Monday, February 8, 2021

Liverpool can turn it around...somewhat.

There are a number of fixes that Liverpool can do to get their season back on track. Whether Klopp is considering these or similar one's is not yet clear.
1. Move to a genuine central defense pairing - Kabak/Phillips would be the first choice. Ben Davies or Rhys Williams can be rotated into the team as is necessary but you need to have central defenders playing in this specialized role. While Fabinho and Henderson have done relatively well their presence here is not a long term solution and by their very absence in midfield, have indirectly handicapped Liverpool. I realize that on the surface this new defense looks to be a patch on last year’s options but we will never know their full potential until they are properly used. You work with what you have.
2. Make better use of Kostas Tsimikas and Neco Williams as stand-ins for AR and TAA respectively. The latter look exhausted at times and the backups may be necessary.
3. Move Fabinho and Henderson into midfield and use Curtis Jones in a greater role in the middle of the park as well. Gini W. needs a rest. Focusing the attack through Thiago looks to be a losing proposition over the full ninety minutes. Oxlade- Chaimberlain can play in this role as can Jones (or Keita if he is ever fit) and if necessary one can drop Firmino further back and have Salah swap into his place. Jota can fill the Firmino role on his return.
4. Continue using Shaqiri off the bench. I suspect as well that Thiago will be more effective as a second half substitute.
5. Focus less on possession. Better to augment the Red's counter attack skills. This worked well against both Spurs and West Ham United. Drop the backward buildup in the face of strong press teams such as City.
6. Consider dropping Alisson if he has lost his head (although I suspect this was a one off).

 

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