Premier League 2018/19

[BBZ8800]

Klopp's Liverpool must be BBZ's wet dream. 10 players all pressing tirelessly, three workhorses in the midfield, endless crosses from the fullbacks...

I would actually add one technical midfielder there.

About Liverpool, they really do play a mathematical football, as if Klopp is trying to tick every box possible:
1. A good coach=yes
2. Technique=yes
3. Physique, pace, muscles, stamina=yes
4. Younger players=yes
5. Motivated players=yes
6. Attacking=yes
7. Defending=yes
8. Being able to score in 3 ways from possession, counters and headers=yes
9. Height in defense to defend against corners and to score after corners=yes
10. No Neymar in a team=yes

This is almost a perfect team for a year 2020.

 

[jairzinho]

Did Emery really think David Luiz would improve his defence?

 

[te amo barca]

Did Emery really think David Luiz would improve his defence?

They should have gone for Soyuncu. The lad's looked excellent in his first two games for Leicester.

 

[DonAK]

Kai Havertz is probably the type of midfielder from BBZs dreams. Technical, fast, tall and strong.

 

[serghei]

I would actually add one technical midfielder there.

About Liverpool, they really do play a mathematical football, as if Klopp is trying to tick every box possible:
1. A good coach=yes
2. Technique=yes
3. Physique, pace, muscles, stamina=yes
4. Younger players=yes
5. Motivated players=yes
6. Attacking=yes
7. Defending=yes
8. Being able to score in 3 ways from possession, counters and headers=yes
9. Height in defense to defend against corners and to score after corners=yes
10. No Neymar in a team=yes

This is almost a perfect team for a year 2020.

A good coach?

Mate, this Liverpool mainly exist today because of Klopp. The manager is directly responsible for 7 out of those 10 points.

 

[jamrock]

The worst tactics I've seen away to Liverpool since Valverde playing Roberto at RB.

How are you going to play a diamond against Liverpool, giving there FB the entire freedom of the pitch and no one coming back to help and cover salah and mane.

 

[Neyback19]

Klopp's Liverpool must be BBZ's wet dream. 10 players all pressing tirelessly, three workhorses in the midfield, endless crosses from the fullbacks...

No it's not. Calling Liverpool a BBZ team is just completely changing his criteria to make him look right. BBZ has always been obsessed with having height in attack, super tall players all over, thugs, and a plan B.

Liverpool don't have a tall attacker, they don't have a thug player, they always use 433 and they never change their style. They rely a lot more on pace and intensity than on anything BBZ preaches. Mourinho's United team with Lukaku and Matic was far more of a BBZ style setup.

 

[BBZ8800]

No it's not. Calling Liverpool a BBZ team is just completely changing his criteria to make him look right. BBZ has always been obsessed with having height in attack, super tall players all over, thugs, and a plan B.

Liverpool don't have a tall attacker, they don't have a thug player, they always use 433 and they never change their style. They rely a lot more on pace and intensity than on anything BBZ preaches. Mourinho's United team with Lukaku and Matic was far more of a BBZ style setup.

How can supertall players score from possession, counters and headers?
If they are too tall all over the field, they will be too slow.
If all players are 188, they will probably even struggle in possession because they will be quite slow in turns and off the ball movement.

Lukaku is fine, with 2 wingers.
Matic is fine. With at least one Iniesta around him.
3 Lukakus are not fine.
3 Matics are not fine.
But 3 Arthurs/Puigs are not fine either.

You are right though about Liverpool not having a tall striker.
They do have Origi as a plan B.
And crosses after corners and set pieces aimed at Van Dijk and Matip.
We don't have a plan B or set pieces.

Also, in your tone I see that you don't like height.
Today:
Fabinho 188cm
Henderson 182
Wijnaldum 175

Defense:
Matip 195
Van Dijk 193
Robertson 178
Arnold 175

They rely a lot more on pace and intensity than on anything BBZ preaches. Mourinho's United team with Lukaku and Matic was far more of a BBZ style setup.

I want technique, physique, intensity and fighters.
Liverpool has it all.

Mou has only physique.
Barca has only technique.
We don't have physique, intensity or motivation.

Not only due to EV.
Even in Pep's era we had "only" technique and intensity.
We didn't have physique nor fighters, but we survived due to Messi-Xavi-Iniesta.

Today, without the best generation ever: it is what it is when we have only technique and nothing else.

 

[Hamzah]

People here praise Liverpool and rightly so, but look down on workhorses. I get trashed for talking about workhorses.

Their midfield has Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum - all workhorses. Their attack has workhorse forwards (all three of Mane, Firmino, Salah).

Workhorse theory gets proven more and more every day. To win in 2019 you need workhorses, to be able to press intensely. You need speed and some strength as well. Ideally you have technical players who also have workhorse traits, and speed/strength. That is why I like players like Griezmann.

Guys like Busquets are washed in 2019.

 

[Marshall D Teach]

People here praise Liverpool and rightly so, but look down on workhorses. I get trashed for talking about workhorses.

Their midfield has Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum - all workhorses. Their attack has workhorse forwards (all three of Mane, Firmino, Salah).

Workhorse theory gets proven more and more every day. To win in 2019 you need workhorses, to be able to press intensely. You need speed and some strength as well. Ideally you have technical players who also have workhorse traits, and speed/strength. That is why I like players like Griezmann.

Guys like Busquets are washed in 2019.

So is Rakitic, but Valverde loves those two.

 

[DonAK]

People here praise Liverpool and rightly so, but look down on workhorses. I get trashed for talking about workhorses.

Their midfield has Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum - all workhorses. Their attack has workhorse forwards (all three of Mane, Firmino, Salah).

Workhorse theory gets proven more and more every day. To win in 2019 you need workhorses, to be able to press intensely. You need speed and some strength as well. Ideally you have technical players who also have workhorse traits, and speed/strength. That is why I like players like Griezmann.

Guys like Busquets are washed in 2019.

You need hard working players and a manager with a plan, with a system that can motivate those players and utilize those players.

Even if we had a bunch of hard working players or workhorses we wouldn't do shit because Valverde would put them out of place or bench them.

 

[Hamzah]

You need hard working players and a manager with a plan, with a system that can motivate those players and utilize those players.

Even if we had a bunch of hard working players or workhorses we wouldn't do shit because Valverde would put them out of place or bench them.

That's true, all the good pressing teams have good coaches. Guys like Klopp, Simeone, Pochettino.

 

[mc_lovin]

No need to look down on workhorses, and as squad players they are fine, but if you have to choose between workhorses and great talents, you pick the talented ones 10 out of 10 times. We are in the dynasty business. You cant build one on players like Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum etc because you cant sustain dominance/greatness with workhorses. And I know its easy to shit on Barcelona right now, but we did a lot of stuff right in the past 20-30 years. Much more so than Liverpool.

 

[DonAK]

That's true, all the good pressing teams have good coaches. Guys like Klopp, Simeone, Pochettino.

Even Man City looked good last season and only margins made them lose out to Tottenham in the end. The football both teams played was great to watch and very intense.

We've spent shitload of money the last few years. Possibly even more than Man City and dish out this tragic football that's relying on one man who's turned 32 to win anything.

 

[DonAK]

Anyway if you want a technical, physical, hardworking midfield you already have Frenkie de Jong. Arthur could get there, hardworking and physical for his size and if you want to add some attacking flair with it you can sign Kai Havertz for 100m next season and have three hardworking midfielders who are all in their early 20s.

There you have a possible dominant, best midfield in the World. If Arthur doesn't work out you can sign a different type of CDM if Frenkie is going to play as an interior.

Griezmann worked his ass off for Atletico and you saw Messi pressing and stepping up in the CL last season, him and Vidal were the only players pressing at Anfield.

But all that is for nothing if you don't complement those players with a good manager.