Poll Do we still need Thiago?

[rurikbird]

I think Thiago is genuinely one of the best midfielders to ever pull on the Liverpool shirt - but he’s also becoming a luxury. Trent will overtake his playmaking duties in most seasons; he will need MacAllister and our future midfield signings alongside him to provide grit and physicality. Fabinho and Hendo will still probably have important roles to play in the squad next season - out of the “old guard” Thiago looks by far the most expendable.

Now I’m not sure how much we should read into the fact that Thiago looked rather ordinary in his cameos in the last few games and lost the competition to Curtis before getting injured - it’s possible he was not 100% already trying to play through that injury and his form might recover to where it was a year or two ago. But even so, the times and the tactics have changed. We’re not dominating games against low blocks where an extra bit of quality and control Thiago provides can be crucial. Teams are generally not afraid of us anymore so we’ll have to “earn the right to play” once again - by outworking and outpressing everyone with all the fresh legs we’ll hopefully buy in midfield this summer - that’s not Thiago’s game. There could still be some games where we need control and patience but now we also have MacAllister who can presumably slow the game down and make right decisions on the ball - and we will also hopefully have someone like Thuram or Kone (even if we only sign one of them) who will add press-resistance and ability to carry the ball, which was one of the much-needed qualities Thiago added to our midfield when he came.

So with all that do we really need Thiago to sit on the bench waiting for those few games here and there where his qualities will still be needed? Will he even want that role? And who can guarantee he’ll be fit exactly at the times we need him? I just don’t see it working anymore.

 

[Farkmaster]

I think he's a good player but was a stupid purchase.

Will anyone want him on his wages with his injury record until next year? I'd tend to doubt it, but if anyone does, sell him. He's a poor fit. He plays football in a very attractive way but he hasn't ever been more effective than say a prime Henderson, for our team.

With him gone though, we will have zero silky players.

 

[moron]

I think he's a good player but was a stupid purchase.

Agreed, Klopp dont know how to use such players,
Also, we need to keep him because we have very little quality in midfield.

 

[binomial]

No. The last 10 games of the season is all the evidence I need. Missed far too many games, would sell if we got 10-20m

 

[Hansern]

It will be his last year regardless given he has 12 months left on his contract. I’d sell if there was interest in him. My guess is he stays until next summer.

Do we need him? Sure, we need everyone given we’re winning the quadruple.

 

[Squiggles]

I'm probably his biggest fan still, but yes, I'd sell for £10M and be done with him. Henderson, too, frankly.

Now Trent is supporting Fabiniho in the middle, combined with some increased energy and pressing, I'm going to wager that Fabinho still has something to offer. He looked decent towards the end of the year, but we do need to start thinking about his replacement, too.

 

[Fabio]

I'm ok with letting him go, as long as we get another 2 mids. I really don't want to be left short again. The hope is, if he barely had to play, he won't get injured

 

[bluebell]

I'd like him and Matip gone. It opens up 2 more OS places.

 

[peekay]

I love watching him as a player but never quite understood his signing. Potentially one of the best midfielders to play for us. But his signing also represented a departure from the way we did transfers which delivered us the league and champions league.

I would sell him if we sign two more midfielders. Not sure he is the type to come of the bench and immediately influence the game. I might be wrong but he seemed to need minutes and games to grow into his high levels and not sure if we can afford to do that next season.

 

[tomasjj]

No. Move him along

 

[StevieM]

If we can get someone to either pay a fee or take on his salary, then we should let him go.

Barcelona, PSG or Saudi Arabia.

I suspect it’ll be the latter - on a free at the end of another injury hit season.

 

[Woland]

I wish he was nearly as good as he thinks he is. I'd even settle for how good you lot think he is.

 

[StevieM]

Surely we could sell one or more of Thiago’s clones or corpses and keep one for medical experimentation.

 

[JohnnyRocket]

What if we structured our midfield that we played with a genuine deep lying playmaker sitting between midfield and defense.

It would be a role tailor made for Trent, but for next year Thiago could be a very able alternative.

 

[Dreambeliever]

I’d keep him. No question. Can only be good what the younger players are learning from him and we’ll need the depth next season more than the few million we’ll get.

 

[binomial]

I’d keep him. No question. Can only be good what the younger players are learning from him and we’ll need the depth next season more than the few million we’ll get.

Players should learn from the coach and manager....not other players.

Experienced players can give advice and help the younger players settle but in terms of playing the game, they need to be taught from the coaching staff because someone like Baj might not have the same responsibility in the team as a Thiago in the next 5 years etc so whatever Thiago may be teaching them might be detrimental & conflicting to what the Klopp & his staff actually want him to do.

 

[StevieM]

Players should learn from the coach and manager....not other players.

Experienced players can give advice and help the younger players settle but in terms of playing the game, they need to be taught from the coaching staff because someone like Baj might not have the same responsibility in the team as a Thiago in the next 5 years etc so whatever Thiago may be teaching them might detrimental.

Well it’s a good job Inter Miami got rid of Phil Neville - can you imagine the players relying on him for guidance instead of Lionel Messi.

 

[binomial]

Inter Miami. 😛

That's kinda how it works Stevie, As great as Messi is.....he isn't a manager nor a coach, he isn't qualified to give out orders or instructions.....bit like Ronaldo at Utd with Ten Haag, bit like Mbappe at PSG with Galtier.

 

[Fabio]

I think players can learn from other players. Not necessarily the tactics or anything, but certainly how to improve their own abilities. Klopp isn't going to be able to help doak develop as a winger, whereas mo would

 

[binomial]

Klopp isn't going to be able to help doak develop as a winger, whereas mo would

Yes he absolutely can, not by himself but Pep and his coaching staff too.

Mo wouldn't necessarily, he'd be able to watch and study him for sure (which he's probably done a million times already) but it's up to Klopp and his staff to develop his game based on how they see fit, based on the qualities they see in him....which could well be very different to Mo, probably is as Mo loves to cut in and bend one in, Doak from the little I've seen is very much an old fashioned go down the outside type nippy winger.

 

[StevieM]

Yes he absolutely can, not by himself but Pep and his coaching staff too.

Mo wouldn't necessarily, he'd be able to watch and study him for sure (which he's probably done a million times already) but it's up to Klopp and his staff to develop his game based on how they see fit, based on the qualities they see in him....which could well be very different to Mo, probably is as Mo loves to cut in and bend one in, Doak from the little I've seen is very much an old fashioned go down the outside type nippy winger.

If I was looking for advice on how to improve as a footballer - I’d be asking Messi ahead of Phil fucking Neville.

 

[StevieM]

Inter Miami. 😛

That's kinda how it works Stevie, As great as Messi is.....he isn't a manager nor a coach, he isn't qualified to give out orders or instructions.....bit like Ronaldo at Utd with Ten Haag, bit like Mbappe at PSG with Galtier.

I’m blaming autocorrect on the Miami / Milan thing.

 

[binomial]

If I was looking for advice on how to improve as a footballer - I’d be asking Messi ahead of Phil fucking Neville.

What part of Messi not having any coaching qualities are you not getting? If I saw myself as Messi-lite which no one would dare claim, then perhaps.....there will never be another Messi so it's illogical.

Messi (like Mo) has the license to manoeuvre about in a specific area of the pitch, a kid coming up like Gordon/Doak wouldn't be allowed to start off this way, Doak will not improve as a player if he only listens and watches Mo, very different skillsets so he'd be learning the wrong things to implement his own game.

 

[Delinquent]

Players should learn from the coach and manager....not other players.

Experienced players can give advice and help the younger players settle but in terms of playing the game, they need to be taught from the coaching staff because someone like Baj might not have the same responsibility in the team as a Thiago in the next 5 years etc so whatever Thiago may be teaching them might be detrimental & conflicting to what the Klopp & his staff actually want him to do.

Don't be so silly. It's quite possible to learn from another player and absorb coaching. Most of what we learn is done by copying. If anyone can learn how to control a ball or pass anything like Thiago, that will stand them in very good stead, irrespective of what their coaches are telling them.

 

[StevieM]

What part of Messi not having any coaching qualities are you not getting?

The bit about Phil Neville having coaching badges.

Do you think Fat Sam would have some top advise for a silky deep lying playmaker that didn’t include the words “fucking”, “long”, “it”, “kick” “into”, “corner” and “the”.

 

[binomial]

The bit about Phil Neville having coaching badges.

Do you think Fat Sam would have some top advise for a silky deep lying playmaker that didn’t include the words “fucking”, “long”, “it”, “kick” “into”, “corner” and “the”.

You'd like to think so, he's been around the game long enough.....but none of us know, we've never seen a training session of his, all we see is the person they come across in the media and yes ok he comes across as an entitled stuck up bellend with a big belly but I believe you can be an entitled stuck up bellend with a big belly and also have good level of knowledge in the game.

Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned like that but I believe the manager & coaching team should be the focal point behind player development.

 

[StevieM]

You'd like to think so, he's been around the game long enough.....but none of us know, we've never seen a training session of his, all we see is the person they come across in the media and yes ok he comes across as an entitled stuck up bellend with a big belly but I believe you can be an entitled stuck up bellend with a big belly and also have good level of knowledge in the game.

Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned like that but I believe the manager & coaching team should be the focal point behind player development.

 

[Brizzle]

Keep him as a staple of our cup squads. We need to be better at having players for cups and players for the league. We could be in a position to save the likes of Thiago, Hendo, Elliot, Tsimi, Jota for all of the cups, supplemented by the young squad players like Badger, Bradley, Doak etc.