Midfield

[Fosterbloke]

Do you not get bored of discussing the same thing over and over again?

Our midfield is getting older and probably isn't as good as 19/20.

What exactly is repeatedly talking about it going to achieve?

[spud_gun]

Rather flies in the face of the whole message board thingy

[Slinky Skills]

Do you not get bored of discussing the same thing over and over again?

Our midfield is getting older and probably isn't as good as 19/20.

What exactly is repeatedly talking about it going to achieve?

It is getting tedious now I agree.

I'm pretty sure the owners and Klopp will have identified potential new signings to bring in this month and in the summer.

[kev776]

Guys, it's a thread about our midfield not about Jayne Mansfield's tits. If you don't want to ****, stay off the lav, go somewhere else to talk.

[frank the tank]

Had to google who Jayne Mansfield is / was.

That is my afternoon sorted. They are amazing alright......

[Fivex]

Guys this isn’t the Jayne Mansfield thread

[baitman]

Had to google who Jayne Mansfield is / was.

That is my afternoon sorted. They are amazing alright......

Weirdly pointy, wtf is going on under them tight tops. Probably some sort of meccano enhanced corset bustier thingy

[Harv]

easily take an eye out with those

[frank the tank]

still though, they don't make them like they used to. Would be great fun.

[Buzzo]

From James Pearce in the Athletic

Liverpool are the great entertainers but Klopp needs more firepower in midfield

Pep Lijnders was far from downbeat. Liverpool’s defiant stand-in manager was on a mission to provide some context to a breathless contest at Stamford Bridge. His glass was certainly half-full.

“We could have made a lot of excuses with the situation we’re in, but our boys showed a big heart,” said the Dutchman, a nod to the absence of manager Jurgen Klopp and no fewer than nine senior Liverpool players for Sunday’s 2-2 draw due to a mix of COVID-19, injuries and suspension.

Lijnders had a point. In the circumstances, it would be ridiculous to be overly critical of a team dealing with such adversity who returned to Merseyside with a share of the spoils. But it was something else that he said that really struck a chord: “It’s never boring with us.” It’s certainly a fair assessment about their fortunes currently but it’s not a massive compliment. In their past five matches in all competitions, Liverpool have scored 10 goals and conceded nine.

Two years ago, when Liverpool embarked on a ruthless, relentless march to end the club’s 30-year wait for top-flight title glory, they turned game management into an art form.

Week after week, they got themselves into winning positions and then shut matches down. Rather than going for the jugular, they kept their shape and kept their lead. They were tactically disciplined and so adept at taking the sting out of proceedings.

Over the course of 2019-20, they won 13 league games by a one-goal margin. After kicking off 2020 with a 4-0 rout of Southampton, they triumphed 1-0, 2-0, 1-0 and 2-0 in their next four league matches. Teams wearily accepted their fate. They knew that, once behind, they wouldn’t get a sniff.

What Klopp would give for that level of control at the moment.

Instead, during his seven-day isolation period at home in Formby, he’s got another game to analyse where Liverpool allowed a commanding position to slip away.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah provided the perfect parting gifts before flying to Cameroon to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. Mane ended the worst goal drought of his Anfield career with a smart finish, while Salah added another majestic finish to his bulging collection.

But even at 2-0 up yesterday, that never looked like being enough. The shape wasn’t right, there were too many gaps for Chelsea to exploit. It has happened too often this season.

Klopp’s men led 2-1 and 3-2 at Brentford in late September but failed to win. The next weekend, they were 2-1 up at home to Manchester City with nine minutes to go and had to settle for a point. A two-goal advantage was wiped out at home to Brighton at Halloween and away to Tottenham just before Christmas they conceded an equaliser inside the final 20 minutes. Throw this game into the mix and that’s 10 points gone begging right there.

There have only been four instances across the Premier League this season of a side failing to win after leading by two or more goals and Liverpool are responsible for half of them.

You can’t win the title with a habit like that.

Liverpool’s midfield trio were far too easy to play through at Stamford Bridge, and they were wasteful in possession. “They were bossed and bullied,” was Sky Sports pundit and old midfield warhorse Graeme Souness’ succinct verdict about their tussle with the dynamic duo of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.

Fabinho hasn’t looked himself since returning from a bout of COVID-19. He doesn’t have his usual poise, energy and drive. That issue is compounded by Jordan Henderson’s own dip in form. The captain’s pass-completion rate was down to 73 per cent against Chelsea and he lost possession on 16 occasions across the 90 minutes. The service to the front three wasn’t good enough. So many promising openings disappeared.

James Milner was clearly frustrated with his own contribution when he was replaced by Naby Keita midway through the second half. Milner, who turns 36 tomorrow (Tuesday), was picked ahead of both Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to start the match because of his defensive qualities.

Young Caoimhin Kelleher, who deputised impressively for Alisson in goal, would certainly have been exposed more often but for Milner’s tally of three tackles, five clearances, two blocks and an interception. However, in possession, the former England international completed just 65 per cent of his passes.

As a midfield unit, there simply wasn’t enough pressure on the ball and that’s asking for trouble when you play with such a high defensive line. It was too easy for Chelsea to get in behind Liverpool.

And going forward there wasn’t a creative spark from any of the midfield trio.

How Liverpool need to get Thiago fit and firing again. A hip problem is the latest obstacle placed in his path after recovering from COVID-19 for a second time. The Spaniard has started just eight out of the season’s 20 league games so far.

So much chopping and changing in midfield has damaged Liverpool’s title challenge. There’s been little continuity. The decision not to replace Georginio Wijnaldum last summer after he moved to Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent has been brought into sharp focus as that area of the squad has been repeatedly depleted. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita have made some eye-catching contributions but consistency has eluded them and neither has nailed down a place in Klopp’s strongest line-up.

With Keita also now away at AFCON, Curtis Jones will have a bigger role to play. Harvey Elliott is close to returning to team training having recovered from an ankle fracture-dislocation but after four months out he will need time to get up to speed.

Leighton Clarkson, a 20-year-old who has been recalled from a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, offers another option, along with 19-year-old Tyler Morton.

In the absence of Salah and Mane, Liverpool must attempt to navigate their way past a two-legged semi-final with Arsenal in the next two midweeks and book a trip to Wembley for the Carabao Cup at the end of next month. Their challenge for a first FA Cup in 16 years starts at home to third division Shrewsbury Town on Sunday.

The two league matches currently scheduled during AFCON – Brentford at home and Crystal Palace away – should be won without those star names but there will be a big responsibility on the shoulders of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino to provide the firepower.

Taking just two points out of the last nine has hurt Liverpool. It’s hard to see them making up this 11-point deficit to Manchester City, despite having their postponed Boxing Day home game against Leeds United in hand.

But this isn’t the time for defeatism. There are three other trophies on their radar over the next five months. The target is to ensure that’s still the case when their African contingent return to Merseyside.

Without Salah and Mane, it’s simply unrealistic to think that Liverpool are going to blow teams away.

They will need to be resilient. They will need to be tough to break down. They will need to dig in.

Forget entertaining the neutrals, they may well need to be boring at times.

To do that Klopp, needs much greater solidity in midfield. That area of vulnerability needs to be addressed.

[Exiled_red]

Midfield issues seem to be raising their head again.

We need a massive overhaul in the summer IMO, looking at the 8 guys we have in there at the moment only Fabinho is/should be nailed on to start

Fabinho - key to our midfield setup
Thiago - quality player who improves the side when he's fit, problem is he misses alot of games
Milner - has been a good player for us but age has caught up with him
Keita - you feel there is a quality player in there but due to fitness issues has never really shown what he can do on a consistent basis
Henderson - has been top quaility, but his level has started to dip, key player in the dressing room but you feel he needs to be transitioned into the role Milner has played in recent years
Ox - Another affected by injury who can't be relied on
Jones - Still yet to prove himself, I had been hoping this year he could become a regular and show what he can do, but it hasn't happened so far
Elliott - was starting to establish himself before the injury, but it was still only a handful of games, still a work in progress.

[kev776]

Keita has missed less games through injury than Henderson. He just isn't picked when Hendo/Fab/Thiago are available.

Ox hasn't missed a game this year.

For me, Jones can replace Milner and we need to invest big in a proper Gini/long term Hendo replacement because Thiago is way too fragile. We need 4 first choice mids, we only have 3 at the moment.

1st choice: Hendo/Fab/Thiago/New dude

Back up: Ox/Keita/Jones/Morton

[Exiled_red]

For me at the end of the season Milner is done, Next season Henderson will be 32 I don't see us being reliant on him as a regular starter as being a good thing unless there is an upturn in form, for me he needs to transition into the role Milner has played in recent years.

Thiago is or should be a starter when he's fit, but he misses alot of games. Keita is playing second fiddle to him and Ox third, I believe that there is a player in there with Keita he just is still yet to show it consistently, Ox is another who just seems done, he's capable of the odd moment but can be anonymous for long periods.

I'd be expecting Milner to move on, looking to replace Ox and be listening to offers for Keita and bring in a couple of new first team players

[Irishnev]

Ah the midfield.....right now it is a problem for us and for a couple of reasons:

1) Availability - we’ve spoken to death about this
2) Imbalance - this doesn’t mean that our midfield is unbalanced but rather we don’t have enough players who seamlessly slot into the role..... you could argue it is similar up front. This is the one thing City excel at - essentially plug and play regardless of injuries o rotation

Our midfield has 3 defined role:

- The deepest 6 who covers side to side, wins headers and stops counters at source. This is played superbly by Fabinho and Hendo is the nominal back up here. Hendo did really well in this role against sides where we have a lot of the ball but tracking runners isn’t his strong point and he is more effective going forward. None of the others are good as a replacement here - Morton was tried in a few games and Gini was the back up last season. I think he need to buy proper cover here - Zakaria for a small fee would give a lot if what Fab offers

- The left sided 8, this is the more defensive of the two 8s. This was Gini’s role and you could say it was the facilitator of the midfield. Always available (for the ball), never lose the ball, tactically astute to make up a double pivot when the right 8 was higher up. I think they saw Thiago as the replacement for Gini and he’d bring even more control - he has but he’s available a fraction of the time. The next best is Naby but again availability is a problem here. None of the rest are suited to this role because they are not disciplined enough - Ox, Hendo and Curtis all played there but the right side suits them better. I think that’s why Klopp has been playing Milner because he is more disciplined. I think we need cover here also - ideally someone who play as a 6 or as the left sided 8

- The right sided 8’s role has changed a bit this season. It seems to be even more attacking and Elliot was going really well there pre injury. This suits the skill set Hendo, Ox, Naby and Curtis the most. Box to box and interplay it with Trent and Mo - I think if everyone is fit then Klopp goes with Hendo here. The thing is his fitness and stamina aren’t what they were so we’ve seen him struggle to track runners and we’ve conceded a lot if goals down this channel. I think Elliot and Jones would cover this between them. Ox pre knee injury was excelling here.

So - let Milner leave on a free, Hendo takes his utility role. Sell Naby and Ox - it isnt going to happen for them. Buy a top midfielder who can play as the left 8 or deepest - Tchoumeni being linked.

Elliot, Hendo and Jones cover the right 8 over the season.
Thiago, Tchoumeni, Morton cover the left side
Fab and Tchoumeni voter the 6

We are putting square pegs in round holes - having available midfielders isn’t enough.....we need the right guys in the right part of the system to work

[baitman]

At our level either "8's" should be more than capable of doing all that is required.