Thiago Alcantara

[Tribute]

The grief he gets on here is ludicrous. A new player this season, serious injury against Everton, Covid and coming into a team with players around him who are making him put the foot in far more than he's used to in an attempt to make up for their mistakes.

Yes, he's not influenced games in the way we'd hoped. But we expected the team to be playing with some consistency and structure. It hasn't due to the sheer volume of injuries. With a solid back four, he's not lunging in as much to make desperate tackles. With a Hendo and Fab next to him, he's got a little more space and time to find those Bayern defence-splitting passes. If he's able to go forward instead of sitting deep and breaking up play, he's making more assists and potential weighing in with a couple himself.

He's a brilliant player. He's just currently in a **** team and being played out of position, doing a role he's not great at because purely because he's not injured.

There are so many ahead of him as being more fundamental to our problems - Ox, Keita, Jones, Shaq, Gini... midfielders all, none of who have shone, mostly sicknotes and if not sick, desperately out of form.

I've said it before and it still - for me - is the underlying reason why we're at the level we're at this season. VVD, Gomez, Matip and no fourth CB has killed us. Without a solid back line, we're putting players in unnatural positions, not giving them rest and if they are given a rest, their replacement is played out of position and has a shocker or gets injured themselves. It's a car crash of a season, and that's without the appalling VAR and refereeing decisions.

Individual mistakes don't happen in highly functioning teams, because everyone's 'on it' all the time. When the wheels come off, they come off big time and anxiety ripples across the whole squad. Individual errors are many and often. The only way to break the cycle is to get players back from injury and to start with the basics and build back confidence from doing the simple things right and often.

We're guilty of trying to turn things around quickly and it's only making things worse. We need to stop pretending that we'll get out of this 'blip' at some point... we need to start believing in ourselves again and working as a team to put the repair the foundations not applying the sticking plaster.

[Chiccada]

For me, it's all down to adaptation. He's clearly not pants, we know this. But I just get the feeling the rash tacking is all down to the leagues reputation, tough league etc etc. He's trying too hard, essentially.
As the other facets in his game, I think he was supposed to bring something different to the midfield, given that it's by and large ignored in our standard play when attacking. But because of the slew of injuries this season, he's had to slot in where required. You can't be expected to break the low block if you're the one sitting deep.
He fared pretty well against Chelsea earlier in the season and was doing the same against Everton until that prick Richarlison put a reducer on him for no good reason.

Once he's had a full pre-season with the squad and we get time to work on our shape again, I think he'll be the player we hoped we were going to get. No problem.

[Scratch]

For me it comes down to him having to play a role he was not bought for, and we won't see the best of him until Fab and/or Hendo are back alongside him doing the donkey work, freeing Thiago up to do as he does best.

Hopefully with Kabak playing alongside Fab (or maybe Davies, but I think he was bought as cover, not to play alongside Kabak), we can move Hendo back into the DM role and then we might see more of what was expected from Thiago.

[Exiled_red]

I agree with alot from the last 2 or3 posts I think that alot of the grief he is getting is over the top, he is a quality player, but as we have seen it the past it typically takes at least a good few months for most new players to settle into the league. This would be easier if he were coming into a settled side with established relationships where he had a well defined role that he just needed to learn. But with the injuries at the moment that isn't the case. Yes he has made some silly challenges but he isn't the only one a number of other players have been doing it too. He clearly still needs time to settle preferably in something resembling our first choice midfield.

[spud_gun]

I'll have zero complaints if he gets a Yellow or Red in his next game.

I hope he does a proper number on Richarlson

[~LFCHistory~]

With Jota back in the side, forwards that actually make runs and a back 4 with proper CB's then we'll see if Thiago is going to work out here or if he's another Keita (good player in a foreign league but whose playing style and mentality is unsuited to the PL).

[Norbs]

Loves to leave a leg in doesn't he

[danperkins]

Worked hard tonight but didn't really dictate any of the play though.

[Fredo]

He’s not a no 10 so won’t really dictate a game. He helps us in our passing though. Got tired a bit and was substituted which is fine. We’ll need him over the week end.

[Irishnev]

He’s not a no 10 so won’t really dictate a game. He helps us in our passing though. Got tired a bit and was substituted which is fine. We’ll need him over the week end.

Did well for 60 and looked shot after that - building up his fitness

[S-RED]

Did well for 60 and looked shot after that - building up his fitness

better tonight, but you are right he needs to up his levels fitness wise

[Fredo]

Thiago Alcantara

You can already see he has improved us in our passing and control of the game I think it is the main reason he has been brought here. He helps us tremendously in keeping the ball. He’s not going to make the final decisive pass or play a killer ball that much as his role is to keep possession and be good in transition when we lose the ball. He’s not been perfect yet but he’s playing in a team which has been struggling to win games consistently since the turn of the year.

For the times I’ve seen him play for Bayern he played in a deeper role, which he struggled with a bit here, which is why he’s been moved to a no 8 type of role. But his ability to play different positions in midfield is probably valuable.

[rudedog]

He’s been shackled as he’s having to do a lot of the dirty work that Fab and Hendo would normally take care of, once they are back I’m sure we will see him influencing games from further up the pitch.

[Doc_Piptorious]

You can already see he has improved us in our passing and control of the game I think it is the main reason he has been brought here. He helps us tremendously in keeping the ball. He’s not going to make the final decisive pass or play a killer ball that much as his role is to keep possession and be good in transition when we lose the ball. He’s not been perfect yet but he’s playing in a team which has been struggling to win games consistently since the turn of the year.

For the times I’ve seen him play for Bayern he played in a deeper role, which he struggled with a bit here, which is why he’s been moved to a no 8 type of role. But his ability to play different positions in midfield is probably valuable.

He played mostly in the pivot role for Bayern.

Kimmich ws the CDM who stayed deeper there for the most part and Goretzka was the more advanced but still box to box CM for them.

Thiago usually sat between those two. He helped progress play when Bayern had the ball and was key in getting Bayern past low block teams, but he was also a big part of breaking the press when Bayern did not have the ball.

The latter you could see him moving into postion to do when he was on the pitch last night. Time after time when RBL went to do their own high line press, Thiago was the guy looking to be the outlet for our player on the ball.

When RBL had the ball and were doing one of the many quick breaks, Thiago was taking up a position in one of the passing channels immediately.

Where both those things were not going quite right last night was that a number of times when the press was against us, our guys did not spot Thiago looking for the pass or went sideways or backwards.

And when he was trying to block the passing channels he needed at least one other from his midfield partners last night doing the same when he did so. Jones I cannot criticise much on that front as he is a young player and he will no doubt pick up that side of thing more with experience, but Wijnaldum a number of times lasnight was ball watching when RBL went to break and a few times RBL were able to take three or four players out of the game when they pressed or broke because the passing route on Wijnaldum's side was not being blocked by Wijnaldum.

Put Thiago in our team with Fabinho in the CDM role and Henderson in the slightly more advanced box to box role, and he would get the freedom to play in his Bayern style when we had the ball and he would also do the defensive shift when we did not have the ball but with the luxury of having Henderson and Fabinho naturally going into the correct positions more often than not alongside him.

[Tribute]

He played mostly in the pivot role for Bayern.

Kimmich ws the CDM who stayed deeper there for the most part and Goretzka was the more advanced but still box to box CM for them.

Thiago usually sat between those two. He helped progress play when Bayern had the ball and was key in getting Bayern past low block teams, but he was also a big part of breaking the press when Bayern did not have the ball.

The latter you could see him moving into postion to do when he was on the pitch last night. Time after time when RBL went to do their own high line press, Thiago was the guy looking to be the outlet for our player on the ball.

When RBL had the ball and were doing one of the many quick breaks, Thiago was taking up a position in one of the passing channels immediately.

Where both those things were not going quite right last night was that a number of times when the press was against us, our guys did not spot Thiago looking for the pass or went sideways or backwards.

And when he was trying to block the passing channels he needed at least one other from his midfield partners last night doing the same when he did so. Jones I cannot criticise much on that front as he is a young player and he will no doubt pick up that side of thing more with experience, but Wijnaldum a number of times lasnight was ball watching when RBL went to break and a few times RBL were able to take three or four players out of the game when they pressed or broke because the passing route on Wijnaldum's side was not being blocked by Wijnaldum.

Put Thiago in our team with Fabinho in the CDM role and Henderson in the slightly more advanced box to box role, and he would get the freedom to play in his Bayern style when we had the ball and he would also do the defensive shift when we did not have the ball but with the luxury of having Henderson and Fabinho naturally going into the correct positions more often than not alongside him.

...thought he ran his socks off last night. Still puts the boot in and mis-times a few but he's having to do a role he's not 100% suited to. He does make us much better in possession and his vision and range of passing is subtle and clever for the mostpart. He plays the ball that our midfielders have been reluctant to... he's the one who will make us tick when Hendo and Fab and around him.

People keep saying Fernandes changed Utd and he's just one player, but Thiago hasn't done that with us... Well, Fernandes was given a free rein, not a specific role and he just wandered all over the place when Utd where playing ****e and fairly static - hence he stood out head and shoulders above everyone else. Thiago is a playing a disciplined role and is putting in a shift each game which will help his fitness. He'll be a superstar next season in a stronger first team...