The Midweek Maxi #7: Midfield Maestros, Houllier's Paranoia & Giant Centre-Back Targets

Our new Liverpool FC weekly compendium. News. Stats. Views. Debate. Links. Data. Insights. Delights.

To read about why we’ve replaced Free Friday with The Midweek Maxi, see the intro to the first edition.

So far the bumper weekly roundup is going down extremely well with paying subscribers:

This week:

• Excerpts and links to the different pieces we've published across the TTT Substack network, prior to the paywall kicking in;

• Andrew Beasley’s Weekly Stats Analysis, this week looking at Klopp’s use of substitutes.

• Then, some of the best comments from the site this past week;

• Next, Daniel Zambartas’ bumper LFC News, Media & Transfer Round-Up;

• And then finally, bit of Midweek Moby (the TTT stalwart, not the beautiful bald middle-aged man), for the third mini-article of new writing within this week’s Maxi.

Job done! (Oh, and it’s also a discussion thread for the issues raised.)

Note: the Maxi may exceed the email size limit on Substack, but the whole piece can be read online by paying subscribers.

TTT Network Roundup

Links and excerpts to articles on the various TTT sites, which are run by different people and require separate subscriptions to this, the TTT Main Hub.

TTT Main Hub

Some brilliant charts and visuals in Paul’s in-depth comparison of our recent midfield and one including our new signing - Mac Allister - and other players we’ve been seriously targeted with.

Here’s one example which highlights the creativity of our shiny new signing as well as Thuram’s brilliance in the same metric; it also confirms that Kone would be more of a defensive asset than creative threat.

Comparing Liverpool's 2022/23 Midfield vs Mac Allister, Thuram, Koné, Gravenberch, Veiga and more

Further analysis

The way Thuram, Gravenberch and Koné evade challenges and burst forward is exciting, from the video I've seen, and which shows up in the data; something I felt Fabinho could never do, which also shows up in the data.

It's something which I've found lacking in the side once Joël Matip lost his place (with Matip's crazy, mazy runs starting from deep, but sometimes never stopping).

You want great passers; but you want variety, and invention, and to be able to get out of tight spots and take the ball – and the game – to the opposition.

Khéphren Thuram

• Progressive Carries 3.25 – 94th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.63 – 91st percentile

Manu Koné

• Progressive Carries 2.04 – 78th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.97 – 96th percentile

Ryan Gravenberch

• Progressive Carries 1.84 – 74th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.30 – 81st percentile

Gabri Veiga

• Progressive Carries 2.67 – 88th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.53 – 88th percentile

And it's something Mac Allister can do very well, too.

• Progressive Carries 2.15 – 80th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.31 – 82nd percentile

And, what about Bellingham, who was obviously the main target before things got too complicated?

• Progressive Carries 3.06 – 92nd percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 2.63 – 99th percentile

Plus, Gakpo (percentiles compared to strikers, not midfielders; I imagine it's harder for strikers to progress with the ball as you're running into areas of opposition numbers: centre-backs and defensive midfielders.)

• Progressive Carries 2.46 – 86th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 1.41 – 85th percentile

But while he's not quite the same kind of player as the midfielders being sought (albeit they could play in his position), look at Fabinho's numbers:

• Progressive Carries 0.55 – 13th percentile

• Successful Take-Ons 0.25 – 8th percentile

Ouch. Even if it’s not his game, it does stand out.

Dynasty

In this instalment of this major series on Dynasty, Anthony Stanley assesses Gérard Houllier’s tenure at Anfield.

Originally a series of articles covering the period 1992 to Klopp’s arrival in 2017, it was written by TTT Subscriber Anthony Stanley, serialised on The Tomkins Times and then published by TTT as a book called A BANQUET WITHOUT WINE - A Quarter-Century of Liverpool FC in the Premier League Era.

A Quarter of a Century of Liverpool FC in the Premier League Era, 1992-2017, Part 8

In terms of results, Houllier’s third season in sole charge began with a hugely impressive run; it would be November before the Reds suffered their first defeat in the Premier League. But performances were worrying, and though some supporters speculated as to how good this team could be when they clicked, the reality was that Liverpool had been lucky with results and when the wheels fell off following a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough at the Riverside, they did so spectacularly. This fixture was like a harbinger, an awakening to the reality that this squad of players was actually poor. Astonishingly, given the progress thus far in Houllier’s reign, the Reds would not win another league game until Emile Heskey gave Liverpool victory over Southampton near the end of January.

The Champions League campaign had been similarly depressing; indeed, unlike the domestic season, the Reds never really got going. A certain Rafa Benítez dished out a footballing lesson with his superbly orchestrated Valencia side and the Swiss side Basel effectively condemned the Reds to the UEFA Cup by snatching two draws. Liverpool would then be eliminated in this competition by Celtic in the fifth round in a tie that became infamous due to the spiteful spit of disgraceful Diouf.

The league campaign limped on with Houllier not even able to find solace in a previously nigh-on-miserly defence. The hitherto unflappable Polish goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek, was struck down with a serious case of Liverpool goalkeeper malady and rapidly lost confidence as the season progressed; he would find himself rotated with the young Chris Kirkland but did manage an inspired performance in the League Cup final as the Reds salvaged some crumb of comfort with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United. But by the end of the campaign, Liverpool’s great rivals finished nineteen points ahead of the Reds who now found themselves languishing in fifth place and confined to the UEFA Cup. Chelsea, soon to be bankrolled by Russian billions, took the place of the Reds at Europe’s top table; we didn’t know it at the time, but theirs would now be a vice-like grip on a top four place, plunging more doubt upon an already panic-stricken Liverpool support.

If the fan base was agitated, Houllier seemed in the midst of full on paranoia. Never the type to take well to criticism, and having previously worn a bullet-proof vest against the potential barbs of the media thanks to his initial success, the dramatic downturn in form and the subsequent reproach left the manager in a cloud of bemusement and befuddlement, hinting darkly at what he viewed as a campaign against him by former players. A slew of statistics was routinely trotted out to try to mask his team’s shortcomings and the previous urbanity and managerial aloofness which he had made his own was now replaced by a haunted visage. At press conferences, Houllier’s eyes darted here and there as he became a walking caricature of uncertainty and frustration. As the 2003/4 season dawned, many were of the opinion that he should do the honourable thing and fall on his sword, but still others thought that the previous campaign was merely a blip and that the Liverpool manager could recapture previous assurance. But the hovering and troubling spectre of his illness was never far from any Liverpool supporter’s thoughts; had Gérard Houllier lost that vital spark, that essential extra couple of percent that separate the good from the very good? The footballing landscape was shifting dramatically again with the astonishing millions being pumped into Chelsea by Roman Abramovich; at the very least there was a sense that the French manager was now ill-equipped to face this additional challenge.

Transfer Hub

Mizgan’s analysis focused on a potential centre-back signing for the Reds in Dutch giant Micky van de Ven.

Scouting Report - Micky van de Ven: Giant Defensive Talent For The Reds' Left Side

The duel numbers are decent, while passing and progression are right up there. Given that he plays as a wide centre-back, the aerial duel contention rate isn’t on a conventional level. But, the win rate shows that he is capable of doing well if the opposition team is focused just on playing air football (prime Burnley under Sean Dyche per se).

He clocked up the highest speed for a centre-back in Bundesliga for the 2022/23 season - 35.97kmph. He is also second in the xGBuildup among defenders who have played a minimum of 1000 minutes - 0.26 per 90. The latter shows that he is someone who likes to be involved in the team’s buildup play, be it through accurate passing or progressive running/passing.

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