Liverpool vs. Tottenham: 6 Lessons Learned from Monday's EPL Draw

Monday's matchup between Liverpool and Tottenham was expected by many (including me) to be full of excitement but ended in a rather dull 0-0 draw.

To be fair, both sides had chances to win the game, particularly in the last 10 minutes, but in the end, both teams took their chances poorly and were unable to provide themselves with the necessary breakthrough goal.

How did the result affect both teams, and what did we learn?

Read ahead to find out.

4-5-1: A Formation That Ought to Be Outlawed

I'm being completely serious here. If I were the president of the English FA, I would outlaw the 4-5-1.

Honestly, I cannot recall when I have ever seen the 4-5-1 used effectively. I'm not talking about the 4-4-1-1 that Tottenham normally play or the 4-4-1-1 that Liverpool played back in the day when Gerrard was in his prime and Fernando Torres knew how to score.

Nor am I talking about Manchester United's 4-4-1-1 where Wayne Rooney plays a free role behind Danny Welbeck or Javier Hernandez or whoever Sir Alex Ferguson feels like playing up front on any given day.

I'm talking about that accursed formation that leaves one target man up front all by himself to feed off scraps and hope to miraculously break through the defense once or twice at most over 90 minutes. Rarely does it produce a positive result and never does it produce exciting football.

Even with all their injuries, Tottenham could've easily given Liverpool a tougher match by playing Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha together from the start.

Instead, Tottenham's assistant coaches decided to wait until the 72nd minute to bring on Saha, and when they did bring him on, it was to throw him into the ineffective role of lone striker that Adebayor had struggled in for the whole game.

The same could be said for Liverpool. Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt are forwards, not midfielders, and they performed poorly in the latter role.

Rather than leave Andy Carroll to fight pointlessly against Michael Dawson and Ledley King, Kenny Dalglish could've moved Kuyt and Bellamy up front to support the center forward.

To Dalglish's credit, his change of Kuyt out for Suarez took place much earlier than Tottenham's pointless switch, and it gave his side an edge of creativity they had been badly lacking for most of the game.

Unfortunately, rustiness from Suarez and Tottenham's stout defending kept the game deadlocked till its conclusion.

Had Dalglish or Tottenham's assistants started with a more positive formation, I'm almost sure they would've emerged the victors from this match.

Andy Carroll: Best Player of the Game?

Honestly, even if he was, it's not a title that matters too much; outside the central defenders and goalkeepers, this wasn't really a "good" game for any player on the pitch. 

For me, there were only bad, OK and decent outfielders. This mentality is reflected in my player ratings for the game.

I do want to re-emphasize what I said about Carroll in my player ratings here too though.

He may not have scored, and he may have missed one of the game's better chances to score, but Andy Carroll's hard work in the box was admirable and if a couple of calls had gone his way, he could've easily been the hero of this game.

As it stands, only those who watched the game will really be able to appreciate the effort Carroll showed in this game. I wouldn't consider Carroll out-of-form yet, and in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he scored at one goal in his next game for Liverpool.

Tottenham's Defense: The One Bright Spot from the Game

Tottenham's defense, and in particular, their center-back partnership, looked great today.

This was a game that really highlighted Michael Dawson's positive qualities.

Tottenham's third-choice CB, who recently has found himself pushed below Younes Kaboul in the pecking order, fought and fought against Andy Carroll throughout the game, and generally won his battles with the striker.

Ledley King also looked as composed as ever. He helped Dawson when he needed help and cleaned up most loose balls in the box, while making a couple of key interceptions as well.

Finally, Brad Friedel, also technically part of Tottenham's defense, was as solid as ever. He didn't really have many spectacular saves to make, but his positioning made his job much easier and was key in ensuring at least a couple of Liverpool headers didn't fly straight into the net.

Well done Spurs' defense, well done.

Aaron Lennon Was Missed

I hate to say it, but there were multiple instances in this game that were just begging for Aaron Lennon's pace. I still believe Niko Kranjcar is a better dribbler, passer and shooter—but all that doesn't matter for a goalscorer unless they can get themselves into a good position.

Kranjcar lacked the pace to get past Liverpool's defense, but with Lennon, it would've likely been a different story.

I hope that Harry Redknapp continues to show faith in Niko Kranjcar as a solid Modric or Lennon replacement when they're injured, and as a key man in cup games, but in games where Tottenham need an attacking threat, Lennon should be preferred to Kranjcar.

Obviously, this wasn't an issue for Monday's game, since Lennon was injured, but going forward, this should be the policy.

Kranjcar may still be the man to get the ball to the likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Jermain Defoe, etc. when everyone is fit, but when attacking options are limited, Lennon is better at creating space than Kranjcar, much as I hate to admit it.

End the Jake Livermore Obsession!

I'm so very glad that Harry Redknapp has unearthed a promising talent from Tottenham's youth system and decided to develop him with Tottenham this season. Bravo Redknapp, bravo.

But enough is enough. Livermore is a good kid, but he's no superstar-in-the-making. At his best, he's a good defensive midfielder, but why play him when you've got a better defensive midfielder in Sandro?

And more importantly, why play him at all when he does most of the same things Scott Parker does, only worse? Wouldn't it be more effective and intelligent to play a striker up front with Adebayor, so as to actually give Spurs' offense a chance to succeed?

I won't harp on this too much, but really, I'm not convinced that Jake Livermore brings anything to the table that Tottenham don't already have from Scott Parker, Luka Modric and Sandro.

He's a decent bench player that should be brought in to close out a game, but his spot should definitely be going to an attacker, not another defensive midfielder.

Liverpool's Champions League Hopes Are Slimming

Remarkably, for all the mistakes, bad draws and bad losses that Liverpool have endured this season, they still somehow sit only four points back of fourth place in the EPL.

But make no mistake. With every dropped point that Liverpool endure going forward, getting into the Champions League spots becomes more and more unlikely.

Well no sh*t Sherlock, I hear you say. OK fine, maybe I am pointing out the obvious, but the reason I make this point is to highlight that while the other contenders for the fourth spot are hitting top form, Liverpool are still struggling for consistency.

Arsenal's 7-1 win should be the catalyst for the Gunners to finally embark on a regular run of wins, especially with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finally fulfilling his potential at just the right time.

Newcastle's new Senegalese duo is equally as threatening, good enough to drag Newcastle to victory on their own, as they showed against Aston Villa this past weekend.

Any more mistakes by Liverpool will likely be capitalized on in the coming weeks. Chelsea still do not look like an organized side, and I fully expect them to fall out of the top four in due time, but Arsenal and Newcastle both look dangerous and will not leave much room for error any longer.

Kenny Dalglish must figure out what system is needed to get the best results possible for their team. Otherwise, it could very easily be a third consecutive seventh-place finish for one of England's most storied and famous football clubs.