All being fit, i really think we will look like this:
Mignolet
Clyne Skrtel Sakho Moreno
Hendo Emre Milner
Coutinho
Firmino Sturridge
That midfield has a lot of pressing in it and Firmino will start that pressure really high up the pitch
and in his most favourable position.My only concern in this side is Moreno. Bless him, he tries his hardest every time, but he can't mark a winger to save his life.
Also will be interesting to see how he rates and plays Gomez.
All in all, as much as people don't rate our side, i still maintain we have a highly talented bunch of players that is lacking in some areas but can really hurt an opposition in other areas.
That midfield and attack could destroy most teams with a bit more guidance. Tactically i think we can get a bit muddled up as we saw under Brendan but someone who can instil a bit more discipline in them - especially Coutinho and Emre who could be anything they want but don't always play the smart pass or shot - we could see that team challenge at the top end of the ladder and put in a deep run in Europe for once.
Coutinho has all the talent in the world but he can sometimes go quiet, or try too hard, or as we have seen in recent weeks, just hit pot shots from 25+ yards. If Jürgen can make him that wee bit smarter and use his unique ability on the ball to greater affect, we have the best attacking midfielder in the world on our hands. He's someone i would look to build the side around right now. He's very difficult to close down because of the brilliant body movement he has and his one touch passing is immaculate and he backs that up with a shift in defence.
Likewise with Emre, he has all the tools but his mind lets him down. A little more knowledge of the game
and he could be the base of our midfield for a very long time. We are linked to Gundogan now but Emre could be every bit as good as him and better. He is comfortable on the ball, can pick a pass, and has an engine on him but right now he just doesn't have the brain to put in the level of performance required consistently.
In defence, Jürgen will have to reshape how our midfield works off the ball to help out the backline. I don't have confidence in the mentality of that back five to keep clean sheets constantly. We have too many defenders guilty of ball watching, letting their man go, and just making some stupid errors. As soon as the opposition move the ball about and have someone providing some movement in the final third we get torn apart - especially from left back. With that midfield i put in the team above, we have plenty of energy to be able to help negate the threat of the opposition.
Looking at the Chelsea side of last season, they displayed everything you need to be successful through their defence. They kept tight and strong in the middle and let their midfield handle threats outside the box and in between the lines. Our defenders have a stupid habit of coming out of their line way too often to shut down an opposition midfielder because our midfield doesn't track a runner and once that back line is broken, it's game over. The opposition has a massive gap in the most dangerous area in the pitch and they'll pick you off.
So i think Jürgen has a big task to bring this team up to speed tactically with the best teams in the league and Europe. We have the talent to hurt opposition teams but just need that guidance of someone who knows what they're doing to bring it out consistently.
If he can fix some of these problems, i think we're nailed on for success. But he couldn't have said it better in his first interview - "The first thing, always, maybe in life, you need to have a stable defence."
