19 Mar 2023 20:56:08
Ed001 do you think we could try 442 with Trent wide right with Gomez at right back and Salah up front with with Nunez or Gakpo with Diaz on the left. Would take Trent out of the firing line for a bit and give him a bit more freedom and also give Gomez a chance to play to build up some confidence without being in the cb position where every mistake is as costly.

{Ed001's Note - Trent is not a winger. And why change the formation when the tactics are the problem?}

1.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 06:47:22
This kind of thing puzzles me, what’s moving Trent forward going to do? People talk as if he’s poor defending but god like attacking atm. He’s crap along with the rest of them. So moving them all round the pitch and saying we are playing 4-4-2 today lads is going to achieve nothing.

2.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 07:26:05
He wasn’t good enough as a mid so was put at the back! He just needs to buck up show intensity etc!

3.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 07:27:16
I think the days of the standard 442 are a bit behind us now.
Regardless, Trent is not enough of a threat to play on the right wing in your system, I also don't understand when people want to try him as a CM as he would be completely out of his depth in the middle.
To me he's one of those that is clearly a great player but doesn't really have a position - without peak fabinho covering for him he looks woefully exposed at RB.

Personally I think the solution is for your coaching staff to slap his ego down to earth and teach him how to actually defend as a RB.

4.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 07:50:12
Formation is an overhyped, overstated aspect of football anyway. Yes, teams have a layout as to where each outfield member of the team will generally be, but games are not won and lost because just because one team used 4-4-2 and the other used 4-3-3. Football is far too dynamic, and relies a huge amount more on split second decisions, for formation to be of much significance.

5.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 07:32:27
Morning Ed001. What do you think the problem is or problems are?

{Ed001's Note - the tactics. We are playing a high line without pressure on the ball. You simply can't do that. A high line is simply a way of condensing the space to allow you to pressure the ball more effectively. Without pressure on the ball it simply leaves huge spaces for opponents to attack. Added to that we are simply not fit enough and, as a result, not working hard enough and picking up too many injuries leading to inconsistent team selection. We need to work harder in training to get fitter and then use that fitness to allow us to pressure the ball and break opponents attacks down before they can begin. This is not a playing staff issue, this is down to the coaching staff. I love Klopp but he hasn't presided over it and he needs to sort it out before it goes too far.}

6.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 08:39:45
A game of Football is "Eleven versus Eleven" in the vast majority of games the Best Eleven wins.

7.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 09:04:47
It’s very true, if Klopp doesn’t sort this out soon we are going to be drifting around with no identity. Hopefully the summer off brings about a refresh and we need to almost perfect in the transfer market.

8.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 09:10:53
Thanks Ed001. It seems odd that what has worked for so long now simply doesn’t. The injuries and therefore inconsistent team selection doesn’t help but why the coaching has dropped off I don’t get. Love Klopp too but this is ultimately his responsibility and hope he can galvanise players and coaching staff before it slips any further.

{Ed001's Note - we are no longer doing what worked before. Klopp tinkered with things and it started to look dodgy last season due to it but he stuck with it for this season and it all fell apart. The first mistake was asking Salah to go wider and Trent to cut inside constantly. It doesn't work.}

9.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 09:42:21
We generally do play a variation of 4-4-2 anyway especially when not in possession. The false 9 drops in and makes a midfield diamond but the formation becomes more fluid when we are in possession.

I agree with Ed1 regarding the high line, condensing the play and pressure on the ball. In order to pressure the ball effectively you need to make the pitch small so that your players are closer to the opposition at any point when they get the ball.

However if you then don’t press they can get their heads up and pick out runners in behind timing their passes to keep them onside. The Arsenal invincible team were brilliant at condensing the play into the oppositions half and pressing the ball and also playing the opposition offside.

The fitness thing is an issue but I also think confidence is a problem. Against Bournemouth we were pressing well until Trent put one of their players in behind us with a sloppy pass the we got nervous and started to stand off them.

VAR is also an issue as the linesmen don’t put their flags up anymore on tight calls so even if you do play them offside you still have to chase back just in case and you actually have no idea if you are chasing back for nothing. The Bournemouth goal was a prime example of this. I think VVD thought the player was offside from the original pass so was a bit half hearted expecting a flag once the attack had finished.

VVD is especially guilty of this and maybe that harks back to the Ed’s point about fitness, he doesn’t want to run if he feels it’s unnecessary.

{Ed001's Note - van Dijk has always had a tendency to be lazy against 'lesser' sides. It is something that needs to be watched and he probably needs a rocket up his backside if it appears to wake him up.}

10.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 10:05:26
The question is Ed, will he buy the personnel for this recent tactic in the summer or go back to buying for the tried and tested Kloppball?

{Ed001's Note - that is certainly the question that bothers me. I hope we go back to Kloppball.}

11.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 11:08:46
I think injuries have impacted our pressing ability. we've had long stretches with no Diaz, Bobby and Jota and obviously adjusting to life without Mane. I think that has been a massive ask of our new front line to get up to speed straight away, which to me is why we're inconsistent. Any midfield playing in our system would get carved to pieces if our front line is as loose with the press as they have been this season.

12.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 11:19:30
@Beckers, I think it was more tactical that we didn't press anymore after 20mins against Bournemouth than it was nerves due to one bad pass. I have a feeling that our game plan that day was to blitz them early but if it doesn't happen, to sit back and "conserve energy". Which is absolutely dumb since we had them on the ropes and should have just continued playing the way we were.

As for VVD, I don't think he was expecting the offside flag. He merely passed the attacker on to Robertson to handle and started walking. That's just plain laziness on his part, like he thought his job was already done despite the danger still being present.

I do agree with Ed001 and have been saying the same things as well. We play our best with a high line and our forwards starting the press. Somehow this season, we are still playing a highline but our forwards are dropping off instead. This just hands the initiative to our opponents and we are forced to play their game instead of forcing them to play ours. The tactics just makes us look worse than we actually are.

13.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 12:46:54
Totally agree with the Trent coming inside comment Ed. He’s completely out of position when we lose the ball (which to add to he seems to be becoming more sloppy with his passing, although is that due to midfielders giving options? ), and there doesn’t seem to be anyone slotting into his position, like hendo did when Trent attacked but stayed wide. We’re so open it’s painful to watch and I can’t believe they’ve not addressed it properly.

14.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 13:42:24
Thanks Ed001.

{Ed001's Note - welcome.}

15.) 20 Mar 2023
20 Mar 2023 14:39:26
Many of us have been saying the same things, ED01. It is tactical and a deliberate ploy by Klopp to play two different formations depending on the oppo. There's a reason why for every battering of City or beating of City, Newcastle or Everton, there is always a Bmouth, Forest, Brighton, or Wolves right around the corner.

How is it possible that we can press high (don't think we even play that high of a line anymore), harry and give great intensity in the bigger games in the PL (lost 2 games vs fellow Top 6/ 7 sides) whereas vs the lesser teams we deliberately do NOT do any of that and yet people keep saying the players are cowards or the formation needs to change or Trent needs to go play a position he has NEVER played? Yeah, that will definitely make him play better.

Klopp needed to move away from this wretched system a long time ago BUT he has still persisted with it as we saw vs Utd playing the Klopp way and then vs Bmouth, we played the well, not sure who that belongs to anymore. Trent is now suffering because of this and so is Fab who seems to have all his legs for the big games and plays a lot better whereas vs the lesser teams cos we don't press, he has runners coming at him and has too much ground to cover. That's a deliberate tactic by Klopp to have two separate ways of playing. That't the manager's fault and his alone.