Liverpool Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread Summer 2014 - Mod Warning post #6893

redzerdrog wrote: »

Just regarding Lallana playing deeper, I still don't see him filling the role of orthodox CM and he pretty much never plays this role any time I have seen him.

What I mean by this is if you look at our diamond midfield of stevie, henderson, coutinho and sterling, it is the two more attacking roles that he can play in, I don't see him in the more orthodox role that henderson occupies and could never imagine him partnering Coutinho in the middle 2 of that diamond.

I would not see him playing the role of an orthodox CM if he comes to Liverpool mainly because we rarely have had Henderson or Allen play that role in the season just gone.

Henderson usually starts on the right of a slightly advanced CM pairing and he covers the right outside channel, and of late Allen has been in the left CM slot and covers the left outside channel. Both are expected to track back, and both are expected to play a big part in harrying when we do not have the ball. Lallan currenty does that sort of harrying for Southampton, he does the same sort of chasing back, and he gets to cover a flank when Southampton do not have the ball. But what he offers of both Allen and Henderson is goals and also the ability to create and assist in goals.

Just had a noodle through a couple of the stat sites, and in the last twelve games alone Lallana has started games in the Wide left forward role, the wide right forward role, CAM, CM, LM and RM. During that time Southampton used 433, 451, 4231, and 41211. The one thing that stayed coinstant for Lallana despite starting in diufferent roles, was the distance he covered, the amount of tackles/interceptions he attempted, and the amount of forward runs. That suggests that he is a very proactive player with and without the ball, and that sounds a very good match for our current team.

Spotted a vid that Mostar from EST1892 put up of Lallana playing aginst us and I think it illustrates what Lallana would bring. The video is basically every touch he had of the ball during the game and it does a good job of showing just how much ground he covers and also of showing how effective he is at winning the ball.

He pops up everywhere on the pitch. RW, LW, RB, LB, AM, and CM.




Now if you look at other vids of Lallana the same can be seen game after game. Him motoring around the pitch getting tackles in, starting attacks with passes, starting attacks by running with the ball, intercepting passes and so on.

The guy will never be an orthodox CM in the old fashioned sense, but his play suggests that he has all the tools to excel when there is a dedicated DM or Deep lying playmaker behind him as well as the further back up of another midfielder alongside him in the centre.

The way we play he would nearly always have another CM beside him as well as a DM behind him, so his energy and talent could be exploited to the full imo.

jonny24ie wrote: »

Anyone got the squad list for tonights game?

No squad lists BUT

This Is Anfield ‏@thisisanfield 20m
Now confirmed that Fabio Borini and Jordon Ibe in LFC squad tonight.

Squad in Dublin

Liverpool squad in full: Agger, Allen, Aspas, Borini, Brannagan, Coady, Coutinho, Dunn, Ibe, Jones, Kelly, Lussey, McLaughlin, Paez, Peterson, Lucas, Randall, Skrtel, Smith, Trickett Smith, Teixeira, Ward, Williams.

skywalker wrote: »

Which channel?

BT 1

Augmerson wrote: »

We are 3rd seeds in Champions League group stage yeah?

Looks more than likely we will be

Kingdom wrote: »

Random question: as things stand now, would you take a group stage knock-out in the Cl and a top 4 finish, or a qf/sf run in the CL and finish 5th?

Of those options, I'd take the group stage knock-out in the CL and a top 4 finish every time

Kingdom wrote: »

Random question: as things stand now, would you take a group stage knock-out in the Cl and a top 4 finish, or a qf/sf run in the CL and finish 5th?

Honestly....play the 6 group games... take the money ..run

Concentrate on the PL, that is the No1 priority.