Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has criticised Brendan Rodgers’ tactics in our 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday at Old Trafford and was particularly baffled by the manager’s “obsession” with the 4-3-3 system, Sky Sports reports.
Rodgers operated a similar system in our game against Arsenal and, while it worked well on that occasion, Carragher doesn’t share that belief and is baffled as to why his former manager persists with the formation.
For Carragher, our lack of options out wide in terms of a traditional winger doesn’t give us the balance needed in a 4-3-3 system which subsequently leaves Christian Benteke isolated on a frequent basis.
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“I don’t understand this obsession with playing 4-3-3. Brendan Rodgers came to the club wanting to play 4-3-3 and it didn’t work,” Carragher said while conducting his punditry duties.
“There’s not enough help for Benteke. I don’t understand what the point was in playing Danny Ings in that wide position.
“You think about how many strikers Liverpool have on the books and they have no wide players. They’ve only got Jordon Ibe. Firmino is not a wide player and Coutinho played there last week and he’s not a wide player.”
Carragher’s passion is evident when discussing the club and he may have been speaking from a fan’s perspective on this occasion with our former defender aware of what a fixture against Manchester United means.
However, we have shown signs of improvement in the big games when operating this system with our performance at the Emirates Stadium indicating that we have a basis from which to build from.
Having said that, perhaps the backroom overhaul we underwent during the summer was with a view to aiding Rodgers during these types of games and the Northern Irishman isn’t solely to blame?