Midfield Reloaded: Klopp 2.0

              Mac Allister                                Szoboszlai
              Gravenberch                                 Elliott
                  Jones

                                         Thiago
                                          Endo
                                         Bajcetic



2023: Midfield Reloaded.

Plenty of options and an element of tactical flexibility not seen at the club in a long time.
Szoboszlai and Mac Allister already hit the ground running and Endo on a 100% record.

How are you feeling about the rebuild?

              Mac Allister                                Szoboszlai
              Gravenberch                                 Elliott
                  Jones

                                         Thiago
                                          Endo
                                         Bajcetic



2023: Midfield Reloaded.

Plenty of options and an element of tactical flexibility not seen at the club in a long time.
Szoboszlai and Mac Allister already hit the ground running and Endo on a 100% record.

How are you feeling about the rebuild?

Love it.

              Mac Allister                                Szoboszlai
              Gravenberch                                 Elliott
                  Jones

                                         Thiago
                                          Endo
                                         Bajcetic



2023: Midfield Reloaded.

Plenty of options and an element of tactical flexibility not seen at the club in a long time.
Szoboszlai and Mac Allister already hit the ground running and Endo on a 100% record.

How are you feeling about the rebuild?

All of the midfielders seem to be a hybrid of 6 and 8 meaning they can easily drop into the DM role arhat from Szobo and Elliot who are more attacking.

May well be that this is the way forward and not playing with a pure DM, it certainly gives us more flexibility and options in fact it was noticeable yesterday that when Mac went forward Curtis would drop into the 6 role.

good players can player in different positions and players need to be flexible these days. In someways it a funny conversation to have if you look at Phil Neal and Alan Kennedy scoring in European cup finals as died in the wool fullbacks not even classed as wingbacks.
Now the window has closed we appear to be in our strongest position for sometime in midfield and if Thiago can over come his injuries we have a great deal of quality available. looking good for this season

All of the midfielders seem to be a hybrid of 6 and 8 meaning they can easily drop into the DM role arhat from Szobo and Elliot who are more attacking.

May well be that this is the way forward and not playing with a pure DM, it certainly gives us more flexibility and options in fact it was noticeable yesterday that when Mac went forward Curtis would drop into the 6 role.

Having to play a deeper midfield when down to 10 men showed that the squad is there for a 1-4-2-3-1
and that Szoboszlai can play anywhere in midfield.

Hopefully we see it at some point but it's definitely an interesting season to look forward to with all the options now.

All of the midfielders seem to be a hybrid of 6 and 8 meaning they can easily drop into the DM role arhat from Szobo and Elliot who are more attacking.

May well be that this is the way forward and not playing with a pure DM, it certainly gives us more flexibility and options in fact it was noticeable yesterday that when Mac went forward Curtis would drop into the 6 role.

 

Think you got your wires crossed fella in my last post, I wasn’t suggesting you criticised any of the new lads, I was pointing out how negative you and others were during the transfer shenanigans, anyway it doesn’t matter now that’s gone.


Interesting thoughts on how playing without a DM as such, thinking about it, it does make sense, from a attacking standpoint, Trent inverted being another tweak as we have seen, as the season progresses we’ll see what system is preferred and depending on who we play and how they themselves set up,
Previously we only had plan A, bit different now that we have a B and maybe even a C ??

I will support Endo till the end of time but in that midfield, a little better DM would have been a stunning transformation to our midfield.

Having said that, Mac Allister has fitted very well in that slot.

Come on, prove us wrong and mostly other fans.

I will support Endo till the end of time but in that midfield, a little better DM would have been a stunning transformation to our midfield.

Having said that, Mac Allister has fitted very well in that slot.

Come on, prove us wrong and mostly other fans.

https://twitter.com/Lfc__vision/status/1698352299863654711?s=20

So far so good.

And what it makes it even better is we’ve been getting results with very staggered versions of the new midfield.

Chelsea we didn’t have Endo in our sights because we were still after other targets. Bournemouth we lost Mac Allister for a long time due to the red card. We had to change the midfield against Newcastle following the red card to Van Dijk.

The first time we’ve been able to play with a settled midfield for the full game was Villa and look at how well we played there.

Get a settled midfield and we’re in full F***ing flow.

How are you feeling about the rebuild?

I'm encouraged by our early season form but I'm still nervous about our lack of an obvious 6 myself. I feel like the club have missed a trick in not bringing in a proven player in that role and that it may prove to be the missing piece that could make the difference between top 4 and a title challenge. Even yesterday I felt we were quite open and could be got at but Villa's final ball was poor. 

I'm encouraged by our early season form but I'm still nervous about our lack of an obvious 6 myself. I feel like the club have missed a trick in not bringing in a proven player in that role and that it may prove to be the missing piece that could make the difference between top 4 and a title challenge. Even yesterday I felt we were quite open and could be got at but Villa's final ball was poor.

Looking at the way we played yesterday it seems that Klopp is playing more of a two there as opposed to a single 6 - a lot of times it was Gary and Curtis next to each other with Dom higher up - which then meant TAA played more as a CB at times and was pinging balls from there

Looking at the way we played yesterday it seems that Klopp is playing more of a two there as opposed to a single 6 - a lot of times it was Gary and Curtis next to each other with Dom higher up - which then meant TAA played more as a CB at times and was pinging balls from there

Trent's passing is fantastic and pinpoint accuracy. He will contribute a lot too, to our new superb midfield.

              Mac Allister                                Szoboszlai
              Gravenberch                                 Elliott
                  Jones

                                         Thiago
                                          Endo
                                         Bajcetic



2023: Midfield Reloaded.

Plenty of options and an element of tactical flexibility not seen at the club in a long time.
Szoboszlai and Mac Allister already hit the ground running and Endo on a 100% record.

How are you feeling about the rebuild?

I'm delighted.

What we've ended up doing naked more sense than spending £100M on a single DM.

Options all over the place in midfield now and really exciting to see how this develops this season.

I'm F***ing buzzing

All systems go

Just please lads, come back from International Duty injury free and primed to strike!

I'm delighted.

What we've ended up doing naked more sense than spending £100M on a single DM.

Options all over the place in midfield now and really exciting to see how this develops this season.

Indeed.

Looking at the way we played yesterday it seems that Klopp is playing more of a two there as opposed to a single 6 - a lot of times it was Gary and Curtis next to each other with Dom higher up - which then meant TAA played more as a CB at times and was pinging balls from there

I think that against teams like City and Arsenal it's particularly important to have a very good defensively minded CM. It's hard to judge our start (and the formation/make up of our midfield in some ways because of the sendings off). Yes we can play with two deeper middies but it would not surprise me if the club are shopping for one in the January window. The enormous bid for Caicedo (and eventual/final bid for Lavia) would suggest tat it's a very important position for Klopp. 

I like it. We've brought in quality players and also there is a fresher, hungrier vibe about the club, at least it seems that way looking in.

I'm not too worried about the DM position. I have a feeling Endo is gonna be good there. But we also have other options - Mac, Thiago n Baj. Plus, looking at his stats, Grav can probably play there too. Out of all those options, I'd be amazed if Jürgen can't find a decent DM to see us through at least this season.

Basically, I think Grav n Endo look decent replacements for Hendo n Fab (and Milner), which is what we needed once they left. Meanwhile, Dom n Mac were already major upgrades on Keita n Ox. Plus they all have decent injury records. So our midfield is not just younger, but better, than it was.

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister look unbelievable business already, slotted in very well and both will get better.

Still feels like there's a bit of a question mark over the 6 - getting one of our main two targets in that position would have made it the perfect midfield rebuild. Hopefully Bajcetic can step up and Thiago can stay fit for a few games to bridge that gap.

I'm delighted.

What we've ended up doing naked more sense than spending £100M on a single DM.

Options all over the place in midfield now and really exciting to see how this develops this season.

Yeah in fairness to you Si you called that early on when Bellingham was still the sexy option and we were all cursing him going to Madrid instead

Szoboszlai and Mac Allister look unbelievable business already, slotted in very well and both will get better.

Still feels like there's a bit of a question mark over the 6 - getting one of our main two targets in that position would have made it the perfect midfield rebuild. Hopefully Bajcetic can step up and Thiago can stay fit for a few games to bridge that gap.

Endo is going to surprise us - watch this space

Yeah in fairness to you Si you called that early on when Bellingham was still the sexy option and we were all cursing him going to Madrid instead

Ha

I hadn't even thought of that and the post wasn't some sort of I told you all so but you know 

I think we have had a good window that can be potentially be great.  2 brilliant players and the other two have had no preseason so have to hold my opinion on them for a couple of months. 

Considering we wiped the midfield clean looks a very good.

Obviously it's early days but it's already looking exciting. If we can just steady the ship at the back then we'll be set to challenge ADFC full on (or at least until they get demoted to League Two for juicing).

Just speculating obviously, but i wonder...with Gomez fully fit and back in good form, I wonder if it's worth trying him at Right back and trying Trent in Midfield in Europa and cup games. See how it goes?

https://twitter.com/rebekkarnold/status/1699379517117125045?s=12&t=_4uI6CiVRqge8WqM7F37Iw

Just speculating obviously, but i wonder...with Gomez fully fit and back in good form, I wonder if it's worth trying him at Right back and trying Trent in Midfield in Europa and cup games. See how it goes?

Highly doubt we’ll be trying Trent out in any position in Europe or the cups at any point this season until at least February 2024 at the earliest.

And then he’ll probably be sitting out the rest until May when we win the other two cups as we secure a quadruple.

https://twitter.com/rebekkarnold/status/1699379517117125045?s=12&t=_4uI6CiVRqge8WqM7F37Iw

I don’t think comparing our new mids to renovating a full house is quite on the money, and he doesn’t know if Thiago is still here or not, anyone get the idea he’s just out there for likes, cos he’s not telling us anything we already know!!

I don’t think comparing our new mids to renovating a full house is quite on the money, and he doesn’t know if Thiago is still here or not, anyone get the idea he’s just out there for likes, cos he’s not telling us anything we already know!!

The guy is a grade A #@£$% just a wee tinterweb freak. l o l

https://twitter.com/rebekkarnold/status/1699379517117125045?s=12&t=_4uI6CiVRqge8WqM7F37Iw

Our midfield isn’t perfect, for example they will be better as they play more time together and perform even better

The reason it seems perfect is simply this

Imagine driving a 2000 nissan car that’s 1.2 engine size

And then in 2 weeks you drive a 2020 bmw

Our midfield was so bad to the point championship teams promoted were out classing them, so the improvement was always going to be big

I would say Nunez did sensational world class stuff against Newcastle so we could have 7 points 9 times out 10 if that scenario of 10 men and so on was repeated. The stuff Nunez did was Henry like and out of the ordinary

So I would say the person hasn’t looked into the meaning of the points we got which is the same advice he was giving

I would rate our midfield 7.5 out of 10, but as they play more and more, they will get better throughout the season and with training

I would also add we should not have to be in a position to rebuild it all bad we started a season early and had we done, maybe we would be in the cl this season

The person who did the video should take his own advice instead of drawing conclusions without understanding how the games went and more importantly he doesn’t even know if Thiago is still here which means he doesn’t know much about the club

So I don’t think he actually knows how well the midfield is doing imo

With europa league, I do believe we can fight for the title now as we should be able to rest and gel our main midfield to be on fire in a month or two

All these analogies about houses and cars make me laugh, in its simplest form the system Jürgen preferred had run its course and the legs used to make it happen no longer had the stamina nor the strength for it to continue, we can all point to reasons why and there are many, but i can’t see the point in looking backwards so we look forward,
I normal season beginning it usually takes a good half dozen games to get up to speed if you will, with new signings integrated into said system,
The advantage we’ve had this season is there’s been a slight tweak to the tried and trusted system and the new and fresh legs have hit the ground running,

Macca was already familiar with a similar system used by De Zerbi at the Amex, and Szlobos is such a talented player transition was easy and in fact he will thrive in a system suited to his skill set, Endo has the ability to play any system and will adapt with relative ease, we have yet to see the Grav but again he has the legs and ability to thrive in Klopp’s in yer face attacking units,
Add Jones who is blossoming into a very good AM, Harvey improving daily and is quite adept at linking up play or dropping back fill in holes,



It is still early days, but what we have seen is quite a turnaround as to what we were last season,  chalk N cheese in all honesty, and yet, we’re still in our infancy with this Squad and the newish system, I’m loving how we are all chomping at the bit in anticipation as to what kind of side we will develop into……IMAGINE BEING US !!!



YNWA

Yesterday's programme with Endo stating "I live to defend"

Still don’t get why Jones I’d played at DM when we have Endo and Grav in the bench.
Do they need longer to bed in ?
Grav perhaps being a youngster but Endo is a seasoned pro 🤷‍♂️
Not saying Jones is poor but it’s not his natural position !

Do they need longer to bed in ?
Grav perhaps being a youngster but Endo is a seasoned pro 🤷‍♂️

Arthur Melo was a seasoned pro as well. I'm sure we will see Endo and possibly Ryan on Wednesday.

Arthur Melo was a seasoned pro as well. I'm sure we will see Endo and possibly Ryan on Wednesday.

I expect both, along with Elliot in a midfield three. Bajcetic will play the hybrid role I'm guessing.

The other thing we should remember in all the #6, #8 and #10 discussion, none of the guys are static in a particular role. Watch the West Ham game back and at times you'll see Jones deepest, other times Dom and other times Macca. It is very fluid.

Still don’t get why Jones I’d played at DM when we have Endo and Grav in the bench.
Do they need longer to bed in ?
Grav perhaps being a youngster but Endo is a seasoned pro 🤷‍♂️
Not saying Jones is poor but it’s not his natural position !

Jones is in on merit.

The main thing is there are so many options now, can play different formations/tactis with different players.

We will start to see more of endo now games are coming thick and fast, also once Bjatic is back to match fitness he will probably get more games.

And of course gravenburch is starting to settle well.

Good times.

FYI. Im not even sure klopp is that fussed with an actual no.6 now, the MF players are all very mobile now and can cover much better.

Whatever Klopp is doing with this midfield, i F***ing love it! We are back. We are F***ing back ladies and gentlemen! And i F***ing love it!

New players are pushing the pace and dragging the complacent ones along for the ride, there is a new energy around the place, we needed an injection of fresh legs and a midfield cull and that's exactly what we got.

Good times ahead, i can just feel it.

Jones is in on merit.

This is true.  I am not a big fan of his - I think he hasn't got the physical strength or inner grit to be a grade A player but you are right he's had a decent start when called upon this season. 

I'm all for fit and ready players being ready to battle for midfield places though because for most of the last 18 months it's been a case of 'who's available to play'. 

This is true.  I am not a big fan of his - I think he hasn't got the physical strength or inner grit to be a grade A player but you are right he's had a decent start when called upon this season. 

I'm all for fit and ready players being ready to battle for midfield places though because for most of the last 18 months it's been a case of 'who's available to play'. 

Well its not just a start, as he was a stand out player for the last 10 games last season.

Great problem for klopp to have, having so many MF players on form.

This is true.  I am not a big fan of his - I think he hasn't got the physical strength or inner grit to be a grade A player but you are right he's had a decent start when called upon this season. 

I think that in approx 3 or 4 recent seasons he's been a young player trying  to break in to a team that is probably in the top 2 or 3 club teams in the world, relentless winning almost every game. Then last season, when our standards dropped significantly he spent a lot of time injured and could not take advantage of the opportunity until the last 10 games.

He's also a young lad from Liverpool and I assume that he would hear the criticism more than a player (even a young player) moving to the club from somewhere else. The pressure to succeed must have been a very big burden to carry.

He's still young, is continuing to evolve his game and hopefully will have a long and successful career. I've always thought he would be a good squad player, not a starting 11 player but I hope he proves me wrong.

I think that in approx 3 or 4 recent seasons he's been a young player trying  to break in to a team that is probably in the top 2 or 3 club teams in the world, relentless winning almost every game. Then last season, when our standards dropped significantly he spent a lot of time injured and could not take advantage of the opportunity until the last 10 games.

He's also a young lad from Liverpool and I assume that he would hear the criticism more than a player (even a young player) moving to the club from somewhere else. The pressure to succeed must have been a very big burden to carry.

He's still young, is continuing to evolve his game and hopefully will have a long and successful career. I've always thought he would be a good squad player, not a starting 11 player but I hope he proves me wrong.

pressbox on LFCTV said he he very difficult to drop now as he is playing so well, and his workrate is top notch, defensive work has matured over the last 12 months.

Hes grown into a man.

That midfield combo of Mac and Elliott was awful so slow and physically dominated, should never be used against an6 decent or quick midfields in future.

Think it's clear that the club will need to sign André in January.
Just not the balance there at the moment.
The team is great in attacking phases but wide open defensively.

Think it's clear that the club will need to sign André in January.
Just not the balance there at the moment.
The team is great in attacking phases but wide open defensively.

Think that deal is done and dusted imo

It certainly feels like we are a starter short in midfield. If we did have a solid number 6, we would actually look really really good in midfield

It’s much better than last season but to me it seems like we have the numbers in midfield but not the quality in front of the defence

From what I have seen our three new cm this season are easily our best on there, then we have jones and Harvey who are ok and then Enzo who seems a bit meh but he has a cool name so it’s ok and Thiago

Baj is there too, hope he can be the player we need in this moment

But it feels like a couple could go and a couple of number 6 players is what would be perfect

Think that deal is done and dusted imo

We're one Fab style player from being really good. Hope Endo can get caught up ro speed and contribute more. We need Macca further forward. It's a move that improves us in 2 areas.

It certainly feels like we are a starter short in midfield. If we did have a solid number 6, we would actually look really really good in midfield

It’s much better than last season but to me it seems like we have the numbers in midfield but not the quality in front of the defence

From what I have seen our three new cm this season are easily our best on there, then we have jones and Harvey who are ok and then Enzo who seems a bit meh but he has a cool name so it’s ok and Thiago

Baj is there too, hope he can be the player we need in this moment

But it feels like a couple could go and a couple of number 6 players is what would be perfect

Fully agree mate. We are a quality 6 away from being in great shape. Particularly against the better sides, it’s a must.
Macallister has done alright but he isn’t particularly athletic and sometimes he gets caught on the ball. His best work is a little higher up the pitch.
Endo still feels like a bit of a panic buy to me, the fact Klopp hasn’t given him significant minutes in the prem suggests he doesn’t think he is ready. Now he may turn out to be Robertson mark 2 or perhaps the next Fabinho but we need him to be ready pretty quickly.
Personally I think they will buy another 6 in January. Perhaps it will be Andre although, I think a player like Dacoure would come and be a ready made, hit the ground running acquisition who could help us contend fir the title (assuming we’re in the running come January)

Fully agree mate. We are a quality 6 away from being in great shape. Particularly against the better sides, it’s a must.
Macallister has done alright but he isn’t particularly athletic and sometimes he gets caught on the ball. His best work is a little higher up the pitch.
Endo still feels like a bit of a panic buy to me, the fact Klopp hasn’t given him significant minutes in the prem suggests he doesn’t think he is ready. Now he may turn out to be Robertson mark 2 or perhaps the next Fabinho but we need him to be ready pretty quickly.
Personally I think they will buy another 6 in January. Perhaps it will be Andre although, I think a player like Dacoure would come and be a ready made, hit the ground running acquisition who could help us contend fir the title (assuming we’re in the running come January)

I think if the club were looking to get Dacoure then he would have arrived in the summer hence why I think the Andre deal will be done

Don't think you go from willing to spend 100m to not filling that position adequately.  Bajetic clearly has some issues probably around growing at his age as Stevie did . Hoping for some reinforcements January

Fully agree mate. We are a quality 6 away from being in great shape. Particularly against the better sides, it’s a must.
Macallister has done alright but he isn’t particularly athletic and sometimes he gets caught on the ball. His best work is a little higher up the pitch.
Endo still feels like a bit of a panic buy to me, the fact Klopp hasn’t given him significant minutes in the prem suggests he doesn’t think he is ready. Now he may turn out to be Robertson mark 2 or perhaps the next Fabinho but we need him to be ready pretty quickly.
Personally I think they will buy another 6 in January. Perhaps it will be Andre although, I think a player like Dacoure would come and be a ready made, hit the ground running acquisition who could help us contend fir the title (assuming we’re in the running come January)

The ease with which forwards blow past pace-challenged Macallister is frightening. In a league that emphasizes frontline speed, this is LFC's answer?

I've missed the last couple games due to work.

Seems like Jürgen's plan is to set the midfield up with attack in mind and no real 6 as most of the season it's been MacAllister but then any of the three has drifted in to cover when needed.

Will be grand against most sides in the league but we could come unstuck against the best playing this way.

We have been playing well, but just not getting full points in recent matches due to various other reasons.

We have been playing well, but just not getting full points in recent matches due to various other reasons.

Totally agree, we will be there near the top but I think we lack a top signing defensively that will take us to the apex.

We still sport one of the major issues the midfield had before last summer which is that it doesn't create enough for the guys up front. Our most creative midfielder is still our right-back. Yesterday, against United, was a prime example of this. The only moments you felt something might happen was when TAA had the ball.

Now I understand that Mac is out, and Szobo's form fell off a cliff, but still. This has been an issue for us for at least a month now. Go back and watch some of our recent games. Unless someone is coming up with a brilliant individual piece of play then it seems we are stuck wasting our possession. Think Elliott against Palace, the four goals against Fulham, the two goals v Sheffield (a corner and a that Szoboszlai goal).

Is it a tactical problem or just the midfield underperforming in that area because of various players forms? Or a mix of both? Anyway, its pretty frustrating watching Salah having to drop deep to trying and create something and its always indicative of problems for us (there was plenty of that last season).

This ongoing problem is also why I tend to think that moving TAA to RCM wouldn't be the worst idea ever. I don't care about his crosses from next to the touchline, most of them already come from that area near the half space which a role as an RCM wouldn't necessarily deprive him of. It also wouldn't stop him from drifting wide when he needs to. Playing him at RCM would have him involved a bit more centrally which in my opinion is where he is at his best. Good shot, good link up play, creative in lots of space but also in tighter ones right in front of the box. Anyway, I know lots of people don't like this idea, but I think that had TAA been playing for Guardiola or a number of other managers, he'd have been an RCM for a couple of seasons now.

I think this may be the strongest squad we've had under Jürgen. Not the strongest first 11, cos no Sadio n Bobby, but the strength in depth is the best.

Today we had Mo out, Dom n Endo out, and played our 2nd choice RB, 2nd choice keeper, 3rd choice LB and 4th choice CB. And hardly noticed the difference. We have never been this strong with so many first choice players out.