Anfield Uncovered: Why Liverpool's Danny Ings is causing problems for Brendan Rodgers

Danny Ings joined Liverpool from Burnley this summer

PUBLICLY, at least, Brendan Rodgers will regard it as the sort of problem any manager would want.

 

And yet the livewire cameo Danny Ings produced when replacing Christian Benteke for the second half of Liverpool’s 1-1 stalemate with Norwich is a headache Rodgers could also do without.

If it had been any other player whom Ings had come on for at half-time at Anfield, then the fall-out would feel less complicated for the Liverpool manager.

But having staked £32m – and his reputation – on Benteke being the player to turn his side back into top four contenders, Rodgers does not need a debate to begin on whether the Belgian striker, who departed with a tight hamstring, should be in his starting line-up before September is even over.

Benteke should be the gimme. 

 

Overlook the price-tags involved, however, and there is a case to argue that Ings should be Liverpool’s first choice striker going into this weekend’s crucial showdown with Aston Villa which represents a potential reunion with his former club for Benteke.

It was not just the smart finish Ings slipped under the advancing Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy to become Liverpool 400th different scorer in the club’s league history that caught the eye on Sunday, but the desire he displayed in his 45-minute run-out and his willingness to simply have a go and make life uncomfortable of his markers.

Ings’ movement, his ability to run in behind and stretch defences, helped create space for his team-mates, but it was his enthusiasm and effort that threatened to change the mood until Norwich’s equaliser.

He pressed from the front, chased lost causes, and allowed Liverpool to be more like the Liverpool they should be.

Liverpool supporters crave quality, of course, but they also recognise when a player is putting a shift in. Anfield’s reaction to Ings galvanised a stadium behind a team desperately searching for a winning formula.

 

While Rodgers needs results, he also needs players to rely on. Ings comes into that category.

“He played like a 1980s throwback, running, chasing, harrying and closing down Norwich defenders throughout,” wrote former Liverpool striker John Aldridge in his column in the Liverpool Echo.

“He reminded me of Rushie and myself in the 1980s, refusing to give defenders a minute’s peace.

“He showed a wonderful attitude which was both refreshing and infectious. He came on at half-time and brought the crowd to life and lifted the players around him, too. And he’s got quality too.

“His movement was excellent, he took his goal very well and did everything that could have been asked of him.”