Yeah Wirtz and Ekitike are very talented players and hopefully will get better but that doesn´t cover up for the loss of a world class Salah which is what we had last year. It may cover up for Diogo and Luis but we need wide players of high quality to give us width. Two of them.
Rio is promising but he´s nowhere near ready to be of that level. An Olise, Kvara or even a Yamal. That´s what we need to aim for,
And then as I said, midfield is absolute pap and the defence needs further work. A lot of players are needed, and thats always tough to do.
Slot is rubbish but it´s not like the competition is anything special and we are well behind. I don´t ever want us to play 3 cbs though. DM, ball playing Cm and Wirtz in the 10.
I remember a lot of Bayer Leverkusen play where the team did end up playing a 2-2-4-2 during offensive transitions. With really pacy wingbacks. And one CB transitioning more to the CDM playing area.
Our team does look to be suited for that.
I would think we would require far less changes if Alonso were to come in rather than Slot who would obviously demand more players etc.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong in playing a 3 CB formation nowadays. It’s just the starting lineup on paper. Football has become very transitional and overload driven nowadays. What starts off as being 3-4-3 easily transitions to becoming a 4-3-3 or a 2-2-4-2 at different points in the same match.
The midfield has become crap because Slot persists in playing gravenberch without another 6 alongside him. We are essentially playing without a defensive midfielder. It can work if Slot had made macca play like he did last season. But he essentially made macca go further up and left gravenberch hopelessly outnumbered.
Slot was bought in and one of the things we noted when he was bought in was that he used the midfield pivot. We don’t have the midfield pivot anymore.
From wirtz needing to be the #10 and soboazlai being used as a jack of all trades , and macca being pushed further into attack.
The underperformance of the midfield is purely tactics driven.
If your 6 needs another 6 next to him, he´s not very good
It´s true that Slot keeps playing Mac in the 10 and he´s not suited to it but even with whatever Slot is doing, Gravenberch can´t track runners or pass through the lines and is out of position a lot. I don´t think he´s the DM we need and he´s not good enough on the ball to be the player who runs the show.
Similarly, even when he is next to Grav, Mac is so slow and doesn´t dictate the game with the ball. Dom runs around a lot and shoots well but he isn´t a DM or dictating player either. They´re all generic all rounders.
Full backs for width is rubbish and that is why none of the teams who win things consistently rely only on their full backs to provide width. It´s an idea Liverpool fans got obsessed with when we had Trent and Robbo.
We just saw what Yamal, Kvara, Dembele, Diaz and Olise and do to teams. Stretching teams with pace and trickery and scoring goals.
Fabinho’s style of play was found woefully lacking during his last season at Liverpool as teams evolve.
Liverpool will never go to a pure ball winner CDM again. We have a very good #6 in gravenberch. What we need is someone who’s giving him backup , especially when we are caught on the break. Dom could have provided that but too often this season he’s played in RB.
Mac can provide that as well , but that depends on team instructions again. Too often he’s being made to push forward when pace isn’t his strongest suit
Fabinho´s style of play was found lacking? What? He was just older and past it. Madness. That´s like Saying Salah´s style has now been found lacking.
I honestly don´t know what you´re watching if you think Grav is a very good 6. You´re saying he needs backup because he can´t do his job there.
You also seem to think Mac looking like a fat 50 year old pub player is purely because of instructions. Is Slot telling him to jog slowly and spaff an easy clearance today?
Some odd choices there.
Selling Isak or Wirtz would just crystalise a huge loss when there is no reason the player can’t reproduce after returning from injury/having the right structure around them;
Offloading VVD is too premature unless he’s done a Mo and insists on playing every game. Ideally he’s phased out over 2-3 seasons as - without knowing whats happening behind the scenes - it still looks like he has much to offer;
Frimpong - if he’s sold its either because physically they don’t think he’s right for the PL or tactically they want to play another way. The player himself has done enough to stay, especially if a new manager uses him as part of a properly balanced side.
Imo , isak should never have been signed as mentioned previously for going on strike , and the fact his injury record is appalling, but the few games he has played the majority of them he has looked lazy as fuck, semenyo could have been brought last summer for half the price and would have had a big impact.
Wirtz, over hyped for what he did in the german league, but this season has been such a shitfest, that given the hype over him , he to me all in all is weak, and lacks intensity, his physical nature is limited, and as said about the hype , i honestly thought he would have a massive impact , and its not materialised, did hope he would be our 21st century version of dalglish…can honestly say in 15 years time etc, wirtz will not be amongst the discussion for best lfc players ever.
And yes it would crystalise a huge loss, but thats because the idiots in charge who sanctioned paying these sums should be sacked, we tried to act like city with big bids and showing that we can compete, and we looked like chumps.
Vvd this season has been appalling too , and people seem to let him off all in all to jump on the bandwagon in having a go at konate, virg had been brilliant over the years, but he has had a big drop off the last few seasons and will never regain that form.
I would definitely keep Isak and Wirtz. There’s a lot more changes to make before we go that drastic, and in the meantime, let’s see what a second season brings. They are good players but there’s just been so much wrong this season it has been difficult for anyone to shine.