03 Sep 2024 10:53:50
I am a huge fan of Gravenberch but when he came to us the biggest thing that worried me was his desire to be the best version of himself. He is tall, strong, quick technically good and good in the air all the qualities to be a beastly midfielder in slots system. Long may it continue and slots role in this is huge as gravenberch I think would of left the club the way things were going.
03 Sep 2024 11:18:49
He's always been a natural 6 so the way Slot's using him in this new system is really benefitting him. I know Becker Peckers took some stick down the page for comparing his ability to receive the ball under pressure to Zidane but I know exactly what he means. Unlike Zidane, his first touch can sometimes be slightly far away from him but he's blessed with those telescopic legs some players have, so he can still reach a heavy touch and draw a foul by making a player think they can get the ball when in actual fact he's still in control of it. What he has which is similar to players like Zidane, Busquets, Thiago etc is this incredible awareness of his surroundings that enables him to turn out of trouble with his first touch, or drop the shoulder and skin his man, or even just let the ball roll across his body without even taking a touch. It's a remarkable skill to have in the locker as a midfielder.
The problem he has when he's in an advanced role is your first touch has to stick to you because it's so crowded that you'll lose the ball if it doesn't. Gravenberch doesn't naturally want his first touch to stick to him though, he wants his first touch to be a take-on attempt, or to open up his body so he has more passing options ahead of him. Perfect if you're sat deeper where you receive the ball with you back to play in the midfield and not in a crowded pocket on the edge of the opposition box.
Throw in that Gravenberch has excellent mobility which allows him to cover the ground defensively and get back if the opposition mount a counter attack, and he's the ideal player for Slot in that role, in my opinion. He probably does need to work on his 1v1 defending as a lot of his tackles so far this season have been recovery runs rather than him standing up someone running at him, but if he can master that side of the role as well, we've got ourselves a really special talent.
I said when we signed him that I only wanted him if the plan was for him to play as a 6 in a double pivot and people quite rightly pointed out at the time that Klopp didn't favour a double pivot. Gravenberch is not a destroyer type 6 nor is he a wide 8 so he never really suited any of the roles in Klopp's 4-3-3, but Slot doesn't utilise a destroyer and he's therefore perfect at the base of the midfield as the ball playing 6 in this 4-2-3-1/ 4-2-4 we're seeing. Now Gravenberch is getting the chance in his natural position, we're really seeing what he's made of. I hope he can stay fit and maintain this momentum.
03 Sep 2024 11:24:26
Our new Momo Sissoko ?.
03 Sep 2024 13:09:12
Now I understand what Ed01's meant by destroyer type of midfielder. Elliott and Szoboszlai definitely are not that type.
03 Sep 2024 14:08:48
More needs to be made of Slot’s set up. Grav probably wouldn’t thrive in Klopp/ Ljinders midfield as the 6.
03 Sep 2024 14:57:06
@Mk I totally agree for me Grav will be our most important player this season.
There might be players who play better but without Grav we will most likely struggle.
03 Sep 2024 15:18:46
I was one guy who was actually wanting change in the management because certain players were not being trusted and great players we already had were starting to stagnate, we only have to look at robbo, szobo, grav, mo, diaz, konate who slot is getting a lovely tune out off.
03 Sep 2024 18:58:33
Yes MK - finally people are getting that we don't need the destroyer type 'number 6' that people kept harping on about, because we just don't play that way anymore.
03 Sep 2024 21:01:56
Westwood666, that won't stop others on here from going on and on about needing a "big, bruising, destroyer" type DM, whatever the heck all that stuff means.
04 Sep 2024 00:38:40
Agreed Oli, I'm just glad to see the narrative slowly changing to reflect reality is all.
04 Sep 2024 01:18:16
hailstones, do you really think that Klopp wasn't getting a tune out of Salah?
And you can't compare the other players mentioned for how they played under Klopp with the three games they've had under Slot.
04 Sep 2024 05:38:44
@Rigsby just amending the back story slightly.