The College Dropout

Kelly and Burn at CB? Oh dear.

Lewis Hall fancies a goal init? This midfield 2 is good news for us.

Think Eriksen and Mainoo together is good for us if we try and make it a physical game again.

We can keep the ball more with Bruno and Tonali. But we have given them the impetus on the ball. Not sure about this sub mind.

Shouldn’t have started him either. Feel for the lad but he’s pap. 3 of our defenders are 30+, they needed legs for attack and legs in midfield. Not a crap striker.

And proper wingbacks. At times they played a 352.

Sarcasm? Eriksen couldn’t run when he was 27 and no metal in his chest. Mainoo had to start.

Aye. Bruno holds onto the ball and buys fouls every now and then he’ll get nicked. Refs not giving it him.

That midfield 2 selection was inept.

Aye. With Trippier at RB and Tonali in there we are classy on the ball. If they bring in some pace we’ll need Livra imo.

The previous levers were legit sales though. Don't know about this one. But the others are legit and as you say - largely wasted. Barca forced Pique into retirement pretty much to save his wages. This wasn't to keep La Masia open, it was so they could go out and buy Gundogan and Lewandowski.

This is exactly what I’ve been saying. Bruno’s weakness as a 6 is he struggles to cover ground Quickly in transition. Tonali excels at this. @Kanj Tonali losing the ball as often as he does is not a mistake. It’s just a part of his game - quick one touch passing which sometimes goes astray. That may change over time but it’s been consistent in his career.

Real Madrid win a lot more trophies than Liverpool in the last 30 years. I would be sad if Liverpool simply couldn’t compete financially with Real for Trent. they could - they just don’t want too. I feel worse for Ajax losing their captain to Mike Ashley era Newcastle United for a whole £7m.

Agreed. Liverpool are unwilling to pay them the top bucks. Another league title really cements their legacy if it was ever in doubt. Maybe another one or two trophies. Go and get the pension money they deserve.

It’s a good move for him. Real are desperate for a deep ball progressor since Kroos left. Carvajal just blown his ACL. The only thing is this era of Madrid has had braveheart-like defenders. Marcelo days you could say they could be a soft touch but this era their defenders have been steady, determined, guts and glory types. Carvajal, Rudiger, Militao, Mendy even Alaba. Big European nights they have the temperament to grind out results backs to the wall. Trent doesn’t have that gene. It’s funny that they want him too. They’ve targeted him every time they’ve played and beaten Liverpool in big games.

This is actually true.

Why are you so offended? it’s a football forum. I’m talking about football. I’ve stated the point several times. People discussed moving Tonali to 6 - months ago. I thought and I think Howe thought he was too loose with the ball to play there to the level required the way we were setup. Everything came through Bruno. Even with being man marked Bruno could dribble himself out of trouble or win a foul. Tonali doesn’t have that press resistance and is looser with his passing - a danger in deep areas. Howe has changed the setup to accommodate Tonali at 6. I think that delay was making sure the setup worked and players knew what to do. I’ve said this a bunch of times. You seem hung up that I’m raising a weakness of your favourite player. It’s not even a criticism. It’s like pointing out Schar and Burn are super slow so we’ve played a little deeper and less aggressive this year. And being upset that I’ve called the boys slow. They are. It’s not a criticism.

Ok fairs. I still think there was good reason not to rush him in at 6. His lack of ball security needed to be mitigated in build-up on the training ground and Howe did that.

Cool concept. More interesting if you got the version that played under that manager. Souness Dyer was top for a period.

It’s not a criticism of Tonali. When it was first discussed about moving Tonali to 6 - that was one of the main reasons people thought it had not been tried. I do think Howe has those reservations too. If he didn’t have those reservations, I struggle to think why it took him so long to play Tonali there. Bruno has played with us as a 8 already so i don’t think that is the reason. And Bruno was struggling badly to cover the ground in the middle. Im giving Howe - in the Howe thread - credit for moving Tonali to 6 and changing our build up play patterns so it’s less dependent on the primary 6 for ball progression. Because the new primary 6 is much more likely to lose the ball in dangerous positions than the old one. That’s great coaching. People get so sensitive about their favourite players. Tonali’s passing can be loose. It’s not a criticism - it’s a fact. We knew this when we signed him and we’ve seen it for us. The sending off stems from a poor Tonali pass straight to Villa in an attacking RCM position under no real pressure, he could’ve taken a touch. He’ll do that a few times a game and you want it further away from goal. it’s a valid reason not to thrust him in at 6 without some tactical changes. Credit to Howe and Tonali, they’ve made it work. Tonali is a monster. Ok so he played as a lone 6 in Serie B, I dread to think how slow that league is. No surprise Tonali looked like Pirlo and Steven Gerrard in that league.

Levy is a cheap git. He’s spending lots of money now but on kids he can pay poorly. But Ange is a lunatic. He needs better players than he will ever get at spurs to succeed. Yeh been impressed with Fulham and Silva this season. Lost his best players last season too and not skipped a beat (Mitro and Paulinha).

His passing isn’t as accurate or progressive as Bruno. And so far he’s not as press resistant as an aging Casemiro and obviously Bruno. ditto Moises Caicedo - he has it all - athletic, press resistant, progressive passer. Tonali doesn’t have it all as a 6 - which is why he had not previously played as a sole 6. Im giving Howe credit to say - his changed the teams tactics to make Tonali work as a 6 as it’s not a simple swap. Bruno can do vital parts of that role that Tonali can’t as effectively. And obviously Tonali can do parts of the role more effectively than Bruno.

Tonali is a good player no doubt. However one of his biggest weaknesses is that he loses the ball more often than the elite. He’s done this throughout his career. Seeing more of him - part of that relatively low pass % is playing a bit too fast for his team mates. Some of that is chemistry but the low pass completion was there at Milan. The best 6s are usually press resistant. And retain the ball under pressure with dribbles and passing. Bruno fits that bill. But our overall style is so dynamic the strengths Tonali brings the team negate the weaknesses and I think Howe has adapted tactically to cover for him a bit. The old midfield balance was exposing Bruno’s athletic weaknesses and not maximising Tonali’s athletic gifts. This system gets more out of both of them and gives the whole team more. And it may not be a major problem. Casemiro is on that list (although higher at a later stage in his career) and he’s won lots of trophies playing at the 6. Toni Kroos would often drop in alongside Casemiro or just swap positions at times if Casemiro was getting pressed out of a game in build up. Casemiro’s good going forward in a different way to Kroos which would give opposition different issues to deal with. Thats what Bruno has been doing at times with Tonali. Long may it continue. Funnily enough - like Bruno - Kroos couldn’t run much either.

Agree. And he does need to learn when to slow it down. It’s always quick quick quick with him. But our build up now is less predictable as Bruno does still come deep at times to help.

If we can get good money it’s Longstaff. Willock is a good player.