Real Madrid Display Hints Liverpool's Problem Is the System, Not Its Individuals

On Tuesday, Brendan Rodgers left out a number of his regular starters for Liverpool’s Champions League away game against Real Madrid. Most assumed he was doing so to rest them for Saturday’s game against Chelsea, a move that seemed bold in two ways: it risked an embarrassing and potentially mentally damaging shellacking at the Bernabeu, and it removes the possibility for any fatigue-based excuses should Liverpool lose against the Premier League leaders.

Rodgers himself hinted that the changes were a reaction to his own frustration at how poor his side has been of late, notably in last Saturday’s defeat away to Newcastle United.

“We do not have a team with a consistent run of form winning five or six games consecutively so the changes were to get a performance and result,” he said in his post-match press conference.

Whatever the reason, the pre-match reaction was telling, with the vast majority of fans and pundits seeing the selection as surrender. Psychologically, perhaps there was some truth to that. Perhaps when you see a side without the likes of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Mario Balotelli, there is a sense that it’s been written off—for supporters at least, if not to the players who have actually been selected. But the focus on names perhaps suggests how in thrall modern football remains to the cult of the individual.

There are certain outliers of course. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are exceptional, and there are also a few dozen names a little below their pedestal who would make a clear and immediate positive difference to any team they were dropped into. But the vast majority of professional players aren’t that different from each other. They have good spells and bad spells, moments when they’re in form and moments when they’re out of form. They find team systems that suit them and others that don’t.

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Look how many players left Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest and immediately flopped—such as Garry Birtles, Peter Davenport and Nigel Clough. Clough was a master at creating systems that got the best out of his players; outside of that superstructure, they faded. Look at how Fernando Torres seemingly lost form overnight. Look at Marouane Fellaini’s struggles to adapt to life at Manchester United last season. Look at the fluctuating perceptions of Aaron Ramsey. Look at Stewart Downing’s transformation this season.

There are a host of factors beyond simple talent that determine how well a player performs.

Tactics, Arrigo Sacchi argues, should have a multiplicative effect. Assembling the players in a particular formation and having them play a particular way shouldn’t just get the best out of each individual, it should also create the most efficient possible whole.

And the whole is what is most important. As Real Madrid found in the Galacticos period—when Sacchi was briefly their frustrated technical director—collecting the best players in the world means little if they don’t have the structure to enable them to play to their full potential, while also forming a coherent system. As Valeriy Lobanovskyi always insisted, what matters most is less the players than the coalitions between the players.

Which brings us back to Liverpool. As they continue to struggle at the back, particularly from set pieces, there’s been much grumbling about individuals in the back four. But Dejan Lovren isn’t a bad defender; he was excellent at Southampton last season. Martin Skrtel may be getting on, but he was a rock under Rafa Benitez. Mamadou Sakho may have been overhyped, but he’s still an imposing player and regular feature in the France squad. Kolo Toure may suffer lapses on concentration, but he’s still a more than adequate reserve centre-back.

If they’re all finding life difficult, then maybe the issue isn’t personnel but the system.

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Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill, it can also be said, have looked far more composed since August than they did during the World Cup, which perhaps offers the biggest clue as to the issue: if central midfield consists of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, the defence is going to come under pressure.

Therefore, with Lucas Leiva and Emre Can at the base of midfield supported by Joe Allen, perhaps it is no coincidence that Liverpool produced their most convincing defensive display in some time.

Only Rodgers actually knows what the motivation behind his team selection at the Bernabeu was, but whatever his thinking, he may have gained a valuable insight into the combinations that can give his side an additional resilience.