There also has to be a longer term succession plan
I think the plan is for Henderson to transition into the Milner role, with Bellingham (as long as we get him) coming in to replace Jordan. Elliott is being groomed as the successor to Thiago. Fabinho should have a little while yet, so maybe Bajcetic is earmarked as the next DM.
It is a weird coincidence that everyone who was brought here to replace Hendersonās No.8 position got wrecked by injury. From Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017/18 (although it is not clear that Ox would have displaced Hendo without injuries at all), to Keita in 2018/19 and Elliott last season (both cases very obvious).
Had Keita performed up to Kloppās expectation, Henderson would have been benched several 4 years ago. The long-term plan for the midfield at the beginning of 2018/19 was Wijnaldum-Fabinho-Keita.
Looks like someone has cursed the RCM role for us!
Yeah, IMO Henderson himself was quite lucky here.
The disrespect for Henderson is staggering, heās going to leave this club a legend. Heās in the decline as youād expect for a 32 year old but our success has been built on his legs, lungs and heart. He was phenomenal when he came on vs Palace, he made it seem like we had 11 men.
Something about pianos, carriers and players springs to mindā¦
Agreed, my only slight question is Elliot vās Bellinghamā¦ Donāt they both play right sided center mid? Or is the longer term future a 4231? Iāve not seen Elliot on the left yet, but maybe heās natural (he seems to be both footed). Jones is also going to get lots of minutes there this season.
Squad building (from within or transfers) is a very fluid and ever evolving process. Tchouameni was clearly coming in as a starter, my guess was initially Henderson on the right but also providing cover for the no.6 and then if we got someone like Bellingham weād go to 4231. That didnāt happen, so it looks like Bajcetic (and possibly Morton) all got chances in pre-season to see who could be the 3rd choice no.6ā¦ Looks like Bajcetic impressed the most.
It will be interesting to see what happens vās Utd with no striker, I wonder if Elliot gets pushed to right forward with Salah coming centrallyā¦ Personally Iād be against that as Elliot should be our starting right midfielder following 2 impressive performances so far in that role. Iād happily argue heās our most in form midfielder and first on the team sheet for me.
Precisely. The recent success we had was built upon a midfield that had more grit and industry than natural talent and that, to me, made the success sweeter because Henderson was the perfect example of not just a football player but as a person who overcame doubts and odds to become one of, if not the most successful captains in our history. And to see Henderson lift those cups and titles were damn satisfying because he is the perfect model for YNWA, for a club that had to overcome adversities to become where we are today.
Of course we have to prepare to replace Henderson and I suspect that Henderson loves our club so much that if today Klopp believes that someone else can take his place in the first 11, he would be more than happy to play a squad role instead, just like how Milner is doing. But for now, not only Henderson is one of the best CMs in our squad, he would not be out of place to be one of the best CMs in alot of the PL teams out there. The intensity that he brings is unparalleled. And we should not, in the process of wanting out club to be better prepared for the succession and intentionally or not, put Henderson down in the process.
Unlikely but Iām hoping we sell Naby now and bring in Neves or Tielemans. Both are younger than Keita, better Fitness records, PL proven and have just one year left on their contracts.
I wonder what the heck the Bayern Munich players eat? These guys tend to be extremely muscular - look like tanks physically. IMO, our CMs, especially Jones or Fabinho or even Henderson would have been monsters with such physical build.
its one of those fine line things isnt itā¦
i often find myself thinking if i was just a little bit better at this football lark Gerrard would have been the second best Liverpool player in the premier league era, we would be on about 25, not 19, and as i slowly transitioned into managment material then managerial legend, Klopp would probably have had to try his luck with some midtable clubā¦
sliding doors moments. but i suppose thats football for youā¦
but i digress, back to Hendo and lucky run he has had to being the first Liverpool Captain to lift the title and the champions league since Graeme Souness
I mean, it was so obvious that Keita was initially brought here for the RCM position, and Fabinho for the CDM one. Now, Fabinho successfully adapted to our game and Henderson was no longer the first choice for No.6 - he was just a temporary No.6 player prior to Fabinhoās arrival because we had no other choice. Imagine if Keita also succeeded - Henderson would have stopped being the first choice for RCM.
Keita has always played on the left. Always. The midfield of a few years ago was supposed to be Fabinho at six and Hendo/Milner on the right and Naby/Gini on the left.
Again, the consistent in this midfield for the last decade has been Hendo. He is adored by Klopp, and itās only because heās 32 talk of replacing him isnāt massively disrespectful. Heās has had twats on his back since since day one because his name isnāt Hendinho, and he has answered every criticism with trophies.
We miss him when he isnāt there and weāll miss him when heās gone.
Perhaps we are victims of two conditions in our current player recruitment:
Our apparent obsession with a positive net spend in the transfer market.
Our apparent policy of signing only the āperfectā player for any given position.
And I did say āperhapsā.
Do you have any evidence for the above?
I always find it interesting as a club we see ātransfer net spendā comments, which then ignore factors like renewing contracts of players such as Salah on much higher terms. Itās such a strange world that being financially prudent is used as an insultā¦
Our transfer model is bringing in the right player at the right price?
Who better than Tielemans.
Maybe not as technically gifted as someone like Naby, but heās a better defensive minded player and can also bang a few goals.
I could name 50 midfielders better than Tielemans. His and Neves name keeps getting banded about, couldnāt think of a worse fit for this team at all.
Thatās great, guess what?
I couldvāe named 50 better than Wijnaldum before he came, Sadio before he came, Robbo before he came, Salah before he came, Jota before he came.
Jesus I forget how having a conversation with you is like talking with a petulant child.
Replacing Keita with Tielemans is possibly one of the worst ideas Iāve read for awhile. Tielemans 3-4 years ago had some promise, the player of the last couple of seasons is worse than Milner.
I donāt like Tielemans. I think he is massively overrated, and comes across as a bit of a bellend too.
But putting that aside, heās tiny. And if we are gearing up for Harvey Elliot to nail down the right hand side of midfield, we need someone taller than Tielemans to complement him.
Iām the petulant child yet youāre the one over exaggerating to try and get people here to get in your favourā¦everyoneās opinions differ, get over it.
Was he worst than Milner when he was playing a pivotal part in Leicester beating Chelsea to win the FA Cup or beating City in the Community Shield?