Match Thread: Newcastle v Liverpool

[jozza800]

True. They were similar.

The game seems to be going down the power route.

[RedMagic]

That's both Bournemouth and Newcastle that have both run their bollocks. Teams won't be doing that all season.

We're the team to beat. That combined with us currently being defensively frail means that teams are going to raise their game and get stuck in against us.

[Steveo]

Wirtz…..so far looks like Coutinho but minus the genius skill to weave past multiple players and the lethal strike…

I am at a loss. There must be more to come and it needs to come soon

[Steveo]

And the less said about Konate - the better

[jr81]

Wirtz…..so far looks like Coutinho but minus the genius skill to weave past multiple players and the lethal strike…

I am at a loss. There must be more to come and it needs to come soon

I hadn't watched much of him previously but friends of mine that watch a lot of football said he is the closest thing to a sure thing. Said he glides around and he always looks like he has so much time on the ball. They were adamant he would be class..

Its very early so I'm not panicking yet. But 3 games in and I haven't seen much to get excited by the player considering the fee we paid.

[Kev0909]

Don't really get the wirtz signing, seems a bit of a random buy and wasn't really needed

if we didn't just focus on isak and didn't get wirtz, that's a new CB,CDM,LW,ST

Surely that would've been better ? I thought the 3 in midfield worked well last season, just needed more depth for grav,and elliot decent enough backup for amc

once again i'm sure wirtz will come good, just not sure we really needed him ?

[jr81]

Don't really get the wirtz signing, seems a bit of a random buy and wasn't really needed

if we didn't just focus on isak and didn't get wirtz, that's a new CB,CDM,LW,ST

Surely that would've been better ? I thought the 3 in midfield worked well last season, just needed more depth for grav,and elliot decent enough backup for amc

once again i'm sure wirtz will come good, just not sure we really needed him ?

Agreed, I would have preferred to focus on the defence and dm. Same with the Isak money, do we need HIM. Ekitike is firing, we could do with another forward but could the money go towards a cb and forward rather than just Isak.

[Gurthers]

Don't really get the wirtz signing, seems a bit of a random buy and wasn't really needed

if we didn't just focus on isak and didn't get wirtz, that's a new CB,CDM,LW,ST

Surely that would've been better ? I thought the 3 in midfield worked well last season, just needed more depth for grav,and elliot decent enough backup for amc

once again i'm sure wirtz will come good, just not sure we really needed him ?

I hope you're right. He's not a player I watched much of other than for us. Comes with a bit reputation. Could be a test of Slot's tactical capability to get something out of him.

[Gurthers]

And the less said about Konate - the better

In his mind he may already be half way to Madrid.

Need someone new really.

[Steveo]

I hadn't watched much of him previously but friends of mine that watch a lot of football said he is the closest thing to a sure thing. Said he glides around and he always looks like he has so much time on the ball. They were adamant he would be class..

It’s very early so I'm not panicking yet. But 3 games in and I haven't seen much to get excited by the player considering the fee we paid.

How many said similar about Keita?

[Jenson78]

Wirtz…..so far looks like Coutinho but minus the genius skill to weave past multiple players and the lethal strike…

I am at a loss. There must be more to come and it needs to come soon

Witz seems light weight, doesn’t look comfortable being under pressure, playing like a rabbit in headlights. Also Kerkez is a big worry, i never noticed him being flappy and so poor defensively playing for Bournemouth. Konate is just SHOCKING

[Steveo]

In his mind he may already be half way to Madrid.

Need someone new really.

We have conceded 11 goals in our last 6 competitive games with Konate. For France in the 4 UEFA League Finals games - Konate only played 1.5 games - they conceded 7 goals with him on the pitch and 0 goals with him on the bench. I don’t know how else to interpret the data but to confirm what Insee with my eyes. At least of late.

That’s 7.5 competitive games Konate has played in since May - and he has seen 18 goals. This is playing alongside Virgil and the seemingly miserly French defence (when he isn’t there)… These are horrific numbers

[Insidious]

Absolute horror show.

What can Slot do woth Wirtz? We need more players in, but what do we do with him?

Ensure that he gets in the left half-space where he has historically had a lot of joy. We can do that by playing him as the left-sided of the two 8/10 players in a 4-3-3 or we can bias our play to the left a bit if we 4-2-3-1 it with Salah narrowing and Frimpong keeping on the right side, with our line pushed up to close the space that historically got attacked behind Trent.

Wirtz won't be a "problem" so-to-speak - Slot just needs to work out how to best utilise him and that will involve a degree of rotation.

In the 4-3-3 any of -

.................Gravenberch

Szoboszlai.............Wirtz

or

..................Mac Allister

Szoboszlai............Wirtz

or

...............Gravenberch

Mac Allister...........Wirtz

- could be worked with, though I wouldn't want Mac Allister left as a lone six if he is furthest back.....you'd want Szoboszlai tucking in.

We have a really talented lad who can play has played as bogh a left-sided number 10 in a 3-4-2-1 and as the sole "10" in 3-4-1-2 before coming here, with excellent line-breaking passes in his locker and the intelligence to drift/float into gaps between the opposition lines.

Also capable of playing as a left inside-forward, so could do a Mo-esque job here and there, but on the other side of the pitch. Cut inside onto his right from the left, versus Mo cutting inside onto his left from the right.

Undeniably his "floor" can be quite low - he can fit from a 4/10 performance to a 10/10 performance rather than being a "steady Eddie" but Slot will find a way to incorporate him in time.

The left half-space is his playground. If he is found quickly there he'll be able to lay it off quickly and get it forward.

It does look like he has been a bit shell-shocked by the pace of the League so far, but he'll adjust. We'll also be glad of him when opposition sides sit in as he isn't shy about squaring a player up for a 1-v-1 rather than always going for the "algorithmic" footie of a Pep side. Wirtz largely positions himself in the left half-space.

He'll be as pained by his underwhelming start as anyone I'm sure, but it'll come for him. Hopefully we can a consistent first-choice selection of miss and full-backs to try and further the chemistry aspect of things and I think he'll have a field day (in time) finding Ekitike with through-balls.

I'd rather he have a slow start and grow for us than be one of those lads who has a Worldie debut and then drops off massively, so hopefully a big goal for him is around the corner to get him settled in.

[fiordearg]

Wirtz and Kerkez look too light. They need a year of strength and conditioning

[Steveo]

It is far too early to be writing anyone off who is new to the team. These are just early observations. Bobby was a worry under Brendan, Klopp made him a master. We have plenty of new players too which makes things more complex.

Time will tell - but we definitely look weaker - on paper at least - right now than we did this time last season.

We have to sign that CB and land Isak.. We lose Ekitike and we are in hot water.