I mean he literally breaks down more play in the opposition half than any of our midfielders, so no idea what you’re on about.
I (probably unwisely) posted that in frustration/annoyance, mostly from the sheer volume of the pre-season moaning.
And probably misplaced in this thread, but I guess I see the clamour for Keita and now Thiago (the sum of it, lots of good individual posts about them that aren't that) as often in part underrating what's been achieved so far, by taking for granted and having "better ideas" than what's worked against heavy odds. But I did strawman his fans unnecessarily in that post.
Just to expand on where I'm coming from before I leave it, my frustration is also in part because that in many posts that aren't complaining per se, I don't recognize the team I've been watching. For example:
- We're described as in need of creativity, especially against parked buses, there's some validity to that. But it happens rarely compared to how often it's not an issue. When I watch us, I rarely see a team knocking on the door but unable to break through, I see threats all over the pitch, with the midfielders very much part of that even if they aren't the ones posting goal/assist numbers. Would be interesting to read some updated "Klopp template" posts about how we achieve that, because it's true that on paper there is room for even more creativity, looking at it player for player.
- Much being made of Klopp and Lijnders mentioning the need for "unpredictability" once or twice. Little mention of "intensity", "pressing", "shape", "chances that didn't become chances" which from memory are phrases used by Klopp in interviews on a regular basis, and surely more important parts of the "job/role description" for many of the players.
- Arguably the deciding factor for us in overtaking Man City the last two seasons (apart from the admittedly huge ones of bringing three world class signings in) has been finally getting the team balance right. They've become very vulnerable to counters, while we have got the balance right between defensive stabiilty and scoring enough to avoid unnecessary points losses. Keeping that advantage is not a given.
- "We mostly play parked buses, so should/can afford to set up more attacking", seems to me like another argument you see a lot, that looks good on paper but doesn't always reflect what's actually going on. We killed Bournemouth at home on the counter, against Palace what had Klopp raving was how we won the second balls. Same with Wilder in our win against Sheff Utd.
FWIW I think Keita is a great player, offensively and defensively, so any question marks about the latter (IMO) are only compared to those others we have that are absolute perfect fits in that regard. I think the Leeds game would have become a basketball game with or without him on the pitch.
