27 Oct 2023 09:01:57
From rhe way Gravenberch plays, he is not a no.6 or no.8, he more like 8 and half. A kind of similar to Thomas Muller in Bayern, or Frank Lampard previously at Chelsea. He can dribble and ghost in from midfield to score. Less defensive contribution.
27 Oct 2023 09:25:02
I'm thinking he looks a good buy, getting up to speed with the Pl now and only 21 years old so plenty development time. My main concern at the moment is our use of MacAlister at DM - feels a bit of a waste.
27 Oct 2023 09:22:58
You mean Wijnaldum.
27 Oct 2023 09:42:47
More like pogba (the one who could play), just need him to work on the pressing side and he will be unplayable.
27 Oct 2023 09:58:07
We'll get one in Johnny, and then we can have MacAllister competing with Dom, Grav, Jones and elliott for the No.8 spots.
27 Oct 2023 10:01:05
Once Dm has been established In the 2 number 8 positions we’ll have Szob, Mac, Grav and Jones with Elliot in reserve to step up also.
On paper that looks pretty good and with us in 4 competitions still it’s plenty of minutes to go around.
27 Oct 2023 10:41:05
As some might remember I went hard on him at the start as we needed him to be more of a battler in the mid.
He is taking that on really well now. Still a little clumsy in the tackle but he is improving a lot the defensive side of the game.
On the ball he takes touches but he is really really dangerous.
Cooking nicely I would say. I love seeing when players improve as it shows a good attitude. I ve been impressed and hope he continues to keep the head down and improve further. Summer business is looking good I have to say.
27 Oct 2023 11:05:29
Agreed JK, it’s all looking good so far.
Harry, more offensive than Gini and less defensive mate, imo.
27 Oct 2023 09:22:58
You mean Wijnaldum.
27 Oct 2023 12:00:59
Are we all forgetting Endo. He had a very good game last night, so why are we not giving him more game time.
27 Oct 2023 13:58:39
Wijnaldum was very offensive @irish. kLopp converted him to a water carrier.
27 Oct 2023 14:06:40
Agreed Elliott. Klopp knows more clearly, but I don't see how much of a difference there is between Endo and Mac Allister in that #6 slot. Klopp has a selection headache now with Gravenberch getting better and better.
27 Oct 2023 14:59:09
And Harry? You know very well that life does not exist on this planet without H2O.
27 Oct 2023 15:35:58
@Elliott Ness, I was about to post the same thing. We already have a DM and his name is Endo Wataru. Many may completely and dare I say, insolently dismiss his presence cos he did not cost 115m or cos his last name is not Caicedo nor Lavia BUT spoiler alert, he does exist and he is a true DM who understands the position better than anyone in our midfield right now. If Klopp doesn't want to play him then and keeps sticking with the inverted nonsense, that's on him and not due to Endo's ability, IMO.
@ArAy1969, you say you cannot see the diff. btw Endo and Macca in the DM role I get that but I propose you watch both of them very closely cos the difference is btw them is very clear. One is a true, specialist DM who plays like it. One is not and well, plays like it.
27 Oct 2023 16:23:54
I’m pretty sure Klopp watches both the closest. He can see them every minute of the game and every training session.
As fans watching on tv or a stream we only get to see a player if they are in camera shot.
I’m quite happy not to question Klopps judgments and selections as I think he might know a little bit more than me about selecting a football team.
As much as it upsets fans when he picks Jota and Matip and not Endo I bet he sleeps well at night without giving it a second thought.
27 Oct 2023 17:14:48
Well this is it. Clearly Klopp would rather play a shoehorn player in DM than the one we have, at least in the bigger games. So we do have a DM, obviously but Klopp must think at this moment he isn’t up to the task? Hard to argue when we are doing well by all accounts.
27 Oct 2023 23:28:19
Results are masking some very poor performances. We have played one half decent team and lost to them. Yeah it was a steal from the officials but we still lost. Our defence is a shambles and Macca is about as much a DM as I am. I for one so question Klopp because we’re due a hammering playing the way we currently are.
28 Oct 2023 00:15:42
Olired, I do watch them closely and what I was referring to was their overall footballing ability and contribution to the #6 spot, thus far this season. Endo is your classic DM, snuffing out danger and tackling. Mac Allister can be more offensive but also more error prone too it seems. So overall value of the two is equal, for me, so no difference.
28 Oct 2023 08:53:52
Chelsea and Newcastle not difficult these days Westwood?
28 Oct 2023 09:03:46
There is a marked difference between a true DM and a quality DM. I don’t think anyone is debating if Endo is a DM but is he up to the standard to play in the PL? It seems not as Klopp is happy to shoehorn another player in. I’m not sure playing for Stutgart (finished bottom3 last season) means you can walk into a top team like Liverpool at the age of 30.
If Liverpool do buy another DM in the near future then that will tell us all we need to know about Endo place in this team.
{Ed001's Note - it just tells us Klopp doesn't like him, just like the willingness of Bayern to sell Gravenberch only tells us that they didn't think he was good enough. Klopp would rather shoehorn his favourites out of position than give a run to someone who isn't a favourite - remember Fabinho and Henderson as centre-backs when we had centre-backs on the bench? Mac Allister is not as good in DM as Endo, the fact he is not picking him is on Klopp, just like it was when he continued to pick the dog muck Keita. Minamino would come in and play the same role with fire and drive and usually create or score as well, but would only get played when Klopp had no other option. Nunez is another one, clearly head and shoulders above Jota but spends most of his time sat on the bench while Jota plays.
Endo is certainly good enough, he is better than a lot of the Prem ones that do perfectly well in the role. The biggest thing is that he is certainly better than Mac Allister in the role and it is a big mistake to continue with this experiment imo.}
28 Oct 2023 08:58:34
@Habibi - no not Wijnaldum.
28 Oct 2023 09:09:06
Correct, Irish Rover.
Elliott Ness, we haven't played since Endo had a good game last night. I don't think Klopp sees him as a regular starter. I couldn't say he is because I haven't seen enough of him but I don't like MacAllister there either. The manager sees MacAllister as the best option and I can't really make a case for Endo.