11 Jan 2018 12:12:09
we have hendo, ox, gini, milner and emre in our midfield with lallana also there, so that's six players for 3 positions.
I don't get why people say our midfield is weak.
may be we had a better midfield in masha gerrard and alonso but we have never had this level of depth in our squad ever atleast in the midfield.
Next season we replace emre with Keita, a much better player (if not in Jan) .
I don't get it why people are on a we have a rubbish midfield bandwagon on here. Unless we are selling more mids (say lallana and hendo) i don't see any point in signing more.
infact midfield might just be the last place we need additions in. we need to sign another center half (if we plan on using gomez as RB) and a attacking player to boost the attack. Addition of a good keeper just seals the deal.

{Ed025's Note - but who out of that lot would be creating the chances akshit?..


1.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 12:26:20
That's 6 midfielders full of grit who will press and close down their opponents but do we have anyone with the guile and technique to split open tightly-packed defences?

You could argue the case for Hendo and Lallana but the former is out injured and the latter is recovering from a long-term one. Ox is promising but isn't at the level we need just yet.

Now that Coutinho's gone, who do we have that can beat the low block with defence splitting passes or wonder goals from outside the area?

{Ed025's Note - no one..


2.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 12:38:39
And there's none of them good enough and should be moved on.


3.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 12:39:52
Lallana is in his twilight years and misses 6 months a year injured. Plus he's more of an attacking midfielder.

Henderson has been injured for 3 years now and believe me when i say I've been his biggest defendant. Enough is enough though. After his latest injury, even i have given up on him being a major part of our future. You can't build around a captain who plays 20 games a season on pain killing injections.

Milner is an average midfielder. He was a great winger in his prime, but we bought him just as he started fading.

Wijnaldum had a good first season and then this year has regressed horribly. I think he's proven he's just a decent utility man.

Can is leaving and to be honest, he's been as bad as Wijnaldum for most of this season.

Chamberlain looks to have real potential as a midfielder. Even though i advocated his signing as attacking cover, i didn't expect him to come on so well under Klopp. He's still learning though.

Keita is 22 years old, probably doesn't speak English, and has had a really tough 6 months. For the money he cost, he should hit the ground running though, and be our midfield general for years to come.

I personally think we need a really intelligent player alongside Keita and Ox though. They both have pace, flair, score goals and drive us forward, but I'd like an intricate playmaker who can give us more composure in midfield but one who still works for the team. Ceballos is a good player, but I'm hoping Macca is talking about someone like Koke, Kroos or Silva. Just a proper pass master who can run the show and let Keita and Ox do the dog work they love doing and are so good at ie. Getting about the pitch, pressing, snapping into tackles, flying forward to support the attack, belting back to help the defence. A player like Koke, Kroos or Silva just knits everything together.


4.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 12:40:07
It's not about numbers, it's about quality. I would be thinking 6 mids for 3 positions. Keita, Ox and a new deep midfielder (ideally Rabiot or Parades) as first choice with Hendo, lallana and grujic as backups. Don't get the need for Gini and we could get 20 odd million for him.


5.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 12:49:43
akshit you will prob see what we all mean on Sunday mate when we play city.

Unless Salah or Mane have a top class game we will look pretty average in my opinion. Could get embarrassing if we aren't careful.


6.) 11 Jan 2018
11 Jan 2018 14:07:52
Mk agree 90% but the OX does not score goals. He might get the 7th v Maribor or other goals when the game is won. His Arsenal record is about 1 in 10, probably for England it's the same. He has to improve his final ball and score goals if he wants to stay in the side.

I would say an attacking midfielder in our team should get in the league minimum 8 goals and the same assists in a good season. That is what I expect from Keita. Gini got that last season.


7.) 12 Jan 2018
12 Jan 2018 00:10:12
Mark, can't disagree on historical stats about Ox, but most people (me included) didn't think he could play in the middle. That opinion is changing. So his past record is less important as he's not really been played in the position that most people expect him to play in the future.

Personally, I'm loving his attitude more than anything - his own worst critic. 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I think he will continue to surprise us (in a good way! ) in seasons to come.