02 Jul 2019 03:13:05
Hi all,

Much talk about buying players only if players leave. One thing that Man U and Fergie did extremely well was buying when they needed and keeping them on top. Of course there were times when it didn't work out (Veron) and times when it did (Van Persie) .

Last season what we needed was more obvious and we did it extremely well (Allison) .

So what's missing from the squad? As we all know, the answer to that is not a lot but I believe if you say we can't improve then that's when we stop moving forward.

We scored a whole bunch of goals and i'm not complaining, but if there's one area where we could improve, it's goals from midfield. In all comps, Milner 7, Shaqiri 6, Wijnaldum 5, Keita 3, Fabinho and Henderson 1. In total that's a decent amount from midfield but imagine a player who could burst through from midfield and score with relative consistency. A player that we all have confidence in to do that. Like we have confidence in the front three or the defense. Confidence in players can change a team from slightly nervy to at ease.

Small improvements can take us from 2nd to 1st. For Man city both Silvas scored double figures and de Bruyne surely would have without the injuries.

Perhaps Ox can prove to be that player for us. Not complaining but just looking to see where that extra couple of percent can come from.

1.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 07:02:35
I think the extra percent of two comes from midfield goals as you mention, and by having someone to allow us to rotate/ rest our front three without a significant drop in qualify. The huge question is whether the return of Ox / Keita improving can help with point 1, and whether Origi or Shaqiri are good enough for point 2.

I think the fact that the answer is debateable on both counts means we should be looking at Fekir who can help out in both these positions and is a step up in quality from Origi and a step up in effort from Shaqiri. Lallana moving on to make space would be the answer IMO.

The other possible area is cover for the fullbacks, however I feel with Milner hopefully staying on, that’s less of an issue now.

2.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 08:30:56
You don't need goals from midfield as much when two of your forwards share the golden boot.

3.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 10:12:56
I think a season with ox and Keita will provide more goals from midfield they will push each other to perform better as they will essentially be competing for the same spot.

I imagine Henderson will probably score as well if he's given license to roam like he was towards the end of the season.

While it's true that you don't need goals from midfield when your rewards are sharing the golden boot it's actually better to get an even share of goals from most of your team than from one or two players. Much harder to stop a team who are a threat from everywhere than one where it's just up top.

4.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 10:25:07
My own humble opinion Potclay with Utd and Fergie was they went and sorted the area that was weakest the previous season (seems the obvious thing to do but not all clubs do it) . A very simple transfer strategy but was very effective. For example, in Fergies second last season they lost the title on goal difference to City. Van Persie was top scorer that season so Utd went out and bought him. The rest is history as they say.
Again my own opinion but I felt that during Utds dominance if one of their closest rivals were interested in a good player Utd would always try and sabotage the deal by either buying the player themselves to make sure their rival didn't strengthen their squad or by making sure they made them pay more than they initially intended.

5.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 10:32:01
I disagree Epic.

We lost the league due to too many draws, three of those were 0-0, where the front three were closed out.

6.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 12:04:24
Epic is right though. And our brilliant forwards may not score as many without that robust and industrious midfield.

That said, i agree that we need more goals from midfield. But remember, fab didn't start for a long time. When he did, players like gini, hendo and milner had more licence to get forward. All three, including Aoc and lallana, are capable of scoring. In fact Aoc and Lallana have reached double figures many times.

{Ed001's Note - exactly mate, someone has finally pointed out the key that is Fabinho. In the first half of the season the midfield barely got into the box. Once Fabs was established in the holding role, there was regularly one of them bursting into the box. They will score more simply because of having that freedom to get forward.}

7.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 14:01:35
Yeah fabhino was a brilliant signing. I remember seeing him in his tracksuit in the first half of the season, watching the games. He looked hungry. Genius from klopp. He played a couple of dodgy passes but more than made up for them with his gerrard-like tackling and ariel prowess. And the lad can pass.

I think his joining has made liverpool fans appreciate our captain all the more too. Henderson played that role for years and was pretty much excellent there (we did make the final last year as well! Milner Hendo Gini. ) But seeing him in a more attacking role has brought out the best of him imo.

8.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 16:05:26
Drogie I think we lost the league because we lost points against City not because of the 0-0's. You have to take points against your biggest rival.

9.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 16:47:47
Shents is right, if we would have got one more 0-0 result away to city, instead of the 2-1 defeat we would have won the premier league with 98 points City would have finished with 96.

10.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 16:50:48
We came 2nd because we didn't get as many points as City. Its that simple.

Hindsight is a brilliant thing but also pretty useless.

It's football. You could say that had kompany not scored that screamer (fair play to him btw, been a brilliant CB in this league) we would have won it.

You could say that when city came to anfield for a draw, we nearly won it. Its a matter of inches.

That was the first time EVER under pep that i've seen city set up that way. We are one of the best teams in the world. We are one of the best teams that the premier league has ever seen (97 points)

Its coming, with fab fit and starting i think we're going to out score city. Having three of our best players going deep in the Afcom is a worry though.

Im going to predict that firmino gets the golden boot this term.

11.) 02 Jul 2019
02 Jul 2019 19:58:31
Spot on, Robbie. Hindsight for me, is irrelevant. It's like you telling a manager what he should have done after having the luxury of watching the game after the fact, and thinking you are a genius.

I want the OP to know that our midfield CAN score goals and HAVE scored goals in the past. Also as Ed01 alluded to, Fab needed time to bed in and with Ox (who I said we m=needed moire that Fekir) out injured, we could not release the hounds that was Hendo and to some extent, Wiji. We all saw how awesome they were when Fab was in form and allowed them to get forward. Ask Barcelona if our midfield can't score goals.

I mean, we got almost 100 points in a season when we had to bed in Allison, Fab, Shaq and Keita while City only had to bed in Mahrez who in the end, was not really needed overall. That is just insane if you look at it from that perspective. Now, Imagine what we can do with near no one to bed into the first 11 this season? Our midfield is fine and with Ox and Keita pushing on, I expect more goals from them. Keep The Faith, lads!

12.) 03 Jul 2019
03 Jul 2019 10:08:17
Well said Redwolf.

Anyone remember Oxlade Chamberlain bursting through and scoring screamers?
And Henderson started getting in the box and scored a big goal. Same with Milner and Wjinaldum, both scored big goals in the second half of the season.