Yeah, that’s why I said merit.
But in global, of course we need to have players we intend to use. Especially the ones we count on long term, not the ones who we’d ideally sell, but can’t find a buyer.
Like I said in another thread, for some of those cases I think even Klopp doesn’t know yet what he’ll do, pre-season might give some answers.
Good example was Elliott’s positive start last season, this time it could be someone else, different context, different needs, different numbers, etc.
Me neither.
Carvalho doesn’t at all strike me as a LM or RM that would work in our style of play. If I’m honest, with the 5 subs change, I could see Carvalho being heavily used off the subs bench against stubborn defenses. Start with the usual Fab, Henderson, Thiago/Keita and if it hasn’t worked, switch out Thiago/Keita, drop Henderson beside Fab, Carvalho CAM, bring on a couple of fresh forwards and run at the teams while they’re tired.
It’s a bit of an extreme example but in the AFL (Aussie rules) substitutions completely changed the way the game was played starting maybe 10-15 years ago. Players across the field (but in particular midfielders) begun to be heavily rotated, giving only a short number of minutes where they were expected to bust a gut running at their highest intensity then be interchanged 10 mins later, with the interchange bench resembling the entrance to a bee hive. The game became all about which team could combine skill and fitness to win the Premiership.
Nothing like that will happen in football with only 5 subs across a 90 minutes game, but I think the game will be played slightly differently which will heavily advantage the biggest teams in the league. I think we’ll see the big teams playing even more a battle of attrition against the smaller teams, really utilising fresh subs late in games to score late on. I really believe a team like City can get an advantage over us if they bring in a couple more players and we fail to take advantage of this rule change. That’s why I think it’s important to add another midfielder that can play in a more defensive way to provide us another option further up the field.
Expect to read plenty of match reports where City are 0-0 then score on 80’,85’,90’. I won’t be watching a single game of theirs next season unless it’s featuring us.
He’s young, coming on the back of his first full senior season at Fulham in the Championship, he will still develop. I think we don’t have to limit him to one position or change the system to suit him. We have used combining players in the half spaces in the past. We don’t really play with wingers, so it depends if in the half spaces we have direct players, or more combining ones. Coutinho was immediately moved to the left side (either in a 4-2-3-1 in 15/16 or 4-3-3 in 16/17 and 2017) when Klopp took over. To play the highest of the 3 midfielder or the single #10 in Klopp’s team, it’s literally in his own words the most demanding position on the pitch. Because you’re basically the first line of pressing, which is the first line of our defence. I’d be careful and wait to see first and foremost how Carvalho does in some friendlies, how the staff judge him in training, etc. We’ll see how that develops, the main thing for him will be to understand how we want to play, try and earn a spot in the squad for next season and then he could be used in more than one position, he might not forever remain in the spot he played at Fulham for the first 40 odd games in his career, it rarely turns out like that.
Thiago hit form at the tail end of the season like we’ve never seen in our colours. Next to him stands the captain. That’s a difficult midfield to break into when there are effectively only two positions for 5 competing players. Now you may ask ‘what about Keita?’ I love Keita, but he strikes me as a confidence player. I imagine he absolutely tears it up in training, and he probably gets rewarded by Klopp because of that. But we see he can make a single mistake early in the game and he’ll be mentally shot for the rest of the game (I would say that’s actually his biggest weakness). I thought he had a really good season overall, and I don’t think there were many occasions where I thought he didn’t deserve to be playing. Klopp clearly thought similar.
Without knowing what Klopp is thinking I think it’s easy to make an argument that Keita, Thiago and Henderson have really kept out Jones and Elliott from make more minutes rather than those two not pushing on. Why weren’t the two youngsters used more later in the season when or players were tired? I personally didn’t think it was or midfielders labouring but our forwards and FBs, and I’d rather a slightly tired Thiago on the field who is ‘match fit’ than bringing in a match cold kid to handle the pressure of the season’s most important games.
Even in his 21-22 form (and more importantly, fitness) Naby managed just over 2000 mins while our regulars clocked 3500 mins and upwards. Do you suppose he deserves a five-year contract when he is basically a back-up?
I like Naby, he is a special talent. But if that’s (last season) the best we can get, he is a luxury we can’t afford.
I think the odd goal and decent game masked his inability to keep up with the game we play. I’d be letting him go if someone came in for him.
Between Alcantara’s and Keita’s respective fitness records and Jones’ and Elliott’s youth and inconsistency, I think that new midfielder would get a lot of minutes here. That said, I’m more interested in seeing Klopp get an all-round midfielder of sorts, basically a younger version of Henderson who’s capable of playing instead, next to or ahead of Fabinho. After all, confirmed interest in Tchouameni suggests that he wanted to get a top midfielder this summer.
Also, it’s not like Keita has set the world on fire at Liverpool but I hope he comes good eventually. After all, he might be our Anderson or Carrick (before he came good) - an expensive but inconsistent player who’s capable of moments of absolute quality but is more interested in doing simple things and team is winning regardless of his presence. I think (and hope) he might extend that contract but I also think that Klopp is about the last person out there who truly believes that he will come good one day.
Edit: funnily enough, I’ve unknowingly replied to @Iftikhar as well!
I think our ultimate midfield target is Bellingham. It would be nice if we could get him this summer, but by all reports, Dortmund doesn’t want to lose Haaland and Bellingham in the same summer. Based on our track record, we’re more likely to wait on our preferred option than to accept a lesser replacement.
I also think we should keep our eye on another young Dortmund player with a lot of potential - Gio Reyna. He’s had some injury issues this season, but he’s got a very dynamic quality about him and he could play on the wing or as an 8.
Yeah, I agree and said a few months ago that realistically, purely looking at styles, quality and age, there is room for a dynamic CM who can compete with Hendo at RCM, someone not too young and sort of in between, but with the best years still ahead of him.
Just saying that I think if (also with the recent even of Millie staying and information that we want to keep Keita) we do get a proper new signing in, let alone a top one (which could’ve been Tchouameni), someone might leave out on loan par example.
What I also think is possible is that there perhaps won’t be a (top) alternative to Tchouameni this summer. We’ve seen this before, if we don’t get target A, we conclude that we don’t want target B, but rather wait for another window for that first player or a completely different one who might be available at that point.
‘Harry Kane more than a rumour’
Oh, absolutely, though plans B haven’t worked out badly for us over the course of Klopp’s tenure, so I’m hoping for a similar outcome here, and preferably this summer. I respect and admire Klopp’s mantra of “better no one than wrong one”, of course, but the scouting network should be able to find a decent alternative to Tchouameni, even if it’s an inferior one (hard not to be, he’s a player Real Madrid are about to pay between 80 and 100 million euros for).
Who is that speaking?
Rob Guttman from the Anfield Wrap (the Gutter show?)
Is he reliable?
I think he may have called the Elliot deal. I haven’t listened to the show for a while but from what I remember I think they usually just discuss the links being made by the media - they don’t usually do the ‘ITK’ stuff.
What’s the point of dropping that hint about Kane only to say “but we won’t talk about that.”
Maybe they were discussing it in another segment of the same show or in a separate show althogether?
Why would we splash huge amounts of money on a 30 year old? Why not spend it on someone with more years ahead at the top? Why would Spurs sell their talisman? Why would he want to leave them just as they seem to be getting their act together?
None of it makes any sense.
Wonder is there a gentlements type agreement since they messed up his City move that if us or them come back in they can’t stand in his way as much as they did. If we could bring the price down to 70m max I’d go for it imo. Wages wouldn’t be crazy as the likes Mo is asking for hopefully. Has maybe 3 years at the top, could push us over the line and help us in the last years of Klopp and maybe still have a top class striker for the new managers first year or so?
Even if it was in our interests, which I doubt, why would he do it and why would they sell?