just to break the myths that people are shoving out here Last summer 21/22 Konate 36million. 22 year old highly rated CB. right age, right price, right profile. january 21 Pitaluga: 2mil. signed at age 18. Again supposedly good prospect. - This is the classic punt people are talking abot. gordan. 1.5mil - signed age 16. again the wunderkind category Summer 2019/20 Thiago 20million. was 29 when signed. CM, completely out of LFC profile, skck note on 200k per week. Jota: 45million. 23 when signed. Absolutely perfectly within LFC profile or age, and performance. tsimikas: 12 million. 24 when signed. Again perfectly meets the profile. Age, position needed, price etc etc. January 20 Minamino: 7.5mil again 24. The wrong guy from that club but hey, its seen as he was grossly undervalued on the release and seen as a profitable sale later. A poor reason to sign a senior player imo Summer 18/19 (probably where this comes from) Van den Berg 1.5 mil at 17. Elliott 4mil (eventually) at age 16. no senior players Summer 17/18 Alisson 56mil was 25. seen as best keeper in world. Keita 55mil was 23. seen as ideal profile. Age, rating, fit in terms of football. Fabinho 40mil was 24. again ideal profile in age, rating, position. everything. shaqiri 13mil age 26. again seen as too cheap for profile and a profitable buy. There is a clear profile here. 23-25 year old players in the right position, right style of player, right fit for the team. Not cheap but not over priced. So there is certainly a slow down in the thing but hardly terrible. BTw: man city: one player (vastly expensive last year), 3 players the year before (2 cbs, one forward) 2 players the year before that (one dm andone full back) I know theres big sums involved but its hardly massively different We have bought players who are senior team ready to go players like jota and like thiago and even tsimikas and for different reasons each has come in at different times. I don't see that we only sign kids, yes we buy them and improve the academy, i see plenty of the classic moneyball 23-25 year olds in our transfer record.
Meh... We have a bazillion attack minded midfielders and very few defensively minded midfielders. Thiago is the best we've got in the holding role or as a more.defensive midfielder. Unless we're getting a true defensive midfielder to replace him, one who doesn't break his leg every time the wind blows, I want to stick with Thiago.
I fail to see how Thiago is a holding midfielder in any way? He's a continuity / ball player type. Fabinho is the only defensive midfielder we have and we have no one else who can properly cover that role when he's unavailable.
It's imo not the difference between a hacker and a passer but the difference between a real midfielder and a run ahead of the ball merchant. Thiago understands the game and can stay with the ball in all phases. He is not an english hacker like say I dunno a parker or drinkwater or any number of stand there and block the middle. Hes not as good at it imo than alonso but then he is a dribble and passer. Someone like henderson is not really great at some aspects but he is really a guy who wants to run at the ball all the time and gets ahead of it. He is good at his high energy game where he gets results but when I see all.our cms ahead of the ball leaving matip and vvd to it I despair. Same as when I see trent stood bang in the epicentre of the pitch when sides park the bus. He is gifting that side 1/3rd less space to cover by doing it. We need to see that the game is about space, find the space l and you'll find the chances to score. If a side parks 10 back the worst cms can do is get ahead of the ball static waiting for a pass. The worst trent can do is stand in the middle leaving 1/3rd of the pitch unoccupied. Our best play comes quickly, play forward or play it past the shorter easier pass. Vvd out to trent. Trent to robertson etc etc. We need to see that hogging the ball and letting these teams get set or aimlessly flicking a ball for the sake of it is the death of our game. Get wide, stay wide and pass first time
Forgot about Fabs... He's not started many Premier League games this year... And when he has, we haven't won. I'd sell Fabs before Thiago. Fabs has his uses, but I prefer Thiago. Thiago is the complete package and understands the defensive side. Typically he's the one that stays back makes fewer runs etc. Yes, he can and does get forward too. He's very versatile. He's probably the closest we have to what Wijnaldum was, and W wasnt really a holding midfielder either, but he was frequently the closest we had on the field at any one time. Whenever we have all our midfielders running up front to get goals, we need someone to man the fort and of our current midfielders Thiago is the best at that that we have. It would be a mistake to lose him without a proper replacement.
Wiji was nowhere as injury prone I think we have a lot of players who are more than a little fragile Totally agree mistake you let him go without a replacement
Don't agree about selling Fab before Thiago, but I do agree that Thiago can be crucial for us. He and Fabinho (along with Trent and Mo) were the biggest reason for us getting top 4 last season during that fantastic run towards the end of last season. The dilemma though is where do we play Thiago - on the left or right? If we had Gini / Naby, they would play the left side which holds back and I would be inclined to use Thiago on the right side because he had such great link up with Mo and Trent. Whilst Naby is out, best to stick Thiago on the left and let him and Fab play as a double pivot and the right sided player can go and attack.
We have to prioritise the right side as we have mo. Its clear mane is quite happy and productive drifting in to the middle and finishing chances as a quasi 9 in the box. this clearly pushes the right side on but also requires a productive triangle of players who can interchange and i do not see that as thiago going out wide to let mo do his thing or even trent. Henderson for all his ballooned crosses to the left touchline does do out wide and will track the runners trent isn't arsed to any more. This says to me that thiago goes LCM. HOWEVER if trent was sorted out and told to "stay ****ing wide you moron" then thiago could link that RCM slot quite nicely. HOWEVER if he plays LCM i see VVD with a range of passing with thiago with a range of passing sat on top of him. so that ain't ideal either. the game is about finding space and exploiting it. that means cutting out players with a better pass to stretch play (vvd is great at that) and it meas staying wide and getting behind with runs. At LCM thaigo can drive robertson forward like a dog chasing a stick. If we give robertson the option to turn back he will take it 9 times out of 10. we want him over lapping into space high on the left and thiago is the man to find him. right side triangle of henderson, trent and mo is ok. Left side triangle of mane, robertson and Thiago is ok.
I would only play Hendo on the right side IF he is told to sit in and not go awol. Just let Trent and Mo go wild on that right side.
thats not how football works mate. Team shape, pressing, interplay etc. you've just thrown the lot out the window.
To which if i was Trent i would reply "ffs Boss make your mind up since you were the one who told me to move inside more"
And klopp would say I told you when the time was right not when you feel like it. I've seen vvd shouting at him telling him to get the **** overwide and trent ignoring him standing stock in the centre of the pitch and us doing nothing. Trent needs to run into the middle in broken play and try make a pass through but when a defence is set. all he does is rob anothers players position who then goes up forward and is marked weasily, stealing a forwards space and all the while the right wing is completely empty or worse salah is stood 40 yards from goal
when did VVD become the boss ? i agree with you but a lot of the changes you have been moaning about are clearly a deliberate change in tactics - Hendo pushing forward more for example .
When I say wild, I mean let them do what they do best and what they have been doing since Klopp join - scoring and creating (all within the same structure).
If you wanna cross vvd go right ahead. Its pretty clearly to.me.trent if not doing the right thing hes doing it at the wrong times. By all means invert the system if someone is going wide but he is just standing stock still in the middle of the park farting about.
Call it what you want. You've got the most creative defender in world football, and the best footballer in the world causing havoc.
