What is Bentaleb's better position? A lot of folks claim he's suited to playing more forward. Others see him as a DM. Which one is it?
To be honest I'm not sure I would want to judge just yet. From what I have seen Dier is playing to different instructions to how Bentaleb was playing last season. It seems as though we have changed our shape and game-plan a little and now gone with a true holding player, whereas last season Bentaleb seemed to be given more license to join in with attacks. That might be because Bentaleb just didn't have the defensive discipline or it could be due to instructions from Pochettino,Just to clarify i feel that we are lacking somebody to perform the more defensive-minded duties that Dier has been - of he is away from the team (like next Saturday).
Do you SERIOUSLY believe Mason and/or Bentaleb can perform to even half the level that Dier has been in terms of DEFENSIVE-minded play and awareness, based on previous games?
To be honest I'm not sure I would want to judge just yet. From what I have seen Dier is playing to different instructions to how Bentaleb was playing last season. It seems as though we have changed our shape and game-plan a little and now gone with a true holding player, whereas last season Bentaleb seemed to be given more license to join in with attacks. That might be because Bentaleb just didn't have the defensive discipline or it could be due to instructions from Pochettino,
I'd like to see Bentaleb play in this team now to be able to judge whether it is driven by ability/discipline or team tactics.
Equally Mason has always played the more advanced box to box role for us. However I think he has the work-rate, tackling ability, passing ability and intelligence to be able to play as a holding player. Of course he lacks a bit of strength compared to Dier, but again I wouldn't mind seeing him play there to judge him in that role.
At the start of the season we all seemed to think we needed to bring in one defensive midfielder, that was before Dier's emergence. Now that Dier has emerged as a good option for that position I don't see why we still need to bring in a defensive midfielder?
We should then also not forget the weakness of our defending that happened very often with Bentaleb and Mason playing last season as well.
Those four players all have good variation of CM abilities, but NONE of the other 3 have Dier's defensive awareness/capabilities and to me there is no denying that....
Dier is a CB, the big difference between him and a Bentaleb/Mason (and potentially in the instructions they are given) is how we play the DM
- For Mason/Bentaleb they were always in front of the back two CB's, - which to me meant a long ball over top still caught us out, still left two CB's alone against 1-3 attackers
- With this seasons system & Dier, Dier actually drops into the backline at times (almost 3 CB's), our FB's are less suicidal (Davies over Rose, and Walker stays home more), so even a long ball over midfield very rarely leaves our back line in 1:1 or 2:2 type scenarios ...
Can Bentaleb play that way? in a pinch I'm sure, but consistently? that may answer if we need another DM option.
Yes, that is what I was trying to get at. The positions that Bentaleb was taking up last year look to be quite different to the position that Dier is operating in. I don't think we can be sure yet whether that is completely due to the respective players or instructions from the coach. We'll see as the season progresses.I think another question regarding the DM role is whether the mandate of that player has changed this year. Was Bentaleb asked to perform a different role last year to the one Dier is doing this year?
More likely when Bentaleb plays in place of Dier. Is he fit for the scouser game, by the way?Yes, that is what I was trying to get at. The positions that Bentaleb was taking up last year look to be quite different to the position that Dier is operating in. I don't think we can be sure yet whether that is completely due to the respective players or instructions from the coach. We'll see as the season progresses.
More likely when Bentaleb plays in place of Dier. Is he fit for the scouser game, by the way?
He could play Dembele as CM instead of Bentaleb, but I think the right choice might be to trust the young man (if he's available).That does scare me a bit - Manure and Liverpool seem to bring out the worst aspects of Bentaleb's game...
Definitely an OMT for Scara to start if there ever was oneOr just start a proper OMT. It's Liverpool, I'm sure we can think of something to fill it with...
Definitely an OMT for Scara to start if there ever was one
That's dedication for you. He put his heart and soul into that one .
Haven't they changed name to FC Pigfarmer Beliebers?
Haven't they changed name to FC Pigfarmer Beliebers?
The Klopptomaniacs are really Klopptimistic at moment and expect their team to hand out a real Kloppering on Saturday.