Very injury prone.
If we talk about a system, Iâd say itâs arguably going to be harder to replace Salah, because that might have to be a combination of a quality RW and a striker. Hence why one of the arguments to go for a striker like Ekitike is to find someone who can co-operate with Salah for two years, but also with time, takeover a good portion of those goals. Salah is an âunusualâ RW, you donât find many players with that consistent goalscoring from that zone. Like for like, incredibly hard to find. Virgil is one of the best of his era and maybe even a bit outside his time. Surely high class, but defending is also as a group, within which you have individuals who stand out.
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yep, i can understand that point and agree to an extent,
but at the end of the day, defending is reacting to the opposition (not saying you cant defend proactively) you build a wall and they try and climb it, so they are looking for ways to get through you, yes, you do defend as a unit, but you must defend the space individuallyâŚits a reactive art, a system is in place to deal with all aspects thrown at it
attacking is a proactive activity, there are so many ways you can attack that you can utilise different aspects of individual players, go long, short, wide, press, cut in left, stay wide rightâŚyou have a lot more flexibility because you are designing the playâŚits a proactive art, a system is in place to work solely with the players at its disposal, you can design it to work to your key strengths
The question by @dalglish was about replacing Virgil in a couple of years.
First thing isâŚcan we replace him or is it a systems issue. Fair point
Then it becomes a question of who is harder to replace?
Mo or Virgil. Fair point.
@GermanRed offers a decent optionâŚbut that choice is questioned regarding injuriesâŚMaybe a fair point in both directions.
The simple answer is best.
We canât replace him. We didnât replace Hansen. Because we couldnât.
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And thatâs precisely when shit started to go bad.
We cant find someone identical, but we have to look (as best we can) to replace what he brings the team or weâll have issues. That can be part player and part system but we canât expect to stay at/near the top of the tree if we donât have a strong well marshalled defence. It can be done - see for eg. Keegan, Torres, Gerrard, Hendo etc
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What is so difficult to replace is the fear factor, forwards are beaten before they enter the pitch.
The only other defender that I can remember that had invincible air about them was Maldini.
Replacing VVD will be as hard as replacing Alan Hansen when he retired. Weâve had really good center-backs throughout the decades after that: Hyypia, Carragher, Agger⌠I have no doubt that we will find good center-backs who will take VVDâs place when he leaves.
But it wonât be the same, unless a miracle happens.
Edit: possibly, the club will reflect on a good center-back pairing, in order to make up for the loss of VVDâs exceptional individual qualities. Thatâs what Iâd try to do.
The pair Hyypia-Henchoz for instance was quite good in terms of complimenting each others qualities and deficiencies. It was followed by the Hyypia-Carragher combo, which was even better in terms of solidity.
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Think if Virgil shows a high level through the next season , we probably do need to add another year to his existing contract. (Providing heâs willing).
While it is difficult to replace Salah , we are on the way to building a team which shouldnât be as reliant on Salah with the addition of Wirtz , Ekitike etc.
Itâs damn near impossible to replace Virgil with a clone. The least we can do is ensure VVD spends as much time as possible with the club so that we identify and build a defensive team which together can take care of the defensive responsibilities well enough by the time VVD is ready to call it a day.
And itâs all the more important that his minutes are taken care of. That means buying defensive reinforcements.
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