The only thing giving me some hope that Trent is staying is the fact that @Nikola has created the transfer thread.
It might turn out to be nothing more than a fool’s hope.
Remains to be seen. At Feyernoord, and possibly before, he had his teams attack one way in a season (flanks), then flipped it to focus on attacking from another part of the field the next (through the middle).
I dont know how much of that was due to player changes, i assume from what, i read very little.
I think there’s more than a fair wee bit of Rafa in Slot and his pragmaticism. His tactics are more than the relentless barrage that was Klopp’s forte.
He is attacking but he tailors his tactics depending on the oppositions. The more he reads them , the more ideas he gives.
Fixed
Can Tchouameni play right back?
No idea,
but if we stack the midfield, stop teams getting at our defense, it won’t really matter.
Considering the workrate of our wingers. And that is including Salah / Diaz.
We should be okay.
Trent’s a good rightback. Like every rightback in a high defensive line , he needs support from the wingers. I just don’t understand the shit about Trent can’t defend mindset.
It’s his choice whether he needs to go or not. But under the current system , we’ll have more pragmatism in play. That means , more safer options.
It’s not a dig on Klopp , more a reinforcement on slot.
Don’t understand the downplaying of Trent. Maybe people have just become used to him being brilliant, or are preparing themselves for the worst, or Scousers being more critical of their own??
He’s more than a ‘good’ player. He is world class. The best passer of the ball I have seen. Had 100 PL goal involvements before he was 25, smashing all records for a RB. And a much better defender that he’s given credit for.
Bradley looks a great prospect. The captain of my national team so I’ve seen him play more than most. Thinking that he can just slot right in and replace Trent full time is fanciful at best
Exactly. There is a reason that the most successful and powerful club in the world are after him.
To be honest with you - a large part of it is because he’s available for free…
On the downplaying - agree, it’s over the top. He’s right up there with his skills and ability. The only thing I would like is if he were to improve his body language…sometimes he just looks a bit too languid/relaxed. I get why he is like that, and it is nit-picking, but for me a captain should be on it all the time - not sure he is.
Really, but with VVD it’s just cool.
Yes, of course the fact that his contract is up is attractive, but he won’t be free. They’ll be paying a big signing on fee and big wages.
He’s definitely in the top five in his position worldwide and is a unique talent in terms of his skillset. No other full back in the world can pass like Trent.
No, I think that is a small part of it, and a result of their relatively new transfer strategy to idenitfy players whose contract is up in a year or two and work on getting them to agree a move.
This then removes the hassle of negotiation with the player’s club, while also weakening that club’s negotiation power if they look to move the player on before his contract expires, and denying them money from a sale if the contract does expire.
All upside is capture by the player and Real Madrid as there are no sell on fees or performance %s going to other clubs.
I’ve said all of the above in the thread before mate - I just have a gut feeling that Real Madrid wouldn’t be interested if there were 2-3 years left on his deal. I know he will get a sign on fee etc etc and the upsides, and heck, I’ve defended this strategy that RM take in the thread, of flirting with the best players over an extended period and convincing them to let their contracts run down.
What I’m not trying to suggest is that they are only in for me because he’s free (i.e. not worth a fee).
As I said - nit picking.
Virgil is as cool as a cucumber but very active in terms of keeping everything in check. Virgil spends the entire match shouting, organising, clapping, high fiving, waving his arms to increase the tempo, slowing the tempo down etc.
Don’t see much of that from Trent…so yeah, i do think really.
Reiterating - nit picking - I love Trent and want him to stay, but I also think I can dislike an element of a player without falling foul of saying he’s shit or having a serious issue. Sometimes Gerrard used to piss be off when he was skipper too with what he used to do.
The thing I keep coming back to is how happy Trent looks with Slot as manager. He seems to be really enjoying the challenge that Slot is laying down to him at becoming a better player.
Of course there is every chance he still leaves, Madrid is quite a proposition, but I think that relationship Slot has quickly built could be important.
It’s no disrespect to Klopp of course but I think its fair to say that Slot has improved several players already and Trent’s defending, which was already better than people claimed, has definitely come on several levels.
Premature compensation, probably.
I wonder if it goes back to what he said about not having enough energy.
Given all that I’ve seen, I still think on the balance of probabilities he wants to extend his contract with us, but Real Madrid is too good a bargaining chip to waste (and a good backup option regardless).
I’d say it has more to do with how we’re structured as a group.
Not only the change of midfield structure, we’re happy not to (try to) chase at all moments, but also drop a bit deeper, being compact altogether.
Gotta credit Salah in this role because I didn’t see him defending as well as he’s doing, in his 30’s, basically playing as a right winger (still has a bit more freedom than the left sided winger in some phases).
Not like I saw something extra new from Trent. There’s a new team balance now and he’s perhaps more motivated to do better individually within that. At least for what could be his final season, of course he wants to end it on a high with trophies.
I’ve seen improvement from Trent. He isn’t stopping mid-play as often, he’s following through in defensive actions with much more conviction.