We played this set up for one game this season already. Hendo and Gini were in midfield with Fab at cb with Gomez. Sheffield Utd at Home. We won 2-1 and it kind of worked, but he hasn't tried it since I don't think?
We had 17 shots and they had 13 so showed the pros and cons of that system I suppose...
We've been playing a sort of hybrid in recent games.
Early phases of possession, one fullback pushes on (Robertson in previous games, Neco yesterday); the other (Trent previously, Robertson yesterday) holds and tucks in a little. The wide forward on the opposite side of the advanced fullback (Salah previously, Jota yesterday) stays wide, the other (Mane/Shaqiri) tucks in. Of the three midfielders, one (Jones/Keita) pushes up ahead of the ball; the other two (Gini plus Thiago or Milner) become an orthodox (and rather static) midfield two.
So, with yesterday's starting personnel, kind of like this in early possession (flipped with different personnel for the previous couple of games):
Salah
Jota Shaqiri ^
Keita .
. Williams
Wijnaldum Milner
Robertson .
v Williams Phillips
As play develops, the idea seems to be to transition to:
Jota Salah
Robertson Shaqiri Williams
^ .
Keita Milner
Wijnaldum
Williams Phillips
Milner (Thiago) pushes on a little, Keita (Jones) get on the ball deep inside the opposition half, the 'hang wide' forward tucking in as the more cautious fullback gets higher, Wijnaldum protecting the back two.
That change in transitional shape seems promising enough, in theory - and it is the 'try something different' that people have been calling for: it's just not been working very well in practice. The key questions are probably what's not working in doing it? And I think we need to get beyond the 'suicidal high line' and quality of the centre backs stuff, because that's actually not what is preventing us scoring goals from open play.
In my view;
- The Jones/Keita role is too far ahead of play, too early in possession; in conjunction with this, the ball is being moved too slowly and too laterally by the midfield two, in particular. It's been noticeable that most of our vertical passing (good or bad) from deep recently has been from a centre back rather than one of the two.
- Similarly, in later phases, the front five - sometimes six, including one of the central midfielders - have pushed on ahead of the ball but become static. There's little movement; virtually no vertical movement at all. Keita provided the perfect example yesterday: midway in Fulham's half, on the ball looking up with his arms outstretched because all he could see ahead of him was a straight line of Liverpool players standing still.
Partly, this is nerves and desperation. But also I think it's primarily the slow pace of passing, of that early phase of possession developing to the latter stage; players move in the build up, but then find themselves up against the defensive line, with the ball still being recycled across the back, and stand still.
There's not enough movement from forwards, either dropping off to offer passing angles, or sharp runs across defenders to create holes. There's not enough movement from midfielders from deep, running beyond the attackers (Oxlade at least offered this when subbed in the previous game, but his runs were generally ignored).
Fabinho in the role Wijnaldum has been playing will help; he's a little braver in his vertical passing, and more effective against a counter attack. Wijnaldum (at anything close to his best) is probably an improvement on the function Thiago/Milner have been providing. It would be nice perhaps to see both Jones and Keita on the pitch at the same time, against PL dross at least.
An issue still to be resolved is that ideally, if the Jones/Keita role is going to be the one that gets on the ball and 'makes things happen', the Thiago/Milner one, ideally, should be the one which can run beyond the forwards and score a goal occasionally. The international Wijnaldum, or the 17/18 Oxlade.
