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Big Decisions For Rodgers
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has some big decisions to make over the coming weeks as he looks to ensure Liverpool’s good start to the season continues. Daniel Sturridge has grabbed all the headlines but Liverpool’s resurgence has been built on their defensive foundations with the Reds having kept eight clean sheets in their last ten league matches.
New Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has yet to concede a league goal and he has showed impressive form in this young season highlighted by his match winning penalty save in the final moments of the match against Stoke. But the Belgian is the first to acknowledge that he has benefited from the efforts of those in front of him.
Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Kolo Toure and Jose Enrique snuffed out the threat of Stoke and Aston Villa before Martin Skrtel deputised for the injured Toure in a the hard-fought victory over Manchester United.
However, with Glen Johnson sidelined for around 5 weeks with an ankle injury picked up during the victory over Manchester United, Brendan Rodgers will have to replace the England right-back who has started the season so brightly.
Martin Kelly is still struggling to find his match fitness after such a long injury lay-off, so the right-back position appears to be a two-way battle between Toure and Andre Wisdom.
Toure has played there in the past and it would be a clever way of accommodating the return from injury of the Ivorian as it would be harsh to drop Skrtel after his man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United.
Rodgers has to choose between the experience of Toure and the athleticism of Wisdom, who did nothing wrong when he came on against United but struggled against Notts County and the pre-season match against Celtic.
The other dilemma for Rodgers is how to find a place in the team for Mamadou Sakho. Liverpool’s form means there is no pressure on Rodgers to throw the big French centre-back straight into action. Sakho is still working on his fitness since arriving at Anfield so it would be a surprise if he featured against Swansea.
But over the coming weeks Sakho will be staking a claim for a place in Liverpool’s defence and there is no way the Reds paid £15 million for him to warm the bench. You only pay that kind of money for a starter but who will make way for Sakho ? Not Agger, that’s for sure, as long as he stays fit Agger’s name will be one of the first names on the team sheet.
One solution to Rodgers’ defensive dilemma would be to switch to playing three at the back, which Rodgers tried at times last season.
But now Rodgers has the players capable of making 3-5-2 a viable option. A back three of Agger, Sakho alongside Toure or Skrtel , could be installed with Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson as wing-backs. Until Johnson is fit, Jordan Henderson would be an alternative on the right.
That would allow Rodgers to play Coutinho in the central role where he’s at his best in front of Gerrard and Lucas. Sturridge would then lead the line alongside Victor Moses or Aspas until Luis Suarez has served his ban.
There is now plenty of options for Rodgers with his summer signings but he has to make some big decisions regarding his team over the coming weeks to ensure his team continue their good start to the season.
The Kopite View 
Wonder could Moses play RB seeing as Rodgers fullbacks are like attacking wingers anyway and Moses works really hard. I just don’t trust Wisdom anywhere in defence.
Why is it that Agger can’t sit the bench if Sakho comes to preform better, in training or matches so on. . . ????? I really don’t like it when a name walk’s in front of a player and i believe Rogers doesn’t either. So expect the possibility of Agger sitting the bench for times this season. His best form is not with him at the moment. Has i’ve said before, look what some good competition did to Skretel’s form.
Eventually i believe that Agger and Sakho pairing is the most powerful center defense in our cards, and for so i do think that at some point it would play, regardless to the ‘both lefties situation’.
For the coming match, i have to say that your point for Toure being able to play right back really sounds nice to me, i haven’t thought of that or i haven’t known he had played there before. If it was my call then, i would play: Toure/Ilori , Skretel, Sakho, Henrique. then Lucas/Henderson , Gerrard – Coutinho – Moses, Sturridge, Sterling. I am not a big fan of Wisdom, or at least not of his platform at our team, he’s still not good enough. Maybe he’ll develop to an all right sub for us – far from first team at my standards.
3 5 2 is always vulnerable to quick wingers with your own fullbacks raiding and being caught on the break
that’s where Lucas is so valuable protecting the defence and there for the counter-attack.