An attempt to reinstate Rafa Benitez's tactics at Liverpool

Hello folks,

With Rafa Benitez's 08/09 vintage being just about the best Liverpool team I've had the pleasure of watching, I had the idea of trying to use the same tactics with the current Liverpool crop. Time is a little short just now, but I'll be uploading my approach and looking for your feedback, as well as posting progress in due course.

The first thing to say is that this system is all about substance over style. It's about the collective rather than getting the best 11 individuals on the pitch. It's about a high tempo, pressing tactic that doesn't over-compromise shape (I hope!). Anyway, I'm sure you all remember the team - it wasn't that long ago! Here's how I've set it up.

Goalkeeper - Nothing spectacular here. Just concentrate on keeping the thing out of the net.

Central Defence - I've gone for Agger as the BPD on a cover mentality here, which suits his game - he's not really all about going and winning the ball. Sakho is the traditional CB/D - I don't want him as a stopper and compromising the defensive line.

Central Midfield - I've attempted to recreate the Mascherano/Alonso axis here with a BWM/D and a DLP-S. The only thing I'd say here is that you could argue that Alonso played deeper than Mascherano, but I don't think that suits Lucas/Gerrard.

The Right Flank - Johnson as an attacking full back with Henderson in front playing the Dirk Kuyt role as a DW/S.

The Left Flank - Enrique a little bit more conservative, with Sterling/Moses playing with a little more freedom on the wing.

The Front Two - A feature of this team is that Gerrard had very little defensive responsibility and you could see him actively seeking out space when the opposition had the ball. All the hallmarks of a Treq, which Coutinho plays nicely. Suarez up top as a CF hopefully speaks for itself. A side note here is that I intend to rotate these two with Sturridge. If Sturridge plays, it'll be as an AF, with Suarez dropping back to be an SS if Coutinho misses out.

I've gone for a Standard mentality to balance out attack and defence - I want my team to make the transition as smoothly as possible, whilst defending reasonably high up the pitch.

Here are my shouts.

Push Higher Up and Play Offside go together nicely, I believe. I want to compress the play as much as I can to win the ball back quickly, as well as minimising the gap between defence and attack. I've put this together with Hassle Opponents to achieve this, with Stay On Feet and Be More Disciplined so my players don't over-commit.

The next two I think go together are Clear Ball To Flanks and Play Narrower. A feature of this side was often A long diagonal ball out of defence to the wings, only for the ball then to be played back inside to Gerrard or Alonso to do the damage. I also want to move the ball quickly, ideally looking for Suarez, Coutinho and whoever is playing on the left to do the damage, so I have Much Higher Tempo and Play Into Space active.

All feedback is welcomed.

I would have played Lucas and Gerrard in the DM stratta as a BWM and DLP(s), the BWM will actually be higher than a DLP, due to his terrior like pressing ala Masch. I think Gerrard would have been Attacking Midfielder on Attack duty and Henerson, Sterling in the AML/R strata. I would stay away from "clear ball to the flanks" aswell, it makes defenders pass it long.

That is my two cents anyway, I suppose everybody will see it different

I would have played Lucas and Gerrard in the DM stratta as a BWM and DLP(s), the BWM will actually be higher than a DLP, due to his terrior like pressing ala Masch. I think Gerrard would have been Attacking Midfielder on Attack duty and Henerson, Sterling in the AML/R strata. I would stay away from "clear ball to the flanks" aswell, it makes defenders pass it long.

That is my two cents anyway, I suppose everybody will see it different

I think there's some merit in what you say. I think you get a 6-4 system there though, when in reality, I think you're wasting Gerrard's attacking prowess, and I'm more a fan of a 5-5 system.

Gerrard tracked back and helped out defensively as the AMC against teams with 3 or more in midfield. That's just about the only thing I think which might need to be reviewed since this is something that a standard Trequartista doesn't do. For AMC, I'd considering going with Attacking Midfielder[A] and a Mark Tighter player instruction, personally.

Gerrard tracked back and helped out defensively as the AMC against teams with 3 or more in midfield. That's just about the only thing I think which might need to be reviewed since this is something that a standard Trequartista doesn't do. For AMC, I'd considering going with Attacking Midfielder[A] and a Tight Marker player instruction, personally.

Yes, quite. I actually used this in a game against Arsenal where I had Gerrard in the AMC slot (as an AP). Arteta was running the game, so I got Gerrard to mark him. Worked nicely, I think (still lost though!)

I also just wanted to say that I currently quite like the 'Clear Ball To Flanks' instruction. Agger in particular is very adept at finding my wide players with the ball.

I would see Gerrard more as an Attacking Midfielder (Attack) or perhaps even Shadow Striker.

I would see Gerrard more as an Attacking Midfielder (Attack) or perhaps even Shadow Striker.

I can see the AM/A argument, but going by the in-game definition of a shadow striker, this states the SS to be 'the team's main goalscoring threat', which Gerrard wasn't (that honour went to Torres).

Regardless, I'm willing to tweak things in order to suit my current crop of players (that's what this game is all about, yes?). Sturridge has a long term injury at the moment, and to be honest, I've been having trouble getting anything out of Suarez as a CF, so I'm currently playing him as an AF/A, with Coutinho in behind as an AP/A.

Worrying times when Aspas is out-performing Suarez, when I put him on.

Ok, I started very well, winning my first three league games (admittedly against lesser opposition) with an aggregate score of 5-0. Then I turned in a poor performance away to Newcastle (who are actually top after 11 games). Following that I hit a tough run of fixtures - United, Chelsea, Arsenal - which I only gained one point from.

From there, form has improved - including a 3-3 draw at Hull from 0-3 down (Hull had four shots!), a 0-0 away at Stoke, and home wins against Palace (1-0) and Villa (2-1), leaving me in 8th overall, but very much in touch with the field.

As I mentioned above, Suarez has been playing very poorly (an average of below 6), so I've played him as an AF/A instead of a CF/A. He scored in the last game so hopefully he turns the corner. Coutinho is playing well now after an injury sidetracked him.

Other features of my play which I have noticed:

Seems to be an over-reliance on goals from set pieces. Agger is my top scorer, with 5 in 10!!

Defensively, I look very solid. The Hull game was particularly frustrating when I dominated and ended up drawing 3-3. Even against Arsenal, a 0-2 defeat, they scored early and then scored a pretty lucky goal, whilst I hit the woodwork twice. In any case, my goal is rarely troubled, apart from when the opposition actually score!

My build up play is very much focussed down the wings. I've ceased to use 'Clear Ball To Flanks' and used 'Work Ball Into Box' and 'Play Narrower' in an attempt to channel my play through Coutinho and Suarez, but it's not really working. Suarez's insistence on getting the ball and trying to dribble it into the goal from wherever he might be on the pitch is really annoying though, and I can't make him stop. He loses the ball more often than not, rather than laying it off. Indeed, many of my players seem to want to run with the ball instead of moving it around, which is what I'm after. I'm guessing this is due to the PPMs they have.

I should also point out that I've stopped using 'Pass Into Space' as I found I was ceding possession too easily in attacking areas, so I want the ball into feet, as I think that suits my players more.

Any thoughts on this?

Sounds like the real life Suarez! To be fair he is a completely different player to what Torres was back then. Have you tried a more fluid philosophy? I think Benitez only had 2 specialist roles, Masch and Alonso. I also think that pressing under Benitez has been somewhat over dramaticised. They did press but it was nothing like Barca under Pep or even the current day Southampton. Don't forget there was plenty of time Benayoun played high as a playmaker type cutting in off the wing, Coutinho perhaps?

I am going to try out my own interpretation, will post any interesting outcomes.

Thanks Pele. I agree completely - the pressing wasn't right up the pitch, it was more about getting the shape right and pressing from there - particularly against stronger opponents.

I admit I hadn't considered the wide playmaker, but it makes sense actually. Perhaps a sort of asymmetrical setup with Coutinho in the AML position.

EDIT: I also wanted to add that in certain games, Kuyt played almost as a wide TM as well. Certainly against Chelsea, Reina used to aim all his long kicks there, using Kuyt's aerial advantage over Ashley Cole.

And against Manchester United Rafa had Kuyt man marking Evra so it would probably make sense to move Hendo up to AMR aswell, especially against sides with good, influential, FBs/WBs on the left.

I loved this team. However his BIG problem that season was playing minnows particularly at home. He didn't seem to change anything untill his 65 minute substitution which cost liverpool a fair few games at home off the top of my head Wigan and hull and THAT cost them the title. He could have looked across the road at united and played More like them when they played at home against the minnows and liverpool would be the team with 19.

Sad because that team probably wasn't even close to uniteds on paper but oh wow they played like a brilliantly drilled unit/machine and it was incredibly entertaining to watch them from a tactical point of view. Had a lot of respect for rafa for this season apart from the point about the poorer teams at home that was definitely his one problem he had.

As I said shame because they probably deserved to win the title that season.

I loved this team. However his BIG problem that season was playing minnows particularly at home. He didn't seem to change anything untill his 65 minute substitution which cost liverpool a fair few games at home off the top of my head Wigan and hull and THAT cost them the title. He could have looked across the road at united and played More like them when they played at home against the minnows and liverpool would be the team with 19.

Sad because that team probably wasn't even close to uniteds on paper but oh wow they played like a brilliantly drilled unit/machine and it was incredibly entertaining to watch them from a tactical point of view. Had a lot of respect for rafa for this season apart from the point about the poorer teams at home that was definitely his one problem he had.

As I said shame because they probably deserved to win the title that season.

Agree with this. They lost 2-0 away to Middlesbrough that meant it would take a superhuman effort to take the title, and Rafa let them off the leash. The run of games that followed: 4-1 away to United, 4-0 at home to Real Madrid and 5-0 at home to Villa, in which the football played was devastating. There were also 4-4 draws with both Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as a complete demolition job of Fulham away (I think it was 4-0) where they barely managed to escape their own half for 90 minutes.

What might have been! Too many draws, as you say.

At its best, this system, with the players on song, was awesome. I've heard it often said that its origins lie in Arrigo Sacchi's Milan system. I'm just a little too young to have watched that team properly, sadly, but you can see the parallels - Torres/Van Basten, Gerrard/Gullit, Kuyt/Donadoni.... erm... Traore/Maldini (!)