Eye Of The Storm

An inaudible rhythm, more important than the noise any other instrument could make. There, filling every gap between consciousness, lies the capacity for our very existence and assists in every action we then take. Sometimes we follow it, though the places that are led to to aren't always what we had in mind. Over the course of our lives it gets broken - some more than others - but it doesn't stop completely until the very end. To live without is not to live at all.  Heart.

Lightning strikes the mind. Inspiration always comes from on high for even when it is less than divine, the brain is where ideas are forged and dreams are born. To put that into action, the body must be both willing and able. Physicality is but a vehicle, a means of getting somewhere faster or slower than others pending fitness. It's the heart that drives everything forward.  A midfield does that job for a team.  Steven Gerrard is that force for Liverpool.

Dominating the battle in the middle of the park has always been key to winning football matches but in recent years it's evolved into something else. Barcelona have practically made it a science by using very basic principles on a very advanced level, helped by the fact that Xavi and Iniesta are two incredibly gifted footballers. The idea of having someone in there simply capable of tackling or passing is no longer good enough.

There are three types of modern day midfielder. A destructive force, someone who will disrupt an opposing team on his own.  Those who can play every kind of pass there is to play without the benefit of even looking and the ones who can terrify defenders with a swing of their leg and drag a team across the finish line should the front men not be up to it.  Most are capable of two out of those three.  The very best can do it all.

It's not the skill set that's changed so much over the years but the way in which they're employed.  4-4-2 has become such a redundant tactic at the highest level because of the fact that teams will often set out with some variety of three in the centre - whether that be part of a three or five man midfield - and already you're giving the opposition a man advantage in the most important area of the pitch.  It's also a lot more rigid and would require a superhuman effort from the two in the middle just to keep some kind of equilibrium with supporting the attack while trying to supplement the defence. For evidence of that, see how tired Gerrard and Parker were after having done it for four straight games at Euro 2012. An extra man in there will even up the numbers - or even tip them in your favour - should there be an imbalance, as well as making it easier to retain possession while building up an attacking momentum. That's where the system Brendan Rodgers is trying to play comes in.

So far this season we've seen that when the midfield trio works well together things have looked good and the worst displays coincide with the times where they look all at sea.  First and foremost, the sheer number of things it's trying to accomplish at once is incredibly ambitious but if perfected would be near unstoppable. Two of them have to assist on both ends of the pitch while the third links them. Primarily based around what would be the apex of the diamond midfield but stretched out to accommodate the auxiliary centre half, at any given time they can be covering up to five different positions. The idea of ball retention would allow that deep lying player to close the gap and added to good movement in behind would create an epicentre from which any opposition would have to expose themselves in order to try and win the ball back.

He was thought to have been pivotal to Rodgers' success prior to a ball being kicked this season and like dominoes, the absence of Lucas Leiva has done much to alter the shape of the side. He's the one with the biggest engine of all those in that department and also is entrusted with being the quasi centre half when the team goes forward. Him staying would free Joe Allen to play the role of link man and also allow the full back that isn't Glen Johnson to go forward more comfortably. Playing Gerrard where Allen is right now requires the most out of his ageing legs and also potentially leaves him not in the area he's needed the most; in front of goal. While it's important that everybody realizes Lucas won't walk back into the team and immediately be the exact same force he was before, simply having him on the pitch gives us the option of being more flexible.

Nuri Sahin is the enigma. Having seemingly fit into the team with consummate ease, things haven't been as smooth for the on loan midfielder since he bagged a few goals against West Brom and Norwich. Interestingly enough, he has been playing the more advanced role of the three in the league as of late and it was in the deeper role that he made such an impact at The Hawthorns back in September. Switching he and Gerrard around might be the simple thing to do on paper but would leave a big responsibility on a player who has barely played in the last year. The problem Rodgers has is that he'll spend so much time with Nuri but by the time it's clicked he could be going back to Madrid.

Just like everything else that's been put into place, it's all about having flexibility and balance.  That you could have a rotating middle three just behind an alternating attacking force sounds glorious on paper.  Interchangeable parts rely having players with tremendous amounts of intelligence and technique, probably why there are growing calls for Suso to play more often at the head of this middle three just behind the striker.  This is also an area in which more goals are needed and that has to be addressed in the short time while the coaching staff continues to try get their ideas across.  From the outside looking in, it is a deceptively simple way of playing.  Pass and move is at the very core of how football should be played but also positionally and responsibility lies with the player themselves.  Some like to have rigid instructions and can't handle that kind of freedom.  Brendan Rodgers will see very soon who can.

There are a core of young, hungry central midfield players at Anfield right now and should.  There have been flashes where it's worked but as with the rest of the team in regard to the managers ideas, while it may not take long to understand it isn't going to be the finished article overnight. It's the one area of the park in which the club is amply stocked and yet it has to go the furthest because of how Brendan Rodgers wants it to be.  Get it right and there could be some real dark clouds ahead in store for the rest of the league.