Use your head like Sadio and subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Every week, we speak to a Liverpool FC fan about everything that's going on at Anfield.

This week, we speak to Andrew Beesley, who writes the excellent 'Bass Tuned to Red' blog, which takes a statistical look at the club.

What did you make of the win against Stoke? Is substance over style most important at this point?

AB: I was going to say it was a lucky win, and it would be fair to say Liverpool’s attacking game wasn’t up to much, but equally they defended very well and with players like Coutinho in your team, there’s always a chance you can win a poor game with a moment of inspiration. All teams do it, there’s no shame in sneaking a game with a wonder goal late on.

Substance is much more important than style at the moment. Liverpool ended last season very badly, the manager is under huge pressure as a result, and the next five aways are against last season’s top five plus a trip to Goodison. All league wins, though especially on the road and no matter how they come about, will be very welcome for the first few months of the season.

IN PICS: HOW THE FANS RATED THE PLAYERS ON SUNDAY

Coutinho stole the headlines but which new signing impressed you most?

AB: I thought they all had decent enough games for their debuts, though I think James Milner was the best of the bunch. He made a clearance in the Liverpool box at one end, four tackles (the most by any Liverpool player) in the midfield, and then played probably the pass of the match to release Henderson into the Stoke penalty box too.

He completed eighteen passes in the final third, and Coutinho was the only player on either side to even attempt that many, never mind complete them. But like I say, there were signs of encouragement from all five of them.

Moreno, Sakho and Lucas were high-profile absentees from the side - what do you hope the future holds for the trio?

AB: I hope that all three remain at the club, though equally I wouldn’t shed too many tears if the former or latter were to leave. With Moreno, I think you could make a highlights or lowlights reel from last season depending on your opinion of him; he’s got potential in my view and could easily reclaim his place in the side.

Sakho should be our first choice centre-back, and Rodgers has usually selected him when he has been fit, but the fact that he is often absent through injury is a problem. Managers like to establish a duo at centre back so that they can build a partnership, but that has rarely been possible with Mamadou due to his injuries.

Lucas has been a superb servant for the club, and can definitely still do a job for the team, but equally the manager hasn’t tended to use an out-and-out defensive midfielder very often, so I think Lucas may struggle for games this season. Make him captain of the Europa League team, I say!

Your statistical-based blog is always an interesting read on possible future directions of the set-up... what is something you think Reds fans should look out for this season?

AB: There was so much said and written about Benteke and how he needs to be supplied with crosses to thrive that I’m inevitably interested to see how this pans out. You can’t read anything much into one game alone, but at Stoke Liverpool attempted fewer crosses (12) than they averaged per game last season (17) but completed more of them; five, with three finding Benteke, vs 3.8 per match in 2014/15.

If this trend continues, we may see the Reds supplying the Belgian with numerous crosses without any major change to their style. It was also notable that Mignolet was kicking long to Benteke far more than he did to Liverpool’s strikers last season, so I’m interested to see if that’s a recurring feature, or just used for tricky away games.

Are you feeling confident for the remaining 37 games?

AB: If it were only 37 games then I would be, but the extra 10 to 20 that Liverpool will face depending on how they do in the cups will have a massive bearing on the league campaign. I’m certainly confident that we can have a better season against the bottom half of the division than we managed last term, and that should go a long way towards putting us firmly in the mix for a top four finish.

I have a feeling that Firmino may well terrorise the strugglers!

Any other business?

I guess just a plea for a bit of patience towards the team. Liverpool fielded five debutants on Sunday, which was the first time they’ve done this in one match for 16 years. Combine that with how poorly last season ended, and it’s inevitable that it might take a while for the team to start firing fully.

The performance on Sunday was similar to lots we saw last year, but the new found solidity will do for a start, and the real fun can start in a few weeks time once Firmino et al are up to speed. Hang in there, folks!