I’m thinking ahead to the Wolves game and I don’t really have a clue who will play and, indeed, who will be fit to play. I keep having to remind myself that we’re currently second in the league with reduced input so far this season from: Vardy, Maddison, N’didi, Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu and, more latterly, Castagne who started the season so well.
I imagine that Ricardo, Soyuncu and Castagne won’t be available for this one and it will probably be touch and go with Evans. So we’ll have to improvise, yet again, or are we improvising? Is this just the way we play now with 5 across the back. I hesitate to say 3 at the back as only one of the five in the last two games has been a Centre Back.
Let’s be honest, if I’d told you in the middle of last season that we might be starting a game with Wolves with this eleven, you’d probably choose to hide behind the sofa rather than watch the game: Schmeichel, Fuchs, Fofana, Justin, Thomas, Albrighton, Tielemans, Praet, Mendy, Barnes, Vardy. Yet that’s exactly how we might be starting the next game. It’s strange times in many ways and the form of Mendy, Fuchs, Albrighton and co. has been a huge, and unexpected, positive.
So what do people think our approach will be against Wolves? I can’t see BR moving away from his new, favoured, style and it will just be a case of who we can prop up to go out and execute it. Our most recent encounters have shown that Wolves are very tactically astute and defensively organised. In fact our games against them have been soporific, mind numbing, affairs so the reverse logic might suggest that this will be a 5-5 result.
To be honest, based solely on logic, I’d probably take an incredibly boring 0-0 and consolidate before the international break, but our performances so far this season have defied any logic or rationale explanation. I’m hoping that Brendan continues to show that he can get more out of the personnel available than many of us thought was possible, which is to his enormous credit.
Wolves pre match murmurings
posted on 6/11/20
What formation is that KTF?
posted on 6/11/20
343
posted on 7/11/20
😂
posted on 7/11/20
posted on 7/11/20
Rough heat maps of what I’d expect to see.
When we defend deep:
Albrighton Fofana Evans Fuchs Justin
————Tielemans Mendy
—————— Maddison
————Vardy————-Maddison
When we attack directly:
——Fofana Evans Fuchs
Albrighton-Tielemans-Mendy-James
—————-Maddison
——————Vardy———Barnes
When look to flood them:
—Fofana —- Evans—Mendy—-Fuchs
———————Tielemans
Albrighton———Maddison———Justin
————-Vardy————-Barnes
When we look to build through passing moves:
—-Fofana ——Evans——Fuchs
——————Mendy———-—-
Albrighton—Tielemans— Justin
————-Maddison
———————————-Barnes
——————Vardy
I think Rodgers has shown that he does adapt tactics to games but I think he will also be wary, if we are to genuinely cement a place in the ‘top 6’, of having a main identity through a formation. From a psychological perspective to build confidence in us as a force to be reckoned with rather than purely adapting to other teams strengths and weaknesses and also because it provides a unity and whole squad ethos of - “this is what we are doing, get to know it and prepare yourself to be part of it when needed” - which I think is extremely important when we are going through periods of injuries/being reliant on youngsters...already, I think we have seen this and reaped the benefits.
I’d be shocked if, even after the return of Soyunchu, Ndidi, Ricardo and Castagne, we steered away from this now ... in fact, I think it lends itself perfectly to those players coming back.
I’m never really one to tempt fate or become too optimistic, but our first 11 on paper and (hopefully, fingers crossed) performing at optimum is a top 4 team at present.
Ricardo has the potential to be one of the best right backs in Europe and is currently (based on his form prior to injury) - top 3 in the league.
Evans Fofana and Soyunchu, for me, would potentially be unrivalled outside of Liverpool’s first choice defensive choices
Castagne looks brilliant
Ndidi is the best defensive midfielder in the country
Maddison is one of the best creative midfielders in the country
Vardy is one of the best strikers in the country
Good times
posted on 7/11/20
I think you’re right KTF but I am interested to see if Ndidi can slot in alongside Tilly as well as Mendy does. He’s always struggled in a two in the past, although Tielemans will be slightly more forward thinking.
I still expect us to leverage a back 4 when we play teams with less of a threat on the counter and when we want to impose our own game on them.
Definitely looks good at the minute. Rodgers has this set of players playing very well. Top work from him.
posted on 7/11/20
We will win..... Simples.
posted on 7/11/20
I do not think wolves or Liverpool want to play us right now.
What is there set who playing for them?
We do not know but the ba$$tards keep winning all of a sudden!
posted on 8/11/20
comment by Brendon’s Boys AKA Florida Fox (U22352)
posted 10 hours, 5 minutes ago
I do not think wolves or Liverpool want to play us right now.
What is there set who playing for them?
We do not know but the ba$$tards keep winning all of a sudden!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I can understand Liverpool not wanting to play us but Wolves will sit deep and be confident they can defend against us and hit us on the break. Hard to see how we don’t end up playing into their hands because they won’t make an attempt to play football so that onus will be on us.
It won’t really give us much of an indication of how well we will do against deep lying defences either because we have Ricardo and Castagne both out, who would make a massive difference to our attacking capabilities in terms of getting in behind.
I’m not confident we will win and in fact the only games I was confident of winning were West Ham and Villa so that’s probably a good thing 😂
posted on 8/11/20
Arro!!!!!!!!!