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Slot-ball

rurikbird

Part of the Furniture
Honorary Member

View: https://x.com/LFC/status/1822614618335793425

We’ve already seen a few variations of this move in pre-season - a few suicidal-looking passes inside our 18 yard box (recalling De Zerbi’s Brighton in how they bait opposition pressers), but then instead of a period of possession the ball is played long to start a lightning-quick move, relying on 3rd man runs into space, recalling some of our best goals of the early Klopp era.

This was repeated too many times to be a coincidence - and already led to several great goals. Is this the first consistent feature of Slot-ball we’ve seen so far?
 
Good, it's important if we're going to build up and invite pressure like this that we have a deadly out ball, otherwise the opposition will become fearless in pressing us so high. Nice goal.
 
We have to accept that while learning this new style of play we will screw up a few times and give away goals. But hopefully long term we will benefit.
 
Rafa started out this way also. Bought some technicians. Emphasized passing the ball out of the back and kept the ball on the ground. Had a trial by fire in the first season in the premier league, then went ahead and purchased Crouch and Momo. Wondering if Slott will go through a similar phase.
 
Rafa started out this way also. Bought some technicians. Emphasized passing the ball out of the back and kept the ball on the ground. Had a trial by fire in the first season in the premier league, then went ahead and purchased Crouch and Momo. Wondering if Slott will go through a similar phase.

To be fair, the league was very different back then. A wet Tuesday night in Burnely didn’t mean you get passed to death by a progressive future Bayern head coach…
 
To be fair, the league was very different back then. A wet Tuesday night in Burnely didn’t mean you get passed to death by a progressive future Bayern head coach…

Agree on that aspect. PL is far more technical now.
 
Yes it is, but just remember sometimes all it takes to undo all that technicality is a very dogged opposition with primitive football.

I think City disproved that. Any side that plays “primitive football” against them loses.
 
I think City disproved that. Any side that plays “primitive football” against them loses.
Not really, they have been undone by primitive stuff most of the time as no one is as technical as them. Our 4-3 win at anfield was very primitive against them.
 
Not really, they have been undone by primitive stuff most of the time as no one is as technical as them. Our 4-3 win at anfield was very primitive against them.

Hell no, it wasn’t. If that’s what you call “primitive” football, you don’t understand what Klopp is about.
 
What's interesting to me is that when Klopp was faced with breaking down a defenses that consistently sat back he chose to sign a technician in Thiago who can probe them with passes and use him to unlock, typically playing the pass before the assist. But it only partly worked, not least because of Thiagos injuries but also because it did not invite the defence out of the box and vacate the space for our attackers, which is where the front line thrived. From memory counter attacks more came about from opposition corners or a quick GK from the keeper, releasing the likes of Salah, or throw to Trent. The phase was dictated originally off an opposition attack rather intentionally inviting pressure on. The risks took Klopp took in defence were more to do with the high line than in possession.

Both Slot and Klopp liked control in the final third, but for me the key difference to date is their approach to finding space for our forwards.

And and on a more general point we're also reaching a point where football is just getting more complex. The idea that's it's a 'simple game complicated by idiots' no longer holds water. There's multiple formations used throughout games at different times and during different patterns of play, mixed in with fluidity between roles. I do not know enough in all it's detail, but it's clear that football analysis on TV lags massively behind the reality of what's happening on the pitch, and with that many fans are also getting left behind to some extent.
 
I feel like Southgates England tried to play something similar to this goal a few times in the Euros gone. Passed around at the back, draw the press, Pickford punts it forward to Kane on around the half way line-ish to then pass onto the wingers.

It frustrated England because Pickford is not good at picking a pass, Englands 'wingers' included Foden and Saka, it just didn't suit them at all then Harry couldn't break at pace to make it into the box after the initial pass.
I think we have more technical players at the back, players who can pick out passes including one of the best in the world at this in Trent.
Becker used to do some crazy stuff early on before he probably got a clip round the ear (before a long warm hug) from Klopp but it used to raise fans BP whenever he got the ball, I can imagine a good few goals leaked in trying this.
 
Luckily there's only really one or two good pressing teams in the PL. Arsenal definitely, and perhaps Brentford / Spurs. City's press gets killed by Haaland never wanting to do so.

This only matters once we actually get good at this. We all know Ali is relaxed as it gets, along with Virg. So expect we'll get embarassingly caught out once or twice. However Ali's distribution is brilliant so could end up working out ok.
 
Thinking about these goals some more, it makes sense why Slot was praising Darwin so much, his strength, size and tenacity makes him a great target man for these kind of breaks, he's just held back by the angry marshmallow between his ears. Neither of the goals on Sunday required a difficult pass once the ball was down, so I suppose if Slot can ingrain a couple of simple options in his brain as to what to do in these scenarios, it could work well.
 
Thinking about these goals some more, it makes sense why Slot was praising Darwin so much, his strength, size and tenacity makes him a great target man for these kind of breaks, he's just held back by the angry marshmallow between his ears. Neither of the goals on Sunday required a difficult pass once the ball was down, so I suppose if Slot can ingrain a couple of simple options in his brain as to what to do in these scenarios, it could work well.

His biggest challenge for these kind of breaks IMO will be knowing when to stay onside. He is often caught offside in situations where a defence could very clearly see a break emerging and would step up, with him seemingly oblivious that they would.
 
Unless it's Slot is head and shoulders above Southgate in every aspect of football management.
 
AT the start of 2025, we are likely to see something along the lines of "Slot's Liverpool humiliates Southgate's team with a 9-0 thrashing at Anfield on the ex England manager's debut in the Man Utd hot seat"

Haha, true!
 
And and on a more general point we're also reaching a point where football is just getting more complex. The idea that's it's a 'simple game complicated by idiots' no longer holds water. There's multiple formations used throughout games at different times and during different patterns of play, mixed in with fluidity between roles. I do not know enough in all it's detail, but it's clear that football analysis on TV lags massively behind the reality of what's happening on the pitch, and with that many fans are also getting left behind to some extent.

Maybe, maybe not.

As far as I can see it's all still just a variation of taking one defender out of formation and/or generating a spare attacker. If things really were getting significantly more complex there surely wouldn't be such a high correlation between successful teams and technically excellent players.
 
Hell no, it wasn’t. If that’s what you call “primitive” football, you don’t understand what Klopp is about.
I dont understand Klopp ? Give me a break, that team that beat them 4-3 in that afternoon was all about hitting them on the break and Andy chasing down all the way to Ederson was primitive at its best , that game was about pure running and pressing, thats what primitive shit is to me. In the end you run out of energy holding on hence why it ended 4-3 and not 4-1
 
There’s no such thing as a short ball or a long ball. Only the right ball.

Or something.
 
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