Assuming we don´t sign a midfielder, I really do think we should give Nyoni a proper go in the side.
A lot of the traits we have been saying we need are traits he has, and he did well in Pre Season.
He passes fairly well through the lines, he sits in position and doesn´t vacate the midfield like Grav and Dom, and he seems fairly combative overall.
There should be enough game time for him if so, if we don’t buy a midfielder. I thought it was interesting Iraola changed one of the starters from the Newcastle game, I’m guessing it was because he expected a different game against Forest, less transition based.
Interesting to see who he chooses against Ipswich, what sort of game he expects. And if this is something he’ll keep doing, pick and choose based on type of opponent.
You might be right. I interpreted it more as him reacting to what he saw against Newcastle in midfield but maybe he was just trying to adapt to Forest.
I hope it´s the former because then it shows he´s well aware of the issues and doesn´t flog a dead horse instead of looking for solutions.
Agreed, very interesting if he reverts to Grav and Dom against Ipswich, sticks with Mac and Dom, or tries something else.
@Liverdinner Oh, maybe relevant, maybe not:
So bizarre. They´re supposedly in for Camara and now him.
Is this likely or just dodgy ´journalism´?
I´d prefer we get Camara to him from what I have seen tbh.
That makes me wonder. How did he play at Leverkusen? Did Xabi use a 4-3-3 at the time, and was Wirtz part of the midfield three?
He played a back five, like now with Chelsea. 523/541, with Wirtz mostly on the left of the front three. But he had a free role when they had the ball.
And very possession based, at least in season two and onwards. Much more of a counter attacking approach when he took over, then changed it.
It’s Chelsea, you can expect them to hoard both players.
True.
How do they get away with it?
Surely from our side we have to be a better offer than them if we guarantee he will play.
If Wirtz is playing as a left sided, more offensive #8 of the two (basically being a #10) in a midfield 3, long passing isn’t really what he needs (off the floor type of long passing that is!). He would be used sort of like Coutinho was when he was used half the time in his last periods with us under Klopp.
Do I think the balance is good enough to do it now, no I don’t. Maybe in the future. Though our midfield shape so far did see Szobo playing higher than the other pivot and Wirtz also playing basically closer to Szobo than our striker.
Long passing is something that would be more required from our deepest midfielder or the second deepest (if he’d have the ability to drop and help in build up, like Thiago used to do for example).
Playing 2 super high No.8 midfielders is pure madness, though.
The same way they got away with Enzo, Caicedo and Lavia.
We wouldn’t be playing two equally as high, Iraola likes to have different players occupying different lines.
You would see for example Gravenberch as the deepest one, then Szobo as a RCM #8, then Wirtz more offensive than Szobo as a LCM #8/#10.
I’m not saying it’s the way to go and especially now, but in a better situation (both for the team and for Wirtz), it wouldn’t change his game that much.
It’s not like Wirtz has a million alternative positions. He’s a between the lines player. Anyone normal will let him have certain freedom on the ball, regardless whether he’s a single #10 in a 4-2-3-1, one of two #10’s in a 3-4-2-1 or an inside winger in whichever formation that has wingers. He will still occupy more or less the same zones, more on the inside.
We’ll see if his evolution ever gets to a level where we can put him as part of a midfield 3, but with the most freedom. Right now, yeah, I don’t see our balance being good enough for it.
And also, at the moment it looks like Iraola wants him to be more of a forward, closer to Isak rather than having full freedom when we have the ball to go everywhere he wants.
Play him some Kevin Keegan clips how to be a second striker, since they’re trendy lately (unfortunately for a sad reason).
I suspect it is more about Mac just being the obvious priority and most natural fit for a 2 man midfield. I think any combination of those senior 3 that includes him is better than the one version that doesn’t. To that point it was notable that when the first round of subs were made and Grav came on, it was still Mac who seemed to carry the responsibility of maintaining the reset defense shape rather than Grav. There are multiple ways to interpret that - maybe just because Grav had fresh legs he was asked to get forward and run around more. But the other is simply that mac is more trusted to play responsibly and with the tactical astuteness needed in that role than either of the other two are.
That’s a good point. Interesting to see what he does for the next games, if Mac becomes a constant in the starting lineup.
By the way, someone said a while back that Nyoni had been shadowing Mac in training, that he’s the one they wanted him to learn from. It might have been last season, not sure, but I think it makes sense in terms of what you say there about Mac, and if they want Nyoni to become the sort of player he looked like now during pre-season; the adult in the room.
I hoped when Mac joined that he would train, play with Thiago and pick up a thing or two from him in their only season together (on paper), but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
Mac himself said in a post at the end of the season how sorry he was that it didn’t happen more often.
What is forgotten, is that in our lasr title winning season, Trent had a far more subdued role and was way down on his normal assist and key pass metrics, just guessing on the key pass one.
However, he still had that ability to open up a defence or press with one pass and that is what we lack.
Thought this was a very good piece, especially for the Wharton fans.
What wasn’t covered, and is important, is the tactical intelligence of the players which is massive both offensively and defensively.
Something I feel Wharton may lack defensively and Szob gives me that vibe too.
I do feel Nyoni has the nous from what I have seen of him, his positioning seems natural.
