So with arsenal and chelsea allegedly lurking we have to sell first. Yeah right Im sure. Thats bollocks.
Doe Bacombe know anything anymore?
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Where is the Owen Beck loan money, John?
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Liverpool have been in contact with the agents of Roméo Lavia for 2 weeks — still ongoing 
He’s high on the list, considered as ‘top talent’ in his position. Sources expect #LFC to open talks with Southampton soon — as there will be competition from Arsenal and Chelsea.
Guys, guys, guys, you’re analysing too much. Milly is no more with us. We need to espouse the tradition of signing a City “reject” and winning the lot with him. Give them a big FU so to speak hehe.
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I’m taking the red disc to mean that negotiations are like a game of Connect Four.
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exactly… this stuff can drive u crazy if u take it seriously…One minute, we signing him, the next moment we are not…
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Pretty sure he was suggesting Thiago might be on the way out as well.
Other than Matip, he seems the most obvious candidate if we want to make 15-20M+ on a “saleable asset”.
Genuinely fail to get excited by either Lavia or Thuram now that we’ve got AlexiMac and Sexy Dommy Boszlad. (even though they may both be decent players and go on to have fantastic careers)
Our midfield signings have already surpassed my expectations of last month that whoever else we get now in that position would be a bonus.
I wont lie… I like the look of the kid (lavia)… i think he would be a great signing and surprise a lot of folks
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With the two midfield signings we have made, we have now protected ourselves from needing to force anything. The engine room has been significantly upgraded.
If Lavia happens, and I hope it will, great. But we won’t be desperate about it.
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I said in my post Fabinho will start the season, I’ll be surprised (pleasently) if he doesn’t but I don’t think he’ll keep the role.
If we have to change the shape then we have a squad, of which Fabinho is a part, to do it.
3223 will be our default attacking formation. We are eleven games unbeaten pkaying like that and that’s when we had Fabinho and a completely shot Henderson in there. With Mac Allister and Szoboszlai instead that system will work even better as the pressing will be excellent and consistent.
I get people are still cautious about becoming a team that committs to Trent’s hybrid role but that’s a system that isn’t going anywhere. Its working and a bit of tinkering in pre-season will make it work better defensively. Trying to go back to 433 with Fabinho at the base is literally going back to a system that failed miserably last season. That’s just fear of doing new things.
Personally even if Trent goes down injured I’d try many different thi gs before swotching back to 433 with Fabinho in the 6. He can’t do it anymore and we are fucking shit when he tries.
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I meant what would be the defensive structure with that box of 4 (without more of a “proper” defensive player), when our press breaks and we have to reshuffle back to Trent at RB, someone dropping back into midfield (or on the side of it), etc.
We didn’t play the 3-2-4-1 structure in all phases of the game during the whole game. It was in possession and at times when we could regain the ball high, depending where it’s lost. Not even City do it in all phases of the game. Winning the ball high up fails many times during 90 minutes. We will try it a lot, but that cannot be our only way to defend.
That’s what I’m asking. Because all I see these days is media, fans, hybrid fans/journalists and co talking about how nice the 3-2-4-1 structure is when we’re in possession and attacking, but almost nobody speaks about how we restructure (with these new signings) when we have to.
I think in time Bajcetic might be the best placed player to step into Trent’s new role as a back up.
And the system wasn’t the problem last season, losing our principles (or the main one under Klopp) was. Our defending from the front, through midfield, towards defence and then also in defence.
This summer we have to revive our principles, regardless what system we play. And yes, I believe we will continue evolving with the 3-2-4-1 structure. But we also need a solid enough structure defensively.
Trent goes back to RB; Jones left, Mac centre, Szobo right. I think you already knew that’s my answer.
The focus will be on intensity in winning the ball in the middle 3rd, only when the trigger - a pass that cuts out midfield - would Trent even go to RB anyway.
We’ll be forcing long, low % passes and expecting Konate to deal with it in that space. On the occasions that this pass is successful then Trent will have seen the triggers and should be back in position to at least support Konate who will try and slow down the attack.
Its really not very different from what a DM would do.
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We were good for the last ten games. I can’t wait to see this refined further, with upgraded midfielders. It is going to be a heck of a ride!
Why would it be any more complicated than the three remaining mids dropping in to a conventional 3? That shift of Trent will only tend to happen in situations where the opposition have had some form of possession and we’re dropping back into more of a block style defense. I think you can make a good argument that the specific defensive attributes a proper DM brings is minimized in that sort of defense and so I dont see why any other group of 3 mids (who are good enough to do well in the 2-2) would not be able to manage that shift?
I think the bigger question is how we manage Trent’s role in games when he’s not playing. I’d imagine Hendo and Baj probably are the most likely candidates to manage that
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Nah, I just asked a simple question.
I have my doubts whether that would be defensively good enough.
That’s the question I asked for us to discuss in the Central Midfield thread a few days ago.
In possession, yeah, everyone can imagine which players in which positions, but us having to reshuffle (even in a more successful press) won’t be so rare.
But then either Szoboszlai will have to prove he can be solid enough at RCM in a 4-3-3 (in the other phase of the game), or someone else would have to be developed.
Either Salah dropping deeper than ever (which obviously has it’s disadvantages), or maybe Szobo being the one who closes the right side more (which is tricky as we’d have two players on the same side trying to close), allowing Mo staying higher.
I believe our initial idea will be to try Szoboszlai at RCM, where he is the highest midfielder in possession in the box structure, and then part of a midfield 3(5) when we have to drop deeper and defend from there.
For now, I believe the player at the base of that will be someone more defensive than Mac, who will probably get Thiago’s spot at LCM.
Will it be good enough defensively?
It’s a fair question, and we will have to see.
Based on the last ten games of ge season, we were fine, defensively, unbeaten. Only this time, we will have improved the midfield and trained the system a bit more too.
My take is we will be quite fine, but let’s see.
Oh, and like all systems, they have vulnerabilities, and this system is vulnerable to the transition and accurate pass being played into the RB area to a rapid attacker. At that point I liken it to a boxing contest. Yes, it would hurt if you hit me! But I’m going to be hitting you so much that I will accept the risk that you can also hit me.
In some games, maybe we could see that happen, but for now, I really don’t think we’re going to start with Mac being the most “defensive” on paper of our box options in one phase of the game.
That just sounds a bit like trying to fit all the lately most popular (offensive minded) players inside a starting XI.
And it doesn’t happen only when we’re pushed back deep and have to form more of a lower block.
Having more players centrally is one thing, having still a good enough balance of defensive and attacking minded players is different. Obviously our primary idea of defending is a very progressive one, it’s actually the main part of our attacking game also. But we need to have a ready made structure to defend in more than one way. And in every type of game, whether we play City or Sheffield.
As for games without Trent, we’ll see. Klopp and a few other players already talked how Trent was more marked out of certain games, we cannot and it doesn’t depend on one man only. It opens up spaces elsewhere when teams defend him better. Sure, his talent on the ball is of high quality, but that’s what other players who are very capable in possession are here for.
Without Trent, we might not even see that hybrid style. I’m much more interested in our defending/pressing principles getting back to life rather than keep imagining our structure what’s the most offensive group of XI players we can fit into our 3-2-4-1 structure, which is in one phase of the game (and the one which wasn’t even the most problematic last season).