Dejan Lovren

[Corndog]

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

It would be noticed and make your options a little more limited going forward yes, but it wouldn't mean the team posed no threat at all down the left. If you play Coutinho there and the rest of the forwards and midfield do their jobs, the goals should still come.

[RichC]

It would be noticed and make your options a little more limited going forward yes, but it wouldn't mean the team posed no threat at all down the left. If you play Coutinho there and the rest of the forwards and midfield do their jobs, the goals should still come.

Which is, correct me if I'm wrong the side where the goal came from.

[RedReet]

Perhaps Dejan was right, all he needed was a full pre-season with the squad.

[Exiled_red]

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

Like I say I'm not sure if the Gomez as LB / 3rd CB is a long term thing or if he didn't get forward as much because he was told to focus on the defensive side of his game, maybe if he gets a run of games he might be allowed a little more freedom to get forward, but as he is a CB playing full back he is likely to still be more defensively minded than either Clyne or Moreno. Whichever it is having him there meant that Lovren wasn't getting dragged to wide areas to defend which certainly helped. Lovren may be a little more exposed if Gomez is given freedom to get forward or Moreno comes back into the side though.

[Lecter]

Like I say I'm not sure if the Gomez as LB / 3rd CB is a long term thing or if he didn't get forward as much because he was told to focus on the defensive side of his game, maybe if he gets a run of games he might be allowed a little more freedom to get forward, but as he is a CB playing full back he is likely to still be more defensively minded than either Clyne or Moreno. Whichever it is having him there meant that Lovren wasn't getting dragged to wide areas to defend which certainly helped. Lovren may be a little more exposed if Gomez is given freedom to get forward or Moreno comes back into the side though.

I am not sure whether we stopped Stoke from exploiting that area, or they just didnt attempt to do it enough

Yesterday didnt tell me an awful lot frankly, I am not sure there was enough from either side to make an informed judgement on our system, tactics, and players individually

All in all I thought it was a pretty terrible game

[baitman]

...Whichever it is having him there meant that Lovren wasn't getting dragged to wide areas to defend which certainly helped. Lovren may be a little more exposed if Gomez is given freedom to get forward or Moreno comes back into the side though.

i reckon moreno wont be here from next year, if not sooner.
he lacks any defensive awareness, bombs on like crazy, but with little end product.

if gomez goes forward then clyne might be disciplined enough not to over commit and will hang back so he can drop back and cover the lb or lcb positions in case our cb's get pulled across to the right.
maybe we do have some coaches after all.

[Exiled_red]

I am not sure whether we stopped Stoke from exploiting that area, or they just didnt attempt to do it enough

Yesterday didnt tell me an awful lot frankly, I am not sure there was enough from either side to make an informed judgement on our system, tactics, and players individually

All in all I thought it was a pretty terrible game

It was a terrible game I only realise how dire it was when watching MOTD and realised the highlights showed more fouls than chances on goal

I think both sides will hope that they play better in the coming games.

[wiw]

Like I say I'm not sure if the Gomez as LB / 3rd CB is a long term thing or if he didn't get forward as much because he was told to focus on the defensive side of his game, maybe if he gets a run of games he might be allowed a little more freedom to get forward, but as he is a CB playing full back he is likely to still be more defensively minded than either Clyne or Moreno. Whichever it is having him there meant that Lovren wasn't getting dragged to wide areas to defend which certainly helped. Lovren may be a little more exposed if Gomez is given freedom to get forward or Moreno comes back into the side though.

I was just about to say this, I think you're right that they're trying the LB / 3rd CB thing with Gomez there. Gomez did tuck in sometimes which makes it look as if it's by design, but then Walters was playing right on him and they kept lumping long balls up there (which Gomez dealt with excellently to be fair) which maybe halted him going forwards more. This helped Lovren out like you said.

This is what i'm liking about our squad at the moment, horses for courses etc. we have Moreno if we want to go more attacking, Gomez if we want to be solid.

[Fierce]

I am not sure whether we stopped Stoke from exploiting that area, or they just didnt attempt to do it enough

Best to err on the side of caution and say we were **** though eh?

[Saveloy]

I was just about to say this, I think you're right that they're trying the LB / 3rd CB thing with Gomez there. Gomez did tuck in sometimes which makes it look as if it's by design, but then Walters was playing right on him and they kept lumping long balls up there (which Gomez dealt with excellently to be fair) which maybe halted him going forwards more. This helped Lovren out like you said.

This is what i'm liking about our squad at the moment, horses for courses etc. we have Moreno if we want to go more attacking, Gomez if we want to be solid.

Agee with that last bit. I worry though that Moreno won't kick on with his development if he only plays intermittently.

[wiw]

Agee with that last bit. I worry though that Moreno won't kick on with his development if he only plays intermittently.

Hmm me too. To be honest, i think he will get sold in the summer unless he shows massive improvement anyway. He isn't solid and he isn't great going forward. He's young but just don't see it. Ideally we would invent a time machine and throw Fabio Aurelio into it

[Lecter]

Best to err on the side of caution and say we were **** though eh?

I'd be worried for peoples sanity if they thought we actually played well in that game

[TheElephantMan]

I'd be worried for peoples sanity if they thought we actually played well in that game

There was some nice passing going on from about the 3rd minute until about the 10th minute.

I thought we played a smart game, we matched Stoke at their strengths and still had that extra quality to nab the goal. We can either have our own style of play and blow everyone out of the water like we did two seasons ago, or if we haven't got one of the best strikers in the world we can adapt our game plan to suit the opposition. I think that's what we saw yesterday, perhaps a bit of over cautiousness due to the added pressure and a bit of rustiness. It wasn't a classic, but I thought we coped well and we outfought Stoke!

[Exiled_red]

Agee with that last bit. I worry though that Moreno won't kick on with his development if he only plays intermittently.

Hmm me too. To be honest, i think he will get sold in the summer unless he shows massive improvement anyway. He isn't solid and he isn't great going forward. He's young but just don't see it. Ideally we would invent a time machine and throw Fabio Aurelio into it

If Gomez continues to do well I struggle to see where Moreno will get games. The extra protection that Lovren got from Gomez is something he won't get from Moreno, who unless he has improved over the summer is somewhat of a defensive liability.

If the extra protection Gomez offers Lovren is making a difference to Lovren's game then you have to play Gomez when Lovren plays, which probably means that if Rodgers considers Lovren first choice then Moreno either needs to become a much better defender, spend alot of time out of the side or adapt to another position.

[DannyMan2006]

If Gomez continues to do well I struggle to see where Moreno will get games. The extra protection that Lovren got from Gomez is something he won't get from Moreno, who unless he has improved over the summer is somewhat of a defensive liability.

If the extra protection Gomez offers Lovren is making a difference to Lovren's game then you have to play Gomez when Lovren plays, which probably means that if Rodgers considers Lovren first choice then Moreno either needs to become a much better defender, spend alot of time out of the side or adapt to another position.

We play cup games as well don't forget, we have three full backs at present, four with Flanno, but loads of game time there for Moreno. Just has to bide his time and take the chance that comes his way.