Henderson was better than Fabinho last season in the shortest dwarf contest, but leaving that aside if you believe this is how his mind works then do you think this is good enough/acceptable for this level?
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same clickbait journo linking Fab and Henderson to this club
must have been a tough one to think these two rumors up.
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Sorry Dude, not sure I understand the question.
If what you said is true, that Fabinho stopping trying to make tackles because Henderson wasnât playing well, then is that acceptable for a Liverpool midfielder?
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Sorry, my terrible penmanship strikes again. Henderson is the one who actively stopped engaging in duels. Fabinho is a little above average (60-70 percentile) in terms of the actions used to measure defensive midfielders - tackles, interceptions etc. Jordan peaks at 40%.
Which considering that Fabinho was never a good tackler is telling.
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Was he not? Iâve never thought of him being especially bad at anything defensively. Vertical movement perhaps.
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Fabinho was a good tackler.
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Make no mistake - when Fabinho was at his peak, he wasnât simply a cog in the machine. He was incredibly vital defensively. He broke up attacks, helped provide cover for the fullbacks, and performed admirably when forced to play as a CB. It was obvious how good he was when he was out with injury and our team suffered as a result.
But over the last season, his performances dipped severely - only to somewhat recover towards the end of the campaign. In part, I think the lack of support he had from other midfielders exposed him too often. But I also think he just ran out of steam.
Maybe heâll recover with a full offseason of rest. But I wouldnât hesitate to cash in on him now if it means bringing in Lavia or another quality CDM.
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Have you been watching Virgil not making tackles also?
I get your argument, and no man is an island, but if a DM gets exposed as badly as he did when the level of others fall he is by definition just a cog in a machine. Doesnât mean he didnât play his role well for a period, but if the cog breaks you just get a new one. Or, if you change the way you want your machine to operate and you need new cogs.
[/machine/cog analogy]
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Curious as to why you think this relevant?
In a world without the Saudis throwing money around, just looking at the sporting set up, retaining three veteran midfielders was probably overkill. High wages, diminishing returns on the pitch. Two starters signed in Mac and Szob, probably a third midfield signing needed, but to make room, one of the veterans would need to accept an offer from elsewhere.
That was how it was shaping up.
And at that point, for me, Henderson stays as captain, playing when called upon and not letting us down. Fabinho stays in order to help bring, say, Lavia through. And then Thiago would be sold.
That was my take on it, but then the Saudi moves have thrown everything up in the air.
Henderson to leave? Looks likely. Wages off the books, and a probable fee around 20M.
Fabinho to leave? Looks likely. Wages of the books, and a probable fee of 40M.
Thiago to leave? Not sure, but possible, with a Barcelona/Xavi reconnect mooted.
Financially speaking, this is far more money coming in than we would have expected, so I think there will be a quick deal for Lavia, and a concerted push for Colwill.
Arguably we might try for a more seasoned midfielder than Lavia, if a deal can be done quickly for someone like Tchouameni, or maybe Caicedo. But I think it will be Lavia, and as he settles he will do very well for us.
Overall the side will be much more youthful, though we still retain leadership and the new signings so far are leaders too.
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I put this in the Henderson thread, I think we are saying the same thing but you put it down more elegantly than me, but yes i agree:
With the rumours about a bid for fabinho for 40 mil and if we can get 30 mil for hendo my question is would you look to take these deals now and sell and use the money to buy younger players we have been linked with and bring the average age of the squad down and then really kick start hopefully the second great team jurgen builds, for example we sold fab and hendo and brought in lavia and colwell would we be in better shape as a squad come the start of the new season, i would feel a little uneasy losing two senior leadership players in the same window when we have already lost millie and replacing them with two young players, but to get that amount of money for players in their 30âs that are beyond their peak might be too good an offer to turn down.
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Yep, after the moves we have already made for Mac and Szobs, if the next moves mean losing Hendo and Fabinho, but then recruiting Lavia and Colwill, bring it on. At that point we would have the bulk of the next great Liverpool side, which is emerging before our eyes.
Mind you, once you start doing deals with the devil, you might have to watch out.
Apart from the fact that the Saudi leadership is reprehensible (and this point alone has plenty of good reds not thrilled about doing any sort of business with them) where does it go from here?
They have unlimited funds.
These early moves are to get some names and some buzz about the thing, but before too long, business with Saudi Arabia normalizes, instead of being exceptional, and as the league gets stronger - how can it not - they might come looking for players we donât want to lose.
Alisson? Salah? Trent?
Ultimately, you would have to think that anyone is potentially in reach, and we very much do NOT want that.
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Letâs face it: every European league will just become a feeder to the Saudi league.
Players will work their way to the top clubs in Europe, attract attention from the Saudis and then fuck off there. Itâs inevitable.
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I think this is a fair take on the situation.
The main variables will be how long it will take (and unlimited money has a way of speeding things up dramatically); and whether or not any sort of regulation comes into play to stop this inevitable migration, or slow it down.
I almost didnât type it, as the governing bodies have demonstrated that they canât implement anything. Still, Iâm half wondering if some sort of government thing might happen, someone like Gordon Brown swooping in, to try to save the game.
Very unlikely.
I know you are knew here 
but why is it only relevant to certain players.
Playing devilâs advocateâŚ
On what grounds? Theyâre not under UEFA jurisdiction so FFP doesnât apply (not that it applies much to certain clubs under UEFA jurisdiction anyway).
Human rights? Did the UK govt think of human rights when the Royal army and RAF ran roughshod through Iraq on the back of barefaced lies as âreasons?â Think of the number of civilians killed (murdered), debilitated, displaced.
What about Afghanistan?
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