And the fact he doesn’t and has 6 months left means we are getting little or nothing.
Might as well see if we can get some game time from him.
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I don’t wish to sell any Liverpool player. I like them all, and there’s no one I want out. It’s nuanced, but obviously some are closer to the exit door than others, but it’s not that I want them gone. Not sure if that makes sense…
Anyway, let’s look at the midfield first. Far too many players for one section, but as we all know, this department has issues! In the summer I fully expect four to be gone, due to deals winding down and not being renewed - Keita, Ox, Milner, Melo.
Now all of a sudden the numbers look more sensible. Depending on who we recruit, I could see midfield departures going deeper than the four mentioned. If we sign one good midfielder, I think the rest are safe. If we sign two, especially regular performers, then I think we will see at least one more departure.
As to who that is it is hard to say. If we get a good offer for Fabinho, or if Thiago wants to play the last part of his career in an easier league than the Prem, it is not difficult to see a midfield shuffle going deeper, especially if we sign say, Caicedo and Bellingham.
But I think we will have 4-6 midfield departures by summer, and 1-2 incoming.
As a I look at the defence it’s all looking good, but Gomez might be vulnerable. Not yet, but in time. He has slipped to fourth choice, and there’s a sense in which he needs a run of games to find his best rhythm and form. Will he get that run of games? Arguably not. His pace and power is a great asset as a back up right back, but in time you would have to think Ramsay will make a case for himself there.
It’s not urgent, but Gomez could be vulnerable, especially if we get a decent offer.
His recent defensive lapses are things that are not as problematic if he were to play RB. More so what he is good at is really valuable when defending from RB, not least his covering pace to help out an at times exposed high line. So, at present he almost certainly has too much value as a back up to Trent to think about moving him on even if he is solidly 4th choice at CB.
That is, until Ramsay shows his worth. A good second half to the season from the young Scott could lesson the importance of Gomez’s ability to RB and in turn leave him vulnerable to being moved on if we can find a decent enough 4th choice CB. If we make the addition to the CM that we expect, does that make it more viable to retry the Fabinho experiment?
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Recruiting two midfielders should be sufficient to cover Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner and Arthur. Especially with their lack of minutes for the most case.
Wouldn’t envisage the need to let another go however. Perhaps Jones if there’s a decent offer plus the possible need to raise some funds. Bajcetic has come in of late and will likely be part of the squad next season.
Thiago is quality. Should stay and perhaps offer an extension.
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Two will be suffice as you say Bajectic is already looking like an option and he will only improve.
You do have Jones and you’d still have Hendo, Fabinho and Thiago. If they play 3 then that’s 6 seven if you include Jones.
If we switch to the 4-2-3-1 then that’s more than ample
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Thiago will be 32 by next season, and has been showing signs of slowing down this past year. Keeping guys on too long is what’s got them into the situation they’re in now.
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He’s also a country mile better than any other midfielder we have.
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For me it is all about the midfield blend. We can prolong the good parts Thiago brings as long as we have got legs alongside.
Not sure I can agree on that, mate. If anything, his game is based on speed of thought and unreal technical ability and I really don’t see any difference to the last season in these aspects. His availability, though… Well, if he hadn’t been that prone to injuries, I guess we wouldn’t have been able to get him.
That said, if there’s one “old” player I’d like Liverpool to keep for as long as possible, it’s him. He’s not a versatile player, never has been, but I think he can provide 20-30 games per season at good level, leadership on and off the pitch and guidance to club’s youngsters. Bajčetić, for example, has already publicly given glowing praise as to how Alcantara helped him settle into the side.
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I don’t question Thiago’s quality one bit, but playing him alongside Hendo and Fabinho has made for a midfield that is a step slow too often, and has been run through by some of the younger, more athletic midfields they’ve faced this season.
I guess my point was we’ve got too many aging midfielders we are counting on week in, week out, and continuing to do so is not sustainable, IMO.
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NO.
Instead of whom?!
I think ‘athletic’ is the word that stands out for me. Against Man City, we started with 2/3 teenagers alongside him. Elliott, Carvalho and Bajetic have the potential to be great players but they are boys, growing into men and we can not control a midfield with that combination.
The problem with our midfield combination is that Fabinho is way off form. This is exposing how much we relied on him to snuff out danger when the ball got played in behind our full backs.
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If Firmino signs an extension I struggle to see where Carvalho gets his games next season, a loan might be on the cards there.
We need a more athletic midfield, pretty much every one of them could be sold and we shouldn’t have too much problem replacing them. I’d keep Thiago until his legs completely fall off but any of the others would be dispensable should the right offer come in.
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I think people under value the importance of Hendo and after a poor 8 months are ready to throw Fabinho on the scrap heap. I wouldn’t sell either, both are important and last season were main stays in a team that won two trophies and unfortunately fell short in two.
Since Gini left we have not had an athletic, combative midfielder who is always available. As much as I love them AOC and Naby have to go and any good offer for Curtis and Gomez has to be considered. I believe they are all talented players - Gomez especially - but sometimes a player or a club out grows each other.
It isn’t about undervaluing anyone - Henderson is 32 and being athletic was a huge part of his game.
You say 8 months as if that’s a few games, it’s a long time for a 29 year old to be terrible.
Like I said, none of them should be considered irreplacable if the right offers came in. I’d include Elliot in that, like Carvalho I’m still struggling to see where he fits in a properly functioning Liverpool team.
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But Henderson is still athletic, still has energy. He was taken off against Villa because he was ill but was probably still our best player.
Fabinho hasn’t been terrible just under performing to the levels he set.
Elliott and Carvalho are going to be good players but they need time to learn their trade, in the EPL they are not yet physical enough to play aggressive games yet alone for us to start with both.
This is why I would rather Caicedo than Enzo.
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Henderson doesn’t have what he had 3-4 years ago and he’ll never get it back. Without it he is an average midfielder. Same with Wijnaldum, the key reason why it was a solid decision not to give him a silly contract.
Fabinho would be easy to improve on with decent funds available. Elliot would be very easily improved on. Keita would be very easy to improve on by virtue of getting a player who can stay fit for longer than 5 minutes. Ditto Jones.
The midfield worked last year, this year it has fallen apart. Root and branch change is often called for uneccessarily by fans but there’s a very good case to be made for it in our midfield.
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So your basis on selling Hendo is because he doesn’t have what he had 3-4 years ago. Yet, in the last 3/4 years when we were competing/winning things it was okay to keep him.
Was it a solid decision not to offer Gini a new contract? You say ‘silly contract’ as if you were privvy to negotiations.
I am not disputing that the midfield is our weak area at present and that it needs updating but throwing players who have been consistent for us over the last few seasons under the bus for the Teams short comings is what I do not agree with.
Don’t see why people want to sell Fabinho if it’s just one bad season. He’s getting found out because he’s not getting enough protection with the current system (and players around him as well).
Keita / Ox - absolute ones i would move out… Goes without saying , it hasn’t worked out for them at Liverpool and they would probably do well in a top tier league which doesn’t have the intensity of the PL.
Milner - if he’s calling it a day.
Adrian - with thanks for the super Cup. Pitaluga is fine for a third choice keeper the next season
Jones - if we get a suitable offer , having brooded in the likes of Elliot/Carvalho /bajcetic - we don’t need Jones that much