Dejan Lovren

[Exiled_red]

Bar that once incident when Gomez jumped to early And lovren was subsequently left exposed he had a lot more support from His fullback.

Its a nightmare when the left back gets stuck too high up on that side of the field because lallana doesn't have the pace to get back either and lovren is left for dead by not being pacey himself. Thankfully that didn't happen against Stoke.

does a tighter defence protect lovrens lack of pace?
Would it have been so tight if Moreno was at LB?

Interesting questions for the season. I still think sahko is a better defender but lovren didn't do anything wrong against Stoke, a lot more composed than usual.

Gomez is a more defensive full back than Moreno, Gomez isn't looking to get forward, he can tuck in and essentially play as a 3rd CB if Clyne has pushed forward. Giving more support to Lovren and Skrtel. Clyne was the full back who was getting forward, but isn't really an attacking fullback, so we have a fairly solid defensive unit. If Moreno is in there the balance shifts significaantly.

[Glenn Hysen]

Maybe our new coaching set-up helped him?

[Shaggy]

Possibly the best he's played but he'll need to do it a lot more until he stops terrifying me.

[Venton]

Possibly the best he's played but he'll need to do it a lot more until he stops terrifying me.

That pretty much sums it up for me.

[danperkins]

Possibly the best he's played but he'll need to do it a lot more until he stops terrifying me.

yeah that's spot on.

[Exiled_red]

Possibly the best he's played but he'll need to do it a lot more until he stops terrifying me.

There's something unnerving about him playing well, the longer he plays well the bigger the mistake you expect him to make when it comes

[Lecter]

Bar that once incident when Gomez jumped to early And lovren was subsequently left exposed he had a lot more support from His fullback.

Its a nightmare when the left back gets stuck too high up on that side of the field because lallana doesn't have the pace to get back either and lovren is left for dead by not being pacey himself. Thankfully that didn't happen against Stoke.

does a tighter defence protect lovrens lack of pace?
Would it have been so tight if Moreno was at LB?

Interesting questions for the season. I still think sahko is a better defender but lovren didn't do anything wrong against Stoke, a lot more composed than usual.

That incident is highlights one of his major flaws though and I cant help but feel a better side than Stoke would have exploited that

Our system relies on our fullbacks pushing on, that by its very nature means that teams can get down the sides and isolate our centrehalves one on one

[fah-q]

Is that not the reason we need a quick DM to plug the gaps and protect the CB's in that position?

Someone like Mascherano?

[Slinky Skills]

Before acting sanctimonious, perhaps you should heed your own advice.

[Lecter]

Is that not the reason we need a quick DM to plug the gaps and protect the CB's in that position?

Someone like Mascherano?

Yes someone like that would help in his protection but you can never fully eliminate that threat

The worrying thing for me is the one time Stoke got into that position, Lovren came out and attempted to jockey the attacking player (which is a cardinal sin in that area) and then got left for dead by the attacker

[Corndog]

That incident is highlights one of his major flaws though and I cant help but feel a better side than Stoke would have exploited that

Our system relies on our fullbacks pushing on, that by its very nature means that teams can get down the sides and isolate our centrehalves one on one

Lack of pace is definitely one of his flaws. But having the fullbacks bomb on so much can also be a flaw of Rodgers philosophy.

I think its best not to do it on the left hand side if Lovren is playing. Unless someone out of Milner, Can or henderson recognise the situation and hang back a bit more to cover.

Lovren was also helped by his left back being pretty good in the air. Don't think Moreno would have won as many duels.

[Lecter]

Lack of pace is definitely one of his flaws. But having the fullbacks bomb on so much can also be a flaw of Rodgers philosophy.

I think its best not to do it on the left hand side if Lovren is playing. Unless someone out of Milner, Can or henderson recognise the situation and hang back a bit more to cover.

Lovren was also helped by his left back being pretty good in the air. Don't think Moreno would have won as many duels.

That would make you very predictable though

If your instructions are that your leftback doesnt bomb on if Lovren plays that means that only your rightback bombs on

Wouldnt take long for teams to suss that and nullify the threat on the right

[Lecter]

Lack of pace is definitely one of his flaws.

Its also a positional thing as well as not doing the fundamentals of defending when dragged out of the width of the penalty box

If you are dragged out or have to step out into that area then you cant jockey, you have to win the ball, clear it or take the man. Jockeying (particularly if you lack pace like he does) is suicidal

[Exiled_red]

That incident is highlights one of his major flaws though and I cant help but feel a better side than Stoke would have exploited that

Our system relies on our fullbacks pushing on, that by its very nature means that teams can get down the sides and isolate our centrehalves one on one

I can't help but wonder if the inclusion of Gomez (rather than Moreno) is an attempt to play a back 4 that can be come a back 3 if Clyne pushes forward as Gomez tucks in. To be fair Gomez may have the freedom to go forward but we didn't see it as much as presumably in his early games he has been told to focus on his defensive work. Either way having someone with more defensive awareness than Moreno is helpful in this regard. Limiting our fullbacks to attacking one at a time would be helpful from a defensive point of view if we aren't playing a dedicated DM which seems to be the case. We can see how that develops if Gomez stays in the side. I think that Clyne is capable of tucking in and doing a decent job if the LB goes forward, but Moreno would have to improve the defensive side of his game significantly to do it IMO.

[Lecter]

I can't help but wonder if the inclusion of Gomez (rather than Moreno) is an attempt to play a back 4 that can be come a back 3 if Clyne pushes forward as Gomez tucks in. To be fair Gomez may have the freedom to go forward but we didn't see it as much as presumably in his early games he has been told to focus on his defensive work. Either way having someone with more defensive awareness than Moreno is helpful in this regard. Limiting our fullbacks to attacking one at a time would be helpful from a defensive point of view if we aren't playing a dedicated DM which seems to be the case. We can see how that develops if Gomez stays in the side. I think that Clyne is capable of tucking in and doing a decent job if the LB goes forward, but Moreno would have to improve the defensive side of his game significantly to do it IMO.

Could be, as I mentioned above though it could make you a tad predictable if the attacking threat is always coming from one side