20 May 2024 13:15:47
Ed001, do you think Harvey can be a permanent in our first 11, or an excellent squad guy? I think next year is important with Ed002 mentioning the club are worried about Mac Allister leaving in 2025.
{Ed001's Note - I expect Harvey to step up and become a first team fixture. Not sure why Macca leaving would be a worry when Trent can do what he does but better.}
20 May 2024 16:46:44
Macca has been player of the season for me. I’d hate for him to leave.
20 May 2024 15:45:52
Thanks Ed. Who would your preferred midfield be moving forward? I just pray Trent is finally moved in there. I think that would take us to the next level.
{Ed001's Note - Trent and Endo/Bajcetic if it is the way Slot played at Feyenoord with a double pivot. Macca ahead of them.}
20 May 2024 16:32:54
Completely disagree with eds post. Macallister is a massive player for us and trent is nowhere near what mac is as a midfielder.
{Ed001's Note - Macca had a good few weeks but was god awful for large parts of the season, so not sure how he can be 'massive' compared to Trent. You have no idea what Trent is like as a midfielder to suggest he is nowhere near Macca.}
20 May 2024 17:13:57
I love Macca I think he’s a world class midfielder.
Trent’s a great wing back.
20 May 2024 17:25:43
Hate to say it because he tries hard but Harvey shouldn’t be near the first 11 if we want to win league/ champs. He’s a squad player at best - as much as he develops he will never have the speed or physicality to be truly world class. He also doesn’t have the skill etc of someone like Silva to make up for it.
Macca is our best midfielder - was only bad when played as a 6. Irreplaceable imo but 100% would give Trent the 8 role and buy a destroyer to compete with Baj. Midfield then sorted just need a CB, RW and CF to challenge on all fronts.
20 May 2024 17:36:56
That's the point. He's not a midfielder so to suggest he'd be better at macca in a position he's completely unfamiliar with is nuts (respectfully ed) . It's been over complicated with trent. We have a terrific attacking right back, it's quite simple. Let him flourish and get him to keep improving especially defensively and we'll have an all time great right back. Move him to midfield and when the opposition have the ball it'll be like having 1 less midfielder. Trents flaws would be badly exposed in midfield. Macallister was brilliant when he hit form. Sobosli has been far worse for a lot longer. There was a lot of matches this season where a lot of players were poor but we got the result. It'll be interesting under slot how we play and hopefully improve.
20 May 2024 18:20:42
As long as Trent doesn’t play at right back anymore unless we are playing 3 CB’s with wingbacks, I’ll be happy. That has to be the first priority. Second priority is not playing Macca as a 6. I can live with pretty much everything else, even no signings if those 2 things leave with Klopp.
20 May 2024 18:41:36
Elliott is 21 years old and finished the season with 4 goals and 11 assists. Incredibly harsh to suggest he is only ever going to be a squad player. I think he had arguably just made himself first choice, so the end of the season has come at the worst time for him. It felt like every time he went on the pitch the last 6-8 weeks he’d either score or create a goal.
20 May 2024 18:23:47
I would say that Harvey and Trent are the most creative players we have and both should be playing week in week out.
20 May 2024 18:34:52
Normally agree with you Ed01 but you are being pretty unfair on MacAllister.
{Ed001's Note - why? I like him but he was extremely poor in the first half of the season. He has not yet made himself massive for the club, though he has earnt a starting spot.}
20 May 2024 18:55:40
My thoughts. Elliot looks like a number 10 to me playing out of position. Until he’s used there we will never try Ely know how good he is
Trent is a generational talent with an amazing passing range who at any minute can down tools on the entire season and walk around without a care in the world.
20 May 2024 19:11:48
Elliott will be pivotal for Slot in my opinion as Slot’s teams seem to use quick 1-2’s to break through the lines and Elliott is a very technical player.
I think he’s going to start a lot of games.
20 May 2024 19:14:21
Agree with NicolBecker. Elliott and Trent have exceptional delivery into the box. Macca can thread an eye of the needle pass or dink a cheeky one over the top, but Trent and Elliott have that whipped pass/ cross in the locker that puts defenders under the kind of pressure they hate. All 3 should start in my opinion. Don’t care where or how, that’s for Slot to figure out. The more playmakers the better.
Have to mention Salah and Nunez though by the way. They just seem to create a multitude of goals without even looking creative, and sometimes actually seeming greedy. But they rack up the numbers in the assist column so they’re doing something right. Salah’s outside of the boot pass/ cross is lethal and Nunez just seems to pick people out somehow!
20 May 2024 19:16:40
MIZER I get what your saying, and there are lots that agree with you but I'm with Ed on this one. If Trent is that bad at defending, then surely he shouldn't be in defensive line. Id be all for him being in the double pivot and pushing forward in possession and dropping back when defending. Doubt it will happen though as unfortunately Slot likes his inverted fullbacks apparently, which I think is a real shame and massive mistake to continue with that system. Really hope it doesn't happen.
20 May 2024 19:42:04
Trent isn't bad at defending as that is a myth. What he has issues with is being aggressive in moments which makes it look like he cannot defending. Whenever he has had to defend and is switched on fully, he is very good and besides, Klopp did not ask Trent to be a stalwart defensively cos well, that has never been his game cos he is a no. 8/ 10, fro heaven's sake. Why we talk about him like actual defensive FB's is beyond me but whatever.
As for the Macca and Trent debate, we all know DM was not Macca's role so I disagree with Ed01 here. We all saw what the guy was abojut after Hendo got up to speed and he clearly got better. Is he massive? Nope, he is not. At leaset, not yet. I agree with Ed01 there.
For me whether Trent can play in midfield, we will STILL have to see the evidence on the pitch. The proof will be in the pudding at that point.
20 May 2024 19:13:40
Ed 001, where do you see Szobo fitting in?
{Ed001's Note - if Slot is playing the system he used at Feyenoord, I expect him to play as one of the two behind the main forward. That is a position he has played frequently in the past, for club and country.}
20 May 2024 19:59:33
Ed01 - I just disagree that he was poor, he had some poor games but not a poor half of the season.
{Ed001's Note - until Endo nailed down the place, he was awful in the deeper role. I think you are forgetting just how bad he was.}
20 May 2024 20:10:33
I thought Mac had a very good season at a new club and he was asked to be played out of position for a large part of it which he did with no fuss.
Over the course of this season he recorded twice the most tackles by a LFC player In a premier league game with 8 v Chelsea and 9 v Bournemouth over the last 3 seasons.
He also finished the season with 7 goals and 7 assists which is pretty impressive as he played half the season as Dm.
I’m not sure how many of our midfielders over the years have hit those kind of numbers.
20 May 2024 21:29:14
I think that is where we will get the best out of Szobo, also means we don't need to buy a replacement if any of the front 3 were to leave.
20 May 2024 22:32:40
I think Macca got better as the season wore on although the odd worldie here and there eased the closer inspection of some of his shall we say quieter games.
As I said mid-season he got better when Endo stepped up.
No doubt that he is a very good player but he’s not world class at least not yet) .
If we do play a 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 then I’d have him in the middle of the 3 with Diaz on the left and Mo on the right. I’d also have TAA as one of the 2 with either the new DM we are going to sign (or so they say), Baj (if he fulfil the potential he has) or Endo.
20 May 2024 22:47:54
Judging from slots tactics Trent will be staying at rb inverting, I think if we sign pacho he will be left back and play like gvardoil ake at city making a back 3 while Trent sits in midfield not sure where that leaves Robertson.
20 May 2024 23:52:07
It doesn’t make any odds to me. New manager new tactics new favoured players for systems/ positions. As for the Macca debate I think the team wouldn’t miss him provided everyone else was fit.
21 May 2024 05:47:41
ed1 - Trent as part of a double pivot would be perfect. I think the key would be partnering with an Endo, or basically just a natural 6.
I think that could really unlock Trent as it'd give him the time to pick out a pass, play deep and as much as people say he can't defend, it would put him in a position where he can defend fro ma position of strength as oppossed to starting in a position which exposes his weaknesses as a defender. Specifically, he can track back, chase, press, use his passion as an all action midfielder to defend. Whereas as a RB and 1 on 1 defending puts him on the backfoot. Time for him to play the position that will bring the best out of his strengths and then we will see an improvement in his supposed weakensses.
Regards Trent vs Macca, we've not really seen Trent as an 8/ 10 so hard to say who'd be better. I'd give it to Macca cos he has been fantastic playing as a CM as oppossed to CDM.
21 May 2024 05:28:19
In fairness Macca played the first 14 games at Dm and we were 2nd just 2 points off Arsenal at the top.
If it hadn’t have been for the Spurs decision then we could very well have been top.
21 May 2024 07:10:15
My 11 year old daughter can even see Macca is poor at times. Doesn't check the space behind him, awareness is poor at times, too many touches and gets caught in possession too may times. There's a lot better out there and I believe with the right coach, Trent has better attributes to play there.
21 May 2024 09:13:27
Fact of the matter is that we haven’t adequately replaced Fabinho and until we do we won’t be winning the league anytime soon. The answer to this does not lie within the existing squad unfortunately, Endo is a useful fill in, Bajcetic is inexperienced and just coming back from a horrific long term injury, Mac isn’t and never will be a number 6 and neither is TAA.
{Ed001's Note - exceot Slot doesn't play that way, so it is irrelevant.}
21 May 2024 12:28:10
not a bad shout there, @Simply reddd.
21 May 2024 10:02:15
Macca had some really great games to the point where he looked undroppable but he was awful for the last part of the season. At fault for 3 goals against Villa for example.
There’s potential there and I hope we keep him but to say he’s massive for us is a huge stretch.