In addition to that, I think he’s really banking on two things: less injuries and especially the “fringe” players finally stepping up. A world where the likes of Keita and Tsimikas put on performances like yesterday’s when they are called upon and where Firmino gets off the bench to score is a much nicer place than that of 2020/21.
If he sees Elliott as a versatile central midfielder rather than a versatile right-sided playmaker, then it’s fairly likely that his next target will be a forward who should take the places of Origi and Shaqiri in the squad (maybe a right-sided forward?). There’s a worry that Fabinho doesn’t have proper cover but I think that Henderson and maybe Milner could take care of that if needed.
I wanted one new midfielder but if I had to choose one player at this point, I’d choose a forward as I don’t have any faith in Origi and Shaqiri, while Minamino will have to move mountains to be that player that dazzled for Salzburg at Anfield (and even then he played as an attacking midfielder).
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Elliott is offensive midfielder and he will probably replace Shaqiri as an option in wide areas and as a number 10.
I want to see a direct replacement for Gini.
Last season Klopp said the same thing after we were left with 3 central defenders: ‘‘Don’t worry, we have VvD, Gomez, Matip, Fabinho, Rhys and Billie the Kid. We can do it’’.
And what happened? Well, a big injury to Virgil and then Gomez and Matip and suddenly around Christmas we were in a trouble. Lucky to steer in top 4, thanks to Leicester imploding at the end of a 2nd successive season.
Last season because of injuriesTiago missed 4 months of football, Hendo missed 3 months, Fabinho was out for around 2 months. Milner is 36 years old and also missed a lot of matches and it is rather absurd to think that Keita and AOC will stay fit for the whole season.
Millie, Tiago and Hendo are not getting younger and Fabinho missed around 2 months in 19/20 and 20/21 seasons. I will be interested to see how many fit midfielders we will have at the end of December and the start of the New Year. And around that time we will be without Mane, Keita and Salah for around a month.
As Klopp likes to say, we will see.
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I think we’re fine in that #6 role, it was shared between the two of our most important midfielders in last years, Henderson and Fabinho.
Easy to forget that due to a number of reasons, Fabinho is yet to complete a full season of consistent performances in that deepest role. He either needed to settle in, had a little drop of form (best example was around pre-corona, when Hendo was back in the #6 because Fabinho needed time to find rhythm/form), had an injury or was needed at CB.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t worry for Fabinho at all, I think these are just small things he will need to iron out. This position is his to lose in coming years, he’s one of our key spine players entering his peak.
Hendo was moved to that RCM position since the spring of 2019, yeah.
Thing is, we lost Gini who acted as our 3rd option for that spot, who did if with mixed success. Thiago can do it on paper, but he’s obviously a totally different player to the mentioned 3.
Before the summer, I was hoping for a new dynamic/working midfielder and if he has it in him to also cover the single #6 spot, then great.
I think we’re fine in that role if we have a normal season (there will always be injuries, but hopefully not too much like last season). It’s more those Gini minutes and how can we spread that to other players, who are not really of his style. Our hope is probably to have Hendo at RCM and Thiago at LCM for a big chunk of the season and then in the summer of 2022 finally decide what to do with Keita/Ox (this season being their “last” chance, especially Keita, since Ox might be used differently this season, a little bit as a forward and a little bit as a midfielder).
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Seems like the sky is falling, doesn’t it?
People who spout this argument over and over again fail to recognise that last season was a ridiculous season that will probably never be repeated again. For all the comparison about other teams doing better with their squads, United fell apart when they lost Maguire, as did City when they lost Laporte. And yet it took us having lost our 3 starting centre-backs for extended periods of time to freak accidents to even suffer any significant blip.
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I’m not necessarily disagreeing with your overall point but again, given how he has used him so far this season, I think Klopp will argue Elliott and Jones are his replacements for Gini.
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Surely fit Keita and AOC fit that better even if I feel Thiago was our Gini replacement.
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I think last summer we lost only Lallana, yet both Jones and Thiago came in to the squad - Thiago reportedly to be the ultimate replacement for Gini, so with Elliot, numbers wise at least we are already ahead of previous years. Add in a settled Tsimikas and Konate’s arrival pressure on midfield should be somewhat lighter this season.
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Or going even deeper…
Hendo back at #8 was our “Gini replacement” (or the continuator, the one of the two who would get more faith/a new contract) and for the other #8, we were always looking for a “Thiago” (previously a so far failed Keita).
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Can see Shaq moving but i feel like Origi will hang around and we might see Klopp experiment with Elliott getting some time in midfield and in attack out wide and keeping Origi as an additional option.
If we get a sizable offer for Origi 15+ we’ll let him go and move for another forward who chances are we have a deal more or less agreed for subject to outward movement Origi, Phillips etc
Im comfortable either way. Bobbo Mo and Mane & Jota all looked fresh and lively I think there a settled unit and I’ve maybe underestimated their ability to get back to form a bit too.
It wasn’t our defence that let us down last season; it was our inability to score in a brothel.
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The 2 were not unrelated. The injuries to defense forced different tactics which left our front three with fewer and more difficult chances.
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The prefect example was yesterday with Virgil in the side and to a lesser extent Matip it gave us the ability to play those long diagonal balls forward quickly.
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Think VVD just gives the team a confidence too
Get forward I got this back here kinda thing which massively helps our fullbacks to be involved in the attacking play.
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And the opposite to the opposition. Was it Idah who was on the ball squared up to VvD but with miles of room to run into on our right back zone to be able to challenge and test Virgil with his pace after his recovery and he didn’t even try. Looked at Virg said “aaah shit” to himself and played it backwards. That’s Henderson, Phillips, Fabinho, Williams, Kabak and he tries to take them on. It wouldn’t have been comfortable for VvD if he’d gone for it and I’d have worried about how much strain it would have put on Virg.
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I don’t think that’s true, we created tonnes of chances. Our front 3 just couldn’t covert them. Mané particularly looked like a fish out of water infront of goal and even if Salah kept us ticking over he didn’t look like the Salah we know and love.
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Kylian has earned enough money at Paris already.
Probably realized that he has to leave to win the CL and for him individually to win Ballon D’Or.
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I still don’t see how Mbappe comes here without one of Firmino, Mane or Mo leaving (assuming Jota will be here for a few more)
And would it be such a big surprise if Bobby leaves next year?
Will be 30 in October. Contract until 2023. Could also see him want to play in sunny Spain before he is too old.
I hope Fabinho makes good on his promise to be the best player in his position in the world - looking at his progress so far, I think he’s not far off but that final step is the toughest. That said, if he never reaches that fabled “best in his position” status, I won’t worry as long as his fitness record improves and he plays consistently at his best level - it’s that high, at least in my opinion.
I think that drop-off between him and Henderson playing no. 6 role isn’t that big but I’d still be worried if Fabinho was out for prolonged period (and it’s not like Henderson is a stranger to fitness issues). Numerically, the midfield looks nicely stacked but the respective fitness records of senior midfielders doesn’t paint a nice picture, I’m afraid… Still, hope springs eternal, at least there are young players who can take on Keita and AOC if they don’t manage to make a starting position their own.
I, too, think that Klopp sees his primary midfield trio as combination of Fabinho, Henderson and Alcantara when everyone is fit, we’ll see how often he can deploy them together. I’m doing my best to refrain from “but I’d love to see the dynamic Keita brings when he’s fit” remarks, though…
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