mkrudden
Player Valuation: £40m
So Ross Barkley returned this weekend, and thank God he did.
Ross Barkley showed glimpses of exactly what we have been missing. Ive said a few times on here that without him I feel that Barry, our insurance policy, has had to venture further forward than he would like to try and create some chances because Naismith for all his admirable qualities is more of a slotter than a creator.
With Ross back in the side, GB and McCarthy were back to their best. McCarthy covering every blade and GB sitting in front of the 2 centre halves. Perfect.
Should there be an element of worry however based on how much better we are with Barkley in the team? Sure, all teams miss their best player when injured, suspended or sold.
Spurs were the first to feel the effects of relying purely on one player. Gareth Bale, as shown in the game vs Inter Milan, was a cut-above the rest of the Spurs squad, and it was only when he was sold that Spurs looked to identify a suitable plug for their 80million player who left for pastures new in Madrid.
That delay in finding a new way to play or a replacement for their rampaging welshman has caused Spurs to drop down a level, and by the looks of it will take longer than this season for them to challenge the top 4.
Spurs mrk 2 - Those across the park were next to find out what the difference is between being a top-class side and being a side with a top class player in it.
Say what you will about the above and his personality as it appears, but what a player. Liverpool have sought to keep the system they had with him in the team but instead employ Ballotelli as the focal point. It's only after weeks of this not working that Rodgers has decided to say that Mario isnt a direct replacement and they are playing a different system. Nah, not having it. They are missing a top, top player and failed to recognise the threat that he would likely leave.
Now there's our Ross.
There have been quite a few players who have got me excited over the years. Francis Jeffers started his career brilliantly before his move to Arsenal, there was Rooney of course, Rodwell to a lesser extent of course, and even purchases/loans such as Arteta and Cahill.
Technically though I think Ross is better than all of them.
Now, based on how the early season form has gone, I repeat, should we be worried about just how much we rely on one player? Im not saying that we, Liverpool, Spurs should be looking to purchase a ready-made replacement. After all, the two mentioned above are two of the best players in the world. Ross isnt anywhere near that level yet but with Suarez and Bale would cost an absolute fortune to replace with someone as effective if a suitable player could be identified.
The likelihood is that Ross will either pick up an injury again, be suspended or will be sold sometime in the future - one of those three is a given. Should we expect Martinez to be proactive now and seek ways of playing without Ross and staying at the same level of performance?
Liverpool and Spurs have taken a step back since they lost their respective talisman. They have the capital to invest huge amounts of cash to try and bridge the gap between them and Arsenal, Chelsea, City and even Utd. We don't.
Im enjoying having Barkley with us, but I think we should be continuing to try and find ways of playing without heaping all our hopes and dreams on him. Judging on how the first 7 games went, we are a long way off top 4/5/6 without him. This surely has to be addressed by the manager.
Thoughts?
Ross Barkley showed glimpses of exactly what we have been missing. Ive said a few times on here that without him I feel that Barry, our insurance policy, has had to venture further forward than he would like to try and create some chances because Naismith for all his admirable qualities is more of a slotter than a creator.
With Ross back in the side, GB and McCarthy were back to their best. McCarthy covering every blade and GB sitting in front of the 2 centre halves. Perfect.
Should there be an element of worry however based on how much better we are with Barkley in the team? Sure, all teams miss their best player when injured, suspended or sold.
Spurs were the first to feel the effects of relying purely on one player. Gareth Bale, as shown in the game vs Inter Milan, was a cut-above the rest of the Spurs squad, and it was only when he was sold that Spurs looked to identify a suitable plug for their 80million player who left for pastures new in Madrid.
That delay in finding a new way to play or a replacement for their rampaging welshman has caused Spurs to drop down a level, and by the looks of it will take longer than this season for them to challenge the top 4.
Spurs mrk 2 - Those across the park were next to find out what the difference is between being a top-class side and being a side with a top class player in it.
Say what you will about the above and his personality as it appears, but what a player. Liverpool have sought to keep the system they had with him in the team but instead employ Ballotelli as the focal point. It's only after weeks of this not working that Rodgers has decided to say that Mario isnt a direct replacement and they are playing a different system. Nah, not having it. They are missing a top, top player and failed to recognise the threat that he would likely leave.
Now there's our Ross.
There have been quite a few players who have got me excited over the years. Francis Jeffers started his career brilliantly before his move to Arsenal, there was Rooney of course, Rodwell to a lesser extent of course, and even purchases/loans such as Arteta and Cahill.
Technically though I think Ross is better than all of them.
Now, based on how the early season form has gone, I repeat, should we be worried about just how much we rely on one player? Im not saying that we, Liverpool, Spurs should be looking to purchase a ready-made replacement. After all, the two mentioned above are two of the best players in the world. Ross isnt anywhere near that level yet but with Suarez and Bale would cost an absolute fortune to replace with someone as effective if a suitable player could be identified.
The likelihood is that Ross will either pick up an injury again, be suspended or will be sold sometime in the future - one of those three is a given. Should we expect Martinez to be proactive now and seek ways of playing without Ross and staying at the same level of performance?
Liverpool and Spurs have taken a step back since they lost their respective talisman. They have the capital to invest huge amounts of cash to try and bridge the gap between them and Arsenal, Chelsea, City and even Utd. We don't.
Im enjoying having Barkley with us, but I think we should be continuing to try and find ways of playing without heaping all our hopes and dreams on him. Judging on how the first 7 games went, we are a long way off top 4/5/6 without him. This surely has to be addressed by the manager.
Thoughts?
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