Florian Wirtz - Welcome to LFC

[baitman]

Is Guehi good enough to replace Konate, is probably a more relevant question at the moment. I think we might sign 2 CBs

I am unsure if guehi is as good as konate...
But, that's because we've seen so much of konate alongside vvd who is constantly micro managing the players around him.
When we have seen konate without vvd to be the defensive organiser he has looked less solid.
Maybe guehi is more confident of his ability and doesn't need his hand held?

I'm not very keen on 6ft defensive midgets though...
I hope we get the Irish lad in too, Nathan Collins from brentford, 6ft 4".

[banditos]

Yes. Exactly this.

These are my actual thoughts on the matter:

He’s obviously a very good player I just can’t see where he fits into our current system without a defensive compromise or overload in the LW position. That might mean we are going to be happy to compromise in that way or change the system. Given the fact that we pissed the league last year by scoring the most goals of any team, I didn’t think we needed to weaken the defence to score more goals or radically change our system. Arne and the spreadsheet boys have probably got a plan to address this, they certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt, it just isn’t obvious to me how they will do it. I look forward with interest to finding out.

PS- WIRTZ OUT!!!!

He slots into our current team perfectly as a false 9, a significant upgrade on all other squad options there. Not to say he wont play elsewhere, particularly in a different formation, but in the formation we used for most matches last season, this seems the most obvious option.

[labourRed]

Is Guehi good enough to replace Konate, is probably a more relevant question at the moment. I think we might sign 2 CBs

I think i could play with VVD and look alright. I don't mind losing Konate, he does fair well when the big man isn't beside him, unsure how he does for France. My point is you don't need to be elite beside Virgil (although he will be need to be replaced).

Konate has missed a lot of games so i think you are right, we need a few CBs anyway.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I am unsure if guehi is as good as konate...
But, that's because we've seen so much of konate alongside vvd who is constantly micro managing the players around him.
When we have seen konate without vvd to be the defensive organiser he has looked less solid.
Maybe guehi is more confident of his ability and doesn't need his hand held?

I'm not very keen on 6ft defensive midgets though...
I hope we get the Irish lad in too, Nathan Collins from brentford, 6ft 4".

Even though he is from effing Leixlip, I would be more confident of him than Guehl if the choice was only between the two.

I don't get the hype about Guehl as he never looks better than say Gomez to my eyes and, unlike Gomez, nothing he does seems to really stand out and scream top tier. Maybe Guehl is far better than I think though and it is the system he is playing within that curbs some of his qualities.

Collins on the other hand you can see straight away that he is a very robust defensive unit who is good in the air and good on the ground in defensive terms.

I read a lot about how good Guehl is on the ball and about how good he is at carrying the ball out from the back, yet Collins has better carry numbers over the course of a season and only slightly worse progressive passing numbers.

Guehl's defensive numbers catch my eye a bit too as he plays in a more defensive team than Collins does, yet his defensive numbers do not seem to fully reflect that.


Both do seem to have the trait of switching off a little in games every now and then in common. Might be down to being youngish in CB terms but have seen Guehl do it in a few games (and only rarely seen him play) and have seen Collins do it in the odd PL game I have seen him play in but also seen him do it in some of the Irish games I have seen him play in.

What I do like about Collins (for Ireland in particular) is he seems to be a bit of a natural leader on the pitch. One who looks to organise things, one who looks to gee up his fellow players and who seems to have good timing when he needs to get stuck in on behalf of a team mate be it verbally and with a hard challenge.

[Sus]

Are there rumours about Collins at the moment? Would be an interesting shout

[Irishnev]

Is Guehi good enough to replace Konate, is probably a more relevant question at the moment. I think we might sign 2 CBs

No but then Konate is a top 5 ish CB in the world. I think Edwards, Hughes and co have inherited a lot of stuff to do and the Konate contract is one of them. I’ve no doubt RM and PSG interest will definitely have turned his head and it will be hard to match what they offer inc sign on bonuses

I think the club will and probably should roll the dice with him, see if we can convince him to sign and if not then he goes for free. He helps us win now and is another PL or CL worth more than the low offer we’d get for him now?

I think we’ll be looking at Guehi as very opportunistic and he’s better than Quansah. I think we’ll be looking also need a young CB who could grow into something starter quality in time - Hato keeps getting mentioned and he can also play LB.

Gomez seems to be staying which is good if he can stay fit….. big if

[memzey]

By buying Frimpong and Kirkez, and possibly looking at Guehi, are we not in fact strengthening our defence?

Kirkez is a step up on either Tsimi or Robbo.
We've all bemoaned Trent's defending for years so having Frimpong is a good thing.
Guehi is better (currently) than Quansah.

Ergo, defence strengthened, not weakened.

The midfield core remains the same, we just might shuffle people round a little.
And I reckon Wirtz won't be a LW, i think he will be our Bobby F, feeding Salah/Gakpo/Diaz/StrikerUnkown from anywhere he feels like.

I hear a lot of people saying this. It might be the case but, from the limited games I've seen Wirtz play, his best work seems to be when he is facing the goal, rather than with his back to it. This is the big difference between a false 9 (Bobby F) and a true 10 (FRW). Again, I'm not saying he can't do that, rather that his current body of work suggests that he is best deployed facing goal when he receives the ball, which would be Dom's position or LW. I am optimistic that he will work out based on our successes in recruitment in general. The signing does seem a little strange to me though. I'm intrigued to see how this will work out.

[red g]

when you look at how Slot has tactically tweaked many of our players. I am sure he has a plan and I have every confidence in it working.

[Sus]

And the fact that the plan for Wirtz was one of the main reasons he is coming here is a good sign as well

But I'm with you Memzey, on trying to work out where we get the most impact out of him

[RedReet]

I hear a lot of people saying this. It might be the case but, from the limited games I've seen Wirtz play, his best work seems to be when he is facing the goal, rather than with his back to it. This is the big difference between a false 9 (Bobby F) and a true 10 (FRW). Again, I'm not saying he can't do that, rather that his current body of work suggests that he is best deployed facing goal when he receives the ball, which would be Dom's position or LW. I am optimistic that he will work out based on our successes in recruitment in general.The signing does seem a little strange to me though. I'm intrigued to see how this will work out.

Many of us thought Elliot would have a great season under Slott, thinking the new set up would suit him much better, especially after a strong showing in preseason. The injury at start of last season probably didn't help, but I imagine his lack of athleticism really held him back. I also remember Dom getting labelled as average a few times during the season and people saying what a difference a quality AM would make. Likewise, Slott also challenged Dom to increase his end product.

So for me, it seems perfectly logical to break the bank on that rare player that possibly blends the best of both worlds, world class productivity, without compromising too much (if at all) on defensive stability. That makes more sense to me than buying him to play in an unfamiliar position (false 9) or buying him to play in a position we are already very strong in (LW). I think the fact he probably can and probably will play those positions effectively is a bonus, but not the primary reason we bought him.

I don't think we could go into another season with Grav, Dom, Mac and Jones being the only 4 starting options for 3 positions, so adding another world class midfielder makes perfect sense, especially as the other 3 are pretty interchangeable.

[peterbread]

Even though he is from effing Leixlip, I would be more confident of him than Guehl if the choice was only between the two.

I don't get the hype about Guehl as he never looks better than say Gomez to my eyes and, unlike Gomez, nothing he does seems to really stand out and scream top tier. Maybe Guehl is far better than I think though and it is the system he is playing within that curbs some of his qualities.

Collins on the other hand you can see straight away that he is a very robust defensive unit who is good in the air and good on the ground in defensive terms.

I read a lot about how good Guehl is on the ball and about how good he is at carrying the ball out from the back, yet Collins has better carry numbers over the course of a season and only slightly worse progressive passing numbers.

Guehl's defensive numbers catch my eye a bit too as he plays in a more defensive team than Collins does, yet his defensive numbers do not seem to fully reflect that.


Both do seem to have the trait of switching off a little in games every now and then in common. Might be down to being youngish in CB terms but have seen Guehl do it in a few games (and only rarely seen him play) and have seen Collins do it in the odd PL game I have seen him play in but also seen him do it in some of the Irish games I have seen him play in.

What I do like about Collins (for Ireland in particular) is he seems to be a bit of a natural leader on the pitch. One who looks to organise things, one who looks to gee up his fellow players and who seems to have good timing when he needs to get stuck in on behalf of a team mate be it verbally and with a hard challenge.

I don’t know much about either of them but for me this is one of the major areas that needs improving in our defence. Whoever it is we sign as the next CB they need to be able to lead and organise. As soon as VVD isn’t there no one has that ability.

That’s good to know about Collins and it appears Guehi has those at least from the little I’ve heard about him. Captain at a young age who is their defensive leader and seems to have become Englands top CB. And both seem to be very good with the ball and helping build the attacks. Similar qualities so it gives us some idea of what they are looking for.

I’m sure I read that Collins can play in multiple positions across the defence, is that right? And I think Guehi can too. Maybe we are looking for a new Gomez type defender.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I don’t know much about either of them but for me this is one of the major areas that needs improving in our defence. Whoever it is we sign as the next CB they need to be able to lead and organise. As soon as VVD isn’t there no one has that ability.

That’s good to know about Collins and it appears Guehi has those at least from the little I’ve heard about him. Captain at a young age who is their defensive leader and seems to have become Englands top CB. And both seem to be very good with the ball and helping build the attacks. Similar qualities so it gives us some idea of what they are looking for.

I’m sure I read that Collins can play in multiple positions across the defence, is that right? And I think Guehi can too. Maybe we are looking for a new Gomez type defender.

Think Guehl might be closer to Gomez in style, minus the blistering pace Joe has (and not as stand out a player to the eyes as Joe was at the same age).

Collins, for me anyway, is much more of a physically imposing defender in style whilst still being pretty decent with the ball at his feet. Collins can cover at FB (RB usually) but very much is a just big stopper when used at FB imo.


Think the big difference between them is that Guehl has played much more often in teams that sit deep (at club and International level) whereas Collins we will have seen in teams with a higher line at club level so maybe is easier to judge Collins in some respects.

[peterbread]

Think Guehl might be closer to Gomez in style, minus the blistering pace Joe has (and not as stand out a player to the eyes as Joe was at the same age).

Collins, for me anyway, is much more of a physically imposing defender in style whilst still being pretty decent with the ball at his feet. Collins can cover at FB (RB usually) but very much is a just big stopper when used at FB imo.


Think the big difference between them is that Guehl has played much more often in teams that sit deep (at club and International level) whereas Collins we will have seen in teams with a higher line at club level so maybe is easier to judge Collins in some respects.

The good thing is they both seem to be leaders who can organise the defence which is a quality we need to add to the defence.

[Exiled_red]

No but then Konate is a top 5 ish CB in the world. I think Edwards, Hughes and co have inherited a lot of stuff to do and the Konate contract is one of them. I’ve no doubt RM and PSG interest will definitely have turned his head and it will be hard to match what they offer inc sign on bonuses

I think the club will and probably should roll the dice with him, see if we can convince him to sign and if not then he goes for free. He helps us win now and is another PL or CL worth more than the low offer we’d get for him now?

I think we’ll be looking at Guehi as very opportunistic and he’s better than Quansah. I think we’ll be looking also need a young CB who could grow into something starter quality in time - Hato keeps getting mentioned and he can also play LB.

Gomez seems to be staying which is good if he can stay fit….. big if

I see this alot, do we really feel that he is a top 5 CB in the world? He looks good next to VVD, and has alot of good attributes, but he isn't able to lead a defence and is still somewhat prone to silly mistakes.

He is a very good player and a good and proven partner for VVD but I'm not sure he's in that elite top 5 group that people suggest

*ducks for cover*

[Irishnev]

I see this alot, do we really feel that he is a top 5 CB in the world? He looks good next to VVD, and has alot of good attributes, but he isn't able to lead a defence and is still somewhat prone to silly mistakes.

He is a very good player and a good and proven partner for VVD but I'm not sure he's in that elite top 5 group that people suggest

*ducks for cover*

I genuinely do, I know there is a VVD tax but for how we play and the attributes needed for the PL I don’t know who we could slot in to replace him that’s available and wouldn’t cost 70m plus.