Original thinkers face a problem in the 21st century. There are theories that, whichever their area of expertise, all new concepts have been devised, investigated and exhausted. The American political scientist Francis Fukuyama reacted to the fall of the Eastern European Communist regimes with a provocatively-titled book: “The End of History and the Last Man.” The British journalist and author Christopher Booker argued all stories have one of seven basic plots. So much music is influenced, directly or indirectly, by the blues played by sharecroppers and their descendants in the Mississippi Delta that increasing numbers are revisiting its roots.
When it comes to footballing tactics, there is a question whether evolution has stopped or accelerated. For instance, was the false nine Barcelona and Spain adopted something novel, or simply a case of copying the 1950s Hungary side, where Nandor Hidegkuti played as the withdrawn striker?
Liverpool have used a false nine, too, during a time when Brendan Rodgers has established a reputation as one of the game's more radical thinkers. The Northern Irishman often appears an arch-moderniser. Rodgers arrived at Anfield and adopted a year-zero approach. He acted like a revolutionary, irking the traditionalists who argued Liverpool's style of play had long been based around passing and moving. He has adopted some unconventional tactics. He responded to a sterile start to the season with a piece of leftfield thinking, pioneering a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Yet when he tweaked it against Blackburn on Sunday, Liverpool’s system was so unusual it was historic. Viewed one way, it was 3-4-2-1 again. Seen another, it was 3-2-4-1. Perhaps, though, it was 3-2-5, the W-M shape that dominated the game for more than 30 years after Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman moved the centre-half into defence in the 1920s.
Daniel Sturridge was Liverpool’s centre-forward but while Raheem Sterling and Lazar Markovic were officially wing-backs, they were so advanced they were really wingers. Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana have been described as twin No 10s or players who operate between the lines, but, in old-fashioned parlance, they were the inside-forwards. Jordan Henderson and Emre Can meet the modern description of midfielders, but would have been deemed half-backs in an earlier era. One of Liverpool’s back three, Glen Johnson, has spent much of his career as a full-back and while his left-sided counterpart, Dejan Lovren, has not, he was forced into wider positions because Sterling, who was supposedly outside him, was actually ahead of him.
It was a futuristic glimpse into the past, the sight of Rodgers’s young, quick, technically adept side configured in the way their predecessors were in the black-and-white days of leather footballs and a maximum wage of £20 a week.
It didn’t work. Admittedly, no experiment can really be deemed unsuccessful if it is only tried once and a stalemate with Championship opposition owed much to Blackburn’s fine defending and something to Liverpool’s lack of sharpness. No game nowadays seems complete without the inevitable, mind-numbing debate about penalties and Liverpool had appeals rejected.
Yet the scoreline was deceptive. Not on the basis of the match, but in terms of the shape. It does not lend itself to 0-0 draws. Play 3-2-5 and it is natural the opposition will be afforded vast amounts of room. Craig Conway was given the freedom of Blackburn’s right flank, in the area a left-back or left wing-back might have patrolled, but Sterling did not.
A glimpse at the 1957/58 league table, when virtually everyone played 3-2-5, shows both the flaws in the formation and the entertainment it offered. Ten top-flight teams scored 80 goals. Leicester let in 112 and avoided relegation, largely because they scored 91. Manchester City conceded 100 and came fifth. The third most frugal defence was breached 63 times.
The system was soon rendered antiquated. Brazil’s innovative use of 4-2-4 helped them win the 1958 World Cup. While it took time for change to filter through, 3-2-5 was consigned to the past, only to be revived by Rodgers this weekend.
It was probably only ever going to be a one-off. Even the ultra-bold Rodgers probably wouldn't have been as reckless against Premier League opposition. Had Liverpool taken the lead, their players may have been conservative in their positioning. Had they won, maybe Rodgers's retro approach would have been used again.
His willingness to test unconventional ideas makes the Liverpool manager one of the most interesting coaches working today. His tactics can be inspired and can backfire, but Rodgers rarely resorts to conventional wisdom. Yet in the quest for genuine originality in established fields of work, it says something when an innovator retreated deep into history for new ideas.
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