Reds should ignore January window and work with what they have
Neil Jones
It is the question which has been on everybody's lips at Anfield this season.
Just how do you solve a problem like Liverpool ?
Well, Brendan Rodgers would argue that the problems are thinning. Victory here ensures the Reds can see in the New Year with some positivity, looking up the Premier League table rather than down it.
Far from perfect, far from flawless, but looking a lot more themselves. Pressing better, passing better, moving better, finishing better, delivering better set pieces. Just better. Much better.
The perception has been that Rodgers would need to use January to correct the failings of the summer. It's a familiar shout at this time of year, but it is one Liverpool would do well to ignore.
Instead, the club should continue to work with what they have, to coach, to improve, to manage. Correcting errors, real or perceived, made in the transfer market by dipping into the transfer market is hardly a sustainable model for success.
And in any case, the recent evidence suggests some of those 'errors' may prove to be anything but.
Here, Liverpool fans saw their most expensive summer acquisition, Adam Lallana , decorate a fine performance with two crucial goals . They saw Alberto Morenoraiding from left wing-back to grab the game's opening goal, and they saw Javi Manquillo and Emre Can turn in solid, if unspectacular, defensive displays.
They were even treated to cameos from Lazar Markovic , who has found his feet of late, and Mario Balotelli, who is still to find his.
The temptation with signings, especially expensive ones, is to expect instant rewards. The reality is often very different.
Liverpool fans have grown tired of hearing Rodgers talk of his new-boys needing time to settle, but they are not empty words. The adaptation process is often underestimated when it comes to transfers, in particular in the case of young players, such as Can, Manquillo or Markovic, moving to a new league and a new culture whilst still, ostensibly, learning their trade.
All of those players, plus Moreno, are capable of improving significantly as they adapt to life at Anfield. Balotelli, who seems to lack the faith of his manager, may be a more difficult case, but has talent to unlock. Dejan Lovren, you would have to suspect, cannot be as bad as he has been so far in a red shirt, while Rickie Lambert's role was always likely to be as a squad player, and should remain that way.
Lallana, though, looks like he is ready to lead the Liverpool charge in 2015. Used sparingly during the first half of the season, the England man is fast becoming one of the first names on Rodgers' teamsheet. When Liverpool wrapped this game up, and thoughts turned to protecting players for the visit of Leicester City on Thursday, it was Lallana who was taken off. The Kop ensured he left the field with the sound of his own name ringing in his ears.
The 3-4-2-1 system is made for a player like Lallana, with his quick feet, sharp brain and tireless pressing. It allows him to play to his strengths, to link with the like-minded Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, and enables him to influence games where it matters, in the final third.
He certainly influenced this one. Rodgers spoke glowingly before Christmas about Lallana's work-rate, and his first goal was a perfect example of that. The former Southampton man ran 30 yards to close down Lukasz Fabianski, and got his reward.
His second goal, at a crucial time too, was even more typical, collecting a beautiful Coutinho flick before staying composed to drift past two challenges and finish left footed across the 'keeper.
These were big contributions - the kind that should be expected of a player who cost in excess of £20m, you might say – and will do plenty for Lallana's standing with Liverpool supporters. Fans respond to hard work and to quality, and provides both.
In the meantime, Liverpool would be well-advised to think long and hard before rushing into the transfer market next month. The club has had some success with January deals in recent years, but finding players, both affordable and suitable, who could come in and immediately improve Rodgers' starting 11 will not be as easy as some people think.
Would, for example, a Wilfried Bony or an Ashley Williams, both of whom featured for Swansea here, solve Liverpool's problems in both penalty areas? The evidence here suggests it is not a straightforward 'yes', at the very least.
On the other hand, the likes of Markovic, Can and Moreno just might. And Lallana already is.
Nobody will be raising a glass to Liverpool's much-maligned 'transfer committee' just yet, but recent performances have given food for thought. Patience is a virtue in all walks of life, and at Anfield, in the New Year, it might just pay off.
==============================
Does he have a point?
Neil Jones
It is the question which has been on everybody's lips at Anfield this season.
Just how do you solve a problem like Liverpool ?
Well, Brendan Rodgers would argue that the problems are thinning. Victory here ensures the Reds can see in the New Year with some positivity, looking up the Premier League table rather than down it.
Far from perfect, far from flawless, but looking a lot more themselves. Pressing better, passing better, moving better, finishing better, delivering better set pieces. Just better. Much better.
The perception has been that Rodgers would need to use January to correct the failings of the summer. It's a familiar shout at this time of year, but it is one Liverpool would do well to ignore.
Instead, the club should continue to work with what they have, to coach, to improve, to manage. Correcting errors, real or perceived, made in the transfer market by dipping into the transfer market is hardly a sustainable model for success.
And in any case, the recent evidence suggests some of those 'errors' may prove to be anything but.
Here, Liverpool fans saw their most expensive summer acquisition, Adam Lallana , decorate a fine performance with two crucial goals . They saw Alberto Morenoraiding from left wing-back to grab the game's opening goal, and they saw Javi Manquillo and Emre Can turn in solid, if unspectacular, defensive displays.
They were even treated to cameos from Lazar Markovic , who has found his feet of late, and Mario Balotelli, who is still to find his.
The temptation with signings, especially expensive ones, is to expect instant rewards. The reality is often very different.
Liverpool fans have grown tired of hearing Rodgers talk of his new-boys needing time to settle, but they are not empty words. The adaptation process is often underestimated when it comes to transfers, in particular in the case of young players, such as Can, Manquillo or Markovic, moving to a new league and a new culture whilst still, ostensibly, learning their trade.
All of those players, plus Moreno, are capable of improving significantly as they adapt to life at Anfield. Balotelli, who seems to lack the faith of his manager, may be a more difficult case, but has talent to unlock. Dejan Lovren, you would have to suspect, cannot be as bad as he has been so far in a red shirt, while Rickie Lambert's role was always likely to be as a squad player, and should remain that way.
Lallana, though, looks like he is ready to lead the Liverpool charge in 2015. Used sparingly during the first half of the season, the England man is fast becoming one of the first names on Rodgers' teamsheet. When Liverpool wrapped this game up, and thoughts turned to protecting players for the visit of Leicester City on Thursday, it was Lallana who was taken off. The Kop ensured he left the field with the sound of his own name ringing in his ears.
The 3-4-2-1 system is made for a player like Lallana, with his quick feet, sharp brain and tireless pressing. It allows him to play to his strengths, to link with the like-minded Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, and enables him to influence games where it matters, in the final third.
He certainly influenced this one. Rodgers spoke glowingly before Christmas about Lallana's work-rate, and his first goal was a perfect example of that. The former Southampton man ran 30 yards to close down Lukasz Fabianski, and got his reward.
His second goal, at a crucial time too, was even more typical, collecting a beautiful Coutinho flick before staying composed to drift past two challenges and finish left footed across the 'keeper.
These were big contributions - the kind that should be expected of a player who cost in excess of £20m, you might say – and will do plenty for Lallana's standing with Liverpool supporters. Fans respond to hard work and to quality, and provides both.
In the meantime, Liverpool would be well-advised to think long and hard before rushing into the transfer market next month. The club has had some success with January deals in recent years, but finding players, both affordable and suitable, who could come in and immediately improve Rodgers' starting 11 will not be as easy as some people think.
Would, for example, a Wilfried Bony or an Ashley Williams, both of whom featured for Swansea here, solve Liverpool's problems in both penalty areas? The evidence here suggests it is not a straightforward 'yes', at the very least.
On the other hand, the likes of Markovic, Can and Moreno just might. And Lallana already is.
Nobody will be raising a glass to Liverpool's much-maligned 'transfer committee' just yet, but recent performances have given food for thought. Patience is a virtue in all walks of life, and at Anfield, in the New Year, it might just pay off.
==============================
Does he have a point?
