Liverpool: Could Brendan Rodgers Fix the Reds with a 4-3-3 Switch?
Liverpool's best plan in regaining their 2013/14 form would be calling Barcelona and begging for Luis Suarez back. That, however, is mere fantasy (especially considering the Catalan giants are banned from transfers until 2016).
Short of our fantastical scenario, Brendan Rodgers must work with who he has—and who he has are many new faces. Mario Balotelli, Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic, Alberto Moreno and Rickie Lambert among others have all assembled at Anfield's doorstep in search of the attacking, free-flowing football which saw the Reds fall three points short of the Premier League crown last season.
Hop in our time machine to 2013: After Boxing Day and 29 December losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, respectively, Liverpool were in fifth place to start the new year. From 1 January to 27 April, a span of 16 matches, Liverpool took 44 points—winning 14, drawing two and losing none.
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Why the history lesson? It would seem Brendan Rodgers is not adverse to starting slow.
In 2012, his first season at Anfield, Rodgers started with three losses and two draws—then his team went on an eight-game unbeaten run, eventually finishing seventh.
The notion Liverpool were simply going to "ride their bike" again, after massive summer turnover, was simply shortsighted. An unchanged side, Suarez included, was going to struggle replicating the 101 goal output of last year—if not by the corrected naivety of others, but through Liverpool's own success.
Having European obligations changes almost everything. What once was a seven day job to prepare for their Premier League opponent is now cut to three or four—and the time older bodies such as Steven Gerrard have to rest is shortened as well.
Compounded with the aforementioned new members and Daniel Sturridge's absence, we find the Reds in their current 14th-place position.
What then can be done? Three things.
Firstly, Gerrard must be given limited minutes and moved from is "quarterback" position.
Teams have clued into the Englishmen's deep-lying playmaker role and are running him ragged. Now 34 years old, you cannot expect the midfield legend to wind his biological clock backwards one decade.
Secondly, Sturridge and/or Balotelli must be given service from wider areas.
The normal midfield channels from Gerrard and Jordan Henderson have become blocked. Oppositional defences have taken last year's offensive displays to heart and are refusing to be beaten through the middle. Raheem Sterling, Markovic, Lallana and others must begin delivering crosses into threatening areas.
This can be evidenced by Gerrard set pieces. Liverpool's greatest threat at present are dead ball situations where Gerrard whips balls into the penalty box. This method of offence may seem slightly against the Rodgers' ethic, but what is the "Rodgers' ethic" without Suarez?
Last, and most importantly, changing Gerrard's minutes and moving offence to wider areas may require a change in formation—namely the 4-3-3.
The 4-4-2 diamond is one of the more narrow approaches to football in the modern game. Sterling has license to roam from his "No. 10" position, but placing him on the left touchline gives him the whole field with which to work. The 4-2-3-1 leaves both Gerrard and Henderson in the pivot, neither one you would trust to do overly defensive work and their offensive games suffer.
Installing the 4-3-3 with Gerrard, Henderson and Lucas Levia as the holding midfielder should give Liverpool more balance, with Sterling, Sturridge and Markovic or Lallana the attacking options.
There is one setback to the 4-3-3 however: It only allows for one striker. Sturridge has shown in the past he can play wide, but looks extremely comfortable and formidable as the recognised "No. 9."
How Balotelli reacts to being second choice would be interesting to monitor, but Rodgers might find solace in the number of competitions he plays, it means rotation. There should be enough fixtures to keep players engaged without drama, but can anyone really predict the actions, or reactions, of Super Mario?
That answer is a resounding: "No."
Liverpool have not started their 2014/15 campaign as they would have wished but, as new parts begin to assimilate, there is only up to go.
Rodgers must look for the best way to solve this self-proclaimed—via BBC Sport—"broken" state. No stranger to tinkering formations, there is one system the Northern Irishman has yet to try this season: It may just be his solution.
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