One where they use clever words. Try Bluemoon.
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It was only 7 words, you mean obscure dont you. And I’ve only just got up 
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Letters, you mean. And I’ve only just got up, too. 
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So am I welcome now?
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No. (Ten characters)
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See youve gone back to amend your post where ‘long’ is now ‘clever’. Twat.
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Wijnaldum is the ultimate tactical choice. He’s (currently) an essential part of our midfield due to us wanting to be adaptive to different challenges over a course of a season.
But picking from a 100% fit and in form line up he doesn’t make the starting 11 against many opponents.
Defensive line up I believe would be Fabinho at 6, Thiago and Henderson as 8s. Creative/attacking line up I believe it would be Thiago as the 6 with Henderson and either Keita or Jones as the 8s. Possibly for a tactically flexible line up when we don’t know what to expect we could go for Henderson as a 6 and Wijnaldum and Keita as the 8s but I’m not really confident in saying that.
Thiago is to central midfield what Messi is to an attack. If Thiago is fit and in form he plays. Whether as the 6 or the most defensive of the two 8s he’s almost certainly on the pitch. Fabinho is not fully rounded but a damn good defensive 6 with a great passing range and I believe you’d include him if expecting to be up against it. Henderson and Gini share a lot of qualities and both bring the energy/drive and work rate but Henderson edges Wijnaldum on being a force driving us forwards and general leadership so Wijnaldum pretty much brings that work rate when Henderson isn’t enough on his own or if Hendo is playing the 6 or missing.
The idea of ever having all of this squad fully fit and in form is kind of ridiculous though as it’s almost certainly never going to happen. But it isn’t an insult to say a player won’t make the teams ideal starting 11. We are one of the best sides in the world that should be the case. We need more than 11 top class players.
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And it was only yesterday where I had the thought, Fabinho stays at CB in the right, when VVD comes back. Although I can see your scenario, its a bit harsh to say Gini isnt starting 11, he really is. But that is only in the now. I can see Keita replacing Gini in a few years, he had a great game yesterday.
Sadly I think Gini is leaving us and there will not be a replacement, especially since Curtis Jones has stepped up. Thiago was Gini’s replacement and time will tell who is the better; on paper its Thiago but can he be as dependable?
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Wijnaldum and Henderson are easily our best midfielders. Thiago has barely kicked a ball yet but if we are picking a “fully fit” midfield he’s trying to get that third role.
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For me, Henderson is our most important midfielder as a package.
Gini in the last two years proved he’s in that conversation, but for me Jordan is more important. Them two are first pick, yeah.
Then the third it can depend on form, the type of game/opposition, etc. The frustration over Thiago’s injury aside and the fact that, yeah, he hasn’t proved anything yet… let’s not underrate his serious quality. And let’s not make him a defensively irresponsible player. I’d best some of his defensive numbers are higher than Gini’s.
Don’t get me wrong, Gini is really important, but I’d always be careful not to overrate him in the same second I’m trying to battle against underrating him. Let’s not go too much on the other side and make something of him which he isn’t.
Is Gini’s work rate in the last 2 years & constant availability important for us? Yes it is.
Is Gini the only one providing that? Absolutely not.
Does the team slightly change and get new layers from time to time? Yes.
People often make it sound like we had offensive full backs since Klopp’s first day here. The false 9 system, working midfield trio, offensive full backs. It didn’t happen all at once, it came together bit by bit and we often put out a team that makes sense. Not all of our signings were equally successful, but it’s about buying and also using. Gini’s role changed from a more offensive one to a more defensive one.
But I’m aware that fans will mainly be afraid of change. Suddenly we’re doubting Thiago’s ability because he doesn’t run or play the same amount of games like Gini? Is that the only way to play our football? Which also evolved and got better with time? I wonder what were we thinking then when Gini wasn’t like this, what was the problem in the past then… to try and find a new Lallana?
As we’re becoming a better team, some things/players/positions/roles will change. The principles will remain the same. But it doesn’t mean we have to go out and buy 3 new central midfielders who mainly work their socks off. Of course, there’s a bottom line in terms of working for the team which will be non-negotiable for Klopp. But then there’s also evolution and adding new elements to our game. You can’t play a top quality economical press without being a top quality possession team. And vice versa, it goes together. What should we do? Lose the ball deliberately more often so we can run more after it? There’s a reason why we don’t or don’t have to press as manically for long spells as before. Naturally, teams sit back more and the onus is more on us on breaking them down, there’s not much to press. But when we do, we can press less but better than before. When we were a worse team, we had to bloody run more, no shit, to squeeze as much quality we can and be a nightmare to play against.
I’d say let’s not be this paraonid about Gini leaving. I know, it’s not nice to lose a starting player in his prime and not even get a fee. Sure, we’ll have to replace him in some way(s). But it’s not necessarily the end of the world now, Real Madrid selling Claude Makelele and losing balance in the team or whatever. Look at us now without Virgil, we’re still a bloody good side, aren’t we? 5 years of Klopp’s work doesn’t depend this much on Gini Wijnaldum.
Somewhere down the line we might not have a false 9 anymore after Bobby, but a proper number 9 with wide players who play a bit deeper than the wide forwards we have now. All that… is not crucial for Klopp’s football. It can work in different ways. The principles are one thing and then you have different styles and shades of quality.
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Thiago is one of the best midfielders in the world. One that gives us an extra option in attacking, one who passes true the lines and one who puts Mané and Salah with a clever little pass one on one with the goalkeeper.
A midfield with Henderson-Fabinho-Thiago will be the best midfield in Europe.
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Whether or not hes in out best 11 is besides the point. Its a team sport that requires squad depth. Further, a best 11 doesn’t necessarily fit for every game.
Gini will do whats best for him. We all know that in terms of exciting football, he’s not got many options beyond Liverpool. But if he wants lovely weather, Spain and Italy are better. He may want to experience a different culture too.
He may well end up regretting leaving from a footballing perspective, but financially and lifestyle wise, suspect he will do just fine.
He’s won everything at Liverpool, and if our season goes steady, could be leaving with two PL titles.
He can do what he wants, I’ll be gutted if he goes, but football carries on, and in Curtis Jones, we have an exciting player that could do as good a job as Gini going forward.
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Disagree, Fabinho has found his home at CB. He should stay there. Wijnaldum is a better DM than him.
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DM? Nah. He did a good job here and there as a 6 when it was needed. Sometimes defensively weak as it’s even more defensive than the role he’s mainly playing. But his best position I think remains as the more reserved 8 (or more offensively for Holland, but that’s also a different team and often different/lower level of football) of the two.
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I think the point is that he is always healthy which is one of the reasons he plays more than any other midfielder season after season. The other being that Klopp obviously loves him.
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Gini deserves his higher pay day. Thats all i can say. Hes been phenomenal for us mostly and whether he signs a new deal for us (unlikely) or goes on for a big payday at any club… Wouldnt begrudge him leaving
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I’ll say thiago is a luxury player which you need to make a great team into a world class one… Gini is the guy (as is hendo) who you would bank on to be a great team. Both are equally needed as in someone adding a luxury player like ozil like arsenal did isnt gonna do much when the rest of the team doesnt pick up the pieces and maintain the consistency when ozil has his off days or isnt being played as is the problem now…
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And the ozil reference is to how they signed him not bothering enough about doing the other needful steps…
Even the galacticos needed someone like makalele to run their shift…
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For what it was worth , I’d mentioned before … My ideal first three midfielders for liverpool would be keita thiago hendo … And we still have the likes of fab , ox , curtis in the midst
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I agree completely with this, and probably should have been more clear in my post. I love Gini and value him greatly. As you point out his almost 100% availability record since he’s been here is amazing and something we greatly need.
With a number of our key players rapidly approaching 30 though, we can expect to see some turnover (and will really need that to avoid a serious crisis in 3-4 years). Sadly, Gini may be the first of the core group that won us the CL and the EPL title to leave.
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