The travails of Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez is one of those divisive figures that seem to abound in football. This article shall endeavour to gain some insight and put things into perspective.
The Uruguayan has had a rough senior career,with successes being punctuated by suspensions and other problems. However, here we shall discuss only the footballing side of things. He moved to Holland from Uruguay's Nacional aged 19 and joined Groningen(Robben's old club). With the completion of his footballing education in Holland, Suarez could be thought of as having assimilated the European technicality and the South American flair as well. Due to his performances, he was soon picked up by Ajax becoming a pivotal figure and scored over 100 goals for the club over the course of three seasons. Liverpool desperately needed to bolster their frontline and signed him for €26.5 million (£22.8 million) while he was in the middle of a suspension for biting PSV's Otnam Bakkal on the shoulder. His new club was reeling in 12th place and even a top 10 finish looked beyond them. However, along with Kenny Dalglish,he managed to help them finish sixth.
Suarez is an attacker that is reliant on trickery and believes in creating his own shot. He can play on the wing and as a central striker. While at Ajax, he was deployed in a central role where he excelled benefitting from some excellent support and his bag of tricks. The Eredivise is however very different from the Premier League. The Dutch system focusses on technical football rather than the English 'hug the touchline valencia style and cross to to a Carroll style striker'. Dutch players are therefore more well rounded as is evidenced by players like Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and even Robin Van Persie. Suarez is thus not very suited to the English style where shorter players generally are deployed as wingers. At Liverpool, Suarez has been known for being a handful for any defender but having hit the post more times than any other player in recent memory, the question asks itself : Would Liverpool be better off with a conventional striker/goal poacher in his place ??

Liverpool last season

Last season, Suarez cut a forlorn figure more often than not. With his supporting cast including Stewart Downing,support was nonexistent. Also, Kenny Dalglish's tactics weren't the sort that focussed on patient build up through the middle and thus he was most often deployed as a winger cutting in goalside. When Carroll played, the play was eventually influenced and there was the temptation to lump it long which simply eliminates the need for Suarez.
Goals were hard to come by and he took it upon himself to do all he could. He looked comfortable when playing with Maxi Rodriguez and Bellamy who despite being coventional wingers aren't as one dimesional as Downing and Young. Indeed, too many times throughout it seemed like he thought he had to do it all himself, which lead to excessive pressure and poor decision making.
This could explain why he was just so plain unlucky. But, he was still Liverpool's brightest spark in the most creatively lacking 'Pool team in years.
Kenny Dalglish left (we'll come back to him in another article) and in came Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers is most famous for carrying a Swansea team forward using possession based football that was instilled in them by Roberto Martinez(the Wigan Manager). Rodgers's style is as British as can be with wingers being the creative sources much like Mourinho's Chelsea where the creativity came from Joe Cole and Robben on the flanks. However, he preaches possession which is certainly not a new idea to the faithful as the 80's side of Rush and Dalglish is remembered for playing a similar style which would explain their success in Europe.

Uruguay National team

Rodgers is the kind of manager who understands Suarez is at his best in a roaming role. Suarez's performances for the Uruguayan team offer further insight. He has performed better when playing with Edinson Cavani and Forlan in the hole. Cavani is the classic mix of the two strikers in the 4-4-2 , strong, tall and yet mobile. Deployed in a Napoli team that loves wingers/wingbacks and playing with a three man defence he is indeed a player who could adapt to most systems. Also with Forlan on the pitch,the creativity comes from the centre which is good for Suarez and his mazy diagonal runs. Rodgers understands all of this and thus has brought a more mobile, hard working striker in Fabio Borini who will surely mature into a better player. Also,  with Joe Allen being the midfield general, his movement will not go unnoticed anymore. With the rise of Raheem Sterling who seems to be a brilliant lad, Suarez will surely find some pressure off him as there are others capable of creating chances and he doesn't have to do it all on his own. Also,with greater possession, it can only help Suarez.

Liverpool against City

In conclusion, Liverpool may have benefited more from a goal poacher under Kenny Dalglish but under Rodgers, Suarez is primed and ready for a a better season than the last. If only Liverpool could find a No 10 or even Gaston Ramirez, they would be certainly a lot tougher to beat.