Yeah ... and if he breaks down grav might find himself in there which would leave us short in midfield. We need a centre half and a no6. No doubt about it. Pity Endo just isnt part of the plan. He would do a great job at 6.
We are treading once again on extreamly thin ice ... and we dont need to.
You won't win a league title with Endo at 6. We didn't win a Europa league (or get beyond the quarters) with Endo at 6 with an energetic Atalanta targeting him and exploiting us.
The home game against Palace, little over 48 hours after that 3-0 hammering at home, Klopp started Endo again, which I think is unquestionably his worst team selection in his almost 9 years at the club. The reason it was so terrible was because it was so predictable what would happen. Seeing the teamsheet, I then didn't watch the game. Couldn't. Palace and their athletic midfield would target him, just as they did at their ground earlier in the season, and exploit us. Quelle surprise that was what happened, and we went in 1-0 down in one of the worst, most sluggish midfield displays in his tenure at the club. He tries to correct his error by replacing Endo at half time but trying to save yet another game caught up with us, and it being so late in the season and every game decisive, we snatched at chances, lost the game, and the title race fell away after that result.
We don't just need a 6, we need a good 6 (one who is mobile, can track runners, can screen the defence). Likewise we don't just need a 9 (otherwise Nunez would be enough), we need a good 9.
Grav is a great player, but he's a number 8 being asked to be a 6, and in three recent games where we dropped points he has switched off: at Newcastle (wrong side of midfielder who was free in space before easily playing in Gordon), against United (in the build up to United's first when he didn't track the runner and woke up too late), and at Forest (leaving the space in behind for the midfielder in oceans of space to pick out an easy pass). A number 6 is defensively alert to these situations.
When there is no 6, no adequate protection, in front of the defence, it leaves it nigh on impossible for the back 4 regardless how good they are (think Carra and Hyppia the first half in Istanbul). An opposing player can play passes through with ease with just a back 4 to face. And with runs not being tracked in midfield a player running through will always get the better of a defender due to the advantage in forward momentum.
Konate, Virgil, Alisson, all great players. World class. But as we saw most glaringly in the 2022-23 season, when the midfield is vacant there is not a damn thing they can do. The midfield has improved since then by bringing in two 8s (Grav and Dom) and a 10 in Mac, but we remain unbalanced without a 6. We look very flaky every game and give up easy chances with opponents having little to do to breach us. Leave space in behind, that's bread and butter for any team to exploit. Forest, first time in our half, and they do just that.
