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urban.spaceman

Summer Targets

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2 minutes ago, jeffschlupp said:

Okay, but if Perez is the winger, we need a striker, no? We've already lost Okazaki and I'm assuming Ghezzal will go too - we've only replaced one so far, it leaves us a body short across the front 3.

 

I must be watching a different Albrighton. Slow, can't beat a man, constantly crossing to no one. 6 assists a season is nowhere near good enough for a team looking to score 60-70 goals to get into Europe.

Iheanacho can play up top and so can Perez. We only play with one striker so we don't need to overload. I'd have preferred another as Iheanacho hasn't cut the mustard, but Rodgers seems keen to give him a chance. 

 

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/goal_assist 17/18 Albrighton was in the top 15 players for assists. 16/17 he was in the top 21 players for assists. 15/16 he was in the top 20 players for assists. That's all players, not just wingers, with not many outside the big clubs beating him. 

 

So long as the numbers are shared across the other players as well, which they will be with Maddison, Perez, Vardy and Tielemans. If he can add a couple more goals then we're laughing. 

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5 minutes ago, jeffschlupp said:

Okay, but if Perez is the winger, we need a striker, no? We've already lost Okazaki and I'm assuming Ghezzal will go too - we've only replaced one so far, it leaves us a body short across the front 3.

 

I must be watching a different Albrighton. Slow, can't beat a man, constantly crossing to no one. 6 assists a season is nowhere near good enough for a team looking to score 60-70 goals to get into Europe.

Think you are watching a different Albrighton. He may not fit your personal mould of what a winger should be but I don't recall for example Robertson or Guppy ever being famed for their abilities to beat their man, but they were successful in other areas. Sometimes it isn't always possible either to pinpoint a pass into the box but the ball is sent into an area where it is hoped a good striker will have gambled ie like the penalty spot and often last season, our strikers, particularly Nacho didn't do that. 

 

Neither would you be aware last season of what orders he was given by managers when he crossed the white line. If you use a wing back like Ricardo in a particular way then you need a midfielder/winger that is prepared to work hard and cover for him, could you see Ricardo and Marhez being ideal? Possibly why we played Simpson. 

 

I see Rodgers using Albrighton in particular games just as Kopp has used Milner who has made an invaluable contribution to how Liverpool have prospered. Albrighton with instruction may reinvent himself again, remember,  he was a traditional right winger when he came and adapted to the needed cause of playing on the left. I think Albrighton is an incredible professional with plenty still to give, in certain games a mere tricky pacey winger isn't always the answer,  for all the brilliance of Marhez, how many games did he have when he might as well not have been on the pitch? It's about having different options and Albrighton is an excellent one in a variety of circumstances. We're still lucky to have him imo. 

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11 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

Think you are watching a different Albrighton. He may not fit your personal mould of what a winger should be but I don't recall for example Robertson or Guppy ever being famed for their abilities to beat their man, but they were successful in other areas. Sometimes it isn't always possible either to pinpoint a pass into the box but the ball is sent into an area where it is hoped a good striker will have gambled ie like the penalty spot and often last season, our strikers, particularly Nacho didn't do that. 

 

Neither would you be aware last season of what orders he was given by managers when he crossed the white line. If you use a wing back like Ricardo in a particular way then you need a midfielder/winger that is prepared to work hard and cover for him, could you see Ricardo and Marhez being ideal? Possibly why we played Simpson. 

 

I see Rodgers using Albrighton in particular games just as Kopp has used Milner who has made an invaluable contribution to how Liverpool have prospered. Albrighton with instruction may reinvent himself again, remember,  he was a traditional right winger when he came and adapted to the needed cause of playing on the left. I think Albrighton is an incredible professional with plenty still to give, in certain games a mere tricky pacey winger isn't always the answer,  for all the brilliance of Marhez, how many games did he have when he might as well not have been on the pitch? It's about having different options and Albrighton is an excellent one in a variety of circumstances. We're still lucky to have him imo. 

I understand what he does do well, and he is useful to have in the squad. But Marc Albrighton has proven himself completely ineffective time and again in those games against defensive bottom 6 sides. As has Gray. Time will tell with Barnes.

 

Yes he went missing sometimes, but Mahrez always was the 'moment of magic' player in those games, whether it be the late equalising free kick at home to Bournemouth or any other time he used to turn on the style. We haven't got that player. Can Maddison or Tielemans become it? Possible, but it's always difficult to influence the game from the centre when you're up against two banks of four.

 

I like to look back at the team we had in 16-17 and 17-18, and I'd say in every single area this squad is significantly better, apart from in wide areas. We covered the loss of Kante with Ndidi. We have better midfielders now than Drinkwater. Evans has proved just as quality as Huth. And yet we are still relying on Gray and Albrighton.

 

If you're a club with ambitions to rival Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, you shouldn't be making do with those wide players. It would be a massive shame if we went another 12 months without replacing Mahrez.

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2 hours ago, jeffschlupp said:

I understand what he does do well, and he is useful to have in the squad. But Marc Albrighton has proven himself completely ineffective time and again in those games against defensive bottom 6 sides. As has Gray. Time will tell with Barnes.

 

Yes he went missing sometimes, but Mahrez always was the 'moment of magic' player in those games, whether it be the late equalising free kick at home to Bournemouth or any other time he used to turn on the style. We haven't got that player. Can Maddison or Tielemans become it? Possible, but it's always difficult to influence the game from the centre when you're up against two banks of four.

 

I like to look back at the team we had in 16-17 and 17-18, and I'd say in every single area this squad is significantly better, apart from in wide areas. We covered the loss of Kante with Ndidi. We have better midfielders now than Drinkwater. Evans has proved just as quality as Huth. And yet we are still relying on Gray and Albrighton.

 

If you're a club with ambitions to rival Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, you shouldn't be making do with those wide players. It would be a massive shame if we went another 12 months without replacing Mahrez.

Firstly you're presupposing that Rodgers will want to play with out and out wingers. I think Maddison and Tielemans will contribute with a few goals next year as you suggest, after all, they only had a few games together really and Maddison was making a big step up and finding his feet, Barnes even more so and also arguably not in his best position.

 

You are of course right re Marhez, he could have exceptional moments of brilliance but equally there were times he should have been dropped when he was bone idol. There were games where we waited and waited but nothing happened, sometimes people only remember the goals. The jury is very much still out in Manchester. 

 

Gray admittedly there are conerns about him. Albrighton, and Chilwell for that matter, on many occasions last year were in a position to cross the ball but our strikers were either out of position or poor and they had to cut back in and wait for them. Vardy would find himself out of position  (not his fault, trying to do something) with no one else busting a gut to get into the box. Nachos movement was by far the worst when he played as he'd be jogging whilst his own midfielders dashed past him.

 

There were a lot of poor performances earlier last season and I believe that Rodgers will have them well drilled with coherent plans come this season. I don't disagree with you or anyone wanting another winger but what we don't want is another squad player and the few pukka top ones may not be for sale or may not want to come here. I think Albrighton will be used for certain games and will adapt. I think Rodgers tactics will be a bit more advanced than having just one Marhezesque player on the wing, in fact there's an argument to suggest that Marhez wouldn't fit into some of Rodgers preferred ways of playing because is at times prone to slowing things down too much. 

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8 hours ago, Babylon said:

Good job Perez outscored the lot of them then, barring Richarlison. 

 

Other than last season Albrighton has been one of the best wingers in the league, returning some of the best assist numbers for a wide man.

 

A return to form for him and a few more goals, he’s just as capable of returning the same numbers of some of the others.

 

Glad he pointed out Perez was the winger, seemed pretty obvious.

... he didn't look too clever pushed out wide and appeared to be going through the motion. At the time it seemed I was watching Ghezzal mk 2, unable to beat a man and lacked the speed required to outstrip their defence. 

  The move to push him closer to Vardy with the natural width coming from Ricardo brought him to life with movement, awareness and touch. It is quite clear where his best position will be and if Rodgers is adamant he is the option out wide, I think he has misjudged this acquisition. 

 From the pre-seasons it appears we are more potent as a tight front three and I would not consider pushing either Barnes or Perez out wide as that would unbalance the team. 

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22 hours ago, jeffschlupp said:

Brendan was asked specifically about getting a winger in post-match, and he was pretty clear Ayoze is the player he was after that can cut inside.

 

He mentioned bringing in 'one more player or so'. I really get the feeling a midfielder (Praet, McGregor, Amiri type) is the last piece of business they want to do, unless Maguire goes, in which case they will splash on both a CB and a winger.

 

It worries me we're going into another season with Gray, Barnes, Albrighton and a winger of sorts in Perez, while Everton are looking at Zaha and have Richarlison; West Ham have got Anderson and Yarmolenko, Watford are bringing in Sarr, Newcastle possibly Saint-Maximin etc.

 

If it was a choice between our current wide options and Maguire, or Dunk and a top winger, I'd choose the second option every time.

If we're going to be playing 4-3-3 or diamond, we don't need wingers.  I think our width will come from the two of the best fullbacks in the league.

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1 hour ago, jeffschlupp said:

What are the two either side of Vardy in a 4-3-3 then? Centre backs?

They're not out and out wingers, that would leave far too much space.  They're tucked inside to support Vardy.  We;ve seen Maddison on the left, but he's not playing as a winger.

 

You're welcome.

 

 

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7 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

... he didn't look too clever pushed out wide and appeared to be going through the motion. At the time it seemed I was watching Ghezzal mk 2, unable to beat a man and lacked the speed required to outstrip their defence. 

  The move to push him closer to Vardy with the natural width coming from Ricardo brought him to life with movement, awareness and touch. It is quite clear where his best position will be and if Rodgers is adamant he is the option out wide, I think he has misjudged this acquisition. 

 From the pre-seasons it appears we are more potent as a tight front three and I would not consider pushing either Barnes or Perez out wide as that would unbalance the team. 

He will start from the right but not as a traditional winger, drifting in and supporting. He was brilliant for Newcastle when he moved out there and played well in his first game out there. He scored something like 8 goals end of last season playing that way.

 

The whole formation didn’t work on Saturday IMO. 

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6 hours ago, Babylon said:

He will start from the right but not as a traditional winger, drifting in and supporting. He was brilliant for Newcastle when he moved out there and played well in his first game out there. He scored something like 8 goals end of last season playing that way.

 

The whole formation didn’t work on Saturday IMO. 

Have to agree with that, sort of put me in mind of Puel trying things that the Team had little or no understanding of...which is why I'm still not fully convinced about Rodgers ability to get the best out of the senior players we still have.

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1 minute ago, norwichfox said:

Have to agree with that, sort of put me in mind of Puel trying things that the Team had little or no understanding of...which is why I'm still not fully convinced about Rodgers ability to get the best out of the senior players we still have.

Evans, Albrighton, Vardy and Morgan's form all improved drastically under Rodgers?

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1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

Evans, Albrighton, Vardy and Morgan's form all improved drastically under Rodgers?

Did it?

 

I'd argue only one of them improved in Vardy, partly due to the press and us winning the ball higher up... but also having Tielemans slipping through balls left right and centre.

 

Morgan barely played and Albrighton was out injured :D

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1 hour ago, norwichfox said:

Have to agree with that, sort of put me in mind of Puel trying things that the Team had little or no understanding of...which is why I'm still not fully convinced about Rodgers ability to get the best out of the senior players we still have.

That's what preseason and friendlies are for to be fair. It did lack cohesion and we can't read much into preseason games.

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1 hour ago, Babylon said:

Did it?

 

I'd argue only one of them improved in Vardy, partly due to the press and us winning the ball higher up... but also having Tielemans slipping through balls left right and centre.

 

Morgan barely played and Albrighton was out injured :D

Evans was our best defender for the last quarter of the season, prior to that he was in and out the team. Vardy it was night and day, Morgan in the games he did play was superb. Turned in to a goal machine lol

 

Albrighton i'm being a bit subjective on, but since his return from injury and his form in pre-season he seems to really have bought in to what Rodgers wants from his midfielders. I'm certainly not concerned about Rodgers ability to work with senior players, that was Puel's issue and one he has admitted himself in the past.

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4 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Evans, Albrighton, Vardy and Morgan's form all improved drastically under Rodgers?

I'll give you Albrighton, but I saw no improvement in the others in his "experiment" at Stoke

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Just now, norwichfox said:

I'll give you Albrighton, but I saw no improvement in the others in his "experiment" at Stoke

But you can surely see the night and day improvement in Vardy last season, as well as him immediately lavishing confidence and praise in to Morgan which got 2 match winning performances. Both he and at times Evans seemed unsure of their role in the long term future of the team. If Rodgers persists with this diamond at it doesn't work then i'll be bemused of course, but it is way too early to have concerns?

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Just now, Ric Flair said:

But you can surely see the night and day improvement in Vardy last season, as well as him immediately lavishing confidence and praise in to Morgan which got 2 match winning performances. Both he and at times Evans seemed unsure of their role in the long term future of the team. If Rodgers persists with this diamond at it doesn't work then i'll be bemused of course, but it is way too early to have concerns?

I'm basing my comments on the one Stoke match, which is how a season works, 1 game at a time. We've all seen successive managers have been slated  time after time despite the great (but short) spells we enjoyed under each. I'm still waiting to see after few months of this season, and sincerely hope that we aren't calling for a new manager again come the new year.

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36 minutes ago, norwichfox said:

I'm basing my comments on the one Stoke match, which is how a season works, 1 game at a time. We've all seen successive managers have been slated  time after time despite the great (but short) spells we enjoyed under each. I'm still waiting to see after few months of this season, and sincerely hope that we aren't calling for a new manager again come the new year.

Surely you can't have concerns about our manager after one pre-season game?

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Concerns worry expectations. Sitting here laughing to myself after what I've witnessed in Rodgers career as a manager. Preseason is experimentation.

Our game/style and structures of play coming together. We won't hit our peak in our first match. Enjoy watching it build into ferocious tiger I predict it will become.

I'll enjoy watching all of you hem, haw and fret. But not as much as when you watch the bird in full flight. Majestic. 

 

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