Lol no idea, I do post occassionally 
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Central midfield thread post 2879
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Lol.. no worries. Glad I asked rather than spending ten minutes scrolling up and down in here for no reward. 
Cheers ears! Not been in there yet.
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Actually just in the process of watching this and feel missed a few things why the press failed under Arne.
I remember against Chelsea they played Gusto as the LB and he was the one coming in to midfield and was never tracked by Mo and they regularly played from the right half of the pitch into him.
Also, as he mentioned the forward was coming short and was never tracked and was an easy outlet and lastly the amount of times it was just a midfielder coming short and not being tracked was a major issue.
For me, last season it wasnāt just the guys pressing from the front it was the follow up press or tracking players that was a major issue.
What he also failed to mention was how our press and subsequent play in Slotās 1st season deteriorated as the season wore on, now who was responsible for that?
What I see is that initial press after the goalie passes to one of the CBās is that the 1st man pressing, normally Isak arcs his run forcing them in one direction and out wide, where we can trap them, whilst cutting off a pass to the other CB and reducing the angle back to the keeper.
This initial press and angle makes it far easier for the rest of the team to set their shape and respond to outlet passes with pressure.
Otherwise, a very good view on us under Andoni and how he wants us to press
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Not a fan. Thereās so many holes to pick in that. Heās got a message heās trying to deliver but the stats heās using to back that up are absolutely bogus. Straight off the bat:
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Diaz is suddenly this elite ball recoverer but Wirtz isnāt??! Wirtz is a downgrade? Really? Wirtz had by far his worst professional season last year and had 4.32 ball recoveries per 90. Diaz over the last 3 seasons at LFC had 4.52, 4.32 and 3.88 (final season) recoveries per 90. Wirtz had 5.42, 5.86 (both BL), 4.32 last season, his worst by far, and is hovering at 6.54 this season over admittedly a tiny sample size. Btw, Iām not downplaying Diaz because his fight and determination up front is why we lived him, but this guy is seriously downplaying Wirtz and his uses.
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Suggests Mac Allisters is not close to an elite runner. Is Milner considered an elite runner? Because, excluding late sub cameos that heavily skew the data points, Milner at LFC and Mac Allister at LFC both hover at around 11.2km/90 when starting and playing close to full match minutes.
I honestly gave up after that. Heās making agenda driven points and then just winging the stats on the back of that based on his feeling of the players and situation. Carragher would be proud.
The guy is doing the opposite of analysing.
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Interestingly I read a lot of stuff about Slot before he joined, and a lot of the analysis, all flagged Slotās out of possession structure as an issue. And, I think when the press was broken Slot often mentioned how much the team relied on the guys involved in the initial press to sprint at high intensity to get back into a low/midblock. Unlike a year later Trent, Grav and Robbo spent a lot of time behind thre ball when the team attacked
Yeah, youāre right about Isak cutting the pitch in half in a way that allows his mates to overload the area containing the ball.
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I think you may reading a bit too much into what he is saying about individuals.
Training schedule, academy concerns and soft skills - why Liverpool sacked Slot
Until thereās a similar piece about Iraola like the one above, then no, Slot and Iraola havenāt reached the same conclusions. Not that it was necessary to have Lynch confirm what quickly became obvious and self-evident. Slot didnāt trust anyone, be it a youth project or a seasoned veteran, outside of a select group of players.
For what itās worth, Nyoni had 6 appearances in the PL in two years under Slot. He has 2 in 3 games under Iraola.
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Itās important that we are detailed in discussing the issues. Why limit it only PL appearances? Because it doesnāt fit the narrative?
2024ā25 Season (5 appearances)
2025ā26 Season (14 appearances).
More importantly those two years are the reason why his appearances will increase this seasonā¦
Itās a continuous process of development.
Hmm.
I havenāt seen Slot at Feyenoord at all but seeing as weāve become so easy to play through has to raise a few eyebrows.
Also losing heitinga after Slotās first season. The midfield was very cohesive in Slots first season. Majority of the first season at the very least.
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Perfect European record. Undefeated as Liverpool manager. Legend.
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I love his happy face when we win.
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Well done gaffer! Congrats on your first CL win! Letās keep your personal unbeaten streak going!!
Yep, it looked like the analysts and coaching staff had got it wrong. Itās refreshing to have that confirmation.
I think I made a comment about Kerkez to that effect who really felt the brunt of it imo.
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Great learning curve for him, the players and for us as we now know him and his team of coaches can change successfully to nullify/exploit the oppositions setup.
This also provides more tools for the players to adapt mid game when coming up against different formations.
Brilliant Andoni AA+
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Our coverage in the US showed he and one of his coaches (I dont know who is who yet) frantically scribbling in a note book about 5 mins in. I guess we know now what was going on
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I was a fan of Iraola before we hired him, but my appreciation for him has only grown with every successive interview and press conference. Heās very thoughtful and his empathy and understanding comes through. You can see why players would like playing for him. And you can see how active he is on the touchline directing his players and pointing out potential problems, something I like to see because heās almost serving as the 12th man.
But I will say that I was similarly impressed with Slot at first before I steadily became disillusioned with him last season. You canāt really judge a coach until you see them dealing with adversity.
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And they passed the notes to the players on the bench behind them, who were the young academy lads, helping their understanding of the game and preparing them for if they get on or if in tge situation in the future.
Impressive all round from our coach and his team.
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