Sorry for quoting myself just want to clarify ‘concisely’ what I’m trying to say.
We have lost our shape!
You mean bland, slow, boring but most importantly winning.
Win yesterday and no one is trotting this rubbish out this morning.
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We play our best with Diaz as center forward, although he isn’t exceptional. He just highlights how terrible Jota and Nunez are now. With Jota/Nunez in the middle, both flanks are totally disconnected, and midfielders lack an extra man for duels.
I know Salah has had an exceptional output this season, but I feel like he avoids duels and missing in huge parts of the games, saving his energy for key moments. This approach works most of the time, but we lack numbers in buildup and a link player. Without Trent, who can provide key passes from the back, we almost have no solution for building up.
I think Salah can now be considered a luxury player, similar to Haaland. He’s the kind of player who can be very effective on his own, but the rest of the team needs to do a lot of groundwork for him. City collapsed after Rodri’s injury because, with Haaland, they basically played with 10 men without the ball. Salah isn’t that bad, but he’s still a luxury player.
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I agree with this 100%. Early on we had a very vertical midfield almost where we found ways to penetrate teams straight through the middle with intricate link up play between our 3 mids. We seem super flat and play wide now almost to avoid the press rather than play through it like we did at the beginning
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I think it is pretty apparent to me that Slot isn’t totally sold on either Jota or Nunez. The longer it goes without a positive resolution the more likely it is that Mo leaves as well. That means we’re likely to bring in at least 2 forwards for next year to account for this, and so whatever problems people think we have with our attack now Hughes and Co will already have been working on solutions that will give us a different look next year.
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We wouldn’t be where we are in the PL if there were tactical issues. I think the main issue this season is Slot’s reluctance to utilize specific squad players more often. He’s been starting the same usual suspects, even though a number of them have been performing poorly for some time now.
These are 2 pretty conflicting points of view and the first one is the root of the problem for me.
I’ve thought for a long time how much of a thankless task it is for our CF in this team. Quite simply, we are not placing any focus on creating chances for our CF be it Nunez, Jota or Diaz. They are constantly on the periphery of play and end up dropping far too deep or drifting out to the flanks to try and get involved in the game.
The Nunez goal v Southampton and his 1st at Brentford are real outliers. A square ball across the 6 yard box by Trent at Brentford and Diaz beating his man and cutting it back accurately for Nunez to score v Southampton.
Those type of goals are few and far between for us. The service from the wide men is nowhere near good enough. Salah has about 20 PL assists this season but should have 50 or 60. That might seem harsh on a player with his numbers but how many times do we see him in a promising position only for him to place a weak shot straight at the keeper or see it drift wide of the post? Far too many wafted attempts at a pass that are easily dealt with.
To say that Slot isn’t totally sold on Nunez or Jota may or may not be true but if what he said is true then surely the sensible thing to do is try to find a way to create chances for them instead of having them run all over the shop trying to get involved?
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It’s clear to me that our midfield has lost their legs…and that’s on Slot. You have to use the squad you have to prevent this from happening. We’ve played a lot of games, and guys like Endo, Elliott, Jones, etc. are more than capable of rotating in and offering relief. Like there was no reason not to start those guys against Southhampton. The other observation is that we have really missed Gakpo. His form had been excellent and offers that size/athleticism and decision making that we have lacked. It has nothing to do with tactics. Slot will learn from this and he’ll have an opportunity during the summer to bring in reinforcements he trusts to rotate with his preferred 11. I would have taken a one trophy, PL title before the season started, and I still feel that way. But you have to think what might have been if we rotated a bit more this season. I do think we’ll get a #9 that better fits what Slot likes to do and can finish.
I think a few things have come together to result in our attack going off the boil, relatively speaking. Overall the team looks a bit tired. We have put in a lot of hard work, and I fully expect us to be rewarded for the hard work with the title. But I think Slot will be learning a lot as we go, both about his players, and the demands of leading Liverpool on multiple fronts. Let’s go a bit deeper, one by one.
Salah. Tremendous player, having an amazing season. Any criticism must be placed in that context, but I will still venture into a bit of criticism. His form has dropped. His physicality seems to have dropped too, and he isn’t beating his man or wriggling away from defenders as before. I don’t know if Ramadan is a factor. I really do not mean that to be offensive, so apologies if I am speaking out of turn. But Mo seems to have lost a bit of an edge to me. I don’t know how much of that is down to age. I’m certain it is something our stattos are watching as they weigh the merits of a bumper new deal for Mo. I could see a parting of the ways this summer, and the large salary reinvested in a refreshed attacking pool. A new thing is coming, after Mo Salah, whether this summer or in the not too distant future, and I could see Hughes preferring a clearing of the decks to give some space for the new thing to emerge.
Jota. Good striker, not a great one. He has injury problems so the biggest issue is getting him on the pitch regularly. And at some point you have to wonder if the accumulation of injuries is taking a toll. His game was never about pace and athleticism, but on those counts he seems to have dropped back a bit to my eye. He still has good plus points, and generally is a good finisher, good dribbler and surprisingly good in the air for his size. But at the moment he isn’t scoring and is some way off his best. He is not untouchable, but in all likelihood will stick around as I can’t see us getting an offer that would be tempting enough.
Darwin. All the athletic gifts in the world. Not enough goals and end product. Finishing too erratic. Very capable of big, decisive moments, but overall he is some way short of being a regular goal scorer. His confidence also looks shot. Seems likely to be moved on this summer, and hopefully for a price that gives Slot good money to reinvest.
Diaz. Bright, energetic, fast, good dribbler, shows for the ball. Lots to like. The main downside is the actual end product in terms of goals and assists. It is too modest. I could easily see him being sold in summer as there will probably be decent offers.
Gakpo. He seems the most solid in terms of staying. He was doing well before injury. He came on for an exhausted Diaz against PSG, but it was clear Gakpo was still some way off, physically, from being able to compete. It looks like he is working his way back up to match fitness again, and he will probably get sharper during the run in.
Chiesa. The cameo in the final made me think he has something to offer, and should be retained, at least as a rotation option moving forwards. We spent a lot of time helping him to get fit. We should hang in there and keep him on the books next season, as I’m certain other changes in the striker department are on the way.
What is the answer?
How radical do you want to go?
Sell Darwin, Diaz and Jota for £160M.
Allow Salah to leave and free up a lot of wages.
In all likelihood it won’t go that far, but I really can see a shake up in our forwards in summer, similar to how we changed the bulk of the midfield in one fell swoop.
Jonathan David might be a valuable signing, not least because he is on a Bosman. He would better the output of three of the current forwards, while freeing up cash to be invested in other strikers too.
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Maybe it’s simple as a brutal February having its impact.
Gakpo getting injured
Salah on Ramadan seems to have coincided with a drop off.
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If Salah leaves, as looks increasingly likely, the only other forward I think will also leave is Nunez since we apparently able to get a decent sum for him.
Two out would necessitate two in since we are unlikely to recreate Salah’s output with just one player.
So it would seem to be a striker and a wide forward on the shopping list.
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What do you think of David in the middle, and Kudus to his right?
David will score more than Nunez. Kudus will score less than Salah. Maybe it will average out, and penalty duty could go to, say, Mac Allister?
I get the feeling that Kudus is on the verge of an uptick in goals and assists. The dribbling, pace and power are all there. Heitinga has worked with him before and speaks well of him too.
My personal view is we might see more than two changes in the striker department this summer. As many as four could be possible, but that is probably too much, and I’m thinking it will be three changes.
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I think Kudus is Nunez’s winger version. Look extremely dangerous but not much end product.
Im thinking about crazy option: Greenwood.
not exactly him but need someone with good finishing.
I guess it all depends on the tactical vision and what we want from the CF. We’ve gotten used to playing with a more withdrawn CF and allowing Salah to be the main goalscorer. If we want that same kind of striker then we are probably interested in the likes of Joao Pedro, Julian Alavarez, Matheus Cunha. If we want a more “pure” CF then it’ll be along the lines of Jonathan David, Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak.
Honestly I’m not sure how best to proceed but looking around I don’t see many top class wingers being available so we might need the goalscoring to be CF focused.
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Perhaps it’s the implementation of ‘the’ tactics.
It seems to be crumbling, we dominated many games the ones we didn’t like Arsenal away we managed a result anyway.
Then Manure at home happened (we still managed a draw) and we seemed to lose something and have been struggling to get back to where we were.
I won’t go into details in this post, so as not to confuse things, however will bring up separate things if the discussion remains reasonable and permits.
Problem with that is we’ve played well since then.
It seems as I said to coincide with three things that being Salah and Ramadan and Gakpo.
It also coincides with a brutal February.
Well, that’s an understatement if there ever was one! I think that the only reason why he kept Nunez in January is because there was no way the club would have been able to get a long term solution for striker role. Jota’s form has fallen of a cliff, though, it’s painful to see it, I don’t think the club will be able to shift him when the time comes.
Man, I’m becoming jealous of Man City being able to identify and sign players like Alvarez and Marmoush (especially the former as he was a relatively low-key signing for a modest fee) - I think they are the types of forwards that Slot would love to have. Not that signings alone could resolve any attacking issues that the team might have in the short-to-medium term but it’s evident that they are necessary.
I don’t think we have what Slot would ideally want from a striker at the club.
If you look at Jota, his strengths and weaknesses, isolated from any formation, he’s really closest to a second striker type of player. It’s playing alongside Jimenez how he got a move here. Not really linking, but roaming around, making runs in behind, pressing, displaying good finishing.
He’s not a proper winger and not a pure striker either, especially when playing on his own.
Due to his mobility, intelligence and hard work, he’s an option anywhere in attack, in any formation.
But he’s not a great link up player, that former Liverpool scout also confirmed that.
He probably looked at Jota’s great ability to press and finishing as aspects that earned him more trust over Nunez. Every coach needs time to get to know his players when working with them, his opinion of the likes of Diaz and Jota might have changed over the season.
We’ve mostly changed the shape this season, which should’ve been helpful for any of those guys we used up top so far this season and obviously we had success if we’re on the verge of winning the league.
Individually, apart from a consistent Salah and an almost non-existing Chiesa, all the rest have been mixed success. Different players with different periods of form, etc. Which is in a way good because we do have very good strength in depth. But then sometimes you end up having more than a few that are a bit off form, or match sharpness.
We have seen in some games that our shape and average position has looked again more similar to a 4-3-3. In that case, it obviously doesn’t help the likes of Nunez and Jota. The connection between midfield and attack suffers. Going forward, we will need more from Szobo (or whoever is at #10) on the ball.
If it’s true that we’re aiming for Isak or someone of that calibre and that Diaz might leave (if something drastic doesn’t change until the start of next season, Gakpo probably starts next season as a LW), there’s even the possibility that we go with 5 forwards (you can always “invent” the 6th one if you need it). 6 options are ideal, 5 are still very good, but certainly not less than that.
Obviously a lot depends on what happens with Salah and generally also with the other two, how much work we’ll need to do (and if we can even do everything in one transfer window).
Chiesa, if he stays, could become a backup LW option, but still someone who can do a job on the right. Jota could remain as mostly a backup striker or also someone who can cover a little bit everywhere (though less under Slot than under Klopp).
I think Slot likes a proper #9, a goalscorer, but obviously also a player who can link the game, technically good enough to keep attacks alive and going, press well. Obviously it’s impossible to get a perfect robot of a player, but it has to be someone (I’d say a proper striker, not a Firmino type, because such would I think rather compete with Szobo in this system) who is at least good in different parts of the game for all phases of the game.
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If we sell Darwin and Mo leaves we might find ourselves in a situation where replacing Darwin would not be the highest priority compared to other positions in the squad.
What if Isak or a top alternative is not available? Are we going to sign a CF for the sake of it?
I am convinced Jota has another very good year in him. Chiesa (not at CF of course) should be able to get more minutes.
And somehow I believe Jayden Danns is the type of player who would be able to make a few steps immediately if trusted.
Not saying Danns is the long term answer but I’m sure he’ll deliver and we should be able to cash in in a few years.
I think a CF will be brought in whether or not a top striker is available. There are still questions about Jota, and we would absolutely need someone to partner with him. Danns isn’t ready, IMO. It’s possible we delay signing a top striker until January or the following summer, but for future planning I think we need to bring someone in. This all assumes Nunez leaves, of course.