Is Henderson our biggest problem?
- Thread starter rurikbird
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Unbeaten in 10
Assuming we wont buy anyone which is most likely, I think we will find out how good Jones is as soon as he returns from injury. He definitely should get some game time in Thiago's LCM position.
I hope I did not come across as not a fan of Jones. I like him as a player. If we are not going to compete for any trophies, I would rather give playing time to him than someone like Keita.
I don’t think Henderson is the problem - the problem is Milner in our starting 11.
The fact we’re starting him 3 games in a row is another issue - we shouldn’t be relying on a 36 year old, especially when we’ve had many passengers in those games.
Milner should be playing Cup games and at the end of matches when others have become tired. He’s been really poor, especially in the Utd game.
I’d give Bajcetic a game alongside Fabs in a 4231, otherwise, imo it should be:
(LCM) Elliot - Fabs - Hendo (RCM)
The other issue is that Firmino is meant to be our Striker and he is anything but that - at best, he is a false 9. I love Firmino, he’s been my favourite LFC player since he came in, however, he drops way too deep and as could be seen in the game v Utd, he was basically playing as a CM, leaving us with 1 less option up front and allowing the Utd defence to do as they pleased.
The fact we’re starting him 3 games in a row is another issue - we shouldn’t be relying on a 36 year old, especially when we’ve had many passengers in those games.
Milner should be playing Cup games and at the end of matches when others have become tired. He’s been really poor, especially in the Utd game.
I’d give Bajcetic a game alongside Fabs in a 4231, otherwise, imo it should be:
(LCM) Elliot - Fabs - Hendo (RCM)
The other issue is that Firmino is meant to be our Striker and he is anything but that - at best, he is a false 9. I love Firmino, he’s been my favourite LFC player since he came in, however, he drops way too deep and as could be seen in the game v Utd, he was basically playing as a CM, leaving us with 1 less option up front and allowing the Utd defence to do as they pleased.
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There's a lot of good points in this thread, and I largely agree it's time to move away from the old guard of Henderson and Milner. Both have a role to play, but we should not be dependent on them, especially the later. I'll always stand by the Thiago signing - he's been excellent when available and we're a different side with him in the team. His record with Fabinho in terms of wins is proof enough. We just need more solid, resilient alternatives around him.
The issue then is that of the supporting cast, in particular Chamberlain and Keita, and the clubs inaction to address their issues. These are the players we spent big money (near £90M) to take over the reigns of the likes of Henderson and Milner and yet they cannot. This has been obvious for 2/3 years now, but Klopp and the club have stood by them, stubbornly refusing to cut their losses, and then compounding the issue by letting Gini leave.
Our club get a lot of praise for our squad planning and buying policy, but there's been some huge flaws in our approach to midfield. In short, Henderson may well be the issue now, but the problem was set a number of years ago.
Too often Klopp and backroom team are overly optimistic that injury prone players can be counted upon.
The issue then is that of the supporting cast, in particular Chamberlain and Keita, and the clubs inaction to address their issues. These are the players we spent big money (near £90M) to take over the reigns of the likes of Henderson and Milner and yet they cannot. This has been obvious for 2/3 years now, but Klopp and the club have stood by them, stubbornly refusing to cut their losses, and then compounding the issue by letting Gini leave.
Our club get a lot of praise for our squad planning and buying policy, but there's been some huge flaws in our approach to midfield. In short, Henderson may well be the issue now, but the problem was set a number of years ago.
Too often Klopp and backroom team are overly optimistic that injury prone players can be counted upon.
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I agree about Thiago. As dead as he is, the opportunity to sign someone of his talent shouldn't be passed up. The problem was that we knew about his injury record and didn't really have anyone in the squad who could be a reliable alternative. The two midfielders we have who can play in the LCM position are Keita - injured/shite - or Milner - 156 years old.
This. And as I've said, I know the board and Klopp will point to the signings of Elliott and Fabio - both are great finds but lets not kid ourselves, these were in the bracket of us doing our homework early and swiftly to save a few quid. The crux of the problem is that this kind of shrewdness won't last forever, we won't always have successful personnel in charge of transfers, as we more than well know, so we can't always rely on that policy and these sort of finds.
And for all of the good points of that strategy, Elliott and Carvalho are currently being used probably more often and earlier than they should be, there's a huge gap between their ages and the average age of those around them. We more or less have a 10+ year gap which is a tell tale sign of the age groups and subsequent price ranges we're reluctant to invest in.
Some good points well made in this thread. However I think some context is required, we have only lost one league game in this calendar year.
We should also remember we came within a point of Citeh last season after having been 14 points behind at one stage. Further, we still finished 3rd the season before having lost 6 home games.
My point is that the manager and the management team have a track record of getting things right after injury difficulties or points deficits; so some faith is needed.
I've no doubts that the issues brought up in this thread are well known to the club including the need for a midfield refresh.
We should also remember we came within a point of Citeh last season after having been 14 points behind at one stage. Further, we still finished 3rd the season before having lost 6 home games.
My point is that the manager and the management team have a track record of getting things right after injury difficulties or points deficits; so some faith is needed.
I've no doubts that the issues brought up in this thread are well known to the club including the need for a midfield refresh.
Agreed, but in reference to your final point, the club have known about Trent's shortcomings for years and the Keita/Milner/Ox issues for a few years now. I don't think enough has been done to rectify those problems.
Those three midfielders could and probably should leave next Summer, and then we start building again, rather than compounding what we already have. That's a massive issue and a major negligence. As for Trent, as I said elsewhere, Marcus Rashford was ripping him a new one 4-5 years ago. He's a player who has been on the fringes and borrowed time for a while at United, yet they used the same age old tactic on Monday of "Rashford v Trent" to kill the game, knowing there would be only one outcome. That's criminal.
If the fans have seen that a mile off for the last few years, then this being "well known to the club" is a flawed point.
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