Firstly, let's get a closer look at what Luis Suarez did Monday night in west London:
Suarez delivered an absolutely brilliant performance at Craven Cottage, working hard all night and essentially dictating the entire game. He was running the show; every time he was on the ball he had the Fulham on their heels, and when he wasn't, his movement was magnificent and he found space to further terrorize their defense. Suarez cooked Brede Hangeland on multiple occasions, and wasn't much nicer to the rest of Fulham's backline. He was by far the best player on the pitch Monday night, and was the catalyst for virtually every Liverpool attack.
It didn't hurt that he had a little help from Maxi Rodriguez, who has somehow turned the clock back to 2006 with yet another hat trick, his second in three games. Maxi hasn't gotten a lot of playing time under King Kenny in recent weeks, with Kenny and Steve Clarke preferring to play Meireles and Kuyt out wide. But with Andy Carroll's absence, Liverpool played a United-style 4-3-3/4-5-1 hybrid, which allowed Maxi and Dirk to support Suarez on the wings while Meireles, Lucas, and Spearing dominated the middle of the park.
Maxi surely now has a spot in the team for the remainder of the season, namely against Spurs in a huge game at Anfield this Sunday. And if it's true he'd like to stay at Liverpool for a while, even in a more limited role, he would be a quality player to have in squad next season. We all know the Reds are going to make a play for the likes of Ashley Young, Juan Mata, maybe even Adam Johnson this summer; we desperately need that sort of width and pace on the flanks, which Maxi just doesn't provide at this point in his career. He's a clever player, with wonderful technique and a great feel for the game, who picks his spots well and manages to make an impact. But like Kuyt and Joe Cole, he compensates for a lack of pace to get around defenders by cutting inside, which narrows play and takes away an important dimension of the team's attack. We've all seen this before; the loss to United in September comes to mind. For too long Liverpool have lacked real quality on the wing, dynamic players who have the pace and skill to transform an entire game. Someone who can deliver killer balls into the box for Andy Carroll, and team up with Suarez to pick apart a team. Someone like King Kenny's old pal John Barnes.
That's why I'm already looking forward to what Kenny, Damien Comolli, and the new owners have in store for us this summer. Certainly, injecting some more youth, pace, and quality into the squad is what's in order, and the likes of Ashley Young (it may very well happen) would be massive. Regardless, Maxi put in a great game against Fulham, one that showed just how valuable he can be to this team. Seven goals in three games (he scored one against Newcastle) is immense.
It was all about Suarez on Monday night, though. He managed to put in a Man of the Match performance on a night when another player on his team scored a hat trick, such was the magnitude of the game he played. He's looked a dangerous player from the moment he came into the side, but now that he's developing more of a sense of the English game and settling in, he's beginning to play at a world class level. If you watch the game tape posted up at the top, you'll see that he very, very easily could have had a hat trick of his own. Fernando made a huge mistake not wanting to play with this guy; not only would Suarez have made life so much easier, but they could have dominated together (stylistically and tactically, you can tell it would work). It would definitely be a better fit than what he has now at Chelsea. Note: What do Chelsea FC and the U.S. Navy have in common? They both paid 50 million for a sub.
But enough about the past. At the moment, it looks like we have ourselves something special. He's the best player on the team and the fans already love him. He's shown he can play out wide, in the hole, and even up top by himself. His efforts have lifted spirits around the club after we were abandoned by one icon and lost another to injury. And when Andy Carroll gets going and puts in more colossal performances, I think Liverpool will actually have themselves a terrifying strike partnership. Besides King Kenny, Luis Suarez is a huge reason why Liverpool are about to overtake Spurs and qualify for the Europa League next season; if they can beat them at what will surely be a rocking Anfield this Sunday. It's no wonder why we just can't enough.
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