Can we get a Frimpong pass to a Pimpong goal?
View: https://x.com/benbocsak/status/2012240182699769993?s=46
View: https://x.com/benbocsak/status/2012240182699769993?s=46
Winter transfers
- Thread starter bluebell
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I get not buying in January usually. It makes sense as the fees are inflated, players might be cup tied, might upset rhythms etc.
But we’ve got very little rhythm, we’re a gomez/konate injury away from a full blown crisis, and we’re looking pedestrian in attack.
If the long term plan is to bin slot off, then we should be treating second half of the season as (borderline) pre season and embedding some more new players.
This year was a transition due to the amount of business we did. Way things are going our defence is going to have similar teething troubles next year. Then we’re in to year 2 of transition.
But we’ve got very little rhythm, we’re a gomez/konate injury away from a full blown crisis, and we’re looking pedestrian in attack.
If the long term plan is to bin slot off, then we should be treating second half of the season as (borderline) pre season and embedding some more new players.
This year was a transition due to the amount of business we did. Way things are going our defence is going to have similar teething troubles next year. Then we’re in to year 2 of transition.
Trouble is Liverpool are shit at emergency purchases/loans. Davies, Kabak, Nello were all in response to a departmental injury crisis; even that CB we got in Klopps first season who got his only minutes up front.
I can't think of a reactive signing that has worked out
I can't think of a reactive signing that has worked out
Exactly - pulling forward an existing target is the only way we've had success (Diaz, Gakpo for example). Let's hope that is possible here as I think a kneejerk signing is doomed
Rosenthal and Anelka. Admittedly not very recent!
I thought Kabak got properly stuck in and played well for us before also succumbing to injury that season.
Im not advocating for a knee jerk signing, more trying to sign a player we want 6 months earlier.
Like guehi is the guy last summer we wanted but didnt try for. Semenyo we were rumoured to be in for and we just didn't.
If it is targets like ordonez and such for the summer; try for now. If we end up missing out on CL or a trophy because of injuries, then the extra 5-10m now we lose by missing out.
Like guehi is the guy last summer we wanted but didnt try for. Semenyo we were rumoured to be in for and we just didn't.
If it is targets like ordonez and such for the summer; try for now. If we end up missing out on CL or a trophy because of injuries, then the extra 5-10m now we lose by missing out.
Obviously the sooner the better, but the main thing for me, is not going into August without having a CB or two and a DM signed and ready to go.
How is this a reactive signing? Again, in the summer of 2027 we will have zero senior CBS in contract at present and we will have leoni, who will be 21 years old and will have missed an entire season due to injury. We have the best CB ever close to the end, our second best is out of contract end of this season.
We sold our third best defender. We didn't buy a replacement.
What are we reacting to? Reality? Leonis injury 116 days ago? Our failure to sign a CB 138 days ago?
How come I've known we aren't getting guehi based on pattern recognition, but nobody thinks we knew?
Lavia, Tchouameni, zubimendi... If we don't sort a transfer out efficiently, we don't sort it out. Then what do we do? We don't panic buy! Not us! We are prudent.
We sold our third best defender. We didn't buy a replacement.
What are we reacting to? Reality? Leonis injury 116 days ago? Our failure to sign a CB 138 days ago?
How come I've known we aren't getting guehi based on pattern recognition, but nobody thinks we knew?
Lavia, Tchouameni, zubimendi... If we don't sort a transfer out efficiently, we don't sort it out. Then what do we do? We don't panic buy! Not us! We are prudent.
Yeah, I'm talking under FSG
Agreed. And the more I think about it, the more insane that becomes. We've got Isak out who probably isn't going to regain full fitness till next season. Gakpo, Salah and Ngumoha are the only options Slot has for the wide positions. Hughes knew from last year Chiesa wasn't going to be an option. He should know we can't overplay Rio. We now know Bradley is out which means Frimpong can't play as a winger as much. It also means Gomez has to be a viable cover for RB. For a club that wants to challenge for trophies this isn't anywhere near suitable just in terms of numbers, let alone quality. We desperately need another wide forward and a defender.
The more I think about it the more I think that the dof head coach model will always leave a lot on the table at Liverpool.
Also, it's not likely to ever result in any real strong big personality coaches. Self preservation means management will generally pick lesser candidates.
Also, it's not likely to ever result in any real strong big personality coaches. Self preservation means management will generally pick lesser candidates.
Why?
It’s the standard model in every other league.
And the PL poaches all the best managers / coaches from those leagues.
Well, if we run out of options, Calvin Ramsay is pleased to know we'll tap into his 'last resort' status.
It wasn't a mistake, we've bought players previously who in the short term made no/less sense but in the long-term did. I get that we should have prioritised other positions, but we didn't lack ambition and he should, theoretically along with Wirtz and Eki have given us some seriously good progressive succession planning. Slot's own shortcomings and stubbornness, along with a few other factors have disrupted that, but it wasn't a mistake. No one could have factored the Spurs tackle or Newcastle sabotaging his introduction.
I think the biggest challenge with the Isak transfer and subsequent Ekitike performances is how to set up with a balanced team that includes each of Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike. Other than some sort of diamond formation - I can’t see how you can.
Isak, Wirtz and Ekitike can play in a 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3 although the latter isn't the best fit but can work.
But as this season has shown. With 50-55 games per season you need two really good strikers. Injuries, managing minutes and different tactical shapes. We sold the donkey for roughly 50 million and spent 70 mill net on getting one of the better strikers around. He'll show that next season. No doubt at all.
I agree, but it is all in the details and execution, isn't it?
In other leagues, I find the DOF more noticeable and answerable to the media. Maybe that is just a perception? In our case, we have Slot facing the firing line every week, with Edwards preferring to work from his basement (according to the media) and Hughes giving our feelers through journalists who are willing to advance his agenda. While I am not absolving Slot, it seems a bit unfair that he has to face the firing line while the others can hide in the shadows with limited accountability. If the only way it works is if we have a manager like Klopp, willing to use his larger-than-life personality to take the blows and shield everyone, then it won't work.
I am definitely not advocating for a return to the all-powerful manager model. I also don't want a DOF with a media presence that overshadows the manager. I don't know the answer. Maybe it is a work in progress and will get better and better. FSG can always point to the fact that while this model is not perfect, look at the number of PL title challenges under this model and compare it to before.
I know I am meandering with no conclusion, so I will stop here 🙂
Broadly agree but Arsenal and City both have sporting directors too. It’s not an uncommon structure in England any more but sometimes when we talk about it in relation to our club it is made out to be.
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