Summer 2022 Transfer Thread

[HBenn]

32 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

 

I get where you're coming from. Add Morton to that and is it really that huge of a problem?

 

I think we all agree Fabinho, Hendo & Thaigo are our best starting 3 midfielders. Based on the above, that would class all of them as defensively minded. It was clear at the start of last season with Elliott starting and Hendo doing a subsequent role, that we're looking to move away from that model. Klopp talked about us being "less predictable".

 

It was difficult to judge how a midfield of any of the above 2 + Elliott would have worked out because both Elliott and Thiago got injured at Leeds. It didn't work with Jones in there afterwards, I put that down to fitness / rustyness from his reduced pre-season and from Hendo being a bit kamikaze. 

 

If we're looking to evolve and have less predictability in our side, then I think midfield might be an area we look to switch it up. We could certainly do with more goals from midfield. 

 

As much as we don't like his gormless grid, Foden is a good example of what we might be looking at. Started as a wide player, moved backwards & he only got better through playing. There were some bumps in the 19/20 season but he's as adept and doing a midfield and wide role now. 

Think Morton will go on loan personally 

[Lee909]

Be funny when Spearing gets a run out in the league/FA cup and leads a ressie/youth squad to another win over the Everton first team

[m0e]

Jay Spearing's not our captain

Jay Spearing is a Red

Jay Spearing's not from Liverpool 

He's from Birkenhead

[Chairman Meow]

4 minutes ago, m0e said:

Jay Spearing's not our captain

Jay Spearing is a Red

Jay Spearing's not from Liverpool 

He's from Birkenhead

Pointing at the wing

Just added a little extra to make it a true player based Liverpool song. 

[Moo]

24 minutes ago, Lee909 said:

Be funny when Spearing gets a run out in the league/FA cup and leads a ressie/youth squad to another win over the Everton first team

Well he's added to the numbers in midfield so no way we can bring anyone else in.

[an tha]

5 hours ago, Scott_M said:

I don’t necessarily disagree with any of that, there are caveats to it all though. 
 

In terms of midfield age, look at ages of key midfielders of Real Madrid, Man City & Chelsea… just because players might be >30, doesn’t mean they still can’t contribute, especially if they are rotated properly.
 

I appreciate you could then say “Well Real Madrid have Camavinga, Touchameni & Valverde” or “City are replacing Fernandinho with Phillips” and you’d obviously be correct, we don’t operate in Real Madrid or Man City’s levels of wealth though. It’s pointless comparing the different clubs outlays. 
 

If we’re going to sign players like Elliott, Carvalho or put faith in Jones (or even Morton) then they need minutes and the best experience they can have his by playing and training with the first team. 
 

Although he’s not my favourite player, I don’t dislike Keita. I get he’s an easy player to pick on (I’ve done it myself!) and ultimately he’s been a disappointing signing, ignore that effort in Paris and he was quite good last season & has done enough to get a new contract. 
 

In terms of “We dropped points v Brentford, Brighton, Spurs, Chelsea etc” from winning positions last season, obviously that is correct, the last of which was on the 1st January in the middle of the squad being hit by COVID19. After Chelsea, we won 15/17 games with the above midfielders. To me, that would, hopefully, indicate our early season wastefulness and lack of control is gone. 
 

There was obviously a tactical shift in the early part of last season with Elliott playing more advanced and then Hendo did the role of bombing on. Whatever we did in the 2nd half for the season worked. Partially this would be down to Thiago’s fitness but I also think there was something more systematic. 

 

Finally, I don’t think we can ignore the 5 subs rule in the league next season. We have greater opportunity to rest ageing legs when we’re up or introduce them if it’s not working out. Klopp often uses all 5 subs when he has the opportunity, I’d expect plenty of rotation. 
 

Although my preference would be to buy somebody this summer and I’m genuinely surprised we’re not, breaking it down the other way, I can see why we’re not. As 3Stacks said on the previous page, these players nearly won it all last season, if we don’t add to that squad, it’s not a disaster. 

I am not massively disageeing with you here either....but i believe firmly that the biggest difference between us in the 1st half and 2nd half of the season was that we were able to put out our 'best 3' in midfield more often and as result we simply are a better team who win more football matches.

 

When we can't put that 3 out we are still a very good team who win a lot of football matches, but we just see that little drop - that little drop that sees results like the Brentford and Brighton ones - and that is IMO because when it isn't our 'best 3' it just isn't quite as good and depending on who it is who is missing and who is deputising our balance gets lost just a touch, or we are a bit more exposed, or we lack a bit of control....

 

For me getting rid of Oxlade who adds zero now and maybe even Keita (i appreciate his situation is much more debatable) and bringing in 1 maybe 2 quality versatile midfielders and certainly one who can do the holding role would be absolutely the right thing to do and as i say would make our squad IMO close to perfect.

 

Keita may actually become a more effective player for the addition of a certain type to squad and be freed to carry out a role he is better at more often.

 

I agree about managing and resting ageing legs and the 5 sub rule helping - but for me we need to ensure we have the right cover to do all that.

[Carra_is_legend]

3 hours ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

Is Alisson ahead of Ederson for Brazil now? I haven't been paying attention.

I thought Alisson was always no.1 for Brazil unless that has recently changed (I have not been paying attention either)

[polymerpunkah]

2 hours ago, VERBAL DIARRHEA said:

Midfield shorted

 

[El Dangerous]

Spearing on his first day back in training with the u23’s.

 

 

[aRdja]

9 hours ago, Moo said:

Well they didn't play very much, for different reasons, and when they did Jones especially had little impact.  We went into a European Cup final worrying about Fabinho's fitness, Thiago's too then a soap opera on the night with the latter.  Far from good preparations.

Truth is we have three midfielders good enough to start for us regularly and all three are injury prone, with their first "deputy" injury prone too.

They didn’t play very much because they were 6th and 7th choice. We won two cups with our fourth choice, Keita, starting both games, so I think we did okay. 

[aRdja]

6 hours ago, HBenn said:

We smashed City at home a couple of years ago with our pace and intensity. This season they were the better team in both games and I don't see this current midfield able to provide that pace or intensity for 70-90 mins.

They dominated the midfield in that game, we had more or less the same possession % in the away game vs City last season as we did when we smashed them 3-1.

 

[aRdja]

4 hours ago, TD_LFC said:

That group of Jones, Elliot, Keita, Carvalho (though it seems he's playing as a forward in the short term) isn't really where we need to improve, they've all got the ability to play in the attacking 8.

 

It's the more defence minded group we need an injection of youth/pace and future proofing, Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Thiago.

 

 

When Thiago and Fabinho are fit, they start. You could bring Tchouameni in but he’d be warming the bench unless either of them is out injured. 

[Mathewbet1]

50m for Jesus aint bad.

[Scott_M]

4 minutes ago, Mathewbet1 said:

50m for Jesus aint bad.

Talk Bernardo Silva has told City he wants to go to Barca. He’s key to them, would be a bit miss. 

[aRdja]

2 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

Talk Bernardo Silva has told City he wants to go to Barca. He’s key to them, would be a bit miss. 

Fingers crossed. The league would be better off without him. 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

11 minutes ago, aRdja said:

When Thiago and Fabinho are fit, they start. You could bring Tchouameni in but he’d be warming the bench unless either of them is out injured. 

 

[Bobby Hundreds]

11 minutes ago, Mathewbet1 said:

50m for Jesus aint bad.

City are probably paying 25 million of that in one big circle jerk

 

[Scott_M]

16 minutes ago, aRdja said:

They dominated the midfield in that game, we had more or less the same possession % in the away game vs City last season as we did when we smashed them 3-1.

 

I think it’s unfair to use the City games last season to criticise our midfield. 
 

IMO, City played brilliantly in both games. They had a clear game plan in both matches (Anfield was flood the midfield, Ethiad was to press the fuck out of Fabinho and have late runners) and despite City’s superiority and being helped by 2 massive reflections, they still couldn’t beat us (Fabinho should even have won us the game at Anfield…).

We played / ran them off the pitch at Wembley. 

 

I’m not sure what point I’m making here or who I’m making it to, I just suppose I don’t think the City games are a fair barometer of our midfield. 

[Scott_M]

5 minutes ago, aRdja said:

Fingers crossed. The league would be better off without him. 

I look forward to his guard of honour when Real Madrid have the league won by Easter. 

[aRdja]

4 minutes ago, Scott_M said:

I look forward to his guard of honour when Real Madrid have the league won by Easter. 

He’d take to La Liga like a duck to water. His values and football culture are more aligned with La Liga than they are to PL.

[Scott_M]

2 minutes ago, aRdja said:

He’d take to La Liga like a duck to water. His values and football culture are more aligned with La Liga than they are to PL.

He’s a complete twat. In my most despised XI of current Premiership players, I think he’s probably the captain. 

[El Rojo]

Bernardo Silva's a right little dickhead. Great footballer though, hope he moves on from them. 

[HBenn]

28 minutes ago, aRdja said:

They dominated the midfield in that game, we had more or less the same possession % in the away game vs City last season as we did when we smashed them 3-1.

 

I was at both games and felt we were far less vulnerable in the 3-1 game. They may have had more possession but they didn't look like hurting us anywhere near as much.

 

In the other game, the game at Anfield this season they completely bossed the first half. 2nd half we played better than we did in the first, scored two very good goals in spurts but couldn't hold out for the 5-10 mins left after we scored, with Hendo and Fab absolutely knackered and De Bruyne having acres to score the equaliser.

 

Stats don't always tell the full story.

[Lee909]

They'll sell Silva then blow everyone out the water with a bid for Bellingham

[TheHowieLama]

5 minutes ago, HBenn said:

Stats don't always tell the full story.