He did save one pen though
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Worth a Google mate.
The header?
[URL unfurl="true" media="youtube:NZqhD_zx6Xc"]https://youtu.be/NZqhD_zx6Xc?si=gM7fStR9ouesVqFL[/URL]
One minute in.
Edit. Fuck knows what happened embedding the YouTube link.
I get that - but the primary function in Slot team of the DM in possession, is to be an outlet to pick the ball up off the CB’s and get it moving up the field using quick short passing.
We don’t need a bulldog if we’re retaining possession - physically capable of holding off challenges, yes
Kante is a really good technical player and comfortable on the ball - that often gets forgotten because he’s often asked to do all the midfield dirty work. Gini too, was technically very good and played more freely outside of the role Klopp had him stick too.
Everything I see written about Ugarte is he’s just not that sort of player.
Listen to what Slot said in his first presser - he sees his system as a 433 not a 4231 - the midfield 3 all rotate through, let’s say, a 6, 8 and 10 positions - so he inevitably wants midfielders that can play in each.
Mac A certainly can, CJ could, Badger can, Gravy should be able to - I’d question whether Harvey & Dom would be ideal defensively, but the certainly have the technical ability and engine to rebound the park.
Everything I hear about Ugarte makes it sound like he suits a team that doesn’t look to dominate possession and instead sits deep, soaks up pressure and tries to hit on the counter - he’s probably be ideal for Utd if they continue to play their current style.
That’s probably why he didn’t quite settle at PSG, but looked good in an Amorim 343 type set up where his defensive qualities were needed more.
Us though… nah - but the problem is there aren’t many really good DM’s that fit our profile that aren’t either very overpriced, very overrated or already signed up at a top team.
Have you seen the women in Venezuela? What else do they need?
He’s injured more than Keita or Thiago.
He’ll be great if they can figure out how to stop his leg falling off.
Is
In fairness younger players have been more at risk of injuries. It might be down to growth or whatever, but Ramsay, Bajectic, Jones, Doak, Bradley have all experienced lengthy spells on the sidelines as they adapt to the demands and intensity of first team football. It's a slight worry, but I do not think it's fair to compare him to those two at this stage. There's more reason for hope now he's fully grown and will get a solid pre season under his belt.
I’m sure Badger is doing a Gerrard at the same age. Turning into a unit in his late teens. Whereas Doak will never be a 6 foot beast. He’s just a sick note.
not even a like lol. if that was darwin there’d be crusty socks all over this thread and the other one
great finish
I think his short passing is quite solid, actually - he’a just not a controller type you want to entrust with setting the tempo of the game. Without looking at the stats I would say he is about as solid as Endo in terms of being able to progress the team up the pitch with crisp short passing - but unlike Endo he would be more suitable to a defensive #8 role, which would allow us to accommodate a more creative #6, maybe even Trent…
Just thinking through some options, no need to take any of these suggestions seriously. For all we know Slot might have a totally different idea in mind.
My tongue was firmly rooted in my cheek there.
I agree, but somewhere in there was a serious point about the dangers of relying on a young player, albeit a very talented one, with very limited experience and some well documented and consistent injury problems.
There’s a big gap in ages between Badger & Endo, with no-one in between, unless you count Mac A.
Yeah, but I respect your opinion on football probably more than anyone else’s on this site, so it’s a rare thing to find something I disagree with you over.
We have been linked though, which is the bit that I don’t get.
I think he does have a different idea and I don’t think we’re in any rush… no surprise there.
Fernandinho was there from the start though.
I didn’t think so - Wiefer is a physical player as well - it’s finding a player that, like Rodri, can match physicality and skill - Kante could do it too. Ugarte, the physical side, made not the skill. Mac A, the opposite, has the skill, doesn’t have the physicality.
It’s state breed of player at the minute and I don’t think we’re willing to compromise on a pivotal position.
I also don’t think Badger & Endo are capable of covering that position for an entire season where we’re looking to challenge at the highest level in all comps and I don’t want to have Mac A pulled back into that role.
I’d say we’re not convinced the Wiefer can make the step or we would have been all over him already. If anyone will know, it’s Slot.
I am genuinely hurt by that.
The Mythical Number Six
Liverpool's search for a long-term Fabinho heir has been ongoing for 12 months.
distancecovered.substack.com
Josh Williams in his blog opens a useful discussion about what a “DM” actually is - because a “holding midfielder” and a “defensive midfielder” and “#6” are not necessarily all the same thing! A player like Fabinho or Rodri is actually an exception - a hybrid of ball-winning and a tempo-controlling midfielder - but in general those hybrids are rare. Someone like Weiffer seems very much like a “holding mid” type, but he’s most likely not defensively good enough for a top team in the EPL at this stage. (On a side note, I disagree with Josh’s categorization of Caicedo as one of the holding mids, I think he is clearly another Ugarte/Kante type. Also while many people reflexively think of Declan Rice as a stereotypical DM, he is actually better as a #8 paired with a real tempo-controlling #6 like Jorginho).
It all gets complicated very quickly, so instead of arguing over positions and roles, I prefer to look at it from the standpoint of overall squad balance - which qualities do we lack in the aggregate (almost a Moneyball way of thinking about “buying runs, not players”). And for me last year too many of the midfield 3 combinations ended up a little too lightweight or not agressive enough. Gravenberch and Jones are our 2 most athletically gifted midfielders, but they are not aggressive. Macca, Endo and Elliott are aggressive, but not athletic. Szobo in his first 2 months offered a perfect blend of both, but then his form dropped off, perhaps because he was asked to compensate for too many of other players’ defensive shortcomings and ultimately that’s not his forte.
So this is the reason I think even though we may be over-stacked in midfield numbers-wise, there is still room to add one more player who scores higher than any of our current options on the aggressive/athletic matrix. Adding such a player - whether he be a “zone-dominant #6” or a “roaming defensive #8” - should help us achieve better balance in any midfield 3 combinations next season, allowing the likes of Harvey or Szobo to focus more on creativity than duels or accommodating a player like Alexis or even Trent at #6. It goes without saying that this player should have a high level of technical skill to play in a possession-based midfield, on par with the likes of Gini or Fabinho.
Here is the analysis on Ugarte (from previous season) that focuses exactly on that question:
View: https://youtu.be/W17Kv9MF2CA?si=nHJjfM9GyyWGhrwR
Rafa was the same. Tried Alonso Gerrard's midfield axis multiple times, including famously in Istanbul. Bought Momo, who was boss obviously, and then Mascher.
You dont know how long I have been waiting for that level of validation by Top Top Red like yourself.
Benched Didi and let Kaka run The show.
Liverpool magic resurrection and glory.
Proud of the effort from Canada. The gulf in quality just a bit too much though. Argentina were incisive and canny. Canada's final ball just not good enough.
Messi gets the goal his general play deserved in this tournament.
To go from never winning an international tournament to winning the last three would be a big step on his quest to be regarded as the greatest ever by many.
To go from never winning an international tournament to winning the last three would be a big step on his quest to be regarded as the greatest ever by many.
He is
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