Central midfielders
Emre Can
Secure the holding midfield position as his own, simply. Steven Gerrard has departed, and we haven’t spent any money in directly replacing him – largely because of the German’s potential. Can will surely be given regular chances in the midfield three this season, and he needs to combine his immense physicality and composed technical skills and cement himself as an automatic starter ahead of Lucas and Joe Allen.
Lucas
Like Allen and Can, Lucas will be aiming to be our no.1 holding midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation we’re expected to begin the season with. If not, Lucas will be content with regular rotation appearances. His discipline shouldn’t be disregarded.
Joe Allen
Allen needs to show Liverpool fans the attributes Brendan Rodgers is so keen on. Our manager believes Allen can run games in true European fashion from midfield, but Reds supporters think he’s weak, unadventurous and only passes sideways. Like Can and Lucas, he wants that midfield spot next to the two automatic starters you’re about to hear about.
James Milner
In many ways – Milner doesn’t have much to prove individually. The football world knows what you get with him, and has grown to respect it. We think he’s more than a tireless runner, of course. Milner’s target, from his desired central midfield spot, should be to match the form shown with Aston Villa that saw Manchester City shell out £26m on him five years back. On top of this, he needs to grown into a role as one of the sides senior players and leaders.
Jordan Henderson
Henderson must prove Rodgers made the right decision in giving him Steven Gerrard’s armband – arguably the biggest individual task of the entire squad. But the new skipper’s got it in his locker. In terms of individual improvement, it’d be nice to see more of the guile and intricate creativity Henderson began to show at points in 2014/15 – and combine it with never-ending work-rate and a developing leadership.
