Fresh from attending the latest LFC press conference, Mo Stewart is here to break down what Arne Slot has to say and deliver his top takeaways. Tune in to hear Mo ask Liverpool's head coach a question
I dismissed it immediately as he's been playing up front for Leverkusen. Having proven themselves up front, who ever gets moved back to playing full back? There are examples of full backs ending up as forwards, Michail Antonio, Kevin Phillips, Gareth Bale (spectacularly so), but I'm struggling for a name that has successfully made the opposite move. There must be some. But logically, having proven yourself in a 'blue riband' role up front, which coach would then take a proven forward and try to move them back to playing the more humdrum role of full back?
I'm not THAT interested in data, preferring to judge a player on the eye, and then data just adds perspective. I'm a bit torn on Frimpong. He's a great watch, a flyer, puts in great crosses, can clearly finish, at least he can on 8-minute youtube videos. The data for someone that seems to spend his time playing up front for Leverkusen is less spectacular. 5 league goals this season?
For once, I'm really not sure what to think. I was made up about all three of Macca, Dom, Ryan, 10/10s all, in fact I'm a little underwhelmed with all three so far as there is more to come I think. But Frimpong? I like my players to have a clear role, to be a square peg in a square hole, and I've never really been keen on players who fall between two stools, like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was neither a forward nor a midfielder (no matter his protests that he was a midfielder).
Has JF got the potential to be another AOC? Defo. But am I gut-feeling-excited about getting him in (in the way I absolutely wasn't about AOC)? Yes I am.
Harvey Elliott is another one that seems to be caught in between two stools, worryingly for him, because he's a clear midfielder. Harvey's three best attributes: first touch, vision, passing. Midfielder then. But I don't want to talk about possible outs of players that have just won the league title and – to my mind – deserve to be allowed to celebrate their achievements before we all stick their names in the LFC out tray. I find it a bit disrespectful. It can wait another week...
Back to Frimpong then. Could we actually use him in both roles, so rather than hold four players on the books for the right side, two full backs, two lateral forwards, we slim it down to just three? It would be a very FSG thing to do, and Slot saying the word 'flexibility' did cause a tremor of 4.3 on the Richter Scale at the epicentre of the warehouse containing all the documentation supporting my legal case against Flipping Skinflint Group. But could it actually work? As you rightly noted, Slot does seem perfectly happy working with a small 'first team'. I remember Villa winning the title in '81 only having used 14 players. People these days would tell you that it's impossible. Howard Kendall's Everton won with 14 as well, if I remember my '80s correctly.
I think 3-for-4 is risky, but perhaps the return of Doak could make the fourth player up? Still, I'd prefer two right fulls and two lateral forwards. Slot spent most of the season blowing smoke up Ruben Peeters' RS, but I don't see Peeters as the Messiah. We've just been fortunate with injuries this season. If it takes you 9 months to get Chiesa fit, struggle to keep Jota fit, Ali fit, and lose Bradley to two hamstring injuries, you're not the Messiah. But the staff have done well to get Ryan through 40 billion minutes, and have kept Ibou fit bar an unavoidable contact injury.
I'm not one of those Liverpool fans who just want to sign anyone. There are PLENTY of them. I like to cast an eye, over the player first, data second, and feel like I'm enthusiastic for a reason.
It's very very unusual for me to be unsure about someone. Normally I'm a defo yes or a defo no.
I suspect as long as it doesn't affect Bradley wanting to stay, I'd be happy enough if JF happens.
–––
Second takeway, and surprisingly this did not appear to form part of the press conference...
A Ryan Gravenberch song?
You're seriously gonna attempt to knock my Ryan Gravenberch song off its ****ing perch?
You seemed to get a little whisper on Frimpong?
I dismissed it immediately as he's been playing up front for Leverkusen. Having proven themselves up front, who ever gets moved back to playing full back? There are examples of full backs ending up as forwards, Michail Antonio, Kevin Phillips, Gareth Bale (spectacularly so), but I'm struggling for a name that has successfully made the opposite move. There must be some. But logically, having proven yourself in a 'blue riband' role up front, which coach would then take a proven forward and try to move them back to playing the more humdrum role of full back?
I'm not THAT interested in data, preferring to judge a player on the eye, and then data just adds perspective. I'm a bit torn on Frimpong. He's a great watch, a flyer, puts in great crosses, can clearly finish, at least he can on 8-minute youtube videos. The data for someone that seems to spend his time playing up front for Leverkusen is less spectacular. 5 league goals this season?
For once, I'm really not sure what to think. I was made up about all three of Macca, Dom, Ryan, 10/10s all, in fact I'm a little underwhelmed with all three so far as there is more to come I think. But Frimpong? I like my players to have a clear role, to be a square peg in a square hole, and I've never really been keen on players who fall between two stools, like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was neither a forward nor a midfielder (no matter his protests that he was a midfielder).
Has JF got the potential to be another AOC? Defo. But am I gut-feeling-excited about getting him in (in the way I absolutely wasn't about AOC)? Yes I am.
Harvey Elliott is another one that seems to be caught in between two stools, worryingly for him, because he's a clear midfielder. Harvey's three best attributes: first touch, vision, passing. Midfielder then. But I don't want to talk about possible outs of players that have just won the league title and – to my mind – deserve to be allowed to celebrate their achievements before we all stick their names in the LFC out tray. I find it a bit disrespectful. It can wait another week...
Back to Frimpong then. Could we actually use him in both roles, so rather than hold four players on the books for the right side, two full backs, two lateral forwards, we slim it down to just three? It would be a very FSG thing to do, and Slot saying the word 'flexibility' did cause a tremor of 4.3 on the Richter Scale at the epicentre of the warehouse containing all the documentation supporting my legal case against Flipping Skinflint Group. But could it actually work? As you rightly noted, Slot does seem perfectly happy working with a small 'first team'. I remember Villa winning the title in '81 only having used 14 players. People these days would tell you that it's impossible. Howard Kendall's Everton won with 14 as well, if I remember my '80s correctly.
I think 3-for-4 is risky, but perhaps the return of Doak could make the fourth player up? Still, I'd prefer two right fulls and two lateral forwards. Slot spent most of the season blowing smoke up Ruben Peeters' RS, but I don't see Peeters as the Messiah. We've just been fortunate with injuries this season. If it takes you 9 months to get Chiesa fit, struggle to keep Jota fit, Ali fit, and lose Bradley to two hamstring injuries, you're not the Messiah. But the staff have done well to get Ryan through 40 billion minutes, and have kept Ibou fit bar an unavoidable contact injury.
I'm not one of those Liverpool fans who just want to sign anyone. There are PLENTY of them. I like to cast an eye, over the player first, data second, and feel like I'm enthusiastic for a reason.
It's very very unusual for me to be unsure about someone. Normally I'm a defo yes or a defo no.
I suspect as long as it doesn't affect Bradley wanting to stay, I'd be happy enough if JF happens.
–––
Second takeway, and surprisingly this did not appear to form part of the press conference...
A Ryan Gravenberch song?
You're seriously gonna attempt to knock my Ryan Gravenberch song off its ****ing perch?
"Ryan Gravenberch!
Is a ****ing Rolls Royce!
La la la..."
Songwriting doesn't get better than that.