I just know that as soon as I get rid of Darwin he'll start banging them inGreat for all the FPL players without Pool playersnow watch City do nothing and another bad week for FPL
Greenlizard0 PL & Championship Football Thread ** spoilers ** [30th Dec - 1st Jan 2023]
- Thread starter explicit4u
- Start date
Caporegime
How long have you been saying this for though?
Soldato
I already got rid of him, now I shall see Mitrovic go on a 12 game dry run !!!
Had him in for a couple of games before the WC , when he actually was banging them in.
A regulation 2-1 to finish the year off 
As much as I'd love us to sign a Fernandez and or Bellingham, we really need a ball winner in midfield. Not a game goes by where sides can run through our midfield at will. Elliott in a 3 makes us more open than we should be but whoever the other 2 are can't run anymore and it's killing us.
I've no doubt the goals will come for him and despite all the wasted chances, he's still scoring at what would be considered a good rate for 90% of forwards. He's blockbuster though, always in the game, always making things happen and while he might not be scoring them, we're scoring goals because of his madness.
As much as I'd love us to sign a Fernandez and or Bellingham, we really need a ball winner in midfield. Not a game goes by where sides can run through our midfield at will. Elliott in a 3 makes us more open than we should be but whoever the other 2 are can't run anymore and it's killing us.
Of course it would be more fun if he scored a few more but some of the comments and comparisons are bonkers. At least 2 people have made Lukaku comparisons and I genuinely wonder whether they've seen either player play - one is a lazy ****er that just stands with his hands on his hips and the other is a ball of energy that constantly makes things happen.No matter how "fun" it is to watch I'm sure Liverpool fans would find him more fun if he wasn't so wasteful so frequently. Obviously the comparisons with Carroll are a little extreme. I have him down as a quick Heskey.
I've no doubt the goals will come for him and despite all the wasted chances, he's still scoring at what would be considered a good rate for 90% of forwards. He's blockbuster though, always in the game, always making things happen and while he might not be scoring them, we're scoring goals because of his madness.
Enzo is a DM!!!A regulation 2-1 to finish the year off
As much as I'd love us to sign a Fernandez and or Bellingham, we really need a ball winner in midfield. Not a game goes by where sides can run through our midfield at will. Elliott in a 3 makes us more open than we should be but whoever the other 2 are can't run anymore and it's killing us.
7.26 recoveries per 90
Edit: his tackling is poor but he's good in possession and good with interceptions.
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I don't know. From what I've seen he's a bit of a Thiago type dm that relies on his positioning. I could be wrong though. We really need somebody that can really get around the pitch and win some 2nd balls - a 23 year old Wijnaldum would do. We used to have the most physical midfield in the league, out running and over powering anybody we come up against. Thiago isn't that type of player and now we've added Elliott into the mix, who isn't a midfielder, Hendo has naturally slowed down and Fabinho has spent the last few months running as if he was pregnant, not his Mrs.
Caicedo probably better in that regard but he ain't a brute.
J7 and Rice is the leaders there.
Edit: only players that had + 30 in the following metrics: tackles made, interceptions made, clearances made, take-ons completed, and aerial duels won last season.
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The Bees swat aside another far bigger club. I'm still annoyed by dropping those points at home to Spurs in Boxing Day, otherwise our last three games would have been wins against Man City, Tottenham and West Ham.
Fortunately for Liverpool, and just other sides we'll play soon, looks like Toney has buggered his knee and will be out for a while - hopefully he can serve his ban whilst recovering.
Fortunately for Liverpool, and just other sides we'll play soon, looks like Toney has buggered his knee and will be out for a while - hopefully he can serve his ban whilst recovering.
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I like what I see from Caicedo. Like Wijnaldum, I think it's difficult to measure what they do in terms of getting around the pitch, picking up 2nd balls in midfield but also the ability to absorb pressure on the ball. Wijnaldum would win 2nd balls for us all the time and then have 2 oppo players trying to win it back off him before he span away and played it to x. We need more of that because at the moment we're playing basket ball and although you'd fancy us to win most basket ball matches, it's not sustainable.
I've been saying this for months, our midfield is just embarrassing. Hendo is a shadow of his former self and Fabinho looks like he's aged 10 years in the last 6 months. Thiago is great but to play him safely we need the other two to be runners and ball winners.
I'd welcome a younger Wijnaldum-type player (we never really replaced Wijnaldum), and as much as people kept saying it wasn't necessary the need is quite apparent now. I also think we need a new first-team defensive midfielder but maybe we can wait for that until the summer.
It's never been the case of it not being necessary (Klopp confirmed that we tried to sign Touchameni) but we know Klopp and the club won't settle for 2nd best. From the moment Klopp arrived, if the right player wasn't available then he'd wait until we could get the right player. We rolled that dice so many times in previous years and thankfully we always won the gamble but it's not come off this time.
You only have to look at the likes of Ox and Keita to see why the club are so picky and go down this route and it's because if a player doesn't work out, for whatever reason, you cannot shift them. Anybody we sign will be earning far more than any club that would want our rejects would be willing to pay them. There's no right or wrong way and with hindsight everything is easy but doing the opposite of what we've done is as dangerous and full of as much risk as doing what we done.
You only have to look at the likes of Ox and Keita to see why the club are so picky and go down this route and it's because if a player doesn't work out, for whatever reason, you cannot shift them. Anybody we sign will be earning far more than any club that would want our rejects would be willing to pay them. There's no right or wrong way and with hindsight everything is easy but doing the opposite of what we've done is as dangerous and full of as much risk as doing what we done.
Agreed with this. A big part is mobility, but an equally big part was Wijnaldum's ability to hold the ball.
Interesting article in The Athletic today about how Pep uses Grealish and Mahrez against high energy teams. Basically, they're both good enough on the ball to slow play down and keep it, whereas KDB and Foden (for all their brilliance) play too quickly at times and can create games which are more frantic than City need.
We're missing players who can break up play and then put a foot on the ball rather than necessarily launching attacks immediately. Gini gave us energy, yes, but he also gave us control.
Yea, control is what we always had and we're massively lacking. We've always played with a high line and fullbacks pushed on - it wasn't a secret that oppositions have just realised but in years gone by there was nothing they could do about it because our midfield was so good at preventing sides breaking on us. We were the best at winning the ball back high up the pitch and also retaining possession. We're now the worst at it and it just allows sides to run straight at our back 4.
Re Gini, that moment vs Barca when 3 of their players tried to press Gini, only for him to spin away, sending them all for the paper will live long in my memory.
Eze is still the player I think is most like him. I know that he nominally plays a CAM, but he tends to pick the ball up far deeper than that, and reminds me a lot of Gini when we signed him. You can't tackle the guy and he breaks lines for fun.
He's not the DM we need, but I'd love to see us sign him.
I like him but I don't see where he fits into our side tbh. I said the same recently re Bellingham too but I think with him, he's so good that you find a place for him if you can get him. Our priority needs to be adding some bite and energy in midfield though. I think if we can do that then a lot of the other issues can and will be solved by players we already have. If you can add some energy alongside him, so he's not having to defend such wide open spaces, I think Fabinho will improve immeasurably. Likewise, if you've got the protection behind him then Thiago's freed up to do more ball carrying and line breaking which he's hugely underrated at and if you can get Thiago 20 yards up the pitch more often, not only is he in more dangerous areas to pick his passes but he's a fantastic counter-presser too.
Go and look at his stats and see his starting Position.
He's a carbon copy of Bruno G who classifies himself as a DM but that good he can play anywhere and basically does. Check their heat maps.
Football is moving on from just a big brute who wins balls and passes to a passer.
Enzo has very good stats for Interceptions, ball recovery and progression from deep.
Little weak in the tackle.
Winning the ball and then transition from defensive to attack.
You can do what you want with him but his career so far has been mostly DM/Pivot
Here you go a basic breakdown of his whole career so far.
And by the write up below hes seems perfect for Liverpool.
Enzo Fernandez: Benfica’s Argentine Midfield Maestro - Breaking The Lines
Enzo Fernandez has definitely had a tournament to remember this World Cup, winning the trophy and Young Player Of The Tournament. However, Leandro Paredes was originally given the nod by Lionel Scaloni above Fernandez in the defeat to Saudi Arabia. Still, Scaloni kept Enzo Fernandez out of the...
breakingthelines.com
And if you don't want to read that here's stats last 50
His current positions
Defensive Midfielder (Centre)24-
Midfielder (Centre)13-
Attacking Midfielder (Centre)10-
Attacking Midfielder (Right)2-
Midfielder (Right)1
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