1.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 06:53:43
Magnificent. Just magnificent 😎😎. You should have named a few more players as examples of the types you mentioned. I just hope some people before posting random Bull about “ How great our Center Mid “ read this article at least 19 times!
We have none of the categories with us except Ball Winners.
The entire concept of our midfield is to protect and support Coutinho! No wonder we count stars when he is not in pitch!

Looking forward to the third part!

Taking about midfield, Which PL club has the best / most complete midfield according to you? And which in Europe?
My pick, UTD with Pogba, Matic and Micky
Spurs with Dier / Wanyama, Dembele
Chelsea only when they have Kante!

{Ed001's Note - PL would depend, probably Chelsea at full strength as Mikhitaryan is not good at all, terrible buy, he just goes missing for 90% of a season. I don't rate him at all. Though Citeh's is not bad, that is for sure.

Europe has Juve, Bayern, Madrid, all got excellent midfields. PSG are up there too, though losing Matuidi in the summer has weakened it.}


2.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 07:10:29
Chelsea were absolutely crap yesterday against a wonderful Roma who ran the show all over. Without Kante they are terrible, point blank crap! Fabregas is a wonderful passer of the ball but has the mobility of a pensioner while Bokayako is like an Emre Can ( Need a solid disciplined player alongside him ) .

City looks ok but only till they are being dominated which is not the case in PL. they don’t have a balanced midfield. They have a wonderful midfield. Fernandinho is doing all alone himself but then his side scores so much that they just neglect every other part of the pitch.

Juventus is ohk. Without Pjanic they are average.
PSG - I like their midfield. Motta / Rabiot / Verratt.
Madrid has the most complete midfield in Europe.

{Ed001's Note - not sure about that with Madrid, Casemiro is not the best and Kroos is so lazy I would hate to have him in my team.}


3.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 07:23:41
Hard to look beyond a midfield which can boast of David Silva and Kevin De Bryune.
They are world class players and no mistake.

{Ed001's Note - but they do not provide much defensive cover, so they are not very balanced. I do agree though, particularly Silva.}


4.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 07:44:17
Fantastic article mate.

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate. Bit rushed at the end as the leccy was due to go off here for maintenance and I wanted to get it up before that happened.}


5.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 07:48:20
Ron

I was referring to a complete midfield.

Julian Weigl / WC holding mid - Naby Kieta - Coutinho

That’s a complete midfield.


6.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 08:02:52
I wouldn't of guessed it was rushed mate :) - looking forward to the part 3.

{Ed001's Note - thank you.}


7.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 08:24:57
Not with Weigl. Don't think he is a true DM. He is more of a DLP, IMO.


8.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 09:09:03
PSG have the best midfield in Europe imo. Motta (ageing but still class), Verratti and Rabiot have it all. They actually function as a group, something our midfielders particularly Henod, Can and Gini should learn from.


9.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 09:24:52
Though it's debatable I'm with you Indian there, they are top notch mate.


10.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 09:39:21
Cracking article as usual ed. Very much looking forward to part 3.


11.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 09:55:38
I would gladly take Weigl. He is a brilliant player. Dier or Wanyama, We definitely need one at least.


12.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 10:55:29
Good article but worth giving your thoughts on how these types of players impact the system and what it means for us.

I think we have 3 decent all-rounders in our team in Can, Gini and Hendo, all fairly good at breaking up play, but also decent passers, and at getting forward without being brilliant at any one thing. Then we have two roaming attacking playmakers in Couts and Lallana who mostly looking to get forward, play between the lines and get into the box to score.

What we seem to lack is a natural fetcher like Kante (even if Hendo and Gini can sometimes do this) or a deep holding midfielder (although Can still looks best bet to develop into one for me) .

It seems we rely more on mobility and aggression to press the ball carrier into making a mistake rather than a particularly brilliant defender in midfield. Which is probably why Klopp prefers the 4-3-3 as that system allows us to control midfield. It seems to work well in some games (Arsenal and Maribor) but can also leave us feeling a little blunt when trying to unlock a tough defensive unit (Newcastle and Man Utd)

I’m still surprised we haven’t see a Hendo/ Can double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 as I expect both would excel alongside the other, allowing us to play a Mane, Coutinho, Salah attacking midfield which I think would be pretty devastating and make us a bit more of a threat going forward.

{Ed001's Note - it was not meant to be about Liverpool mate, so I couldn't really do that as it differs for every team.}


13.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 10:58:21
Is silva one of the most underated players in world football and english football history? Id say so.


14.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 11:02:23
What I'd give to have Mascherano Alonso and Gerrard in their day again!


15.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 11:24:11
Anonymous

Yes he is mate. It’s a surprise he stayed at city for so long!


16.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 12:42:52
Keita, hendo and firmino shouldn't be too bad.

Can and cou out.

Werner in for me. German. Young. Very fast. Links with naby.

Ward/ karius
Taa matip vvd? moreno
Hendo
Keita firmino
Mane salah
Werner

Yep. Pretty special.

Lallana, wiji, grujic, oxlade, solanke, Woodburn, ejaria.

Maybe throw are hat in the ring for goretzka on a free (not free ed 2;) )

Sturridge, cou, can, klavan, migs out.

Goretzka, Werner, keita and a cb in.


17.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 14:35:35
Good piece 001, would you say Delle Alli is in the same category as Keita, Naingollan and Vidal? He's another who is good at everything to a degree, chips in with goals, and has a bit of a fiery temper. It's hard to pinpoint his exact role though so maybe it's a slight variation of the old fashioned centre mid position. As he does tend to drift beyond Kane at times, but isn't afraid to mix it on the edge of his own box. I certainly don't see him as an orthodox number 10 or second striker. It is kind of like where Gerrard played behind Torres, but not, if you know what i mean?

Still haunts me that we missed out on him. He's already on the verge of being world class in my opinion.

{Ed001's Note - no he is an attacking mid for me. Very rarely gets back at all now.}


18.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 15:07:06
Keita is first class in breaking up of play and he actually starts from the middle or deep! Ali is nothing of that kind. Kieta is also a brilliant playmaker while Ali is the recepient of a beautiful pass from Dembele or Errikson!
Kieta is exactly what Chelsea thought Bakoyaka would be!

{Ed002's Note - No.}


19.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 14:59:23
Another Ed01 masterpiece!

{Ed001's Note - I am blushing thank you RE!}


20.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 15:07:09
Cheers Ed. He is certainly quite unique. Unlike most attacking mids nowadays he seems like he'd rather score a goal himself than set one up and isn't what you'd normally class as creative. Whatever his role, Gerrard should've got out of bed!

{Ed001's Note - a lot of people do consider him as a forward, but he is an odd kind of floating forward. Not having the best of seasons so far though. I do agree though, he would have been perfect for Klopp's style.}


21.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 15:26:19
Personally I'd rather us guarantee Can playing time and resign him (although he may still go anyway) and sell Hendo.
As much as I admire certain traits from Henderson, IMO I just don't see him in a squad that takes Liverpool to the next level. I still think a solid CDM is needed to support the back line. this would allow your other two mids to push forward (box-box) . Having said that, as the ED's pointed out, we need balanced fullbacks as well in order to allow the CM's (CAM's) to push forward without fear of being beaten on the break.
A solid holding mid (kante type player) keita, coutinho (Enter replacement) new fullbacks, and a CB. A keeper would be ideal as well but I think at his age, Karius deserves a shot and if a sold foundation is built around him, I think you would see him excel.


22.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 16:29:31
I've always thought Alli was a forward, a false 9 if you like, behind the striker which is the exact role he plays at Spurs and for England.


23.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 18:18:28
What do you mean when you say "links with naby"?


24.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 17:29:44
I think Alli should really be a box to box midfielder for me, but Spurs are playing him like a sort of no.10 because they have Wanyama/ Dier or Dembele locking up shop behind him so they let him roam free to pair with Kane. Problem is I think it’s making him a bit lazy and Alli doesn’t have the pace of a Mane or Hazard, not the skills of a De Bruyne or Coutinho so I suspect he’ll be far more effective in a Gerard type role where he could be genuinely world class. I think he’d be perfect for Klopp and I think he’d become a better player in a system like Liverpool’s too.


25.) 19 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 17:29:44
I think Alli should really be a box to box midfielder for me, but Spurs are playing him like a sort of no.10 because they have Wanyama/ Dier or Dembele locking up shop behind him so they let him roam free to pair with Kane. Problem is I think it’s making him a bit lazy and Alli doesn’t have the pace of a Mane or Hazard, not the skills of a De Bruyne or Coutinho so I suspect he’ll be far more effective in a Gerard type role where he could be genuinely world class. I think he’d be perfect for Klopp and I think he’d become a better player in a system like Liverpool’s too.


26.) 20 Oct 2017
20 Oct 2017 07:49:05
I've always thought clubs buying DM's was one of the worst moves that can be done, developing them in your own system to be best but looking and our youth clubs I do not particularly see anyone who could do that in the coming years. I would like to see more of Henderson with Milner in the Midfield and see if that combination could continue to play well. Milner should certainly have some fresh legs.