Some may say I was being dramatic. I’d prefer to think they were reading this thread and thought, “hey, it never occurred to us that we need another defender. This fella has a point!”
Marc Guehi: Liverpool set to step up bid for Crystal Palace captain - BBC Sport
I like the additions of Guehi and Leoni. I can’t see any circumstances in which we sell Konate this window.
My one caveat is that I would have liked one more experienced defender in there. I would have left Leoni in Parma for a year on loan and looked at a loan deal ourselves. PSG are now stacked with players who can cover CB and some who can cover CB and FB.
I would have been eyeing a loan deal for one of them (I mentioned Lucas Hernandez previously - someone like him).
I think that would have given us ideal cover for attacking all competitions this season, keeping our main pair as fresh as possible for the league and champions league.
I was in favour of leaving him on loan at Parma for another year. I then read that if we keep him with us, rather than loaning him back, it means we can register him as a homegrown player in 3 years time.
https://x.com/BassTunedToRed/status/1956473503936328019
This could have as well gone to the midfield thread but still…
Not great, but we will get better defensively.
Tonight we paid our respects to Jota, then dug deep to get the three points.
We have a lot of firepower, with more to come, and we have a great crowd.
Hope we don’t go down the 13/14 route, 100+ goals in the league and 50 conceded.
I think we need a backup for Ryan Gravenberch more badly than we need new forwards or even a centre back (now that Leoni is here and Gomez is fit).
When it was first reported that Arne Slot was to be our head coach, I thought I’d watch some of his Feyenoord teams (with the sound off to better see what they looked like) to better understand what he was about. What really stood out to me was how his teams would arrive at the box in numbers. They would hunt in packs and arrive in the opposition’s box in fours and fives, pass it about between them and the fellow with the best chance at a goal would take the shot and score. Granted, I was watching highlights, but that has always stayed with me. This approach appears to be what he’s trying to achieve now, especially with the forward signings we have and are in the running for. However, for team balance you need an extremely mobile, agile and solid 6.
The number 6 position is extremely under-rated, viz:
It’s worth remembering that the first signing Slot wanted to make was a certain Martin Zubimendi. While (in a feat of phenomenal coaching) he has re-purposed Gravenberch into what Zubimendi was going to be for us, it’s now clear that Gravenberch is now so integral to the team that his absence is unconscionable and leads to losses (like the Community Shield) and near misses (like last night).
I think we need a Gravenberch-lite. If Isak comes, well and good, though the man with the same name backwards has started off very well. If we’re to get a left winger, personally I love how Rodrygo plays the game. Mesmeric at times. Guehi would be a great centre back addition. But I think a more than capable substitute 6 is crucial to our ambitions.
I think we need to be looking at more match time for Bajcetic as a substitute for Gravenberch.
It’s clear that Endo and Mac do not have the pace to sustain the fast breaks.
This is not only the defence, but the remarks during/after pre-season are still there.
Got to improve pressing from the front, the defensive transition (when our press doesn’t work and it can’t work every time) and set-pieces.
Find the balance and another layer between doing everything 200mph an hour and not being close enough to the opponent. Control (Mac not being at 100% is a factor here).
We’ve conceded too many goals so far this season.
Results have been very good, now it’s time to find the right combination of what would mostly be our starting team, that is capable of producing top level in all aspects of the game. Or closest to it.
For me we in a few matches have had a none existent press and against Palace I couldn’t even understand what we were trying to do defensively, normally we go into a mid/low block but it just seemed a mish mash of nothing.
I do feel we are a better team when we have a cohesive press rather than giving away possession, unless we go into a really low block, but that isn’t how Liverpool should play except in rare circumstances.
We have a problem at right back. Frimpong and Bradley are not serviceable at the moment, which leads to Slot sacrificing his most in-form midfielder to cover the position, which in turn compounds the problems in the midfield area.
Furthermore, it’s also clear, especially in matches like against Palace, that despite his shortcomings as a defender, neither Frimpong nor Bradley are remotely close to TAA from a pure footballing talent perspective. We really missed his passing from the back.
Surely this thread is case closed by now?
We need Guehi in January or someone at least at his level and then another CB next summer.
We might even need to get 3.
Remind me. Didn’t we buy Babb, Scales, and Ruddock all in the same window?
We might need another splurge like that as Konate is off (might even be driven to the airport by Edwards at this rate), Gomez is done, Virgil isn’t Benjamin Button.
Palace aren’t letting Guehi go in January. We need a plan b for the CB position in January.
It’s not only a thread to discuss transfer movement in defence, but defending as a whole?
As things stand, I’m not sure we’ll do anything in January. More no than yes. If there’s one more serious and long term injury, then that has to change. And it would possibly be someone on loan rather than Guehi. And hopefully better than those Kabak/Davies attempts.
Yes, exactly.
I started it for a general discussion on issues to do with the defence.
I’m hoping Bajcetic might get a run out in central defence in the Carabao Cup. If we can’t do the business we need to do in January because the right option isn’t available, Bajcetic could perhaps be the fourth choice to tide us over until the end of the season.
I think we will see two new central defenders come in before we start next season. Whether we can get one of them in January remains to be seen.
First of all, we have to get Bajcetic fit. Then, see what’s his level like to play in this team. Then, how he is as a midfielder, because that’s what he was in the last couple of years. Then and who knows even, if we’ll see him at CB or in defence. Wouldn’t surprise me if we got him fit to a certain level and then send him on loan in January.