A combination of factors have led to Victor Moses becoming a forgotten figure at Liverpool, or at least someone who is on the peripheries of the team looking in.
When Moses made the switch to Liverpool from Chelsea in the summer, it seemed to be a move that suited every party. A season-long loan could have seen Chelsea eventually pocket a decent fee for an unneeded player, while Liverpool, provided they were thinking along those lines, would get a good idea of what Moses was worth to their side. Additionally there’s the advantage of Brendan Rodgers strengthening his side for this season without much spend.
Moses was never going to be a hit at Chelsea. The volume of players going in and out the door at Stamford Bridge is often indicative of the scattergun approach to transfers. More often than not it becomes a struggle, based on politics, as to who gets minutes and who doesn’t.
The run up that led to Moses’ transfer to Chelsea was that he was a regular for a Wigan side who simply couldn’t hold onto him. Eventually one of the bigger teams in the league would have caught on to his abilities and snapped him up. Moving on loan to Liverpool this summer looked to be the perfect opportunity to regain some of that stability in a starting XI.
Though we can all agree on Liverpool’s strongest attacking three. Luis Suarez is a given, Daniel Sturridge will always be involved in large parts of games because of his scoring form, and Coutinho rounds out the attack by offering an injection of creativity. It’s not that Moses isn’t good enough, rather that he’s fallen victim to Rodgers’ tactical tweaking. One week may see a front two of Suarez and Sturridge, while another, or even midway through a game, the manager will decide that further width is needed, allowing for the introduction of Moses. The point is Moses is a secondary, thus far only needed when the first option isn’t producing.
The former Crystal Palace midfielder is right to be concerned about his lack of playing time, or rather a promise of regular minutes that is currently going unfulfilled. I don’t believe he’s in a position where he needs to prove anything to anyone, or even himself. We saw what he was capable of at Wigan, displaying qualities that made sense for a step up to a bigger and better team. Importantly, though, it’s his development and in turn career that’s on the line. Unfortunately, Rodgers has a winning formula, and without the stress on his players of midweek games, there isn’t much of a need to heavily rotate.
If this is the theme for the rest of the season, it will give Moses an indication as to where his future lies: neither at Stamford Bridge nor Anfield. He’ll be far more careful in his choosing on his next destination, provided Chelsea make things easy, which they have little reason not to.
It’s another unfortunate step in a young player’s career. But crucially, both Chelsea and Liverpool saw something in him that they deemed worthy of pursuit. Moses is evidently good enough to bounce back.