Stan Collymore: Liverpool need to start keeping clean sheets to win the title
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has told NewBettingSites.uk that he doesn’t believe it’s fair to brand Liverpool as ‘lucky’ this season, claiming that Sir Alex Ferguson used to employ a similar mantra in Manchester United’s heyday of creating chances until the final whistle.
Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Collymore said: “I think Liverpool are past the point of being called ‘lucky’ now. Sir Alex Ferguson always used to ask his Manchester United players to fashion one more chance. There'll be an element of that in Liverpool because there's a lot of self-belief in the manager and in the team that they can do it. The more times you do it, it becomes a good thing because you then think it's something that your team is capable of doing.
“As a strategy, it won't work much longer – they've got to keep clean sheets. Teams that win titles, when you look at the stats at the end of the season, have the best defensive record as well as the best offensive record and keep the most clean sheets.
“Liverpool have invested a lot of money in Virgil van Dijk. They invest a lot of money in the likes of Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis MacAllister to protect him. Ibrahima Konate also has got the ability to be a top-class defender, and they've just brought two new full-backs as well as arguably still having the world’s best goalkeeper. So, there are no excuses.
“It was better against Everton. They were two-nil up, and even though Everton came back into the game, it was fairly comfortable. I'd like to see them keep two or three shutouts in the next five or six games. Then I'll be convinced that they've got real Premier League title and Champions League credentials.”
Isak, Ekitike and Salah front three will leave Gakpo sidelined
Discussing Liverpool’s new signings, Collymore reckons that playing Florian Wirtz in behind Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike will be the strongest starting lineup, potentially leaving Cody Gakpo on the bench.
“I'd say Cody Gakpo is the spare wheel when thinking about putting Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah in a starting lineup. Ekitike, getting by his goal against Everton at the weekend and despite having been left out in the Champions League, is the one at the moment that is the biggest success.
“Isak's only just bedding into the team and Wirtz has been lukewarm. I would have a system whereby you'd play Wirtz behind Salah on the right, Isak down in the middle and Ekitike slightly to the left. He wouldn't really be playing down the left because he plays down the middle, but his and Isak’s movement is good enough to move into those areas slightly to the left or just inside the 18-yard box.
“So, I’d play those three together and that would mean Gakpo being the perennial substitute, unfortunately for him.”
Robertson will be teaching Kerkez to help him settle
Collymore discussed Milos Kerkez and his slow start to life in the Liverpool team, claiming that regular Andy Robertson will be helping him settle and will be his ‘biggest cheerleader’, as opposed to trying to wiggle his way back into the starting lineup.
“I think Andy Robertson could have a bit of a resurgence this season, because at the moment, Milos Kerkez needs a little bit of time to bed in. I think there is a very good player in Kerkez, and I think he really will settle down into being a Liverpool player. It's probably a little bit of overexuberance at the moment, he wants to do well and be everywhere. He just needs to calm down and play his game.
“Who better to have as a replacement than Andy Robertson, in any position, at any club in the world. There's a lot of rivalry in football and people think that everybody's best mates, but Andy Robertson genuinely is one of those players that I know that would be having a chat with Kerkez to help him out with his game. I have no issues and problems around Kerkez at all, but at the moment needs must, and Liverpool need to be defensively more solid, so Robbo's come back into the team.
“I think that Robbo will be Kerkez’s biggest cheerleader as well, and that's why I think Kerkez will go on and have a good career at Liverpool.”
Gakpo can be the new Divock Origi
Collymore mentioned that Cody Gakpo can play the part of super sub that Divock Origi did for the Reds all those years ago, claiming that the Liverpool forwards cover all the attributes needed to mount a serious challenge in European and domestic football this season.
“In the forward positions, when Arne Slot has got the luxury of all of these forwards, then players like Gakpo may well miss out on a lot of games but can come in for his freshness in a way that Divock Origi did years ago, as a super sub. Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz you would think at some point will click, and they’ll have the ability to score lots of goals together.
“I think that what a lot of teams did is watch Paris Saint-Germain last season, and notice that they had four or five really good options in attacking positions. They’ve not got two players they rely on, they've got four or five. They’re obviously the benchmark along with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“If you're going to beat those teams, you've got to have goals, creativity, pace and physicality. Liverpool have got that mix of attributes as much as they've had, ever. I remember in the 90s teams that I played in, and we had physicality with likes of me, and then Fernando Torres and the likes of Louis Suarez were physical as well as technically good players.
“I think that that physicality, against the likes of PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid other English teams like Manchester City and Arsenal, that are running tournaments, will spook some teams.”
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