Steven Pressley - Return to Sender

Let us for one moment as Coventry City fans, step away from the seemingly endless debates surrounding our infamous owners, instead turning our attentions to matters on the pitch. We are in the midst of our third season in League One since dropping out of the Championship, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. The unadulterated joy and relief that our ‘homecoming’ brought has withered away, being replaced with an undefinable emptiness that only a Coventry City supporter can feel.  Inexcusably relegation is becoming more of a reality as each weekend passes, falling into League   two would be yet another demoralising blow, which frankly, the club wouldn’t bounce back from. 

There is only one man responsible for both the performance and results of the team and that man is Steven Pressley. Some may blame SISU, the Higgs Trust, the Council, Wasps or any number of candidates, and I’m not oblivious to the fact that we as a club are being crippled financially and emotionally by the current ownership. However, the manager cannot hide behind this as an excuse for not producing positive results and performances, he should have known the restraints when he took the job. 

When he arrived at the club in March 2013, he came with a reputation for nurturing youth (Something of a myth) and playing a fluent passing game. A month later I watched in awe as his Falkirk side (under the stewardship of current Norwich Academy manager Gary Holt) systematically took apart SPL side Hibernian with sumptuous passing football, which saw them lead 3-0 at half time in the Scottish Cup semi-final. As I waited for the second half to start, I thought to myself if Pressley could induce these traits into our players, then we had acquired a man with great potential. The game ended 4-3 to Hibernian after extra time, the monumental collapse from Falkirk left me somewhat bemused, but I was never going to prejudge Pressley either way. 

The 2012/2013 season that had promised so much under Mark Robins (Who is currently getting the best out of a poor squad of players at Scunthorpe), petered out to nothing following his departure and Pressley’s inception. With only Mathieu Manset and Andy Webster coming into the first team squad and several players departing, Pressley’s team basically picked itself. Whether intentionally or not, he ditched his supposed philosophy from Falkirk (Passing football played in a 4-2-3-1 system) and went back to basics with a 4-4-2 pressing game. The team was drilled, organised and every player knew their responsibilities on the pitch, with this the 10 point deduction was eaten up and we headed into January with much promise. 

It was at the end of this month that the cracks in Pressley’s managerial armour began to show. Leon Clarke returned home to the ‘delight’ of the Wolves fans, with Nathan Delfouneso signing on loan as a replacement. Clarke was nothing more than a run of the mill League 1 striker who like many over the past few seasons, showed that it doesn’t take much ability to score regularly in this division, replaceable he certainly was. What followed was a pathetic run of 4 wins out of nineteen very winnable games, with Pressley seemingly dumbfounded by how to set up without Clarke. 

His tactical implosion led to many laughable decisions which included Jordan Willis playing at left back, loan signing Anton Robinson being deployed on the wing, constant formation changes from 4-5-1 to 4-1-2-1-2 to 5-3-1-1 and a complete removal of the tactics that had worked so well during the first part of the season. The basis behind those tactics was to implement a pressing game from front to back, not allowing the opposition time to build possession. From an offensive point of view, our aim was to thread balls (Both long and short) into the forwards who would link with the midfield and build attacks from there. What we saw in the last 19 games was a complete lack of direction, organisation and a reluctance to pass the ball. As a fan it was excruciatingly hard to understand what type of football we were trying to play and what on earth was going through Pressley’s head. 

As I left Bramall Lane following a feeble second half capitulation which ended in a 2-1 defeat, it was evident that Pressley had a summer which would define him as a manager. A chance to wipe the slate clean from the previous season, no points deduction, more scope for transfers and a potential Ricoh return on the horizon. Despite losing Murphy, Moussa, Christie and Wilson, all of whom were destined to move up a division regardless of what money the club offered them, a decent selection of signings was made. The likes of Johnson, O’Brien, Pugh, Swanson, Tudgay and Jackson added to the loan signings of Allsop, Coulibaly, McQuoid, Hines and Nouble gave us a squad that at the very least should compete for the play-offs. 

Having started pre-season in the the familiar 4-4-2 which appeared to fit in with the signings that were being made, Pressley (Who revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that he ‘meticulously studies’ the methods of Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho) decided to change to the flavour of the month system 5-3-2. Many had praised the system following Louis Van Gaal’s inspired use of it throughout the Netherlands successful World Cup campaign (I looked at the pros and cons of the system following our away game with MK Dons in August).

                                                         

http://thefootballwriterblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/5-3-2-is-it-all-that-my-post-game.html

The obvious problems that came with the switch were that we didn’t possess the players to effectively play the system, it is not a system you can just change to overnight, each individual player needs to be aware of the intricacies of their individual role. Pressley’s thought process behind the switch was to sure up our defensive problems, which had plagued us since the start of the 2013/2014 season. Unfortunately rather than playing the system fluently as the likes of Hull, Watford and the two teams at the top of our division Bristol City and Swindon have, we produced performances that tied together a horrifically unbalanced mix of dangerously deep defensive displays and limp, sterile offensive efforts. Even in our first game back at the Ricoh, following Nouble’s opener we were second best for the rest of the game against a distinctly average Gillingham side. It took Pressley 14 league games (Which consisted of three wins, four draws and seven defeats) to realise that the system wasn’t the way forward and in returning to 4-4-2, we defeated play-off hopefuls Peterborough 3-2. 

Despite the change (and additional changes to 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1) and slight upturn in form (Four wins, four draws and four defeats from the last 12 league games), we just aren't producing the type of performances expected from this squad of players in a league of such low quality. Turgid displays that lack creativity and direction, as if there is no specific way in which Pressley instructs the team to play in. We don’t consistently try to pass, press or even hoof the ball, we are lacking in a definite structure which leaves us consistently exposed (As was shown on Sky against Swindon). There is no obvious philosophy that Pressley has, which is evident in the countless formation changes throughout his tenure.  

So he isn’t a tactically aware manager, but perhaps his man-management skills are on point? Unfortunately this isn’t the case, on more than one occasion this season he has told players they aren’t part of his plans only to name them on the bench the following week. His hilarious outburst in the aftermath of the Worcester game was ill-judged and mistimed by several months. We’ve had to endure months of the same post-match drivel spew out of his mouth: “The group were magnificent” and “The attitude and effort of the players today was superb”, the same lifeless sentiments win, lose or draw. In addition to this if you’re one for believing rumours, he has been involved in a couple of misdemeanours with Reda Johnson and Jordan Clarke. 

He doesn’t possess a positive managerial attribute and despite being a nice wee chap, the club have to act soon in removing him from the club. People will argue that he hasn’t been given money to spend or that the best players have been sold, but every manager up and down the land has to deal with these problems, of varying degrees obviously. 

What makes his complete mis-management and current underachievement even more unforgivable is when you take a look at the League One table. Ignoring Bristol City and Swindon who are playing some extremely impressive football at the moment, which highlights what can be achieved on a budget and without one, especially when you have the right man in charge. The likes of Chesterfield, Rochdale, Fleetwood, Bradford, Notts County, Doncaster, Port Vale, Oldham and Walsall all have either a similar or lesser playing budget than ours and yet, they are all competing for the play-offs.

Looking deeper into that group you find teams like Notts County and Port Vale, who had to pick at the scraps left by all the other clubs in terms of signings. Even Walsall, who season in season out sell their best players, are playing attractive passing football under Dean smith, which has seen them make it to a Wembley final for the first time in their history. These team’s squads are no better than ours, some are much worse. The managers of these teams aren’t footballing revolutionaries, but they understand the basic principles of the game. 

Whichever way you look at it Pressley is severely under performing in his role as manager. There are counter arguments that I would expect to be thrown at me, for example: 

“No one in their right mind would come and manage this club”

Yes, yes they would. There will always be managers out there chomping at the bit to get back in, you only have to look at Lee Clark joining Blackpool to realise there is always another man out there. 

“We can’t continue sacking managers, he needs more time”

He’s been with us for almost two years now and its fair to say that as a club we are in a much weaker position on the field than we were prior to his arrival.

“Its not Pressley, its the players” 

As I alluded to earlier this squad is good enough to compete for a play-off place. Look at the squad Mark Robins inherited, with a couple of shrewd loans he transformed a team bereft of confidence into a play-off chaser. 

As a replacement I would love to see either today’s opposition manager Keith Hill or Luton’s John Still come in, having both achieved previously unheard of success with the respective clubs they could do the same here (And play nice football whilst doing so). 

To conclude, I’ll reiterate what I said at the start of this article, that I’m fully aware of the constraints this club is operating under. However having considered everything, you just cannot defend the man, whether you think he’s a naive young manager who has a got a few things wrong or a completely clueless imbecile of a man bereft of managerial nous, the bottom line is he isn’t fit to manage this football club.  

Liverpool: An article revisited

Following the second weekend of the Premier League season I wrote a rather scathing piece questioning Liverpool’s progression in the transfer market. The response was quite incredible with many Liverpool fans vehemently disagreeing with what I said, some were willing to offer me their counter arguments, whilst others made statements such as: “After the sh*gging we gave spurs on Sunday this article makes you look like the naive tw*t you are”. Another asked me to review this article in eight months time to see if: “your original words are eating them selves” (That’s not my typo by the way), well seeing as we are approaching the halfway stage of the season, I’ve decided to evaluate my embryonic predictions and find out if I really am a ‘naive twat’.

Caption competition (answers on a postcard)

The first point I noted after their away trip to the Etihad was their lack of a cutting edge in the final third, well it certainly hasn’t improved over the last 16 league games with summer signings Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert netting a spectacular total of one league goal between them. I will at this stage mention the elephant in the room regarding Liverpool's goalscoring exploits this season, Mr Daniel Sturridge. As many optimistic Scousers will tell you, having a player of his ability missing for the majority of the season would hinder any team. 

However, the reality is that injuries occur and that is why you have a strong squad of players to deal with them. This adage has a depressingly ironic feeling to it, given the idea behind the structure of their transfer business was to boost their strength in depth. Brendan Rodgers said as much in an interview with the Liverpool Echo about injuries in early September: “This is why it was so important to strengthen the squad during the transfer window. We have options now and that’s key for us. We had a great window in terms of the calibre of players we brought in. We signed young players with quality and some with more experience as that’s what we needed. We were very specific about the types we were bringing in and they have all adapted very well. We did some really good business”. 

Fabio Borini

So according to Brendan, Liverpool have strength (in depth), options, a good calibre of player, quality, experience and new signings that have already adapted very well (remember he said all this in September). Well unfortunately Mr Rodgers it appears that the responses levelled at me, could quite as easily have been levelled at you with naive claims like that. Going back to their attacking artillery, frankly it was obvious that Rickie Lambert’s dream move would fall flat. A 32 year old lacking pace and experience at the highest level was always going to struggle when being thrust into Champions League football. The main problem and one that has also been evident with Mario Balotelli, is that both men do not fit naturally into Liverpool’s style of play. Lambert was the focal point of a superb Southampton team, all of whom knew his game inside out, but do Liverpool play to his strengths? not at all, which is why you find yourself staring at the screen saying: “God he really is slow isn’t he”. The failure to effectively replace Suarez could be Brendan’s greatest regret, in many ways he has already admitted his shortcomings here by allowing fringe forward Fabio Borini game time this season. 

Changing tact slightly I’ll move from their fallibility in attack to that of their defence. The signing of Dejan Lovren was seen at £20 million as a decent bit of business, I of course had my own cynical view on it, suggesting that he was no better than the centre halves they already possessed. Well it seems like I got that one right too with the Croatian being something of a symbolic representation of all that’s been wrong with the Anfield club this season. His inconsistent and sloppy performances saw him dropped from the first team in November, and with Skrtel, Sakho and the rejuvenated Kolo Toure all getting game time, Lovren has made the Premier League’s most accident-prone centre half trio a quartet.  

Adam Lallana

The basis of my original article was that Liverpool hadn’t made a distinct progression in terms of their squad, considering they would want to at the very least match what was achieved last season. This theme reverberates throughout the squad with Emre Can, Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic, not one of them has taken Liverpool to a new level and only Lallana has shown signs of justifying his £25 million fee. It’s still a ludicrous amount of money for a player I would describe as ‘ok’ and no better than Phillippe Coutinho. To be fair to Can he has hardly featured due to injury, as for Markovic, I just don’t see it, apart from a playing style that resembles a headless chicken I cannot fathom why Rodgers would fork out just under £20 million for a player who’s record at Benfica was average at best. 

Something I failed to mention back in August was the state of Liverpool’s goalkeeper Simon Mignolet who has come in for some harsh but deserved criticism this season, culminating in being dropped and replaced by professional bench warmer Brad Jones. For me Liverpool got this one wrong from the off, initially by purchasing Mignolet instead of his number two at Sunderland Kieran Westwood who I believe to be the most underrated keeper in England. Secondly, why allow a keeper of Pepe Reina’s quality to leave, admittedly his performance levels did dip towards the end of his Anfield career, but the fact that both Napoli and Bayern Munich have deemed him suitable for their squads over the last two seasons speaks volumes. 

The harrowing reality for Liverpool fans is that they’ve gone from legitimate title challengers and  potential Champions League regulars to a upper mid-table side in the space of one summer. I was a big admirer of Brendan Rodgers, firstly at Swansea and then in his first two seasons at Liverpool. However his deficiencies are starting to show, both his transfer acumen and his ability to produce farcical statements should worry Liverpool fans, what you have here is a delusional manager who is a million miles away from the philosophical thinker and tactical genius that many thought had been discovered in South Wales. 

Rather than concluding with a massive I TOLD YOU SO, in the knowledge that there are another 19 games to play I will leave you with a recent quote from Rodgers (made after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal) which makes you wonder where his head is right now: "A performance that was better than when we won here (against Arsenal) last year 5-1”. 

Me, delusional. Stevie, past it. Lazar, average sometimes awful, so different descriptions for different... players. 

Stagnation under Hodgson truly is England’s nadir

Do I not like that Roy

Not since Graham Taylor’s ill-fated and much documented reign as manager has the future of the England team looked so bleak. Yesterday Roy Hodgson named yet another underwhelming squad, with such short-sightedness that we’ve come to expect from a man who has once again proven his inability to manage at the highest level.

Following a forgettable World Cup, Hodgson was backed by the F.A, who were perhaps reluctant to part with him halfway through a four year contract. Whether that was the case, or they believed that Hodgson had more to offer the national team, the truth is the decision was horrifically misjudged.

Prior to the Norway friendly in September, Hodgson and his backroom staff, which worryingly includes the much lauded Gary Neville, had possibly the easiest qualifying campaign in history to preside over. This presented Hodgson with an opportunity to recapture the imagination of a long-suffering nation of fans, whilst salvaging his own reputation which had taken a severe knock in Brazil.

Through a process of dropping the tried, tested and failed regulars and introducing in-form consistent Premier League performers and the next generation of England players, Hodgson could have breathed new life into his ageing lions. With Euro 2016 as Hodgson’s expected endgame, any players over the age of 28 should have been dropped in the knowledge that in another two years they would have significantly declined as footballers.

In the current squad this would include Jagielka, Cahill, Baines, Milner, Downing, Carrick, Lambert and Rooney. This selection feels like Hodgson is firmly in his comfort zone, unwilling to take risks, to advance the careers of youngsters coming through the England teams. When in reality, there is minimal risk in introducing the likes of Butland, Dier, Jenkinson, Moore, Hughes, Redmond, Ings, Kane and Bamford.

Additionally there are consistent performers that continue to be overlooked by Hodgson. QPR’s Steven Caulker and Charlie Austin, Hull’s Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore, West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell and Mark Noble and Swansea’s Nathan Dyer and Jonjo Shelvey.

Stewart Downing 

I will allow Hodgson a small slice of credit, having selected one youngster and one in-form player in Saido Berahino and Stewart Downing. The selection of Downing, whilst deserved, seems somewhat dubious with his notable performances arguably owing more to the collective performances of his teammates.

So Hodgson can be applauded for his gutsy selection of Berahino, but in the same breath he can be slaughtered for retaining Jagielka, Smalling, Townsend and Lambert all of whom who have no place in an England squad, whether this be due to age, ability or a distinct lack of game time at club level.

Then there is the reintroduction of Michael Carrick and Theo Walcott, who have only recently returned to action following long term injuries. I would imagine Arsene Wenger and Louis Van Gaal will have questioned the necessity of their places in this England squad, when achieving full match fitness with their club sides is surely the priority.  

Earlier I mentioned that incorporating a bigger percentage of the youngsters and in-form players into his squad carried with it minimal risk. In all honesty it carries no risk, we’ve already gone toe to toe with the Swiss in Basel, labouring to a 2-0 win with a team that included the rather comical selection of Fabian Delph. Basically a 2-0 defeat was all that our toughest opponents could muster, which makes me believe that Gareth Southgate’s Under 21’s could top this group.

And it is in this assumption where the problem lies, we have an easy group and yet Hodgson is sticking vehemently to several players that have no right to be there. We will of course sweep all before us in the qualifying matches, draw with the Scots and lose to a remarkably poor Italy side in friendlies. Then board the Eurostar in the summer of 2016, go out at the group stage and be left with the same mind-numbing debate about the state of English football in the aftermath of it all.

We are admittedly at a transitional stage as a national team, moving from the ‘Golden Generation’ to the ‘Generation in which a bloke who used to work in a beetroot factory can hold down a place in the squad’. As a result of this we should be blooding the youth and allowing them tournament experience, rather than giving the likes of Rooney another chance to let us down.

I’ve attributed most of the blame to Hodgson, but it should fall at the door of the F.A. They are the ones who appointed him and kept him on, they have also mismanaged the selection of previous managers, with Messieurs Eriksson and McClaren being two ill-advised appointments, and personally I’ll never forgive Sven for playing Scholes on the left.

It’s not only at senior level where they’ve messed up, the manager of the Under 20’s is a certain Adrian Boothroyd known by fans of Watford, Colchester, Coventry and Northampton as ‘Hoofroyd’ for his pre-historic long ball tactics.

F.A. Chairman Greg Dyke

Forgetting what has gone on previously, the F.A. can only dictate what happens in the present and future. Sadly, it seems that they have opted to stagnate, rather than to learn, grow and ultimately enhance the potential of England’s future stars. There is a saving grace in the form of the Under 21 European Championships next summer, with the likes of Wilshere, Sterling and Barkley hoping to be on the plane to the Czech Republic in order to gain that much desired tournament experience. 

Predictable and uninspiring: The England squad

Following yet another World Cup campaign that failed to capture the public’s imagination, Roy Hodgson has selected an England squad that will struggle to inspire a Country of disillusioned supporters. With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard finally succumbing to age and retiring from England duty, Hodgson had the chance to blood England’s future midfield stars. Not only has he declined this opportunity, but the former Fulham manager’s selection in other areas is rather insipid.

Cahill and Jagielka 

The problems start with the defenders. For me the World Cup highlighted, if anyone was ever in doubt, that Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill are not world class centre halves. On their day they are both solid and dependable Premier League defenders, who have both formed admirable careers for themselves. My reservation is that when Euro 2016 comes around they will be 33 and 30 respectively.

Having already proven themselves not to be up to the task of marshalling England’s back four against the very best, where is the logic in keeping them on for another two years, when they will have significantly declined as footballers. Come 2016 I will be very surprised if they still hold down first team places at Everton and Chelsea, let alone England. 

Moore was impressive against
Arsenal at the weekend

If Hodgson needs replacement ideas he need look no further than Gareth Southgate’s Under 21 squad. Two centre halves that are more than deserving of a place in the squad are Eric Dier and Liam Moore. Having progressed through Sporting Lisbon’s academy, Dier has burst onto the scene following his summer move to Spurs. Despite being something of an unknown quantity in this country, his fleeting career has constantly been monitored by England, having represented them at Under 18 level through to the Under 21’s.

Liam Moore is a versatile defender who can play at right back and centre half. He was a key part of the Leicester side that won the Championship last season, playing 30 games and earning rave reviews from the Foxes faithful. At 20 and 21 these players are the future of England and alongside Callum Chambers are worthy of a place in the squad.

In midfield the selections of Jack Colback and Fabian Delph are questionable. They both had impressive campaigns last season, much improved on previous years. Colback was a vital cog in Gus Poyet’s Sunderland side that avoided relegation and Delph scored some sublime goals whilst being voted Aston Villa’s player of the year. However are they potential England quality? I’m not convinced. 

Jack Colback 

Prior to last season Colback had been used regularly as a left back, as a result I feel he needs another season playing in midfield to perfect his game and be truly worthy of an England call-up. When first making a name for himself at Leeds, Delph attracted interest from some big clubs including Manchester City and Spurs. Following his move to Aston Villa he suffered a cruciate ligament injury and subsequently an ankle injury, having recovered from these he has been a regular in the Villa side for the past two seasons.

However both these call-ups feel somewhat premature, for players that haven’t exactly set the footballing world alight with their performances. Many West Ham fans are astonished that Mark Noble hasn’t been given a chance, after years of consistent performances at Premier League level. I don’t come from the same school of thought as West Ham fans, nevertheless there are viable alternatives that Hodgson could have pursued.

Will Hughes 

The heartbeat of Derby County’s run to the play-off final last season was 19 year old midfielder Will Hughes. A creative midfielder much alike to Jack Wilshere, he was named the Football League young player of the year last season and has been touted for moves to England’s elite clubs. His potential is there for all to see and far surpasses that of Delph and Colback’s current ability. Others worthy of Hodgson’s consideration are James Ward-Prowse, Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Redmond, all exciting young prospects with who have shone in recent seasons.

The most ludicrous selection is that of Rickie Lambert. It is glaringly obvious to everyone that Lambert won’t get anywhere near the squad in 2016, which deems his selection utterly pointless. He has had his moment in the sun, but his brief England career was nothing more than a sentimental nod, to a player who has carved out a respectable career from humble beginnings. The quicker the likes of Saido Berahino, Danny Ings and Charlie Austin are given a chance the better.

Hodgson is very much under pressure

I would also call into question the decision to appoint Wayne Rooney as captain. I’m a huge Rooney fan but would have much preferred Joe Hart taking the captains armband. Rooney is seemingly destined to retire after Euro 2016 at the age of 30, perhaps Roy feared Rooney may turn his back on England had he not been made captain. For longevity alone Hart is a more sensible candidate, both his leadership and talkative nature are consistently evident for Manchester City.

This is certainly the weakest squad selected by an England manager in recent times, a sign that the perceived golden era of English football is well and truly over. Hodgson will have to navigate his team through this testing transitional period, and in a sad reality the restructuring process the FA are planning to embark on, won’t bear its fruits for some time to come.

Premier League Focus: Liverpool

Each Tuesday of the season I will take an in-depth look at the progress and prospects of a Premier League club, evaluating their season up to that point and envisaging what lies in store for the rest of their campaign.

Where are all the world class signings then lads?

Having just watched Brendan Rodgers’ side fall to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the champions Manchester City, Reds fans can certainly take some comfort from a game that they bossed for long periods. For the first 30 minutes or so they played their usually passing game at a high tempo, with Gerrard finding his range and Sturridge looking bright.

However at the very top level you must take advantage of the possession you accrue, perhaps a Liverpool team containing a certain Luis Suarez would have, but this side displayed a distinct lack of quality in the final third (a rarity in contrast to last season).

In a continuation of last season, Liverpool also lacked quality at the back, which cost them dearly just before half time as Stevan Jovetic pounced on hesitant defending from new signing Alberto Moreno, firing past Simon Mignolet.

Any attempted comeback looked doubtful as a beautiful piece of individuality from Jovetic allowed Nasri to expose gaps in the Liverpool back line, setting up the Montenegrin for a deserved second. This lead to Rodgers introducing £25 million man Lazar Markovic, however it was Sergio Aguero’s entrance into the fray that sent Liverpool crashing to the canvas, as the forward beat Mignolet from the angle.

Rodgers threw on Can and Lambert, changes that arguably should have happened at 2-0. The former Leverkusen man injected some energy and drive into the midfield whilst Lambert got his sizeable forehead on a stunning yet seemingly effortless Sturridge delivery, which was almost matched by Hart’s superb initial save, only for Zabaleta to unfortunately bundle it over the line.

Liverpool’s new number nine was then presented with a glorious chance to reduce the deficit to one, a chance that the previous bearers of that hallowed shirt would have buried, however Lambert produced a feeble finish that perhaps highlights his own reservations about being a Liverpool player. With that the game was gone and City celebrated their first home win of the season, leaving Rodgers with much to ponder.

When you compare this game to the corresponding fixture from last season, it is fair to say Liverpool fell some way short of matching it. They may even have come away with something from that game, if it wasn’t for Raheem Sterling’s incorrectly disallowed goal. I can’t help but think that this result justifies my pre-season thoughts that Liverpool, rather than strengthening have stood still in terms of their squad.

The arrival of Mario Balotelli is of course a genius bit of business and he could well recreate Suarez’s form from the previous campaign, he has no less talent than the feisty Uruguayan. This signing could certainly see them achieve Champions League football again, but in terms of progression from one season to the next, I just don’t see it.

Lovren looked a tad exposed at times tonight and is no better than the centre halves sitting on Liverpool’s bench, whilst initially showing good energy, Moreno will naturally take time to adjust to Premier League football. Can looks like a dynamic player, but is he any better than Henderson or even the re-emerging Joe Allen, and the combined fee of £50 million for Lallana and Markovic looks horrifically misjudged.

Then there is Rickie Lambert, with their neighbours across Stanley Park tonight confirming the signing of Samuel Eto’o on a two year deal, I have no doubts as to which ageing forward I’d rather be bringing off the bench with 20 minutes to go. I’d also rather have exciting Ghanaian International Christian Atsu in my squad as opposed to Markovic.

In conclusion, the Balotelli deal may have just have revived Liverpool’s season, add in another world class player and we could be talking about potential title contenders. Having said that I can’t see there being much money left for Rodgers to play with and ultimately I feel he has wasted the vast majority of it, very much in the same way Benitez did with players such as Babel, Gonzalez, Riera and Aquilani.  

5-3-2: Is it all that? - My post game thoughts

Following an uneventful performance yesterday against a solid MK Dons side, many of the travelling City fans came away disheartened at what had been a rather limp display. No creativity, an inability to pass and a lack of movement were the cries from the deterred Sky Blue Army (Especially from those on Sky Blues Talk), with some still calling for the return of ‘God’ (that’s Carl Baker to the non-believers) to ‘make things happen’. For me the main reason for the performance yesterday and those previously, stems from the 5-3-2 system Pressley has chosen to deploy, a system that has come into prominence following Louis Van Gaal’s inspired use of it throughout the Netherlands successful World Cup campaign.

5-3-2 is in no way a flawed system however it is only needed in certain situations, in certain games. Van Gaal initially implemented it to counter the tiki-taka style of the Spanish in their opening game, the way they soaked up possession and at specific moments broke out in slick counter attacks, worked so well that Van Gaal saw no reason to change it. His loyalty to the system almost lead to an embarrassing exit to minnows Costa Rica, who were afforded far too much time on the ball which lead to them maintaining sustained periods of possession. The Dutch squad contained the players to romp to an easy victory over the Costa Ricans, in theory, however Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder were left unnecessarily isolated as seven Dutch individuals (The back five and two defensive-midfielders) sat ignorantly behind the ball. I’d seen this Dutch team ease to qualification destroying equally matched teams to Costa Rica, (Romania, Hungary and Estonia) playing the classic Dutch style of 4-3-3 and yet for some reason they had decided to set up in an overly defensive system against a weak opposition (In reality a surprisingly naïve mistake from an experienced manager).

This is where Pressley needs to be a touch shrewder, in my opinion it is perfectly fine playing a 5-3-2 system away from home against opposition that will be fighting with us for a place in the play-offs (I consider the point gained yesterday a very good one indeed). Against lesser teams and especially at home however, we need to go out and attack teams like we did last season, whether this be in a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 it doesn’t really matter. What is key to our success this season, is setting up in a way that enables our forward players to get into the areas where they can positively affect the game, which is unachievable in a 5-3-2. For the majority of yesterday we had eight men behind the ball, the five at the back are relatively flat and the wing backs attacking threat is rather limited. The midfield three are similarly flat and find themselves passing sideways and inevitably backwards to a centre half, who ends up putting his foot through the ball and thus possession is lost.  

The strikers in our ranks all look more than comfortable on the ball and have scored goals at some point in their careers (barring McQuoid), what they are not is target men, they need support, they need advanced wingers to give them service, they need to be given the opportunity to turn and run at the opposing defence and ultimately they need options. Jordan Clarke doesn’t possess an attacking bone in his body, so we are relying on an 18 year old novice to provide any width in the team, which highlights the attacking limitations of this system. One of John Fleck’s best attributes is his ability to switch the play with consummate ease, however in this system he cannot do this, his options are to pass left to Swanson or right to O’Brien who then concede defeat and play the ball backwards. These players are creative but they can’t get into positions where they can use this creativity, which leaves the strikers with little to play off, barring their own individual brilliance. From a defensive point of view we have improved marginally, however a lot of our defensive errors are down to individual mistakes (As was evident with Webster yesterday). If it wasn’t for Reda Johnson we could have easily lost the game, he exudes everything you want from a captain and with this in mind I’m positive he could marshal a back four just as well.  Listed below are the possible alternatives open to Pressley, each offer us a more balanced style of play in which we can remain defensively stable whilst carrying a consistent attacking threat.

You Shaw about this Luke?

Luke Shaw 

Whatever Luke Shaw dreamt about last night, it wouldn’t have been as remarkable as the dream that is his life presently. Having completed his first full Premier League season for Southampton in which he made the PFA Team of the Season, he then beat Ashley Cole to a place in England’s 23 man squad for the World Cup, making his tournament debut in the final group game against Costa Rica. Surely it couldn’t get any better for the 18 year old? Well, in fact it has, following a £27m (A fee that could rise to £31m) transfer from Southampton to Manchester United, a move that makes him one of the world’s most expensive teenagers. Since making his Saints first team debut at the age of 16, his rate of progression has been phenomenal and this move to Old Trafford marks a new chapter in his career, the question is, will he be allowed to continue his development at United?

In his early days at Saints

I certainly have my doubts, the major one being a question that the likes of John Bostock should have asked themselves prior to big money moves, will I play? Shaw may well have to be content with a place on the bench and there is substantial reasoning for this, the form of regular left back Patrice Evra was one of few positives to come out of last season, form which he has kept up with the French national team at the World Cup. Having captained United on a number of occasions throughout his eight years in Manchester, you get the feeling that Evra could end his career with the Red Devils, and by no means would he want to vacate his spot at left back for United’s newest recruit. It will now be a two horse race for the left back perch as Alex Buttner has departed for Dynamo Moscow having flattered to deceive in his two years at the club.

In my opinion if Luke Shaw is instated as first choice left back by Louis Van Gaal, then the move can only be a success. Shaw possesses all the attributes to one day become the best full back in the world, not to mention the high level of composure he already holds, composure that is rarely recognisable in a player of his age. However if he does find himself warming the United bench with the likes of Powell and Zaha (equally great talents), it will be detrimental to his career, not just at club level but for England as well.