Saturday 2 November 2013

Arsenal v Liverpool: Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge partnership is thanks to ... - Telegraph.co.uk

Last season he was playing them less as a double act. Suárez or Sturridge would play out wide to preserve the shape the manager wanted. But Rodgers is the first to break from the norm. He knew his golden ticket was to get those two key players in the team in match-winning positions, then fit the team around them.

So Liverpool were the first to switch to three at the back. Teams nowadays are averse to playing four across midfield in a straight line. So if you want to play two up front you either weaken the midfield, which few are inclined to do, or weaken your back four by switching to a three.

That was the course chosen by Rodgers, solely to get the game-changing players into their ideal positions – and the ones they want to play in.

When I was at Liverpool we generally had a forward making runs off a main striker. Emile Heskey was the most obvious example. But the current two both possess a great touch and are equally adept at coming short to receive the ball, while also being able to spin and dart behind a back four, in the centre-forward role. That is a nightmare for any defence.

We have all seen Suárez spinning to exploit chances. Sturridge has even more pace when he starts level with a defender. With the likes of Steven Gerrard breaking forward this becomes a potentially devastating combination. Suárez and Sturridge combine so well.

The last pair I can remember linking as well as these two were Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at Man Utd. They were always looking for one another and flicking balls round the corner.

Talk to any Liverpool fan in the street and they are so excited about this partnership. Rightly so. They are fabulous players to watch.

The disturbance with Suárez over the summer was because he wants to be in a Champions League side and Liverpool were below that status. By that logic he would have to embrace other top names in the team and be grateful for their presence. He wants to win, and Sturridge will help him achieve that aim, so Suárez is bound to feel better about himself and the club.

Despite their worldwide reputation, Liverpool would not have been on Suárez's agenda when he was working his way up the ranks. Spain's La Liga will have struck him as the place to be. Nobody can pretend he came to Anfield with the Liver Bird tattooed on his chest.

He would feel no natural loyalty to Liverpool. His urge is to win and show his talents on the greatest stage. So he must be happier knowing he has such a good strike partner and is playing in a side that is performing well.

The disciplinary issues with Patrice Evra and the biting of Branislav Ivanovic are shadows across his Anfield career. History says that clubs are more inclined to bend the rules for match-winning players, which is precisely what Liverpool did. The club, the badge and the heritage are strong.

I feel the club handled the biting incident better than the Evra affair. They spoke unambiguously. There was still the question of whether it would be considered one strike too many but this time they put up a united front and were clear in their disapproval.

If one of the lesser players had found himself in so much trouble over the past few years, they would not have been able to count on the same level of support from the club. There is no hiding from that. In any industry the most valuable employees are the ones firms are most loathe to let go. In this case the gains were clear. Suárez wins games, helps you into the Champions League, brings you success. The maths are very simple.

Sturridge, meanwhile, is a player transformed. When Liverpool bought him it struck me that he had not broken through either at Manchester City or Chelsea. Bolton, on loan, was a more productive spell for him. I thought he was decent but not necessarily a trophy-winning player for a club of Liverpool's stature. I was mistaken to be slightly underwhelmed. I wanted them to buy one of the £20m-£30m strikers around Europe. But blimey, has he proved everyone wrong.

There is no risk of Sturridge being a flash in the pan. He is here to stay. He looks quick, sharp, lively, with a good touch. He scores scrapbook goals. These are dynamite qualities for a striker, especially if they are cute, and know where the ball is going to drop, and can finish. Sturridge has good feet as well. He can beat players. He has an awful lot going for him.

I would call it one of the best Liverpool buys in a long, long time, and it reflects well on Rodgers, who also spotted Philippe Coutinho. Straight away you give the manager credit for those acquisitions.

For too long in this country we have stuck rigidly to formations and squeezed players into them. At Liverpool, the good players are determining the shape of the team. Sturridge-Suárez has not become an either/or. You need a bit of imagination to piece such talents together. And Brendan Rodgers has it.

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