Of Liverpool's three road matches during this season's Europa League group play, two of them ended in 0-0 draws. The third, at Steaua Bucharesti, was a 1-1 draw. Accordingly, it's tough to call Thursday's 0-0 result in Prague that saw Liverpool take three shots — none on target — surprising, even if the squad has been revitalized by transfer activity and the introduction of Kenny Dalglish.
This match, however, was so incredibly uneventful even compared to those previous ties that something beyond the difficulty of away matches in Europe must have been at work. There's really no secret what that was: Liverpool has no depth among attacking players, and little ability to rotate lineups therein. Both David Ngog and Joe Cole, relatively rare inclusions in the first team, have played part in each of the four Europa League away draws — a fact that would surprise few.
Though it'd be easy to criticize both for their lack of productivity, what is perhaps more troubling is how poorly their usually far more effective fellow attackers fare when they are on the pitch — namely Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles. Meireles has enjoyed a great renaissance of late, scoring goals in nearly every match and serving as an engine of creativity in a forward midfield role. Kuyt, likewise, has returned to his scrappy, hard-working self, as well as shown great proficiency in the center forward role of late. Then, there was Thursday, when neither could have been more anonymous.
Instead, as is often the case when nobody else seems to present any threat, Glen Johnson was Dalglish's best attacking player. This time, though, instead of simply making lengthy runs to the corner and crossing or engaging in combination passing on the wing, Johnson went alone on slashing runs into the box time after time. He had few other options, and though some of his efforts were close to the target, he was never able to get it quite right.
When you add it all up, Liverpool managed three shots, none of which were on target, and will now have to beat Sparta at Anfield to continue on in the competition. For that effort, Dalglish will need Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez. He'll also need forward-thinking Martin Kelly, as though Danny Wilson made no major errors in Prague, he offered very little going forward, which made Liverpool a predictably right-sided team.
That victory, one would hope, won't be a problem for the Reds. They have a week to rest up in preparation for it, but what will Dalglish do when he needs to rotate players when there are multiple games each week? He'll need to include Ngog, Cole, or the likes of Milan Jovanovic or Dani Pacheco to field a side, and find a formation that gets the most out of each player. Ngog often seems more suited for the left wing than for a true striker role, though the left is also the natural place for Jovanovic, who probably deserves a shot more than Ngog does. As for Cole, who knows where he fits? or if he's capable of fitting at all? or can get into form?
Dalglish has much left to resolve if he wishes to make a deep run into the competition, but he has already shown his ability to put players in their most natural places in just a month at Anfield. Hopefully, he'll be able to similarly concoct a scheme that can produce results with Cole, Ngog and Jovanovic in the side — if that is, in fact, possible.
If it isn't, then Liverpool won't be playing on Thursdays much longer, meaning that Cole, Ngog, and Jovanovic may not need to be in the side nearly ever at all. With just one match per week, Gerrard, Suarez, Meireles, Kuyt and Andy Carroll would be more than well-rested enough to be perpetually selected until season's end.
And then, of course, comes another transfer window.
Will Ngog, Jovanovic, or Cole be long-term fixtures at Anfield? Leave your thoughts below.
