Gareth Taylor has made it his mission to create a distinct identity for Liverpool’s women’s football team. His mission is to turn them into the best pressing team in all of Europe! Appointed six months after Matt Beard’s exit, Taylor takes office at a truly pivotal moment in FHWA history. Most importantly, he is intent on revolutionizing the team’s style of play. He will have an uphill battle as they fight to avoid earning their first loss since his appointment in August.
And yes, in their most recent league match Liverpool controlled 73.5 percent of possession against Leicester City. This eye-popping stat was the team’s second-highest ever possession sharing. We were ultimately unlucky to come away from the match with a 1-0 loss – marking four straight league defeats. In truth, this lamentable trend goes back to last season. The disappointing result highlighted the difficulties Taylor faces in implementing his vision while still seeking tangible success on the pitch.
Liverpool’s performance was notable for their passing accuracy. They completed 634 passes, achieving over 500 successful passes in a game for the first time in the club’s Women’s Super League (WSL) history. There’s no doubt who produced this album. Taylor’s influence is evident all over the place. They regularly top the passing metric charts, a testament to the lofty standards he set at Manchester City.
Two really bad scorelines given what we’ve put into those two games, Taylor remarked. Yet paradoxically, this is not surprising, because we are attempting to do the new and innovative.
Taylor remains focused and even-keel throughout shows. It helps him identify the bright spots, even in the ones that may not win him popularity points. Despite losing his first two WSL matches in charge and conceding five goals, Marshall is keeping spirits high and looking ahead.
In relation to our development early on, there may be some learning curves in the first half. That’s natural. I don’t want it,” he acknowledged.
Liverpool has had the most touches counts in the Premier League so far through two games. That’s a sign they’re diving deeper into the game than their competition. To realize Taylor’s ambition of becoming Europe’s top pressing team, an ambition that requires ousting established teams like Arsenal and Barcelona, the squad must enhance their fitness levels and resilience.
“I was brought to the club for a specific reason – we’re trying to create an identity for Liverpool,” said Taylor. “When you have that, it’s quite a unique selling point. We believe this is the best way to win games.”
Taylor’s tenure at Manchester City was characterized by a high pressing philosophy. He now, of course, brings that same strategy to Liverpool. He admits that short-term wins won’t necessarily look like this transition, but he’s willing to stick to the long-term vision.
“There’s no title for pressing, but we want to be as aggressive as we can,” he stated.
Taylor is looking to make Liverpool one of the best teams at pressing. In order to reach this ambitious goal, he argues that players need to be bigger, faster and stronger. High pressing costs a lot of energy for the whole game. Whatever the case, Taylor is committed to ensuring that his team meets these physical demands head on.
I am not a big numbers person, In doing so, he explained. They’re more often telling the opposite story than the results we’re getting. This is why I believe there’s still hope in looking beyond our recent defeats.
As Taylor cements his brand of Liverpool’s identity, he’s met with greater opponents as he is on a mission to take the team’s performance to the next level. His experiences illustrate that early results are not always ideally received. The foundation he’s setting now will have big dividends down the road.
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