Players are skill sets, not positions. This one basic fundamental truth of football changes everything you see about the game and the tactics. Once we accept that premise (as players, coaches, managers or spectators), it becomes easier to see where players fit in to any given system (once we know the system requirements and the formation). It's really that simple, and yet all over the world, at every level, we complicate it (as players, coaches, managers and spectators).
Thankfully, Kloppo knows this. That's why we have a great TEAM.
Just checked this thread out after the Trent one. I always come back to your posts on here pointing out the above - a Team is a set of skills, as opposed to positions. People can’t get their head around Trent putting in some world class attacking numbers and seem to want to move him further up the pitch. We’ve got a lot of the attacking skill coming from them so they want to push them into midfield. When they’re basically playing there already.
This Klopp template fascinates me mainly because of those fullbacks. They’re world class attackers playing from fullback. The effect it has on the side is we have 2 potent attacking weapons as “additional” skills. Most teams can’t get this many avenues of attack on the field. The balance wouldn’t be right defensively. Klopp’s managed it - and it’s actually been brilliant to watch unfold. It’s a fine tuned machine and it does splutter a bit if a few of those parts are changed around - as we’ve seen recently.
It’s because we have total footballers across every position why it’s possible. They’re technically all top class, intelligent, quick and bold. Since they got the confidence to really stamp their skill on games, it’s been consistently one of the best points gathering exercises seen in football. Something like 131 out of the last 150. That’s equivalent to a 101pt season, and it’s a run rate they’ve been going at for 50 games now.
The result of this talented set of players is a team that plays so far up the field now that the CBs are basically midfielders. Allison and Van Dijk are so good, they’re given control of half the field a lot of the time. It’s even strong enough to allow Matip forays into midfield and carry the ball out of defence - something I think we’ve missed recently. The fullbacks are already in the attack by the time the balls at our CBs/Fabinho area around the half way line - and this seems to happen a lot of the time now.
The next phase of this might be to add another avenue of attack from one of the number 8 positions. Keita and Ox are getting game time, and well, Ox scored 3 goals in as many games this last few weeks, so that’s pretty imminent. Interesting to watch if that gives up defensive solidity though. Trent’s a world class midfielder at the moment, because the number 8 on his side picks up the slack. This was a nice evolution of the team since Ox got injured; instead of relying on Henderson, Gini or Milner on that side for attacking output, they did what they do best; plug holes and solidify midfield. It encouraged Trent and Robertson to pick up the attacking slack, and by the end of last season they’d broken records for assists. This season it’s even more aggressive, but if we stick a more attack minded 8 in there as well, then defensively the balance might not be right? Looking forward to seeing how that little evolution of the team pans out this season.
