Our midfield

[Pureblood 7,387]

26 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

It depends how you look at it. Is the midfield very good, relatively? Yes, of course. It's not a "problem" if our best ones are fit. But it's also the easiest part of the team to improve. 

 

We couldn't do anything to improve any other position group, except maybe very marginally. The midfield has more tangible room for improvement.

I dunno, I expect the same conversation will continue for the next ten years regardless of the personnel.  

 

Sign this player, sign that player, in fact we need two, no three of them or we won't win every game 12-0. 

[3 Stacks 3,452]

1 hour ago, Pureblood said:

I dunno, I expect the same conversation will continue for the next ten years regardless of the personnel.  

 

Sign this player, sign that player, in fact we need two, no three of them or we won't win every game 12-0. 

Certain people have a grudge against the club captain who has been here for 10 years, and so that's made the midfield a longstanding issue in their mind. 

 

I think the majority of people would simply like someone better than Keita or Ox, who have had plenty of time and haven't done enough. I find that reasonable.

[aRdja 2,921]

5 hours ago, Mil-ing Around said:

Fuck Ward-Prowse aswell fucking hell aRdja, you must be really shit at fantasy football

 

Second highest scoring centre mid in FPL, no?

[aRdja 2,921]

5 hours ago, SlugTrail said:

What is it about shit English players you like.

My view regarding JWP isn’t really unique. If anything I was a bit late to the game. A few prolific members mentioned him early on as a potential option; 3 Stacks, El Rojo, even Usher. He’s a decent player no? Lovely right foot, holds his own in a two-man midfield in a high pressing team. 

[3 Stacks 3,452]

Ward-Prowse is decent and would fit the way we play, as he does with Hasenhuttl. But the circumstances around his situation at Southampton pretty much eliminate him from being an option.

[Bad Red Bull 609]

Someone posted this link in the summer thread.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/KopWorld/status/1485559237594030087

 

He also says Gravenberch is a target.

 

[Jose Jones 3,321]

I reckon a 23 year old fitter, faster, taller version of Thiago is what we need.

[VladimirIlyich 9,764]

7 hours ago, Mil-ing Around said:

It didn't outplay their midfield though. Let's be honest, they missed some absolute sitters and then would my original post have more relevance?

 

I'm not here slating the team and trying to take away from yesterday's achievement. I was absolutely overjoyed and I'm still buzzing. 

 

But, we have the best goalkeeper in the world, Best centre back, right back and arguably one of the best left backs around. Our attack is up there with anyone's on the planet. But we aren't controlling games like we used to 2/3 years ago when we had a younger Henderson, Gini's energy and fresher fabinho. We would absolutely suffocate teams with power, strength and energy from the middle of the park.

 

I'm not just talking about yesterday's game here, many of our games are end to end this season (and last). We get countered much more easily these days. It's definitely an area of the pitch we need legs and energy in. Teams get out far easier against us and the ball often ends up in our final third way more than it used to, causing everyone to run more. 

 

I agree fabinho is a beast, I love him, but he does need help in there. Calls for a momo type player i agree with. I think Bissouma is that player. He's also great on the ball in tight spaces. Sadly he's also trying to finger girls in the toilet so maybe it's a no go.

 

I'd love Bellingham but we aren't paying £80 million for a 19 year old. I just hope we buy two midfielders in the summer. But, if Kieta and Ox both have another year that's probably not going to happen 

 

Fuck Ward-Prowse aswell fucking hell aRdja, you must be really shit at fantasy football

 

 

 

 

We are three points behind the oil cheats with a 'lacklustre' midfield and one in which its 'technically' most gifted is out injured most of the time. Its probably not half as bad as you think.

[Pureblood 7,387]

3 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

Certain people have a grudge against the club captain who has been here for 10 years, and so that's made the midfield a longstanding issue in their mind. 

 

I think the majority of people would simply like someone better than Keita or Ox, who have had plenty of time and haven't done enough. I find that reasonable.

For me the mistake, if there was one, was getting rid of Wijnaldum and replacing him with someone of the same age who has a suspect injury/appearance record, and might not have the fortitude for the week to week rigours of our hectic schedule.  But, I think we have enough depth to cope and find a solution from the players we have. 

[Aventus 2,603]

25 minutes ago, Pureblood said:

For me the mistake, if there was one, was getting rid of Wijnaldum and replacing him with someone of the same age who has a suspect injury/appearance record, and might not have the fortitude for the week to week rigours of our hectic schedule.  But, I think we have enough depth to cope and find a solution from the players we have. 

To be fair there were plenty of games Gini was a ghost. Might as well have been injured for all the good he did us in some of those less glamorous games. 

[Pureblood 7,387]

2 hours ago, Aventus said:

To be fair there were plenty of games Gini was a ghost. Might as well have been injured for all the good he did us in some of those less glamorous games. 

I vehemently disagree, he was class.

[El Rojo 10,870]

Have to laugh at some of the criticism of Jordan Henderson over the years. He's not Steven Gerrard or Graeme Souness; he's not going to clatter into other players and will probably injure himself if he does so, or execute it badly like he did when he clattered Nasri and got himself ruled out of our run-in in 2014.

 

He's been doubted since his first day here, when the general consensus was that Man United had done much better business by signing another promising young English player in Phil Jones. 

 

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, in a finely tuned game like Klopp's and where Man City and others leave little or no room for error, you don't reach European Cup finals and consistently challenge for titles with a dud midfielder and captain. Do people honestly think the best manager in the world plays him as much as he can because he thinks that he's a nice guy?

 

At this stage, he'll only be fully appreciated when he's retired, which I hope won't be for a good few seasons yet.  

[Numero Veinticinco 8,377]

On limited viewing, I like the look of Tchouameni. He looks a stride faster and stronger than every player he plays against. 

[Razoray 894]

5 hours ago, Jose Jones said:

I reckon a 23 year old fitter, faster, taller version of Thiago is what we need.

Zidane retired a while back unfortunately 

[Carvalho Diablo 17,118]

1 hour ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

On limited viewing, I like the look of Tchouameni. He looks a stride faster and stronger than every player he plays against. 

Completely agree. He's be a perfect fit, next to Fab.

[Harry's Lad 3,130]

1 hour ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

On limited viewing, I like the look of Tchouameni. He looks a stride faster and stronger than every player he plays against. 

 

7 minutes ago, Carvalho Diablo said:

Completely agree. He's be a perfect fit, next to Fab.

That pairing would boss everything. Proper powerhouse midfield. 

[Mil-ing Around 423]

11 hours ago, Chris said:

You're right they did miss sitters, but our lads controlled that part of the field for the vast majority of that 120 minutes. We were in the ascendency for most of it, admittedly while looking more vulnerable to their attacks. 

 

Thats kind of what i was getting at. It's not just Chelsea that countered us, it seems like lots of other teams are able to do the same. I know we don't concede many goals, but our games do feel more end to end ping pong type matches this season. I think thats largely because the midfield looks leggy and can't cover the ground quickly enough to stop the attacks in the oppositions half. 

 

Klopps system requires so much running and all of them have been brilliant at this for 4+ years now. They aren't robots so its only natural that it's going to take its toll at some point. Firmino is another one who looks pretty burnt and he did so much to help the midfield out in previous seasons. 

 

8 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

Certain people have a grudge against the club captain who has been here for 10 years, and so that's made the midfield a longstanding issue in their mind. 

 

I think the majority of people would simply like someone better than Keita or Ox, who have had plenty of time and haven't done enough. I find that reasonable.

 

Yeah we can upgrade on them both. I don't think we are asking for a dream team of world class midfielders to be bought. But can we have better quality in the squad who offer us much more when we need them. Also it would give a boost and possible performance increase to the first 11, knowing that their starting place might be under pressure. 

 

7 hours ago, aRdja said:

Second highest scoring centre mid in FPL, no?

 

I'm not saying Ward-Prowse is rubbish, but he's 28 next season and i don't think he would fit the profile of what we need. He'd be 30 by the time Klopps contract ends and then we are in the same position as today.

 

5 hours ago, VladimirIlyich said:

We are three points behind the oil cheats with a 'lacklustre' midfield and one in which its 'technically' most gifted is out injured most of the time. Its probably not half as bad as you think.

 

It's definitely not bad, but can we or should we improve on it now rather than later is the question?

 

I bloody hope Klopp stays with us and signs a new contract but if Jurgen only stays another 2 years and we do nothing, the ages would be:

 

Henderson 33

Fabinho 30

Thiago 33

Kieta 29

Milner 65

 

Do we really want to wait another year and only give Klopp 1 season to bed in a new midfield or worst still do nothing and give that re-build onto the next manager? 

 

We should do it this summer in my opinion, it makes the most sense. 

[Carvalho Diablo 17,118]

40 minutes ago, Harry's Lad said:

 

That pairing would boss everything. Proper powerhouse midfield. 

Stick Thiago ahead of them both, affording him a bit more time and freedom from a more advanced position and we have potential dynamite.

[SlugTrail 1,347]

8 hours ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

On limited viewing, I like the look of Tchouameni. He looks a stride faster and stronger than every player he plays against. 

Yeah but is he any good at this football lark.

[SlugTrail 1,347]

Hahahahahaha @Pureblood with a good old fashioned revenge Neg.

[Numero Veinticinco 8,377]

25 minutes ago, SlugTrail said:

Yeah but is he any good at this football lark.

I support athletics athletic, not skilled footballers FC. 

[VladimirIlyich 9,764]

9 hours ago, El Rojo said:

Have to laugh at some of the criticism of Jordan Henderson over the years. He's not Steven Gerrard or Graeme Souness; he's not going to clatter into other players and will probably injure himself if he does so, or execute it badly like he did when he clattered Nasri and got himself ruled out of our run-in in 2014.

 

He's been doubted since his first day here, when the general consensus was that Man United had done much better business by signing another promising young English player in Phil Jones. 

 

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, in a finely tuned game like Klopp's and where Man City and others leave little or no room for error, you don't reach European Cup finals and consistently challenge for titles with a dud midfielder and captain. Do people honestly think the best manager in the world plays him as much as he can because he thinks that he's a nice guy?

 

At this stage, he'll only be fully appreciated when he's retired, which I hope won't be for a good few seasons yet.  

[aRdja 2,921]

7 hours ago, Carvalho Diablo said:

Stick Thiago ahead of them both, affording him a bit more time and freedom from a more advanced position and we have potential dynamite.

That would make our midfield setup more defensive than it is currently. Not sure that’s the direction we should be headed. Tchouameni looks like a defensive-minded box-to-box player. I like his size and athleticism but his technique looks nothing special and his passing range looks limited. He looks like he could be a very useful player but not for us IMO.

[VladimirIlyich 9,764]

9 hours ago, El Rojo said:

Have to laugh at some of the criticism of Jordan Henderson over the years. He's not Steven Gerrard or Graeme Souness; he's not going to clatter into other players and will probably injure himself if he does so, or execute it badly like he did when he clattered Nasri and got himself ruled out of our run-in in 2014.

 

He's been doubted since his first day here, when the general consensus was that Man United had done much better business by signing another promising young English player in Phil Jones. 

 

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, in a finely tuned game like Klopp's and where Man City and others leave little or no room for error, you don't reach European Cup finals and consistently challenge for titles with a dud midfielder and captain. Do people honestly think the best manager in the world plays him as much as he can because he thinks that he's a nice guy?

 

At this stage, he'll only be fully appreciated when he's retired, which I hope won't be for a good few seasons yet.  

[TD_LFC 1,015]

15 hours ago, aRdja said:

My view regarding JWP isn’t really unique. If anything I was a bit late to the game. A few prolific members mentioned him early on as a potential option; 3 Stacks, El Rojo, even Usher. He’s a decent player no? Lovely right foot, holds his own in a two-man midfield in a high pressing team. 

He suffers from the same issue as Kalvin Phillips, he's a good player but how much he improves the team, how much better he could get and the amount it would take to get him doesn't make it a good transfer.

 

It's the kind of transfer we'd make years ago when we were trying to build a team not now.