{"id":730,"date":"2016-11-17T14:02:18","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T14:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=730"},"modified":"2016-11-17T14:02:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T14:02:54","slug":"liverpools-squad-strength-in-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/liverpools-squad-strength-in-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool\u2019s Squad: Strength In Depth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So far this season everyone\u2019s been blown away by the Liverpool first XI; both on the pitch and in discussion about it. It\u2019s understandable, too. The tricky start we were presented with would have been enough to make most teams think they\u2019d struggle to get points on the board for the first couple of months. J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s Reds didn&#8217;t bat an eyelid; a poor loss against Burnley aside, we\u2019ve been the best team in the country this season and deservedly sit on the top of the league.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en-gb\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Klopp&#8217;s Liverpool is the best EPL squad we&#8217;ve seen in a decade.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mpikanisi Mathebula (@The_Mphiga) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/The_Mphiga\/status\/798283433759928321\">14 November 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Yet the chat about the first team has resulted in the fringe players of the squad being ignored, or if not ignored then perhaps slightly forgotten about. The fact that Klopp has been able to put together a first-team that is battling all challengers right now means that some genuinely top class players are sat on the bench, but that doesn\u2019t mean that they have no future at the club. Something worth bearing in mind when you consider all of the nonsense chat about Daniel Sturridge and transfer rumours. Here, then, I\u2019ll have a quick look at the players we seem to be forgetting about.<\/p>\n<h2>The Ones Who Deserve To Be In The First Team<\/h2>\n<p>The Liverpool squad can essentially be broken down into four categories: The players who are currently in the first team, the players who deserve to be in the first team and have been in the past, the fringe players who can do a job and the youth players who will come in and out as Klopp gives them some experience.<\/p>\n<p>The really great thing for the Reds right now is that there are a number of players who will feel that they deserve to be in the starting XI. Before discussing them, though, it\u2019s important to narrow down the eleven that Klopp probably considers to be his first choice. In my opinion they\u2019re as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Karius<\/li>\n<li>Clyne<\/li>\n<li>Matip<\/li>\n<li>Lovren<\/li>\n<li>Milner<\/li>\n<li>Henderson<\/li>\n<li>Can<\/li>\n<li>Lallana<\/li>\n<li>Coutinho<\/li>\n<li>Man\u00e9<\/li>\n<li>Firmino<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>An obvious omission from that list straight away is Gini Wijnaldum. The Dutchman, a \u00a323 million arrival from Newcastle in the summer, has impressed so far in his Liverpool career. Some supporters asked the most boring question in football when they questioned \u2018what he offers\u2019, but when he was missing from the side through injury exactly what he offers to the side became abundantly clear. Now that Emre Can has returned, however, does Klopp favour his countryman over his new signing?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_279\" style=\"width: 543px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-279\" class=\"size-large wp-image-279\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Emre-Can-In-The-Centre-Circle-v-Rubin-Kazan-533x400.jpg\" alt=\"Emre Can In The Centre Circle v Rubin Kazan\" width=\"533\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Emre-Can-In-The-Centre-Circle-v-Rubin-Kazan-533x400.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Emre-Can-In-The-Centre-Circle-v-Rubin-Kazan-267x200.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Emre-Can-In-The-Centre-Circle-v-Rubin-Kazan-65x50.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-279\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emre Can In The Centre Circle v Rubin Kazan<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s entirely possible that the manager sees them as inter-changeable in a \u2018horses for courses\u2019 type manner, of course, yet what is unquestionable is that they\u2019re unlikely to appear in the starting XI alongside each other unless there\u2019s an injury to someone else. We will almost certainly see how they work together against Southampton at the weekend, with Adam Lallana unlikely to recover from the injury he picked up playing for England in time to appear against his old club.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Sturridge is another player who will feel that he deserves to be starting every week. The former Chelsea and Manchester City striker was unstoppable for the Reds during the 2013-2014 season, only having his contribution overshadowed because Luis Suarez was slowly becoming one of the best players in the world. During the following season Brendan Rodgers put too much dependence on the England striker and Liverpool suffered accordingly. Klopp, on the other hand, has very much asked Sturridge to take a back seat.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en-gb\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Sturridge in 2016\/17:<br \/>\nPL: 0 goals in 367 mins<br \/>\nCups &amp; Eng: 6 goals in 309 mins<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BassTunedToRed\/status\/797171270731333632\">11 November 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That we are playing such brilliant football without Sturridge is genuinely commendable. He is arguably the second best finisher in the league behind Sergio Aguero but he hasn\u2019t even got off the mark for us in the league. For some that is a sign that we should sell him, yet I think that would be madness. The striker will be crucial for us as the season progresses. Roberto Firmino is unlikely to continue his fine form for the entire campaign, so being able to bring in a player of Sturridge\u2019s quality to replace him or work alongside him will terrify opposition defences.<\/p>\n<p>How about Simon Mignolet? Regular readers to this page will know I\u2019m not a fan of his, but he was our first-choice goalkeeper for three years before the arrival of Loris Karius and he will surely feel that he might be able to re-claim the number one jersey at some point in the future. Some supporters also feel he should be starting instead of the German, randomly choosing to re-write the history of his performances and imagine that he\u2019s actually a brilliant goalkeeper who\u2019s been hard done to. It\u2019s a nonsense, obviously, but it shows just how strong we are all over the pitch.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_290\" style=\"width: 456px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-290\" class=\"size-large wp-image-290\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Alberto-Moreno-446x400.jpg\" alt=\"Moreno. Dimwit. \" width=\"446\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Alberto-Moreno-446x400.jpg 446w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Alberto-Moreno-223x200.jpg 223w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Alberto-Moreno.jpg 1637w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-290\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Moreno. Dimwit.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Similar words could be said about Alberto Moreno. The Spaniard was, rightly or wrongly, Liverpool\u2019s first-choice left-back until J\u00fcrgen Klopp taught James Milner how to be the best left-back in the world. Again, though, Albie might well point to his performances when he\u2019s come into the side to cover for an injured Milner and ask a question of the manager. He certainly seems to have learnt from his time out of the side.<\/p>\n<p>Between Can\/Wijnaldum, Sturridge, Mignolet and Moreno, then, we have four or five players who could legitimately stake a claim to a place in the first-team. Not only that, but they\u2019re players who wouldn\u2019t cause the wheels to fall off if they did come in to the side due to illness or injury. I fully expect Klopp to change the team around when needed to get the most out of Sturridge, too. Not a bad selection dilemma to have, all things considered.<\/p>\n<h2>The Fringe Players<\/h2>\n<p>One step down from the players who feel they deserve to be in the starting XI are players who, for one reason or another, are on the fringes right now. One of the players who might feel he should be in the above category rather than considered to be \u2018fringe\u2019 is Divock Origi. The Belgian was Klopp\u2019s go-to striker last season, often being picked ahead of Daniel Sturridge at times. His goal against Borussia Dortmund sparked the fightback, lest we forget.<\/p>\n<p>Big Div is still only 21 and has shown some of the inconsistently that you often find in young players when he\u2019s appeared for us this season. Yet his potential is huge and under the tutelage of J\u00fcrgen Klopp I genuinely expect him to go on to become world class. He\u2019s shown glimpses of ability that will be scary in the future. He\u2019s got power, he\u2019s got pace and he\u2019s a brilliant finisher; all of which are vital assets in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_223\" style=\"width: 545px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-223\" class=\"size-large wp-image-223\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Lucas-Leiva-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-535x400.jpg\" alt=\"almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com\" width=\"535\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Lucas-Leiva-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-535x400.jpg 535w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Lucas-Leiva-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-267x200.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Lucas-Leiva-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-65x50.jpg 65w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Lucas-Leiva-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 535px) 100vw, 535px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-223\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Look at Lucas Leiva, too. The Brazilian has been heading out of the Anfield exit door for the past three or four transfer windows, yet here he remains. Not only that but he\u2019s also changing his game to become a centre-back who can read the game and play out from the back. What\u2019s not to love? He\u2019s the ultimate renaissance man and he genuinely impresses when he\u2019s asked to play at the back. He also seems to accept that he\u2019s no longer going to be first-choice but is happy to be part of a squad, something that is vitally important moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>When Lucas plays at the back then Ragnar Klavan doesn\u2019t, something that the Estonian might want to chat to the manager about if it keeps happening. He\u2019s not exactly blown the doors off the place when he\u2019s come into the side, but he\u2019s been solid and steady and he\u2019s much better than most other team\u2019s third or fourth choice centre-back. If Lovren picked up a long-term injury it wouldn\u2019t be a disaster to have to turn to the 31-year-old. It\u2019s certainly more likely to happen than a return to first-team duties for Mamadou Sakho who will surely leave the club in January.<\/p>\n<h2>The Youth Prospects<\/h2>\n<p>Talk about Liverpool\u2019s youth system even just a year ago would have resulted in complaints that we just don\u2019t know how to develop young players any more. Fast forward twelve months and J\u00fcrgen Klopp seems determined to give the kids as many opportunities as possible. Even better, he\u2019s being rewarded for his faith with some excellent performances from lads who won\u2019t seriously be considered for the starting XI for another few years.<\/p>\n<p>Kev Stewart, for example, has looked like an intelligent, battling defensive midfielder who knows how to kill a game whenever he\u2019s been asked to come in. Then again, he\u2019s 23-year-old so a touch more experience than some of the other players on this list. His failed time at Spurs will be a lesson for him and he\u2019ll be soaking up everything that the manager tells him.<\/p>\n<p>Trent Alexander-Arnold is another prospect who will be developing rapidly under the manager. Right-back might not be the position he ends up playing when he\u2019s older, but he\u2019s a decent enough stand-in for Nathaniel Clyne at the moment and a certain Steven Gerrard began his career in the first-team in the same position. What a future this lad could have in front of him if he keeps developing at the same rate.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en-gb\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Joe Gomez being back is great news. Easy to forget what a prospect he looked at the start of last season. Potential star in the making. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash\">#LFC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HenryJackson87\/status\/798138624747438080\">14 November 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The progress of the Reds under Klopp means it\u2019s easy to forget just how good young Joe Gomez looked before he picked up his injury. Thrown in at left-back by Brendan Rodgers because the Northern Irishman didn\u2019t fully trust Moreno, Gomez played well there and it looked like our problem position had been filled. The manager will take his time bringing the former Charlton prospect back into the side, but it will happen this year and hopefully he\u2019ll have developed real character because of his injury setback.<\/p>\n<p>Sheyi Ojo is a player who looked incredibly exciting when he made cameos last season. A goal against Roma and an assist against AC Milan in pre-season gave an inkling of what he\u2019s got in his locker. It\u2019s a real credit to him that he\u2019s being spoken of as the solution to the problem of what to do without Sadio Man\u00e9 when he heads of to the African Cup of Nations in January. He is full of potential and is arguably our most exciting youth prospect since the days of an emerging Raheem Sterling.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_150\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150\" class=\"size-large wp-image-150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Egidio-Arevalo-Rios-of-Uruguay-and-Raheem-Sterling-of-England_EUO_AGIF-shutterstock-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"AGIF \/ shutterstock.com\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Egidio-Arevalo-Rios-of-Uruguay-and-Raheem-Sterling-of-England_EUO_AGIF-shutterstock-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Egidio-Arevalo-Rios-of-Uruguay-and-Raheem-Sterling-of-England_EUO_AGIF-shutterstock-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Egidio-Arevalo-Rios-of-Uruguay-and-Raheem-Sterling-of-England_EUO_AGIF-shutterstock.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AGIF \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>All of his is to say nothing of Marko Grujic, who scored five goals in 31 appearances from Red Star Belgrade last season as they went on to win the Serbian SuperLiga. It also ignores the remarkably mature performance of Ovie Ejaria against Spurs in the EFL Cup earlier in the campaign. He took it all in his stride and may well get a few Premier League appearances under his belt before the season is out.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s never easy to know how young players will develop, of course. It\u2019s also easy to get excited about the strength-in-depth of a side when it\u2019s winning consistently. Perhaps if we lose a couple of games in a row the positivity around the place will dry up and the squad will start to look like an albatross. It really doesn\u2019t feel like that is going to happen, however. It\u2019s important for us to keep strengthening in the transfer market when we get the chance, but for the first time in a long time it is far from a necessity. What a brilliant place to be in that really is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So far this season everyone\u2019s been blown away by the Liverpool first XI; both on the pitch and in discussion about it. It\u2019s understandable, too. The tricky start we were presented with would have been enough to make most teams think they\u2019d struggle to get points on the board for the first couple of months. J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s Reds didn&#8217;t bat an eyelid; a poor loss against Burnley aside, we\u2019ve been the best team in the country this season and deservedly sit on the top of the league. Klopp&#8217;s Liverpool is the best EPL squad we&#8217;ve seen in a decade. \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":317,"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\/730"}],"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=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":732,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions\/732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}