The reason the whole Trent debate starts off flawed for me is the beginning premise being they are all the same thing. They aren't really.

First all, roles are far more important than positions in football. What Roberto Carlos did for Brazil isn't the same as what Konchesky did
at Fulham.

Which is why Hodgson sees no value in the former, tells him he isn't a left back, then sells him. Yet the latter, he brings with him to Liverpool as his only signing from his previous club.
But the more important thing is this:

How many teams' key player is a full back? It is incredibly rare. Trent is a transformative player. His talent is such that Klopp built his entire system around him (and Robbo) with them taking on the role of primary progressers
and creators in the Liverpool system. And before the pandemics, for about 2 years, they were one of the greatest teams we have ever seen.

Reece James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Keiran Trippier, Kyle Walker - none have that importance for their clubs.
Could any of them take on the role Trent has at Liverpool?

Of course, the more important question is, which can take on the role for England. And this is where it always gets really weird for me.
If you are playing 3 at the back, why is the focus for the only wide players in your system on how good they are defensively?

The primary function of the wide players in a 3 at the back system is to provide all the width. To dominate the flank. It is why you often see wide
midfielders or wingers used there rather than fullbacks.

Likewise, you often see defenders who are primarily fullbacks playing as the widest CBs in a 3. Because they are going to be responsible for a lot of defending in wide areas against wingers. You don't want a big, unagile
guy like Harry Maguire over near the touchline squaring up to Adama Traore... he's going to get rinsed.

And that is before we even get onto their midfield. If you are playing 3 at the back why do you need Rice in midfield? Nevermind Rice AND Henderson.
Think of it like this, in a back 4 there will usually be a #6 in front. In the buildup play he drops between the CBs to give you a 3. In the finishing phase he sits slightly ahead of the (probably split) CBs to protect that space through the middle and to mop up clearances
against the oppo forward. Hendo did this job at Liverpool before Fabinho, then again when he was injured.

But to have 3 proper CBs, 2 defensive full backs and 2 defensive midfielders is absolutely a shocking amount of overkill.
If you think with that lineup playing a right back that will be the main progressor and creator in your team and will dominate a flank is a problem - then your system is shit. It is setup to relegation battle. It is a West Brom 541. Why? We keep saying this is the most talented
England squad since, possibly ever. Yet we are accepting a 541 avoid-defeat mindset from a coach who won ~30% of his games in club football and who can't see a use for the only England player considered the best in the world in their position.
And that is before we even attack the "can't defend" myth.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Stephen Drennan

Stephen Drennan Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @babuyagu

2 Jun
The thing is, it starts to get complicated with squad places. You probably carry 4 CB into a normal season. We need to go in with at least 5 but likely 6 next season. And if we take the same approach in midfield, and 3 goalkeepers (given Kelleher now needs a place due to age)
then it all starts to add up. This is our squad from last season.

8 home-grown, 16/17 who are not

We need to add to this
Ibrahima Konaté (free space)
Virgil van Dijk (replace Gini)
Ben Davies (replace Hardy)

We have Marko Grujić coming back from injury who needs to be sold
or a squad place. You would imagine if we were to move on any of Adrian, Matip, Shaq, Taki, Origi - we get a like-for-like replacement. If we move on Ox or Phillips we need a homegrown player to replace them.

But this all makes manoeuvring in the market complicated as the
Read 15 tweets
1 Jun
Everton fans on my timeline are talking about Conte.

I don't have the time to do a 'What does Inter have that Everton don't' thread too.
Meet Everton's new manager...
Read 8 tweets
31 May
Guy has a point.

Serious question, what do Madrid have over Everton?
Okay, but apart from a stadium that doesn't stink of catpiss...

what do Madrid have over Everton?
Okay, but apart from a stadium that doesn't stink of catpiss and A Brazilian attacker who doesn’t search his own name on Twitter.

what do Madrid have over Everton?
Read 28 tweets
31 May
If Trent doesn't get picked, I'll be angry for him for about 5 minutes because it is just a daft fucking decision from a shit fucking manager.

But then I will remember that it means he can't get injured in England's archaic training sessions like Gomez or in their matches
like Sturridge.

One of our key players will get a full and complete rest this summer. We have seen in the past that he has a tendency to go up a level after every setback to prove his doubters wrong.

A full fit, well-rested, fired up Trent for next campaign. Fucking sign me up!
It also has the added benefit of me no longer giving a single shit about the England side this summer which I would probably have watched just for Trent.
Read 7 tweets
31 May
Pep sycophants in the media are weird are nauseating, man.

To read them you would think footy was shit before he rocked up with his ideas and now literally every coach in the world is in a desperate rush to play Pep-ball.

Then try to act as arbiters oh who is and is not
allowed to be criticised and for what. We see the same bollocks with fucking everything these days with the media who have decided to be gatekeepers on who is and is not criticised.

Pep is allowed to be criticised. City can and were winning domestic titles without him. Bayern
too. That will NEVER be a problem for a club that dominates the spending in their domestic league. Sure, they are winning with a little more pizzaz and consistency now... they are also spending a fucktonne more money.

City want to carry that dominance into Europe. He has utterly
Read 6 tweets
30 May
The problem I have looking at our squad right now is that lots of people have 2 years left on their contracts.

Which means if it was me, I only have 2 choices with those players - a new contract or sell.

And we were in this position with Origi once upon a time and the deal we
gave him has made him impossible to sell since then, despite our efforts to do so.

Phillips is probably the best case of this where the fanbase's opinion on this range from 'never good enough sell' to 'should start the season with Virg'.

Talk about differing opinions.
With Emre Can, we didn't offer him a new deal.

Do you pay Emre the rate of your top players? Or sell him despite having potential and wanting to realise it.

We got stuck between the two. Held on one season too long and he ran out his contract.

And don't even start me on the
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(