Luis Suarez: Liverpool's Best Player or Liability?
As I begin this article, Liverpool are heading into half-time at the Brittania down a goal, with Luis Suarez having missed a host of opportunities.
Sound familiar?
It should, given that it's almost the exact same scenario that played out on their last visit to Stoke less than two months ago. The manner of the goal may be different—Kenwyne Jones' header doing the work of Jon Walters' penalty this time around—but the problem is fundamentally the same: Liverpool's talisman isn't scoring with enough consistency.
Since arriving from Ajax 10 months ago, Suarez has been viewed as a revelation. His creative spark and work rate seemed to revitalize a sagging Liverpool side in the back half of last-season. But his frequent brilliance has been tempered.
Moments of magic like his mazy dribble through the United box in Pool's 3-1 victory last March made him an instant hero among the fans, and tidy finishes like his tight-angle goal against Sunderland later that month gave rise to the hope that he could meet, if not surpass, the high standard set by Fernando Torres during his time on Merseyside.
Unfortunately, while his sublime skill on the ball has proved to be the rule, scoring has looked more like an exception lately.
Had he converted his well-won penalty in the season-opener against Sunderland, Liverpool would likely have secured all three points. The same is true of his tame shot towards David De Gea when clean through against United two weeks ago, to say nothing of his last-minute volley against Norwich.
At least those shots forced saves—a brilliant one in the case of the Norwich volley. It should be of greater concern to King Kenny and the fans alike that only around half of Suarez's attempts ever test the goalie. Of his 33 shots in the EPL this season, only 17 have been on target, and of those, only four have found the back of the net.
None of this would be cause for such concern if goals were coming from elsewhere, but Suarez has largely been tasked with leading the line himself. When he has played with a partner up front, be it Carroll or Bellamy, the results have been uninspiring.
Suarez seems to relish playing as a lone striker. He'll run at defenders all day and is possessed of a shoot-first mentality.
Unfortunately, that mentality runs the risk not only of hurting his team's chances of winning, but also of alienating his teammates with his repeated failure to look for a pass rather than attempt a spectacular shot.
He's clearly a player convinced of his own abilities. To his credit, his frequent misses don't seem to impact his self-confidence. If he wants his teammates, his manager and Liverpool fans to share that confidence, however, he'll need to find the net with a good deal more consistency.
As I finish this article, Liverpool have just won their Carling Cup match against Stoke thanks to two goals—one a header and the other a lovely curled effort—from Luis Suarez. Sound familiar?
It should. If there's one thing to bear in mind when it comes to Suarez, it's this: Always expect the unexpected.
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