Premier League Preview: Liverpool not the same without Suarez brilliance

Liverpool’s second-place finish last season was both a disappointment and an accomplishment. Manager Brendan Rodgers was quick to point out his team’s results were ahead of schedule despite the title slipping through their grasp over the final three games.

Had Luis Suarez, the league’s leading scorer and second-leading provider, stayed at Liverpool, they would have been genuine title-contenders this season given Rodgers’ astute dealings in the transfer market. But with Suarez swapping the red of Liverpool for the blue and red of Barcelona , even a top-four place isn’t a sure thing given how other teams have strengthened their squads.

The most reason parallel, as Gautam Viswanathan pointed out for Firstpost , is Tottenham Hotspur.

“Like Gareth Bale was at Tottenham Hotspur, Suarez was the man who assumed responsibility for Liverpool in the final third. He provided whatever attacking component the team required at that time, whether it is snaffling home a through ball or making a run so that he can draw defenders from one of his teammates who may be better positioned to score a goal than he is.

As we all know, the sale of Bale led to the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas as manager as the host of new players they bought struggled to bed in at Spurs. Rodgers is well aware of the comparison to White Hart Lane , but isn’t worried. “It’s a different club and different vision we have here. At Liverpool there’s a strategy behind what we are doing.”

That strategy must of necessity include a way to replace all of Suarez’s attacking brilliance. Just how isn’t clear yet. The onus of scoring goals currently rests on Daniel Sturridge who responded superbly when Suarez was suspended, but has yet to show he can carry a team for an entire season. He also isn’t half the passer Suarez is, with a total of 29 chances (22 key passes and 7 assists) created compared to 87 (75 key passes and 12 assists) for his departed strike partner.

Sturridge’s back-ups - Rickie Lambert and possibly Fabio Borini (who may sign for Sunderland any day) — are adequate but are hardly going to have opponents devoting team meetings to stopping them.

Much will also depend on the development of 19-year-old Raheem Sterling, who showed in the second half of last season that he can torment even the best defenses with his electric pace. With Suarez slowing as the season wound down, it was Sterling who more often than not provided the spark for Liverpool .

Midfield is where Liverpool looks strongest. Steven Gerrard will have a point to prove after a traumatic summer while Phillipe Coutinho is reportedly mad at being left off Brazil ’s World Cup squad and plans “to use this anger and push myself to my limits.” New signings Emre Can, Adam Lallana and Serbia winger Lazar Markovic bring steel and creativity and much needed depth to a squad that will have to contend with Champions League football as well this season.

Reinforcements have also arrived in defense, so often a sore-point last season. Twenty-year-old Javier Manquillo could challenge Glenn Johnson at right back while centre-half Dejan Lovren, the third player signed from Southampton , should become the authority figure the back line so clearly needs (he is already being compared to Jamie Carragher).

All of Rodgers’ off-season signings are under the age of 26. He appears intent on building a team for the long haul and that is the right approach. The loss of Suarez, by some distance their best player, is unlikely to be so easily overcome. Even Manchester United took a step back when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the 2008-09, season, finishing runners-up to Chelsea the next year after winning the title the three previous years.

In their dominant heyday in the 1970s and 80s, Liverpool was able to replace greats such as Kevin Keegan and Ian Rush without slowing the Big Red Machine. That, however, was a different era and a different Liverpool. This team no longer has the aura of the club’s golden age and qualifying again for the Champions League would be represent a successful season following the departure of the mercurial but lethal Suarez.

Squad: Brad Jones, Simon Mignolet, Danny Ward, Daniel Agger, Sebastián Coates, John Flanagan, Tiago Ilori, Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly, Dejan Lovren, Javi Manquillo, Skrtel, José Enrique, Kolo Touré, Joe Allen, Oussama Assaidi, Emre Can, Philippe Coutinho, Suso, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Lucas, Fabio Borini, Jordan Ibe, Rickie Lambert, Lazar Markovic, Daniel Sturridge.

Transfers

In: Emre Can (Bayer Leverkusen), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Lazar Markovic (Benfica), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Divock Origi (Lille), Javier Manquillo (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Stewart (Tottenham Hotspur)

Out: Luis Alberto (Malaga), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Iago Aspas (Sevilla), Pepe Reina (Bayern Munich), Conor Coady (Huddersfield), Andre Wisdom (West Bromwich Albion), Divock Origi (Lille).