The rebuild hits another gear

An article by Matty

I’m mainly writing this because I’m bored out of my fucking mind and there’s still TWO HOURS left before my shift at work is done. So as much as I’ve tried to not give a fuck about tactics and stuff like that, my mind is simply too numb at the moment to continue being a lazy arse. As I recently stated, I do think our midfield rebuild is done for now. There’s a reason I say “for now” because we might look to add to it again next summer. As for the defense, I expect an addition to be made at CB. The rumors we’ve been seeing have us connected to multiple players that fit a certain archetype: left foot dominant, expansive passing range, decent height, comfortable in a back three or a back four. I’m thinking I might just do a quick rundown here of each part of the team: the defense, the midfield and the attack. Talk about the current plans and what the future may hold. There’s far worse ways to kill time I guess.

Let’s start with the defense. I still cannot believe Kelleher hasn’t raised a fuss about wanting to move elsewhere and be the number one he deserves to be. If he stays, what a team player. He also gives us a very very good backup to the world class Alisson, who had to be at his best many times last season. The defense was very shaky last season, and I tend to think it gets a revamp next summer, much like the midfield got this
summer. By then, Matip will be gone, Virgil and Robbo will have a year left on their deals (as will Kostas), and there should be more clarity on whether we continue to use a back four or shift more to the pseudo-back-three we used at the end of last season.

I tend to think, based on the profile of CB we seem to be interested in, that we will continue to shift towards the look we had at the end of the season. The lack of interest in a RB to challenge Trent just further proves this to me. This CB would also be somewhat hard to get. They must be good enough to start in a back three but also accept that they won’t play every week, as Virgil typically takes up the spot of the left footed CB in a back four and they’ll have Robbo to compete with in a back three. Levi Colwill seems like the favorite at the moment, considering he’s a Liverpool fan, wants assurances about playing time at Chelsea seeing as he’s blocked there by 21-year-old Benoit Badiashile, and has the physical profile necessary for the job. I’m hopeful we buy a CB because, regardless of what formation we use, we need the depth. All four CBs had injury problems last season, we cannot afford that again.

The midfield revamp is likely done for now but that doesn’t mean we haven’t fixed it. Szoboszlai and Mac Allister are the perfect fits for what we need from our two number 8s. Szoboszlai is a creative genius while Mac Allister has both the technical ability and the work rate to fit seamlessly on the left side and control possession. Trent worked magic as a deep lying playmaker late last season and I can’t help but think he’ll reach new heights if he continues in the role. I almost can’t fathom Trent going back to RB and continuing to struggle for form in a position that no longer seems to suit him. While a holding midfielder would’ve been nice, I think Fabinho’s run of form to end the season was enough to have him keep his spot in the starting lineup for now. If he falters again this season, I imagine either Bajcetic will flourish or we’ll be forced to buy a holding midfielder next summer. Either way, not the worst thing that could happen.

Another reason I think the revamp is done for now is because of the form of Bajcetic, Jones and Elliott. All three had very good runs of form at different times last season, and I don’t think Klopp wants to hinder their opportunities. All three will be the top backups in their respective positions, alongside Hendo and Thiago. Brief note that I think we’d have signed another midfielder if Thiago was sold, but since he seems content to run out his contract, we keep him and our midfield is full for now. I’m hopeful Klopp rotates the team a fair bit more now that we are in a position where we have two high quality players in just about every position. It also doesn’t hurt that the Europa League would allow us to rest most of our starters and still go far in the tournament.

The attack is by far the highlight of this team right now, simply because we haven’t seen the new-look midfield yet and the defense hasn’t seen enough turnover for me to feel confident it won’t be a problem again next season. Mo Salah is who he is, the all time leading goal scorer for the club in the Premier League. Cody Gakpo thrived as a false nine last season, Luis Diaz has taken the 7 shirt and looks set for a monster season after a pesky knee injury marred much of his previous campaign. Diogo Jota looks set to provide strong backup to all three while looking to recapture his form from 2021 and early 2022. The big question here is the record signing Darwin Nunez, who had an inconsistent first season. There were times where he was sublime, there were times where he was awful. He doesn’t have a clear pathway to the starting eleven with Gakpo doing so well in the Firmino role. However, I still have faith in Darwin. I believe that once the team becomes much more settled, he will be more settled as well and will start scoring in bunches. There will be a transition period with the new signings and the relatively new formation, but once we work out the kinks, hopefully we get back to our winning ways and challenge on all fronts once more.

Well now I’m an hour closer to the end of the shift. Thank you for reading.