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Transfers, Tactics & Expectations: Liverpool’s Realistic Expectations For The 2014-15 Campaign

Liverpool
Liverpool

As the azure skies above the red half of Merseyside open up, a new wave of optimism sweeps around Anfield. Brendan Rodgers’ side narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, but the Reds must now  aim to go one step closer to the coveted Premier League trophy without the already departed Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

While the Liverpool manager has maintained no club is bigger than the individual, the Irishman in hindsight would know how its feels to lose his most prized asset. The Reds have already completed four transfer deals so far and given the rumour mill, more is set to come from the club who believe they are on the right track to buy young players who have a resale value. So what would be Liverpool’s realistic ambitions for the upcoming 2014-15 campaign.

We here at Soccersouls take a look at the various parameters involved.

Transfers:

The Reds have already completed signing four players for a combined net spend of £60m and it is believed that the Merseyside giants would also invest the cash they will receive from Barcelona for Luis Suarez. Tactically, Adam Lallana though overpriced looks a good buy at £25m but the Englishman will have to bear the burden of expectations to shine immediately in front of the vociferous Anfield faithful. Elsewhere, the boyhood dream came true for Rickie Lambert when he signed for the club who turned him away. Though Lambert won’t feature much, he will make appearances from the bench.

Emre Can looks another good deal as he will give Steven Gerrard the freedom to play as a passer rather than a creator and occasionally moving forward as the German takes the role of the screening the back four. The best signing till now remains Lazar Markovic which was confirmed yesterday and the 20 year old Serbian who was previously a Chelsea target is dubbed as the Serbian Messi. Markovic can play either on the wings, as a second striker or down the middle as a second striker.

Tactics and strategy:

Simon Mignolet dons the number one role with Pepe Reina returning for his second stint under Rafa Benitez at Napoli after the two clubs agreed to play half of the player’s wages each. A goalkeeper is mooted up in the transfer market with the name of Swansea’s Michel Vorm doing rounds, but its mere fiction than fact. While Rodgers has stressed to improve his defense, a steady back four remains integral for the Anfield side. Martin Skrtel should be the likely partner to Mamadou Sakho in the heart of the defense while Luis Enrique is finally fit after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Jon Flanagan impressed playing out of position in the left back role and should revert to the right back slot with Glen Johnson having a torrid time in the World Cup as well as the last season.

The Reds have Martin Kelly as a backup while they are eager to also eke out a deal for Sevilla’s Alberto Moreno. Daniel Agger’s future still remains uncertain with interest from Barcelona and Italian side Napoli. A 4-3-3 standard attacking setup is likely with a conventional 4-2-3-1 off the ball. The attacking triumvirate of Markovic, Lallana and Sterling in the middle remains the best possible formation as of now and it would be interesting to see what role is Phillipe Coutinho given in the starting eleven. Daniel Sturridge will now have to shoulder responsibility of banging goals up front.

Managing Champions League and Premier League aspirations:

The Reds are back in the highest echelons of European football after a long absence of six years and given their low UEFA coefficient rank, Rodgers’ side will get a tough draw. Liverpool last season neglected the FA cup and the Capital One cup to just focus on the Premier League, this time around though with the Champions League in midweek, the squad might have to play as many as three games in seven days, a thought which is grueling to the core.

Rodgers needs a big squad and has to rotate players keeping them fresh for the coming games while making sure, they remain in all the competitions as long as possible. Qualifying from the Champions League group stages will be a huge bonus for this relatively young squad, but fans would demand at least demand a silverware with a top four finish again the major realistic priority.

 

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