Liverpool v West Ham United (Match Thread)

[Steveo]

Yes we will agree to disagree, again, it isn't because it's Hendo and where he was, I have my issues with Fab in the system we've played for almost all of the last 3 seasons, not the 'players all over the place' formations of the last 3 games, but if he'd have been in that position for that goal and our own defender had passed it straight to their player to score, then unsighted the keeper by allowing himself to be megged, I'd be saying exactly the same thing

If you must know I watched it again a couple of times because I was ready to say Hendo had allowed a man to run off him for an opposition transition if that had happened in the build up, then discovered the horror show created by moving players positions and our press to stop teams playing out easy for transitions, our first line of defence for 3 seasons, being entirely absent from where it should have been

It was a horror show of a goal to concede on many levels - 100% - but the system you want us to keep playing has had to change....our first line of defence are clocking up too many miles.

That’s how I see it anyway. We have to change - evolve and have more than one way to play - otherwise we are totally reliant on players all remaining fit - never ageing - and on nobody ever finding a way to counter our approach.

[Nineteenx]

It was a horror show of a goal to concede on many levels - 100% - but the system you want us to keep playing has had to change....our first line of defence are clocking up too many miles.

That’s how I see it anyway. We have to change - evolve and have more than one way to play - otherwise we are totally reliant on players all remaining fit - never ageing - and on nobody ever finding a way to counter our approach.

The obvious evolution was bringing in Thiago so the forwards and full backs could be found more regularly and easily and both could evolve by adding different runs from the same starting positions to their repetoirs that Thiago could connect and prompt and having 2 players in our midfield who can play the switches and balls over the top

Teams barely got successful transitions against us all last season, so it's not as if teams had somehow worked us out, with the press and counter press teams know what they want to do, but barely ever get to do it. The switches are incredibly important, because while defending teams are always working on trying to create a transition, getting set to try and create a transition, if you have 2 players playing the switches and different types of top quality balls we'd expect from Thiago, you are constantly moving the opposition, making them change position and readjust their position, this in itself is a great form of defence, because you are stopping them from ever getting set into the position they have planned to be to work a successful transition

[Nineteenx]

Do people think our forwards do more running pressing and counter pressing in a relatively small area of the pitch, or do they think they actually do more running through our press and counter press not being as good and them having to make lung busting runs from one end of the pitch to the other more frequently?

The only players, incredibly important players at that who appear to be doing fewer yards as a result of the changes so far are Robbo and Trent, Mane, Mo and our midfielders appear to me to be having to cover a lot more ground