Our style of play

[Paul12]

...Swap Caicedo for Lavia and a top CB if it doesn't go through, we at least know we've got the money now.

Need to move quickly before that top CB is snapped up by West Ham!

[red g]

GK:
Alisson - 30
Kelleher - 24
Pitaluga - 21
Adrian - 36

Defenders:
Trent - 24
Robertson - 29
Virgil - 32
Konate - 24
Gomez - 26
Matip - 32
Phillips - 26
Kostas - 27
Bradley - 20
Quansah - 20

Midfielders:
Alexis - 24
Dominik - 22
Caicedo - 21
Bajcetic - 18
Jones - 22
Elliott - 20
Thiago - 32
Clark - 18

Forwards:
Gakpo - 24
Nunez - 24
Jota - 26
Diaz - 26
Salah - 31
Doak - 18

Ideal scenario is getting a CB in as well, but if Caicedo goes through, I'm really liking the look of Liverpool FC Reloaded Swap Caicedo for Lavia and a top CB if it doesn't go through, we at least know we've got the money now.

replace the Midfield this summer, Defence next summer and Attack the season after

[Norbs]

Would never have known Joel and Virg were the same age

[Paul12]

Would never have known Joel and Virg were the same age

Joel has partied more than Virg!

[The_weatherman]

I think we don't need too much depth this season tbh, we only have the Europa League so we can rest players there, we'll probably challenge for the title but everyone deep down knows City are running away with it again, so we need to get 2-5 for the CL place. To challenge for title we'd need a Tchouameni, Valverde type IMO.

This will be our transitional season, should have been last season but we ****ed that up so this will be it, integrating new players and developing young players. Predict two in, and then some more in January or next season to finish the squad.

[BobTheCharmer]

Hopefully whatever team we put out can see off Bournemouth. I'm more than a little concerned that Newcastle might tear us to strips. Their midfield is strong and very mobile and they are decent down the flanks. Will be a tougher game than Chelsea although hopefully we'll be better at retaining the ball.

[danperkins]

If we want to get anything vs Newcastle we'll have to outwork them. I'm not sure we have that in us, they are relentless and so well drilled without having any real stand out players. I hate to say but that's what a "team" looks like.

[Irishnev]

[ame="https://twitter.com/jon_mackenzie/status/1691360358852640768"]https://twitter.com/jon_mackenzie/status/1691360358852640768[/ame]

[rudedog]

I watched the Newcastle Man city game at the weekend and what struck me was how much better coached both teams were (particularly city).

What has happened to our coaching? If we bought the best DM in the world, it might be a sticking plaster for some of our issues but on its own, it's not going to fix the multitude of issues we keep seeing.

I think our problems are more with coaching than they are with personnel.

[Irishnev]

I watched the Newcastle Man city game at the weekend and what struck me was how much better coached both teams were (particularly city).

What has happened to our coaching? If we bought the best DM in the world, it might be a sticking plaster for some of our issues but on its own, it's not going to fix the multitude of issues we keep seeing.

I think our problems are more with coaching than they are with personnel.

Agree to a point - we need better/younger players to carry out the physical demands needed to deliver against a particular formation. In addition a formation or way of playing needs to be rehearsed over and over again so players instinctively know what to do in any given situation.

There is no way Klopp and Pep L don’t know we have a gaping hole down our right hand side and I think they believe that if we get our counter pressing and control right then it mitigates against that being exploited. City are playing this way for over a year now and they have many reps in the bank to perfect it. In addition they have specialists to deliver against it:

CBs who are comfortable as FBs and defending out wide - Walker, Ake, Akanji and now Gvardiol
CBs who are comfortable in midfield - mainly Stones
Arguably the best DM in the world in Rodri

When we were elite with our 4-3-3 our players seemed to have a telepathic understanding of where each other would be. We also seemed to overrun the opposition and suffocate them. The first part was due to many rehearsed and orchestrated interplays. The second was knowing when and how to counterpress rather than chase and having the physical prowess to do it

I don’t like the new formation and would prefer we went back to what Klopp does best but comparing us to City right now isn’t fair. We aren’t rehearsed enough and we either lack the personnel (DM and LCB) or new players aren’t used to it yet.

What worries me more is the seeming lack of effort from certain people or the general nonchalance which causes us to start slowly. That is where the management team need to step up better

[Rigadon]

I watched the Newcastle Man city game at the weekend and what struck me was how much better coached both teams were (particularly city).

What has happened to our coaching? If we bought the best DM in the world, it might be a sticking plaster for some of our issues but on its own, it's not going to fix the multitude of issues we keep seeing.

I think our problems are more with coaching than they are with personnel.

City and Newcastle are playing to an established system. Players look comfortable/confident with their positions and those around them.

We’ve got excellent players. Probably better than Newcastle. But we’re trying to implement a new way of playing, a new system. I’m not convinced with the new system. I’m also not sure that we have the right players for the system. Our players sometimes look lost and clueless - IMO (appreciate some posters get very defensive about any negativity towards the team/players/coaches).

[rudedog]

Agree to a point - we need better/younger players to carry out the physical demands needed to deliver against a particular formation. In addition a formation or way of playing needs to be rehearsed over and over again so players instinctively know what to do in any given situation.

There is no way Klopp and Pep L don’t know we have a gaping hole down our right hand side and I think they believe that if we get our counter pressing and control right then it mitigates against that being exploited. City are playing this way for over a year now and they have many reps in the bank to perfect it. In addition they have specialists to deliver against it:

CBs who are comfortable as FBs and defending out wide - Walker, Ake, Akanji and now Gvardiol
CBs who are comfortable in midfield - mainly Stones
Arguably the best DM in the world in Rodri

When we were elite with our 4-3-3 our players seemed to have a telepathic understanding of where each other would be. We also seemed to overrun the opposition and suffocate them. The first part was due to many rehearsed and orchestrated interplays. The second was knowing when and how to counterpress rather than chase and having the physical prowess to do it

I don’t like the new formation and would prefer we went back to what Klopp does best but comparing us to City right now isn’t fair. We aren’t rehearsed enough and we either lack the personnel (DM and LCB) or new players aren’t used to it yet.

What worries me more is the seeming lack of effort from certain people or the general nonchalance which causes us to start slowly. That is where the management team need to step up better

Coaching

[Doc_Piptorious]

City and Newcastle are playing to an established system. Players look comfortable/confident with their positions and those around them.

We’ve got excellent players. Probably better than Newcastle. But we’re trying to implement a new way of playing, a new system. I’m not convinced with the new system. I’m also not sure that we have the right players for the system. Our players sometimes look lost and clueless - IMO (appreciate some posters get very defensive about any negativity towards the team/players/coaches).

What is concerning is that we have been trying the current set up (with a few tweaks along the way) in competitive games and in training since late March or early April and it still looks no more fluid nor settled than it did five or six months ago.

That is a very long time for a change to remain looking disjointed and a very long time for players to still look all at sea when another team counters us or pushes back against our set up.

Generally a manner will change a system to get the best out of the players he has, however in our case we seem to be trying to make the players fit a system regardless of whether we have enough players to full enable a set up that requires a high number of fast, agile strong players (that also read the game to a very high level).

If we look at look at our midfield and back line from the game at the weekend we have


TAA
Konate
VVD
Robertson
Szoboszlai
Gakpo
MacAllister


How many of them would be regarded as physical hard running types with great game reading abilities.



Maybe Konate, Szoboszlai and Robertson?


Which is not a knock on any of the players I did not name as having the mix of high physicality and high playing IQ as a number of them certainly have the latter in their best positions.


Then look at the other team that uses the inverted set up a lot. Man City.

Look at who they tend to have in their set up now with their CB steping up creating the midfield box and their number of fast strong players with great game reading IQ is quite high.

If we go back to when they were first using the inverted set up and using full backs to created the box/overload in the centre, they were still filling the team with more hard runners and a greater average size to what we are doing along with the FB they used the most to come inside being quicker and more agile than TAA (though without the same passing range although Cancelo did not need it as he came in to add to their press and to add pace in the centre).


We look at the players we have and it is difficult to not see them excelling in a 4231, 433 (with a holding player), 433 (with two CMs behind an AM), 433 (with a false 9), and so on.

You can even see how something like a 523 would work if we had all CBs fit.

But the 3223 after six months still looks alien, still looks disjointed and still looks like a boxer who leads with his chin.

[Venton]

Coaching

Absolutely, get your system and coach the **** out of it.

What do you do though when other managers start to counter the **** out of your system? Are you able to tweak it to counter the counter? Or do you need to tweak it so much that it becomes a whole new system? And if that's the case do you have it in you to completely change things, given that your old system is such a part of your mindset?

I sometimes wonder if we've reached that stage. When we were in our pomp the system was fairly novel. Now everyone understands it. Apologies for using the word system so much.

[danperkins]

Agree to a point - we need better/younger players to carry out the physical demands needed to deliver against a particular formation. In addition a formation or way of playing needs to be rehearsed over and over again so players instinctively know what to do in any given situation.

There is no way Klopp and Pep L don’t know we have a gaping hole down our right hand side and I think they believe that if we get our counter pressing and control right then it mitigates against that being exploited. City are playing this way for over a year now and they have many reps in the bank to perfect it. In addition they have specialists to deliver against it:

CBs who are comfortable as FBs and defending out wide - Walker, Ake, Akanji and now Gvardiol
CBs who are comfortable in midfield - mainly Stones
Arguably the best DM in the world in Rodri

When we were elite with our 4-3-3 our players seemed to have a telepathic understanding of where each other would be. We also seemed to overrun the opposition and suffocate them. The first part was due to many rehearsed and orchestrated interplays. The second was knowing when and how to counterpress rather than chase and having the physical prowess to do it

I don’t like the new formation and would prefer we went back to what Klopp does best but comparing us to City right now isn’t fair. We aren’t rehearsed enough and we either lack the personnel (DM and LCB) or new players aren’t used to it yet.

What worries me more is the seeming lack of effort from certain people or the general nonchalance which causes us to start slowly. That is where the management team need to step up better