Alex OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN: 2020/21

If he’s gonna stay he’s needs to be banished from the midfield and used in the front 3 like he has done recently.

Nice hit.

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Good to see him come on and have a impact on the game with his excellent goal unlike Shaqiri last game.

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This guy is impossible. This guy is just maddening.

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Sounds like you’re in love.

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Agreed. Said the same in the Rumors thread the other day. He can play the false 9 and be a legitimate contributor. He’s always done his best work centrally (IMO) in contrast to when he was deployed wide. He has all the tools to run higher up in the Bobby role.

I also remember when he was at Arsenal he wasn’t thrilled about playing as a wingback and wanted to play more central.

It’s an interesting situation to watch play out over the summer. Post match last night he said he wants to be a big part of the team and that he loves Liverpool football club. I get that some fans are nervous about his injury history and want to move him on. I’d love for him to stay. For me there’s always been something endearing about Ox that makes him really easy to root for and want him to do well. Even after his ACL he still has pace.

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Agree that Ox can play the false 9, and add just a little something different than Bobby does in that role. Namely, Ox can shoot from range with either foot, and though probably not as quick as he used to be, may still have a half-step of pace advantage over Bobby.

I think Minamino has been a mostly failed experiment, and could be either sold or loaned out again next season.

Minamino, Shaq, and Origi out.
Ox stays, focuses on playing false 9 or AM going forward.
Harvey Elliott comes back and takes the Shaq spot in the squad.
Then just need an Origi upgrade, and the budget for that will all depend on gettting these last 3 points at the weekend and securing CL football for next season.

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I would be careful writing off the new players who havent broken through. For players like Divok and Shaq who have been around a while and not been used much I think we can draw conclusions, but this has been a bizarre season in which Klopp has been incredibly reliant on the experience and familiarity of the players we already had. Even for a player like Jota who started like damnbusters was not used to the degree most felt he should have been. I’d be stunned if both Mini and Tsimi were not given a proper shot next season.

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I do think that Minamino has a better chance of remaining a Liverpool player next season than either of Shaq or Origi. (For one, I think there’s probably more of a market for Shaq or Divock in Italy, France, or Germany). Minamino’s had his moments, but has looked to struggle with the physicality of the PL. I’d hoped he’d have a productive loan at Southampton, but seems he’s been a bit underwhelming there, too, which makes it harder for me to see a place for him back in the Liverpool team. My guess is that he goes out on loan again.

For purposes of the thread, I was comparing Ox’s potential capabilities as a false 9 to those of the others in our current squad. He hasn’t really featured in that position much, but I do think that it’s a role he could work well in for the future. And, if that were to happen, I think it would further narrow Taki’s chances in the team, as we’d then have Bobby, Jota, and Ox all capable of filling that central attacking role, not to mention that Salah and Mane can both work there, too.

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Saw Ox posted on his IG today of him doing a bunch of back to goal work along with shooting, wonder if him turning into a bobby role may be his next steps.

He sure can shoot the ball

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Black boots as it should be. :+1:

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Alex’s shooting always impressed me. He can be a viable forward option. Though he can’t do the Bobby role. Perhaps, as with Jota, Klopp will develop another system to utilize Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.

He needs to stay fit though.

You can’t build a system around a player who is rarely available.

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Jota also didn’t play too many games. But the Mane, Jota, Salah combination was different than our usual front three.

Let’s just say he will be used in a different way than Firmino.

They look like slippers to me. I played in these:

Brown is the color. :wink:

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About the only experiment Klopp hasn’t tried with him, though there were moments that suggested he might do that in the future. If Klopp rearranges the midfield in a manner that will provide the team with more control, AOC doesn’t have a place there, he’s not that kind of player. He will be reduced to being a direct option from the bench - I can’t remember him turning a game in Liverpool’s favour as a midfield sub.

As a false nine, he might have a future but that’s a Kop-sized “might”. With his fitness record, I’m rather pessimistic about his future at Liverpool.

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With only 2 years left on his deal it’d make sense to make a big deal over his current good health and adaptability along with our plans to use him more as an attacker making him a solid squad member next season. And then sell him to the first club making a half decent offer.

It’s a shame he’s a real great guy and comes across really well and he is a good jack of all trades. But he’s already paid too much for the role he’s performing for us. No way we can give him a payrise by extending his deal. If we wait till next summer we will get even less for him than this summer especially if its another season of missed games and a handful of cameos.

He was actually available for a fair amount of games (for him) towards the end of the season and offers something on the pitch a lot of teams are crying out for. We could get a significant fee still if the right clubs show interest. Look what Villa are splashing around for instance, and both West Ham and Crystal Palace seem like contenders.

A lot of the PL clubs are organizing themselves. Spurs got a manager only recently, for example. Most importantly, we haven’t done almost any business yet. I think a move for AOC is still very much on.

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He has played up front a few times as a sub, and one start I believe. Could have been against Genk, although I could also be wrong.

I think he has looked out of sorts in midfield post injury. Not sure if it’s just because he hasn’t had enough game time to find his flow again, or if it’s down to changes in structure and/or approach. Less transition based, more possession based. Not sure. So for me he’s more of an option in the front line now, I think he plays better there.

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Think we should use him in the false 9 as a backup. And maybe as a back up right back aswell? Would probably get a decent amount of game time then.