agree Nunez needs to chill and play through the middle , be patient and the goals will come
More concerning look is sometimes he looks like hes never seen a football before with his touch.
That isnât likely to change until after Christmas.
Something just not clicking with us. Mo is miles off it the same with Trent. At times during the game our defence was like The Dog and Duck. The time it takes us to get the ball out of our own half is ridiculous. Milly must be the best value free transfer ever but the time has come for him to go over to the coaching side.Only the beginning of September but I think if we finish in the top four I will be happy.
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Iâm not sure what the Nuñéz argument is, but Iâm thinking itâs mainly an issue to do with how weâre moving on from ManĂ©, and trying to bring in more creative/dynamic centre midfielders to mitigate the nullification of Trent/Robertson, which is an issue we need to resolve independent of our strikers?
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the argument about Nunez is that as he is more of an orthdox striker he will taking up spaces that Diaz and Mo have previously exploited. Therefore for them to find room they have to find different spaces. Itâs definitely a consideration for when he is on the pitch, but most of our minutes this season have come without him playing so it seems a different explanation has to be found. Yours seems reasonable.
Glad Jotaâs back, Darwin nowhere near the performances we need, and then add Mo, Trent, Robbo to that list. Diaz the only constant in our forwards. We going to rely heavily on Thiago providing any type of creativity in midfield. blah, 75% of the team are shit so far.
Which doesnât explain why Diaz was so busy and Salah wasnât.
That was just odd. In fact I actually quite liked how Diaz and Nunez switched. When effective it created problems.
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Nunez wasnât half as bad as is being made out here, go back and watch the highlights and itâs mostly him getting or creating chances from pretty average service. He takes some crap touches but heâs effective at creating goalscoring opportunities.
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What is our game plan, seriouslyâŠ
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I think itâs time to consider Elliotâs drifting out wide is affecting Trent and Salah.
Either the full backs need to invert and play in midfield or the midfielders and wide players need to be more central.
Carvalho and Elliotâs performance today highlighted what Jones does better than the pair of them. Theyâre flashier in the final third but he adds some proper play in the middle of the park. Shame he wasnât available today.
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100% and itâs no wonder we are 1 loose ball straight to a counter attack⊠Fabinho is basically covering the entire width of the pitch.
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Noob question: Am I looking at average positions in possession?
Yes itâs our passing lanes (i.e. pass from a to b) which shows general positions during the game, basically bar Fabinho there is minimal passing in the middle.
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midfielders on both sides in the same space as the full backs leaving a huge hole in the middle of the park. Missing centre forward as well it seems. No wonder Fabinho is struggling.
That said I didnât pick up on any of this during the game other than knowing something was very wrong somewhere.
It was really obvious to the eye against Utd. Looked like we were playing in a funnel so when the CBs had the ball they could look up and see 3 people in a straight line asking for the same ball on the right and if they looked to their left theyâd see the exact same thing with the players on that side. Down the middle there was no one asking for the ball, or even occupying any defenders, within about 30 yards of the middle of the goal
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Observing Mo closeslyâŠ:
Is he lacking confidence? Personal issues? Adapting to new positions? Not feeling other lads yet?
His dribbles are poor and sometimes where he could go 1 on 1 backs off. On the other hand when looks impossible to penetrate he goes dribbling into 3 guys and loses the ball. He doesnât smile anymore, he looks bereft of confidence when shooting, he looks like he doesnât enjoy this latest gameplan.
Or am I seeing things that arenât there?
All right, thanks.
This is an old Klopp thing. Or issue, if I may. I remember this from his time at Dortmund, where they sometimes would sort of abandon the middle and seemingly position everyone out like a âfanâ type of shape. Like weâre seeing there.
During the ManU game I thought maybe they did it to make space for Firmino, to let him drop and lose his marker, destabilise them that way.
But from a counter-press perspective I just donât understand it. Thereâs probably an idea behind it, but I donât quite get it.
Also, as mentioned by others: if weâre going to drag Elliott out wide, then why not have Salah tucking more in centrally? Is it about a lack of timing/reaction i.e. players not filling the spaces created by others? Is it because Nunez is occupying the space? Or just because opposition teams do a good job of protecting the danger areasâŠ?
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All through the run in he played like a formerly juiced athlete who had gone clean and hadnât adapted to his new capabilities. Heâd try to run past players and not be able to do it, time after time after time. I think a lot of people put it down to the accumulated fatigue of the seasonâs efforts, with a notable dip after coming back from Afcon. By the end of the season many of the team looked similar, and weâve started the season like the summer wasnt enough to get the tiredness out of the legs. Whether or not that is the case with him, the result is I cannot recall the last time he just blew past a defender. Today he doesnt score that goal he scored against Utd 3 seasons ago (from Aliâs long throw and holding off Dan James)
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I agree a tiny bit of luck is all that was lacking otherwise one goal would have made them crumble
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