The two new signings were impressive in the Reds’ 5-0 demolition of Swansea on Sunday and could represent the first successful buys since their recent decline

COMMENT
By David Lynch

Brendan Rodgers could hardly conceal his delight having seen Liverpool bookend what he described as a “bumpy” week with a 5-0 win over Swansea on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds went into the game having suffered back-to-back 2-0 defeats to West Brom and Zenit St Petersburg which have severely harmed their hopes of a top-four finish and Europa League success. This was a seven days which threatened to define the Northern Irishman’s indifferent start to life in charge at Anfield, or potentially even bring it to a premature end.

But it was not only the positive result and undeniably improved performance which marked the difference between this latest fixture and the two which had preceded it. There were notable changes in personnel which in fact facilitated the transformation of those two aspects; namely the introduction of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian had been handed his full debut for the Anfield club, and grabbed a goal in a tricky, if admittedly patchy, performance by way of celebration. Meanwhile, Sturridge put in a showing of such enormity upon his return from injury that club captain Steven Gerrard handed him penalty duties in the second half so that he might seek fitting reward.

The most telling indicator of the duo’s impact, however, was that Luis Suarez, who had featured in both the disappointing performances earlier in the week, also scored and grabbed an assist. The importance of fresh attacking blood not only supplementing the Uruguayan’s work but improving it was clear as Suarez found the space consistently denied him during games in which he represented the Reds’ sole goal threat.

Of course, getting carried away with oneself in light of a solitary good result is something that Rodgers himself even warned against after the game, being fully aware that neither will be able to feature in the Europa League. He told reporters: “I liken us to a marathon runner just getting ready for the finish line, we’re ready to make a move, make a run and then we trip up. But we trip ourselves up.”

And he was right. Demolition job or otherwise, beating a much-weakened Swansea team with one eye on next week’s Capital One Cup final should be no cause for celebration at a club as big as Liverpool. The south Wales outfit also represent the first team from those who currently make up the top half of the Premier League which the Reds have beaten this term.

But, on the evidence provided by more than just those 90 minutes, dare the home fans believe that, for the first in a long time, Liverpool have enjoyed a productive transfer window?

Two young, hungry players have been brought in who were, arguably, undervalued by their clubs, and both have made an immediate and positive impact. Should they continue in this vein, then both purchases represent the ‘Moneyball’ ideal which Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group are believed to strive for.

In simple terms, the pair could represent the first successful series of buys enjoyed by the Merseyside outfit since their recent decline was put into motion. The additions of Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres in the summer of 2007, which came just months after Javier Mascherano and Alvaro Arbeloa had arrived, represent an unmatched precedent in the modern history of Liverpool Football Club.

Since then the likes of Alberto Aquilani, Robbie Keane and Paul Konchesky have accounted for consistently damaging outlays over a number of windows. Unsurprisingly, even Luis Suarez’s arrival was tempered by the €41 million signing of striker Andy Carroll, who is now out on loan at West Ham.

During this period, three managers have been handed their marching orders by the Anfield side, after they effectively forced themselves to attempt turning water into wine thanks to a disastrous transfer policy.
Rodgers will now hope to avoid becoming the fourth casualty in that increasingly lengthy list by making things easier for himself next season. Buying wine instead of water is certainly a good start.

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The Brazilian attacker made his full debut for the Merseyside outfit against Swansea at Anfield on Sunday afternoon and netted the second goal in a 5-0 victory

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says he has “high hopes” for January signing Philippe Coutinho after his goalscoring performance in Sunday’s win over Swansea.

The Brazilian netted in the first minute of the second half as the Merseysiders ran out 5-0 winners against the south Wales outfit at Anfield.

And Rodgers believes the 20-year-old attacker can get even better as he adapts to life in the Premier League.

“He’s a real talented player, Coutinho. He’s only 20 but he’s had good experience playing at a big level,” the 40-year-old told reporters.

“He’ll take a bit of time to adapt to the speed and the tempo, coming from Inter Milan his game is at a slower tempo. But he’s a wonderful technician and you can see with his involvement in the first goal the quality and the speed of his passing and he’s got wonderful game knowledge as well.

“I’ve got high hopes for him, these are the types of players we’re trying to get in, the technicians that have got strong character and mentality and I’m sure he’ll progress really well.”

The Northern Irishman also underlined the importance of the win following a week in which the Reds suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats at the hands of West Brom and Zenit St Petersburg.

“It was an important three points. It’s been a bumpy road this week in terms of the games Monday and Thursday,” he added.

“The Premier League is very important for us and we knew that we had to focus and show commitment today against a Swansea team that’s been brilliant this season.

“For us it was a very important win, an outstanding performance and I think we really showed our character and mental toughness today to get a performance like that.

“Funnily enough going into the game it was [all] about keeping a clean sheet, because the last four games defensively we haven’t been at our best. Overall, we’re very pleased and a very good performance.”

Rodgers stopped short of claiming a late push for fourth is possible, however, insisting his side must stop plotting their own downfall.

“Every time I say [fourth is possible] you guys always write and slaughter me. I’m a manager, I’m an optimist but we’re not getting carried away,” he said.

“We’ve put in some outstanding performances this season and never always got the results. I liken us to a marathon runner just getting ready for the finish line, we’re ready to make a move, make a run and then we trip up. But we trip ourselves up.

“That’s something we have to change for the remainder of the season and finish the season as strong as we possibly can.”

Swansea coach Michael Laudrup, meanwhile, claimed his squad cannot blame the number of changes he made for their defeat.

“How do I explain it? It’s a little difficult. Some could say ‘you made a lot of changes’, it’s true. The first to blame is me, maybe, because I pick the team,” he said.

“But you go back the last two or three months and see how many times we changed team from one game to another; two, three, four, five. I remember when we played Fulham between Christmas and New Year with seven changes.

“I know Fulham, with all due respect, is not Liverpool, but still, we won the game. The one thing you can always ask is that the team is competitive and today we came in after the first 45 minutes, we’d had a couple of chances and they’d had more but we were still in the game.

“Then they scored three goals in ten minutes, you cannot do that. We could have lost seven or eight nil easily if it wasn’t for Michel. That’s not good enough. But we have to learn from it, we have to go on and think about the final.”

The Dane also expressed hope that Sunday’s result would not affect his side’s confidence ahead of Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Bradford at Wembley.

“You get confidence when you win, and you have good results and games, and the opposite when you lose, but that’s part of it,” he continued.

“Everybody wants to play, everybody’s asking for their chances but obviously it’s not so good when we get games like this. I pick out the obvious things [after the match] but my main thing to them today was everybody should look inside at what he could have done better today.

“I will not exclude [the idea of] some players thinking about the game next week. [It]’s human because it’s the biggest game maybe in the history of the club.

“But you see what happens if it’s like that. I want to see this as a single accident maybe caused by what is going to happen in seven days. Or at least I hope so.”

The 21-year-old has been blighted by injuries in his debut Anfield season and now looks set to miss the remainder of the campaign following a collision with Kyle Bartley

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Fabio Borini will miss the remainder of the season after the forward dislocated his shoulder in Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Swansea on Sunday afternoon.

The Italian forward had only been on the pitch for eight minutes before colliding with Swans centre-back Kyle Bartley in a sliding challenge. The 21-year-old immediately let out a scream of pain as Bartley slid over his left arm, leaving Borini to trudge off down the tunnel at Anfield.

Rodgers told reporters after the game: “He will probably be out for the season, it looks like he’s dislocated his shoulder.

“It’s unfortunate because it’s the other shoulder, he had the same injury at Chelsea. It looks like, early stages, that that’s the diagnosis.”

The incident was the only sour point in a dominant and impressive Reds victory over a weakened Michael Laudrup side, who have one eye on their Capital One Cup final next weekend.

Borini has been plagued by injuries since joining Liverpool from Roma in the summer and spent three months on the sidelines with a broken foot earlier in the campaign.

He made his return to first-team action at Old Trafford on January 6th but now looks set for a further spell in the treatment room.

A first half penalty from Steven Gerrard set the tone for the Reds, before Phillipe Coutinho marked his full Liverpool debut with a goal immediately after half-time.

Jose Enrique, Luis Suarez and another penalty, this time taken by Daniel Sturridge ensured Brendan Rodgers’ team rebounded from defeat to West Brom on Monday and rise to seventh in the Premier League.