of flexibility in terms of what positions he would utilise his squad, Slot likes a bit more structure.
We seem set up to have more of a clear two players for each position.
Diaz/Gakpo wide left
Jota/Nunez the presser/finisher
Salah/Chiesa wide right.
Szobo/Elliott as the ten.
Trent/Bradley right back.
Robbo/Tsimikas left back.
Maybe a little more flexibility on the centre back sides (Quansah, Gomez and Konate can all play both sides) and the double pivot in midfield, we will have to see how it pans out.
Gravenberch & Macca seems the first choice two with Jones first back up. Will be interesting to see if Morton can push ahead of Endo as he hasn’t gone out on loan or been sold and Endo probably isn’t in the long term plans. Also how many minutes Nyoni will get.
Find it really interesting to see the role Jota is playing.. all about his intelligent movement and pressing energy.
I hope since he is carry less and hopefully covering less ground at a full sprint this will benefit his fitness..
Excited to see the team progress as we have to rotate more.. I feel it’s got to be easier to build a bit of rhythm and cohesion starting with a consistent team, but excited to see the variety and competition that comes as the rest of the squad comes in to play..
Yeah, it’s fun trying to analyse Slot’s Liverpool, but as per your final line, lots of things will almost certainly change once the two games a week kick in. It’ll be cool to find out!
I don't see the point of making Jota on purpose having less touches.
Is this, in addition to the "early" substitution for protecting him from injuries?
But then, how does thos work if he continues to have the same or more presses? Aren't the presses the main reason of fatigue (and hence of muscle injuries)?
(Of course, avoiding a huge opponent to fall on your knee, also helps a lot...😆)
Or, all this has a totally different reason (which obviously I can't understand)
"I don't see the point of making Jota on purpose having less touches."
I think it's more about the central forward than Jota specifically, it's just that he has been the only starter there this season so I framed the article around him.
In seven seasons prior to this, there were 36 instances of a Liverpool forward (including those in the wide positions) having no more than 27 touches in appearances of at least 71 minutes in the Premier League. So that's only about five a season when it includes wide forwards, and Jota has done that centrally for three games in a row.
And these were games in which Liverpool had 62% possession in the first two games, and 47% at Old Trafford. This unusual lack of involvement for the centre forward hasn't been down to a lack of possession, so I assume it's tactical rather than anything Jota-specific, to avoid injuries etc. It would be good to quiz Slot about it though!
Less touches could also be due to the role.. previously Jota played a lot on the wing, where he would be more involved in build up and ball progression.
Whereas now he is a central striker and his role involves making a lot of runs without reducing the ball (as for all three of Liverpools goals vs man United)
These types of runs are different too.. on the wing under klopp there was often a requirement to cover a fair amount of distance at high speed, to attack forward and track back and cover.
As a 9 it could be a lot of pressing but in shorter intensity bursts
Good read Andrew.
It feels a little like where Klopp had a lot
of flexibility in terms of what positions he would utilise his squad, Slot likes a bit more structure.
We seem set up to have more of a clear two players for each position.
Diaz/Gakpo wide left
Jota/Nunez the presser/finisher
Salah/Chiesa wide right.
Szobo/Elliott as the ten.
Trent/Bradley right back.
Robbo/Tsimikas left back.
Maybe a little more flexibility on the centre back sides (Quansah, Gomez and Konate can all play both sides) and the double pivot in midfield, we will have to see how it pans out.
Gravenberch & Macca seems the first choice two with Jones first back up. Will be interesting to see if Morton can push ahead of Endo as he hasn’t gone out on loan or been sold and Endo probably isn’t in the long term plans. Also how many minutes Nyoni will get.
Thanks. Yeah I was looking yesterday at the substitutions Slot has made so far:
3 times: Bradley on for Trent.
2 times: Gakpo for Diaz, Nunez for Jota, Tsimikas for Robertson
Aside from Konate for Quansah at Ipswich, none of the one time options got more than 11 minutes.
So it all feels very structured at the moment, though obviously won't last much longer.
Great article, as always..
Find it really interesting to see the role Jota is playing.. all about his intelligent movement and pressing energy.
I hope since he is carry less and hopefully covering less ground at a full sprint this will benefit his fitness..
Excited to see the team progress as we have to rotate more.. I feel it’s got to be easier to build a bit of rhythm and cohesion starting with a consistent team, but excited to see the variety and competition that comes as the rest of the squad comes in to play..
Yeah, it’s fun trying to analyse Slot’s Liverpool, but as per your final line, lots of things will almost certainly change once the two games a week kick in. It’ll be cool to find out!
Thank you for the nice piece.
Interesting numbers.
But, I must admit I'm a little confused.
I don't see the point of making Jota on purpose having less touches.
Is this, in addition to the "early" substitution for protecting him from injuries?
But then, how does thos work if he continues to have the same or more presses? Aren't the presses the main reason of fatigue (and hence of muscle injuries)?
(Of course, avoiding a huge opponent to fall on your knee, also helps a lot...😆)
Or, all this has a totally different reason (which obviously I can't understand)
Cheers.
"I don't see the point of making Jota on purpose having less touches."
I think it's more about the central forward than Jota specifically, it's just that he has been the only starter there this season so I framed the article around him.
In seven seasons prior to this, there were 36 instances of a Liverpool forward (including those in the wide positions) having no more than 27 touches in appearances of at least 71 minutes in the Premier League. So that's only about five a season when it includes wide forwards, and Jota has done that centrally for three games in a row.
And these were games in which Liverpool had 62% possession in the first two games, and 47% at Old Trafford. This unusual lack of involvement for the centre forward hasn't been down to a lack of possession, so I assume it's tactical rather than anything Jota-specific, to avoid injuries etc. It would be good to quiz Slot about it though!
Less touches could also be due to the role.. previously Jota played a lot on the wing, where he would be more involved in build up and ball progression.
Whereas now he is a central striker and his role involves making a lot of runs without reducing the ball (as for all three of Liverpools goals vs man United)
These types of runs are different too.. on the wing under klopp there was often a requirement to cover a fair amount of distance at high speed, to attack forward and track back and cover.
As a 9 it could be a lot of pressing but in shorter intensity bursts