know you know.
Ahead of Monday's fascinating goalless draw with Arsenal, Rodgers insisted Liverpool's style, even with the addition of £32.5million frontman Christian Benteke, would not change.
"It's not like we were smashing it into the box and playing off the second ball. But we're not against that," said Rodgers, whose side almost opening the scoring through Philippe Coutinho in the third minute after winning a second ball.
"That's not a compromise. Our notion in the game is always to dominate the ball. I've been in football a long time and my emphasis has always been possession, but dangerous position," he added.
They certainly did not dominate possession at The Emirates and depending on which stat outlet you rely on they had only between 34% to 38% possession - the lowest under Rodgers in the Premier League. That in itself is no crime because they carved out numerous chances and should have been home and dry in a first-half which saw Philippe Coutinho rattle the woodwork twice.
But there was a noticeable change in their style of play on Monday and in Rodgers' ideology, which he convinced us three years ago he would never change. Liverpool were more direct and their aerial stats prove it.
Last season the Reds averaged just 15 aerial duels won per game and were 19th of the 20 top-flight clubs, however this term their average is 24.3 and sees them top of the pile.
Rodgers did in fact admit as much before Monday night in a quote which has mostly gone under the radar and the only admission yet from Rodgers that his early blinkered approach needed changing.
"As you evolve as a manager and a coach you understand and recognise that at times there are different ways to win a game of football," Rodgers said.
There were only three minutes on the clock when Benteke had been slipped in down the side of Gabriel before pulling the ball back for Coutinho to fire against the underside of the bar. That chance originated from a long ball forward to Benteke with Liverpool pouncing on the second ball in Arsenal's final third.
It was an early example of Rodgers' idea of dominating dangerous space, rather than possession, and they maintained that approach for much of the first half before being pushed back in the second period after the Gunners' half-time rollicking.
"You don't need to dominate the ball but you can dominate the space. That is important in the away games," Rodgers said ahead of Monday's game.
Three years ago Rodgers would never have advocated "smashing it into the box and playing off the second ball", but that's what they did against Arsenal, not solely, and why not?
It is certainly not a negative attack on Rodgers, who has been bold enough to consider that plan A, regardless of the changes cannot work in every game.
The summer arrival of Benteke, who undoubtedly is more than just a target man, signalled Rodgers' intentions. It's just a shame the Liverpool boss has not been able to come totally clean and admit that his Plan A, Plan A, Plan A ideology was not the correct approach for every game.
"I think the purist element comes from other people," claimed Rodgers over the weekend. "Ultimately it's about results but, for me, it's also how we play. I worry that we play good football."
But "good football" can only last for so long without trophies and now the pressure on Rodgers is well and truly on because another trophyless season - with an evolved style of play - could see the manager with nowhere else to turn and heading for the scrapheap.
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