this what happens when you trust social media too much. my bad. I’ll delete it.
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Klopp was happy? I dont think so even though thats what he said publicly.
No manager would be happy with a midfield that has 3 permanent crocks on the treatment table, a crock loan in arthur and having to play an 18 year old in every game until he also broke.
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Yes he was happy with the squad before Ox got injured and then Keita got injured and then Thiago got injured and perhaps Hendo got.injured, i forgot.
Obviously he wasn’t happy that they all got injured, or that Arthur got injured.
I’ve always thought it would be four midfielders over this summer and next. Might be three this window and one next or two and two.
If it’s three this summer then we perhaps we have to keep Matip for another season and deal with centre back next summer.
Two and two makes more sense to me but if Kone and Thuram have been identified and we think one of them might not be an option still come next summer then perhaps it makes sense to do them both now.
Probably comes down to money at the end of the day.
MacAllister looks like a done deal
https://twitter.com/Jesanchez3/status/1665674415323987970?s=20
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I think Jones also got injured.
And Bajcetic, he got injured.
He is clearly pointing at the 7 on the number plate and its now available.
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I think this is right, both in terms of the longer term need and how it will be operationalized.
People need to stop looking at replacing the players who left (4 in midfield) and instead start thinking about how a big a group we need. Even with the ones we left, it is 6 players for 3 spots. Adding MacAlister plus 1 more gets is closer to the numbers Klopp doesnt like than it does to the number we need.
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He is indicating about the #7 
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They’re going to do a naked arm wrestle to see who gets to be our 8th midfielder
or our new formation → 237
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It would be more than enough if Thiago wasn’t chronically injury prone, Hendo wasn’t pretty injury prone, Jones wasn’t having his fitness managed, Bajcetic wasn’t a kid coming off a bad injury and Fabinho not exactly a stranger to a knock.
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To be honest, it looks like Enrique is just rehashing what other people have said. As you say though, it does look done, excusing any problems with the Medical.
Out of interest, has Enrique mentioned anymore about Gravenbach? I seem to recall him stating that he had been informed it was happening…
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Exactly. There was something like 5 premier league games where Ox, Keita and Arthur all featured. 18 league appearances between three players and never 90 minutes for any of them.
Mac Allister alone brings more than those three providing his availability is remotely similar to his availability at Brighton. Add in some more minutes for Bajcetic and it looking like we’ve a better understanding on Jones’ issue and you could possibly cover Milner’s minutes there before you even talk about buying a second midfielder.
Sure, there will be knocks and niggles there will be a need to manage some minutes. But, we lost four midfielders this summer. Two who were barely fit last season and rarely picked, one who was on loan and never picked and a 37 year old.
We don’t need to replace the number of bodies, we need to replace the contribution of those four and two should be more than enough. Three would perhaps be overkill but understandably cautious.
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I agree with a lot of your points. As you touch upon, I think the end of season maturing/injury free form of Curtis, and the potential Bajetic showed before his injury gives us options.
We lose Ox/Keita who played minimal minutes, which as saddening as it sounds won’t be much of a loss.
Milner will be more of a loss as a reliable squad member/father figure. Almost always available, bringing experience, versatility and physicality.
You also have the possibility of TAA playing in midfield with an additional RB, or by using Gomez/Ramsey/Bradley.
Also, I think with our recent use of TAA as a “Hybrid” midfielder, we may start certain games with 4 attackers with Gapko playing deep in a diamond formation.
So, I expect us to sign Mac Allister + one athletic/combative midfielder who would be considered a starter. Then someone like Lavia, who has a lot of plot of potential if the finances allow.
Toulon is the equivalent of Portsmouth it is the main base for the French navy
If they choose to join the French Navy instead of us I will start asking questions.
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I can see the concern people wanting or expecting just two midfielders have. Nobody wants a bloated squad which might not get sufficiently rotated. It feels bad to say this but maybe we need to learn the art of selling players who are no longer at a level that Liverpool players need to be. If we sign 3 midfielders now, then maybe they’ll be ready to play together as a part of first team in a year’s time.
Just look how long Fabinho took to settle. Or Wijnaldum. Keita and Ox never really managed with their injuries, even after being here for five years. Thiago, even today, has moments which make me wonder if he still thinks he’s playing at Bayern. Elliot is a work in progress. Curtis is finally showing the right signs after playing for us for 4 years.
The guys we’re looking to bring in are the same age as Curtis, I think its easy to forget that while watching youtube reels. They are going to be work in progress, and will need time. I can even see Mac Allister at 24 going a few months before he really clicks. Its because of that, and considering the fact that they are not eye bleeding expensive, that makes me think now is the right time.
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Definitely don’t want a bloated squad, especially now without CL football (where we can rotate pretty heavily in EL group stage), we need to have a smaller squad.
It’s healthier for many reasons.
We had a terrible lack of consistency this season in terms of team selection. We had a good number of injuries unfortunately, but f*ck me the amount of players, changes, partnerships we changed, etc.
It’s just not easy to work with that in training on a daily basis.
Smaller squad, with a few incoming players who can help and immediately we’ll have a much clearer and more competitive atmosphere inside the group. Players knowing exactly who they’re fighting to get game time.
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Bajcetic, Mc Allister, kone is the perfect midfield for me, Hendo, Fabi Thiago and Jones coming off the bench are very good
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