Hence why I'm still a bit miffed over the Fulham game.
The midfield
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If these are your examples of us being lucky, then City were just as lucky from the few matches I watched of theirs.
Ifs buts and maybes. The table doesn't lie over 38 games.
Apparently it does. We came 2nd by 1 point, but that was 90% luck and the reality was we were a 7th placed type of team
That all changes the minute we sign that bloke no-one has ever heard of or mentioned before
It might do, as we may actually have enough midfielders to play one fit one in a final or a few matches towards the end of the season.
That said, where the fuck is our new midfielder ? - why is there no news about a new signing ? - what is going on at this club ?
Also those of you talking the piss out of United - I know it's funny but really the state of footballers these days and their mindsets is fucking horrible really, I know they are a real basket case of a club, but they are still in the Europa Cup, and still a massive club when it comes to revenue. But these players they are going after really do think they are bigger than the actual club - I mean how fucked up are these players these days ?
First person to post a turd to Jurgen get's a proper doing. I'm not talking me. I mean Skully. I'll have him on a chain to prevent collateral damage, but there will be innocent casualties, no doubt.
All this time he wasn't posting cos he's on a lead in your shed?
Chains mate. Plural. He'd chew through a lead quick smart.
where is this S&M haven you speak of?
I think it definitely can when the final difference is just a point or two.
Luck can definitely be the deciding factor in such cases.
Between the two teams, yes - but luck doesn’t get you to the position we were in.
Oh it definitely does and can. It's one of the most ridiculous sayings in football.
A Krapp for Klopp.
Well obviously not, no.
It doesn’t appear to be that obvious to Moron
And yes, I know it’s Moron and a basic understanding of absolutely anything appears to be passing him by… but, you know… care in the community and all that.
Bollocks. If the ref /VAR at Everton knew how to do his/their job properly we'd likely be Champions ! Though you could say both deserved it.
It would be worrying though if we hadn't then put key players in the squad to rival those places over the next year or two. A good mix of experience and youth is fine and it will benefit us over the next two years. A couple of years ago Kompany arguably won the title for City coming back into the squad and calming things down.
The issue is games like last week where we didn't have the opportunity to mix it up a bit, or rather - the youngsters that were available weren't quite ready to be thrown in. You could sort of understand Klopp playing it safe on the first day and going with the tried and tested, experienced side. It should have been enough to beat Fulham, but opening days often throw up slightly "off" performances.
If you look through the team at the so called elders, we're in fairly good stead:
Allison - is neither here nor there, 30yr old keepers are fairly young by comparison to outfield and Kelleher is a good alternative.
Matip and VVD - We have Konate, who showed his promise alot last season and will be 3rd choice. The crunch will come when we have to play him and Gomez, one of them has to step up this season as a bit of a leader and ever present.
Robbo - 28yrs old, the Greek lad did well last year.
Fabinho, Milner and Henderson - this is obviously the crux area, Elliott and Carvalho (assuming he will be AM or LCM) go someway to supplementing this, we're obviously looking for a solution, it's just frustrating we haven't picked anyone up this Summer. It might bite us on the arse. We then have Thiago, Keita, Ox and Jones who in fits and starts will back us up. Thiago is the big issue in the team. We can take losing the other three because we know their limitations and that they are arguably on borrowed time at the club. I'd like to see Bajcetic continue to get on the bench and push for more minutes - that might solve a few issues in the short term. The worry with the three kids we have (HE, FC and SB) is that they are all slight physically, so they still require the blend of brute force and experience with them in the middle. Throw two of them into the midfield three and we're in danger of being overran and outfought. The plus side is that they are three really exciting players who might lift the momentum and tempo of the current crop.
Salah & Firmino - A lot depends on where Klopp sees Elliott eventually playing, I see him as Henderson's longterm successor, so I'd wager one of our next targets will be a right sided forward. We're top heavy on central and left sided strikers/wingers/forwards, but not so much on the right side. This is an issue if Salah needs a rest or gets a knock. If he gets a longterm injury it's potentially catastrophic as only Diaz has covered there previously (and the perennially unavailable Ox), neither with much success. Jota isn't a cert to start games, but he's arguably the biggest loss behind Salah, as he's the only player we have who can mix it up AND score goals. While on paper Bobby, Diaz, Salah and Nunez should be enough, only one of them is a proven big goalscorer in this league. Bobby doesn't get enough and is clearly declining rapidly, Diaz needs to have a big tally this season to push on and Nunez is still new and could go either way. He'll get goals, but we might find ourselves wanting to ease him in while the rest of his game gets up to speed.
I know it's a drum that's been banged a million times to no avail, but I really wish we would consider playing a solid right back (Gomez or the new lad) and putting Trent in midfield. I really don't see how it hampers his abilities, he spends 90% of the game in midfield anyway and generally leaves a lot to be desired when he is asked to defend.
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I mean, if we out Trent in Midfield and someone like Gomez at RB - you replace the Hendo/Keita/Elliot output with the current Trent output - there might be an increase in goals or assists from Trent - it might even trump the joint output of the other 3.
But - we’ll not get the same output from RB - it’ll drop - how much is debatable, but unless we’ve Struck gold with that young Scot - and if you’re asking them to hold back and be more defensive, then definitely getting less.
I think that doesn’t give us a net gain.
I don’t know the answer - well, for me, it’s give Harvey a run - but I’m a big fan of keeping people in the positions they’re doing well in, rather than trying to move them into new roles.
I see the attraction - but I don’t see it doing what we want it to do - otherwise Klopp would have tried it previously.
There are other youngsters coming through - I agree we do need to invest in the midfield over the next couple of seasons - we’ve tied up the other areas quite well - but all our spending should be directed to the midfield.
I think Hendo & Thiago have this season and next in them, Milner is surely done this season.
Fabs is good for another 4 years, Keita too is he re-signs.
Ox is toast.
Morton, Elliot, Carvalho & Bajcetic offer youth breaking through - maybe Bradley too, depending on where he can play. Clarkson isn’t probably going to make it - but you never know.
So 2-3 really good signings in the next couple of years could be enough.
Only good thing about Naby resigning is he keeps his value from being 0. Those injuries will take their toll, and he will be like Ox.
How come if I say put Trent in MF and Gomez at RB should the need arise where we have to few MFs, its treated negatively but you say it, its worth considering as a discussion point?
Oh Mark!
Heaven FORBID that we might consider playing a guy with all the qualities of a brilliant creative midfielder in MIDFIELD!!
When will this madness end?!
Regards the pros and cons of Trent (in midfield) and how that impacts the threat from right back - Gomez had clearly improved his attacking game the last time he was getting starts, he bagged a few assists and is a much better defender than Trent.
He has the natural inclination to tuck inside as a 3rd centre back when needed. As great as our defensive set up is, it's not quite as watertight as it once was. Teams exploit quick balls over the top or down the wings into space with alarming frequency and this is clearly something that was always there and is being targeted more. Maybe we now push higher, maybe our ageing and slower centre halves is half the issue, but I think the upside of a more defensively sound right back (with the potential upshot of more output from Trent in midfield) far outweighs the cons. It seems like in every big game it's Trent's area that's being successfully exploited and if the centre halves aren't what they were, maybe now is a good time to give them that extra insurance with Gomez.
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