1) Reverting to a 3-4-3 mid-December…
There is no way any fan – Liverpool or neutral – can take this decision away from Rodgers…
Without two top notch strikers available (Luis Suarez being sold, and Daniel Sturridge being injured), the boss couldn’t feasibly deploy the diamond that saw us rip teams apart in 2013/14, so started this campaign with the modern 4-3-3 which most big sides use.
For whatever reason, it didn’t work – and there were loud murmurings that the Northern Irishman would lose his job unless he drastically turned around our fortunes.
At the time, we were struggling defensively, but it was our complete inability to create chances consistently which was perhaps just as damning. So Rodgers fielded a 3-4-2-1 formation against Manchester United on December 14, and although we lost 3-0, there were actually signs of significant improvement. (Yes, we’d been that bad previously…)
Since then, we’ve played 15 games – only losing to Chelsea in the League Cup after Extra Time. Defensively we’ve improved, and the new formation has maximised our attacking midfielders – as Coutinho and Adam Lallana have been able to play more centrally, between the opposition midfield and defence. The former especially has shone, while Raheem Sterling’s done a solid job as a false-9, although he’ll likely be used in attacking midfield now Sturridge is back. What’s more, the new tactic (which has been used very, very rarely in Premier League history), has enabled summer signings like Lazar Markovic, Alberto Moreno and the aforementioned Emre Can to shine.
It may not be the long-term option, but Rodgers deserves a huge pat on the back for implementing the wing-back formation when he did – as virtually no supporters at the time were calling for it.
