Why on Earth are we comparing ourselves to mid table trash?
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I was merely pointing out that whilst things look bad for our midfield, it could still be even worse.
1 of Paqueta Bennacer or Barrela would be fantastic.
But I do feel we missed a trick with Bissouma.
Do you even realise what heās been accused of? Glad weāve swerved him.
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He was cleared months ago.
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For me its not just about back-up in MF or a younger version of Hendo etc. Without Darwin we play the same way as last year. Teams know how to set up against us. When Darwin is on we are different and make them think. If we buy a MF it has to be a point of difference - someone to change the pattern. Not just a younger version of the same. Is that a box to box or a skilletfull dribbling playmaker - not sure. Could be either.
What we have works against teams who come at us. That only about 3 teams in the PL.
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The way we played last year got us to a successful season, 2 trophies and closest a team ever got to 4 trophies.
Nunez played two official games for us, letās calm down a little bit.
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No panic at all. Just suggesting we needed something different. We have to evolve.
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Iād say we are, if not all the time, then mostly under Klopp so far.
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The problem is that we KNEW that our two first choice CMs were injury prone going into the season. Everyone involved with the club KNEW that Thiago and Keita have ongoing fitness issues, and there is a definite drop-off in midfield play when either or both are not playing. Read from that what you will.
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Exactly, & if these players werenāt so injury proneā¦No one would have a problem.
But the fact 2 of Ox Naby Thiago are always injured at the same time does the manager and the club no favours.
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So how is that situation solved? Letās just say for your argument that Klopp desperately wants to get rid of one or both because of their injury history. Thiago might fetch some money, but do you sell Keita for Ā£15-20m and take the Ā£40m hit?
Now back in the real world for a sec where Klopp treats his players like family, and he expects teammates to treat each other like siblings, does he break from that trend because a player (that he probably really likes) has had injuries in the past? Is Klopp still the Klopp that we know if he throws a player under the bus once in a while to bring in fresh uninjured blood?
If the solution is that we donāt sell Thiago or Keita (Ox is irrelevant at this point unfortunately) but merely bring in another midfielder, how do we sell the idea of minutes to this new player. āoh its ok Naby or Thiago will be out regularly so youāll have plenty of timeā Are we happy to spend Ā£100k/wk on a ready-to-play 7th choice midfielder or Ā£70k/wk 9th choice youngster to compete with Elliott and Jones? Are those two chopped liver in this injury situation? I guess time will tellā¦
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How so? We were much better when Thiago went off. So I call hyperbole on ādefinite drop-offā.
The lack of faith in Elliot is staggering, heās an immense player.
Keita had an illness by the way, unfortunate but not a āfitness issueā.
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While I understand the injury prone part but I think Klopp has said something along the lines that as long players are under contract and wants to stay in the club, the club will do all they can to work to improve them etc and I suppose thst includes working to ensure their health are prioritized and nurse them back to health if necessary. We can criticize that but that is why Klopp is loved by the players because they are treated as a person and not just a number in the squad. It can be a strength or it can be a weakness but itās this why I love Liverpool for my whole life, regardless we win or not because this club has transcended the results on the field for me. But I absolutely understand from a sporting point of view that we probably should have tried to mitigate the known issues but Klopp and the club has my support with the principles they are displaying.
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Call whatever you like.
How many games has Keita played since he joined us? No, Iām really interested. How many has he missed? Thiago is physically fragile. No question. Gambling on players staying fitā¦remember when we gambled that VVD, Matip and Gomez would all say fit - for the whole season - when the latter two were known sick notes? What happened? We ended up playing Fab as a CB and untried back-up players in more games that I care to remember. Largely wrecked our league campaign imo.
When even Klopp starts to get worried about midfield injuries, you really canāt ignore the situation, can you? Complacency really grinds my gears.
Are these not directly opposing statements? And Klopp has bombed out players. We never saw Karius again after the CL final. Ostracised and out on loan until his contract expired.
Does the number of opportunities Ox got back end of last season not point to a manager who will put the team ahead of an individual if itās in the best interests of the team?
I think itās a pretty easy sell in to a new player. āThis year youāll get plenty of chances and a starting spot is yours to take it if you excel. But thereās not immediate pressure on you as we do have good options so you might not be in the team day one. Next summer will see a big change in that area of the pitch so make a place yours.ā You say the same thing to the young lads too.
Itās the highest echelons of professional club football, not a primary school kick about.
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I am fairly certain that Elliott and Fabio will bring in more quality/end product to the team as the season progresses. No point in discussing CM as a problem after just one game into the season.
I think the reality is people who think CM is a problem wont be doing so because of that game, but will have had a preexisting concern and then saw things in that game that validated the concern (Neither Naby nor Jones available, Thiago limping off, Hendo not having a great game).
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Didnāt klopp say Naby could be back for next monday as he just āillā?
with 5 subs available it will be easier to rotate the likes of fabinho , milly, hendo , keita , elliot and carvalho whilst jones, ox and thiago recover.
I donāt feel that we should buy or loan just anyone. I do get that another injury in this position does leave us short but some of the young lads do look very promising - perhaps best to give them a chance than block their path
But are those preexisting concerns really valid?
Can we use a sample size of a single game (first of the season) to extrapolate what will happen after matchday 38?
I am sure there are too many variables involved to even make an educated guess today.
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