Jump to content
IGNORED

Liverpool Football Club Thread

glb

By glb
in Sport

 Share

Recommended Posts

dogsout

dogsout

Posted
Posted

You were never going to see all those signings integrate properly at once, though. If anything you male the purchases now so they count in this year's FFP and they get six months to bed in.

I missed the game last night cos I was totally shattered and half expected extra time. It's a shame but pushing Chelsea close is reasonable. Balotelli needs a chance to play with Sturridge and it'll give us a chance to create space for him

Dogsout, I get your point about him wanting ball to feet but right there is your plan B. When Sturridge is back, him Sterling, Lallana, Coutinho, Markovic, etc can attack with pace but then Balotelli can come into play when the initial attack breaks down.

Our problem last year was that our attack was great in the first wave but then we needed to rely on individual brilliance after. It also put pressure on our defenders by giving the opposition chances to come at us. Balotelli let's is keep it up field and still pose a threat.

See, I think it's quite foolish to rely on Sturridge so much. We should have at least one alternative for the only striker we have that is actually capable of making this team work offensively. Yes, it was unlucky that he was injured for so long this time, but we know he is prone to soft tissue injuries. He missed his fair share of games last season (I think it was 9 in the league), during a season when we pretty much just played once a week for the majority of it.

If we had cover for Sturridge, I'd have no qualms about Balotelli being here as some kind of luxury plan B player. I can definitely see him being much more effective playing next to Sturridge. But even that presents a massive problem: the only way to fit them both into the side would be to change the formation we've been playing throughout this good run. I think that would be a big mistake.

I'm hoping once Sturridge is fit he will link up with either Balotelli/Borini or Lambert to form a partnership. We create lots of chances just need a proven striker to finish them off.

Yes, but would we continue to make loads of chances if the shape of the team is changed in order to shoehorn an extra striker into it at the expense of a midfielder or defender? That's the problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SMD

SMD

Posted
Posted

See, I think it's quite foolish to rely on Sturridge so much. We should have at least one alternative for the only striker we have that is actually capable of making this team work offensively. Yes, it was unlucky that he was injured for so long this time, but we know he is prone to soft tissue injuries. He missed his fair share of games last season (I think it was 9 in the league), during a season when we pretty much just played once a week for the majority of it.

If we had cover for Sturridge, I'd have no qualms about Balotelli being here as some kind of luxury plan B player. I can definitely see him being much more effective playing next to Sturridge. But even that presents a massive problem: the only way to fit them both into the side would be to change the formation we've been playing throughout this good run. I think that would be a big mistake.

The issue with having cover for Sturridge is who are you going to sign who's as effective but willing to sit on the bench? Either you give them a wedge to shut them up (we won't) or they're young/old and prepared to wait.

Sterling and Ibe point to the latter. Borini isn't good enough to lead the line by himself and our other strikers need Sturridge.

Until we're making money hand over fist we're going to keep seeing these gambles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dogsout

dogsout

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I know. Hence my disappointment with what happened with Remy. That is part of the reason I was pleased we signed Origi, because he looks a good fit stylistically. The point remains: we've ended up with multiple strikers that don't suit our style of play, and no cover at all for the only one that does.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SMD

SMD

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I know. Hence my disappointment with what happened with Remy. That is part of the reason I was pleased we signed Origi, because he looks a good fit stylistically. The point remains: we've ended up with multiple strikers that don't suit our style of play, and no cover at all for the only one that does.

Could argue that they provide us with options for other styles if the rest of the team gels.

As for Origi, we should've just brought him in now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dogsout

dogsout

Posted
Posted

Could argue that they provide us with options for other styles if the rest of the team gels.

As for Origi, we should've just brought him in now.

Which could be argued to be another way of saying they're luxury players.

I agree with you about Origi. I don't know, it just feels like some extreme penny-pinching was enforced on certain targets in the summer, whereas we were prepared to pay over the odds for certain others (Lovren, for example).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SMD

SMD

Posted
Posted

Which could be argued to be another way of saying they're luxury players.

I agree with you about Origi. I don't know, it just feels like some extreme penny-pinching was enforced on certain targets in the summer, whereas we were prepared to pay over the odds for certain others (Lovren, for example).

No, I don't mean they're a luxury. More like...we'll benefit once the rest of the team clicks. Our defence and midfield looks better but we still see some misread passes (especially Lallana and Sterling).

Sort that out and then the final balls become that much better.

As for the money thing, no idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gabe

Gabe

Posted
Posted

Can definitely needs to move into midfield soon. Quite often over the last few games he's gone on long raking runs from deep, the kind you'd much rather see him making from a start point further up the pitch. Plus, of course, he's not a defender by trade and his positioning has been iffy at times. But he should become part of the spine of the team when he moves further forward.

As for our striking woes, well yeah, we're stuck with what we have for the rest of the season. I just hope that going into next season our choices are not just Sturridge and Origi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Timmo

Timmo

Posted
Posted

We solved our striker issue when we recalled Ibe from his loan, now's the time to unleash him Brendo.

Ibe's not a striker, far from it. After seeing him play around a dozen times for Derby I'd say the following about him:

Likes to hug the touchline and receive the ball with space ahead of him. From here he can take the ball forward. Lightning fast and able to outpace any fullback. Prefers to go down the line rather than cut inside.

However, he's still raw, and his final ball is usually just off or the wrong choice. Often holds onto the ball to take someone on again when someone is waiting in a goalscoring position.

Good finisher. When he shoots it's usually on target.

He's not as dynamic as Sterling (who sometimes seems to be everywhere) and sometimes fades from games but he's very similar in dribbling ability and speed.

Overall he's got the potential to be maybe not Hazard quality but a great winger. I don't think he has the intelligence to play centrally. I'd put him in the Townsend/Lennon category but with better finishing than both. The next couple of years are key to see how good his passing and crossing become.

Overall I don't think he's ready and I think his recall was a stupid decision as he was in the perfect place to learn his trade, playing most games for a dominant team.

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
DeNeo

DeNeo

Posted
Posted

Overall I don't think he's ready and I think his recall was a stupid decision as he was in the perfect place to learn his trade, playing most games for a dominant team.

I think it was more selfish than stupid. Borini, Lambert and Balotelli lack pace, which is what our system relied on last year. Trying to shoe-horn them into our style of play hasn't worked, which is why Sterling has been playing up front instead. And since there was no chance of us spending any money to rectify it until the summer, Ibe was recalled to give us that option of pace.

I don't think he'll play much, if at all. But if Sturridge or Sterling were to get injured, he'll be needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DeNeo

DeNeo

Posted
Posted

You aren't getting Ings. Clarets just released a media statement saying a sale and loan back deal violates Premier League rules.

Which is weird, because I'm sure it happens a lot. We did it with Origi in the summer. Maybe it's just not allowed between 2 Premier League clubs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • glb changed the title to Liverpool Football Club Thread

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept