What Makes a Good Pre-Season?

As a fan, pre-season is fairly underwhelming. It is eagerly lapped up, given that it is the first chance to see Liverpool in action for the best part of two months, but the matches are rarely scintillating. They are played at a slower pace, everyone looks that little bit less sharp, and even the good games are marred by the nagging knowledge that absolutely nothing rides on the result. Nonetheless, this does not deter us from getting up at ungodly hours to watch the beloved team edge past an obscure Australian outfit, or else face off against a domestic rival in a baseball ground in Massachusetts. Why do we do this? Undoubtedly it is partly because the bulk of the Liverpool fan-base are masochists, but there’s something else too! Pre-season can sometimes reveal quite a lot about a team, and can indeed be very useful for a variety of reasons.

1. Building up match fitness

This is probably the most obvious benefit of pre-season. It does not make for exciting viewing, and in fact contributes to the relative lack of quality on show, but it is of crucial importance to the side. Admittedly, the modern player is training hard even over their holiday – one need only look at the respective social media accounts of Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana for evidence of this. However, the videos Firmino uploads tell a different story: at least some of the players will definitely need to put in some work to get back in condition! In any case, proper match fitness cannot be maintained purely through training; the players need game time to get back up to speed, and whilst this is not exciting it is important. This is particularly true for Danny Ings, who fans will be delighted to see back in a Liverpool shirt after a torrid two years of injury.

2. Embedding new signings

By contrast to the match fitness point, this advantage of pre-season is very exciting for the fans. A first glimpse at a new signing is always eagerly anticipated, even if it is against Tranmere. This comes with a word of warning, of course – the combination of everyone being off the pace and the opposition generally being vastly inferior can flatter to deceive. I was certainly sucked into the Aspas hype following a storming pre-season; as it happens I still think he is an excellent forward, but there is no hiding from the fact that he didn’t cut it at Liverpool. Nonetheless, watching new signings in pre-season can give the fans an idea of their style of play and what they might add to the squad. More importantly, it gives the new signings a chance to settle in; it allows them to function alongside their new team-mates, potentially in a new system, without the immediate pressure of a competitive match. This gives the squad a better chance of hitting the ground running when the actual season gets up and running. This is all contingent, of course, upon transfer business being conducted earlier rather than later in the window.

3. Giving young players a chance

This is another crucial aspect of pre-season, but can sometimes conflict with the embedding of new signings. Acclimatising new players will have limited effect if they are surrounded by youngsters who they are unlikely to be playing alongside come the season proper. As such, I prefer two broadly separate teams – a first team to play for forty-five minutes, and a team of youth prospects for the second forty-five. This comes with the proviso that the ‘first team’ should include one or two of the most promising youth prospects, so as to get them ready for a potential step up in the near-future: this year, I would like to see Alexander-Arnold and Gomez featuring alongside the seniors. This strikes the right kind of balance: the new additions to the squad get game time alongside those who will actually be playing with them in competitive matches, a couple of the most promising youngsters get a similar taste of ‘first team’ action, and the rest of the youngsters get given regular forty-five minute spells to showcase themselves to the manager and fans. For the fans in particular, it is nice to get a chance to see these youngsters play – many don’t watch the youth teams regularly, and pre-season is a chance for them to form opinions on the youth prospects.

4. Trialling tactics

The lack of anything being at stake may contribute to the absence of much excitement in pre-season, but it has its benefits. It allows Klopp to experiment with various tactical approaches, without anything other than pride riding on it. Of course, the German showed at the back end of last season that he doesn’t mind switching formation at an important time – that gamble paid off nicely – but it is preferable to be able to experiment in a more low-pressure environment. This year, that means trying out both the 4-3-3 and the 4-4-2 diamond. The latter was the one Klopp adopted for the 2016/17 run-in, but the former has traditionally been his favourite: the signing of Salah indicates that he will stick to the 4-3-3, but I for one would like to see him at least experimenting with Mane and Salah as strikers in a diamond. Firmino could play in behind, with Coutinho and Wijnaldum playing ahead of Can – it seems unlikely that this will be the go-to formation, but it is worth trying out.

Pre-season is undoubtedly a mere shadow of competitive football, but it does the job nicely as a substitute. It gives fans the chance to have a closer look at new signings and youngsters alike, allows for tactical experimentation and ensures that everyone, players and fans alike, is raring to go for the start of the season. Bring it on!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Five Players Liverpool Should Look to Sign

Reports started emerging as early as April that FSG were ready to splash the cash in this window. With fourth place secured and Champions League football on the horizon, this must surely be truer than ever – it looks as though Klopp will be backed to the hilt, and it is vital that he spends the money wisely. The squad is not in bad shape, but they were probably operating at close to full potential to finish where they did last time out: three to five astute signings could transform Liverpool into title challengers.

1. Benjamin Mendy

It is inevitable that a lot of these sort of articles are floating around at the moment – it is the off-season, after all, meaning all we have to go on is transfer rumours! However, not one of them seems to list a left-back as the number one target. For me, replacing Milner should be the top priority. Although he has been relatively solid defensively, any genuinely gifted winger has caused him serious problems. Even more problematically, he has been ineffectual as an outlet going forward: his lack of attacking instinct combined with the fact he is right-footed meant that many a promising attack was brought to a grinding halt when the ball reached Milner on the left. It doesn’t take a genius to assess the first eleven and mark out the central midfielder filling in at left-back as the one that most needs replacing. Benjamin Mendy fits the bill. He would undoubtedly be costly, but Monaco have already shown that they are not totally unwilling to sell their assets: Bernardo Silva recently moved to Manchester City. If he could be lured to Anfield, he would be worth the money; his defensive contributions would undoubtedly be an upgrade on Milner, but the biggest impact may well be in the attacking third. He returned a solid five league assists last campaign, as well as four in the Champions League – if anything, these numbers sell short what he brings to the attack. He is fast, direct, strong and has one of the best deliveries in Europe. I can’t see it happening, but if I were in charge of Liverpool’s transfers then this is where I’d be throwing the money.

2. Virgil Van Dijk

This one might be dead in the water, but I’m holding out some hope on it. As discussed in a previous article (http://jamesmartinblogs.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/van-dijk-dutch-ado-about-nothing.html), there are viable alternatives if the deal has indeed fallen through – nonetheless, he was identified as the prime target for a reason. His aerial prowess is extraordinary, he is strong in the tackle, and he is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. In short, he possesses all of the key attributes to perform well in Liverpool’s back line; parallels have inevitably been drawn with the Lovren deal, but this would be different. There is a reason so many of the top clubs are after Van Dijk: at Celtic and then at Southampton, he has consistently shown his class. To be honest, the list could end here and I would consider it a pretty successful transfer window – the attack is already one of the most potent in the league, and with Van Dijk and Mendy shoring up the defence the team would look very strong indeed.

3. Mohamed Salah

As good as the current attack is, it could still use some reinforcement. It would be fair to say that Mane was the most consistent threat in Liverpool’s front line during the last campaign: when he was absent through injury or the African Cup of Nations, the team looked significantly worse-off. What made Mane so dangerous? His pace and directness, combined with his unpredictability. There is nothing worse for a full-back than a skilful player sprinting out you, who could at any given moment dart infield or accelerate past you down the line. Liverpool could do with such a player on both sides of the pitch. In some ways, Salah is not the obvious choice: he too occupies the right flank, and he too is at risk of being absent for the AFCON once every two years. However, his attributes as a winger fit the bill perfectly. He loves to cut inside, which is almost a prerequisite for Liverpool’s fluid front three, and he certainly has the necessary raw pace. In any case, Mane played off the left at Salzburg: he could take Coutinho’s place, with the playmaker dropping back into the midfield three where he briefly showcased his talents at the end of last season. The Brazilian feeding through-balls for one of Mane or Salah to run on to is a tantalising thought, and one which will surely make opposition defences terrified. Salah actually functioned as a striker for some of his time at Roma, contributing in part to his hugely impressive goal and assist returns: if he is provided with the chances, there is little doubt that he will take them.

4. Alexandre Lacazette

The hypothetical money is certainly starting to run out by the time we reach this far down on the list, but as it’s hypothetical I’m going to go right ahead and keep on spending it. In fairness, Lacazette might represent fairly good value – he said his farewells at the end of the season and the club seems resigned to selling him, and in recent times Ligue 1 does seem to have offered some of the best value from the top five leagues. He would of course still be costly; he has some of the best attacking returns of any striker over the past few seasons, and is an established forward. France’s staggering crop of talent coming through at the moment means that Lacazette is currently very much on the fringes of the national setup, however: with the upcoming World Cup he needs to impress on a bigger stage in order to force his way into the squad. Liverpool could offer him that stage – there are already good options up front, hence why Lacazette finds himself fourth on the wish-list, but the Frenchman would represent an improvement on all of them. Of our existing squad, only Sturridge can match him for natural finishing talent and striker’s instinct: his pace is sadly not what it once was, however, and Lacazette offers speed in abundance. It would be a wrench to demote Firmino and Sturridge to the bench, but depth is what is needed to compete effectively in both the league and the Champions League.

5. Naby Keita

I know, I know, I’m getting greedy at this point! Naby Keita was one of the best central midfielders in Europe last season, truly establishing himself amongst the elite with his performances for RB Leipzig. Why, then, is he down in fifth on the list? Essentially, it’s just a matter of where the squad needs to strengthen. Liverpool already have an array of central midfielders; the team would benefit from an upgrade, but it can’t be considered the top priority. Can, Wijnaldum, Henderson and Coutinho (if the long-term plan is indeed to drop him deeper) are all good established players in that position, and that’s before mentioning upcoming talents such as Grujic and, further down the line, the likes of Pedro Chirivella. Of course, none of these players function in the exact same role as Keita – indeed, that ‘role’ is extremely hard to define as the Guinean is something of a unique talent. Nonetheless, it illustrates that the big cash might be better spent elsewhere for the time being. If money is going spare, however, then he would undoubtedly be a huge asset to the team!

It would be frankly miraculous if the club pulled off all of these transfers – it would represent by far and away the best window in the club’s history. Just two from the list would be very good business: for me the defenders have to be prioritised, but any one of the players mentioned would be a very welcome addition to the squad. The Salah deal looks like it might be done soon – this is a promising sign that the club is very much moving in the right direction.

Van Dijk: Dutch Ado About Nothing?

In their quest to find ever more creative ways to lose out on transfer targets, Liverpool recently released a statement apologising to Southampton and withdrawing all interest in Virgil Van Dijk. This is widely reported as a result of threats by Southampton to prompt a Premier League probe into the club’s approach for the player: he was allegedly ‘tapped up’. This is the commonplace but banned practice of approaching a player before receiving permission from their club – personal terms were reportedly fully agreed with the Dutch centre-back, but the Saints had not even given Liverpool permission to open talks. This is undoubtedly farcical and hugely embarrassing; fans have been left outraged, and to an extent rightly so. However, the anger can be roughly grouped into two categories: that directed at the individual failure of this deal, and that directed at the systematic failures within the club’s transfer policy of which this incident is endemic. The latter category is the more justified, although needs to be qualified. In the former category, the response has been excessive – losing out on this particular deal is not significantly damaging to anything except the club’s pride.

Let’s start with the incident as a self-contained problem. In this respect, frustration and a little wry amusement are the extent of the emotions that seem justified on the facts. Virgil Van Dijk is undoubtedly an excellent central defender, and having been identified as a top target most fans were very eager to see him come to Anfield. However, the prices being thrown around were steep – a bit of overpayment would probably have been reasonable in order to secure such a high priority target, but this will be discussed later. There are other centre-backs available - who one has to imagine the club have been keeping tabs on - who would likely represent better value for money. Koulibaly is a name regularly mentioned. He comes free of the ‘Premier League proven’ tag that seems to add millions on to any deal, and is just one of many viable alternatives. If the Van Dijk deal would really have set the club back sixty million pounds, which seems quite substantially in excess of his objective value, being forced by our own incompetence to look elsewhere is hardly the end of the world. The impact it will have on the club’s next campaign should be negligible: provided the vast sum we didn’t spend here is invested in another identified centre-back, which seems inevitable, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Indeed, some recent reports have suggested that the money could still be used on Van Dijk – this would only add to the farce, but the fact that the deal could still be on the cards demonstrates that the only genuine cost to the club is fairly substantial embarrassment.

However, as an indicator of wider systemic problems within the club, there are legitimate concerns about this failed deal. As mentioned earlier, Liverpool exhibit great reluctance to pay above their perceived value of a player: this is admirable in principle, but in practice sometimes makes it hard for the squad to be strengthened as it needs to be. The policy is not completely wrong, as many have been compelled to suggest in the wake of the Van Dijk saga, but it needs some flexibility. For young talent, it is very sensible; there is a large unknown factor in such purchases, namely development potential. If the club consistently paid over the odds for these younger players, the net loss would be staggering – for every Coutinho there are five Samed Yesils. Instead, the risks are kept limited and the potential rewards are substantial: one need only look at the fact that Coutinho was acquired for £7 million to see the truth in this. However, when looking to buy established players, there needs to be some wiggle room in the FSG policy. To their credit, they have placed a world class manager at the helm who has guided us back into the Champions League. Having done that, investment in the squad is needed – they are in principle prepared to provide it, but the strict rule about not paying over their valuation for a player is ironically at risk of making their money go to waste. If they won’t bite the bullet and pay the asking price for established players who are all but guaranteed to make an impact, less good players will be pursued in the search for ‘value’. This leaves the club at risk of regressing: it would be disastrous for the club to fail to build on their return to the European elite once again. Established stars inevitably come at a premium: this needs to be more effectively factored into Liverpool’s transfer model for the club to really kick on.

In this respect, the outrage over the failed Van Dijk deal is therefore understandable. It has brought to the fore the problems that we all suspected were there with Liverpool’s approach to transfers, and it has highlighted the need for adjustment. Hopefully FSG, and those in charge of transfer policy on a more day-to-day basis, heed this warning sign: if they do so, and do so rapidly, then it may well have been a good thing that Southampton embarrassed us over Van Dijk. In any case, the individual failure to capture him is far from the end of the world – I do still want him at the club, but there could well be cheaper alternatives that represent better value for money. In this sense, one can really sympathise with FSG: the quest for value for money is at least theoretically in the club’s best interests. However, it is by definition hard to find; sometimes the club needs to look past individual bad value and look to the value of bringing a big asset to the football club. The squad is two or three big signings away from being title challengers, or even major players in the Champions League: if we overpay a little bit now for a Van Dijk, a Salah or possibly even a Lacazette, significant rewards will be reaped.

- Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013