The priority?

[an tha]

Is VVD gonna look as effective when he is asked to defend in a team that isn't camped in its own half with 9 men behind the ball most of the time?

 

He is gonna face exactly what our existing centre halves face and that is being on the half way line watching our useless full backs lose the ball high up and chasing back as the ball is smashed long into the space they have vacated or straight at him as runners bear down on him with zero protection in front of him.....a totally different game.

 

Carra spoke recently about how exposed he felt defending in our set up in that game in Australia.

[Unrighteous]

I kinda wanted to vote each area, honestly.

 

I think we need an upgrade over Lovren, we need an upgrade over Milner at LB, we need an upgrade in goal... and we could always use an elite striker(Sturridge replacement)

 

CM hasn't been a huge issue, but if we could find ourselves a midfield general, then I'd be thrilled.

[an tha]

I'd upgrade Clyne as well.

 

He is literally the place where attacks go to die and in the system we use we can't keep having that.

[Unrighteous]

Is VVD gonna look as effective when he is asked to defend in a team that isn't camped in its own half with 9 men behind the ball most of the time?

 

He is gonna face exactly what our existing centre halves face and that is being on the half way line watching our useless full backs lose the ball high up and chasing back as the ball is smashed long into the space they have vacated or straight at him as runners bear down on him with zero protection in front of him.....a totally different game.

 

Carra spoke recently about how exposed he felt defending in our set up in that game in Australia.

 

Exactly.  Southampton is built to make their defense look good.  We didn't learn from the Lovren purchase, and he wasn't been shit, just not anything more than average.

 

We need to buy a CB that is doing well in a more open system.  I'm surprised we've not been assessing the club's playstyle when chasing our targets.  Mentalcakes not to do this...

[Paulie Dangerously]

Stiker for me.  I don't think they're as bad as we saw last season and if we get a 25+ striker in then this will paper over the odd LOLvren moment

[skend04]

A centre mid and left back should be our next 2 signings. The play slowed up consistently when Milner chose to keep cutting back on to his right foot. Get that sorted and we would look even more fluid going forward.

[stringvest]

Our setup means that there is a huge reliance on the centre midfielder to cover and anticipate exposure across the width of the pitch and to be a more robust guardian of the space in front of the CBs to buy time for them to get in shape and for the marauding forward half of the team to get back in support. That player also has responsibility to quickly make decisions and execute forward passes. The success of the team depends on this role. We don't have anyone who can do this well enough. That's why it is my priority.

[Mascherano]

Our setup means that there is a huge reliance on the centre midfielder to cover and anticipate exposure across the width of the pitch and to be a more robust guardian of the space in front of the CBs to buy time for them to get in shape and for the marauding forward half of the team to get back in support. That player also has responsibility to quickly make decisions and execute forward passes. The success of the team depends on this role. We don't have anyone who can do this well enough. That's why it is my priority.

+1

[Mascherano]

Our setup means that there is a huge reliance on the centre midfielder to cover and anticipate exposure across the width of the pitch and to be a more robust guardian of the space in front of the CBs to buy time for them to get in shape and for the marauding forward half of the team to get back in support. That player also has responsibility to quickly make decisions and execute forward passes. The success of the team depends on this role. We don't have anyone who can do this well enough. That's why it is my priority.

+1

[Cardie]

 

 

The play slowed up consistently when Milner chose to keep cutting back on to his right foot. Get that sorted and we would look even more fluid going forward.

Thats a problem that could have been fixed with the signing of Salah though.

 

With Milner and Coutinho on the left hand side we lacked real pace and both players liked to cut inside from deeper positions. Salah coming in free's up Coutinho to play as an 8 and with Mane (or Salah when they switch) on the left instead Milner has more of an outlet when going forward.

[Paco]

It's clear klopp sees this as the role of the whole midfield unit not just Henderson or can otherwise he'd have bought a dm by now.

[Cardie]

 

 

Exactly. Southampton is built to make their defense look good. We didn't learn from the Lovren purchase, and he wasn't been shit, just not anything more than average.

 

We need to buy a CB that is doing well in a more open system. I'm surprised we've not been assessing the club's playstyle when chasing our targets. Mentalcakes not to do this...

It doesn't matter about open of closed systems, if we could have kept Lovren and Matip on the pitch together then our defence would have been a foot note based on player preference and depth rather than one of the priorities.

 

We need a good defender or two who can play 40 games a season instead of missing weeks at a time with niggly injuries.

[Cardie]

It's clear klopp sees this as the role of the whole midfield unit not just Henderson or can otherwise he'd have bought a dm by now.

Yep, he hasn't even acknowledged a true DM in any of his targets since he got here.

 

If we ever did sign anyone for the middle of the three then all indications point to it being a deep lying playmaker.

[an tha]

It doesn't matter about open of closed systems, if we could have kept Lovren and Matip on the pitch together then our defence would have been a foot note based on player preference and depth rather than one of the priorities.

 

We need a good defender or two who can play 40 games a season instead of missing weeks at a time with niggly injuries.

Apart from ironically our full backs who in my view are ineffective in the system we adopt we suffer all over with way too many injuries.

 

Just look at these started games stats for key players last season....it is totally unacceptable...

 

 

Henserson 24

Lallana 26

 

So there is two thirds of our best midfield 3 missing for a third of the season.

 

Coutinho 27

Mane 25

 

So there are our two most creative players out for a third of the season.

 

Matip 26

Lovren 29

 

There is our best centre half partnership missing a third and a quarter of our games respectively....no idea how many games they started together but clearly not enough.

 

There is 3 main areas of the side where we are losing far too many games from key men and of course our cover for them is largely woeful/too big a drop off in quality.

[Kevin D]

Mane is a malingering twat.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

I voted CM. A top CM has a knock on effect, not only for the midfield but also for the CBs behind and the players in front.

 

Right now it feels like we've been building a jigsaw from the outside edges and wondering why we can't work out what the picture is.

[Cardie]

Right now it feels like we've been building a jigsaw from the outside edges and wondering why we can't work out what the picture is.

Isn't that how you're supposed to do a jigsaw?

 

You'd be fucked trying to do that baked bean one from the inside out.

[Pureblood]

The priority is definitely not a defensive midfielder.

[Kevin D]

Isn't that how you're supposed to do a jigsaw?

You'd be fucked trying to do that baked bean one from the inside out.

Repped for being that instinctively contradictory.

[Barnesey]

I'm not saying we cannot get an upgrade on Matip and Lovren but the problem is more one of playing style than individuals. We slip a bit when those two cannot play but VVD will not improve the first choice a great deal.

 

I'd spend £60m on PEA. Title winning teams always have a top class guy who scores when the team doesn't always deserve a goal. Aubameyang will do just that and I'd make that my first priority.

[m0e]

Amazing how Goalkeeper doesn't been get a mention these days.

 

Go on the Mig!

[TheBitch]

I voted CB because most others did and I want to fit in.

 

I didn't look, then voted CB and was made up I was in the majority.

[3 Stacks]

Naby Keita, and therefore CM, because I think he's the best player we could hope to buy.

[Russ Atmosphere]

The only vote for goalkeeper huh. Well I'll be the one laughing my cock off when the pear-fondler has shipped fifty cretinous goals by chrimbo.

 

No one will convince me I don't have a good knowledge of football, I impressed myself with what I said about Mignolet as I saw Gary Neville say the exact same after I had wrote it.

[Kevin D]

The only vote for goalkeeper huh. Well I'll be the one laughing my cock off when the pear-fondler has shipped fifty cretinous goals by chrimbo.

 

No one will convince me I don't have a good knowledge of football, I impressed myself with what I said about Mignolet as I saw Gary Neville say the exact same after I had wrote it.

I do agree with you that Mignolet will collapse at some point in October.

 

We need a gk, but we also need like 7-8 other players. If we buy Chamberlain for25m, then we need 10 players.