Topic: Liverpool's Midfield

[CowboyKangaroo]

The right to left hooked  pass comes about when he runs out of ideas. He has always done it whilst he has been here and he does it for England. It looks okay when it comes off but it is so predictable and the worst part is because of his body shape he does it blind. Sometimes we haven't even got a player pushed up on that side.

On the bright side though at least when he plays that pass he knows he isn't going to have to receive a return pass . It is almost as if he has given up. I have tried a few passes and we haven't broken them down so hook it left and get back in position.

The confirmation bias that must be present to complain that a player tries an ambitious ball regularly because he is trying to hide from the ball is unreal. It is honestly one of the most bizarre things I've ever read on here. You later go on to complain that Henderson is too passive - you can't have it both ways. If every piece of information you have seems to confirm your conclusion, you probably aren't being objective.

[UNO]

I think The captain should still play the big games where a more safe approach is needed to guard against better players. But when we play teams only try to park a bus against us, we should use Milner to be more attacking to break the defence. Henderson is way way too negative to do this. He should try hard to learn to turn the correct direction facing the opposite goal while receiving the ball, reducing the passes back to the cb. I saw the Keita highlights and is so refreshing to see him find a way to move forward anytime he got the ball. Can’t wait to see him play for us next season.

[El Lobo]

I agree - he definitely needs to do more I just disagree with the assertion in the post I replied to that he was weak. Mentally you aren't weak if you're one of our best big game players. I genuinely do think he steps up, but it's the other games, regardless of whether they are home or away where he needs to do more.

I don't think he particularly steps up in big games, I'd be surprised if his stats are actually any different in the 'big' games than the 'other' games. It just looks better in a big game if you're playing quite well, and not so much if you're quite good against a poorer side. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

[JD.]

Henderson looks a shadow of what he used to be physically.

Which was his only real strength.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Lallana can't come back quick enough, ,Lallana and Coutinho in midfield, Henderson will play there by default, and no one else is doing them any favours. Chambo if he can sort out what Klopp wants him to do once he plays there.

[killer-heels]

Milner was utter shite in the first half,Coutinho was terrible as well and lets not get started with Can.

[Bolrick]

i have said it before......we just don't have the midfield to protect our defence and control games. The only solution is to move to a back 3 (yes....with lovern {i know i know...but we are stuck with him and  we let sakho go without bringing in anybody}, gomez and Matip). Put Ox as a right wing back and pick the rest of the team.

We can't continue with 4-3-3 with the midfield we have now.

[Johnnyboy1973]

Outside of Coutinho and Lallana, none of them are technically strong enough to play in there.

For all of those calling for a destroyer (not that I am against it) we just got outplayed by a midfield of Eriksen, Ali and Winks.

[AndyMuller]

Can should sit this season out until his Juventus move now.

[Wool]

Can should sit this season out until his Juventus move now.

Fully agree. He's stinking the place out, and if he's off, then why give him the game time? Forget him. We have players who want to be here in Ox and Grujic.

[wemmick]

Need much more discipline from the midfield when we lose possession. Henderson and Can must pay more attention to how the opposition is setting up counter-attacks, rather than reacting and pressing no matter where the opposition players are positioned. They can't just charge blindly toward the ball carrier when we lose possession in midfield. Spurs' midfield diamond fucking destroyed us almost every time Hendo and Can vacated the space in front of the CBs. Hendo isn't a stupid player, not at all, but he doesn't seem to be using his head this season.

[Upinsmoke]

It's not good enough and the problem is Phil will still want the Barca move come next summer. So we potentially lose a great player and replace him with one. We need to add to our midfield even more

[Johnathan]

Can should sit this season out until his Juventus move now.

That play that led to the foul that led to the third goal - I shudder to think of the reaction if that had been Oxlade-Chamberlain or someone else less fancied.

[JD.]

It's not good enough and the problem is Phil will still want the Barca move come next summer. So we potentially lose a great player and replace him with one. We need to add to our midfield even more

Thank christ we got the Keita deal done last summer.

That is the only solace I take from this midfield. We'll lose Phil next summer but Keita can replace him and hopefully give us a bit more balance.

On Can. Sell him in January for whatever we can get. £10-15m whatever. Awful. Good luck getting in the Juventus midfield.

[Triad]

More questions than answers.All 3 of the midfield stinking the place out.What is even the point of Hendo.Zero positional sense and gets dribbled past like a ghost.

[Clint Eastwood]

From now on; Milner - Henderson - Oxlade-Chamberlain

I guess. Emre Can just as pointless as Wijnaldum. Only difference is Wijnaldum doesn't do much bad (as well as doing very little good).

[Lastrador]

One question that's been bugging my mind for a while, has Can really improve in any shape or form since he first arrived to the club? Because he seems about the same to me.

He still is a wildly inconsistent passer of the ball, and a very careless one. His game intelligence and tactical understanding, if not about the same as when he first arrived are probably worse (certainly this season). But the biggest problem for me is that physically he still looks like a 35 years old veteran when he's not at his sharpest, which he rarely is until January/February, but his game still relays so much on him being that physical beast that makes him a giant liability on our side when his body is not there yet.

There still are the raw pieces of a very good midfielder, and he has a winner's mentality even if you wouldn't say so based on this season, but his lack of progress on his 3.5 years at the club are definitely a bit concerning, well considering that he stays that is.

[killer-heels]

Its right that Can and Henderson get caned but lets save a caning for Milner. If it wasnt apparent, he is not good enough to play in midfield. Absolute mind boggling in terms of his positioning and ability on the ball.

[Zee_26]

From now on; Milner - Henderson - Oxlade-Chamberlain

I guess. Emre Can just as pointless as Wijnaldum. Only difference is Wijnaldum doesn't do much bad (as well as doing very little good).

Is Milner the 6 in that midfield? I'm not sure that would result in a better outcome that what we're currently seeing. Milner really struggled today and his lack of pace would really hurt us considering the amount of ground he'd have to cover.

Mind you, I really have no idea what our best midfield is right now either. Klopp could change formation to a 4-2-3-1 or 5-3-2 and make our team more compact I guess. But in the current set-up any three we put in don't really play cohesively together for whatever reason.

[Coolie High]

Its right that Can and Henderson get caned but lets save a caning for Milner. If it wasnt apparent, he is not good enough to play in midfield. Absolute mind boggling in terms of his positioning and ability on the ball.

Would rather play Woodburn there, lets actually play players with the right charteristics in the right places for now on instead of forcing more experienced players into roles there not as nuanced with and expecting widely different results.

[dirkster]

The midfield is simply not good enough.  Can and Milner should not be anywhere near the starting line-up. Hendo just does not seem to possess the energy levels or dynamism of old. The problem we have is, there is nobody to replace them. Echo what was said earlier,  in that thank goodness we've signed up Kieta.  BUT. We need more. And I don't buy all that crap about how we are developing Can for Juve.  There's not really that much to develop.  The old lady is welcome to him.

[Fordy]

I have given up on Henderson and Can.

For me now going forward it has to be MIllner, Countinho, Lallana, Gini, Woodburn.
I see no point whatsoever playing Henderson.

I rate Can but it's clear his head is in Italy.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Can is far far too inconsistent. He may be a top midfielder one day, but he isn't good enough at the moment.

[Giono]

From now on; Milner - Henderson - Oxlade-Chamberlain

I guess. Emre Can just as pointless as Wijnaldum. Only difference is Wijnaldum doesn't do much bad (as well as doing very little good).

Milner over Gini? With whose legs?

[Adeemo]

At least have Woodburn on the bench until Lallana is back, just to freshen things up a little. He really seems to understand how to play the Lallana role, from what I've seen of him in that position.

[NGreat]

Milner should not be playing in midfield. There's a reason he barely played a game there for City in all those years-utterly clueless positionally and turns slower than milk. Lallana cannot return soon enough.

[JD.]

A bunch of cloggers that our fans try to big up as being top class when they obviously arent. And to make it worse we pay them top player wages. Which is why our wage bill is so high for a team with so little success.

[GinKop]

I'm done with Emre Can - good luck in Serie A pal.

Have to ditch 4-3-3, the midfield element of that formation is clearly not working for us. Move to 4-2-3-1 and regain some stability before we can strengthen in January (yeah right) and for Keita to come in next season.

[JP!]

I would love to know why Can thinks he deserves to be one of our highest paid players.

Too many bang-average similar players.  Can't distinguish between Can, Henderson, Milner or Gini except on appearance.  All decent players, no dynamism to a single one (maybe harsh on Gini).

Needs Keita and possibly Oxlade-Chamberlain/Lallana to wake it up.

[Samie]

Our midfield is just decent/average. Keita will sort that but we need more on that kind of level.
Oh Can ain't getting anywhere near Juventus's midfield. 

[Fordy]

A bunch of cloggers that our fans try to big up as being top class when they obviously arent. And to make it worse we pay them top player wages. Which is why our wage bill is so high for a team with so little success.

Spot on this only Countinho and Lallana are worth their salt. The rest I don't even know why we bother with.

[JD.]

Spot on this only Countinho and Lallana are worth their salt. The rest I don't even know why we bother with.

Lallana is the best of the average bunch after Phil but even then he isn't an elite Coutinho/Keita level player. And he'll be 30 end of the season.

[Kopite B205]

Our midfield is weak. Henderson has lost something since he's had that heel problem. Can is the epitome of inconsistency and often lazy and Milner is way past his best and too slow. Gini is the best of that bunch but again he needs to find the consistency level to improve further. Keita cant come sooner and its imperative we throw some serious dollar at a top drawer defensive enforcer to play next to him.

[liverpool185]

We have no midfield, how many times did Spurs waltz through the midfield without anyone challenging them. We were basically playing with 8 men today because the three in midfield were know where to be seen

[foreverred1983]

Can isnt good enough to play in the two ahead of Henderson for me. He is better suited to Hendersons position and I cant see why Can, especially when Lallana returns, would merit a starting place in the team. And even less so when Keita comes in and Oxlaide moves in there.

And that is all without the Juventus thing going on in the background.

Lallana is going to be 30 before seasons end and he cant go on forever but Keita coming in will help him elongate his Liverpool career.

Wijnaldum can do a job similar to Can and he has the added quality of appearing to actually want to play for Liverpool.

Henderson needs someone challenging him for the position.

[Samie]

Other than Keita and Lallana all our other midfielders are squad players not regular starters.

[Shaved Crossbar]

We always knew Can was awful as an 8. He scored a couple goals against Hoffenheim and people got happy but really that meant fuck all. He's just as bad as Milner at turning on the ball or going forwards. There was one piece of play in the first half where he got the ball in the final third, got pressed by one man, and in the absence of any true passing options, he just dribbled backwards and backwards and backwards before misplacing a 40 yard pass to Matip, which Gomez then had to save on the far side. To go from final third to being pressed in your own right back position was just abysmal.

Play him as a 6 or don't play him at all, Jurgen. And preferably don't play him at all. He's had about 8 games in 3.5 years here where he's looked at home in the team. He just doesn't have the game intelligence or nimbleness. Even if he has good games, usually it's in spite of his natural style of play and not because of it. He's ponderous and cumbersome and there's been very little improvement since he first got here.

[SerbianScouser]

Can will be a top class DM elsewhere, it's a shame we insist on playing him as AM for which he's simply not talented enough for instead of using him in a position where he can flourish the most.

[Simplexity]

Still don't understand what Henderson is doing as a holding midfielder, he is absolutely terrible there always was, always will be.

[JackWard33]

Yay everyone posting criticism in the midfield thread after the most embarrassing centre back and goal keeping performance for our club since the last one .... carry on