This is class all things considered as you put our two best players this season in your B Team in September 
Feeling stalked.
What did I do in September? You think I can remember that long ago?
I hadnât been on this thread since then.
Ah, ok, weird that this thread doesnât get more attention.
In September Ekitike was a relatively unknown quantity and it wasnât unreasonable to think that Isak had been bought to go straight into the first eleven.
Same was true of Wirtz, although Domâs stellar form wasnât necessarily predictable I did hint at my discomfort at leaving both out.
Anyway, itâs three months later and itâs probably safe to say that this season hasnât panned out in the way that any of us envisaged back then.
Iâm just trying to think of a lineup that will get the best out of the resources we have available.
With the new formation using up 4 midfielders and Szobo just had an injury scare last Saturday, I think it will be sensible to take Elliott back in January to deepen the bench.
I mean, if Grav, Jones, Wirtz and Szobo all start, you only have 3 left on the bench including Nyoni.
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Yet Elliott would find himself in the same situation as last season and arguably even worse if we talk about the diamond. Heâd still be competing for the #10 role at the tip of the diamond, but with more competition.
We played one game with the diamond and another in a narrow 4-2-3-1. Weâll see what happens next. These things will still change over the season.
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Plus Macca, Endo, Rio, Jerry
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Goal
Alisson 2027
Mamardashvili
Jaros
RightBack
Bradley
Frimpong
LeftBack
Kerkez
Tsimikas 2027
CenterBack
van Dijk 2027
Gomez 2027
Jacquet
Leoni
Central Midfield
Gravenberch
Mac Allister
Jones 2027
Szoboszlai
Endo 2027
Bajcetic 2027
Attacking Midfield
Wirtz
Elliott 2027
Wide Attack
Ngumoha
Gakpo
Chiesa 2027
Forward
Isak
Ekitike
Still a few more are going to leave this summer but highly unlikely that any of those with the contract until next are going to be extended.
Looks great for a club that every two years has to sell players to be able to invest in the squad.
Iâve been laughed at and one mod said something about 'hyperboleâ when I said we wonât be able to repair the damage done to the squad by Slot/Hughes in the next five years.
I am tempting to vote for Morrison as he has had a good U21âs season.
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Our squad is a mess and doesnât feel well put together at all.
discussâŚ
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I think our squad is about three signings away from looking pretty good. The injury to Ekitike, and Bradley and Leoni still rehabbing, makes it vulnerable and in need of a few short term solutions.
The centre back situation is the one that puzzles me. They tried to get Konate to sign a contract extension, meaning they probably planned for having five players there this season. So I think itâs strange that hasnât been solved already.
Right back cover, also something that was possible to fix earlier. A few years ago we looked sorted for at least a decade; with Trent touted as a future captain, Bradley and Williams coming through, and a very young and promising Calvin Ramsay arriving as well. Things have changed.
Apart from that I kind of think weâre all right for now, once we get another winger in.
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Idk. The target should be two players for each position and under Klopp we came close to that for most departments most of the time.
Alisson, Kelleher
Trent, Bradley
Robbo, Kostas
4 CBs VvD, Matip, Konate, Gomez
Most of the time had 5 up to 7 CMs for 3 positions.
ManĂŠ, Diaz
Bobby always had a backup (Sturridge, Origi, Jota, Nunez)
Salah never needed a backup because the Cyborg never got injured.
Those first choice players were world class, in their prime, in form and available most of the time.
It felt like the people in charge had a plan when it comes to building a squad.
Right now it feels like chaos all over the place.
It was only near the end of the Klopp era. In 18-20, we only had Gomez, Milner, Origi, and Shaqiri as our main backup players, but they were all quality and versatile. And our key men like Roberson, Trent, Firmino, Gini, Hendo, VVD, Fabinho, Mane, and Salah were all made of steel.
Right now we donât have that kind of profile. But having dedicated backups for each position is hard, imo. We need some very versatile profiles like Milner or Gomez, but ones who are healthy.
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Our depth in 21/22 was impressive (though not the most ideal, a tad too large), but in my opinion unsustainable for more than one season. And I donât think we even planned everything, because injuries, the market and January transfer window play a part. Almost impossible to keep everyone happy for more than one campaign and one if you go far in multiple competitions. Something similar could happen at Arsenal this summer, they have to trim it down in some areas.
Yeah, changing things up in terms of the rotation players probably becomes inevitable at some point. It obviously depends on the personality of the player, but Iâm guessing not being a first choice can work well for some time, and then after a while you feel like spreading your wings. Which seems to be the case with Barcola, Ramos and Kang-in Lee at PSG, and also Curtis Jones, Savinho etc.
It is.
If I was going to be critical (I am 
), I´d say our best player and legendary CB is fading quickly and our new expected super stars have struggled either with performance or with injury. Our midfield is full of generalists who run around but can´t really create, or protect the back four or run games with the ball. We have our expensive number 10, Wirtz, with nobody behind him to pick him out quickly and consistently, we have two untested kids as 2 of our 4 cb options, injury prone right backs with questions over if they are good enough, and arguably no top quality wide players. Ultimately the squad lacks quality and depth and doesn´t fit together coherently. Players don´t seem to suit each other.
However, Wirtz has a season under his belt and hopefully now a proper manager will help him consistently show that talent he clearl has, hopefully Isak can kick on now and really build with Wirtz and we know what he can do, Kerkez could be expected to do much better under Iraola and Rio is another year older and maybe Nyoni or Bajcetic could step up. So some promising aspects of course.
You would also expect two or three players at least to come in and if we can get 3 good ones, and our 2 new cbs are as talented as we hope, we should be on the way to building ourselves up again and starting to move forward as a squad and club. Potentially a manager that can get this lot overperforming too as he did with Bournemouth. As I say, 3 good signings in key areas could start transforming this squad.
So not a squad building issue then?