Pros and Cons of Liverpool signing Charlie Adam
This is certainly something the Reds have been missing since Alonso departed but there must be a word of caution about Adam. One thing that Adam likes more than anything else is time on the ball; if he has time on the ball he can pick out any player on the park but if the opposition press him he can make mistakes and if he loses the ball he is prone to rash challenges to retrieve possession. Putting him in an anchor role in midfield as a deep-lying playmaker would be unwise.
For this reason, it is imperative the Reds play with a 3 man central midfield with Lucas holding and either Henderson or Gerrard playing alongside Adam in a more offensive position. More numbers will mean less defensive coverage, something which Adam can exploit to interact with Gerrard and the rest of the team on the ball.
Adam is by no means the quickest but he is strong on the ball, and can hold up the ball, turn his man and look to set up quick counter-attacks. One concern for some fans is that his pass completion rate looks pretty low (at 67%) compared to others in the Premier League. Bear in mind two things when you see this stat though, as a set piece taker, it will inevitably lower his percentage, and add to the fact Adam always looks to put killer balls into dangerous areas. He looks for high risks passes rather than simple short ones, which will again lower his success rate.
One key area where Liverpool will benefit with the signing of Charlie Adam though is his set pieces. Especially from the right hand side at both corners and free kicks, with his in swinging delivery, he can cause all sorts of problems which hopefully the likes of Andy Carroll can capitalise on. Direct free kicks are also a notable strength of his. All in all then, I feel there are certainly more pros and cons to Adam signing for us.
Article is courtesy of David Tully at Live4Liverpool
4 responses to “Pros and Cons of Liverpool signing Charlie Adam”
He is brilliant
A lot of midfielders in the reds camp. Which i like to see, squad depth. And all that talk about selling meireles is just obsured, theres space for all in the squad. (correct if spelling is wrong.
Reina
Glen/Kelly JC/Skrtel Agger/Soto NewLB/or glen
Gerrard/Lucas Adam/Hendo
Kuyt Meireles/Aqua Suarez
Carrol
Well I think thats where i would have the midfielders playing if that is the chosen formation. Maybe adam CAM and aqua CM. I dont know but what is clear is that we need:
A Left Back
A winger or 2 so kuyt can go back to being a striker
Another striker possibly
and maybe another Centre back as JC and soto are getting on and agger is a bit injury prone but god hope he has a season where he is fully fit.
But if we play with a formation with two strikers we wont need another striker as such. what you guys think ?
Depth!!!
This article is absolutely misleading and inaccurate. Aquilani and Mireles similar to Adam? I think not. We need bite and fire in midfield when the going gets tough. That’s why we lost the last two games last season to Spurs and Villa. British players have that fire in the belly. I don’t think Aquilani or Mireles will lay down their lives for Liverpool when the going gets tough.
Look – Arsenal hasn’t won a thing for years, even though they play their pretty football. Previously, they had experienced british players in the back four. We have Gerrard and Carragher, but they are getting older and planning needs to be undertaken to replace them. Man Yoo still recruits top quality british players.