Liverpool signed the season off in style with a 1-0
victory over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season to give Jamie
Carragher a fitting send off as he prepares to put his feet up in retirement.
It was yet another season of magic moments and blunders, culminating in a 7th
place finish for the Reds, which was suitable due to their consistency issues
throughout the season. Last summer important players left that needed to be
replaced, with the small factor of a new manager at the helm as well in Brendan
Rodgers. This article seeks to explore every facet of what went right and what
went wrong throughout the 2012/13 campaign.Transfers
In the summer of 2012 Liverpool lost a number of
significant first team players, most notably Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, Craig
Bellamy, Andy Carroll (on loan) and Charlie Adam. These were players that while
not being as effective as they might have been in the previous season, still
contributed (both negatively and positively) to Liverpool’s 8th
place finish in 2012.
Carroll and Bellamy had finished the season with 9 goals
in all competitions, with Maxi and Kuyt ending with 6 and 5 goals respectively.
That is 29 goals between 4 players, which was a loss that needed to be
addressed.
In terms of assists, 3 of the top 4 assist makers of the
club in 2011/12 left the club in Adam (7), Bellamy (7), and Carroll (6). They
were only surpassed by Luis Suarez who created 8 goals in all competitions.
In Rodgers first transfer window, he brought in Fabio Borini
from Roma, Joe Allen from Swansea City, Oussama Assaidi from Heerenveen, and
Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid. These initial signings struggled to make
any sort of inroads into the first team at Liverpool, with Borini ruled out
with a number of serious injuries, Assaidi regularly frozen out of the team,
Allen struggling for form after a promising start, and Sahin looking too
fragile to play in his favoured role of holding midfield. Instead, youngster
Raheem Sterling took the spot vacated by the injured Borini, and a resurgent
Stewart Downing kept Assaidi starved of game time.
The January transfer window saw Rodgers pull off two
excellent pieces of business by bringing in Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea and
Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan. Both were instant hits as Sturridge scored
on his debut against Mansfield in the FA Cup, before scoring in numerous big
games such as fixtures against Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Coutinho was a similar revelation, with his trickery, quick feet and incisive
passing bringing Liverpool’s attack to a new level. Despite only playing half a
season for the Reds, Sturridge was the side’s second highest goal scorer behind
Suarez with 11 and also grabbed himself 4 assists, while Coutinho specialized
in helping his teammates, creating 7 goals and scoring 3 himself.Defence
This was perhaps Liverpool’s weakest area throughout the
season. Pepe Reina in goal had another shaky start to the season which saw him
concede a number of poor goals, most notably when he fumbled in a routine shot
from distance against Hearts which looked to have jeopardized Liverpool’s
Europa League ambitions only for Suarez to bail the side out moments later.
However, despite such a poor start, Reina’s form gradually got better as the
season went on, and after having Brad Jones deputize for a brief period when
Reina was injured, Reina went on to look a lot more like himself. Reina was
able to claim 17 clean sheets from 39 appearances, while Jones grabbed 4 from
15 games.
Due to lack of form and injuries in the first half of the
season, the back line was ever changing and constantly far from ideal. Martin
Kelly started the season playing right back before rupturing his anterior
cruciate ligament against Manchester United in September which ruled him out
for the season. Youngster Andre Wisdom was drafted in to replace Kelly at right
back, with regular right back Glen Johnson deputizing at left back for the
injured and out of form Jose Enrique. Later in the season Rodgers tinkered with
the back line and pushed Downing to left back with Johnson returning to his
more favoured role on the right.
As the season went on, Wisdom saw less and less game
time, which was no reflection of his own form as he had performed admirably
after being thrust into the limelight, while Enrique was able to rediscover
some of his best form. The Downing at left back experiment was short-lived and
rightly so, as he proceeded to show just how effective he can be playing
further forward. The season ended with Johnson at right back and Enrique at
left back, which – granted both can sustain their excellent form they showed in
the second half of the season – most fans will hope remains the case at the
start of the 2013/14 season.
At centre back, the season began with Martin Skrtel and
Daniel Agger occupying the positions at the heart of defence. This was seen as
ideal, especially with Carragher only getting older (and eventually retiring),
and Sebastian Coates still not ready to step into the starting XI on a regular
basis. However, the season started in disastrous fashion as Agger was sent off
against West Bromwich Albion on opening day in the process of giving away a
penalty, before Skrtel conceded another penalty soon after, with the game
finishing 3-0 to the Baggies.
Coates filled in for Agger against Manchester City the
following weekend and put in an excellent performance, with Skrtel going from
hero to zero – giving Liverpool the lead with a bullet header in the first
half, only to surrender a 2-1 lead in the final 10 minutes by playing a blind
back-pass which Carlos Tevez latched onto and equalized.
Agger was a mainstay in the side, especially after a
summer of speculation that he could possibly be on his way to join the 2012
Champions Manchester City. Skrtel, however, found himself out of the side after
the turn of the year, with Rodgers preferring the more experienced and vocal
Carragher playing alongside Agger. After dismal performances by both Coates and
Skrtel during Liverpool’s embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Oldham
Athletic, neither found themselves back in the side at any regularity for the
rest of the season. Carragher, on the other hand, seemed to have saved some of
his best form of recent years just as he announced his retirement.
The Reds finished the season conceding 43 goals in all
competitions, compared to 40 in 2011/12, while keeping 21 clean sheets in all
competitions, compared to 13 in 2011/12.
Midfield
While many expected Rodgers to employ a staggered
midfield consisting of Lucas, Allen and Steven Gerrard, this was dealt an early
blow with Lucas forced off early on against Manchester City in only the second
game of the season. He would not return to action until December, where he
again became a mainstay in the side. Despite putting in a number of impressive
performances, he never quite hit the level he set for himself with his textbook
defensive midfield performances in the first half of the 2011/12 season. He
recently promised fans that he would be back to his best next season.
The injury sustained by Lucas early in the season forced
Rodgers into a dilemma with no specialist defensive midfielder left in the
squad after allowing Jay Spearing to go to Bolton on loan for the season. The
role was forced upon Allen who, as adept as he might be playing that role for
short periods of time, was never cut out for the physical side of the defensive
game. This resulted in a frustrating first half of the season for the Welshman,
as he spent most of his time chasing shadows in the middle of the field. His
speciality is his pass-and-move football which worked wonders for Swansea in
previous years, but by being shackled into an unfamiliar position, it stunted
his form and caused certain sections of the fan base to turn on him very
quickly. Late in the season it was revealed that Allen had been playing with a
shoulder injury for most of the campaign and he was to have surgery which ended
his season.
Stepping into the shoes of Allen as his form became
consistently poor was initially out-of-favour Jordan Henderson. The England U21
Captain almost moved to Fulham in the summer transfer window, only for the
midfielder to tell Rodgers that he wanted to stay and fight for his place. His
hard work at the training ground paid off as he saw increasingly more minutes as
the season went on, even becoming one of Liverpool’s best players in the 2nd
half of the season. Goals against Udinese, Arsenal, Newcastle, Aston Villa and
a wonder goal against Norwich only cemented his place in the fans hearts after
most had been encapsulated by his tireless work ethic and ability to press high
up the field which is key to what Rodgers is trying to build within his
midfield.
Then there was Gerrard. The Captain of the side was
forced to reinvent himself and play a far more disciplined holding role than
what he has been used to throughout his career, but as he has done so much
throughout his career, he adapted with ease. 2012/13 ended up being Gerrard’s
most productive season since he almost lead Liverpool to league glory in
2008/09, finishing the season with 10 goals and 12 assists in all competitions,
with one of the goals being a goal of the season contender against Manchester
City.
The likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Suso, and Nuri Sahin all saw
quite a bit of game time throughout the season. Shelvey showed his best form in
the Europa League, scoring 4 goals in the group stages, but he was generally
disappointing and frustrating when given the chance to impress in league
fixtures. Suso saw most of his time off the bench and his appearances dried up
towards the end of the season with the signing of Coutinho, but the Spaniard is
certainly one for the future that seems destined for success. Sahin began his
loan spell excellently, scoring 3 goals and grabbing 3 assists early on in the
season, but after a number of poor Europa League performances he found himself
out of the side permanently and his loan was terminated before Real Madrid sent
him off to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of the season.
Attack
The depth of the forward line was in question right from
the off this season especially after the owners of Liverpool, Fenway Sports
Group (FSG), decided against backing Rodgers in a move for American
international Clint Dempsey who made his way to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline
day in August instead. This left Rodgers with only two recognized strikers in
his squad, Suarez and Borini.
As luck would have it, Borini spent most of the season on
the treatment table for a number of injuries, while Suarez was forced to carry
the burden of most of the attack all by himself. He did this with aplomb, mind,
scoring 23 league goals and 30 goals in all competitions – the most scored by a
Liverpool player since Fernando Torres scored 24 in the league and 33 in all
competitions back in 2007/08. The Uruguayan superstar was in inspirational form
all season, also notching up 6 assists and was extremely unfortunate not to win
the PFA Player of the Year award, awarded to Gareth Bale after many players,
coaches and fans turned on Suarez due to the Branislav Ivanovic incident.
Reinforcements in the strike force were blatantly
necessary and Rodgers rectified what happened on deadline day in August by
signing Sturridge from Chelsea almost immediately after the January window
opened. Instant hit is probably the only way to describe Sturridge’s impact at
Liverpool thus far. In just 11 league starts he has scored 10 goals, with 11
goals and 4 assists in 16 appearances overall, including a hat-trick at Fulham
in the penultimate game of the season.
Questions were raised whether Suarez and Sturridge could
play together, but those concerns were quickly put to bed as the duo put
together some mesmerizing performances as their movement, speed and sharpness
of thought left defenders in their wake, markedly against Norwich, Manchester
City and Chelsea.
Downing managed to find some pretty decent form
throughout the season, and as his confidence levels went up, so did his
performance levels. Despite continuing ridicule from both Liverpool and rival
fans throughout the season, the winger actually finished with 5 goals and 9
assists (second highest at the club behind Gerrard), which is not a bad return
by any means.
On the other side of the attack initially was Sterling,
as he broke into the team against Manchester City at Anfield and became a
fixture in the side after the injury to Borini. The youngster impressed greatly
at the start of the season and even grabbed himself two excellent goals while
notching up 5 assists. His form petered out in the second half of the season,
which can be understood as he only turned 18 in December. His season culminated
with an injury that kept him out of the last few match day squads and will also
keep him out of the U21 European Championships in Israel – a competition
Henderson, Shelvey and Wisdom will all be taking part in.
Finally in the attack was Brazilian maestro Coutinho, who
became a fan favourite almost immediately after his arrival from Inter Milan.
The 20-year-old has an unbelievable eye for a through ball, has extremely quick
feet and can beat a man, while also being deceptively strong in possession.
Rodgers has drilled into him how to press when the side does not have the ball,
and his defensive work-rate is already twice what it was when he first arrived.
He started playing on the left wing in place of the burned out Sterling, but
towards the end of the season Rodgers saw that his most effective position was
in behind the striker – something Rodgers was able to experiment with after the
suspension received by Suarez. He ends the season with the final goal of the
campaign, which brings him to 3 goals and 7 assists in 13 games. His creativity
is vital to Liverpool’s progress, and he is certain to be a player Rodgers will
look to build the team around in the future.
Cup Competitions
Liverpool began their season on August 2 with their
Europa League qualifying match against FC Gomel of Belarus, and after
comfortably dispatching the minnows 4-0 on aggregate, the Reds faced Hearts in
a play-off round to see who made it into the Europa League group stages.
Liverpool scraped through 2-1 on aggregate after a late Suarez goal in the
second leg at Anfield ensured progress.
Rodgers used mainly experimental line-ups in the Europa
League, preferring to rest the likes of Gerrard and Suarez at every
opportunity. This meant a chance for some youngsters and fringe players to
shine, including Wisdom, Coates, Suso, Assaidi, Shelvey and even Joe Cole. The
Reds made it through as group winners, as one of three teams on 10 points.
Liverpool were drawn against Zenit St. Petersburg of
Russia in the round of 32, with the first leg taking place at the Petrovsky Stadium.
It was a game where the Reds were left to rue missed chances as they were
wasteful in front of goal, Suarez in particular missing chances he would
normally score in his sleep. Liverpool were punished for their profligacy as
Hulk and Sergei Semak scored two quick-fire goals in the second half to take a
2-0 lead into the second leg.
Despite an error from Carragher allowing Hulk to yet
again open the scoring at Anfield, leaving the Reds needing 4 goals to qualify,
Liverpool fought back admirably and were 2-1 ahead by half time through goals
from Suarez’s free-kick and Allen’s rebound. Suarez added another stunning
free-kick in the second half but it was not enough as Liverpool bowed out on
away goals.
Despite winning the Capital One Cup last season,
Liverpool’s defence of their crown was rather dismal. After coming from behind
to beat West Brom 2-1 at the Hawthorns thanks to two goals from Nuri Sahin, an
under-strength side was easily dispatched by Rodgers’ old side Swansea City at
Anfield in a 3-1 defeat.
The FA Cup was equally as short-lived, with the Reds
initially struggling passed non-league Mansfield Town due to yet another infamous
Suarez handball incident. The side was then dumped out at the next hurdle by
League Two side Oldham Athletic as they struggled to deal with the physical
nature of their opponents and succumbed to a 3-2 defeat – a result which had
certain fans calling for Rodgers to be sacked, and a result which effectively
ended both Skrtel’s and Coates’ seasons aside from minor contributions.
Youth
One aspect of the side which was relatively underused by
previous regimes was the youth system. Considering Rodgers was not given
adequate support in the summer transfer window to bring depth into the squad,
he was forced to take a look at youngsters to see if they would be able to fill
the void in the first team. He must have been delighted with what he saw and
the performances he got.
The main success story naturally comes through Sterling,
who made a few brief substitute appearances in Kenny Dalglish’s last few games
in charge, but did not make his full league debut until the 2-2 draw with
Manchester City in August. The youngster ran rings around experienced defenders
Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany. He was ensured a run in the team after that
performance, and he did exceptionally well in the first half of the season –
grabbing two extremely well taken goals against Reading and Sunderland. He made
his England U21 and full England debuts through the course of the season as
well before a hamstring injury curtailed his campaign just as his form was
dwindling.
There were so many positives from the youth department,
including the introduction of Wisdom who looks physically and technically
astute, if still lacking tactical awareness which will come with age and
experience. Spanish playmaker Suso also saw a lot of game time at the start of
the season and his composure on the ball and incisive passing impressed fans
and pundits alike. Even Shelvey impressed in the early stages of the season,
who people sometimes forget is still only 20 years of age. Sadly a reckless
challenge on Jonny Evans in the September fixture against Manchester United
which saw Shelvey shown a red card would spell the end of his good form, as he
struggled to reach the high standards he had set himself.
Other youngsters saw a few minutes of game time,
including Samed Yesil, Jerome Sinclair, Jordon Ibe, Jon Flanagan, Conor Coady,
and Adam Morgan.
Controversy
It would not be a Liverpool season anymore without at
least a hint of controversy, as it has been synonymous with the club in recent
years. Inevitably, it was Suarez who was at the heart of almost every incident.
At the start of October, in a 0-0 draw with Stoke City,
away manager Tony Pulis accused Suarez of diving in the second half of the game
in an attempt to win a penalty – an accusation Suarez later admitted to and was
subsequently condemned by Rodgers – but only after Stoke defender Robert Huth
had blatantly stamped on Suarez’s chest as he lay on the floor after a
challenge from the German. Naturally Pulis ducked out of his interview the
moment this point was raised.
Later in the same month, Everton manager David Moyes
accused Suarez of consistently going down too easily. Suarez responded by
forcing an own goal by Leighton Baines, before celebrating by doing a swan dive
in front of the Everton bench. Suarez added another moments later, and the
ironic part of the fixture was that Everton Captain Phil Neville was the one
put in the spotlight for diving as he was booked for a theatrical tumble.
After the turn of the year, Suarez was again in the
spotlight as he clearly handled the ball to control a rebound before casually
putting the ball into the back of the net from point blank range against
Mansfield Town in the FA Cup 3rd round. His demeanour suggested that
he expected to be called back for the handball, but as he was not, the goal
stood and ended up being the winner. This incident was met with widespread
condemnation throughout English football, although Mansfield manager Paul Cox
understood that the action was instinctive and claimed he would have taken a
similar goal if it went his teams’ way. Mansfield owner John Radford claimed
that Suarez had embarrassed the Liverpool directors and Rodgers, while Chief
Executive Carolyn Radford said that the tie had been “stolen” from Mansfield.
Three months seemed a long time for Suarez to go without
controversy, so just before fans started getting comfortable, he decided to
bite Chelsea defender Ivanovic in a tussle inside the Chelsea penalty area. The
incident was missed by the referee and Suarez stayed on the pitch and punished
Chelsea by heading in a 97th minute equalizer as the game ended 2-2.
Suarez was once again condemned, this time not just throughout football, but
throughout all of England too, as even Prime Minister David Cameron chimed in
to say that the incident had set an “appalling example” to children around the
world. Suarez was subsequently banned for 10 games – a ban many Liverpool fans
felt harsh considering previous bans for far worse conduct – and Liverpool
decided not to appeal.
In other parts of the squad, 18-year-old Sterling had an
assault case against him dropped in May due to a lack of witnesses.
Manager
Rodgers has had a lot to contend with during his first
season at Anfield. Initially the sacking of Dalglish was not fully supported by
many fans, and once the search for a new manager began, Rodgers was not seen as
first choice by certain sections of supporters. There was a vocal contingent
who called for the return of Rafa Benitez – who eventually went on to have an
excellent season with Chelsea after the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo in
November – while other groups called for Roberto Martinez of Wigan Athletic or
unrealistic options such as Frank de Boer of Ajax or Jurgen Klopp of Champions
League finalists Borussia Dortmund.
Rodgers was renowned at Swansea for playing beautiful,
free-flowing football, akin to Barcelona, with his star midfielders Leon
Britton and Joe Allen referred to as the English Iniesta and the Welsh Xavi
respectively. Naturally such comparisons are fuelled with hyperbole, but the
playing styles matched.
Rodgers was expected to bring this brand of play to
Liverpool, who had always been a pass-and-move side to begin with, but Rodgers
was expected to perfect the system and focus on slow and patient build-up play
based entirely on monopolizing possession. It was always going to be a season
of ups and downs, which thankfully FSG realized, and that is exactly what it
turned out to be.
After a slow start which saw Liverpool fail to win any of
their first 5 league games, many were already querying Rodgers’ pedigree to
manage such a prestigious club. As the season progressed, however, performances
picked up and while results remained inconsistent, it was clear to see that
performances towards the end of the season were unrecognizable to the displays
showed at the start.
Some of the performances in the 2nd half of
the season were ruthless and exciting, with Liverpool scoring a huge number of
goals in notable wins over Norwich (5-0), Swansea (5-0), Wigan (4-0), and
Newcastle (6-0). Liverpool ended the season with a +28 goal difference, the
highest goal difference of a team finishing outside the top 6 since goal
difference was introduced.
This shows that Rodgers built a fluid attack as the
season went on, and over the summer and next season his job will be to shore up
the defence, with a major overhaul in that department expected this summer. The
only concern is that there is an imbalance in the side, with too much emphasis
placed on the offensive side of the team, which leaves the defence exposed to
counter-attacks. Lucas cannot be expected to clean up every counter-attack by
himself, and the structure and shape of the team needs to be improved upon.
Rodgers has handled the youth well, bringing them in when
he believes they are good enough, and taking them out of the spotlight before
any unnecessary pressure is placed upon their young shoulders. He is very vocal
with all his players and seems to be doing an excellent job in terms of
man-management, a skill which Dalglish had mastered but Benitez and the
unpopular Roy Hodgson lacked.
The season went pretty much as Rodgers will have expected
it to go, but the real pressure begins now as consistency is demanded next
season and the side needs to show it has the ability to kick on and challenge
for the top four.
Summary
A 7th place finish is a fair reflection of how
Liverpool did this season. The main concern this season was seeing progress in
the team. Realistic fans saw a top four finish as a wish rather than an
expectation, but what was expected was an improvement on the 2011/12 campaign.
That is exactly what happened.
Liverpool climbed one place in the table, which seems
insignificant, but the side was 9 points better off, a point’s difference that
would have taken 5th place Tottenham Hotspur into 2nd
place. Liverpool scored 71 goals and conceded 43 in the league, compared to 47
goals and 40 conceded in 2011/12. In all competitions Liverpool scored 98
goals and conceded 64 in 54 games, compared to 79 goals and 55 conceded in 51
games in 2011/12. This highlights the need to improve the defensive side of the
squad which has been sacrificed in favour of a significantly more prolific
offense.
Rodgers has also managed to get more out of players many
thought were destined to leave Anfield. Henderson and Downing being the obvious
two, as Henderson has chipped in with 6 goals and 6 assists, while Downing
contributed 5 goals and 9 assists in all competitions compared to both
Henderson and Downing producing a paltry return of 2 goals and 4 assists each in
2011/12.
The longest win streak in the league lasted 3 games and
happened once, while a win streak of 2 games happened 3 times. In 2011/12, the
longest win streak was 2 games and it happened 3 times. There was no change in
the longest unbeaten run, as in both seasons the longest streak lasted 8 games,
but in 2011/12 it only happened once (from weeks 6-13), while in 2012/13 it
happened twice (from weeks 6-13 and weeks 31-38).
A new look attack consisting of Coutinho and Sturridge
who provided 14 goals and 11 assists between them will surely be crucial as
Liverpool look forward to the 2013/14 season. With the return of Suarez –
granted he stays at the club with many elite teams circling – and added quality
and depth to come over the summer, there is no reason Rodgers cannot turn the
Reds into genuine top four challengers next season.
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