{"id":1379,"date":"2018-10-15T11:35:30","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T11:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=1379"},"modified":"2018-10-15T11:35:30","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T11:35:30","slug":"international-break-squad-assessment-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/international-break-squad-assessment-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"International Break: Squad Assessment Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week I <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/international-break-what-can-jurgen-klopp-do\/\">wrote about what J\u00fcrgen Klopp might be doing<\/a> during the international break, pondering whether or not he\u2019d be planning how to get his front three firing again or coming up with ways to better use his squad moving forward in order to avoid exhaustion. Over the weekend we received reports that Mohamed Salah was returning from his time with Egypt because of an injury picked up during one of the matches, with Virgil van Dijk also returning early from Holland due to a recurrence of the rib strain he suffered a couple of weeks ago. With James Milner already out for a month or so thanks to a hamstring issue that flared during out match against Manchester City, it certainly seems as though that squad is going to be turned to sooner rather than later. The games come thick and fast after the Premier League resumes hostilities at the weekend, so this isn\u2019t the time for the manager to be unsure of the players that he can trust to take on his instructions and carry out his tactical plans.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Virgil van Dijk will return to Liverpool after being omitted from the Dutch national side with a rib injury. It was decided that Van Dijk would face Germany and return early as he looks to recover in time for Liverpool\u2019s clash against Huddersfield. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0wn0oiwWlT\">pic.twitter.com\/0wn0oiwWlT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AnfieldEdition\/status\/1051436007382536193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The natural question to ask, therefore, is \u2018what does Liverpool\u2019s squad look like?\u2019 We all know that the first eleven is a very decent looking outfit, but how does each section of the team look when you break it down? Is there one part of the side that is better stocked than another, or is the balance now better than it\u2019s been for a long time? If we suffered a long-term injury in different positions would we be able to absorb it relatively painlessly, or would we be left rocking and reeling in a similar manner to when Mo Salah went off in the Champions League final and we had no way to threaten Real Madrid? Obviously all of what follows is simply my personal opinion and I\u2019m not the sort of supporter who thinks my word is gospel. You might well disagree with my take on things and that\u2019s entirely fair; you might consider putting your opposing thoughts in the comments section or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/andcouldheplay7?lang=en\">dropping me a line on Twitter<\/a>. Not everyone has to agree with each other all of the time, but as long as we can be polite and civil then it\u2019s worth sharing our opinions every now and then. Here I\u2019ve written about the goalkeepers and defence, with the attack and midfield coming later in the week.<\/p>\n<h2>The Goalkeepers<\/h2>\n<p>I really dislike it when people talk about \u2018the defence\u2019 as simply the players in the defence. The goalkeeper is a crucial part of any defensive setup and managers will often change the way that their defence works precisely because of how the goalkeeper plays football. Whilst many will never forgive Loris Karius for what happened in the Champions League final, there\u2019s no denying that the defensive line was able to play much higher up the pitch when he was in goal because of his desire to act as a sweeper-keeper. The same is true of Alisson Becker, with the Brazilian shot-stopper also far more accomplished than his German counterpart and therefore much more trusted than him. The problem we\u2019ve currently got is that the substitute goalkeeper is someone that not only doesn\u2019t play in a similar style to Alisson but that seemingly everyone, from supporters through to his defensive teammates, have had enough of. It\u2019s not that Simon Mignolet is a <strong>bad<\/strong> goalkeeper, it\u2019s just that he\u2019s not a great one and the entire defensive setup needs to change to accommodate him.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Get yourself a bird that looks at you like this one looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Alissonbecker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Alissonbecker<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lfc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#lfc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ynwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ynwa<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rFhUVjdO6N\">pic.twitter.com\/rFhUVjdO6N<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u043a\u044f\u03b1z\u0443 \u043a\u0454\u00ef\u0442\u03b1 \u2022\u2111\u03c3\u0454&#x1f4a5; (@KrazyKeita8) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KrazyKeita8\/status\/1051619925083791360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The goalkeeping position is, therefore, one of strength when it comes to the first-choice but one that needs improving when you look at the bench. Personally, given that we know exactly what to expect from Simon Mignolet after his five years or so at the club, I\u2019d prefer it if the manager turned to one of his youth goalkeepers when the FA Cup gets underway in January. I think J\u00fcrgen Klopp needs to know whether or not he should be buying a new goalkeeper in the next transfer window, so there\u2019s no point in continuing to play the Belgian when we\u2019ll learn nothing from it and he wants to leave in search of first-team football anyway. Might Kamil Grabara or Caoimhin Kelleher have what it takes to put themselves to the top of the list and save us spending any money on a second-choice goalkeeper? It\u2019s surely going to be worthwhile to find out one way or another. As I say, I don\u2019t think that Mignolet is a bad goalkeeper but I do think that his style of play means that we\u2019ll either have to ask the defence to change the way it plays when he\u2019s in net or else ask him to play in a style that isn\u2019t natural to him, neither of which seem like sensible options.<\/p>\n<h2>The Centre-Backs<\/h2>\n<p>As the summer transfer window came towards its conclusion I wrote about how I thought that the manager was missing a trick in not buying a more reliable centre-back. At the time Joe Gomez was entirely untested in the position and had been caught out a worrying number of times when playing as a full-back, whilst both of Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip had shown themselves to be unreliable when it came to fitness. A couple of pre-season performances from Nathaniel Phillips in which he looked half-decent meant that some supporters were saying he could step up if either of them were out injured, but that never struck me as a particularly sensible solution. I\u2019ve been as delighted as everyone else to see just how wrong I was about Joe Gomez in the central defensive role, with the former Charlton man looking even more assured than Virgil van Dijk at times so far this season. He looks like the real deal and it\u2019s thrilling to consider how much he might develop over the coming years. The partnership that he\u2019s achieved so quickly with the Dutchman means that our defence, previously an area of ridicule, is now one of the strongest aspects of the team.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#x1f981; Joe Gomez will start for England tonight vs. Spain, Gareth Southgate has confirmed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xKtutkmO0K\">pic.twitter.com\/xKtutkmO0K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thisisanfield\/status\/1051754619167232000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m writing this before England\u2019s match against Spain, however, so it\u2019s possible that his name could yet be added to the list of those that have picked up tweaks during the international break. Regardless, the twenty-one-year-old has played so well that Dejan Lovren, a World Cup finalist, will have to work hard to find himself back in the first-team any time soon. He did just that against Manchester City, of course, and whilst both he and Gomez played well, you could see what we lost in an attacking sense by not having Trent Alexander-Arnold in the right-back slot. I also still think that I\u2019m right in terms of Matip and Lovren not being reliable enough in terms of their fitness. The Croatian in particular is prone to disappear for lengths of time because of some random tweak or cold or something, so I would be worried about how much I could rely on him if I was the manager. As for Matip, he\u2019s not only not the most reliable of players in terms of fitness but he\u2019s also just not that good a player\u2026 If Gomez and van Dijk both picked up injuries, which isn\u2019t out of the realms of the possible, and we needed to turn to a Lovren-Matip partnership then I would be hoping we don\u2019t play any of our rivals during their time together.<\/p>\n<h2>The Full-Backs<\/h2>\n<p>If centre-back is an area of the pitch where we\u2019ve got talent in the first-team but a drop-off in terms of those that might come in to replace them then that\u2019s as nothing compared to our full-backs. I think that Andy Robertson has quietly had a bit of a poor start to the season, putting in a couple of four or five out of ten performances rather than his usual bear minimum of a seven. That said, he\u2019s still far better than Alberto Moreno both in terms of his overall quality and also the style of football that he offers us. The Spaniard is another one with a very specific set of skills that can simultaneously suit one team but not another. I can well understand, for example, why Barcelona are being linked with him. That doesn\u2019t mean, however, that I think we should be keeping hold of him, given that his rash style of tackling looks like it might give away a penalty or dangerous free-kick at any moment, whilst his lack of positional awareness and dependence on his own pace mean that other teams have all sorts of joy down our left when he\u2019s in the starting lineup. Rumours that Moreno will leave in the summer and be replaced in the squad by the Academy graduate Adam Lewis should therefore be greeted with joy by pretty much everyone.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Rumours emerging that Alberto Moreno is set to leave the club when his contract expires. Youth Academy product Adam Lewis is expected to be given a chance to take his place behind Robertson. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LFC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LFC Fans Corner (@LFCFansCorner) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFCFansCorner\/status\/1051789551025512449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Would an Academy graduate be good enough to come in if Robertson was out injured for a prolonged period of time? In the past my opinion on that would have been \u2018no\u2019 and I\u2019d have wanted the manager to head out and spend some money on a replacement, but then I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to watch Trent Alexander-Arnold come in to replace Nathaniel Clyne and keep the England man out of the team, so my opinion on such things has shifted. I think that the manager\u2019s decision to rest Alexander-Arnold for the City game was the correct one, though I didn\u2019t enjoy shifting Joe Gomez into the right-back slot to accommodate him and hope that\u2019s not something that we see very often moving forward. The problem is that Clyne offers us very little going forward from the right-back slot and looks every inch a talented but limited defender when he comes into the side instead of Trent. As a result, I would like to see us go shopping for a right-back who can offer as much going forward as the twenty-year-old and save us from using Fabinho as a right-back whilst the manager is trying to get him to understand what he wants from him as a midfielder.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the week, the midfield and attack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week I wrote about what J\u00fcrgen Klopp might be doing during the international break, pondering whether or not he\u2019d be planning how to get his front three firing again or coming up with ways to better use his squad moving forward in order to avoid exhaustion. Over the weekend we received reports that Mohamed Salah was returning from his time with Egypt because of an injury picked up during one of the matches, with Virgil van Dijk also returning early from Holland due to a recurrence of the rib strain he suffered a couple of weeks ago. With James [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1380,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions\/1380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}