As Liverpool still celebrate a fantastic opening weekend victory over West Ham, and technically sit top of the table to start the season, focus continues to lie in many places. This upcoming Monday's match, potential player outgoings before the international transfer window, and plenty of more internal matters all are sources of different discussion among fans and media alike.
Midfield Matters:
Liverpool's midfield were the talk of the town following the exceptional displays from Naby Keita and James Milner, along with a solid performance from Gini Wijnaldum as well. Now though, the questions continue as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho return to likely full fitness for the next league clash. Who is the perfect middle three for this Liverpool team, and who will get left out in the cold?
Well, for one, it seems that Marko Grujic is seeing the writing on the wall and does not want to be the man on the outside looking in. Reports are circulating that despite his turning down of Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, he could indeed be pondering a loan move elsewhere and likely out of the country with CSKA Moscow the side with their name floated around most as of late. Grujic, just 22, would slot into a 3-1-4-2 that already has two young Russian midfielders up front with an older Kirill Nababkin playing the holding role. The aggressive midfielder would fit into a Russian league that plays into his strengths and would allow him the ability to grow technically. Still, this does remain just a rumor and the club will have two-and-a-half more weeks to decide whether or not a loan move is right for their Serbian midfielder.
Still though, the questions of who will start of the remaining players persists. Keita is seemingly the one man that is nailed into the line-up and his performance against West Ham only solidified that. James Milner was my personal man of the match and it seems that he too is going to remain in the starting eleven for Monday's match. And Gini Wijnaldum was outstanding in that holding midfield role which he has really made his own during his time under Jurgen Klopp. Regardless of that, however, if anyone is to lose their spot next week, I would have to say Wijnaldum is most likely. Jordan Henderson is the captain of Liverpool and was good in his cameo on the weekend, with a 21-for-21 passing performance and getting two interceptions while keeping play in motion. The depth in this area of the park is incredible and Klopp will find it tough to go wrong picking any combination of starting men.
Something else to watch for is Trent Alexander-Arnold's development this season and the possibility of seeing him in midfield. The English teenager spent all of last season and starts this season at right-back, but players like Fabinho and Steven Gerrard started their careers at right-back as well. That said, Alexander-Arnold at just 19 has been the starter for a side that made it to the Champions League final, was selected to the World Cup as a right-back, and put on some stellar performances. The fullbacks of modern day need to do more than even, and the young Scouser has the potential to become an elite fullback if he sticks with it. If Nathaniel Clyne returns to the form he once found as England's top right-back, then perhaps the conversation of moving Trent to the midfield is sparked up again. But for now, I don't see any reason to make the shift just yet with so much depth already there.
Center-Back Committee Conversation:
From a position overflowing with depth, to one facing a bit of concern with lack of it. Virgil van Dijk was his stellar self while Joe Gomez impressed many in the season opener, but outside of Fabinho, there was no one on the bench who could even play center-back. Making things more interesting with the lack of fit center-backs is the talk of Ragnar Klavan potentially leaving the club for some more regular play time, with Fenerbahce reportedly most interested where he could join former Liverpool man Martin Skrtel. This is understandable though as Klavan seems to be, at best, the fifth-choice when all men are fit, and could have dropped to sixth-choice with Nathaniel Phillips' strong preseason campaign.
At this point though, even Klavan is not fit as he is suffering from a muscle injury. Joel Matip remains sidelined from his preseason knock and Dejan Lovren has a pelvic concern that could see him miss a few weeks. It is a spot of concern that the Reds have two healthy first-choice center-backs, and even Gomez was a half-question mark before this weekend's match. Regardless, Gomez had an impressive match and van Dijk was impressed too saying, "I have a very good relationship with him, a very good understanding outside of the pitch as well." The key point about Gomez is that the manager and his back-line partner both believe in him, and as an added bonus so too does the national team's manager. Joe Gomez is certainly one to watch for in the season to come for Liverpool as he will hope to make himself a better center-back and force his way into the conversation for a top-two man at the club.
The Question of Fabinho:
Liverpool's official released a piece about Fabinho that you can read here about how his game is undergoing changes here at Liverpool. Fabinho entered Liverpool with much fanfare and has performed admirably in the preseason, but some questions have been asked of him and how he will fit into the side. I think this is great acknowledgment of that and putting it into perspective. As Fabinho says in the article, "It’s a different playing style than at Monaco; there were two of us in midfield there and here at Liverpool there’s three."
As I have previously talked about in my Fabinho 'new signing' post, Monaco is indeed a much different system than that of Liverpool's. A staple in their formation is two CDMs in the line-up, first it was Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko, then Fabinho played with Joao Moutinho, and this season they will operate with Youri Tielemans and Jean Aholou. Bakayoko struggled in Chelsea's three central midfielder role and there may be fear that Fabinho will fall into the same trappings. I do not think there is reason to panic. For one, Fabinho, as I mentioned, has been solid in his role. His missteps have been that of someone learning a new system. He mentions there are three in the Liverpool midfield, but really he will be the most isolated of the three men as the holding mid.
Another reason to have faith in Fabinho is his natural abilities. This is a very good fit for him and if it were not for his knock and illness there is almost no question that he would have started this opening match. Look no further than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Andy Robertson as examples of players who grasped the system after some time. Robertson was stuck behind Alberto Moreno. Oxlade-Chamberlain's Liverpool debut was a shocker against Leicester in the Carabao Cup. It took a while, but eventually both men had a handle on how to play and contributed invaluably to the Champions League run. Who knows, maybe any fear of Fabinho not catching on will immediately be proven misguided. But the main point to saying this is give him time. Patience is key.
The Kids are Alright:
Last weekend was also the first of the youth sides' competitive matches. The U23s in the Premier League 2 and the U18s in the Premier League U18 were both in action. The U23 match at Brighton and Hove Albion was in doubt due to heavy rainfall and was even pushed back, but in the end it was played out to a 0-0 draw. Kamil Grabara was the star of the show with several good saves and helped give Liverpool a point to open the campaign. Some of the more notable players involved included Sheyi Ojo, Pedro Chirivella (who has stayed at Liverpool for the time being instead of going to Rosenborg of Norway), and Isaac Christie-Davies, a former Chelsea youth product making his Liverpool youth debut.
The U18s faired better than their older academy counterparts as they took apart Sunderland 6-1 away from home. Barry Lewtas, the ex-U16 coach, replaced Steven Gerrard as head man, but the Gerrard bloodline was still present as Gerrard's cousin, Bobby Duncan, had a penalty kick converted for the young Reds. The ex-Manchester City youth player is the newest U18 player and hopes to develop into a first-team player in the near future. Also on the score sheet was striker Paul Glatzel with a brace, along with versatile midfielder or defender Abdi Sharif (a local lad), center-back Rhys Williams, and another local lad in Jack Walls. Plenty of players in the U18 rank came from the U16s last season, including Sharif and Walls, which makes sense with Lewtas as the head man. There is plenty of hope that the lads of this side can grow and develop to their full potential as Liverpool lads.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
Midfield Matters:
Liverpool's midfield were the talk of the town following the exceptional displays from Naby Keita and James Milner, along with a solid performance from Gini Wijnaldum as well. Now though, the questions continue as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho return to likely full fitness for the next league clash. Who is the perfect middle three for this Liverpool team, and who will get left out in the cold?
Well, for one, it seems that Marko Grujic is seeing the writing on the wall and does not want to be the man on the outside looking in. Reports are circulating that despite his turning down of Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, he could indeed be pondering a loan move elsewhere and likely out of the country with CSKA Moscow the side with their name floated around most as of late. Grujic, just 22, would slot into a 3-1-4-2 that already has two young Russian midfielders up front with an older Kirill Nababkin playing the holding role. The aggressive midfielder would fit into a Russian league that plays into his strengths and would allow him the ability to grow technically. Still, this does remain just a rumor and the club will have two-and-a-half more weeks to decide whether or not a loan move is right for their Serbian midfielder.
Still though, the questions of who will start of the remaining players persists. Keita is seemingly the one man that is nailed into the line-up and his performance against West Ham only solidified that. James Milner was my personal man of the match and it seems that he too is going to remain in the starting eleven for Monday's match. And Gini Wijnaldum was outstanding in that holding midfield role which he has really made his own during his time under Jurgen Klopp. Regardless of that, however, if anyone is to lose their spot next week, I would have to say Wijnaldum is most likely. Jordan Henderson is the captain of Liverpool and was good in his cameo on the weekend, with a 21-for-21 passing performance and getting two interceptions while keeping play in motion. The depth in this area of the park is incredible and Klopp will find it tough to go wrong picking any combination of starting men.
Something else to watch for is Trent Alexander-Arnold's development this season and the possibility of seeing him in midfield. The English teenager spent all of last season and starts this season at right-back, but players like Fabinho and Steven Gerrard started their careers at right-back as well. That said, Alexander-Arnold at just 19 has been the starter for a side that made it to the Champions League final, was selected to the World Cup as a right-back, and put on some stellar performances. The fullbacks of modern day need to do more than even, and the young Scouser has the potential to become an elite fullback if he sticks with it. If Nathaniel Clyne returns to the form he once found as England's top right-back, then perhaps the conversation of moving Trent to the midfield is sparked up again. But for now, I don't see any reason to make the shift just yet with so much depth already there.
Center-Back Committee Conversation:
From a position overflowing with depth, to one facing a bit of concern with lack of it. Virgil van Dijk was his stellar self while Joe Gomez impressed many in the season opener, but outside of Fabinho, there was no one on the bench who could even play center-back. Making things more interesting with the lack of fit center-backs is the talk of Ragnar Klavan potentially leaving the club for some more regular play time, with Fenerbahce reportedly most interested where he could join former Liverpool man Martin Skrtel. This is understandable though as Klavan seems to be, at best, the fifth-choice when all men are fit, and could have dropped to sixth-choice with Nathaniel Phillips' strong preseason campaign.
At this point though, even Klavan is not fit as he is suffering from a muscle injury. Joel Matip remains sidelined from his preseason knock and Dejan Lovren has a pelvic concern that could see him miss a few weeks. It is a spot of concern that the Reds have two healthy first-choice center-backs, and even Gomez was a half-question mark before this weekend's match. Regardless, Gomez had an impressive match and van Dijk was impressed too saying, "I have a very good relationship with him, a very good understanding outside of the pitch as well." The key point about Gomez is that the manager and his back-line partner both believe in him, and as an added bonus so too does the national team's manager. Joe Gomez is certainly one to watch for in the season to come for Liverpool as he will hope to make himself a better center-back and force his way into the conversation for a top-two man at the club.
The Question of Fabinho:
Liverpool's official released a piece about Fabinho that you can read here about how his game is undergoing changes here at Liverpool. Fabinho entered Liverpool with much fanfare and has performed admirably in the preseason, but some questions have been asked of him and how he will fit into the side. I think this is great acknowledgment of that and putting it into perspective. As Fabinho says in the article, "It’s a different playing style than at Monaco; there were two of us in midfield there and here at Liverpool there’s three."
As I have previously talked about in my Fabinho 'new signing' post, Monaco is indeed a much different system than that of Liverpool's. A staple in their formation is two CDMs in the line-up, first it was Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko, then Fabinho played with Joao Moutinho, and this season they will operate with Youri Tielemans and Jean Aholou. Bakayoko struggled in Chelsea's three central midfielder role and there may be fear that Fabinho will fall into the same trappings. I do not think there is reason to panic. For one, Fabinho, as I mentioned, has been solid in his role. His missteps have been that of someone learning a new system. He mentions there are three in the Liverpool midfield, but really he will be the most isolated of the three men as the holding mid.
Another reason to have faith in Fabinho is his natural abilities. This is a very good fit for him and if it were not for his knock and illness there is almost no question that he would have started this opening match. Look no further than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Andy Robertson as examples of players who grasped the system after some time. Robertson was stuck behind Alberto Moreno. Oxlade-Chamberlain's Liverpool debut was a shocker against Leicester in the Carabao Cup. It took a while, but eventually both men had a handle on how to play and contributed invaluably to the Champions League run. Who knows, maybe any fear of Fabinho not catching on will immediately be proven misguided. But the main point to saying this is give him time. Patience is key.
The Kids are Alright:
Last weekend was also the first of the youth sides' competitive matches. The U23s in the Premier League 2 and the U18s in the Premier League U18 were both in action. The U23 match at Brighton and Hove Albion was in doubt due to heavy rainfall and was even pushed back, but in the end it was played out to a 0-0 draw. Kamil Grabara was the star of the show with several good saves and helped give Liverpool a point to open the campaign. Some of the more notable players involved included Sheyi Ojo, Pedro Chirivella (who has stayed at Liverpool for the time being instead of going to Rosenborg of Norway), and Isaac Christie-Davies, a former Chelsea youth product making his Liverpool youth debut.
The U18s faired better than their older academy counterparts as they took apart Sunderland 6-1 away from home. Barry Lewtas, the ex-U16 coach, replaced Steven Gerrard as head man, but the Gerrard bloodline was still present as Gerrard's cousin, Bobby Duncan, had a penalty kick converted for the young Reds. The ex-Manchester City youth player is the newest U18 player and hopes to develop into a first-team player in the near future. Also on the score sheet was striker Paul Glatzel with a brace, along with versatile midfielder or defender Abdi Sharif (a local lad), center-back Rhys Williams, and another local lad in Jack Walls. Plenty of players in the U18 rank came from the U16s last season, including Sharif and Walls, which makes sense with Lewtas as the head man. There is plenty of hope that the lads of this side can grow and develop to their full potential as Liverpool lads.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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