The rise of the Liverpool team was unexpected, especially after a rather poor first half the season but the change in formation for Brendan Rodgers has worked and while his formation is working, the players seem to be clicking as well, thankfully the return of Daniel Sturridge has been a blessing for a Liverpool side which has struggled to get the best out of their attackers. Sturridge does still look a little rusty but that should go away once he plays a few more games.
One of the talking points to come out from the Tottenham game was the fact that Steven Gerrard injured his hamstring again and could face a lengthy spell out from the team but that should not worry the Liverpool faithful as Brendan Rodgers’ belief in a young team seems to be paying off, not for the future but now.
The young finally start to click
Liverpool signed a lot of players this season who could become big in the future and I stress on the word could. Markovic, Moreno and Maquillo are all under the age of 20, while Raheem Sterling and Coutinho are still under the age of 22. In fact 5 out of the starting 11 in Liverpool’s win over Tottenham were under the age of 22, Emre Can and Jordon Ibe also feature in the list. If we look at the rest of the team, Henderson, Sakho and Sturridge are all under 25 years of age and even the often ridiculed Simon Mignolet is just 26 years old, which is relatively a young age in the career of a goalkeeper.
Liverpool have invested in youth and while they are starting to produce the goods now, they could get even better in the future after the new players get one complete season in the Premier League. Markovic, Moreno, Maquillo, Can and Ibe are all set to get better as they play more and more games. Can and Ibe have been exceptional from every angle since they started getting runs in the team, Ibe has just come back from a loan spell from Derby County and looks every bit a player who could become as good as Sterling.
The fact that Liverpool would not be having Lucas and Gerrard for a bit might have been a reason to fret last season but this season, they don’t have to worry because the young players are willing to take up the challenge and prove just what they can do. Liverpool will need every bit of that spunk as they start a run of games which features games in the FA Cup, Europa League and tough fixtures in the Premier League, this one month could define Liverpool’s season and the youngsters at Liverpool would be relishing to prove how good they are.