Long read.
Amid the wider celebration of Liverpool’s return to the football top table over the past few weeks, a couple of significant developments have gone largely unnoticed.
As a team, as a unit, Kenny Dalglish has got his side not only competing against the top teams, but playing decent football in the process, which is a cause for that justified celebration. Liverpool are not only challenging again, they are doing it in a way synonymous with the club, and that offers real hope.
Hope too, though, comes from certain performances which, without standing out, have suggested there is more than a surface sheen to the latest Anfield ‘revolution’.
While Liverpool have clearly progressed under Dalglish, not least in their mentality, there have still been murmurs from a surprisingly large section of the fans, who have remained critical of some of the manager’s buys.
In particular, Jordan Henderson, Andy Carroll and, to a lesser extent, Stewart Downing have been set upon with an unseemly relish, their inconsistent starts to a new career on Merseyside used as evidence in the strident case against them.
It is certainly true that Henderson has struggled to make an impact, especially when deployed in an unfamiliar position on the right of midfield. And of course Carroll has rarely had the look of a £35million player.
But at Chelsea on Tuesday, both offered quietly encouraging performances, which suggests over the course of the next few seasons, Liverpool can sustain the progress which Dalglish has promised.
The vehemence of some of criticism against both players has surprised me. They are young men arriving with huge price tags and asked to learn a completely different style of play to that they're used to. It is bloody hard, under those circumstances, to make an instant impact.
It is not really surprising, therefore, that both have been inconsistent, and both struggled at times. Yet both have also offered glimpses of why Dalglish invested so much money in them.
Early in the season, Henderson looked a lost soul out on the right, but a couple of times he came off the bench to play a more central role, and looked immediately more at home. He has pace and endurance, can tackle and get forward, so if he can learn to retain possession in the manner Dalglish wants, then he has a real chance as a modern central midfielder.
That much was apparent against Chelsea in midweek, and to a lesser extent against City last weekend. It will take time, and no doubt there will be more poor performances because he is still so young, but for all those who are so critical remember the experience of Lucas, who was vilified by the fans for at least two seasons.
The Brazilian somehow survived that ordeal to become central to Liverpool’s plans. Now he is out through injury for a prolonged period, Henderson has the chance to step up and show that he too can claim such a role…and he has the talent to do it.
So, clearly, does Carroll. He is naturally gifted, and has all the attributes to become one of the best strikers of his generation. But his situation at Anfield is doubly difficult, because he has a greater adjustment to make than Henderson, or any of the other new players.
Carroll arrived as a centre forward of the old school, from a team at Newcastle that was largely set up to get the best from his aerial ability and strength within the penalty area. But under Dalglish, Liverpool are never going to be a long ball side, or one that moves forward in blocks to deliver crosses for a big striker.
The reason why recent weeks at Anfield have been so encouraging is because Dalglish has rejected the counter-attacking, defensive minded mentality of the past decade, to return more closely to the traditional ideal of a Liverpool passing game based on worrying opponents more than they worry you.
Previous managers liked a big man to hit early and hold the ball up, but under Dalglish, Carroll will need to develop his game more strenuously. He must – if you’ll forgive the simplification here – be more a Didier Drogba than Kevin Davies (though I’m a big admirer of the Bolton big man).
Carroll needs to be athletic and mobile to fit into Dalglish’s system. But of course he was injured for a long period, and that takes the edge off those areas of a striker’s play. Clearly, he is still returning to the levels required, and his fondness of a pint probably doesn’t help.
He certainly has the capacity though, to become a Drogba-style striker, a powerful forward who can win the ball in the air, but show technical proficiency too, and crucially, get around the pitch athletically.
The good news is, Carroll’s performance at Chelsea hinted at a return to that style, because – don’t forget - he showed at Newcastle with some stunning technical goals he has the ability to be far more than a lumbering centre forward.
And the good news for Liverpool is, if both Henderson and Carroll develop in the manner in which Dalglish wants them to, the team will have two more classy young English performers to drive forward the progress we have witnessed at the club this season.
It is still early days of course, to turn around a club that had fallen so far in recent years will take a long time, and there will be many more setbacks this season, where fourth place is still the realistic extent of their immediate ambitions.
But the signs are there that progress can be made, that Liverpool in the next few years can once again compete with the top clubs, and who knows, can genuinely challenge one day once more for the title.
