It seems like a long time ago that Luis Suarez paced the Liverpool attack as their top striker and one of the most lethal goal scorers in the EPL. After the way last season unfolded at Anfield, the fans have to be reminiscing of better days. No single player loss more negatively affected a team than Suarez leaving Liverpool last summer for eventual European champ Barcelona.
But the bleeding didn’t end there. Longtime captain Steven Gerrard has left for the MLS after a less-than-storybook ending to his Premier League soccer career.
Once again, the Reds will enter this offseason with more questions than answers as they aim to restock their roster. As we continue our EPL team recaps, here are four things we learned from Liverpool this past season.
The Midfield Is Solid
Even with Gerrard set to move on, the Reds have a wealth of talent in the midfield starting with Jordan Henderson, who emerged as a pleasant surprise this past season. He’ll get support from Raheem Sterling, who carried over his stellar form as the best of the bunch. Adam Lallana looked good when he played but will need to stay healthy in order to maximize his potential for Liverpool while Joe Allen did well in his holding midfield role. Emre Can was also very underrated and has the potential to be a star in the middle. Rodgers capitalized on his stacked midfield by rolling with five midfielders and two forwards when the Reds attack was at its best and we will likely see much more of that format moving forward. This is the team’s biggest strength.
The Need For An Elite Striker
The inconsistency that Liverpool showed in the attacking third of the pitch was alarming for manager Brendan Rodgers. They finished the season with 52 goals, which isn’t bad, but it’s far less than Chelsea (73), Manchester City (83) and Arsenal (71), and those are the teams Liverpool are trying to catch up to.
While Rodgers experimented with different formations in order to try and generate more offense, the reality is that the move to a 5-2 up front isn’t enough to rely on moving forward. Rodgers needs more flexibility and Liverpool desperately needs the type of elites striker that can consistently finish the way Suarez did during his time at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge has been decent but Mario Balotelli’s time with Liverpool has been disappointing and there is no doubt that they will need to address the striker position this summer. The stellar midfield is rendered somewhat toothless if they don’t have someone that can finish.
Importance Of Identifying The Right Talent
It will be very important for Liverpool to take a patient and cautious approach to the summer transfer window. They must key in on their specific needs in order to avoid wasting money in areas where they don’t need to spend it and while that seems obvious, that’s mostly what they did last year. The Reds had plenty of money to spend last summer and they wasted a ton of it with players like Balotelli, Divock Orgi and Lallana. They were among the major disappointments whether it was because of their play or inability to stay healthy. Liverpool will have the opportunity to buy a couple of big name players this summer but they have to be careful where they spend their money and focus on the striker position.
The Club Is At A Crossroads
Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool each took steps back to varying degrees this past season and the result was that Chelsea ran away with the title while Arsenal ended up taking third spot and Tottenham fifth. Every single one of those teams will look to reload this summer for the chance to contend, so it will be on Rodgers and his staff to make the necessary changes this summer to get the team back on the right track. If they’re inaccurate in the summer once again, they’re going to slide even further back as the rest of the big boys retoool. However, if they’ve learned from their mistakes, this is a team that could complete for a EPL title with another piece or two.
