Slot machine

[Judge Jules]

Agree. Houllier did a good job of mucking out the stables when the club was drifting into mediocrity but, having given good service in that role, then flunked the task of taking us on to bigger things. He deserves to be remembered with gratitude, but that banner's for top trophy winners.

 

[tombrown]

We'll never know how the heart attack impacted him as a manager, but I think he would have had more success otherwise

 

[Judge Jules]

As you say, we'll never know now, but I'm afraid I've never bought the idea myself. If anything I'd have expected getting a new lease of life in such a way to have the opposite effect and make a person determined to go for glory. My reading of Houllier is that he was to a large extent a control freak, badly needed to root the Spice Boys out and stop the rot but then not suited to letting the squad spread its wings and fly. His account with LFC is in credit for sure though, IMO of course.

 

[Fabio]

I always thought that banner was for league or cl winners.

Everything else is a rung or 2 below

 

[Mamma Mia]

View: https://youtu.be/kT2tghbkj34?si=WSH6EPSYHGUwKQKv

 

[Hansern]

View: https://x.com/thisisanfield/status/1929055704100516117?s=46

 

[bluebell]

I think @Modo suggested this first. james Allcot lawrence echoed it. *before anyone starts I know I spelt his name wrong. This allows for some continuity in the 1st 11 and allows the team to inbed new additions like a #9, #6 and CB

 

[Markeh]

i honestly don’t think the plan is to play gakpo in a position we consistently preferred diaz in last season

 

[Fabio]

Wirtz is going to play as a 10. He's high on progressive carries and high on progressive passes, so let's stick him wide for no fucking reason

 

[Fabio]

We'll blunt our 130m record signing because some cunt on YouTube thinks it

 

[StevieM]

Wirtz is going to play as a 10. He's high on progressive carries and high on progressive passes, so let's stick him wide for no fucking reason

I agree, but also think Wirtz will offer the tactical flexibility to be potentially a false 9, apart of a double false 9 and even out wide - not all the time, but when slot reckons we need it.

This is why we also need a 9 and a forward who can be flexible by playing wide and central.

It might even be Gakpo that floats between left and centre.

This is also why I think if we can get the Ekitike fee down closer to £60m and then sign someone like Williams, Simon’s or even Gordon (Fofana feels a little too young & inexperienced) for around that £60m - we could make it work.

It all boils down to whether Wirtz, Ekitike & let’s say Nico Williams would be better than Elliot, Nunez & Diaz and whether we need to sacrifice Jota to balance the books or whether he becomes the “insurance policy”.

 

[singlerider]

Not a fan of Gakpo through the middle, he's far more effective on the left

 

[Frogfish]

I think @Modo suggested this first. james Allcot lawrence echoed it. *before anyone starts I know I spelt his name wrong. This allows for some continuity in the 1st 11 and allows the team to inbed new additions like a #9, #6 and CB

Not a chance. You don't pay £126m for someone that could be peripheral to the game. You pay that for someone to control and dictate the game. Not a LW.

 

[bluebell]

Not a chance. You don't pay £126m for someone that could be peripheral to the game. You pay that for someone to control and dictate the game. Not a LW.

Look his heat map, he occupies the left side of the pitch more than most areas. I think he will be asked to do more work on the Left than anywhere else

View: https://x.com/SofascoreBR/status/1692931317191581816/photo/2

 

[Frogfish]

Look his heat map, he occupies the left side of the pitch more than most areas. I think he will be asked to do more work the LM than anywhere else

View: https://x.com/SofascoreBR/status/1692931317191581816/photo/2

No way Slot sold him on us playing as a LW. #10

 

[Markeh]

maybe @StevieM is right that the left and central positions are fluid and interchangeable and the lineup @moron posted is the only way to put it down on paper

whatever it ends up as i’m just hoping we’re not signing another lad that wants/needs to come in from the left and struggles to fit into the side. slot seems too tactically astute for that though

 

[Frogfish]

maybe @StevieM is right that the left and central positions are fluid and interchangeable and the lineup @moron posted is the only way to put it down on paper

whatever it ends up as i’m just hoping we’re not signing another lad that wants/needs to come in from the left and struggles to fit into the side. slot seems too tactically astute for that though

TBH Anyone watching any of the Wirtz highlight reels can see that isn't how he plays despite drifting over there now and again.

And I can't see anyway he 'loves' Slot's plans for him if that is the plan.

 

[Modo]

I think @Modo suggested this first. james Allcot lawrence echoed it. *before anyone starts I know I spelt his name wrong. This allows for some continuity in the 1st 11 and allows the team to inbed new additions like a #9, #6 and CB

I only said that I think that Wirtz will play on the left. Not necessarily as his primary position but I think we might see a line up where he's on the left and Szobo in the attacking mid role behind the striker (who won't be Gakpo).

 

[Fabio]

Szob has had 2 years to nail down that 10 spot, and he hasn't. He runs and presses, but doesn't tackle.

Wirtz is playing as the 10. Not some weird half space on the left 10. An outright 10.

 

[moron]

Look his heat map, he occupies the left side of the pitch more than most areas. I think he will be asked to do more work on the Left than anywhere else

View: https://x.com/SofascoreBR/status/1692931317191581816/photo/2

F*CK - we are signing an overpriced Leftie !!!! what are we doing ?

 

[moron]

maybe @StevieM is right that the left and central positions are fluid and interchangeable and the lineup @moron posted is the only way to put it down on paper

whatever it ends up as i’m just hoping we’re not signing another lad that wants/needs to come in from the left and struggles to fit into the side. slot seems too tactically astute for that though

I didn't post shit - are you confusing me with @bluebell ?

 

[StevieM]

I didn't post shit - are you confusing me with @bluebell ?

On the contrary - all you ever post is shit!!

 

[StevieM]

maybe @StevieM is right that the left and central positions are fluid and interchangeable and the lineup @moron posted is the only way to put it down on paper

whatever it ends up as i’m just hoping we’re not signing another lad that wants/needs to come in from the left and struggles to fit into the side. slot seems too tactically astute for that though

I don’t quite see it as Bluebells set up.

I tend to agree more with @Frogfish and @Fabio in that we’ll see Wirtz in more of the Don role, but whereas Don tends to drift out to the right, Wirtz will drift to the left.

But again - with Kerkez & Frimpong, he might not need to and if Mac & Gravy form a double pivot he’ll stay central.

When I mean fluid, I mean the one thing we can say with confidence about Slot is that he will vary the set up - trad 433, read 4231, false 9, trad 9 and trad 20, double 10, double false 9, inverted wingers, inverted FBs - whatever system you want to make up - he’s not welded to one set up.

That also means he’s more interested in players who are positionally flexible, I think.

I’d say our system is going to be more PSG-styled than anything.

 

[rurikbird]

I think we already know where Wirtz will play - in the middle, drifting out wide (more often left than right), dropping into midfield to string together moves and occasionally ghosting in forward to run in behind the defensive line - basically how he always plays. You don’t smash a transfer record for a player only to stick your new signing into a tactical straightjacket - surely, he will be given the license to play the way he is confortable playing in order to maximize his impact.

The question is how will the rest of the pieces on the chessboard be positioned around him. For sure Slot will have more than one option, but one thing I’m fairly certain of is that the midfield trio of Gravvy-Macca-Szobo (or Jones) will remain untouched - in other words Wirtz will be replacing one of the front 3 players in the first 11, not one of the midfield three. I know it’s tempting to simply replace Szoboszlai with Wirtz for something like this:

————[new striker]———-
Gakpo——-Wirtz——--Salah

but I just don’t see a 2-man midfield working at the top level, nor will Salah and Gakpo track back enough to make this formation defensively balanced. Look at PSG: they have a plethora of attacking talent, but only 3 available spots for them, because none of the Vitinha-Neves-Fabian Ruiz trio can be sacrificed to get another attacker onto the pitch - so Barcola or Doue or Kvara have to be content with sitting on the bench from time to time.

Is Wirtz an attacker or a midfielder? Playmaking is certainly a big part of his game, but I just don’t see him as a Vitinha-Modric type; he needs to be able to take risks, to try to open the game up and also while he can be a pest, he doesn’t have the physical stature to consistently win midfield battles. Maybe if we had 2 very defensive full-backs and a couple of physical monsters in midfield it could work, but with Frimpong and Kerkez and Gravvy and Macca we’re clearly tilting in the opposite direction and I just feel the overall balance would be wrong with Wirtz in the midfield 3. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but if I’m right, it means we only have 1 available starting spot in attack in addition to Wirtz and Salah - so our transfer business, both in terms of incomings and outgoings, will have to start from that reality.

 

[rurikbird]

Continuing this train of thought, how would Wirtz fit into the current front 3 (assuming Diaz and Nunez leave) with no new signings? Wirtz’s natural movement is from the middle to the left flank, Gakpo’s is the opposite - start on the left and drift into middle - so in theory they should complement each other well. Gakpo’s role will become more akin to a CF, even though I think his starting position and defensive structure position will still be on the left - despite that he will end up playing further forward to Wirtz more often than not, as will Salah, who has been our furthest-forward player for years now.

Gakpo—————Salah
————Wirtz————

Jota, if he stays, is similar to Gakpo in being at home on the left flank, but finding most of his joy between the posts and finishing from close range. But what if we buy Ekitike or someone similar? I think Ekitike tends to favour the left side as well, so theoretically he can slot in the same position as Gakpo - or more likely Wirtz would move into a left-sided #10 role with Ekitike up front, similar to how he played for Alonso at Levekusen behind Boniface/Schick. It would be a lopsided formation because Salah needs to stay as far forward as possible, so I can see something like this:

———Ekitike——Salah-
——Wirtz———————

… which would leave a nice Szoboszlai-shaped hole in the middle-right spaces between midfield and attack, making this kind of set-up extremely plausible (notice the patented Slot diagonal “ladder”):

———Ekitike——Salah—-
——Wirtz————————
—————-Szoboszlai——
——Macca———————
————-Gravvy————-

To me this looks bloody delicious. The only imbalanced thing about this structure is it being possibly too middle-heavy, so you really need extremely mobile, extremely hard-working full-backs on both sides to traverse the whole length of the flanks… in other words, full-backs like Frimpong and Kerkez. It’s a great feeling when a plan comes together!

 

[StevieM]

The short answer is.., we don’t really know how Slot plans to use Wirtz or what other players he’ll need to make it all work if Nunez & Diaz are sold.

 

[StevieM]

Continuing this train of thought, how would Wirtz fit into the current front 3 (assuming Diaz and Nunez leave) with no new signings? Wirtz’s natural movement is from the middle to the left flank, Gakpo’s is the opposite - start on the left and drift into middle - so in theory they should complement each other well. Gakpo’s role will become more akin to a CF, even though I think his starting position and defensive structure position will still be on the left - despite that he will end up playing further forward to Wirtz more often than not, as will Salah, who has been our furthest-forward player for years now.

Gakpo—————Salah
————Wirtz————

Jota, if he stays, is similar to Gakpo in being at home on the left flank, but finding most of his joy between the posts and finishing from close range. But what if we buy Ekitike or someone similar? I think Ekitike tends to favour the left side as well, so theoretically he can slot in the same position as Gakpo - or more likely Wirtz would move into a left-sided #10 role with Ekitike up front, similar to how he played for Alonso at Levekusen behind Boniface/Schick. It would be a lopsided formation because Salah needs to stay as far forward as possible, so I can see something like this:

———Ekitike——Salah-
——Wirtz———————

… which would leave a nice Szoboszlai-shaped hole in the middle-right spaces between midfield and attack, making this kind of set-up extremely plausible (notice the patented Slot diagonal “ladder”):

———Ekitike——Salah—-
——Wirtz————————
—————-Szoboszlai——
——Macca———————
————-Gravvy————-

To me this looks bloody delicious. The only imbalanced thing about this structure is it being possibly too middle-heavy, so you really need extremely mobile, extremely hard-working full-backs on both sides to traverse the whole length of the flanks… in other words, full-backs like Frimpong and Kerkez. It’s a great feeling when a plan comes together!

I kind of like that last one with us set up as a kind of central pillar with

Gakpo - Salah
Wirtz - Dom
Mac - Gravy
Virgil - Ibou

With the 2 FB’s up and down the wide areas.

What that, as you pointed out, means you can have Wirtz & Dom drifting wide into have spaces as the front 2 invert more centrally - but also the in possession shape might have Mac stepping forward leaving Grzvyvas a central single pivot between the 2 CBs.

There’s just so many opportunities to create overloads and drag opposition defenders and midfielders out of position.

For me it’s all going to be about tactical flexibility and being able to change shape enough game if we think the opposition has us pegged.

 

[MomoWASright]

I don’t quite see it as Bluebells set up.

I tend to agree more with @Frogfish and @Fabio in that we’ll see Wirtz in more of the Don role, but whereas Don tends to drift out to the right, Wirtz will drift to the left.

But again - with Kerkez & Frimpong, he might not need to and if Mac & Gravy form a double pivot he’ll stay central.

When I mean fluid, I mean the one thing we can say with confidence about Slot is that he will vary the set up - trad 433, read 4231, false 9, trad 9 and trad 20, double 10, double false 9, inverted wingers, inverted FBs - whatever system you want to make up - he’s not welded to one set up.

That also means he’s more interested in players who are positionally flexible, I think.

I’d say our system is going to be more PSG-styled than anything.

It’s total footy. The Dutch way. We have so many players that are flexible. Bradley, Frimpong, Kirk’s, Gravy, Mac, Gakpo, Wirtz and even van Dijk can step into midfield.

We are going to be more flexible than a yoga master.

 

[keniget]

I think that’s fine in possession but what about out of possession?

You don’t want to be in a position where the midfield is constantly dragged out of position to cover the left flank. Also Macca is not as mobile as Szobo.

So the front three all taking up fairly central positions who is tracking back?

 

[rurikbird]

I think that’s fine in possession but what about out of possession?

You don’t want to be in a position where the midfield is constantly dragged out of position to cover the left flank. Also Macca is not as mobile as Szobo.

So the front three all taking up fairly central positions who is tracking back?

Yeah, that’s an obvious potential weakness - but maybe the bet is that Kerkez is strong enough defensively not to need too much covering plus teams generally avoid targeting Van Dijk’s flank and anyway Frimpong/Bradley looks an easier target. There is always a trade-off and we might indeed suffer if someone doubles up on Kerkez - but by the same token that would leave Wirtz or Gakpo free, so they would be taking a risk as well.

Another solution would be Gravvy dropping into the center of the defensive line forming a back 3, which would allow Van Dijk to cover for Kerkez and the RCB to cover for the RB.