Topic: Liverpool's Midfield

[Miltonred]

Sessegnon should go and play abroad. Spain or France. He is an exceptional talent.

Our midfield options are so bad right now, it could turn into our Achilles heel at the business end of the season. We are one injury from being a starting ten. Some players might have to play out of position or we may need to go to a different formation.

Joe Allen is looking like a player we might have kept.

[BobPaisley3]

Sessegnon should go and play abroad. Spain or France. He is an exceptional talent.

Our midfield options are so bad right now, it could turn into our Achilles heel at the business end of the season. We are one injury from being a starting ten. Some players might have to play out of position or we may need to go to a different formation.

Joe Allen is looking like a player we might have kept.

Thing is we’re not short of central midfielders when everyone is fit. We’ve got Hendo, Milner, Can, Wij, Ox and Lallana who all play in our midfield three. To have three of them out at once is bad luck. Hopefully the three fit players can get through the next week. If they do we’ll be fine. Send the ressies to Chelsea. Even if we lose there we’ll only need a point from Brighton by which time the first eleven would have had ten days rest. Get what we need from Brighton and use it to put game time in the legs for the potential final. A low intensity win over Stoke and a battling result against Roma with no injuries please.

[JackWard33]

Sign Xabi Alonso
Out of contract... retired a few months ago (looked in fine shape in the legends game)

I'm not really joking .... he could absolutely do a Paul Scholes out of retirement job for us in the remaining league games especially vs Stoke / Brighton ...... whose with me???!!!!!

[Gerry Attrick]

Sign Xabi Alonso
Out of contract... retired a few months ago (looked in fine shape in the legends game)

I'm not really joking .... he could absolutely do a Paul Scholes out of retirement job for us in the remaining league games especially vs Stoke / Brighton ...... whose with me???!!!!!

I'm in.

[BabuYagu]

I'm in.

There is no such thing as a transfer window. It's more a registration window when you can register players to play for you. We cannot register anybody to play for us until the window opens again. We maybe could have if we had a space in the squad (genuinely not sure here, I remember Shefki Kuki being registered to play for someone in March), but according to the premier league's own website, they confirm we have submitted a full 25 man squad. So no dice I'm afraid.

[Gerry Attrick]

There is no such thing as a transfer window. It's more a registration window when you can register players to play for you. We cannot register anybody to play for us until the window opens again. We maybe could have if we had a space in the squad, but according to the premier league's own website, they confirm we have submitted a full 25 man squad. So no dice I'm afraid.

Spoilsport

[cashmere pringle]

I'm in.

is that allowed ?  anyone got his number ?

[BabuYagu]

Spoilsport

Was digging into this to try and get an answer.

In the official Premier League handbook, it states: "Outside a transfer window, the board in its absolute discretion may: refuse an application to register a player; or grant an application to register a player and, if thought fit, impose conditions by which the club making the application and the player shall be bound."

But free agents, those players not currently attached to clubs, can still sign terms elsewhere.

Despite the transfer window deadline coming and going on Wednesday night, clubs are free to sign unattached players at any point in the season as long as they register the player in their 25-man Premier League squad.

So we can sign him and we can register him if we have space. I see on the premier league that we registered 25 players but I am not so sure. I just cannot get up to 25 no matter how I cut it. Bogdan takes us up to 21, Markovic & Flanagan and many others left. U21 players don't count as part of the 21. Which makes me wonder if Gomez, Solanke, Woodburn are being counted as part of that 25? If they are, then we likely still have space to sign 4 free agents.

I am going Stevie, Garcia, Alonso and Riise just because I like the ginger fucker

[dudleyred]

Was digging into this to try and get an answer.

So we can sign him and we can register him if we have space. I see on the premier league that we registered 25 players but I am not so sure. I just cannot get up to 25 no matter how I cut it. Bogdan takes us up to 21, Markovic & Flanagan and many others left. U21 players don't count as part of the 21. Which makes me wonder if Gomez, Solanke, Woodburn are being counted as part of that 25? If they are, then we likely still have space to sign 4 free agents.

I am going Stevie, Garcia, Alonso and Riise just because I like the ginger fucker

Haha definitely could

Palace signed cavalieri (our old keeper for avoidance of doubt from my spelling) last month from memory as was a free agent

[mattD]

Pray to god Hendo, Milner or Wijnaldum don’t get injured if we get to the final, because we’re not winning this thing with Emre Can there.

[Bobinhood]

Weve got the best midfield in the world
if we sign xabi and stevie
we'll get them on freebies
and that will get us top four

everybody now, wooh-oo-ooo-oo-o ....

[Nessy76]

Was digging into this to try and get an answer.

So we can sign him and we can register him if we have space. I see on the premier league that we registered 25 players but I am not so sure. I just cannot get up to 25 no matter how I cut it. Bogdan takes us up to 21, Markovic & Flanagan and many others left. U21 players don't count as part of the 21. Which makes me wonder if Gomez, Solanke, Woodburn are being counted as part of that 25? If they are, then we likely still have space to sign 4 free agents.

I am going Stevie, Garcia, Alonso and Riise just because I like the ginger fucker

Can also add youth players to the UEFA B list during the season, so long as they are registered 24 hours before the match in question.

[farawayred]

I wonder what is the chance of seeing both Moreno and TAA in midfield in games against the likes of Stoke. Not from the beginning, but later on to give Gini a rest. Moreno has played on the left, and it would not be too much for TAA to adapt on the right side. Then Gomez is a straight swap at the back, and Robbo seems like he can cope with the game load.

[ThePoolMan]

It would take weeks to get Xabi back up to fitness levels in order to play in our midfield, so I dont think thats an option.

[jckliew]

Sign Xabi Alonso
Out of contract... retired a few months ago (looked in fine shape in the legends game)

I'm not really joking .... he could absolutely do a Paul Scholes out of retirement job for us in the remaining league games especially vs Stoke / Brighton ...... whose with me???!!!!!

WHAT an IDEA!!!! Seriously, cam we do that?

[harleydanger]

We need 4 points and we're safe.
If we beat Chelsea we're safe.
If we draw one, win one and lose to Chelsea we're safe.
If Chelsea don't win every remaining game, while we lose every game, we're safe.

That's so unlikely, even with so little games left, that preserving our remaining midfielders for the CL must be the priority. I can't see how it can be seen any other way. We're one injury away from fielding Woodburn in a CL semi or final.

[Number 7]

Pray to god Hendo, Milner or Wijnaldum don’t get injured if we get to the final, because we’re not winning this thing with Emre Can there.

Wouldn’t it help right now anyway just to have Emre there? We’re basically up shit creek without a paddle if another midfielder gets injured (hope and pray they don’t).

Emre is also a pretty good footballer. Aside from the high probability of him not being here next season. At this point (with Ox out for the season) I’m just hoping to wake up one day and read that this back injury has healed and he’s ready to return.

[jckliew]

Naby must be salivating watching our games.

[ThePoolMan]

Naby must be salivating watching our games.

I would imagine that if we win the CL, he would be rather wish that we had signed him one season earlier...

[farawayred]

I would imagine that if we win the CL, he would be rather wish that we had signed him one season earlier...

Why? We’re so far from winning the league, so it wouldn’t matter. If we lose the final, than that’s another story.

[Fordy]

Could play Ings as an AM(head of the midfield 3). He's better as a 10 and played in many a times.

We need to rest Miller, Gio and Hendo at times.

[Dundalis]

I think it would be one or the other - either Neves replaces Can or we're happy to go with Henderson/Wijnaldum as the holding option and will get Maddison to play ahead of them.

With Keita coming, I don't think we're signing more than another one in midfield - a journalist friend I have near Norwich reckons we're signing Maddison so we'll see.  I'd happily take either, think both are quality with a ton of potential to improve, and we've seen before that our recruitment policy can be quite fluid, with the players we're initially linked with turning out to be quite different to the ones we end up getting.

If Can leaves, Ox has potentially done his ACL putting him out for pretty much all next season, you have injury prone Lallana and a 34 year old Milner. This team wanted/needed Keita, even with Can, a healthy Ox/Lallana and Coutinho, who was a midfield player for us, even if he had the versatility to play in the front 3. Keita was not meant to be a replacement for anyone, he was meant to be a straight addition of quality. We now need to replace potentially 3 players in Can, Coutinho and Ox. People seem to have forgotten the Coutinho out simply because we've been able to cover for his absence. It's still a massive hit on squad depth, and replacing him is even more important than replacing Can. I think you can't rely on Lallana, so that makes 4. The idea that Keita is a replacement for an outgoing player, and we then only need one further midfielder to replace Can is underestimating how decimated the midfield depth has potentially become. I don't think it's close to good enough to challenge in all competitions if the team wants to do that next season.

[didi shamone]

Ox hasn't been ruled out for all next season in fact he might be available for the start of it and Milner is 32. Chill dude.

[didi shamone]

Lallana hopefully back in training next week according to Joyce. That would be huge.

[ThePoolMan]

Lallana hopefully back in training next week according to Joyce. That would be huge.

Very welcome news indeed!

[Nick110581]

Lallana hopefully back in training next week according to Joyce. That would be huge.

We need him this weekend.

He has to rest Henderson or Milner and play two.

3-5-2 is surely best option.

[Dundalis]

Ox hasn't been ruled out for all next season in fact he might be available for the start of it and Milner is 32. Chill dude.

That depends what the injury is. If it's an ACL, he's ruled out for most of next season, no questions asked. If he isn't that's great. Think the point is Keita was bought as a straight addition to a midfield including Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Can, Lallana and Coutinho. Not to replace one of them. We will likely have lost two from that midfield by seasons end, and another is 30 and been cut down with injuries. The idea that we only need one midfield player in doesn't add up.

I'm also of the opinion that this teams inability to break down teams that effectively park the bus is due to the lack of quality in the midfield as opposed to up front. Keita will help, but I don't think he's going to do any more offensively than Coutinho was able to do, and we still had problems. To me a proper talented deep lying playmaker who can control tempo should be a priority addition. City do it with De Bruyne and Silva, we don't have anyone remotely like that (Keita is a completely different type of player).

[Vinay]

Some top class midfielders who could be registered for 3 or so games given our staff shortage:
Xabi Alonso
Steven Gerrard
Andrea Pirlo
Xabi Hernandez? (Is the Qatar league over now? I believe this is is his last season)

[Fordy]

Lallana hopefully back in training next week according to Joyce. That would be huge.

It's match fitness with Lallana. Needs a run of games.

[didi shamone]

It's match fitness with Lallana. Needs a run of games.

He may only be available for the last three or four games but at least having him available to come on for the last twenty minutes is a huge plus as opposed to having no one. Also someone experienced to come on if we get another injury. Desperate times

[didi shamone]

That depends what the injury is. If it's an ACL, he's ruled out for most of next season, no questions asked. If he isn't that's great. Think the point is Keita was bought as a straight addition to a midfield including Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Can, Lallana and Coutinho. Not to replace one of them. We will likely have lost two from that midfield by seasons end, and another is 30 and been cut down with injuries. The idea that we only need one midfield player in doesn't add up.

I'm also of the opinion that this teams inability to break down teams that effectively park the bus is due to the lack of quality in the midfield as opposed to up front. Keita will help, but I don't think he's going to do any more offensively than Coutinho was able to do, and we still had problems. To me a proper talented deep lying playmaker who can control tempo should be a priority addition. City do it with De Bruyne and Silva, we don't have anyone remotely like that (Keita is a completely different type of player).

Joyce says its not Acl and he could make pre season which is a huge relief. Both in terms of our squad at the start of the season and in terms of the ox making a full recovery.

[El Lobo]

He may only be available for the last three or four games but at least having him available to come on for the last twenty minutes is a huge plus as opposed to having no one. Also someone experienced to come on if we get another injury. Desperate times

It really isn’t desperate

We’ve got at most 5 games left. Two of those, at least, shouldn’t be particularly intense and if we get there there’s a nice long break to the CL Final. Coming into these last few games we look about in the best shape of most clubs.

[Nick110581]

We can't play all three from the start on Saturday.

[didi shamone]

It really isn’t desperate

We’ve got at most 5 games left. Two of those, at least, shouldn’t be particularly intense and if we get there there’s a nice long break to the CL Final. Coming into these last few games we look about in the best shape of most clubs.

I meant our midfield options are pretty weak. Another injury would be disaster. All our games are intense until we've secured top four and the CL final.

Other than that I agree we're in great shape in terms of the form of the personal available. We just have to pray they remain available.

[JackWard33]

It's match fitness with Lallana. Needs a run of games.

He does but it SHOULD be all about the CL final.... even as an option off the bench in that could be huge for us

[Redman78]

If Can leaves, Ox has potentially done his ACL putting him out for pretty much all next season, you have injury prone Lallana and a 34 year old Milner. This team wanted/needed Keita, even with Can, a healthy Ox/Lallana and Coutinho, who was a midfield player for us, even if he had the versatility to play in the front 3. Keita was not meant to be a replacement for anyone, he was meant to be a straight addition of quality. We now need to replace potentially 3 players in Can, Coutinho and Ox. People seem to have forgotten the Coutinho out simply because we've been able to cover for his absence. It's still a massive hit on squad depth, and replacing him is even more important than replacing Can. I think you can't rely on Lallana, so that makes 4. The idea that Keita is a replacement for an outgoing player, and we then only need one further midfielder to replace Can is underestimating how decimated the midfield depth has potentially become. I don't think it's close to good enough to challenge in all competitions if the team wants to do that next season.

You also have to consider we'll have Grujic returning.

[JackWard33]

You also have to consider we'll have Grujic returning.

[Fordy]

We can't play all three from the start on Saturday.

Agree, Woodburn has to start.

We need players getting match fitness now so they're ready if or when called upon.

[Nick110581]

Agree, Woodburn has to start.

We need players getting match fitness now so they're ready if or when called upon.

I think an option is to play 2 of them with Woodburn in.

Then switch one for another at half time whatever the result.

Play two of front three too.

Another option is 4-2-3 (front 2) and Ings / Solanke up top

[lionel_messias]

If Can leaves, Ox has potentially done his ACL putting him out for pretty much all next season, you have injury prone Lallana and a 34 year old Milner. This team wanted/needed Keita, even with Can, a healthy Ox/Lallana and Coutinho, who was a midfield player for us, even if he had the versatility to play in the front 3. Keita was not meant to be a replacement for anyone, he was meant to be a straight addition of quality. We now need to replace potentially 3 players in Can, Coutinho and Ox. People seem to have forgotten the Coutinho out simply because we've been able to cover for his absence. It's still a massive hit on squad depth, and replacing him is even more important than replacing Can. I think you can't rely on Lallana, so that makes 4. The idea that Keita is a replacement for an outgoing player, and we then only need one further midfielder to replace Can is underestimating how decimated the midfield depth has potentially become. I don't think it's close to good enough to challenge in all competitions if the team wants to do that next season.

Its a good point, well made.

On the good news side of things we would appear to have plenty of income to use on the problem. I wouldn't rule out Can changing his mind as he watches his teammates create history on the fields of Europe.

That aside, I wonder if we will sign Keita + one new number 6 type (your Jorginho, Rabiot, Ndidi option) + another young midfielder to help the group.
Would seem sensible.