Topic: Trent Alexander-Arnold

[El Lobo]

I've seen this posted on RAWK before but I don't remember people saying Cole was weak defensively.  If anything he had a reputation for constantly pocketing flying wingers.  Ronaldo specifically.

Yeah he wasn’t at all, his defending was what he was praised for more than anything.

[duvva 💅]

Boom as Jurgen might say

[Funky_Gibbons]

Gary Neville showed him how to do that.

[El Lobo]

Can’t defend for shit this lad

[AndyInVA]

Gary Neville showed him how to do that.

Funny

[rocco]

Why was Trent booked

[swoopy]

Why was Trent booked

Shirt pulling when rangers were breaking forward

[jillcwhomever]

A good game from Trent today and a gorgeous goal.

[tubby]

He even explained it to Klopp when he came off.

[Broad Spectrum]

Good free kick, but can he play in a back 5?

[Crosby Nick]

I've seen this posted on RAWK before but I don't remember people saying Cole was weak defensively.  If anything he had a reputation for constantly pocketing flying wingers.  Ronaldo specifically.

Yeah. Including Euro 2004 when he was still at Arsenal. Was he still there in 2006 too, I lose track? Either way, I agree with you that he was defensively solid pretty much throughout his career unless in his first season or two he had a bit of a reputation for being flaky that I’ve forgotten about.

Anyway, we’ll played Trent, and what a free kick.

[killer-heels]

Brilliant performance.

[Wool]

Seemed like we didn’t ask him to play every position on the pitch today and unsurprisingly he looked the world beater we all know he is.

[RedBec1993]

I was glad to see him not pop up in all different positions and just stuck to what he’s magnificent at. Excellent performance.

[stevieG786]

MOTM

[Morgana]

These gobshites on BT Sport throwing Trent a pity party while itching to say something nasty about his "defensive frailties" are really funny tonight. One thing they haven't mentioned is how it's mainly people like them that have spearheaded the media campaign against Alexander-Arnold since he was nineteen years old. Plain as day it's professional jealousy. They wish they were as talented as Trent and winning Champions Leagues at 19.

[ljycb]

We will see how it goes at the weekend, but after that performance from Trent tonight, it feels to me like at least one of the things Klopp meant when talking about going "back to basics" and "offering protection" to our defenders was based on how we used Trent. He just played at right-back, didn't he? And the goal would have settled him down, but even without that, he just looked considerably more comfortable and dangerous.

[SamLad]

Gary Neville showed him how to do that.

nah.  crap goal - his studs came off the ground ffs.

[SamLad]

I was glad to see him not pop up in all different positions and just stuck to what he’s magnificent at. Excellent performance.

Seemed like we didn’t ask him to play every position on the pitch today and unsurprisingly he looked the world beater we all know he is.

yep and yep.  he, and we. looked a lot more controlled and comfortable. although maybe it's just a one-off given the less-than-stellar oppo.  interesting to see what we do on Sunday.

[SamLad]

any of the stat-heads know what mileage Trent put in tonight vs Saturday?

[newterp]

any of the stat-heads know what mileage Trent put in tonight vs Saturday?

it's kilometers. come on Sam.

[SamLad]

it's kilometers. come on Sam.

miles, kilometres, yards, millimeters ..... whatever.

no nautical miles, though.  never understood them.

[BTGH]

We will see how it goes at the weekend, but after that performance from Trent tonight, it feels to me like at least one of the things Klopp meant when talking about going "back to basics" and "offering protection" to our defenders was based on how we used Trent. He just played at right-back, didn't he? And the goal would have settled him down, but even without that, he just looked considerably more comfortable and dangerous.

great to see him playing the way he did last night, focused on his responsibilities at right back, and offering forwards key passes for scoring chances.  Another  possible change is also seeing Salah coming back on a few occasions to help defend the space in front of TAA

[pathetic]

Seemed like we didn’t ask him to play every position on the pitch today and unsurprisingly he looked the world beater we all know he is.

This. We were overcomplicating things just for the sake of it when how he played before simply worked. It's no surprise that he put in the performance that he did. Go on Trent!!

[Bergersrightwingviews]

Rangers did get in down TAA’s side in exactly the way Tifo was describing the other day.

[keyop]

That free kick was a nice 'fuck you' to his critics and its great to see that beaming smile.

A few more solid defensive performances and the media narrative will ebb away, and goons like Neville, Ferdinand and the Talkshite muppets will move onto their next clickbait.

[Adams83]

That free kick was a nice 'fuck you' to his critics and its great to see that beaming smile.

A few more solid defensive performances and the media narrative will ebb away, and goons like Neville, Ferdinand and the Talkshite muppets will move onto their next clickbait.

No one was questioning his quality on the ball so the free kick isn't really a fuck you to anyone.

People like Neville have talked about his defending for years. A few good performances won't change that. He'll need to be more solid defensively over a long period of time.

Trent is a great player and I wouldn't swap him for any other right back, but he has to improve his defending. He doesn't do the basics of defending well enough. This has always been the case and isn't a new thing.

[Historical Fool]

No one was questioning his quality on the ball so the free kick isn't really a fuck you to anyone.

People like Neville have talked about his defending for years. A few good performances won't change that. He'll need to be more solid defensively over a long period of time.

Trent is a great player and I wouldn't swap him for any other right back, but he has to improve his defending. He doesn't do the basics of defending well enough. This has always been the case and isn't a new thing.

That’s not a great take, he’s historically great at defending.

[will2003]

Think this was a good analysis of our problems and the changes last night. https://youtu.be/oXbsVVpe3F4 It highlight where TAA is being caught out and let down by the system at the moment. Actually his defending is generally good but the system has been found out by other teams as described in the video. Still needs to work on his awareness and the team need to work together better.

[Funky_Gibbons]

That’s not a great take, he’s historically great at defending.

Yes he is, the problem is that as he's evolved into such an incredible passer, our system has put more demands on him which either leaves him exposed or out of position. When all our players are on form and in peak fitness this is less of an issue as we can cover him but recently it's been badly exposed.

It's interesting we looked to 'reset' his position last night and take some of the complexity out of it.

[Xanderzone]

Played very well last night albeit not really tested defensively. Martinelli and Zinchenko down that side on Sunday will represent a much harder assignment as we know.

Positionally played we a proper full back though which is encouraging.

[ljycb]

No one was questioning his quality on the ball so the free kick isn't really a fuck you to anyone.

People like Neville have talked about his defending for years. A few good performances won't change that. He'll need to be more solid defensively over a long period of time.

Trent is a great player and I wouldn't swap him for any other right back, but he has to improve his defending. He doesn't do the basics of defending well enough. This has always been the case and isn't a new thing.

I do think certain aspects of his defending are the areas where most improvement is needed, but I wouldn't say he's not been doing it well enough for a prolonged period of time. I've always thought he was quite a solid defender. The Rashford goal at Old Trafford in 2018 put an idea in a lot of people's minds, but I would find it difficult to think of another major mistake he has made until the last couple of months. I still maintain that this situation is as much as anything down to how the manager and the manager's coaching staff have been wanting to use him.

[El Lobo]

Who even cares if he's 'only' a decent defender? If he can improve there, great. If it starts taking away from his attacking game then don't bother. I've watched football long enough that I know a generational player when I see one, and I've never seen anyone influence games from full back the way he does (and thats in a lifetime that has included Maldini, Cafu, Roberto-Carlos, Dani Alves and Wan-Bissaka at their peak).

[stockdam]

Listened to his post-match interview and he answered the questions well. He takes a lot of stick from social media but I think he is wise enough to realise that those who are objective and have played the game at a high level know that TAA is an exceptional footballer.

Unfortunately in the modern world, there are loads of pricks who get their chance to vent their bile about players who they don't like simply because the players are good and play for another club. They dominate social media with their noise and anyone who is remotely famous should not personally read any of the comments.

I'm not sure if it was Andy Townsend who I was listening to yesterday commentating but he was full of praise for TAA.

[Historical Fool]

Who even cares if he's 'only' a decent defender? If he can improve there, great. If it starts taking away from his attacking game then don't bother. I've watched football long enough that I know a generational player when I see one, and I've never seen anyone influence games from full back the way he does (and thats in a lifetime that has included Maldini, Cafu, Roberto-Carlos, Dani Alves and Wan-Bissaka at their peak).

Wan-Bissaka…

Very nice.

[Lone Star Red]

Amazing what happens when he's asked to play mainly right back and not right back, right midfielder, center midfielder and center forward in a 90 minute span. Defended better and was still a creative force.

Let's stick with this plan, shall we Jurgen?   

[Samie]

Happy 24th birthday to Trent. 

237 appearances
⚽️ 15 goals
🅰️ 61 assists
🏆 Champions League 2019
🏆 Super Cup 2019
🏆 Club World Cup 2019
🏆 Premier League 2019/20
🏆 League Cup 2022
🏆 FA Cup 2022
🏆 Community Shield 2022

[Aldo1988]

Happy 24th birthday to Trent. 

Add to that....

Individual

Liverpool Young Player of the Season Award: 2016–17, 2017–18
PFA Team of the Year: 2018–19 Premier League, 2019–20 Premier League, 2021–22 Premier League
PFA Young Player of the Year: 2019–20 Premier League
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2018–19
UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2021–22
FIFA FIFPro World11: 2020
Premier League Player of the Month: December 2019, November 2021
IFFHS Men's World Team: 2019, 2020
UEFA Team of the Year: 2019
Premier League Young Player of the Season: 2019–20
ESM Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2021–22

Not bad for someone who can't and has never been able to defend!!!

[Morgana]

Happy birthday Trento!

[farawayred]

Fuckin’ell he’ll be 30 in six years… getting old that lad.

Happy birthday, TAA!