So, how good is Lallana?

[rurikbird]

Let's try to look at Adam Lallana objectively, whether you're a fan or not. Forget the price, that's no longer relevant to anything.

• What are his strengths and weaknesses?
• Is he a squad player or somebody you build around? How does he compare to his competition at LFC and to other teams' top attacking midfielders?
• Is he currently at his peak or will he get better with age?

=========

Personally while I'm admittedly not a fan of Lallana, I appreciate his good qualities as well. I think he is the best finisher among our attacking midfielders (not counting Firmino, who is a half-striker). His attitude and work-rate are consistently excellent. His dribbling style is genuinely unique and difficult to predict and defend against one on one.

I think probably my current lack of belief in Lallana is because I can't think of an example of a top player in a top team who has a similar skill-set as him. A dribbling specialist who is also a decent finisher, but doesn't have great pace and has a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long – which top team has a player like that, now or in the past? I can only think of some obscure comparisons like Alexandr Hleb (remember him? Played for Arsenal and then got his head turned and wasted his career in Barca's reserves) or Marko Marin, perhaps Alessandro Diamanti. Even those are far from perfect analogies – Marin is faster than Lallana, Diamanti is great on set-pieces, and Hleb was a more talented playmaker (although a worse finisher).

Anyway, there seems to be something in the way top teams construct their play that makes it very difficult for players with this particular skill-set to establish themselves at that level. Usually, hard-working, slower-paced dribblers can be found in mid-table or lower tier teams. So is this what Lallana really is, essentially a very good mid-table team player? Or am I overlooking some quality that would set him apart from the rest and make him a success here? Let me know your opinions.

 

[Modo]

Let's try to look at Adam Lallana objectively

Well I guess I'm out.

 

[cloggypop]

Yossi played for us, Chelsea and Arsenal. He's about the same standard.

 

[dantes]

 

[Frogfish]

I always liked Hleb !

The talent is there, he just needs to be cultivated and into a formation and style of play that suits him, Klopp could be the man to do that. We've already seen him improve in just 3 games (for Lallana, I'm discounting the LC) under Klopp. I'd still prefer Firmino over him but that doesn't mean he can't contribute a lot to our improvement/season.

 

[manwithnoname]

Let's try to look at Adam Lallana objectively, whether you're a fan or not. Forget the price, that's no longer relevant to anything.

• What are his strengths and weaknesses?
• Is he a squad player or somebody you build around? How does he compare to his competition at LFC and to other teams' top attacking midfielders?
• Is he currently at his peak or will he get better with age?

=========

Personally while I'm admittedly not a fan of Lallana, I appreciate his good qualities as well. I think he is the best finisher among our attacking midfielders (not counting Firmino, who is a half-striker). His attitude and work-rate are consistently excellent. His dribbling style is genuinely unique and difficult to predict and defend against one on one.

I think probably my current lack of belief in Lallana is because I can't think of an example of a top player in a top team who has a similar skill-set as him. A dribbling specialist who is also a decent finisher, but doesn't have great pace and has a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long – which top team has a player like that, now or in the past? I can only think of some obscure comparisons like Alexandr Hleb (remember him? Played for Arsenal and then got his head turned and wasted his career in Barca's reserves) or Marko Marin, perhaps Alessandro Diamanti. Even those are far from perfect analogies – Marin is faster than Lallana, Diamanti is great on set-pieces, and Hleb was a more talented playmaker (although a worse finisher).

Anyway, there seems to be something in the way top teams construct their play that makes it very difficult for players with this particular skill-set to establish themselves at that level. Usually, hard-working, slower-paced dribblers can be found in mid-table or lower tier teams. So is this what Lallana really is, essentially a very good mid-table team player? Or am I overlooking some quality that would set him apart from the rest and make him a success here? Let me know your opinions.

How is he going to get better with age? He's 27.

Lallana is a one-paced, fairly skilful, decent Premiership player. He probably shouldn't be a regular for a club with aspirations like Liverpool, and nobody in their right mind would pay £25m for him, apart from Brendan Rodgers. I'd agree with your ending summary.

 

[mom]

He's a good player. Can't see him being snapped up by barca anytime soon but he can certainly do a job for us. It's not his fault we overpaid for him and no reason to be any more harsh on him.

 

[Judge Jules]

He can dribble and/or pass through areas of the pitch crowded with opposition players better than anyone else we have, after the departure of Suarez and then [spit] Sterling, and his willingness to work hard will be appreciated by Klopp. It's true we paid too much for him, but what's done is done and the fee was always an irrelevance once the transfer had gone through. The only worthwhile question is whether he can help us improve, and in that respect I'm reserving judgment till after Klopp has had the chance to work with him for a while yet.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Yossi played for us, Chelsea and Arsenal. He's about the same standard.

No way.. Yossi was far better.. He had a touch of the Peter Beardsley's about him from time to time...

Scored goals regularly too..

 

[hmmmmm1]

No way.. Yossi was far better.. He had a touch of the Peter Beardsley's about him from time to time...

Scored goals regularly too..

Yossi was never quite there in the looks department (sorry LTW).

Take away the fancy hair and nivea advert from Lallana and you are left with a good if another overpriced english player player.

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

How is he going to get better with age? He's 27.

Lallana is a one-paced, fairly skilful, decent Premiership player. He probably shouldn't be a regular for a club with aspirations like Liverpool, and nobody in their right mind would pay £25m for him, apart from Brendan Rodgers. I'd agree with your ending summary.

This.

No way.. Yossi was far better.. He had a touch of the Peter Beardsley's about him from time to time...

Scored goals regularly too..

Yossi was better for us, but he played in a far better team. It's not easy to pull up trees in a team that have been as shit as us for 18 months.

 

[gene hughes]

He's a Spurs player.

 

[tomasjj]

I think he is decent. Needs to be closer to the box to be more effective.
Good vision, dribbling and work ethic.
Also can finish.

 

[Silver Sean]

Yossi played for us, Chelsea and Arsenal. He's about the same standard.

I think Yossi was better to be honest. Lallana's main problem is he takes five touches even when one will do.

 

[davud graham]

I think we all want attacking players to get us excited and Lallana just doesn't get me on the edge of my seat. Maybe it's as some others have said he takes too many touches or takes too long to decide what he's going to do. It must be incredibly frustrating as a forward when you know he'll dilly dally before trying to play you in. The lad has got some talent but Klopp or someone could do with telling him to be more decisive around the box.
The mad thing is that with his lack of pace, playing the ball earlier would benefit him as he'd wouldn't get caught on the ball half as much as he does now.

 

[Markeh]

I think he is decent. Needs to be closer to the box to be more effective.
Good vision, dribbling and work ethic.
Also can finish.

That's it. He is a goal threat, he needs to be around the opposition box. He can't carry the ball any distance like Coutinho but he has an eye for taking up dangerous positions and getting chances.

 

[KopRed]

Slightly above average player.

He has the instinct; when he tries a first time shot/pass it almost always turns out well.

Ironically he loves to take more touches than he needs, twisting and turning until the momentum is gone. Even his own players are confused over what he wants to do and everyone ends up watching him, waiting for him to do something. And when something finally comes, no one could reacts sufficiently fast because it just surprises everyone.

Oh and he shoots like a girl when given time on the ball.

 

[Spionkop69]

He's a Spurs player.

So he's punching below his weight with us....

 

[moron]

Yossi played for us, Chelsea and Arsenal. He's about the same standard.

Yossi - was much better, his effectiveness was quite plain to see and he could score goals. I sometimes feel Lallana actually don't give a shit about football, or LFC, and that he is here for ride and enjoy the life. Seriously - the guy lacks any urgency in his play or what I would call any form of determination. The only thing he is good at is getting out of tight spots but his lack of pace is a issue.

 

[dantes]

At Southampton, and most smaller clubs, they'd thank their stars to have Lallana's talent and work rate at their disposal. They'd figure out how best to exploit it to get wins and make more money.

The problem with us is we get a talented player, spot a weakness, then work ourselves up into a frenzy about it, oh my god no, no we can't have any weaknesses in our team, no other big clubs tolerate weakness, oh no, whatever shall we do.

The opening post over thinks football way too much. The result is instead of us making the best of his talent, we end up sticking Lallana in positions and tactical set-ups to hide his weaknesses. The we spend all of the training sessions making him focus and improve that weakness.

Is it any wonder players come here and lose all confidence and become useless cunts. To his credit Lallana seems like a daft cunt who is perpetually happy. Markovic and Moreno not so much.

 

[Judge Jules]

Yossi - was much better, his effectiveness was quite plain to see and he could score goals. I sometimes feel Lallana actually don't give a shit about football, or LFC, and that he is here for ride and enjoy the life. Seriously - the guy lacks any urgency in his play or what I would call any form of determination. The only thing he is good at is getting out of tight spots but his lack of pace is a issue.

That bolded bit is just flat wrong. When he's on the ball he dallies too much at times, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with his workrate or his bottle.

 

[keniget]

At Southampton, and most smaller clubs, they'd thank their stars to have Lallana's talent and work rate at their disposal. They'd figure out how best to exploit it to get wins and make more money.

The problem with us is we get a talented player, spot a weakness, then work ourselves up into a frenzy about it, oh my god no, no we can't have any weaknesses in our team, no other big clubs tolerate weakness, oh no, whatever shall we do.

The opening post over thinks football way too much. The result is instead of us making the best of his talent, we end up sticking Lallana in positions and tactical set-ups to hide his weaknesses. The we spend all of the training sessions making him focus and improve that weakness.

Is it any wonder players come here and lose all confidence and become useless cunts. To his credit Lallana seems like a daft cunt who is perpetually happy. Markovic and Moreno not so much.

How should we set up to make the best use of him then?

 

[dantes]

How should we set up to make the best use of him then?

He twists and turns because he doesn't have the pace to beat a player. He also doesn't release the ball because he knows he doesn't have the pace or energy to follow up the pass with a burst into the box. I know how he feels. So that's why he keeps it until a killer pass opens up for him.

What we should do is tell the other players to trust he will keep the ball in tight spots and has the quality to play the pass. So instead of standing and doing nothing, or showing for a pass that won't come, the other players need to get into a dangerous position and be prepared to control the ball with one touch.

 

[willby]

Weak final shot too often

 

[keniget]

He twists and turns because he doesn't have the pace to beat a player. He also doesn't release the ball because he knows he doesn't have the pace or energy to follow up the pass with a burst into the box. I know how he feels. So that's why he keeps it until a killer pass opens up for him.

What we should do is tell the other players to trust he will keep the ball in tight spots and has the quality to play the pass. So instead of standing and doing nothing, or showing for a pass that won't come, the other players need to get into a dangerous position and be prepared to control the ball with one touch.

So which formation would you play and which position would Lallana take up?

 

[dantes]

So which formation would you play and which position would Lallana take up?

The players movements are more important than the formation. First I'd ditch the stupid pressing. I'd move coutinho into the midfield three, similar to where tshearer played.

Then Lallana in the centre behind two strikers, or two wing forwards, or one of each.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Very talented footballer who isn't suited to us.

 

[Markeh]

Very talented footballer who isn't suited to us.

Klopp likes him from what I can tell

 

[Ryan]

His first touch is consistently brilliant. Off both feet, received from any direction, under any pressure... That things sticks like fucking glue.

 

[rurikbird]

His first touch is consistently brilliant. Off both feet, received from any direction, under any pressure... That things sticks like fucking glue.

True, he's like a black hole – sucks up the ball and never releases it.

I'm kidding, he had a decent performance yesterday.