Gareth Taylor wants to change the way Liverpool are viewed as he starts his new role to make an impact. Since becoming CEO in August, Taylor has faced a challenging first few months of his new leadership role. His squad has lost each of their first league matches this year and is on a four-game overall losing streak that dates back to last season. Despite these disappointments, the new coach is excited about bringing his pressing philosophy to raise Liverpool’s profile back up again in European football.
During his time at Manchester City, Taylor impressed with a clinical, incisive attacking play. Now, he’s looking to apply those victorious philosophies to Liverpool. Their most recent opponents Leicester were on the receiving end of a rather devastating 634 passing efforts from the Arsenal team. This accomplishment represented the first time in club history that Liverpool achieved more than 500 completed passes in a Women’s Super League (WSL) match. This statistic just shows off how dominant the team was on possessions. They achieved a 73.5 percent possession share, their second highest ever in a league match.
Even given such lofty passing metrics and they are lofty and impressive, disappointing the results haven’t matched statistics. Liverpool have received two brutal scorelines on the chin since Taylor took the reins, and the manager understands why.
“We’ve been dealt two harsh scorelines for what we put into the games. But it’s also to be expected because we are trying to implement new things,” – Gareth Taylor.
So Taylor’s Liverpool will obviously be one that wants to control possession and dictate the play. He wants to make them the best pressing team in Europe. He understands that reaching this goal will take time and a commitment to making more people fit.
“What we’re trying to create at Liverpool, and it’s going to take a little while, is to have the best pressing team in Europe,” – Gareth Taylor.
Central to the work, the coach focuses on establishing and maintaining a clear team identity based on the mandates of his blueprint. He’s convinced that developing a specific style of play will be essential for gaining success in winning ways over time.
“I was brought to the club for a specific reason – we’re trying to create an identity for Liverpool. When you have that, it’s quite a unique selling point, we believe this is the best way to win games,” – Gareth Taylor.
Taylor’s strategic approach requires his players to attack relentlessly and defend violently. He expects them to immediately rush to win the ball back in the attacking third. So far this season, Liverpool has forcefully regained possession 16 times in the opposing attacking third, an indicator of their ferocity under his command.
Even with their lack of success on the field, advanced metrics suggest they can turn things around. With two fixtures under our belts, Liverpool already sit atop the division in touches, their intent evident in every match they play. As Taylor points out, performance statistics have to result in improved performance. Aligning these metrics will provide a stronger sense of confidence among the team.
“I’m not one to go on stats, but they are showing us different to what the results are,” – Gareth Taylor.
Even the new head coach understands you can’t make big, game-changing improvements overnight. He stated,
“We’re not daft, we’re probably not going to be able to see what you saw from my team [at Man City] previously, at this moment,” – Gareth Taylor.
As Taylor continues to implement his vision for Liverpool, he emphasizes that recruitment in the transfer market will play a vital role in shaping the team’s future success.
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