He literally did, as in started the first league of the season in his first season. He ended up with only 5 appearances that season though because he suffered a season ending ACL injury in early October, about 7 games into the season
EDIT: Ah, I see this has been done already. Carry on…
Isn’t the registration issue down to his work permit though? And the Agent (presuming he isn’t bullshitting) was very clear he wasn’t ever going in the 21s
For a lad of his size you can understand them thinking that U21 football wouldn’t offer him much and would even encourage him to develop bad habits by just out muscling children. That perspective doesn’t necessarily disagree with Sweeting’s position that there was no way we were actually planning on him being one of the first team CBs this season and planned our personnel moves around that. The mid ground would be 6 months training with the first team getting him used to the level before sending him out on loan in January.
Push comes to shove though I’d still lean on the agent talking bumf.
Not sure why we’re looking at a hybrid centre back/right back. Doesn’t Iraola play with attacking fullbacks? If you’re getting a Konsa or a Tomori then they aren’t going to play like that. Smacks of last season where players are bought without a thought as to how the Head Coach will use them. Also doesn’t look good for Frimpong as you’d think he’d be suitable but he isn’t being classed as a Right Back at all.
Some players can do both roles, perhaps not perfectly but to an adequate standard as cover. Gomez was I thought a really good example. Having one player available to cover both positions increases the opportunity to play them.
I don’t think that is what happened at all.
It depends. Iraola played with 1 attacking full-back and 1 much deeper. But Slot also used inverted full-backs before Liverpool. I think they just have to adapt to the squad. Not saying much.
Yes, but sort of. He likes to keep 3 at the back with the ball, meaning the FB who doesnt go forward tucks in. That has typically alternated depending on the situation, but it wouldnt be crazy to have a konsa type RB who simply stayed at home with it being the LB who concentrated on getting forward. It takes some adjustment of how the midfield adpat (one more inclined to pull wide to provide the width the missing RB never would), but it’s doable.
Bourrnemouth CB/RB James Hill, age 24 feels like a strong option if Liverpool signs someone for the defence. The pros are he is young homegrown player, he would be relatively cheap at around 40m, and he has system familiarity, having been coached up by Iraola.
I’m wondering if Iraola, behind the scenes, is asking for Hill or if he has any input on our transfer business? He praised James Hill rather highly in a press conference just a few months ago.
We have lost THREE players from the championship squad: Trent, Salah, and Diaz. That’s not an insignificant loss. Also Slot for whatever reason completely changed our system that we used in the championship year in his second season. He BROKE what didn’t need fixing.
Now Iraola has to put in place a new system from scratch. We still have a lot of talent, but we are not quite matching that magical 2024 team that dominated the PL en route to winning the League Title.
Lucas? …discuss…
By who? He’s started two of our three pre-season games at RB and came on as a sub at RB in the other.
He’d get absolutely battered in football today.
Was a nice lad but I couldn’t even tell you what type of player he was or what his best role was. Not the physicality of a Mascherano. Not the passing of Alonso. Not the guile of a Fabinho. Not the ball carrying of Gravenberch.
He just sort of existed at Liverpool without really leaving a mark.
EDIT: Unluckeeeee might be the thing he’s most remembered for here.
I’d probably class him as mainly a possession-recycler, a bit like a Joe Allen. Ironically would probably have done decently well under Slot’s system last season.
Yep and the aspirations of the club.
If you´re trying to be more solid and compact as you´re Bournemouth, it would perhaps make more sense to have one full back of each rather than both very attacking, wheread if you´re Liverpool and expected to win a lot and attack, maybe two attacking full backs.
Or if you are stacked with attacking players and not much at Cb or DM as we may be, maybe more solid full backs.
Basically, what you said.
I thought maybe that mixed with a softer Fabinho.
Sit and protect the back four like Fab, fairly well ish, and play it quite simple a bit like Allen. But not really a proper solid holding mid or a (Brazilian Welsh) Xavi.
I think when Lucas signed it was initially thought he would be to play an attacking midfield role (isn’t that where his early games where under Rafa?) but he lacked the pace to do that, so dropped was used as a squad option further back.
Then as the squad started getting turned over to bring squad costs down and in preparation for the rebuild he played more in that DM role. Under Kenny he suffered a knee injury against Chelsea and much of the pace he did have disappeared too .
I think this was more a misunderstanding when he signed - it was reported he’d played as a box to box midfielder in Brazil, and PL fans were unfamiliar with the expression back then, and assumed it meant he’d be getting regularly into the opposition box, hence an attacking mid.
I don’t think the club’s expectations for the role Lucas would play changed after his arrival, I think supporters just realised he wasn’t the player they’d assumed he was.
Oh my god, is time travel really a thing? Is this 2012? Can we stop the signing of Andy Carroll or am I too late?