26 Feb 2023 12:52:23
I definitely think we need to start playing a 4231 with 2 sitting dm's. No point us trying to play through the middle with our current midfielders. Is Arthur a number 6 type? Is it worth trying him with Bajetic as a deeper partnership and let Trent and Robbo support the attackers?

1.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 13:12:05
Robkop - we have always played a 433 which switches between a 442 diamond and a 424 double pivot from game to game. The left sided 8 often stays deeper to form a double pivot when needed.

I don't think any formation is going to change the outcome until they are mentally ready to compete for (i) duels and (ii) take care of the ball when in the final third.

2.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 13:28:00
No point with. Arthur now. By the time he's up to speed the season will be over. Hopefully he makes a great recovery from injury but if anything expect to see him for the odd 5-10 mins.

3.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 13:41:50
Arthur to be this season's saviour? I feel a lot of fans keep wanting to try something new with what we have in the desperate hope of unlocking some secret powerful combination. Should we change formation? Should we introduce this underused player? The unfortunate truth is we need to persist through this and try and get some organisation, confidence and form back into the team. Chopping and changing will only make things worse. We need to ride this through until the summer when we can reboot.

4.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 14:08:26
Arthur is playing for U21 and it looks like we signed someone for U21. 4-2-3-1 means your full backs need to behave more like defenders than wingers. Trent can’t defend without a help and that is why we play 4-3-3. We play 4-3-3 to accommodate Trent!

5.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 14:09:18
I'd honestly go to 3 at the back now until the end of the season. We don't have 2 centre backs who are good enough for a 4 and it would hopefully stop Trent and Robbo being so painfully exposed. Hopefully would help us defending set pieces too if we had Virgil, Matip and Konate on the pitch. Palace should've scored at least twice yesterday.

6.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 14:48:02
MK - while I have no evidence to back it up, but does a back-3 actually make you more solid? Perhaps it did a decade ago but I don't see that in the game today. Keen to hear what everyone thinks.

The one and only time I recall Klopp playing a 3 at the back was away at Stoke where Gini and Emre had to play emergency CB.

With the personnel we have, I am not even sure we can play it if we wanted to.

7.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 15:42:08
MKS, and which CB’s are we going to need to play a back 3 cos if you are relying on the ones we have been seeing drop disaster classes on a near weekly basis then, you are in for an even tougher time than we are in now.

Also, our CB’s aren’t even built to play in a back 3 except prolly Konate and VVD cos Matip is poor defendingbout in space and Giles is persona non grata right now.

And if Arthur is the one we are looking to to help us out then again, we are in for a rough time.

8.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 16:02:18
To be fair Pelican, It does vary depending on personnel.

Generally speaking it should plug gaps at the back as when you bank up you have 5 across which obviously makes the spaces in between players smaller, and if both full backs bomb on you still have 3 men back too.

The last time i saw Gomez play genuinely well was for England against Brazil in a back 3 a few years ago. Konate also played in a back 3 for Leipzig and starred. Throw in the way we use Trent and Robbo for width i think it would help us out personally.

I do agree though, it's not a blanket rule. Your wide centre backs need to have pace as they often get dragged out to face wingers 1v1. Konate, Gomez and Virgil are all quick so i think it'd suit them fine in the wider centre back positions. Phillips though, would probably only be okay in the middle of a back 3. If you made him face up wingers for 90 minutes I think he'd struggle. Matip i think is slow to turn as well so he's probably be better central.

Short answer; it's case by case but I do believe with our players it would make us more solid.

9.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 16:49:47
Cheers MK. We'd have to have 3 CBs that are fit at the same time to start with, which seems to be a rarity. I don't count Phillips as an option to be honest. He's a championship defender.

It would also open up another question as to which two you would play in midfield and whether you would then play Darwin centrally given the fullbacks will be "bombing on" in this new formation.

10.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 16:51:41
I agree with Robkop, I think just for the time being 4231 would make us settle more, Trent is offering very little going forward at the moment anyway, so I’m not totally against playing either Millie or Gomes there ( I appreciate this will be very very very unpopular suggestion at the moment) . But assuming the the 2 are baj and fabs, the 3 then have a nice mix with Elliot/ carvalho/ Thiago/ Bobby (depending on the game with salah and gakpo and Darwin up front . That to me formalises a back 6 and forward 4 . Fly - to your double pivot point, I think in recent seasons it worked with a clear front 3, 1 of 2 more forward midfielders and 1 of 2 full backs being attacking in any given attack, it’s just not working now — our more forward looking midfielder- let’s say hendo and Thiago don’t have the legs to do attacking and defence duties and the fullbacks we have Trent who seems to have just given up this year, and robbo who I don’t think has found the chemistry with the left sided players so it all feels out of control. All this said, I don’t think klopp will change anyway and in my view the man has earned the right to do what he thinks best regardless of what any fan says or thinks.

11.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 17:00:59
I always love it when teams play a back 3 against us it gives you loads of room in the channels to exploit.

The 2 wing backs would have a higher starting position which I’m not sure would help unless you’re actually asking for a back 5?

I actually didn’t think Trent was left exposed at all yesterday he just didn’t play well. No matter what formation you play you expect your full back to be able to win his battles and track back if he loses the ball. Trent did neither.

Out of all of the players I was most disappointed with him yesterday. I don’t mind him having a bad game, that happens but the attitude he showed was disgusting. He needs a rocket up him at the moment he’s not only not playing well but he’s not showing any grit or determination to knuckle down and put it right. It’s like he thinks it’s everyone else’s fault.

12.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 17:35:48
BP - I agree with regards to Trent, he needs dropping! The problem is, it’s very hard to drop him with no proper replacement. I think he’s just to comfortable seems to have forgotten he is literally living the dream! Time and time again this season he has been lazy/ disinterested and disengaged. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, he’s just in a bad moment- and needs time out of the team to sort himself out.

13.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 20:04:43
Exactly JB he needs to realise that everything he’s worked so hard for can disappear if he stops working at this point.

History is littered with players that burst onto the scene and looked like worldies until they thought they’d ‘made it’ and just stopped trying. He could go the same way as the likes of Dele Alli if his attitude doesn’t improve.

14.) 26 Feb 2023
26 Feb 2023 22:20:28
Oh Jesus- hopefully he has come too far to do a dele on it.