03 Jun 2023 06:22:24
Liverpool don’t need three midfielders.
Look, we will have Bajectic, Fabinho, and either Kone or Thuram for DM. We will have TAA, Mac Allister, Hendo to provide the legs in the middle. We have Thiago, Jones and Elliott to act as creator, or Elliott as back up to Salah.
We do however need a solid CB as Konate has a mistake in him and injuries are a problem, VVD was close behind Fabinho in terms of loss of form, and Matip and Gomez not good enough.
I also feel we are in need of a versatile forward, though I know the club won’t pursue one this summer, but the jury is out on Nunez, I really hope he can kick on, but my head tells me he will find it tough. Gakpo is a good addition, Diaz I also hope can kick on, fear his injury record too though, and Salah is getting no younger. Doak provides youth.

My personal choices would be Mac Allister, Thuram, Inacio and somebody like Dybala who is older, wiser, and quite clever like Bobby was.
(would have loved Ugarte, he will be a corker whoever he plays for)

1.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 07:58:29
Good post mate.

For me Vvd wasn’t his colossus self last season but I still thought he had a better season than Konate, Matip and Gomez and I’d personally still pick him ahead of them every time. I’m not sure I would say the same about Fab and the other mids.

For me on the midfield rebuild if it isn’t as big as first thought then surely we should still have our hat in the ring for Bellingham as the reason we were told we pulled out after 2 years of pursuing was the midfield problems were bigger than thought.

2.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 08:11:21
Agreed jk. Bellingham and mcalistair would be excellent business. don't think we are out the running yet i

3.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 08:19:27
Good post shughes. Only part i disagree on is another forward. I think Gakpo effectively replaces Bobby. And i'd like to see more of Elliott as cover for Salah as he looks better there than in midfield.

(CM/ AM) Mac Allister I'm really excited to sign.

(DM) Kone or Thuram is no dramas for me as I've not seen either play and both seem to be equally well thought of. So i can't dispute you favouring Thuram.

(CB) I like Inacio but if sporting won't deal with us I like Timber too. Depends really on how desperate we are for the signing to be naturally left sided, but most young CB's should be coach-able to play either side.

As i say i only really disagreed with Dybala. My wildcard signing would be Milinkovic-Savic. If there were a shock midfield departure such as Thiago/ Fabinho I'd go all in on him. He can play DM/ CM/ AM to an elite level and is ready to make an immediate and significant difference in our bid to mount a title challenge.

4.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 09:12:22
It’s been a long time since Hendo has provided any ‘legs’ in midfield.

5.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 09:26:49
Disagree that we don’t need three, I think it was plainly obvious we needed a total refit in midfield last season. Kone, Thuram and MacAllister is an immediate upgrade. Henderson, Thiago and Fabinho’s legs have gone, Elliott isn’t a centre midfielder and Jones is ok as squad rotation but isn’t a starting midfielder for a team wanting to compete for titles. Dybala has a pretty bad injury history so should be avoided like the plague, as it goes I think we’re ok up front. As for Milinkovic Savic, he’ll be 29 next season and that alone is reason to pass on him and as we’re limited on non HG numbers I’d rather we used them on players like Mac, Kone and Thuram who have a long term future at the club than someone who only has a few years at best. Genuinely think we need to stop talking about Bellingham as it’s not happening in a month of Sundays, the numbers quoted for the whole package of signing him would leave us short across the whole midfield as we’d have no money left.

6.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 10:09:17
We need three in unless we're moving Trent up.

7.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 10:30:24
We need 3 unless Bellingham is the main 1. Liverpool captain and next England captain. Break the Bank.

8.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 10:41:03
Baj is thought like a new signing, he was never included in the midfield list at the start of last season. If he is going to be as good as people think then he should be allowed to play 20 league games next season. Also if Trent is a midfielder then he will most likely be a starter. If that’s the case we should have just bought Bellingham. A midfield of Trent, Baj, Bellingham is good enough. Then maybe a free transfer for the second midfielder in.

9.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 10:51:00
Fabhino needs to be moved on. He hasn't played well for the best part of two seasons. There can be no room for sentiment, he does not perform how we need him to now. Time to go.

10.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 11:18:06
So we just buy Bellingham and start Baj, TAA and Bellingham. In the first match Bellingham does his ACL. 12 games in Baj - the 18 year old suffers a dip in form and the faithful all get on his back. who do you pick in the midfield for the next game and how much flak do you think you’ll get on here for not buying Mac Alister, Thuram / Kone and Gravenberch / Rabiot (as the out of contract option) .

If we are going to fix the midfield let’s at least do it properly eh?

11.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 11:43:31
100% agree ViktorVaughan… we need 3 midfielders who all provide legs and certainly can’t be putting Hendo into that category! Whilst I see the quality of Savic and Dybala I can’t see the point in adding other players who are almost 30 when we will be retaining hendo, fabs and Thiago.

12.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 11:49:36
Het VV - I don't know how Fainho's legs have gone. His age is such that he should be in his prime.
I think the incoming midfield additions will help him massively, and he'll be back to his best.

13.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 12:22:39
If we’re moving Trent into the middle I don’t think we need 3. We have baj, Jones, Hendo, fab and Elliott. That cover is sufficient considering we’re not in the CL. I’d rather we don’t panic buy 3 for the sake of it. Get the two we need and regroup next year when we’re back in CL.

I’m still hoping (perhaps blind faith) that Fabinho can recover his form. He’s never been truly blessed with pace but his reading of the game was always excellent. This season it’s been completely off so I’m hoping it’s just a blip

Personally I’d let Thiago go. Wonderful player but never started more than 20 league games in a season for us. Just can’t be relied on.

14.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 12:24:10
I’m sure we all agree that Klopp will know what to do.

15.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 12:41:37
It’s almost like fans didn’t watch the season?
We need 3 midfielders, don’t do it again.

{Ed001's Note - what the hell has watching it got to do with anything? So people can only have a different opinion from you if they don't watch things? Perhaps you are the one with no idea? We don't need 3, we need to fix our tactics or 23 won't make a difference.}

16.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 12:44:18
KBL- maybe the better way to say it- is his injuries appear to have caught up with him and the guy can’t seem to run anymore. It’s not age but something has been wrong for quite some time with him.

17.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 12:57:44
I'm hoping for 3 if possible too.
The mistake last Summer was just conducting a head count of numbers and we need to avoid doing that again.
Bajetic, for all his promise, isn't ready yet in terms of physicality.
His game time needs to be carefully managed.

18.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 13:07:27
I would avoid the mistake of a head count that was made last Summer too.
Bajetic, for all his promise, isn't strong enough yet.
Elliott us too lightweight in my view, and Thiagp and Jones have shown to be very vulnerable to injury.
Trent is a deep lying playmaker when he appears in midfield, not the legs.
So I definitely hope for 3 new faces there if possible.

19.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 13:21:04
We need 2 in, for sure IMO. 3 if there are departures like a Thiago or Fabinho, for exmple. Just my take.

20.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 13:48:34
I agree with you Ed regarding fixing the tactics. Get the system right first and then get the players to fit that system

Just curious what you think that correct tactic is? How we ended the season with 3 at the back or try to recreate the 433 that we had so much success with?

{Ed001's Note - the system we ended the season with is not viable in the long-term imo. The 4-3-3 is much more likely to bring success I think. It means the whole team understand exactly what their jobs are and can be rotated/rested/dropped etc as needed. If we stick with such a complicated system, it makes it difficult to swap players around during the season. For starters we have just one player who can play the role Alexander-Arnold is being asked to play, what do we do when he needs a break or gets injured? It is just messing around.}

21.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 14:30:26
Haha are you being serious Ed?
Corse you have to watch it. What you on about mate?
Watch none of the season and then tell everyone how many midfielders we need? ?
Had a beer mate?

{Ed001's Note - that isn't what you said. You were just dismissing anyone who didn't agree with you as not having watched it. Try reading what you wrote.}

22.) 03 Jun 2023
03 Jun 2023 17:27:12
Ed001 do you think Klopp has got TAA has been playing this hybrid role at the end of the season when there was not much to lose as a sort of stepping stone and way of preparing him to play midfield full time?

Seems like its time for him to move there permanently and I agree that this hybrid role with no RB will cause us problems if we Klopp with it.

{Ed001's Note - Klopp has been trying to get the hybrid role working for a while. I doubt he will drop it now, no matter what I think of it.}