So it’s not as good then?
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Perhaps worth waiting at least one season of them actually playing together before trying to draw any conclusions about which group is ‘better’.
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We can’t know how the second group will turn out in terms of availability, let alone consistently good performances, but fully and consistently fit Lallana and Keita would have been the first names on any Liverpool teamsheet in the last ten years or so. Also, it’s obvious that the second group lacks experience (and numbers perhaps) but this stems from Keita and AOC being made of glass, I guess… It’s a shame that we got ourselves in this situation but at least the vast potential is there.
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Agreed completely. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned.
The only thing is that Klopp and his team are already well aware of this…
If we are comparing the groups, let’s note that we are comparing one group at their peak, with another group at the start of their journey.
What went before had come to the end of the line. Twas ever thus.
Now we have a new thing that is emerging and I can’t wait to see it all unfold. Trent is a right back, but due to the likely inverted role he will occupy, he will also see loads of play making action in the midfield for us, so he is a rather handy addition to add to the 7 quality options listed in the second group. And if need be, we could probably play Gakpo in an advanced midfield role too, due to his versatility.
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Even comparing the two groups at their starting points still reveals a significant difference
The experience factor is a legitimate concern. At that point, I am comforted by the talent of the players we have, and the wisdom of Hansen, who said, “You can’t win anything with kids.”
I also think Mac and Szobo are primo operators and will find their groove for us.
But Hansen was wrong
Precisely!
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Better is relative. But fact is group 1 won everything there is to win with us. Group 2 yet to show anything. Let’s hope they turn out as great, if not better, than their predecessors.
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If Lavia comes, I don’t see the club looking for another big buy in CM. Might be a clever free transfer or a player who has hit some bottom in his career like Coutinho when he came from Inter at low prices. Main thing would be to put character and leadership in a young midfield, someone along the vein of Milner when we got him.
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Think when those guys arrived.
I’d say it’s questionable bar Fabinho if any of them were at a much higher level than Alexis and Dom.
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Also, when I look at the group in the first list, it would be easy to rewind the tape and lament that they aren’t as good as the vintage of Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano.
And depending on how far back we want to go, we can highlight other heroes of yesteryear. Where’s Souness, Case and Terry Mac?! Etc.
The fact is, everything moves in cycles. Regardless of how good players USED to be, if they are past it they are past it.
And we are now at the start of a new cycle.
I’m backing the new boys to be just fine.
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I don’t think when you look at a Klopp team that it’s accurate to look at individuals. Of course everyone has a different ability and ceiling but in that group 1, you had midfielders who will never win alot of individual awards but when together they were world class. So while individual abilities are great and it’s obvious we all think highly of the new guys, it’s how they can replicate the 1+1=3 for the team that is more important.
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He was wrong, but not in the way it’s typically understood. The issues isnt that Utd proved you can win things with kids. Its that those kids supplemented an incredibly experienced side and the idea it was a team of kids was reactionary nonsense.
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For most of their times here that was exactly the criticisms hung around their necks, even as they developed into a group that was winning stuff.
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Far more goals and creativity in group 2 - which is what people used to moan about group 1 for.
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Group 1 was only really 3 people plus Milner staying fit.
When available and called up Ox, Lallana and Keita delivered.
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And that makes it even more amazing because that 4, if anyone had predicted you can win everything with those 4, most people in football would have laughed so hard. But they did, pretty much the result of Klopp putting in a system and having the right players to execute it. I am hoping that now Klopp has a bigger group and not just the “4” to execute his vision for the club.
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