Er… The reality is Firminho and Origi are both centre-forwards and both in the current Liverpool squad. They were there years ago and they are still there now Daniel. You have no point in that regard. Liverpool have options in this reality, not FIFA. Why is it unrealistic or childish to suggest we might need options to in order to better compete? If anything, it's immature to suggest otherwise. I don't know these people are that you are referring to Daniel, but please, just listen to Conte, give him all the options he asks for.
So who sits? This is the simple question which continues to get ignored: we'd have one player guaranteed to sit out more games than the rest, which is exactly what happened when we head Keane, Berbatov, Defoe and Bent on the books as Defoe was the one who always made way, which is why he joined Portsmouth a few months later (which managed to then bite us in the backside a second time when Keane & Berbatov were both tapped up the following summer) Even having Kane, Son and one of the two would be a pain, for the simple Martinez only really plays as a CF so it would be him or Kane starting at CF or changing the entire system to fit him in and the knock-on effect of changing to (for the sake of argument) the 3412 that Conte used last season, while in Dybala's case while we could play him as a RW that means we signed a striker to play on the wing which is...yeah, that's a bit odd isn't it? Having two players expecting to start every game simply isn't workable, not just in our case but any other club you wish to name, especially if that means putting names before tactics which has frequently been the downfall of teams, more regularly at international level but there's no denying that it certainly happens at club level based how often players are rushed back into teams in spite of injury or lack of fitness, be it Kane for us more times than we'd like to count, Torres at Liverpool under Benitez, Messi at various times for both Barca and Argentina, the list goes on
Err... The reality is that Firmino and Origi have lost their places in the Saltypool team, so bringing them up as reason to sign two strikers expecting to start makes no sense Firmino started years ago, now he does not, so you're continuing to miss the point in this regard in spite it being spelled out to you multiple times And I can't help but notice you're not even mentioning the Sheikh Mansour Team anymore... I don't see Liverpool fans saying they need to have Mbappe and Haaland on the bench in case Salah or Mane get injured It is unrealistic and childish to say that we should consider signing two additional strikers for a system that only plays with one because, funnily enough, if the system only uses one striker having three strikers who expect to start is downright lunacy, as demonstrated by the various times we and other clubs have had two players expecting to start in various positions, not just the Keane/Berbatov/Defoe/Bent season where Deofe was off in January due to it being unsustainable to have four strikers expecting to play, but more recently we had similar with Aurier/Trippier both expecting to start in the same position So no, we should not sign both Dybala and Martinez this summer, because by January one of Kane, Dybala and Martinez will be pissed off at not playing due to the other two regularly playing instead, which is not how to run a team in reality (or on Football Manager, for that matter...) but certainly how people approach it on FIFA, which is about as real as the notion that the Sheikh Mansour Team have a wealth of striking options that we should be emulating...
I think Martinez can play in the hole, he has plenty of work rate and can do what eriksen effectively did (i think he is quite creative to). In any case, you had this same situation in one of your most successful years under poch where the front 3 was Alli, Kane and Eriksen with Son sitting but getting regular game time. We had this situation at Chelsea to with Costa, Hazard and Pedro/Willian. I can't think of any side who challenge for any of the top leagues not having any depth to their attacking forwards. Do i think it would be right to get those two for spurs, probably not but i think the intention to get more quality and better cover is certainly the correct sentiment. The other thing i don't think you are considering is that I don't see Harry signing another contract for spurs which means he's either moving this summer (i think) or at best he's moving next summer so you're going to have to get his replacement in sooner or later
Think Firminos been injured a bit this season and is actually time sharing with Jota (Jota was most definitely the understudy last year). As for a replacement for Mane/Salah, they have just brought in direct competition in Diaz who most defnitely will be benched/time sharing with Salah or mane.
Sir! I've just seen you wish for a transfer of Phillips from Leeds, but Daniel, we already have Winks, Skipp, Bentancur and Höjbjerg in the CM position. How will we get Phillips into the team? Who will sit? Not all players will start every game. That is the point! You rotate the squad, and the sell the players that can't hang or are surplus to requirements. If Phillips were to come in, I imagine Winks would be out as he'd start complaining again, or he'll recognise the opportunity he has to be in an improving squad, work and wait, like Origi does for Liverpool, and play when called upon. (I reckon Conte might out him anyhow, when Sarr and possibly Kessie comes in hence trying to get him loaned out this January window.) If we were in the CL and challenging for the league title with arguably the best manager we could get, and the best facilities, Keane and Berbatov would NOT have been complaining. Just as Kane and Son will very much be content when the squad is deepened. Plus, when competing on all fronts, there are more games than 11 players can manage. Trust me Daniel. It's the way forwards.
The biggest issue with playing Martinez in the hole is that Kane drops so deep that the likelihood is that we'd somehow wind up in situations where we have two strikers on the pitch yet neither in the final third, certainly if we have a repeat of the recent horror shows against Southampton, Wolves or Burnley. This is why I was all in on making a play for Vlahovic in January, as that's the sort of striker who'd work best with Kane dropping deep as he'd stay further up the pitch Weirdly, the thing about our most successful period under Poch was that we didn't actually play two wingers, we played Kane up top while behind him it was usually Dele in the hole, Eriksen out wide and either Son or Lamela on the wing, or the brief period were we played 3421 where it was two of Eriksen, Son and Dele behind Kane - in other words, almost the exact opposite of how Saltypool or The Sheikh Mansour Team are currently set up with three wingers for the former and two attacking midfielders and a winger for the latter When it comes to depth, what a team needs off the bench is reliability, with Giroud being the perfect example because he wouldn't regularly start for either Arsenal or Chelsea, but when he came on he could be expected to either score or cause enough problems for the opposition that somebody else would, and this is certainly what Poch was managing in certain positions during his peak (most obviously the rotating FBs, but also our front three usually had Lamela or Chadli held in reserve) - but on the other hand we never could find a reliable cover option for Dembele, which is why we brought in Sissoko even though, realistically, Sissoko lacked the skill or passing to replicate Dembele's role yet still expected games, hence he often played on the wing in his first season
And that is the dumbest thing you could have posted, considering that a.) There's space for two CMs in our side, not one b.) I talked about a Skipp/Phillips pivot, which already answered your stupid question Not all players start games, and that is the point - because it's why Defoe wanted to leave us for Portsmouth due to not playing games, just as it's why Aurier was getting antsy due to Trippier being preferred, just as it's why Negredo and Jovetic both asked for loans so they could actually play as they weren't due to a slight case of Agero at the Offshore Shell Company Stadium... If Phillips were to come in, and with Sarr is also waiting in the wings, we'd have two sitting midfielders in Bentancur and Philips, two progressive in Skipp and Sarr, and one either/or in Hojbjerg - making Winks the odd man out, and there's a possibility that Hojbjerg might also be eased out the following January If we were challenging for the league with Keane and Berbatov, of course they wouldn't have been complaining - as they were the first choice players. On the other hand, in that period we had Defoe (who left, citing lack of football), Bent (moaned, citing not being hugged enough as a child) and, prior to Bent's arrival, Mido (left, citing lack of football while also asking what you were looking at), so that point doesn't stand up at all considering in an eighteen month period 60% of our strikers were complaining or even left due to a lack of football Alternatively, we should line up with a front three of Son, Kulusevski and Bergwijn while keeping Kane on the bench, because that's how we'd effectively be copying Saltypool's attacking options - while you consistently fail to notice that you're bringing up the minor fact that they line up with strikers not in their starting xi...
Huh? If we had Champions League there would have been more g…. Never mind. I'll leave you to it. Have a good day Daniel.
We were in the Europa League in the keane/Berbatov/Defoe/bent season, but did that mean there were plenty of games to go around? No, there weren't, because the priorities when selecting the squad were i.) Maintaining the Keane/Berbatov partnership, as that was carrying the team ii.) Justifying paying over the odds on Barren Dent Still, on the plus side, at least you're no longer trying to say that Origi is the exact same quality of player as Dybala or Martinez and expecting to be taken seriously...
All Purpose Contract Watch * The Times report that we've offered Ryan Sessegnon a new contract * Pete O'Rourke claims that we've offered Malachi ***an-Walcott a new contract * Lilywhite Rose claims that All Nigeria Soccer told him Tobi Omole is stalling on a new contract * All Nigeria Soccer are citing Lilywhite Rose as saying that Tobi Omole is stalling on a new contract * The ouroboros (or uroboros) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail
CalcioMercato report that Pierluigi Gollini is Lazio's top targer for a GK in the summer So...Sam Johnstone on a freebie?
And Strakosha, who's clearly leaving Lazio and he's out of contract. Let them fight it out to the death to succeed Lloris. I also expect to be linked to Berke Ozer of Fenerbache, as he's free and Turkish.
Couple of reports today saying we’ve asked to be kept informed on Boro’s Isaiah Jones after he impressed against us the other night. Also that we’re interested in Livramento from Saints. They only signed him last summer and his stock’s massively risen this season, can’t see him being cheap. Chelsea also have a buy back clause I think so that could scupper any potential deal too.
Chelsea will buy him back. They'll either use him or sell him on at a profit. With Azpilicueta and Christensen supposedly joining Barca for nothing, probably the former. Rudiger's also on the way out, by the looks of it, so they'll be looking for most of a new defence.
Their buyback clause reportedly doesn't activate until the summer of 2023, so that removes the chance of Uncle Roman's Swiss friend clicking his fingers
CB Watch Josko Gvardiol's name has come up again, albeit in the Wail, and I for one welcome a nuclear-powered Ben Davies to the club RB Watch Interesting that, in the past two or three days, we've been linked with Djed Spence Tino Livramento Wilfried Singo Looks like Paratici is starting to get some plates spinning
Imagine Eriksen back at Spurs, but doing Lamela level dirt against the opposition and being treated like this in return. What a weapon to have! Make it happen Daniel!
Bundesliga Rando Watch We've been linked with (although I can't say who by, the source was clipped off by e-begging) Stuttgart LB Borna Sosa Oh boy, that's going to get speculation that Los Ladrones are going to activate their buyback clause for Reguillon fired up...
