Florian and the (Slot) Machine

[StevieM]

I’m not too worried about Wirtz as a player - his quality is obvious and he’s already showing signs of adapting to the Premier League. But it’s undeniable that the overall balance of the team has been adversely affected by the need to fit Wirtz in the team - we look too open with 4 attackers, but playing Wirtz in the front 3 would put a lot of pressure on him to deliver consistent attacking numbers. The midfield 3 of Gravvy-Alexis-Szobo had perfect balance and has been the foundation of our success last season, but now we are breaking it up to fit in a different kind of player… (as an aside it’s somewhat ironic that Wirtz chose Liverpool over Bayern because Slot seemed a lot clearer in his idea of how to use him in his system, but now it’s Bayern that has a Wirtz-shaped hole in their team after Musiala’s injury, while Slot is still figuring things out.)

All that being said, I think there IS a tactical solution to the Wirtz condundrum - playing Szobo on LW in place of Gakpo, which would both preserve the Gravvy-Alexis-Szoboszlai midfield dynamic and allow Wirtz to play at #10:

————Isak/Ekitike———-
Szobo——Wirtz———Salah
———Macca—Gravvy——-

Harsh on Gakpo who did absolutely nothing to deserve being dropped, but I think Szobo is far more fundamental to our game. An added bonus is that his tendency to drift infield from the wing and Wirtz’s desire to drift out from the center to the left wing will mean they both can play their natural game without interfering with each other’s movement. Another plus point is that Szobo and Kerkez already have a great understanding playing together for Hungary on the left wing. Finally, having Szoboszlai rather than Gakpo on the LW will allow Alexis to pick his moments to step forward (knowing that his position in CM will be covered by the indefatigable Dom) and play together with Wirtz as a pair of #10s, which is similar to how Wirtz played for Leverkusen:

————Isak/Ekitike———-
—-Wirtz—Macca——-Salah
———Szobo—-Gravvy——

And that’s the key to unlocking Wirtz because if has a partner to combine with who has a similar level of flair and technique and a great line-breaking forward in front, he will be unstoppable.

I’m going to disagree with you here - I don’t think Dom should be going anywhere near the forward line - it’s the 8 or 10 for Don for me unless it’s a temp measure.

I did read one interesting analysis which I’m probably aligned with that suggested the issue is how our press is organised and what Wirtz role is.

Initially Wirtz was used to link midfield to attack which leaves triggering the press to the front 3 - so Wirtz was a little deeper. The problem with this was/is, Mo has never been one to lead a press (he closes down but isn’t the trigger man), Gakpo has been asked to track back a lot because he’s “more physical” and Kerkez has been finding his feet and Ekitike is new.

Last season the press trigger man was often Dom and it worked because Diaz could then drop deep, or Diaz himself because his work rate was phenomenal.

The little change in the Arsenal game was to have Wirtz push a little higher - he has the work rate and footballing intelligence to be really good at pressing - I seem to recall he had a good reputation for recoveries high up the pitch.

I think this works great with Isak, who is more than comfortable dropping deeper to link play. I think Ekitike can do this too - and both these strikers are also good at carrying from deep and finding pockets of space to attack and score from.

Wirtz playing that more advanced 10 role should also see him get at least as many goalscoring opportunities as Don got - and our complaint last season on Dom was that he lacked a bit of conviction or killer instinct when he had a decent goalscoring chance - something Wirtz should be better at.

Wirtz was also better sitting on Arsenal’s DM (Zubimendi) that dropping deeper to affect play.

Depending on opposition, when Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz are all up to speed, it means we can vary that central attacking set up to make it hard for opposition teams to track and set up for - we saw a few teams go “man-to-man” on us last season - this will be a night mare for teams doing that.

So… I see Dom filling in for Wirtz, but mostly starting as the 8, particularly with Mac not at his best just yet.

Just imagine how teams will feel after getting run ragged by Isak & Wirtz for 65 mins, seeing Ekitike and Dom coming off the bench and vice versa.

I don’t think we need to be particularly “creative” with round pegs in square holes, it’s more about having “upgraded” the players for our already flexible system, they need time to gel.

 

[rurikbird]

I’m going to disagree with you here - I don’t think Dom should be going anywhere near the forward line - it’s the 8 or 10 for Don for me unless it’s a temp measure.

I did read one interesting analysis which I’m probably aligned with that suggested the issue is how our press is organised and what Wirtz role is.

Initially Wirtz was used to link midfield to attack which leaves triggering the press to the front 3 - so Wirtz was a little deeper. The problem with this was/is, Mo has never been one to lead a press (he closes down but isn’t the trigger man), Gakpo has been asked to track back a lot because he’s “more physical” and Kerkez has been finding his feet and Ekitike is new.

Last season the press trigger man was often Dom and it worked because Diaz could then drop deep, or Diaz himself because his work rate was phenomenal.

The little change in the Arsenal game was to have Wirtz push a little higher - he has the work rate and footballing intelligence to be really good at pressing - I seem to recall he had a good reputation for recoveries high up the pitch.

I think this works great with Isak, who is more than comfortable dropping deeper to link play. I think Ekitike can do this too - and both these strikers are also good at carrying from deep and finding pockets of space to attack and score from.

Wirtz playing that more advanced 10 role should also see him get at least as many goalscoring opportunities as Don got - and our complaint last season on Dom was that he lacked a bit of conviction or killer instinct when he had a decent goalscoring chance - something Wirtz should be better at.

Wirtz was also better sitting on Arsenal’s DM (Zubimendi) that dropping deeper to affect play.

Depending on opposition, when Isak, Ekitike and Wirtz are all up to speed, it means we can vary that central attacking set up to make it hard for opposition teams to track and set up for - we saw a few teams go “man-to-man” on us last season - this will be a night mare for teams doing that.

So… I see Dom filling in for Wirtz, but mostly starting as the 8, particularly with Mac not at his best just yet.

Just imagine how teams will feel after getting run ragged by Isak & Wirtz for 65 mins, seeing Ekitike and Dom coming off the bench and vice versa.

I don’t think we need to be particularly “creative” with round pegs in square holes, it’s more about having “upgraded” the players for our already flexible system, they need time to gel.

I don’t think playing Szobo on the left wing is putting “square pegs in round holes” at all, given that this is literally where he mostly played for Hungary. Remember all these discussions in his first season here why he was scoring more coming off the left for Hungary compared to his attacking contribution playing on the right for Klopp?

I’m sure there are reasons why he has been mostly played on the right in club football, but he’s not getting into the team at the expense of Salah and surely it’s worth a try for the sake of better overall balance.

 

[juniormember]

His Hungary boss just came out saying Szobo can become one of the best number 6's in the world. Few weeks back I'd have said 'nah' but after his recent displays at right back, and knowing his intelligence in midfield, who knows? Could he be the alternative to Grav that Slot's been looking for?

 

[KopRed]

One thing we have hopefully gained or will come to fruition is that we will be more clinical in front of goals and with our chances. In that regards, we do not need that many chances, but quality chances for which they are duly put away. Eg. Ngumoha's goal.

I am ready to embrace this change, to have a more efficient team upfront. If we have some growing pains for now, so be it, the upside will be worth the wait.

 

[zoboroboz]

I’m sure there are reasons why he has been mostly played on the right in club football, but he’s not getting into the team at the expense of Salah and surely it’s worth a try for the sake of better overall balance.

Perhaps to make use of his engine to cover defensively for the two guys on that side -- one whose job description didn't require him to track back, and the other who didn't bother to read that line in his job description.

 

[Hyena]

Isn't the main reason simply that everyone else bar Salah is better on the left, but Szobo can cover right as well?

 

[StevieM]

I don’t think playing Szobo on the left wing is putting “square pegs in round holes” at all, given that this is literally where he mostly played for Hungary. Remember all these discussions in his first season here why he was scoring more coming off the left for Hungary compared to his attacking contribution playing on the right for Klopp?

I’m sure there are reasons why he has been mostly played on the right in club football, but he’s not getting into the team at the expense of Salah and surely it’s worth a try for the sake of better overall balance.

To be fair, I’ve never once watched Hungary - but I’d hesitate to use any international performances as a guide for anything.

I just don’t see him on the left - Wirtz might lay the odd game there if tactics dictate and on top of Gakpo, I really can see Ekitike playing there as well… even Isak for that matter.

We could have a box midfield with Mac & Gravy at double 6 pivot and Wirtz & Dom as double 10, leaving Mo and Isak/Ekitike inverting from wide areas and Kerkez/Frimpong providing overlapping width.

That’s also a double False 9 set up if Mo and whoever on the left holds a wider position and say Robbo and Bradley sit deeper.

He could play as a single false 9, as well if we needed it.

Dom could rotate with Wirtz as the 10 so that they’re both fresh - he could rotate with Mac and CJ as the 8 and he could rotate with Gravy and Mac as the 6.

He could play on the left as you mentioned and he could be the be to fill in on the right for the games Mo misses due to AFCON (it’s about 6 league games I think).

We’ve seen he’s also capable of filling it at RB.

Plenty of options there.

 

[localny]

His Hungary boss just came out saying Szobo can become one of the best number 6's in the world. Few weeks back I'd have said 'nah' but after his recent displays at right back, and knowing his intelligence in midfield, who knows? Could he be the alternative to Grav that Slot's been looking for?

Didn't really see him doing much at the weekend. But isn't that the story with all #6's