The support for Charlie Adam from what I’ve followed suggests that it is split. This is part one of a two part series. Certain supporters believe he has been great, while others believe he hasn’t. It’s a tough call to say which group is right. A lot of how a player performs depends on the formation employed by the team and his role within that formation.

For much of the season so far, Liverpool has implemented a straight forward 4-4-2; a formation that is rather out dated. The two central midfielders within this formation have to be very versatile and basically box-to-box midfielders; the kind that can attack, defend and control the game.

The following table highlights certain statistics from the first 7 Premier League games for Liverpool.

Defending:

Total Ground 50-50s 75 Dribbled Past 8 Ground 50-50 Win % 53% Loss of Possession 7 Mins/Ground 50-50 7.27 Mins/LOP 78 Aerial 50-50 Win % 75% Total Tackles 11 Tackle Success % 100% Mins/Tackle 50 Interceptions 6

In Liverpool’s typical 4-4-2 formation, it is safe to say that defensive duties of the central midfielders are about as important as the attacking ones. As such, a comparison to Liverpool’s defensive ‘master’ Lucas makes the most sense.

Charlie gets into fewer 50-50s and loses out more than Lucas does. Lucas’ stats stand at 104 50-50s with a success of 63%. However, what is noteworthy is that both players win in 50-50s more often than not. If anyone has followed the games though, you’d notice Charlie does tend to be on the back foot when defending and often comes in late for 50-50s. His aerial 50-50s are completed at a great success %. While Lucas does get into more aerial situations, his 50% completion is well below Adam’s 75%.

The tackle statistic is what highlights the difference between Charlie Adam and Lucas in terms of defending. When Liverpool is out of possession, it is up to the players to tackle and regain possession. While Charlie Adam has a 100% tackle success rate, the numbers of tackles are close to 75% lower than what Lucas has committed to. (11 tackles compared to 45) Whether or not tackles are successful or not, the attempt alone has the ability to break up the flow of play for the opposing team. In that respect, Charlie is a little shy in the tackle and the stats suggest his ability to win the ball back is low. Lucas has committed 45 tackles with a 73.3% success rate which is absolutely brilliant. He is a menace on the pitch and has the ability to break up play very well. The final statistic which further proves Adam’s laid back attitude towards defending is that he only manages a tackle every 50 minutes. (Less than 2 tackles/game on average) Lucas manages a tackle every 14 minutes in comparison.

Yet another statistic that highlights Adam’s off-the-ball movement is the fact that he has only managed 6 interceptions. Lucas has managed 16. Both players have dribbled past players 8 times in defence. Adam has lost possession 7 times while Lucas has only lost it twice.

So it should go without saying that Lucas fairs far better than Charlie Adam defensively. Adam is very laid back off the ball and his movement when out of possession isn’t great either. This could be due to his positioning sense. His ability to hold on to ball when in possession in defence isn’t great either. He loses possession at least once a game in defence while Lucas loses it once every 314 minutes.

As far as defending goes, the 4-4-2 isn’t our best formation. Prior to his sending off against Tottenham, Liverpool were still on the back foot. Tottenham’s midfield ran rings around the Liverpool players. Adam’s positional sense, lack of defensive qualities, lack of time and space eventually led to late challenges that saw him go off. As it stands then, if I were the manager, Adam wouldn’t be an ideal candidate to fit into a central role within the 4-4-2 formation. The only other option would be to change the formation to better use his abilities.

The following heat maps indicate how Charlie Adam spends his time on the pitch.

The following will give an idea of how Lucas spends his time in comparison.

So what do these suggest? The most glaring fact is that Charlie Adam moves forward more while Lucas sits back more. I believe this is one of Liverpool’s issues. Playing a 4-4-2 requires two very dynamic midfielders. Liverpool is bound to have issues at the back if Lucas is the only midfielder tracking back and trying to cover the back line. The team has more issues if only of the dynamic duo are creating chances and moving forward. (We will look into this in the second part).

What is clear from the graphs is that Lucas covers a good amount of the midfield’s defending duties. As such, he doesn’t move forward as much as Charlie Adam does. Charlie spends a good portion of his time in the opposing half, while Lucas does not.

Final Words:

There is no doubt in the fact that Lucas is the better defensive player between the two. Charlie Adam doesn’t track back as much, doesn’t break up play as much, is a little laid back when out of possession and isn’t the most composed in defence either.

In part 2, I will look at his passing and attacking statistics to help figure out whether he pulls his weight within our 4-4-2 formation.

Stay Tuned and do comment and share.