Height (dis)advantage

There has been a lot of talk about how Liverpool can't play against a tall striker. The perfect example would be in the game against Aston Villa, where Christian Benteke made a wonderful performance. But, is this true? Can Liverpool really not win against a tall striker?

I decided to investigate this, this time thanking the Reddit Match Threads and Squawka. After searching the height, in metres, of the tallest forward we played against, I had to see if Liverpool won/drew/loss the game and put this information in a chart.

Disclaimer: Liverpool's home game against Stoke City on October 7th 2012 is not in the chart for aesthetic reasons. Because of Peter Crouch immense height (2.01 m) it would make the chart less readable; the game ended a 0-0 draw.

As you can see in this chart Liverpool has a win and a draw, against almost all opponent sizes. The only result that are not greatly distributed are the losses, the majority of them being against opponent whose size is 1.86 m (Dempsey & van Persie twice).

The results against the smallest heights are 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. The results against the tallest heights (not including Stoke's draw) are 1 win and 1 draw.

A good way to measure if their is a significant difference in height between the results is the average.
The average of all the losses is 1.873 m, which is very close to the wins, 1.877 m. Then we have the average of all the draws, 1.894 m, but if we don't include Peter Crouch's outlier it would go down to 1.880 m.

Impossible

Then this means that on average we draw against the tallest attackers, and we (on average) lose against the smallest ones. Leaving all the winning against the middle teams.

Another way of measuring their significance is using a t-test. After analysing the data, it showed that the means of all three results are the same, with a p-value of 0.36 between the loss-draw, a 0.41 between win-draw and a 0.81 between win-loss.

What does this mean?

It's actually saying that there is statistically no difference between the results. Refuting the idea posted on the start of this article. Meaning Liverpool has no type of disadvantage and they could win all the games regardless of the opponent's height.

**Update**

If the same forwards start in the upcoming 13 league games (except Ba for Chelsea), we're going to play 4 teams that have attackers smaller that 1.86 m, 4 teams whose forwards are between 1.86-1.88 m and 5 teams with strikers taller than 1.88 m.

Distribution

By now we can see Rodgers' philosophy in Liverpool's way of playing. We have significantly increased possession and passes, tiring the opposition and giving them less time with the ball. We've also increased the pressure we put on other teams, which is the key to us having the ball 55% of the time. Without talking about the non-football related things he and Fenway Sports Group have also brought to the club.

This style of play has many strengths (as listed above) but alas it has some weakness as well. If you have been watching the games Liverpool have played this season you've seen how well Rodger's philosophy has been advancing. But you've also seen the apparent weakness this system has.

 

Liverpool F.C. crumble with pressure

Many fans (and some managers as well) have seen that every time Liverpool face a team that is willing to pressure them high up the pitch, they lose their composure and don't do well. This is because their style of play needs them to pass from the back, meaning the GK. This is why everyone was excited when we started playing like this, because it would take full advantage of Pepe's (La Masia trained) distribution.

Maybe that is the reason people are now counting how many passes Reina completes. For they say that when he makes more than 20, it's a probable win for Liverpool. So, after analysing the wonderful infographs made by "Oh You Beauty," one could infer that when Liverpool win Pepe Reina has completed 75% more passes than if they lose or draw.

Passing

On average Reina completes 11 passes in a draw, and 13 in a loss with the same attempts (19). But when Liverpool win Reina completes an astonishing 21 passes out of 27, a 78% pass completion.

What does this mean for the team?

First I have to say our stats when we lose and when we draw are almost the same, so the analysis are done with the average of both.

When Reina delivers that means Lucas and Gerrard (or their counterparts) get to see more of the ball. On average when we win Lucas and Gerrard both complete 70 passes. Lucas completing 31% and Gerrard 32% more than when we lose/draw.

This means they can distribute the ball better and their would be more ball movement. Tiring the opposition and leaving them with less possession, which is the game Rodgers is implementing.

Goalkeeper = Key

Now we can start to see how important the goalkeeper is for Brendan Rodgers and this team. He is not only a shot stopper, he is the first (most important?) domino in this game.

So Liverpool have to find a way to diminish the pressure put on by the other team so that the keeper can successfully pass the ball and make it go to the other side of the pitch.

Joe Allen, One Hit Wonder?

 

Everyone knows "the welsh Xavi" is not playing his best at the moment. He has been losing possession much more than before. His pass completion is worse than when he started. Was he just a one hit wonder?

Fatigue

First, we have to take notice that he has appeared in 21 out of the 22 games Liverpool have played in the Premier League, since Brendan Rodgers was appointed. He could be very fit for a young man with 22 years of age, but not many people can withstand the fatigue Joe Allen has. He's played 1,719 minutes of the 1,980 that Liverpool has (87%). Only the untiring Luis Suarez (95%) and the superhuman Steven Gerrard (100%) have played more minutes than him.

Out of Position

Not only has he played a very large amount of minutes, most of them he's played out of position. With the injury of, arguably, one of Liverpool's most important player in the last couple of years (Lucas Leiva) something had to be done with the DM position. Last year Kenny Dalglish gave that role to Jay Spearing. Although a huge fan of the team and very eager to play, unfortunately he just didn't play at the level you would expect from a Liverpool player.

Then, over the summer, came Brendan Rodgers to lead the team. He knew Spearing didn't fit the part for DM, thus being loaned, and Lucas was on his way to start anew, when another unfortunate injury came upon him, with only 5 days for the transfer window to close and his mind on other players (Dempsey, Carroll, etc.). So Rodgers decided he needed someone to play the role of DM and that's where Allen came in.

The first game he didn't excel, but as the team got to learn his abilities: patience, vision and work rate, they started trusting him more until he became the "first touch" of almost all the attacks.

Philosophy

As we all know the appointment of Brendan Rodgers was huge, not only for the fans and team, but for the players. He had to teach his playing philosophy and convince all the players (and owners) this is the way Liverpool F.C. can thrive and (soon) win the Premier League.

But to teach this "philosophy" he must completely redesign how everyone played football. From the (sweeper) keeper and the attacking defence, to the always pressuring midfield and attack. He knew it was going to be a tough battle, but he wasn't alone.

Rodgers brought with him a player he coached some years ago who knew his style and who would believe in him (Borini). He also brought the best player in his last team (Allen) who not only knows the ins and outs of his philosophy, but who could (from day one) instill it in the team and could be an example to all the other players what style of play Rodgers wants and how to do it.

Liverpool F.C.

I believe Rodgers, with the help of Allen, hasn't yet finished teaching all the players his style, but you could see the fruits bearing. We can see the rise of our fullbacks, the confidence in our centrebacks, the passing in our midfield and the pressure in our attack. The best example is our captain who has hushed the people who were calling for his resignation, with his stellar performances in the latter part of the season. He has made some unbelievable strides from the start of the season and will continue to do so, because he's, amazingly, still improving.

What I want to share is that I don't believe Allen is a one hit wonder, although a rest could be very beneficial. I believe the magnificent players of Liverpool F.C. are taking the load off Allen and all of them are now starting to play the way Brendan Rodgers has envisioned it.