I constantly see people wondering what it is exactly that he offers to our team. In my opinion he's a vital part of our team and the way we play. As far as midfielders go, he is probably one of the first names on the teamsheet for Klopp. Since he has been here, he has rarely missed a game and he doesn't get rotated that much.
I rate him higher than all of our midfielders (not counting Coutinho) bar Lallana. He's far better on the ball than any of them, far more composed, cleaner in his passing, touches, ... And more importantly, he is probably, along with Lallana, one of our tactically most intelligent players. I think the main reason why people are wondering what his role is, is because his role has changed significantly compared to last season.
Last season he was always in and around the box, making runs etc. chipping in with goals and assists on a pretty regular basis ending the season just short of double figures in both categories.
This season however and certainly since the Spurs game, Klopp has tweaked his formation a bit and we regularly start in variations of 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, ... Formations with two midfielders rather than the three we were used to seeing last season. He is staying behind the ball a lot more often to give us that extra man when teams counter attack. It's no coincidence we've gone on a run where we conceded a lot less goals since he has been playing in that two man midfield.
The thing is that what he is doing right now isn't really quantifiable in terms of statistics. They don't keep track of how often a player succesfully presses an opposition player into making a bad pass, how often he succesfully cuts off passing lanes not allowing teams to play through us and to get back in shape, how often he provides extra cover for our young full backs (almost always when a ball is played into a corner, he's there offering support), ... People may think I'm clutching at straws here to prove that he's an important player for us, but I'm really not. They can't all be Coutinho, Salah, ... A team needs balance and that's what he offers. He (and Chamberlain when he plays) give our attacking players the platform to play their game.
I always think we look far worse in midfield whenever he doesn't start. These are the numbers of the games in the PL he hasn't started in:
Win: 2 (Substitute in both games 2-4 Palace, 2-1 West Brom)
Draw: 4
Loss: 2 (Hull 2-0, Spurs 4-1)
We've only won 2 games out of 8. Small sample, yes, you can make of it what you want.
It's also quite remarkable that the people on here who do rate him, are people who attend the games on a regular basis. People who see him in the flesh and see what he does on the pitch. They have a far better view compared to what people see on the tv.
« Last Edit: Dec 27, 2017 12:49:33 am by Danzel »
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