Suso and Sterling need time but Liverpool need goals

The recent news that Fabio Borini is out for a few months with an injury couldn't have come at a worse time for Liverpool. While the Italian has only scored once this season, his absence means that the Reds now have just one senior striker in Luis Suarez to see them through until the January transfer window opens. It is time for the rest of team to start chipping in with some goals to ease the burden on the mercurial Uruguayan, but with two of the three forward positions currently being taken up by inexperienced teenagers Raheem Sterling and Spanish starlet Suso, is that a realistic proposition?

It has to be assumed that, form and fitness permitting, from now until January at least, Suso and Sterling will be playing regularly in the Premier League for the Reds in two of the three forward positions that Brendan Rodgers selects. The only viable replacements for their starting positions right now are Oussama Assaidi, Stewart Downing and Joe Cole. Assaidi has been understandably hit and miss so far as he tries to get up to speed with English football. This leaves Downing and Cole. The funny thing is that given their age, pedigree, experience and expense to the club, Cole and Downing should be in the starting eleven every week for Liverpool with the likes of Suso and Sterling providing the back up rather than the other way round.

Suso doesn't look like a regular goalscorer yet

Cole should be ahead of Suso in the pecking order given his standing in the game and what he has accomplished, but his woeful injury record, lack of any match fitness what so ever and his form when compared to Suso's, suggests that the former England international will have to be content with being understudy to the kid from Cadiz who is 12 years his junior. On the opposite flank of Liverpool's attacking trio, it is equally hard to see Downing displacing Sterling despite his extra experience in the Premier League and his numerous England caps. Downing should be a prominent player for Liverpool right now. He cost £20m, he is in the prime of his career, he has scored goals for his previous clubs on a fairly regular basis and Liverpool need goals and experience desperately at this moment. However, he has proven himself so unwilling to take responsibility in a red shirt that it is inconceivable that he could start ahead of Sterling in the first team as things stand. It is a damning indictment on two players in their prime who have cost Liverpool so much money, that two relatively unknown kids are who the goal scoring burden for such a large club is now going to fall on. The reds need goals and regardless of age, lots of people are going to expect them from players in the forward positions.

Sterling has shown at youth level that he can score regularly from wide areas and even scored for the first team in pre season. This season in the Premier League though, he has only attempted 3 shots, which were all off target. It's easy to expect that as his confidence and experience continue to grow, his efforts at goal will become more frequent and accurate, but regular goals in the senior side still seem a way off.

Suso, since his introduction to the first team, has shown that keeps the ball exceptionally well and is technically proficient but goals or even serious attempted shots have evaded him for the most part. He has though, only played 171 Premier League minutes so far and to judge his potential as a goal scorer on such a small sample isn't fair. However, when we look at his record at reserve level, he scored just 8 times in the last two seasons and that does not suggest that we can expect a regular stream of goals from him either. In short, neither of the two young prodigies seem likely to to enrich the current Liverpool team with an influx of goals in the near future. But that really isn't their fault.

Sterling has the potential to add goals to his game, given time

It is unfortunate for Suso and Sterling that because of the circumstances they find themselves in, pressure is going to be on them almost immediately to provide Liverpool with a decent number of goals. In an ideal world, both teenagers would be introduced into the first team in a way that would limit the pressure on them. Playing the odd Premier League game and making appearances in the League Cup and Europa League is presumably how Brendan Rodgers would have preferred to acclimatise his two young stars to the trials of first team football. However, because of the failings of players like Downing and Cole, the injuries to players like Borini and the lack of summer signings, Suso and Sterling are now not only players that Liverpool fans will expect to see in the team every weekend, but a pair of players who will be expected to get on the score sheet.

This is the downside to seeing such exciting talent emerge at Anfield these days. Suso and Sterling need to be playing free of pressure and allowed to express themselves without the burden of the teams results weighing too heavily on their inexperienced shoulders. Instead, these two rookies will have major expectations from the clubs fans almost right away. It is not ideal and it could be detrimental to their progress if too much is demanded too soon.

Even Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't a prolific goal scorer as a teenager

Cristiano Ronaldo scored just 3 goals in his début season at Sporting Lisbon and in his first Premier League season he only scored 4 goals in 29 appearances for Manchester United. Andres Iniesta at Barcelona scored 2 goals in his first 2 full seasons despite making 70 starts in La Liga for the Catalan giants. Ronaldo now scores a goal a game and Iniesta scores between 5 and 10 a season. End product is seldom consistently evident in young attacking players and while Reds fans are desperate for their team to starting winning and scoring goals, frustrations must not be aimed at 2 talents who need nurturing.

If goals are still at premium over the coming weeks and months then the blame will lie with whoever's decision it was not to bring in an experienced striker to replace Andy Carroll. The blame will lie with under performing expensive players who have scored goals in the past but now seem happy to sit on the side lines and pick up their wages. The blame may even lie with the managers tactics. But the blame should not be attributed to a pair of talented kids who are finding their feet in the Premier League. Patience is a virtue, after all.  

Tony Pulis - The Capped Crusader

There has been much hysteria on these shores this past week about cheating in football. Luis Suarez's latest theatrics have sparked outrage in the English football world again. People want the cheats like Suarez to be punished. Or rather, they want people who cheat in a way that is seen as under handed to be punished. Because after all, cheating in an obvious manner that doesn't include falling over an imaginary leg or exaggerating contact in the penalty area is infinitely more palatable in England.

Football is, always has been, and always will be, a game where cheating is not just omnipresent, but pretty much a pre-requisite. Examine any game of football at any level and the number of times the rules are broken will be exhaustive. You will see players appealing for corners and throw ins when they know they have kicked the ball out of play themselves, players pulling shirts and 'tactically' fouling with no other intention than to stop their opponents scoring, time wasting from players when their team are wining a match, the list goes on and on. So why is all this seen as acceptable and 'part of the game' while a dive is seen as the ultimate sin?

In this country we love nothing more than throwing tomatoes at the pantomime villains who are seen waving their imaginary cards, falling to the ground when people breathe on them and exhibiting their Tom Daley style double pikes (providing they are from shores afar, of course). It is to be cherished then, that we have a man who stands up for the integrity of the English game whenever he must and embodies the English resistance to underhand tactics that people like Luis Suarez exhibit. A man whose love for the beautiful game is matched only by his hatred for those who attempt to soil it with their dishonest ways. Step forward Tony Pulis.

The Capped Crusader 

Just a couple of weeks back after his team had been beaten by Chelsea, Stoke City manager Pulis was demanding that Chelsea players be retrospectively punished for diving. He unleashed a tirade during his post match press conference about how simulation was damaging the game and how those at fault must face the consequences. It is cheating and it is wrong, he claimed. He made a stand. He stuck by his principles and let the wider world know that he was against cheating in football and wanted the authorities to back him up. He put himself up there as a pioneer for the integrity of football. After reading his comments, something came to my mind. I remembered that Pulis' team had benefited from a piece of cheating just a week earlier. I decided to investigate and see what this bastion of truth and justice had made of this indiscretion from one of his own. Surely he condemned the action from the offending Stoke player and kept true to his principles? Not quite.....

Against Manchester City, 7 days before Pulis laid into Chelsea players for cheating, his striker Peter Crouch scored a goal against the champions that was preceded by two obvious hand balls. Essentially, Crouch cheated by controlling the ball with his hand twice and got away with it. Tony Pulis' reaction when questioned about the illegal goal that earned his side a valuable point? "I've been told Crouchy handled ball - if we've got a decision go our way I'm delighted." Not quite the same levels of righteous indignation there from the Stoke manager, eh? Come on Tony! Mind you, the club crested capped crusader has redoubled his efforts since then so let's not judge him too harshly just yet, for Pulis was at it again this weekend.

Pulis' team we're away at Liverpool on Sunday and Tony sent his Stoke side out on to the turf at Anfield with the primary objective to consistently disrupt the game of football that their hosts so desperately wanted to partake in. This was achieved by any means necessary including monotonous, cynical fouls from most of his players, Robert Huth stamping on Luis Suarez's chest and unfathomable amounts of time wasting from his goal keeper that resulted in a £25,000 fine for his club for accumulating 6 yellow cards (and referee Lee Mason could and should have dished out a lot more). It was, as most games involving Stoke City are, depressing fare. Content with his teams hard earned point, Pulis again got on his soap box after the match to protest about the cheating that is spoiling the game of football.

This is okay, diving isn't

He condemned Luis Suarez for diving to try and win a penalty for Liverpool and demanded that the Uruguayan be punished for it. To Tony it seems that diving is the cardinal sin, but cynically chopping down opposition players whenever they are mounting an attack or pulling shirts inside the penalty area is just part of the game. Maybe he is right. After all, we didn't see endless replays of John Walters nearly breaking Glen Johnson in half with a mid air assault this weekend, did we? And the F.A didn't ban Robert Huth for stamping on the chest of an opposition player, did they? And no penalty was awarded to Martin Skrtel when his Stoke City marker nearly tore the shirt off his back at Anfield, was it? Instead we've had an inquest into what a massive, ungodly cheat Luis Suarez (the guy who is lucky to have his ribs in tact this weekend after being stamped on) is again because he took a dive that he quite correctly didn't receive a penalty for.

It would be easy to dismiss Pulis as just another hypocritical football manager but in reality, he is more than that. Pulis embodies the English mentality when it comes to football. Cheating is fine unless the perpetrator attempts to disguise it. That's sly. That's a foreign thing. And we don't like it.

Hillsborough: Why Today Matters

'I reckon is was a 50/50 thing. Mistakes obviously happened with the Police, but fans were drunk and trying to force their way in without tickets, so it was partly their fault too.'

A former work colleague of mine once made this remark to me during a conversation about the Hillsborough disaster. Like the vast majority of the public, he had never read the findings of the Taylor report. He had never poured over the excellent book by Phil Scratton or read Anne Williams' publication about the evidence regarding her son Kevin's death that contradicts the 'official' verdict on his passing. He had never visited the eternal flame, watched documentaries on the disaster or listened to those who were there and suffered the ignominy of the ensuing, slanderous cover up. He wasn't a bad person and his comments weren't laced with venom or hatred. He was merely a supporter of another football club, young, and didn't really care enough about the disaster to have educated his obvious ignorance. Hillsborough wasn't his thing. He was just another football fan, just another person who thought he knew enough about what transpired on April 15 1989.

In reality, he knew nothing. He had formed his ideas upon the notion that 'where there is smoke there is fire'. The Sun newspaper, the lies of some Police and the government's subsequent cover up of the tragedy meant that, even after all these years, all the half-hearted retractions buried on page 7 of Murdoch's tabloid and the investigations exonerating fans of any wrong doing, my former colleague, just like a healthy portion of the public still believed that somehow, innocent people were to blame on that fateful day in 1989.

As I reeled off some facts about the disaster and tried to set him straight, I could see that my words were only partially heard and viewed with scepticism. He wasn't going to go home and research the disaster any further and even my impassioned argument and obvious disdain for his comment wasn't going to change that. I was exasperated and frustrated. I have no idea how I'd have felt if I'd been directly affected by Hillsborough. If I'd lost a loved one, knew someone that had been injured or even been present myself that day, I can't imagine the pain, disgust, anger and helplessness I'd have felt as a person I liked and worked with let out such a statement as 'it's partly their fault too'.

This is why the documents that will finally be released later today are so important and this is why it matters to me and you.

Today could be the moment that the vast majority of doubts, misinformed ignorance, prejudice and spiteful lies finally vanish into the ether. The families affected by the tragedy are hoping that the Hillsborough Independent Panel's (HIP) report today will finally shed light on the cover up regarding the disaster and that that will ultimately lead to a retraction of the 'accidental death' verdict and an official apology from the government. Some hope for prosecution for those who were responsible for the inadequate treatment that their loved ones received during their last moments. For all the good that thousands of people have done to aid the cause of the families and the survivors, those two disgusting words 'THE TRUTH' that Kelvin McKenzie allowed to be splashed across the Sun's front page and the lies that spread like wildfire from the Police all those years ago still speak loudest to the uninformed, the uninterested, the wilfully ignorant and the prejudiced people of this nation. Today represents the best chance yet to right some of these many wrongs.

The families are as close now as they have ever been to exposing the lies that have blighted their existences over the past two decades yet they are also nervous and wary that another fudge may take place and they will again be left in limbo with nowhere else to turn (23 years of fighting unsuccessfully inevitably brings with it a huge dollop of cynicism). They have been here before and been sent packing but this time it feels different. Hopefully today they will receive a huge part of the peace that they deserve. It isn't right that people have had to live with the added pain of the Hillsborough lies, cover ups and the lack of accountability for those at fault for all this time. Losing their loved ones was pain enough.

If the report from the HIP today exposes the lies and cover ups of Hillsborough to the masses, then it will be headline news and will provide vindication for the families' campaign for Justice that has lasted far too long. Only then will people like my former work colleague stop unashamedly peddling the hurtful myths created in the aftermath of the disaster.

Liverpool's 3 stars yet to shine

After his side's dismal start to the league campaign, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has a lot on his plate and numerous problems to rectify. The form of his 3 star players is perhaps the most pressing concern  (aside from the off-field problems of course). Pepe Reina, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez are fundamental players in Liverpool's squad and so far, the three leading lights at Anfield have yet to ignite. Rodgers must get them firing again, but is it possible and if so, how?

Liverpool need to get more out of their Captain

Steven Gerrard – Phenomenal player though he is, Steven Gerrard appears to be struggling to adapt to Rodgers' 4-3-3 system more than most. He has been positioned regularly as the most advanced player in the midfield 3 and hasn't looked at ease very often. Against Arsenal, as he did on the opening day at West Brom, Gerrard gave a slack ball away in the opposition half and within seconds Liverpool found themselves 1-0 down. When he was at his best under Benitez, Gerrard played predominantly as a second striker behind Fernando Torres where his starting position would be similar to what Rodgers is asking of him these days, but under the Spaniard he was allowed to neglect his defensive duties a lot more. At Anfield against Arsenal, he frequently left Sahin and Allen alone in midfield and noticeably took a long time to get back into position when the reds lost the ball. Perhaps it was down to fatigue after 3 games in 7 days but in general Gerrard hasn't yet hit top form for Liverpool and is not fitting into the new system very impressively. Countless times this season already we've seen Liverpool work themselves into an attacking position with patient build up play only for Gerrard (and Suarez) to play a careless, rushed pass and surrender possession in a hasty attempt to create a chance. Gerrard's game has always been about dynamism, pace and power but in Liverpool's new formation he has to start using his brain more and his ageing legs a little less. His natural instinct is to try and drag Liverpool by their bootstraps into a game and create something out of nothing but while he has been the saviour so many times in the past he now needs to adapt and use his bursts of energy less and more intelligently. He isn't the 25 year old tornado that he was in Istanbul and he needs his team mates to share the burden of winning games with him. He has all the tools to succeed in pretty much any position on the pitch but he needs to step his game up a few levels and quickly.

Reina reflects on another poorly conceded goal

Pepe Reina – The 2 poor mistakes in a week against Hearts and Arsenal were symptomatic of the last few years for Reina. While he is still regarded as one of the finest goal keepers in Europe, this is a reputation based on his performances from a long while ago as, since Rafa Benitez exited Anfield, the keeper's form has generally fluctuated from the poor to the mediocre with some horrendous aberrations thrown into the mix. Reina is doing well with his distribution, as expected, but in terms of shot stopping, concentration and positioning, the Spaniard is a long way short of his best. Reina has several times publicly yearned for the return of his former goal keeping coach Xavi Valero and maybe that would help him to regain his former glories, but the problem for Rodgers is that while his number 1 is out of form, there is no viable replacement. Brad Jones simply isn't up to it and Doni seems to have vanished from the face of the earth. All this leaves Rodgers with a goalkeeper who has been sleepwalking his way through the past few season and who looks low on confidence and, at this moment, an accident waiting to happen. The manager has little choice but to persist with the Spaniard and hope he can shake off his current malaise and recapture his form. It is risk, but Rodgers has no other choice but to trust in Reina.

Frustration has been etched on Suarez' face for most of the season 

Luis Suarez – Suarez is not a number 9. Suarez doesn't hold play up and Suarez is not a clinical finisher. Unfortunately for both player an manager, Suarez is being positioned as Liverpool's most forward central attacker and, unless Fabio Borini can fill the void with Suarez moving out to the right hand side, nothing can really change. The Uruguayan has started the season as most would have expected. Beguiling one moment, astonishingly wasteful and frustrating the next. Suarez is Liverpool biggest threat and opposition teams know it. He is consistently double marked and is trying to do too much. Like Gerrard, he is guilty of playing this season in fast forward mode. Every time he receives the ball, his first instinct is to attack defenders or play a difficult first time pass regardless of his chances of success. The burden of being the only player in his squad likely to score upwards of 10 league goals is obviously weighing heavily on his shoulders and his agitation and frustration are there for all to see. Silly bookings, petulant outbursts and bad decisions have all been evident thus far. The problem is, unless someone steps up to the plate to ease the pressure on the mercurial number 7, nothing is likely to change. Suarez is Liverpool's only regular match winner and he needs help. Perhaps altering his role in the side to play from a wider position with Borini through the centre would help but Rodgers has resisted that temptation so far and will have his reasons. Either way, Liverpool need more from Suarez and Suarez needs more from Liverpool.

Allen and Sahin can negate Lucas' absence

When Lucas Leiva trudged disconsolately off the Anfield turf just 3 minutes into Liverpool's match against Manchester City, an audible air of concern was detectable from the home fans inside Anfield that was surely mirrored by the club's supporters watching around the globe. Lucas' absence from the side last season had an astoundingly detrimental effect on the side then managed by Kenny Dalglish and the notion of him again being injured seemingly presented the same problems that Dalglish ultimately failed to resolve last season to new manager Brendan Rodgers. Or so we thought.

Despite no signing of a like for like back up player for Lucas and the ever expanding dossier of evidence displaying Jay Spearing's inability to reach the levels required in that role, Liverpool managed the rest of the game against the Champions without a 'natural' defensive midfielder in an admirable manner. Step forward Joe Allen.

Lucas can't hind his despair at his latest injury setback 

When Brendan Rodgers splashed out £15m for the Welshman, it was assumed that he would occupy the 'second volante' position in Liverpool's new midfield trio. Essentially he would be the playmaker, slightly advanced of Lucas and behind Steven Gerrard. Lucas would be the player charged with more of the defensive responsibilities, thus allowing Allen to concentrate of getting on the ball and dictating Liverpool's play from a slightly more advanced position. It was in this particular role that he excelled for Swansea last season with Leon Britton doing his defensive work (playing the 'Lucas' role, if you like) and while Liverpool lost convincingly to West Brom on his league début for his new club, Allen produced an accomplished personal display in that position.

However, with Lucas likely to miss up to three months of the season with his thigh injury and Jay Spearing seemingly on his way out of the club, Allen will most likely now be required to be Liverpool's deepest and most overtly defensive central midfielder. Admittedly this isn't ideal, but against City, the little maestro's performance showed that he is capable of filing the void left by the unfortunate Brazilian.

Joe Allen tussles with Yaya Toure 

Aside from the outstanding retention of possession and smart, accurate passing on display from Allen last weekend, it was his interceptions, tackling and tenacity that eased the fears of losing Lucas to injury. Allen was imperious against the likes of Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri while positioned just in front of Liverpool's centre halves and never looked overawed at the complicated and slightly different role thrust upon him. For a player at a new club, in a new role in a game of that magnitude, he exuded maturity and tactical abilities that belied his tender years.

Allen's apparent versatility is looking likely to benefit Liverpool in Lucas' absence, but it is also offset with the astute loan capture of Nuri Sahin which also eases the headache that Lucas' injury has given Brendan Rodgers. Rather than having to compensate for the lack of a world class defensive midfielder with the introduction of a player of lesser quality like Jay Spearing (as Dalglish did), or trusting in the relatively unproven, inexperienced Jonjo Shelvey and Jordan Henderson, Rodgers now has the option to bring in an experienced and potentially world class player like Nuri Sahin into the side while readjusting the role of Allen slightly. Essentially, Allen can play where Lucas was meant to and Sahin can fill the gap that Allen's repositioning creates.

Nuri Sahin is an exciting prospect for Liverpool's fans

While a deep lying midfield duo of Sahin and Allen does not, on the face of it, offer quite the defensive solidity of that of Lucas and Allen in tandem, it does allow two of Liverpool's most technically gifted players to play alongside each other and help set the tempo for the side by dominating possession even more than with Lucas in the side. It is probably not the pairing that Brendan Rodgers would have preferred to have been able to select early in the season (especially with may difficult games on the immediate horizon), but the signings of Allen and Sahin now look even more inspired as it offers Liverpool greater flexibility and more options to deal with the unfortunate loss of Lucas. Rather than simply finding a less talented replacement for Lucas, Liverpool can now alter their tactical ethos slightly to incorporate a midfield trio with the outstanding technical qualities of Gerrard, Sahin and Allen. It may not be perfect and it may not click straight away but it is a mouth watering prospect that could ignite Liverpool's season.

If Allen had failed to re-assimilate himself impressively in the deeper role he was forced to undertake against City, then panic would now be sweeping the club and it's fan base. Instead, Allen's man of the match performance means that while he doesn't have the experience of Lucas at being the predominant holding player in midfield, Liverpool at least have a young man ready to step into the Brazilian's hitherto unfilled shoes and aid the midfield from the same position, albeit in a slightly different way.

If Nuri Sahin can integrate himself into Liverpool's system in the way fans hope, then Lucas' absence may not be as devastating as first feared. Allen and Sahin is a risky pairing in central midfield, but it is also a combination that cannot fail to evoke some excitement. Both players have wonderful technique and are famed for their passing styles. While Allen is busy and generally keeps play ticking over with short, simple passes, Sahin is capable of supplying much needed imagination to the team. He has an extraordinary passing range and will hopefully excel with a player like Steven Gerrard to constantly feed the ball to. If Allen can consistently replicate his performance against City with a fit and firing Sahin alongside him, then Liverpool may find themselves with a new midfield partnership that could be the envy of the Premier League.