The Unreliable Transfer Rumours Discussion Thread (Part 5)

Sure why not link a club guaranteed to get clicks to the current flavour of the month for some easy money - I’m in the wrong business :sweat_smile:

3 Likes

My issue with Sommerville is that is he already past his best? Not really done anything major since Dont Leave Me This Way in the early 80s.

9 Likes

Leave him alone, he’s just a smalltown boy.

3 Likes

More players who are ultimately better on the left than on the right?

:joy:

1 Like

Yeah I think this is spot on.

A bit underwhelming probably but a solid player. Have to say, he is probably one of the best dribbling wingers in the league when he wants to be and he is quick although sometimes seems to stumble a bit when he should be getting away from defenders.. It´s just maybe he´s not so good with passing play and arguably shooting. You never really see him do a clever pass.

God knows how West Ham went down. Everyone wants their players.

The main answer is they were absolutely diabolical at the back, especially in the first half of the season. They tightened up a bit in the second half but left themselves too far back to catch up.

1 Like

Possibly but for me it´s all related.

People often talk about needing better defending or being too open at the back or whatever but what you do with the ball also impacts what you need to do defensively doesnt it. For example, it´s a lot easier to attack if you play in a very open style but you will also concede more chances most likely. As Liverpool fans, we can relate im sure.

I saw questions of how teams were getting so many shots against England despite playing with Rice and Anderson (who people consider defensive midfielders) and in my view it´s because they gave the ball away a lot and invited pressure. It´s tough to totally shut teams out from getting shots off all the time.

https://x.com/AnfieldEdition/status/2074435233819041884?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^2074435233819041884|twgr^70c1c2d98bd9b69d3a4b9b634551af44227d90c6|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lfcreds.com%2Freds%2Findex.php%2Ftopic52034.12742.html

1 Like

He does look very skilful.

Again though he looks more of an attacking midfielder so backup for Wirtz rather than a CM or DM.

I watched a few videos and didn´t see much passing from him but he has quick feet.

1 Like

Passing is overrated anyway, sign him up.

1 Like

Bruh have you not seen Goal? We can make him watch it

1 Like

I think the common thread with the Minteh, Savinho, Summerville and (very unreliably) Neto links isn’t goals and assists. None of them are good enough in that area.

What they do all bring is dribbling, ball carrying and the ability to receive under pressure and get the team up the pitch. Minteh in particular ranks very highly for successful dribbles among wingers. Minteh and Summerville also have a good amount of tackles won and pressure stats. (Savinho’s are awful and Neto’s average)

Honestly, that’s something we’ve missed since Diaz left. He wasn’t just about goals or assists, he was a reliable out ball. You could play it into him under pressure and trust him to beat a man and turn defense into attack. He also worked his socks off pressing.

One of my biggest frustrations last season was how often we couldn’t get out. Apart from Ekitike at times, we’d win the ball back, play it forward, and it would come straight back because nobody could consistently hold it up or beat the first man. Even Salah was a bit hit-and-miss in that aspect compared to previous years.

If these links are genuine, I wonder if Liverpool are putting more value on press resistance and ball progression than pure output. These are strengths of Diomande’s as well. A winger who can carry the ball 20-30 yards and let the team push up can make a huge difference, even if he’s not putting up Salah or Mane numbers for goals and assists.

13 Likes

One of the reads on the Diaz move was that in the interest of wanting to support Slot’s increased “final third control” game model and viewing Diaz as too raw to suit that. The irony is it was that ability to retain possession under pressure, or be an effective release ball that gave us a lot of the final third control we had. The tendency for the ball to come straight back at us last season whenever we played it forward was critical.

4 Likes

Very fair points.

I do also think it´s important on dribbling to see how they dribble. What I mean by this, are they beating players into nothing areas or against the touchline or in towards midfield, or are they getting past their full back and actually dribbling into the box to create chances or shoot.

1 Like

Love your username and Avatar by the way. I am a Dead Head as well!

3 Likes

Bang on I totally agree we should have kept him for at least another year.

1 Like

No he had to be sold he might have become a distraction it was a great deal for the club.

1 Like

I think we were banking Diamonde and are know fucked knowing what to do for best.

Seen enough of Summerville. Nothing that he brings to the table that shouldn’t be addressed by our youth department.

I’m getting a bit concerned we just don’t have an alternative to Diomande. It would be incredibly Liverpool to decide that the best alternative to a first choice is nobody.

Post Mo Salah, we don’t need our right winger to be the best player in the league, but we do need numbers.

2 Likes