Liverpool and the Suarez conundrum

One of the main causes for the sacking of Kenny Dalglish last summer was his handling of the Luis Suarez racism case. By throwing all his support behind the Uruguayan and after the humiliating handshake fiasco at Old Trafford, Dalglish ruined Liverpool's name. Part of this season's job was to recover the reputation of the club, on and off the field.

Suarez remains a troublesome, controversial individual. His behavior last season wasn't helped by some ordinary finishing, with the striker seemingly confused about his role playing behind Andy Carroll. This is the same man who will forever be remembered as the man who stopped Ghana reaching the World Cup Semi-Finals (becoming the first African team to do so) by blatantly handling the ball on the line in the final minute of extra time. Yet he's shown signs of improvement, collecting just 2 yellow cards since January. His football has been absolutely outstanding, and he could probably nutmeg a mermaid. For a large part of this season he's carried the club through, then struck a deadly partnership with Daniel Sturridge. He's been one of many players to have improved significantly under Rodgers. Just as people were slowly warming to him, he admitted to diving to win penalties. As the anger to that died down, he bit Branislav Ivanovic, something which has earned him a 10 game suspension and ruined his image even further. His season will be remembered for that. 

Yet despite having the obvious issues he does, Suarez is genuinely loved on Merseyside. This might be the worst team the club has had since Shankley took over, and in a group of mediocre players, Suarez stands out. He could walk into any club in the world, and has been rumored to be one of Pep Guardiola's summer targets in Bavaria. The fact is his goalscoring record is beaten only by Robin van Persie and his overall contribution to Liverpool's game is fantastic. On the field he stands above the rest of his squad, a player with rare amounts of ability stuck in a transitional side attempting to get into the Europa League. Liverpool supporters genuinely know they owe much to him for staying this long at the club. 

Up until January, he was the club's only striker. His form would practically decide just how far Rodgers would be able to bring about progress. For the first half of the season they seemed to have improved only a little, with young players like Wisdom, Sterling, Shelvey and Suso all giving their all in the league. You couldn't say this was a better team than the one he inherited, though. The whole process required time and investment, the latter not provided in the summer. The fact remains after spending 22 million in January, we can start to see where Liverpool are going and what Rodgers wants. He does have an eye for a player, with both Sturridge and especially Phillipe Coutinho impressing. The team has versatility in attack, and the midfield is slowly getting the hang of Rodgers' version of Tiki-Taka. They won 6-0 at Newcastle last weekend, which prompted questions about whether they could survive without their No 7. The immediate answer is no.

But Liverpool are planning for the long term and the owners, despite their significant investment, seem more like Stan Kroenke than Sheikh Mansour. Liverpool must spend what they earn, and clearly they need to improve a lot this summer. Hence the rumor they will listen to offers above 40 million for Suarez this summer. The decision seems logical; Suarez clearly won't accept a long wait for Champions League success, not even qualification, but success. He's clearly good enough, and has enough suitors more likely to win. Also, he's probably sick of English football, sick of the controversy and the FA's biased decision-making. Him moving would provide funds to sign the likes of Christian Eriksen, a graduate of the Ajax academy which means he will clearly fit in nicely, and the new center-backs Rodgers needs. Without Suarez, he may give Sturridge the chance to play through the middle more, and can reinvest in another striker to support him. He hasn't got as much backing as maybe he would like but still he must over time restructure the squad to play his way. A lot of signings are necessary, as January showed. It might lift all the attention the club get from Suarez's controversial nature, and it's extremely important for Rodgers to decide whether or not his best player will ever mature like Wayne Rooney has. This is a big summer for Liverpool, one in which atleast 5-6 signings are required. Selling Suarez will hurt the supporters, but reinvesting the money quickly will help bandage the wound. 

Juan Mata is the Player Of The Season- Not Bale, Not Suarez, Not Van Persie

Scene: FA Cup Quarter-Final Replay between Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea's triple threat behind Demba Ba have struggled to influence the game against United's reactive midfield selection. Playing for the 2nd time in 48 hours, the teams have delivered a drab, boring and extremely tactical game. Suddenly Juan Mata moves deep, away from Phil Jones, Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley's careful supervision. He receives the ball and looks up. He then plays one extraordinary ball over the head of Rio Ferdinand and Demba Ba finishes with an equally brilliant finish. With 1 pass, Mata had completely opened up United and provided a moment of class which no one else on the field can provide. Ba gets the plaudits for his finish, but wants to talk about Mata's pass. 



A Real Madrid youth player, Mata left the club looking for opportunities. He find one at Valencia, playing along with David Silva and David Villa. After both left the club, it was clear Mata would also take the next step in his career, signing for a Premier League club. A major target for Liverpool and Arsenal, he ended up signing for Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea's late bid succeeded. He scored on debut for Chelsea, and for most of AVB's time at the club, he was their best player. Slightly sidelined by Roberto Di Matteo's tactics towards the end of the season, he still finished with the Fan's Player Of The Year award, a maiden Champions League medal and the FA Cup.

After playing in both Euro 2012 and the Olympics, Mata started the season slowly, outshone by glamour signing Eden Hazard, who had had a full summer's rest. After Chelsea requested Vicente Del Bosque to give him an international break off, Mata kicked on. His form improved magnificently, with the performance at White Hart Lane a particular highlight. Hazard had been shoved out left, Oscar out right. Goals against Arsenal and Manchester United followed. Nobody at the Bridge could doubt who the main man was. It was the Matador. 

18 goals in all competitions is phenomenal for a player who usually drifts out wide or moves deeper to collect the ball. The sheer volume of playmakers possessed by Spain has caused Mata to be ignored a bit. Nobody has created more goals than him in the league this season (10). At the hub of  the new Chelsea, Mata has provided creativity, technical ability and vision which hasn't been provided by any other player in the Abrahamovic era. Not a showoff- he rarely performs any tricks-or much of a dribbler, Mata allows his fellow attackers to provide the direct running and physicality. He specializes in picking out a pass. Any Chelsea spell of possession usually has him in the thick of it. His performances have come despite playing in a team very much in transition, with 2 managers with varying approaches and despite the fact that both Ba and Fernando Torres have been rubbish. Imagine what he would have done if Van Persie or Falcao were at the end of his crosses. He avoids controversy, allows people like Hazard to hog the limelight and just gets on with it. Averaging 2.7 key passes per game in the league, he has virtually been Chelsea's only consistent performer this season. Despite the punishing schedule and the fact that he had no  summer break, Mata's energy has never declined. Unlike Robin Van Persie, he hasn't had a Championship-quality team around him. In fact, minus him, this might be Chelsea's worst team of the 21st century. Unlike Gareth Bale, his brilliance hasn't come in just half a season, it's been from start to finish. Unlike Suarez, he doesn't bite people and his humility is admirable. He's outshone Hazard anyways.  



The frightening part is that he's still only 24 and if Chelsea do get Falcao in the summer, Mata's service will not go as wasted as this year. He's taken over from Frank Lampard as Chelsea's main man in the middle of the park, and with both Hazard and Oscar having a season under their belt next term, the sky's the limit for a player who's just born in the wrong time when it comes to his national team. At a time when English football is bombarded with other Spanish passers like Santi Cazorla and David Silva, Mata shines above the rest.

What's next for Barcelona

In the aftermath of Bayern Munich's outstanding display on Tuesday night, the talk of the end of Barcelona's 'era of dominance' surfaced. The talk is simply crazy- this team is breaking La Liga records this year and might win the title this weekend and have still reached the semifinals of the Champions League and the Coppa Del Rey. All this despite Tito Vilanova and Eric Abidal being seriously ill and Carlos Puyol suffering an injury-ravaged season. The team still possess the best player in the world, an immensely talented midfield and an academy filled with future superstars. However, you cannot overlook the fact that Barcelona have been awful throughout the knockout stages and were soundly beaten by Bayern. Change is required, though it has to be carefully carried out. 

It's clear this Barcelona team are declining and need re-energizing. Their problem has been the fact that the players brought in, mainly not La Masia graduates, haven't been integrated into the Barcelona system well enough. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez, David Villa, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas(yes, a La Masia graduate, but still...) have all struggled since moving. Barcelona's style has been developed by the likes of Johan Cruyff and Luis van Gaal and perfected by Pep Guardiola. The fact is the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique and Busquets have been at the club since they were old enough to kick the ball. They have spent their lives being educated in the system. Barca's large quotient of academy graduates has for years helped in establishing an identity to the club and the players understanding has helped them immensely. Yet is it slowly becoming a problem ? As the likes of Puyol and Xavi age, Barca suddenly feel weaker. Andres Iniesta is a player of tremendous quality and if he were playing in a different team he would be appreciated even more. Yet slowly both him and Messi especially seem to be carrying Barca. Teams have slowly countered their Plan A, and they lack a proper Plan B. This is where the problem comes in. When an Ibrahimovic is brought in to add a different threat and a different option, the players suddenly become uncomfortable with it. It's hard for an entire team to adjust when they have been playing the same way for years. Zlatan came in as a superstar; here there was an established order. After playing together for years, Barca's players knew who was the best: Messi. The team channeled the game through him and looked to him when struggling. Psychologically having someone new like Zlatan felt like a trespasser. Many others have suffered a similar fate. Sanchez and Villa were the heroes of their clubs. At Barca they struggle to fit in. It's like trying to walk into a big family and find room. 

When Thomas Muller headed in the opener on the night, a big question popped up. Why in the world was Dani Alves, a tiny full-back marking 6 ft 2 Dante ? Was their such a chronic lack of quality center-backs to face possibly Bayern's biggest set piece threat ? Many will point to the absence of Puyol, Mascherano and Adriano but Puyol is well past his prime (Angel Di Maria ended that debate in the cup semifinal last month) and the next 2 are converted center backs and neither is dominant in the air. Why Alex Song was signed will remain a mystery when the likes of Thiago Silva and Daniel Agger seemed likely to move last summer. Barcelona's defensive weakness has been covered up by their attacking might. They're pressing high up the field has dropped this season and as their defence has gotten more exposed, they've conceded more(almost every game nowadays). A new center-back is desperately needed, as might be a right back with Alves' rubbish defending. He too has had a terrible season and with Jordi Alba also being an extremely aggressive full-back, Barca have been exposed. Victor Valdes' decision to leave is more confusing from his point of view than the clubs. Let's put it simply: he's prone to shocking mistakes, isn't dominant in the air and inspires little confidence in his team. Over the Guardiola years he had little to do, but this season has been exposed. David de Gea and Michel Vorm both are clear upgrades. 

Another problem is squad depth. The fact that Messi was woefully unfit and still made to play reeks of Wayne Rooney playing against Bayern in 2010 with a clear injury. Sir Alex Ferguson went and addressed United's huge reliance on Rooney and Barca need an upgrade to their bench. Bayern signings last summer gave them the depth to rotate and keep everyone fit and fresh. Sergio Busquets, one of the world's best players, played with an injury. Andres Iniesta must be exhausted after 5 heavy years of competition. Xavi is ageing. Yet you look at the reserves and besides Fabregas($45 million man yet not trusted in the big games it seems) Barca have little. Song is wasting his time and Thiago is young. Their superstar midfield must be tiring heavily. Besides Messi, the forwards too, are disappointing. Alexis Sanchez isn't consistent enough, Pedro is chosen because he fits into his role perfectly but isn't as gifted as his teammates, Villa has had injury issues and Tello is not ready. It's interesting how Gary Neville remarked PSG have the better forwards. The likes of Neymar and Isco would be welcome into the team.

Another is mentality. To put this in context- Busquets hase won 2 Champions Leagues, 4 league titles, 2 Club World Cups, 2 European Championships and a World Cup. His teammates have won even more. Keeping them all motivated will be difficult. In Munich they seemed tired and at times the drive seemed to be missing this season. Ferguson has always spoken of wanting hungry young players in his team-players who want to win more than the rest. Robin van Persie has been that this season. Perhaps a fully recovered Vilanova can bring the energy back. A long summer of self-reflecting beckons, and if the board are upto it, a summer of reinforcements. Barca need a Plan B and they need to refresh this summer. 

5 Possible signings:

• David de Gea- Goalkeeper, Manchester United (20 million)
• Neymar- Forward, Santos (40 million)
• Mats Hummels- Center-Back, Borussia Dortmund (25 million)
• Christian Eriksen- Playmaker, Ajax (15 million)
• Ikay Gundogan- Holding midfielder, Borussia Dortmund(12 million)