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Thread: Your current best 11

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Your current best 11

    What's you current best 11? Personally I think bar RCM the team picks itself, RCM for me is Keita or Oxlade, but all players fit and firing, I think it's the only debatable spot that's up for grabs

    Allison

    Trent Matip Van Dijk Robertson

    Oxlade/Keita Henderson Wijnaldum

    Salah Firmino Mane

    For me that's the team that facilitates this group of players playing at their very highest and most consistent levels

    The press in this line up is the best it has ever been

    We have better distribution particularly in releasing our full backs in time and space and finding our forwards in isolation against opposition defenders or creating opportunities with balls just over the opposition backline, that put one of our forwards in if they get through or create a situation in which we are able to win the second ball and create from there if they manage to half clear at a stretch because of the quality of the ball.

    I remain hopeful Jurgen pursues his alleged interest in Alcantara, he has great vision and passing and crucially has the centre to left or right, right to left and left to right switch balls that are so incredibly important to the team functioning at its very highest levels. As we saw yesterday, no Henderson, no Liverpool, as at present he's our sole midfielder who can play those balls to the necessary level of quality, we need at least one more player who can, without our switches and the balls dropping just over defenders, even when they're on the edge of their own 18 yard box, we're a very pale imitation of the side who romped home to last season's Premier League title without a player in our 11 who can play those balls and it hugely limits our opportunities to stretch opposition teams and create
    "If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”

  2. #2
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    26,730
    ...............Alisson
    TAA Gomez/Matip VVD Robbo
    Hendo Fabinho Keita/Gini
    Salah Firmino Mane

    Id not have any real issue with which pair people select in my best 11, id go for Gomez and Keita myself.

    Still think we should be playing 4231 regularly for vaiation and to break down deep defenses.
    It also would allow us to get better use out of the squad imo.
    Yesterday the personnel changes played a part but so did the formation change to 4231.

    Our problems from our blessings:
    4 of our back 5 are world class, hard to do without any of them. In future games i suspect fabinho could be playing rb for trent and rcb if both cbs are out.
    Midfield, Hendos in great form, without him finding the balance is a bit tricky. Yesterday i was surprised to see milner left and not on the right side.
    Up top 3 world class forwards, our back up 2 strikers with seemingly decent goals per minute and a host of other options that dont scream front3 quality.

    4231
    Alisson
    Trent Gomez VVD Robbo
    Henderson Fabinho/Gini
    Salah Firmino Mane
    Mbappe

    When weve played 4231 weve done well, suits fabinho better, suits deploying our other attackers better too.
    Without mbappe id put salah up top as hes the weakest in tracking back of our 3. With ox out id be tempted to play keita rwf.

    Alisson
    Trent Gomez VVD Robbo
    Hendo Fabinbo
    Keita Firmino Mane
    Salah

  3. #3
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    Apr 2009
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    Allison

    Trent Fabinho Van Dijk Robertson

    Keita Henderson Thiago

    Messi Werner Mane

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev0909 View Post
    Allison

    Trent Fabinho Van Dijk Robertson

    Keita Henderson Thiago

    Messi Werner Mane
    Going forward would be great but why the fuck is big Ali standing at the corner flag ?
    The bloody goal in in the middle, they'll be shooting from everywhere !!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nineteenx View Post
    What's you current best 11? Personally I think bar RCM the team picks itself, RCM for me is Keita or Oxlade, but all players fit and firing, I think it's the only debatable spot that's up for grabs

    Allison

    Trent Matip Van Dijk Robertson

    Oxlade/Keita Henderson Wijnaldum

    Salah Firmino Mane

    For me that's the team that facilitates this group of players playing at their very highest and most consistent levels

    The press in this line up is the best it has ever been

    We have better distribution particularly in releasing our full backs in time and space and finding our forwards in isolation against opposition defenders or creating opportunities with balls just over the opposition backline, that put one of our forwards in if they get through or create a situation in which we are able to win the second ball and create from there if they manage to half clear at a stretch because of the quality of the ball.

    I remain hopeful Jurgen pursues his alleged interest in Alcantara, he has great vision and passing and crucially has the centre to left or right, right to left and left to right switch balls that are so incredibly important to the team functioning at its very highest levels. As we saw yesterday, no Henderson, no Liverpool, as at present he's our sole midfielder who can play those balls to the necessary level of quality, we need at least one more player who can, without our switches and the balls dropping just over defenders, even when they're on the edge of their own 18 yard box, we're a very pale imitation of the side who romped home to last season's Premier League title without a player in our 11 who can play those balls and it hugely limits our opportunities to stretch opposition teams and create
    Agree with your 11 especially in games where we need to break teams down that are fefendinh resolutely. Fabinho has a bit of improving to fo yet imo. Will be class though.

  6. #6
    This team are in transition and needs fresh leagues and hunger.

    They've won the lot the next step is to do it all again.

    The team is at the Twilight of the 4 to 5 year cycle.

    Covid and the cancellation of the afcon have slightly adjusted the plans of the club. Sell first before buying seems the right thing to do.

    For a year without gate revenue; €90m (£77m) is a big loss when your fixed charges stay the same.

    Plus the wages of the loanees falling back on the club too.

    It is a waiting game to see who comes out first with the cash.

    It won't effect PSG, Man City or Chelsea (flush with 2 seasons of money held plus the current season meaning they probably have £200 to £300m spare as well as the sales of Morata and Hazard)

    1st si

    Alisson

    TAA Matip VVD ROBERTSON

    Minamino Fabinho /Hendo Keita

    Salah Firmino Mane


    The fresher younger legs in midfield
    The front 3 need to have a new younger player challenging

    At the end of this season we probably should see a new player.

    Age is catching up with a lot of the players.
    Don't write them off they still are young enough and talented to be at the top challenging.

    Matip VVD Hendo Salah Bobby Mane Gini all around 29 / 30 ; 7 of your first team.

    But remember Zidane was sold at 29yo for a world record and gave 5 more years at the top.

    Ronaldo 35 Messi 33 still producing exceptional performances.

    We shouldn't write off any of the 'oldies' like we shouldn't Brewster at 20yo.

    There just seems to be a gap of quality hub of players aged 23 to 26.

  7. #7
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    Nov 2009
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    24,832
    ......................Alisson

    Trent.....Gomez...Van Dijk...Robertson

    .......................Fabinho

    ............Henderson........Keita

    ....Salah.........Minamino........Mane

    Probably something like that, but I like what Wijnaldum brings to the side (and have excluded him) and am also very comfortable with Henderson in a deeper role - Fabinho also seems to be a bit slow to get into form when out of it (same can be said of Firmino) but once there is brilliant.

    Another thing to add is that we are going through a little bit of evolution still - more focus on possession than the verticality of the counter-attacks and we cross the ball from wide a lot, so it does make sense that we are linked with a central creator like Alcantara.

    That said, any time we draw or lose, folks often cite the "lack of creativity in midfield" and "three work-horses isn't the best way" - I've probably said words to that effect myself more than once as well, yet we rarely see the coin flipped and praise given when the wins happen - 196 points in two seasons yet we fell we don't create enough, it's an odd one!

    The tweaks in the Community Shield match were intriguing - for much of the match it felt like Van Dijk was attempting the long diagonal a lot and we were seeing a lot of crosses, particularly from the left. It was crying out for a bit of variety in the channels / "Zone 14" via some quick passing exchanges and sure enough when Minamino and Keita were introduced we saw some attempts at little give-and-goes which looked promising and is generally good Footie to watch when it comes off.

    Breaking down sides that sit deep is a difficulty for all football teams but if we become better at this lock-picking side of things it's going to be great as our increased possession, Van Dijk, recovery pace in Gomez and Robertson, pressing quality when needed and a top keeper in Alisson means we SHOULD continue the trend of not conceding too much and should win more games than not

  8. #8
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    .....................Alisson ...............
    Trent........ Matip ......VVD.......Robbo
    .........Hendo.......Fab......Keita....
    ......Salah .........Bobby.....Mané....

    VVD our best defender, Hendo our best midfielder, Mané our best player.

  9. #9
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    He certainly is the Mane they all turn to when we're not on song. Tremendous player.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by miller0863 View Post
    .....................Alisson ...............
    Trent........ Matip ......VVD.......Robbo
    .........Hendo.......Fab......Keita....
    ......Salah .........Bobby.....Mané....

    VVD our best defender, Hendo our best midfielder, Mané our best player.
    Hendo has been epic - BUT if he is our best midfielder and he has been key for much of the last season and a half - then we have a glaring deficiency.

    The work they get through is unbelievable but seriously how long do people think it can last before the body packs up? Hendo probably is our best midfielder and that should be an alarm call to go out and buy some genuine quality. We need it - we can’t go another season pulling rabbits out of the hat week in week out.

    If any of you were to sit and watch all the games we won last season - I promise you - you would find it utterly exhausting. We laboured way too much against bog ordinary sides.

    @Sid - many cite a lack of creativity because we do suffer from this. We do have chances BUT most are the result of FB’s bombing forward OR the half chances that occur via intense closing down - hunting and forcing errors - that isn’t creativity AND it comes with a cost. Fatigue. We don’t create nearly as many good chances as we did just a few years back IMO.

    We bagged the points in relentless fashion and we are champions of England - It’s fantastic but it will have taken a toll..


    I would be amazed if at least 2 quality first team propositions didn’t arrive. So the best 11 may very well change in short order.
    Last edited by Steveo; 1st September 2020 at 08:58 PM.

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