Anfield Alive: Adapt or Perish After Luis Suarez

This was one romance that should’ve lasted forever.

The fortunate ones amongst you will be able to relate to this experience, but for those who haven’t, let me indulge you for a moment.

You’ve just recovered from an absolutely devastating breakup. She’s cheated on you, betrayed you, and left you in the dirt; totally alone, without any happiness in your life, wondering if you’ll ever get to that pinnacle of your life ever again. You decide that to make yourself feel better you’ll go out and spend some money, desperately wishing for the material rehabilitation to mend your broken heart.

Then you see her, the perfect specimen, shining like a beacon of light. You start dating her.

Life is perfect.

However, every relationship has its problems. This one, it has a big one, a deal-breaker for anybody who wasn’t so incredible, yet you stand firm in your unquestionable support in her, because she’s perfect. Imperfect, but perfect. She’s got a bit of a problem with biting, you see, despite all of the magnificence; it seems to be the only thing other people focus on. Especially when they’re drawn into a frenzy of jealousy and distaste towards you for having access to this thing of beauty, but you persist, because despite the biting, despite the problems, she’s worth it, worth every second.

Then she does it again.

The realisation kicks in. It’s time to move on. She was worth it, now she isn’t. It’s over in a heartbeat, she’s moved on. Now you have to. No matter how wonderful she was, you’ve got a new chapter to write in your life…

So how would you replicate that extravagance? The answer, in reality, is a question in itself.

Why would you need to replicate that?

Luis Suarez is officially off to the Camp Nou. The land of his dreams, where his vocation always lay, and always will. The small matter of a four month ban has no real effect on the growing anticipation towards his arrival, the growing fervour of seeing arguably three of the best four players in the world plying their trade with one another is incredibly exciting for fans of football all around the world, though perhaps less so for the fans of opposing teams in La Liga.

Nevertheless, there is nothing that can be done about Luis Suarez now. His effect will be felt; for one, Raheem Sterling fed off of his intense energy, obviously taking note of the ferocity and unwavering intensity with which Luis attacks the ball at all times, mirroring the dogged-little package of fervour through the use of his hips to nudge opposition defenders out of the way. The influence of Luis Suarez will be sorely missed, of that there can be no doubt, yet there is a question that keeps being brought to attention.

How does Liverpool replace Luis Suarez?

They don’t. Emphatically and concisely, they absolutely don’t.

Replacing Luis Suarez is an impossibility, unless Brendan Rodgers pulls what would be the greatest recruitment speech ever made on Lionel Messi, replacing Luis Suarez is out of the question.

Which is why a new question needs to be raised.

Why do they need to directly replace Luis Suarez?

Once again; they don’t. What they need is to find new targets, new objectives, going forward. Brendan Rodgers is the type of manager who will set his squad an impossible target on Day 1, and will instil the faith in his boys that they can go and achieve whatever they want to. 100 goals was last year’s target, and Liverpool didn’t just finish with a measly 100 goals, they went one better. Literally, they went one better, when they scored 101 on the path to the closest chance for a title in twenty-four years.

However, one can get caught up in the hype and magnificence of goals, when in reality there was so much more to last season than first meets the eye. Overall, it was the one resounding facet of the team that didn’t necessarily involve Luis Suarez. Sure, he was a key component for its machinations to work magic, but other key components, mixed together to create the right balance, can easily perform a similar magic.

The common denominator is the engineer leading the way. Brendan Rodgers.

Where his side went out and scored 101 goals last season, ultimately they conceded 50. That’s more than every team in the top eight bar Tottenham – who, mind you, conceded 9 goals in two games against Liverpool themselves. So where Liverpool could look to replace all thirty of Suarez’s goals, they could also look to, say, reduce that number by ten or fifteen, to that of title winners Manchester City (37) or fourth placed Arsenal (41).

Then, with the whopping 75 million pounds Liverpool have received from the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, they can spend some cash injecting a select few attacking players who fit the Rodgers mould and can chip in 10-15 goals where applicable.

But don’t let me be the one to convince you, because one simple look at any of the weekend’s papers will give evidence to the fact. Rodgers is targeting quality goalscoring, chance-creating midfielders and forwards who can add their own flavour to the side, all moulded into one solitary attacking unit by Brendan Rodgers, with the support from the back four that was lacking in the previous campaign, and the creativity in midfield to tactically overcome persistently tight defences who refuse to give an inch.

Dejan Lovren, Loic Remy, Lazar Markovic, Steven Caulker, Alberto Moreno, Ben Davies, Wilfried Bony, Xherdan Shaqiri, Antoine Griezmann, Micah Richards, the list goes on. Even the big names being touted for an Anfield move; the likes of Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Marco Reus and Javi Martinez all symbolise Rodgers’ next step.

With the exception of one Ryan Bertrand, who I am negligent to mention on account of there being some kind of mix-up with Ian Ayre’s email system in which Norwich City’s transfer targets were somehow transferred to his inbox, these names have one thing in common.

They’re not Luis Suarez. And they don’t have to be.

Because the scenario presented to you at the beginning explains this very fact. Sure, you could go out and look for a direct replacement for the girl of your dreams to fill that gaping schism in your heart, but you know very well that it’ll only lead to a lot of letdowns and the resounding feeling that you’ll never see anything quite so perfectly imperfect in your lifetime.

So you try something different, you find someone less extravagant but with less drawbacks, somebody who fits you to the finest detail.

Because Liverpool’s already seen enough “one-of-a-kinds” to know that there’s always another one lurking in the not-too-distant future, but there will only be one football club.

Liverpool FC.

The breeding ground of superstars and the stomping ground of legends.

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