<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Liverpool.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/Liverpool.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-116111" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140919_CMS_116738_Liverpool-600x400_a8bf0875.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=400" alt="Liverpool" width="600" height="400" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050831/Liverpool-600x400.jpg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050831/Liverpool-150x100.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050831/Liverpool-300x200.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/09/17050831/Liverpool.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></a></figure>
Liverpool Football Club have played in five competitive games so far this season and there is still no definitive answer to how they will cope in a post-<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/08/15/luis-suarez-takes-part-in-first-training-session-with-barcelona-video/">Luis Suarez</a> world. Out of the five, only against Tottenham away have they resembled the Liverpool seen in the latter half of last season. Manager Brendan Rodgers has been careful to remind everyone that last season started off slowly as well. The Reds started off with three stressful 1-0 wins in their first three games, lost to Southampton at home, and had a few lifeless trips to Newcastle, Hull City, and Arsenal littered in the first half of last season. From roughly February on, those flawed performances essentially ceased. Will <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2014/09/16/premier-league-tactics-corner-round-4/">Liverpool</a> find their wings and soar with the contenders of the league yet again? The answer is not yet obvious, but the progress up to this point can be assessed.
Team Strengths
Liverpool have depth in attack this season. This could be seen in their Champions League game against Ludogorets Razgrad on Tuesday. Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen, and Emre Can were out injured. Lazar Markovic missed the game due to a suspension that had carried over from last season. Liverpool still had Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert on the bench to supplement their attack. Both players are good enough to be regular starters at mid-table Premier League clubs.
Liverpool also have youth running through the spine of their squad, but for the most part it is proven youth. Out of the players that can be expected to be regular contributors this season, only Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, and Lambert are in the post-prime stage of their careers. Gerrard is undoubtedly a focal point, but Johnson and Lambert should have a limited number of appearances. Youth can be listed as a weakness, but Raheem Sterling, Sturridge, Jordan Henderson, Allen, Philippe Coutinho, Mario Balotelli, Dejan Lovren, and Mamadou Sakho are only going to maintain their current level of effectiveness or improve. Young legs should maintain their energy throughout a long and grueling campaign in which Liverpool expect to compete for trophies.
Team Weaknesses
Unfamiliarity can be seen with just about every connection made on the pitch. The preseason didn’t make much of a dent as far as acclimating players. Injuries to Markovic and Adam Lallana meant that they only played 45 minutes combined in the preseason. Lovren was brought into the squad after they had returned from their American tour. Balotelli was brought in and has been immediately relied upon to bring a goal return in high-pressure situations. The players simply don’t know each other and it leads to stagnation in attack, communication and positioning errors on the defensive side. These are issues where the only formula for improvement is time and coaching. Rodgers is also going through a learning process – this is the first time that he’s ever had a deep squad competing on two different fronts.
While he has bought players with roles in mind, certain fits and combinations must be tinkered with. Scouting a player and actually coaching them can reveal the deepest of insights. It was one thing when Liverpool were in Europa League and the likes of Suso and Jonjo Shelvey could win away games, but the squad depth this time around will keep expectations high.
Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet had an average season overall last year and looks to be the same this year. Rumors are kicking around that Victor Valdes is incoming when he recovers from his knee injury and it would be a genuine improvement if he was anywhere near his top form if he arrives.
Star Player so far this Season
Raheem Sterling. Wide Left. Wide Right. Through the Middle. No matter where he is played, Sterling still manages to look like the most dangerous player in the team. For a 19-year-old to be this versatile and effective, any sort of ceiling projection has to be removed. It may still be a purple patch as far as goals are concerned, but time is starting to erode that hypothesis.
How was Liverpool’s Transfer Window?
A lot of evaluation is still to be done, but it was encouraging that Liverpool secured basically their first choice for every single need. The production of Suarez was never going to be replaced directly. Not even Suarez would have produced at the same level as last season. Comparisons to Tottenham’s handling of the Bale situation were always going to come, but Liverpool had a better core of players to fall back on than Spurs did. Liverpool had to increase their depth as Rodgers only had about 13 players he trusted by the end of last season and Champions League was looming.
Every transfer was done in a reasonably timely manner and Liverpool could sit back with their legs crossed on the table as other clubs scrambled around for moves late in the window. All three of the defensive signings have made encouraging starts to the season. Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo look like a great fullback pairing, with Moreno as the attacking threat and Manquillo showing the defensive qualities of a brick wall with legs. Lovren seems to be the leader and organizer that Rodgers craved in defense and he has looked capable on the right and the left. There is still some hysteria over Liverpool’s defense, but they are allowing the fewest shots per game in the Premier League thus far with one of the hardest schedules.
The midfielders and forwards bought are still tough to judge. Lambert was a cheap buy for a third or fourth choice forward. Lallana’s fee was a bit high, but he was the first target of Rodgers and the transfer committee and there are bigger plans yet to come for him when he’s at full match fitness.
Inflation due to an influx in television money and a premium due to his prime age and English nationality were definitely factors in the price. Balotelli’s fee was small for a player and goalscorer of his quality and will have been worth it even if this is the only season where he behaves and plays well. Markovic and Emre Can are young players with Champions League experience that look promising early. Perhaps a midfielder in his prime with European-proven quality could have been sought after, but that doesn’t seem to be the way that Liverpool go about their transfer business. Indications seem to suggest that they don’t want to create wage wars within the team and Rodgers genuinely seems to enjoy coaching players to their highest potential. Buying ready-made talents doesn’t seem to be on the agenda.
Best Starting XI
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 4-4-2 (diamond)
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Balotelli&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Sturridge
————–Sterling—————
—-Coutinho——Henderson—-
————- Gerrard—————-
Moreno&nbsp;&nbsp; Sakho&nbsp;&nbsp; Lovren&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Manquillo
————-Mignolet—————-
Injury Concerns
Daniel Sturridge is one of the best strikers in the world, but he is constantly an injury worry. His health was the biggest fear for Liverpool fans as international duty approached, and it may have cost them some sort of result against Aston Villa and possibly more. England manager Roy Hodgson doesn’t come out in a great light judging by the complaints from the Liverpool side of things, but he doesn’t seem to be eager to change his ways anytime soon.
Jon Flanagan has just been ruled out for a few months because of knee surgery and that is a big blow as he showed capability last season of playing fullback on either side. That is a concern because Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique have totaled roughly three effective games between them over the last calendar year.
Joe Allen is still a few weeks away after suffering a knee injury due to a dodgy Andorra pitch for Wales and that is unfortunate as he had just found a run of form in the starting XI.
However, Martin Skrtel could prove his fitness and make a return to the side after missing the past three matches.
Manager Grade
7.5/10.&nbsp;Even with Sturridge out and unfamiliarity abound, losing to Aston Villa at home and barely scraping by against Ludogorets should not be happening. Rodgers waited a bit too long to change out of a 4-2-3-1 against Villa and having a left-back in the opposition box in the 90th&nbsp;minute while up 1-0 in the Champions League has to fall on the manager’s shoulders somehow. Still, the underlying statistics, such as TSR(total shot ratio), you can summarise that it’s been a decent start for Liverpool and Rodgers’ charges.
Biggest Worry Going Forward
Will these players gel in a reasonable amount of time or at all? There’s no guarantee that a newly assembled group of players will find chemistry on and off the pitch. The track record of Rodgers and the players will go some way to alleviating these concerns, but the clock is ticking on the season and a few bad results can conceivably dig a hole too deep to climb out of. Manchester United, Everton, Spurs, and Arsenal have great talents and strong management. If it takes too long for the talent to click in the league, placing outside of the top four would be a major step back for the club.
Overall Team Rating So Far&nbsp;(out of 5 stars)
3 stars
The squad have only really put together one great performance out of the first five matches, but to come out with three victories in that process shows some sort of mental fortitude. A three star rating is based on the talent within the squad and there are higher peaks to hit. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out and who will become the star actors. Suarez and Sturridge looked to be just that in January of 2014, but the team ended up being the main attraction by the end of it. Rodgers and Liverpool fans will hope that history repeats itself.

Liverpool’s August-September Progress Report

Liverpool's August-September Progress Report - World Soccer Talk

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-99219" title="luis-suarez-gareth-bale" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20140417_CMS_99158_luis-suarez-gareth-bale-600x434_4e34721a.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=434" alt="" width="600" height="434" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/04/17055621/luis-suarez-gareth-bale-600x434.jpg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/04/17055621/luis-suarez-gareth-bale-150x108.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/04/17055621/luis-suarez-gareth-bale-300x217.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/04/17055621/luis-suarez-gareth-bale.jpg 650w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure>
As Liverpool edge towards an improbable league title and Tottenham fade away, many have taken the opportunity to compare the differing fortunes of the two clubs. Both teams started the season having finished outside the top four and were looking to break through this season. Both (initially) had young managers with much to prove. Tottenham have slipped up, unable to take advantage of Manchester United’s slide, whilst Liverpool have soared up the table and are now serious contenders, if not favorites, for the title. The obvious question is what did Spurs do wrong and what did Liverpool do right?
Some cite the impact of Liverpool sticking by their manager Brendan Rodgers despite a poor season last year. Others would point to Liverpool’s British base of talent and the rejuvenation of Steven Gerrard as both player and leader. Liverpool’s lack of European football has also been suggested as a factor. All these points may have their merits. But there is one oft-repeated point that is irksome: the Suarez-Bale debate.
The argument goes that Tottenham’s big mistake was selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid while Liverpool stuck to their guns by refusing to sell Luis Suarez. Suarez has since become one of the world’s best footballers at Liverpool. Bale is still one of the world’s best but now plays for Real Madrid, not Tottenham. If only Spurs had held their nerve and not sold their talisman, they could be where Liverpool are now.
This view however, is seriously misguided.
This isn’t to say that Spurs are somehow a better team without Bale. They clearly aren’t this season. What is strange is this comparison between the two situations, as if both players and teams were in identical positions going into this season. There appears to have been a kind of collective amnesia amongst the media, pundits and the wider soccer-watching public. People seem to have forgotten about everything that happened with Suarez last season and the season before and they have also forgotten about Bale’s situation at Tottenham. So let’s call this article a mythbuster: Why the Suarez and Bale sagas shouldn’t be compared.
The Real Madrid Campaign
When most football fans think about Gareth Bale now, the main thing they remember is last season where Bale was scoring wonder goals every other day. After that, perhaps the month long transfer saga that was the prelude to Bale’s eventual move to Madrid. What seems to have been forgotten is that Real Madrid were strongly linked with Bale the season before. As it turned out, it was only Luka Modric who left that summer but the link was already made and Bale made no secret of his desire to play abroad. This was not, as it seems to have been remembered, a case of Real Madrid suddenly making a big play for Bale last summer. This was a move that was nurtured carefully, and consistently pushed along by the biggest club in the world. The culmination was last year’s saga, but this had been on the cards for much longer.
In contrast, Luis Suarez was more of an afterthought in the minds of the clubs that could afford to buy him. Real Madrid were focused on the Bale transfer, which dragged out over the whole summer, Barcelona were focused on signing Neymar. PSG had decided to spend their money on Edinson Cavani. Chelsea seemed focused on Wayne Rooney whilst Manchester City were busy buying a number of players who they felt would fit into their new system under manager Manuel Pellegrini. The only club that made a serious play for Luis Suarez was Arsenal, and even they only made a derisory offer to try and trigger the buyout clause. The only other team that may have had the money to buy Suarez was Bayern Munich but it seemed unlikely that Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola would sign such a potentially divisive player. Which brings us neatly on to the next point.
Image and Reputation&nbsp;
This season Luis Suarez has generally been well-behaved but last season and the season before, this was far from the case. First, there was the racism incident with Patrice Evra that saw Suarez face a substantial ban and Liverpool’s good name tarnished. Then last season there was of course the biting incident. Suarez was undeniably fantastic last season in a soccer sense, almost on a par with Bale in fact, but there were serious question marks about his character. Despite Arsenal’s glaring need for a striker last summer, plenty of Arsenal fans were not sold on buying Suarez largely because of his reputation and image, not because of any questions about his ability. For the global mega clubs that could afford to sign Suarez, this was always going to be a big drawback to any potential transfer.
Gareth Bale, aside from his penchant for diving (an activity that Suarez also seems to enjoy), was essentially a model footballer. Keen to stay out of limelight and never really associated with anything unsavory, from a reputational standpoint, Bale was essentially zero risk. This clean cut image combined with his remarkable talent made him extremely marketable and, over the course of last season, he became not only a Tottenham icon, but a poster boy for the Premier League as a whole. As a result, any club looking to purchase Bale would know that as long as his talent translated to a new team and, as it turned out a new league, there would be no issues with attitude, behavior and image.
The Money&nbsp;
Gareth Bale moved to Real Madrid for a fee of somewhere between £80 million and £100 million, making him one of the top three transfers in soccer history alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and potentially Neymar (it’s still unclear how much he cost but it appears to be around £80 million). For a club like Tottenham that does not have the commercial revenue of the top four clubs (or in fact Liverpool), this was a serious amount of money. In fact, even for a club with big revenue’s like Manchester United, £80 million plus was considered too much to turn down when Real Madrid came after Ronaldo.
The numbers that appeared in rumors about Suarez were significantly lower. £60 million was probably the upper limit of figures that appeared in the media but the only serious offer appeared to be Arsenal’s £40,000,001. This was likely because of image and reputational issues as even last season, it was hard to doubt Suarez’ talent. In any case, the fact remains that unless there were seriously largely bids taking place outside of the media’s knowledge, the sums of money being discussed for Suarez did not come particularly close to those linked to Bale.
Time at the Club&nbsp;
By the time Gareth Bale left Tottenham Hotspur he had been at White Hart Lane for six years, having first arrived in 2007. At first he struggled, but from around 2010 he became a genuine star and last season he became a superstar. He was a key player in Tottenham’s 2009/10 season that saw Spurs achieve Champions League qualification and burst on to the global scene a year later when he decimated Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals. Tottenham fans obviously did not want Bale to leave but there was an understanding I think that Bale had been a good servant for Spurs for the last three or four seasons. Particularly as he had helped Spurs not only get into, but perform well in the Champions League.
Luis Suarez on the other hand arrived halfway through the 2010-11 season. After an impressive first half-season, his 2011-12 season was relatively disappointing as he ended up with just 11 league goals. Suarez was of course much much better in 2012-13 but still managed to get himself suspended for biting an opponent. Since Suarez signed for Liverpool, the Reds have never finished above 6th, a poor showing for a rich (if not mega-rich) club with a long history of success. Despite his brilliant goal scoring record last season, it could be argued that Suarez hadn’t really done enough to repay Liverpool for standing by him through all his troubles. Indeed there was plenty of talk last season that perhaps it was time to cut Suarez loose as he was too much of a liability.
Taking all these points into account, the only real similarity between the two players is that both had great season’s last year for teams that didn’t make the Champions League. In pretty much every other way, their situations leading into the summer of 2013 were different. To suggest that Tottenham and Liverpool basically had the same decision to make at the end of last season and went in different directions is not so much missing the wood for the trees but more like missing the wood for a couple of dead weeds.
It does of course make a compelling narrative and create a useful contrast to try and explain the differing fortunes of the two clubs, but it is a short sighted and shallow analysis. There are plenty of differences between the two clubs – their attitude towards their young managers, their willingness to promote young players and the presence of a true team captain, to name but a few. The sale of Bale and retention of Suarez however, were completely different situations and to equate them is to completely misunderstand their respective contexts.

Why Last Summer’s Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez Transfer Sagas Are Not Comparable

Why Last Summer’s Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez Transfer Sagas Are Not Comparable - World Soccer Talk

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Why Last Summer’s Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez Transfer Sagas Are Not Comparable