I would completely aggree they were beyond terrible yesterday
Pre Match - Brighton (H) - Sat 15:00
- Thread starter Brizzle
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Two main issues yesterday were we lost control of the midfield after we lost Keita, and that Firmino absolutely stank up the place and stopped us killing off the game in the first half.
On the first issue it's clear that neither Curtis or Ox can be part of a dominating midfield without one of the senior players being there alongside them (Keita is now in that bracket). Whilst Ox did provide an outstanding assist, we looked so vulnerable once he came on, Brighton won the midfield battle as soon as he stepped on the pitch. Henderson can't help win that battle whilst he's forced to play in DM, he can't be aggressive and start the press, you can see it in his body language when he plays there, he wants to press and engage, and sometimes he will, but it leaves us exposed so when he does that creates a whole different issue. Simply we need to get Thiago and Fabinho fit, both to allow Hendo to play in CM where he belongs, but also to get another senior midfielder into the middle, our numbers in midfield are already limited, the games these two keep missing are killing us.
The second issue is harder, Firmino had a shocker, yet the way he plays between the lines was essential for us carving up Brighton, which we did right up until we went off, we had so many chances to hurt Brighton, Firmino just kept fucking up his passes and finishes. When Jota came on we looked toothless, that's nothing against him, he just can't play the same role as Firmino a role that's essential in games like that one, or at least its essential to the game plan we seem to employ in these games. Minamino was meant to be the guy to be backup for Firmino in this role, clearly it hasn't worked, Klopp also experimented with Ox in preseason and that was an hilarious idea, but our dependency on Firmino as the only person able to perform the duty of a Klopp false nine is a real issue for our squad, because when he has days as hilariously bad as yesterday, he's costing us points, but it's obvious his style of play is essential for Klopps game plan in these games.
London Porter by Mad Squirrel is a lovely beer btw, have a nice evening all.
On the first issue it's clear that neither Curtis or Ox can be part of a dominating midfield without one of the senior players being there alongside them (Keita is now in that bracket). Whilst Ox did provide an outstanding assist, we looked so vulnerable once he came on, Brighton won the midfield battle as soon as he stepped on the pitch. Henderson can't help win that battle whilst he's forced to play in DM, he can't be aggressive and start the press, you can see it in his body language when he plays there, he wants to press and engage, and sometimes he will, but it leaves us exposed so when he does that creates a whole different issue. Simply we need to get Thiago and Fabinho fit, both to allow Hendo to play in CM where he belongs, but also to get another senior midfielder into the middle, our numbers in midfield are already limited, the games these two keep missing are killing us.
The second issue is harder, Firmino had a shocker, yet the way he plays between the lines was essential for us carving up Brighton, which we did right up until we went off, we had so many chances to hurt Brighton, Firmino just kept fucking up his passes and finishes. When Jota came on we looked toothless, that's nothing against him, he just can't play the same role as Firmino a role that's essential in games like that one, or at least its essential to the game plan we seem to employ in these games. Minamino was meant to be the guy to be backup for Firmino in this role, clearly it hasn't worked, Klopp also experimented with Ox in preseason and that was an hilarious idea, but our dependency on Firmino as the only person able to perform the duty of a Klopp false nine is a real issue for our squad, because when he has days as hilariously bad as yesterday, he's costing us points, but it's obvious his style of play is essential for Klopps game plan in these games.
London Porter by Mad Squirrel is a lovely beer btw, have a nice evening all.
I'm trying to remember if Ox's all round game was this bad before his injury? He certainly showed for the ball more, and was more effective in his carrying, but was he always so crap in the press and tracking?
Here's hoping Newcastle come sniffing, otherwise with his lack of bite and dwindling creativity (consistently) he could be hard to shift on his wages and approaching 30.
Here's hoping Newcastle come sniffing, otherwise with his lack of bite and dwindling creativity (consistently) he could be hard to shift on his wages and approaching 30.
We were an efficient machine and could cover those deficiencies. We seem to be really struggling to manage games this season and can’t carry players like him.
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