Topic: And On The 8th Day, God Said "Let There Be Depth At Liverpool"

[soxfan]

Behold!  When is the last season we looked this strong from top to bottom? 

Just look at the "Cup Team". I'd argue that unit, as written, could get to at least the semis of the League or FA Cups, and maybe have an outside shot of winning one of them.

*players listed as of 8/11/18 on LFC site

Starting Unit

Allison

Alexander-Arnold Lovren Van Dijk Robertson

Fabinho Keita Henderson

Salah Firmino Mane


Cup Team:

Karius

Clyne Matip Klavan Moreno

Lallana Wijnaldum Milner

Shaqiri Sturridge Origi

Cup Bench Options: Mignolet, Grabara, Kelleher, Gomez, Randall, Phillips, Grujic, Jones, Ojo, Camacho, Markovic, Chirivella, Solanke

Injured: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Brewster

Loaned: Bogdan, Allan, Woodburn, Kent, Wilson, Ejaria, Awoniyi, Ings

 

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Depth will be key for us in whatever we aim to accomplish this year. Klopp said it today in his presser, rotation is the ultimate future of football and once September arrives, there will be rotation and 2 games played a week

[soxfan]

Depth will be key for us in whatever we aim to accomplish this year. Klopp said it today in his presser, rotation is the ultimate future of football and once September arrives, there will be rotation and 2 games played a week

And we seem to have a group of unselfish players who understand their roles and are willing to sacrifice some playing time in order to contribute to a top club aiming for trophies.

[telekon]

As much as I love Sturridge I don't think we have great depth in attack should one of the three be unavailable and our need to rotate in that area going forward.

[kavah]

Yes, it’s not bad at all. City had Sane, Kompany, Gabriel, and Debruyne on the bench today and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if 2 or 3 of them were in the premier league team of the season
So  they’ve still got an advantage over the long season but at least now we’re not relying on four 17 year olds and Stephen Caulker. It feels good

[Filler.]

The three that took up midfield today were the three that deserved to. Good to see two of them in your 'cup team'

[soxfan]

The three that took up midfield today were the three that deserved to. Good to see two of them in your 'cup team'

Oh, I agree with you 100%. But I think the general feeling is that Henderson & Fabinho will establish themselves as starters alongside Keita. Nice "problem" to have, no matter who the boss chooses!   

[deFacto please, you bastards]

As much as I love Sturridge I don't think we have great depth in attack should one of the three be unavailable and our need to rotate in that area going forward.

You can easily play a five man midfield with one of the 3 up front and we could rotate successfully, and that's without depending on Sturridge.

                                       Henderson/Milner      Fabinho/Wijnaldum
               

                        Shaqiri/Milner              Lallana/Keita       Keita/Lallana   


                                           Salah/Mane/Bobby/Sturridge/Solanke/Origi


There are various options combinations,formations we can use and rotate the front 3.

The midfield depth gives us the options how to line up and minimize the use of all front 3 when we need to rotate that heavy. We have interchangeable players who can do various roles and do them well

[Djozer]

Oh, I agree with you 100%. But I think the general feeling is that Henderson & Fabinho will establish themselves as starters alongside Keita. Nice "problem" to have, no matter who the boss chooses!

Indeed it is. Still not sure who the "first choice" midfield will ultimately be but yeah, this is definitely the strongest squad we've had for years. Still a question mark for me about depth for the wide forward positions - Shaqiri looks good but I'm not sure he's quite enough, and I reckon there's still a fair chance Origi leaves this window (and he's not a natural wide man anyway, though I do like his pace for that position)  - but other than that we're looking very good and it's hard not to be positive.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Indeed it is. Still not sure who the "first choice" midfield will ultimately be but yeah, this is definitely the strongest squad we've had for years. Still a question mark for me about depth for the wide forward positions - Shaqiri looks good but I'm not sure he's quite enough, and I reckon there's still a fair chance Origi leaves this window (and he's not a natural wide man anyway, though I do like his pace for that position)  - but other than that we're looking very good and it's hard not to be positive.

See above for something we could do  Keita gives us variety of options, he played wide in the 2nd half. We don't have to play with 2 wide forwards

[JackWard33]

Wasn't there a thread like this after the first game last season? ...distinctly remember people getting carried away this time last year

You can't really appreciate depth until it's the dark days of Feb,  there's 2 or 3 injured players, 2 or 3 fatigued players - then you find out if you've got the depth to reproduce this kind of dismissive performance still

It's better than it's been in a good while no question - let's see how we go

[Djozer]

See above for something we could do  Keita gives us variety of options, he played wide in the 2nd half. We don't have to play with 2 wide forwards

True, but I do think we work well like that. As you say though, Keita could probably do the Mane position without missing a step, so we should be ok. Be nice if Lallana comes back to full fitness and ability too - not for the wide positions I mean (God no!), but just in general. Such a classy player when he's on it.

Wasn't there a thread like this after the first game last season? ...distinctly remember people getting carried away this time last year

You can't really appreciate depth until it's the dark days of Feb,  there's 2 or 3 injured players, 2 or 3 fatigued players - then you find out if you've got the depth to reproduce this kind of dismissive performance still

It's better than it's been in a good while no question - let's see how we go

You're right of course mate, but no harm in a little optimism. Do wonder if this is the strongest squad I've seen in my time as a Liverpool supporter, but should probably temper that with a recognition that the demands of the modern game are harder than they've every been, especially in a system that demands as much effort as Klopp's.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Well said. Also as Jacks says, we need a bit of luck with injuries for the depth to be effective.

[Djozer]

Well said. Also as Jacks says, we need a bit of luck with injuries for the depth to be effective.

Completely, mate. We've already seen what a cluster of injuries in a single position - centre half right now - can do to even a strong squad. We'll definitely need a bit of luck with the injuries and I still reckon we've got a couple more injury-prone players than I'd like, but maybe that's the case at most teams? Not sure - I know Utd struggle with Bailly and Jones, and there's Kompany and maybe Gundogan at City, but apart from them I don't really know enough to compare properly.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Completely, mate. We've already seen what a cluster of injuries in a single position - centre half right now - can do to even a strong squad. We'll definitely need a bit of luck with the injuries and I still reckon we've got a couple more injury-prone players than I'd like, but maybe that's the case at most teams? Not sure - I know Utd struggle with Bailly and Jones, and there's Kompany and maybe Gundogan at City, but apart from them I don't really know enough to compare properly.

Aguero,[he is always injured every year at some point],Stones, are prone to injuries, they only have Fernandinho as a six, granted against most sides they don't need a player like him. Dont know much about the rest mate.

[elpistolero7]

Wasn't there a thread like this after the first game last season? ...distinctly remember people getting carried away this time last year

You can't really appreciate depth until it's the dark days of Feb,  there's 2 or 3 injured players, 2 or 3 fatigued players - then you find out if you've got the depth to reproduce this kind of dismissive performance still

It's better than it's been in a good while no question - let's see how we go

I agree, perspective and not getting carried away is key.

At the same time, even with 6 first team injuries/fatigue issues, we could field a top draw 11 and a pretty decent bench!

What we need to avoid is injuries to key players - VVD, Keita, Firmino are the most critical for a title push I believe.

[DanA]

The one area we are lacking is speed in wide areas. There’s no depth there at all.

[moondog]

Wait until after the dreaded International Break, then we can see how the strength in depth looks. In the meantime, we are fantastic and nothing can stop us.

[woof]

Hey.. not bad!

[dogeibbor]

I think our depth is improved as of last year. However, looking at the bench City had yesterday... now thats depth!