Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0 - Review of the League Cup Semi Final

Yesterday, Liverpool faced off against Chelsea in the deciding leg of the semi final of the League Cup. The tie was held at Stamford Bridge with the aggregate score at 1-1 from the first leg at Anfield. It was a feisty encounter with an early Eden Hazard penalty cancelled by a good finish by Raheem Sterling. While the Reds played really well, it was a mixture of brilliance from Thibaut Courtois and wasteful finishing that prevented them from holding the advantage. So, how did the Reds fare at the Bridge?

It was a very serpentine encounter with lots of twist and turns. There was a cornucopia of controversy as is the case when Jose Mourinho and Diego Costa are involved. Costa could have been easily sent off for what looked like two stamps on Liverpool players. On the other hand, Martin Skrtel could easily have conceded a penalty and players like Jordan Henderson and Lucas Leiva could easily have been sent off. There was an onslaught of attacks from both teams with numerous saves made by goalkeepers Courtois and Simon Mignolet. In the end, the tie could not be settled in the full 90 minutes but was made peremptory by Branislav Ivanovic’s thundering header.

The game heated up with Diego Costa involved a lot
Credit - thisisanfield.com

There were a lot of positives to take from this game as has been the case with most of Liverpool’s recent games. Most of those seem to be the same. Yet again, the defence held resolute to most of Chelsea’s threat. The Blues are known for their home dominance and the fact that the Reds were the first team to stop Chelsea from scoring in 90 minutes is a testament to the newfound resolve of the defence.

Of course, none of this would be done without the protection of Lucas Leiva who was imperious yet again, making game saving challenges. 

Also, Martin Skrtel deserves plaudits for his resilient performance. While Can and Sakho were also good, they were unmatched to Skrtel on the night and kept Diego Costa relatively quiet the entire game. Skrtel seems to get this sudden burst of invigoration when playing Costa and it was on show.  The other positives were the relentless pressing of the team in whole and the brilliance of Phillipe Coutinho. These points have been noted on in the past and hopefully will be continued in the future.

Simon Mignolet had a solid game
Credit - thisisanfield.com

But, while the positives were abundant in this game, it is the flaws that need to be highlighted if the Reds are to move forward. The Reds were yet again profligate in their finishing. The Reds had 4 clear-cut chances on the night that any top team would have finished. Raheem Sterling, for all his brilliance, is not yet an efficient striker and cannot be counted on regularly. Sterling has a problem with composure, as was apparent when instead of squaring to an open Steven Gerrard, Sterling decided to take on two defenders and failed. Sterling is not as reliable as he is touted out to be and needs time to work on his finishing.

Phillipe Coutinho, singled out before as being a positive, is in the same boat as Sterling in terms of finishing. One moment in the game perfectly epitomized Coutinho. He evaded four Chelsea defenders with a wonderful piece of skill only to waste the following shot by shooting straight at Courtois. Jordan Henderson was also guilty of this on numerous times. The three players took a total of 7 shots with only 1 on target. This kind of output is not good enough for top team players.

Phillipe Coutinho was a constant menace
the entire game.

 The biggest problem the Reds have now is that they have no one to rely on always. Goals are what win games and no one player can get them consistently. There is not point in intricate and deft build up play if there is no one to finish it. The perfect analogy would be a Ferrari without an engine. It has an amazing façade but is in the end useless. Liverpool have to dip into a transfer market soon or hope that Daniel Sturridge remains fit and fires on the same rates as last year. Even then a striker is arguably a must. This all points to Brendan Rodgers’ incompetence in the transfer market but that is another article.

Another huge problem is the Reds defending of set pieces. While the defence has been really solid in open play, it still leaves much to be desired on set pieces. Brendan Rodgers has been here for two and a half seasons and yet the Reds are still susceptible to the set piece. It is a frankly worrying fact that despite having so much time, Rodgers has not been able to fix this problem. The goal from the Chelsea game came from a set piece. We never see Chelsea concede from set pieces and that in part is what makes them so strong.  That is something Rodgers and his team has to work on if they are to achieve success.

On a final note, Glen Johnson appears to have entered the fray again and with Mamadou Sakho’s injury, it remains to be seen how the defence will be structured in future games. I. for one, hope that Johnson is nowhere near the first team as he does not deserve to be. There was a visible dip in the Reds’ performance after Johnson came on and all he does is cause imbalance in the team. The defence is starting to maintain a good level of consistency and Johnson will ruin that. The same thing should be said for Joe Allen who left many gaping holes against Bolton in the FA Cup. Now is not the time for underperformers to come in.

In the end, it was a promising performance and one light years away from the drivel that was served up earlier in the season. Jose Mourinho has built Stamford Bridge as a fortress so the fact that the Reds shut Chelsea out for most of the game is really encouraging. Not many teams go there and stifle Chelsea as much as the Reds did. The important thing is to consolidate on this and push on in the league and other competitions. Chances will come in the FA Cup and Europa League so this must not dishearten the Reds. Instead, they should be invigorated and fight till the end. 

Is there a problem with the way Liverpool handles its youth?

Liverpool, for a long time, never had a great academy. Prospects were sparse and of the few that were there, none of them were ever good enough. From Nabil El Zhar to Damian Plessis, players have come and gone with so much hope and yet nothing to show for it. There have been numerous players touted as the ‘New Gerrard’: Connor Coady, Craig Roddan and Jay Spearing to name but a few. However, when they did come into the fray, it was painfully obvious that they never had the quality to even lace the boots of the great captain.

In fact for many years, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were the only players to actually make into the Liverpool team from the academy. I found this fact very worrying. The academy of a club is its soul. It is the part of the club that is fully ingrained to the club’s tradition. Academy culture has declined in the past years with big name and big money superstars more in vogue.

Clubs just do not want to spend the time maintaining the part of the club that matters to the fans. At clubs like Man City and Chelsea, youth players are often shunted out on loan with no chance of breaking in. Josh McEachran, once regarded as the next Paul Gascoigne, is now just a forgotten name. Gael Kakuta, once the subject of vociferous debate, is now in anonymity. At one point, Chelsea had more than 30 players out on loan. There is a problem.

Kakuta was once sought after but not anymore

   

For a while in time, it seemed as if Liverpool was stepping out of academy dormancy. After coming in, Rafa Benitez completely revamped the youth system and inculcated his European roots. Suddenly, there were people at the academy who knew what they were doing. While La Masia was still far away, Kirkby was gaining prominence. This was epitomized when the Reds beat stalwarts like Real Madrid and Barcelona for the signing of then youngster Suso. It showed a huge signal of intent and that times were changing.  Benitez’s tenure also brought players like Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly and numerous others.  All the foundations were set up and with Rodolfo Borrell at the helm, there was finally some stability in the academy.

 

McEachran was once the hope of all Chelsea fans.
Not anymore.. 

But, despite all the positivity, youth players have still not been able to make a firm entry into the first team. After Brendan Rodgers arrived, numerous players were given debuts and runs into the team but these runs have never been sustained. Players like Jonjo Shelvey and Suso, players who initially looked so promising have now departed the club. With the exception of Raheem Sterling and maybe Jon Flannagan, no other academy graduate has yet been a mainstay in the first team squad. Why is that despite so much of investment in academies and the talent coming out, no one is given a chance or always mismanaged?

In theory, there should be no logical reason for this happening. Liverpool plays more than 40 games each season so there should be plenty of time to integrate young players. The clichés like ‘You do not win anything with kids’ have all been debunked in the past. Why is there a certain hesitancy to play younger players? Liverpool have been very profligate in their transfer dealings making superfluous signings hindering the development of younger players.

Many a time, these players signed have been no better than the ones already at hand. The prime example of this is the signing of Luis Alberto. This was a completely needless signing as the Reds already had Suso, a similar type of player. In the end, Suso was sold and the same fate is about to meet Alberto. These dealings are not those representative of Liverpool Football Club. We do not buy and sell players like on a stock exchange. Alberto served no purpose after he was signed and there was no reason why Suso could not have played. The fundamental part of the club that is the academy is being neglected without much thought and that is wrong.

If a club like Southampton can integrate their youth and still achieve success, why can Liverpool not. In their last game against Newcastle, the Saints had 5 of their 7 bench players from the youth academy. By slowly integrating youth players into the first team, the Reds can build for the future. Also, this can save a lot of money in transfer fees and wages. For example, the signing of Adam Lallana could easily have been avoided by playing Teixeira or Suso. That is not to say that he has been a bad buy but limited funds could have been used less spendthrift. The same could have been done with Jordan Ibe instead of Lazar Markovic. While they have not been bad players, they were bought in areas of lesser requirement. Consequently, the Reds missed out on the required positions: striker, goalkeeper and defensive midfielder.

Many a time, young players are loaned out in hope of ‘gaining experience’. But, as is usually the case, players are often in loan limbo and are never seen again. While anomalies might be there like Joe Hart with Birmingham or Kyle Walker with Aston Villa, those are exceptions to the rule. Players like Conor Coady, Suso and Stephen Darby have all been loaned out, never to be seen again. Unless players are given meaningful opportunities instead of random loans, nothing is ever going to be achieved.

Stephen Darby was the victim of numerous useless loans

Liverpool now has one of the most promising academies in the world. Players like Cameron Brannagan have been touted by Barcelona while players like Sergi Canos were actually got from the Cataln giants. There is a lot of potential in all positions. Tricky wingers like Harry Wilson do not come around too often and neither do attackers like Sheyi Ojo or Ryan Kent. Liverpool’s academy has been the best in years but without the support of club and fans, these players will meet the same fate as their numerous predecessors. So, how can we solve this?

My solution would be to have at least 3 academy players on the bench for every game and increase the number of possible bench slots like in the Serie A and International Football. Also, a mandatory rule must be made that two academy players feature in a game. That way, young players are given live match day experiences and can get game time. Otherwise, the youth of tomorrow will be ostracized leaving all clubs to conform to the Real Madrid policy of buying the trendiest options when others get old. If that is to happen, prospects are grim for the future of football.