You're starting to sound like other posters when you mention context ie. what we thought the team would be when Thiago was bought didn't happen so now it's understandable that Thiago isn't playing.
No that's mischaracterising my points; for me it's always understandable for
any player not to be playing in some games, regardless of context or who they are or how much they cost; I don't see it as a 'red flag' at all, for the reasons I've stated: selection is a complex calculation and, perhaps counterintuitively, rotation becomes more likely when you accumulate more better players - i.e rotation is best when you have the players to rotate with. We've got used to Klopp playing a very settled side because he has not had enough quality to rotate - and even then the midfield was the one area he did rotate, and is still rotating now. No red flags.
The thing about the current context not being known when the player was bought, and the fee paid, was in direct response to your post, because it's true that whatever our reasonings were at the start of the season, the basis will have been thrown out of kilter by what has happened this season.
Is that what you mean? If you're buying someone that is supposed to improve your starting XI but injuries make that impossible then it calls into question all of the presumptions that were made to make the decision.
No it's not really what I mean because unlike you I don't see Tiago not being selected for some games as an issue, a negative, a red flag or anything to be even slightly concerned about. So there's nothing to call into question.
Injuries and loss of form happen all the time.
Just purely on this point alone, and not because it's required for my points, but I feel I have to say: come on! This season's occurances are not in any way, shape or form something you could use the words 'happen all the time' about. Surely you can see that?
I could grant you that there's an argument to be made that generally most seasons are much of a muchness, and the various privations of any given season are probably matched by different privations in any other season, so it all sort of evens out. BUT...now and then a season comes along that is just ludicrously off the charts and unprecedented and so is just not comparable. And even among those rare events this season is extra, extra nuts. Proper
sui generis stuff.
If a player is only able to improve a starting XI under "ideal" conditions then how often is the "ideal" ever going to happen during their career at LFC?
This is not something that I am saying, and I don't think anyone else is either. Al's point about the cherry and the cake was not talking about ideal conditions; it was talking about a significant and forced role change due to the conditions being about as un-ideal as they can be. From Thiago's point of view, as a newly arrived player, it's literally the opposite of hitting the jackpot.
Especially when you consider the age profile and contract situation of the team, it's only a year or so away from a massive amount of changes regardless. Wouldn't that context then be null and void for a player that has another 1 or 2 years on their contract after everybody else?
Not quite sure what you mean here. Context is a living thing, ever-unrolling before you. You can't fully legislate for it and you always have to deal with it in arrears, so to speak.
In a lot of ways I'm just playing devils advocate here since neither Klopp or Edwards will ever come out and say the truth. But also I think people need to realize that Thiago just is what he is at this point and it's probably not going to get better if you're already disappointed aside from the team just winning more as B0151? is noting.
Maybe, but that's something we will have to wait and see about. With respect, no one is going to 'realize' it just because you say so. And it's not necessarily about Thiago getting better; he could just continue to do exactly what he's doing but when the team around him starts operating at it's proper, 'normal' level, then his contributions, and the reasons he was brought-in, may start making proper sense.
But again, this is purely academic for me because I don't accept the contention that there is any red flag being waved here.