How Brendan Rodgers Can Restore Raheem Sterling's Form for Liverpool
Liverpool suffered a fourth successive loss in all competitions at the weekend as Crystal Palace came from behind to defeat the Reds 3-1 in the Premier League, leaving the Merseyside team floundering in the bottom half of the table.
Plenty of Reds payers came in for criticism on social media and with fans as senior stars continued to under-perform, but one of the younger contingent, Raheem Sterling, has also been below his best levels of late.
With the team as a whole not playing well, it's not surprising. But as one of the best attackers the club possesses, manager Brendan Rodgers needs to start getting the best out of Sterling quickly to help the side pick up points and form and move back up the table, in Europe as well as domestically.
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Sterling's Strengths
Technique, composure and skill on the ball are all part of Sterling's game, but his biggest asset remains his incredible acceleration.
It's not necessarily "speed"—he probably wouldn't beat an Aaron Lennon or an Andre Hahn over a longer distance—but when Sterling begins to sprint, he's pretty much already at top pace. He moves the first few metres exceedingly quickly, and thus it becomes difficult to catch him once he evades a man with the ball and moves into space.
It is this, along with an improved appreciation for how to use that space, which made Sterling so impressive last season: taking possession and instantly moving into a free area where he can pass, shoot or dribble his way into the final third or penalty box.
Finding Sterling a position to play in where he can make use of that space is key to the success and form of the youngster.
Wide and Central
Sterling has played on the wing, at the point of the diamond and, most recently, as a second centre-forward.
His tactical evolution is such that it doesn't really matter where he plays; Rodgers has overseen that improvement and understanding of the game in Sterling so that he can play any role with acclaim.
Against Palace he was utterly anonymous as a forward, though. This was in part because there was no real space for him to work with; Palace sat very deep, denying Sterling the chance to run in behind, but were also compact in front of the defence—meaning if he dropped off the front line, he only made that area more congested.
As Liverpool played with a diamond midfield, much of their play went through the central or channel areas anyway, so there was no real benefit to Sterling dropping deeper to get possession.
As a winger he has been able to receive possession in wider areas where there should be space, but teams pay more attention to him now, and it is not uncommon to see Sterling doubled up against, or else with teams focusing on keeping him wide with a spare defender behind the marker in case he beats the first man.
With Liverpool not passing quickly or crisply, or indeed with any real intent at times, even playing central hasn't benefited Sterling. He's not a playmaker but a line-breaker, and the stagnant tempo of Liverpool's play and the lack of movement ahead means he will be likewise ineffective from the No. 10 area until those aspects of the team change.
Change of Play
So where to get the best from him? Right now, it's more to do with the whole layout and mindset of the team than something as simple as changing Sterling's starting position.
Liverpool have to be quicker getting the ball forward, have to be faster in pushing supporting midfielders forward in support of the front two or three. Sterling must have runners to pick out with his passes and then be able to play off them in turn as he gets in the box himself.
Although it is completely against the grain in terms of how the Reds want to play, sitting back and trying to counter against teams would probably give Sterling himself the best chance to impact on games at the moment; soak up pressure then break in three and four players, with Sterling as one, running behind the opposition midfield into space created by this own team sitting back further.
Unfortunately, Liverpool's defence has been so unreliable that actively choosing to defend for longer stretches of a game seems a dangerous option right now.
Against sides who come and attack Liverpool, playing Sterling either left or central in the midfield lines looks the best bet just at the moment, where he may be able to break forward quickly and play behind the opposition.
Matches that Liverpool dominate possession in—Palace at the weekend, for example—are trickier, on account of the lack of in-form and confidence-filled team-mates.
Up front would be no bad thing, but Sterling has to be able to find ways to evade attention when they sit as deep as Palace did on that occasion.
It's a puzzle he and Brendan Rodgers must work on in training consistently, as part of the ongoing process to end the dreadful run of form the team is stuck in.
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