Liverpool FC Forum

The same journos would be saying we ruined ourselves if we hadn't of given them a new deal. Players deteriorate when entering their 30's and most have their boots hung up at 33 so the drop off in form is expected. What shouldn't be happening is us over relying on them. 

The biggest issue here isnt Van Dijk or Salah but Slot. He hasnt a clue what his best 11 is and starts the same underperforming side every week before he starts throwing everything at it. The balance is all over the place and we get easily picked off. He has taken all the intensity out of our play and is accommodating players out of loyalty ahead of what they will bring to the game. Salah is a 1 or 2 in 10 finisher and Gakpo no better. Both have been awful this season and we are carrying them. He has also given Grav a free role which is pointless considering we neglect to protect the back 4. His only answer is to throw everything at it like you would in an under 15 Sunday league game!! That actually leaves us more open and vulnerable to everything as we end up with 7 or 8 attackers on the pitch. He needs to snap out of it because its not working and he can have no excuses with the players we brought in. We are easy to play against as long as the opposition is disciplined enough to get stuck in and have a go. Thats on Slot imo. Since the league was won he dumped any mentality left in them from Klopp for his own methods which lead to this point. Results have been so bad since then.

I'm pretty relaxed about this situation in the sense that unlike Everton who blew a fortune on bang average footballer's the lads we've brought in are undoubtably quality players, it's just a question of figuring out how to get the best out of them. We will emerge from this crisis/mini-crisis whatever you want to call it with a boss team though, i'm absolutely certain of that, we've just got too many good players for that not to happen.   
As for the issue at hand as RTID says the balance of the team is all wrong, personally speaking i don't think 433 suits us anymore, 433 leaves teams light in midfield but that's supposed to be off-set by the extra man in attack, the idea being the beefed-up attack puts serious pressure on the opposition back line causing their MF to drop which in turn takes the heat off your midfield. 433 worked a charm when we had Sadio, Bobby and a twenty-something instead of a thirty-something Mo up top but this front 3 Arne is persisting with is not putting defenses under nowhere near enough pressure.
Personally i'd put the extra man back into midfield and go with a two man attack, imo a front 2 of Ekitike and Isak would be just as effective if not more effective than the current 3 of Mo, Cody and Isak anyway. A simple formation change like that would make us a more efficient as a team, we'd be doing more with less

Yup definitely need tweak, our lads uptop don't press, Gakpo, Isak, Salah. Like you said mate before we had a pressing machine in younger salah, Sadio, Bobby. In middle we were a tight unit with Fab, Wijnaldum, Hendo/Milner.lads worked their socks off.

The personnel we got now don't suit that system so we definitely need tweak things.

He also needs to jot Grav back into his last season role, he seems to have given him a free role which opens gaps in the middle.

I'd like to see something like this

      Grav

   Mac...Sboz

      Wirtz

  Isak.   Ekitike


Grav supporting the defense. Mac and Sboz tightening the middle.

Wirtz ahead and intertwining with Ekitike and Isak.

Only issue you need Frimpong and Kerkez on Robbo/Trent level, sadly they ain't even close.