Liverpool style as bad as Dalglish's Rhetoric

Liverpool may have slipped down the table, but it is nothing compared to the slide the club's reputation has taken.

Off the pitch, the club's handling of the Suarez-Evra affair leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Nothing wrong with sticking by your man if you're jumping out of a plane, but for God's sake pull out the parachute! With a trip to Old Trafford at the weekend, it would be naive to think all the talk (and the booing) would die down, but Dalglish stoke the fire once more in his post match press conference after the Tottenham game when he claimed Suarez should never have been suspended.

While that snippet will get the attention, Liverpool fans should be more concerned with the team's style of play. Dalglish claimed his side is creating more chances than anyone else, hence his side's poor chance completion rate. But is the quality of the chances the problem?

All the talk of how to get the best out of Andy Carroll has moved the focus from the team as a whole. They lack penetration down the wings, Suarez is the only player who offers intricacy through the middle, with one or two exceptions there isn't a great deal of pace and the midfield lacks invention.

If we start from the back, the defence looks very solid, Agger and Skrtel have formed a good understanding, save the aberration at Bolton, while Enrique, Johnson and Kelly are good full backs. However, going forward the full backs have yet to stretch teams. Partly this is because teams come to Anfield, sit back and get men behind the ball, but partly this is because of the people in front of them.

Stewart Downing has failed to meet even half his £20million. The England winger has yet to show the performance level expected at Anfield and he has been unable to form meaningful partnerships with his full backs. Dalglish may have to take some responsibility for this as he has switched Downing between the flanks, and changed system and personnel, making the cohesion that Liverpool need in attack hard to create.

Dirk Kuyt on the right wing offers a hard worker and the Dutchman does have a tendency to pop up with a valuable goal of two but he is by no means a winger and will do well to create from that right wing. That would be fine if he created space for Johnson or Kelly to run into but the former Feyenoord man likes to get forward, either crowding out space for an overlapping full back or coming inside into a central position and occupying the centre backs rather than the opposition's left back. Two on one situations on the wings never arise and Liverpool have to resort to crosses from deep. Not a serious problem when Andy Carroll is in your team but if the opposition is sat back knock downs and flick-ons can be easily intercepted and clear opportunities on goal reduced.

Undoubtedly Liverpool have missed Steven Gerrard driving on from midfield. Lucas and Jay Spearing offer the defensive cover but little to nothing going forward. While they can keep things ticking over when Liverpool are in possession you will rarely see a through ball or a run in to the box from either man - its not the role they are asked to fill. Henderson has not yet fulfilled his potential and while he shows endeavour he lacks the maturity or identity to make an impact on the game.

Charlie Adam has an explosive left foot that can deliver pinpoint crosses or blasts from outside the box, but he lacks the agility to run into wide positions or get around and beyond Carroll. He also lacks the technical ability of a top class midfielder, the vision to play through balls or dribbling skills that could see him deployed as an attacking midfielder. Only Gerrard offers a constant goal threat but he is only just coming back from injury and trying to find his feet in this new look team.

And maybe that is the key issue - this is a new team. Downing, Adam, Henderson Enrique and Bellamy joined in the summer, Suarez and Carroll have been there only a year, should we really expect fluid attacking football at this stage? Teams are built from the back, and Liverpool's defence has, for the main part, remained solid. But after the outlays on Suarez, Carroll, Henderson and Downing especially, higher expectations are not unwarranted.

Dalglish has yet to settle on a preferred system, a preferred style, a preferred XI, and it shows. Andy Carroll and his price tag dominates discussion and the players seem too determined to play to Carroll's strength rather than the collective strengths of the team. While Dalglish continues to put his foot in his mouth when it comes to Suarez, the manager needs to improve Liverpool's style on the pitch if he wants to take them back to their former glories.