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Agree on all of that.Originally Posted by Insidious
Indeed.
We have made some decisions that prove to be wise, on paper at least. Jota’s arrival gave us the chance to reduce Firmino's minutes and he'll take up his space in the squad when Bobby moves on - even if the roles are different. Konate's arrival allows us to rotate Matip and Ibou should eventually take Joel's spot. Tsimikas gives us the option of easing the burden on Robertson.
Where it has gone wrong is the succession planning in midfield - and those decisions have been ongoing. Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn't proved the best use of our money. Many of us championed his contract extension, seeing it as "doing right" by a player who suffered a terrible injury. Our loyalty in this regard is commendable, but I am sure there is some (private) regret in that regard. Keeping on that subject of loyalty to a fault, I think many will feel that with the gift of hindsight it would have been wiser to let Milner leave, with his head held high after we genuinely competed for an unprecedented Quad. Henderson received a generous contract extension - will the passage of time suggest it was too generous? We don't yet know.
We have older midfielders (inevitable deterioration comes over time) and younger mids who aren't yet ready to have the side built around them. Where we have come undone is that the lads who should have acted as the "bridge" (Ox and Keita) haven't worked out as we had hoped.
People can (and will) lay blame at FSG's door for certain things - and it is certainly clear that we need some investment in the coming windows, but there are definitely some issues I don't attribute (directly) to them. Some aspects of our recruitment and succession-planning haven't worked out and it's at its worst in the centre of the park.
Last season's Herculean effort has taken a toll. There is a lot of football in the legs of some of these players and the mental toll of having to be close-to-perfect to compete with Cheats must be overwhelming. Our lads outperformed themselves.
I do however still have some hope - not of a title challenge this season certainly, but I do think we can avoid the season capitulating utterly. If we believe that form is temporary and class is permanent, then it's likely fair to suggest that while the lads exceeded their level last season, they are below par this season. We should find our "level" sooner or later, which will be somewhere between last season's heroics and this season's seemingly extended hangover.
I also can't help but believe that a few lads (in key areas of the pitch might I add....) aren't performing to their absolute peak in terms of sprints/tackles etc ahead of this poorly-timed World Cup, for fear of injury and thus missing the Tournament. Nobody is going to have me believe that what we have seen of Van Dijk of late for example is a reflection of his true level. I do expect some lads to perform better for us in the January-May spell than what we have seen this far.
Anyway - the midfield needs sorting. If there is a positive to be found, then it should be noted that it cannot be THAT hard to find players that are better than a "Winter" Milner, an unavailable Ox or an in-and-out Keita. Pep Lijnders has spoken of only going for lads that genuinely improve the starting XI but I think that's a little inflexible. Even if we went for one "top talent" and supplemented that signing by getting a youngish lad on the cusp of good things (age 22 say) before his value explodes and a Bosmer, we would massively improve the situation in the centre of the pitch and should still (hopefully) have funds to pay for the Anfield Road End without having to take out any questionable loans.
Your last point about Linders and midfielders improving the 11 is definitely worth thought. It's admirable to be that way but it's obviously been detrimental upto now this season.
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