Liverpool FC Team Talk, Gossip, Rumours 2024/25

Touché!

Robertson could play right back, or Timmy.

Playing Milner is silly

I don't like Milly at RB, for some reason he's always seemed better at LB then RB, even though that makes no sense given that he's right footed.

At RB he just seems to be weaker defensively and I don't know, hasn't contributed going forward, while when he's on the left he always seems to do well. I might be wrong of course...

I'm guessing it's too soon for Bradley in the EPL? I like the cut of his jib when I've seen him, and it's always good to see an Irish man wear the red, but he didn't feature much in the cup games recently.

I can't say that overall, he'll be a big loss. But he has scored some very very important goals.

Although I'd love to beat city in FA cup final, champions League final,and win the league on final day .. 😁

I'd have no worries about Robertson at RB - he clearly understands the position, and has all the tools needed (and ends up swapping sides with Trent fairly often in-game anyway). Logically Gomez makes most sense to fill in for Trent though, leaving Robbo where he is.

I wouldn't tbh. I don't get the impression that Robertson is comfortable being his swashbuckling self outside the right hand side and whipping a cross in. His finishing is quite poor IMO, so even if he does cut inside, I wouldn't be expecting too much.

Right footers playing at LB is common enough - Cancelo being the main example right now but closer to home there was Arbeloa & Dennis Irwin who were very comfortable on both flanks. Zambrotta, Azpilcueta other examples, even Glen Johnson for a while. But left footers playing at RB is extremely rare. I can't think of any off hand.

As you said, I'd much rather keep Robbo on his strong side and have Milner at RB or Gomez. Gomez brings the defensive solidarity but Milner brings some bit of an advantage in an attacking sense.

Left footers at right back is rare because there are far fewer left footers. So anyone left footed will always be put on the left. The number of right footers that can totally manage on the left shows that swapping sides is not that big a deal (Milner managed on the left despite being a righty with no fullback experience at all).

Robertson would of course be nowhere near as effective as he is on the left, but he has the legs and general football ability, which to be honest for a fill in is the main thing for us to do a job. I mostly don't want Robbo there because it would be such a big loss at LB, just as I don't want Fab at RB despite his experience there, because the loss to midfield is too great. I don't think the idea of Milner at full back anymore, he's just not got the legs for it these days against any sort of quality attacker. He can manage midfield with his intelligence, and redundancy's all around him, but I don't want him put in a position where if someone beats him they're through.

Losing Trent at RB is one thing, but also losing Robbo at LB? Nope, we should have learnt from last year. Keep everyone in their best position and we fill in the holes. No TAA? Thats ok, we play Gomez at RB and give Robbo the freedom of the leftside as the they can become a 3 at the back, or you don't need Henderson at RCM covering for TAA, you give a more attacking mid freedom to get forward with Gomez behind.

The positions are fluid, there's no replacement for TAA, the overall system gets tweaked. Trent isn't a RB, he's placed there on formation graphics but he's not a RB.

I'd rest Van Dijk and Robbo, definitely. They seem to be the most ever-present over the last few weeks.

Everywhere else we have backup.

I'd say Bradley will start and Gomez and Konate will be CBs.

Minamino will start as well.

Might be stronger team than expected

I'd take a guess of something like

Alisson

Milner Gomez Konate Tsimikas

Keita Jones Ox

Minamino Firmino Jota

Very Rafa like thinking there,

Trents ability on the ball will ensure City can not attack in the number they otherwise could, City have struggled against lesser sides than us with a decent counter attack and Trent is the ultimate weapon in a quick counter,

If they try to exploit him and fail he can ping a 40 yard ball and have then on the back foot

Klopp - "If anybody says that Trent cannot defend then they can come to me and I'll knock them down. I cannot hear that any more, I don't know what more the boy has to do."