Manchester City at home will be a problem for each and every club in the Premier League. Shamefully, I did not expect us to win, though I did hope for a point.
However, if I may be critical, I must say I was not entirely happy with Brendan Rodgers team selection and tactics. I think this is where our manager needs to improve to be honest. There is a saying – Different horses for different courses. As much as we tore into Mourinho for parking the bus last season, he did get a positive result from that tactic more often than not against the bigger sides. This is something Rodgers needs to start doing on our away trips to the top 4 contenders. Play for the draw away, and collect the three points at home. Rodgers second mistake was in his team selection. Not only do I believe that he inexplicably selected a more attacking team against Manchester City than he did against Southampton with Allen in the team in place of Lucas. But his biggest selection mistake, was picking Johnson. I hate having to say this, but Johnson needs to go. We all know he has the ability to perform, but for the last season and two games, he has not shown the desire. He needs to go.
This Sunday, the Reds will have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and travel to White Hart Lane to take on Pochattino’s Spurs. In the only three matches against each other, the Argentine manager has the better of Rodgers with two wins. He is now in charge of a Spurs team that was beaten 5-0 by a rampant Liverpool last season in this fixture. There is no doubt that the players would want revenge, and having won 2 from 2 so far, their confidence will be high.
Liverpool have the small matter of Mario Balotelli in our team. To be honest, I was against this deal from the first moment I heard it, until the announcement was made. But now that he is a Red, he has my 100% support. And despite your personal feelings about him, you cannot deny that at 16 million pounds, Ballotelli is a bargain. Below is a table showing the best strikers in the Premier League, their average goal per game over the last five years (Irrelevant of leagues and including all matches, even international) as well as what they were last transferred for:
|
Age |
Average Goals Per Game |
Last Transfer fee |
|
|
Van Persie |
31 |
0.74 |
24 million pounds |
|
Balotelli |
24 |
0.64 |
16 million pounds |
|
Aguero |
26 |
0.64 |
35 million pounds |
|
Suarez |
27 |
0.63 |
75 million pounds |
|
Dzeko |
28 |
0.63 |
27 million pounds |
|
Sturridge |
24 |
0.62 |
12 million pounds |
|
Rooney |
28 |
0.62 |
25.6 million pounds |
|
Diego Costa |
25 |
0.53 |
32 million pounds |
|
Giroud |
27 |
0.46 |
9.6 million pounds |
|
Alexis Sanchez |
25 |
0.44 |
35 million pounds |
As you can see, only Van Persie has a better goals per game average than Balotelli, yet Liverpool paid 8 million pounds less for him. In fact, the only players on this list cheaper than Balotelli are Sturridge and Giroud. You cannot look at the Balotelli deal and not see the value in it. It is an absolute bargain.
Against Spurs this weekend, I would like to see a back four of Manquillo, Skrtel, Lovren and Moreno. Moreno showed me enough quality for me to see that he is a good signing. My only concern with him is that he is extremely one footed. Ridiculously so. He needs to make use of his right foot more often, as that reluctance cost us the first goal against Man City. Ahead of them, I would like to see Henderson and Gerrard holding the midfield. Markovic came on late in the match and produced a brilliant cameo and I would like to see him starting on the wing, with Sterling on the other wing. And up front, the new partnership of Ballotelli and Strurridge. I will not sit on the fence in this match though. I believe we can get a win in this match.
And our competitors…
Man United travel to Burnley on Saturday. This will be a tricky test for them as Burnley showed a lot of hunger and passion against Chelsea. And no doubt they would look at the mauling United received at the hands of MK Dons and take a lot of confidence from it. I think they can get a result here, though the laws of probability say United should be getting a win soon. Manchester City next host a struggling Stoke, and the home win should be an expected result. Everton have thrown away two wins in the dying embers of their matches to pick up only two points. They host Chelsea and I think this will be a great one. I will be cheering on Everton, though I think Chelsea will be hard to beat. And lastly, Leicester City host Arsenal. The new comers have not had an easy start to the Premier League, having played Everton and Chelsea in their first two matches, but they did show enough for me to believe they will take a point off of the Gunners this weekend.
Follow Kurt on Twitter @kurtellis2
Kurt Ellis is a lifelong Liverpool fan living in South Africa. His first novel, By Any Means, was published by Human & Rousseau Publishers in May 2014. It is a gritty, coming of age crime thriller featuring a young Liverpool FC fan. The novel is available in Kindle form, worldwide - http://www.amazon.com/any-means-Kurt-Ellis-ebook/dp/B00K1ELRVG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1409293266&sr=8-5&keywords=By+Any+Means