The fifth wheel - Trent
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Honestly like a lot of the players you can see that the system isn't working because we don't have the personal and so the players look shorn of confidence... I don't think Trent doesn't look bothered just seems lacking confidence which happens when ppl say your crap at defending all the time.
Is he the only one? Seems to me we, like the pitchfork mob in the press and media, single out a scapegoat, this one in particular because he doesn’t fit the traditional mould of a fullback.
Alexander Arnold is just as bad as the entire team is. No worse.
By which time we had fluffed goal scoring opportunity after goal scoring opportunity and allowed one of the worst clubs to score against us.
The entire team must be really bad then, because he's been absolute dogshit all season (in defense). It would be nice to see him with the shackles off a bit, further forward.
We're not eighth and twelve points behind Arsenal because of one player.
I don't think anyone's saying we are, but if there is one gaping hole that has consistently been a problem, it's Trent. Of course there are other issues, other players have been poor, but he's the most obvious area of concern and the reason it's highlighted so heavily is because it's not a new thing, is it?
When we're flying and he's at his attacking best, people lay off him, but the issue doesn't go away, it's always lingered and this season it's been worse than ever. He's not the only one, but he's one of the biggest factors.
There’s many issues :
1. Trent’s one-on-one defending - it needs to be better, he’s constantly getting his body in the wrong position to make good defensive interventions and is beaten too easily.
2. Trent’s decision making - this may not entirely be down to him, but he needs to hold back a little and not be “as progressive” for a while.
3. Team personnel constantly changing on the right side - no consistency at all l, it’s no wonder they’re no gelling.
4. Changing formations and patterns of play - great if we’re going to switch things - but it’s causing confusion to some players by the looks of it.
5. Just plain out of form.
6. The press has fallen apart and there’s gaps appearing in certain areas (spaces between CBs and in behind Trent) that’s being amplified by all the above and exploited mercilessly by other teams.
Most of it’s fixable given time on the training ground - but that would mean actually giving it time and accepting short term drama.
Personally - I don’t like the “new” formation, it’s an interim measure that I don’t think we quite have the players for - but this isn’t going to get better until we get a stable team and system, etc - which is hard with 2 games every week.
We just need to get through to the start of the WC, reboot and get ready to fire end of Dec onwards.
1. Trent’s one-on-one defending - it needs to be better, he’s constantly getting his body in the wrong position to make good defensive interventions and is beaten too easily.
2. Trent’s decision making - this may not entirely be down to him, but he needs to hold back a little and not be “as progressive” for a while.
3. Team personnel constantly changing on the right side - no consistency at all l, it’s no wonder they’re no gelling.
4. Changing formations and patterns of play - great if we’re going to switch things - but it’s causing confusion to some players by the looks of it.
5. Just plain out of form.
6. The press has fallen apart and there’s gaps appearing in certain areas (spaces between CBs and in behind Trent) that’s being amplified by all the above and exploited mercilessly by other teams.
Most of it’s fixable given time on the training ground - but that would mean actually giving it time and accepting short term drama.
Personally - I don’t like the “new” formation, it’s an interim measure that I don’t think we quite have the players for - but this isn’t going to get better until we get a stable team and system, etc - which is hard with 2 games every week.
We just need to get through to the start of the WC, reboot and get ready to fire end of Dec onwards.
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Point 4 and 6. This is why I was one of the few that was upset when Gini left. Everyone assumed it was no big deal.
Ppl ragged on Gini but Gini was excellent at adapting to formation changes, pressing was reliably consistent and positioning was excellent. We took it for granted I think with Gini.
People love to say Gini didn't play well in the COVID season but no one played during the COVID season so never understood why he got singled out.
Also he dependability and robustness meant that other players had a familiar face in the team.
I'm not trying to rehash why gini left, we all know he left for more money... I'm just thinking how we could do with a bit of Gini's presence to keep our midfield going.
As always, it’s not the fact he or more recently Mane left - it’s who or what they were replaced with,
Gini was replaced with Thiago - so we tried to increase creativity at the expense of robustness - the thing is, Klopp wanted him & Mane to stay because I think when he gets a well oiled system together, it takes time to replace & integrate new components lol- I think City are the same to an extent - both don’t tend to change many first team players if they can help it.
I think it’s also why so many players flop when they leave.
This is why I don’t get the angst when we don’t sign fuckloads of players every year - 1 or 2 first teamers per window, consistently is what we need plus a couple of kids or swuaddies here and there.
Anyway - you can’t have Virgil, Trent, Fabs & Mo in a team on average form, plus Hendo, Robbo & Thiago not on top form, try to integrate Diaz & Nunez and have a stack of squaddies out injured and expect perfect results.
The way to fix this is not to get rid of everyone in sight and bring in half a new team at once - it’s to get the components firing again after figuring out why form dropped off in the first place.
As others have pointed out - there’s loads going on here.
Those were good times
He is being targetted by opposition more & more and whilst he is flunking these tests, the whole system around him is crumbling with the midfield all forgetting how to press, fuck all support down his side and the CB pairings haven't exactly helped him out either.
He has definitely changed the way he plays - the days of powerful overlapping runs and hugging the touchline have left. He now lingers outside the box waiting to try a 30 yarder. Hard to tell whether Klopp has instructed him to do this. Its a huge change in our system that we are clearly struggling without.
He has definitely changed the way he plays - the days of powerful overlapping runs and hugging the touchline have left. He now lingers outside the box waiting to try a 30 yarder. Hard to tell whether Klopp has instructed him to do this. Its a huge change in our system that we are clearly struggling without.
TAA - as we've used him - is a luxury player.
The idea of moving him to this position or that is all wrong to me. Teams rarely do well when trying to mess about with luxury players when the fundamentals are broken.
Right now we need to fix the basics. Then worry about TAA.
The fact that there is no genuine short-term alternative to TAA at RB made worse by a forseeable injury crisis once again just comes down to shit planning.
The idea of moving him to this position or that is all wrong to me. Teams rarely do well when trying to mess about with luxury players when the fundamentals are broken.
Right now we need to fix the basics. Then worry about TAA.
The fact that there is no genuine short-term alternative to TAA at RB made worse by a forseeable injury crisis once again just comes down to shit planning.
Yep, seems pretty straight forward to me.
Regarding point 1.
I have no idea what's happened to the lad, because when he first came through he was actually an decent to average defender who had good games against the likes of Sane and Sterling.
But he no longer gets low, has intensity or gets his body in the correct position. It's quite the regression defensively. Why has it taken a Gary Neville skysports segment for him to actually start actually trying again with the basics of 1 v 1 defending?
He is really annoying me and its shame we can't bench him. Any time he is around our box defending it scares me, he constantly turns is back on the ball. When loses the ball, he doesn't bother chasing it to win it back. What's up with him? Is it the bulk, is it the hair, is it Klopp isn't giving you the hugs or is it that he might have caught something of Dele Alli?
Trent has just got too used to the team being able to control games and cover his position. Klopp indulged him last year, but now the system has fallen apart Trent is being exposed for what he is.
He needs to go back to basics and take some pride in delivering clean sheets. There's strong reasons why he's down the pecking order for England. He should be seeing this as an opportunity to become a more rounded player. Instead he's playing with his head up his arse.
He needs to go back to basics and take some pride in delivering clean sheets. There's strong reasons why he's down the pecking order for England. He should be seeing this as an opportunity to become a more rounded player. Instead he's playing with his head up his arse.
Agreed. Trent for me has got caught in David Beckham syndrome where he thinks he has to make a spectacular pass all the time.
I see a nonchalance sometimes in Trent's play whereby it looks like he thinks he's the perfect right back just because he can ping 50 yard passes on tap. I get that attacking wise Trent is extremely good, but he needs to concentrate on his 1-1 defending as much as he has spent time on his passing.
Overall Man Utd Wan Bassaka is an average defender but his 1-1 defending is far superior to Trent's. He closes his angles down and rarely gets beat on the dribble.
I know people say that Trent plays in an attacking team and gets less protection on the right... But honestly you could put Robertson on the right side and I think Robertson would defend better as I think Robertson is a better 1-1 defender so I don't think it's about that as much as people make it out to be.
I see a nonchalance sometimes in Trent's play whereby it looks like he thinks he's the perfect right back just because he can ping 50 yard passes on tap. I get that attacking wise Trent is extremely good, but he needs to concentrate on his 1-1 defending as much as he has spent time on his passing.
Overall Man Utd Wan Bassaka is an average defender but his 1-1 defending is far superior to Trent's. He closes his angles down and rarely gets beat on the dribble.
I know people say that Trent plays in an attacking team and gets less protection on the right... But honestly you could put Robertson on the right side and I think Robertson would defend better as I think Robertson is a better 1-1 defender so I don't think it's about that as much as people make it out to be.
Robertson is not a good example recently. He's let in loads of crosses come in from his side.
Agree. And Wan-Bissaka is also a poor example as he's lost his starting role for United and is a massive bag of wank.
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