I am obsessed with Trent's transition, and have a lot of thoughts on it. Generally, I believe we should transition him to midfield in a protected role. In my eyes it's simple; back 5 years ago we had an exceptionally industrious midfield, but that didn't give us G/A, so we had our full-backs become attackers. Now, we have an exceptionally creative midfield, so let's use Robbo and Bradley to offer width but generally just run and defend, and let's play Trent next to a DM, protected like Pirlo.
Pirlo is actually a quite fantastic comparison. I watched pretty much every Pirlo game since I became obsessed with him as well during his last 5 years as a player. Pirlo gave the ball away quite a lot, too! He was far from perfect in receiving the ball under pressure, and quite often did a lazy one-touch upwards to threaten in-behind for the fast attackers, but sometimes just looked like a Sunday League instruction.
Under Arne. Trent will only fit the system as the assist king of yesteryear from right back over the halfway and toward the byline. The Hollywood has become too much(managers fault in my opinion)they are the ones asking him to do it. Arne tends to press in the area of the opposition where he see's their weakness, Where trent is positioned and where he is told to deliver the ball there will be press behind both areas. Nobody can live with Hollywood in the middle of the Park A right sided DM and Centre Mid will be tasked with any leaks. Just my take on it! Can't wait to see how Arne Slots it all together. Come on we are all using it arne we!
Hey Josh, great piece!! As you have pointed out multiple times, Klop didn’t mind losing the ball in certain situations, it was a part of the plan. Trent’s unpredictability, in a chaotic Klop system, made him shine. IMO he’s the type of player you build a system around. His idiosyncratic qualities are not to be shoehorned into a “classical” position. Luckily, the next gen managers, and Arne seems to be a part of that, are more relational. If done correctly, we can hopefully have our cake and eat it too. Cheers!!
Great read Josh. Sounds like Liverpool and Slot have two options.
Either we build the team around Trent (somewhere) with a new deal and some transfer market moves to make it work, maybe sacrificing some other players we like but who don’t work for the new structure OR we sell him/let him leave on a free and make him someone else’s problem to solve.
I have to say, much as I love Trent, your article has me perhaps going for the latter. Let Slot build a team without the need to fit it around a unicorn who sacrifices possession like almost no other player around.
Maybe it’s the right time. He’s done everything with Liverpool. It feels like he probably needs a fresh start for motivation, and maybe a move abroad more detached from the constant criticism he receives in England won’t be a bad thing either.
Ahh Josh so you are normally the king of context but I do think you are missing some here.. (if I may make such a bold claim)
1) pass completion - Trent is on a level with KDB and Trippier, two other high assist, high crossing, high set piece taking players. These distort the average, particularly crosses & set pieces of which he takes a huge amount per 90.
If I read correctly If you break it down pass completion in other areas is good.
2) klopp has ZERO chill 😂 pep ljinders talks about the final pass from anywhere, Liverpool talk about space control, klopp is mental, and losing the ball high up creates counter press situations.
We don’t actually know how chill Trent is.
If you combine these points - different role, different coach - Trent has actually been recording 88% & 91% pass completion for England whilst still topping chance created and line breaking pass stats. Potentially due to lack of runners for long passes but still..
Likewise, Trent’s “positional discipline” of often just where klopp wants him. Very different in these last two England games, very disciplined.
3) Trent is crap at tackling. Hasn’t got the quick feet.
However; very good stats for ball recoveries and interceptions, plus passes blocked. Gives a different profile.. more of blocking passes.
Also… Trent is crap at tackling. So the biggest risk is actually yellow card, fullback on yellow card, and best playmaker on yellow card.
So the betting/data/risk based decision is… don’t tackle. Slow the player down, force them inside.
Do not risk getting a yellow card and being at risk of players diving to take out our best creator.
I would put this with Liverpools data led approach to not blocking shots and tackling on the box.
There is too much evidence, too much of a pattern. Too few yellows for a bad tackler. Don’t risk the tackle… look to block passes, intercept etc.
Think of vs Newcastle.. Trent got early yellow, held out, and played a key pass in the set up of first goal. Keep Trent on the pitch and ideally not on yellow.
Point is.. Trent is absolutely a bit of a unicorn... but so many of the things he is judged on may be due to one coach and how he is used.
People say Trent isn’t good in tight spaces but watch rice get robbed a load of times. Mac alister lose the ball at 6. There are different solutions to that, scanning and moving the ball quick.
But because Trent is Trent they say “it’s cos he is not a midfielder”.
I think.. given time to adjust, Trent could well flourish in midfield. He’ll never be Kante. But could well work as part of a double pivot.
You make some excellent points. I agree with a lot of what you’ve said, but disagree on a few.
1) I appreciate the demands of different roles and managers, but I do think we’ve got a pretty decent gauge of how chill Trent is now. I think he’s Hollywood and it won’t be easy to train that out of him. He’s a natural when it comes to the last pass. Just like it’s natural for Robertson to run loads.
2) I never actually mentioned Trent being bad at tackling or having positional issues. It’s not that for me. It’s more to do with intensity and wanting to defend. Sticking tight to your man, being aggressive and not losing one-on-one duels with dribblers, which is easier said than done for sure. It’s not a coincidence that Guardiola targets him every time he faces Liverpool.
I agree with your final point. I do think he can be a midfielder. England aren’t conducting a proper experiment. He’d cope better under Slot.
Ahh sorry didn’t mean to rant, PTSD from Trent arguments 🫣 I agree with both those points..
I do think it’s inherent in Trent to be Hollywood because he’s so good at those passes and has the vision. That’s the USP.
There’s a difference to like (eg) stevie though. I always felt Stevie was better further forward because then he literally couldn’t kind of get bored and hit a 50yard ball 😂. I kind of felt Stevie went cross field when it wasn’t required.. Whereas with Trent I think the passes tend to be the right option, if relatively high risk and very direct. (But that could just be me)
I guess the things isn’t not being Hollywood.. he’ll never be Kroos.. it’s can he temper it when required from the 75% pure mental kloppness to a more controlled game if required… which I do think there has been evidence of.
I think some folks get carried away with a sexy half turn and dribble in midfield.. but then label a long pass Hollywood. Eg IMO Mainoo is just as Hollywood as Trent. Except a dribble can leave you out of position and after a long pass you should be behind the ball…
& defensively.. yeah he’s not mad energy and intensity. But I do wonder how much that’s role specific. There’s a lot of energy given to chasing around in the RB/inverted role.. could that be channeled differently.
That’s the one bit that has been a bit confusing in the England games is just how low energy Trent has been for England.
It looks to me like he is focused 100% on staying exactly in line with rice & about 10m away and keeping the defensive positioning above all else
(Which makes sense as it wouldn’t be something with loads of matches worth of practice)
Likewise with avoiding being caught with the ball, more scanning and making first time wall passes.. Once those have been learnt and become more second nature we may see more energy injected.
I am obsessed with Trent's transition, and have a lot of thoughts on it. Generally, I believe we should transition him to midfield in a protected role. In my eyes it's simple; back 5 years ago we had an exceptionally industrious midfield, but that didn't give us G/A, so we had our full-backs become attackers. Now, we have an exceptionally creative midfield, so let's use Robbo and Bradley to offer width but generally just run and defend, and let's play Trent next to a DM, protected like Pirlo.
Pirlo is actually a quite fantastic comparison. I watched pretty much every Pirlo game since I became obsessed with him as well during his last 5 years as a player. Pirlo gave the ball away quite a lot, too! He was far from perfect in receiving the ball under pressure, and quite often did a lazy one-touch upwards to threaten in-behind for the fast attackers, but sometimes just looked like a Sunday League instruction.
Yeah me too.. I basically agree
Great piece Josh. Really enjoying your writing, and the way you keep looking past the cliches/received opinions with data. Always illuminating.
Thanks a lot Chris.
Play him right midfield in a three with Bajcetic and Macallister. Done.
Under Arne. Trent will only fit the system as the assist king of yesteryear from right back over the halfway and toward the byline. The Hollywood has become too much(managers fault in my opinion)they are the ones asking him to do it. Arne tends to press in the area of the opposition where he see's their weakness, Where trent is positioned and where he is told to deliver the ball there will be press behind both areas. Nobody can live with Hollywood in the middle of the Park A right sided DM and Centre Mid will be tasked with any leaks. Just my take on it! Can't wait to see how Arne Slots it all together. Come on we are all using it arne we!
Hey Josh, great piece!! As you have pointed out multiple times, Klop didn’t mind losing the ball in certain situations, it was a part of the plan. Trent’s unpredictability, in a chaotic Klop system, made him shine. IMO he’s the type of player you build a system around. His idiosyncratic qualities are not to be shoehorned into a “classical” position. Luckily, the next gen managers, and Arne seems to be a part of that, are more relational. If done correctly, we can hopefully have our cake and eat it too. Cheers!!
Great read Josh. Sounds like Liverpool and Slot have two options.
Either we build the team around Trent (somewhere) with a new deal and some transfer market moves to make it work, maybe sacrificing some other players we like but who don’t work for the new structure OR we sell him/let him leave on a free and make him someone else’s problem to solve.
I have to say, much as I love Trent, your article has me perhaps going for the latter. Let Slot build a team without the need to fit it around a unicorn who sacrifices possession like almost no other player around.
Maybe it’s the right time. He’s done everything with Liverpool. It feels like he probably needs a fresh start for motivation, and maybe a move abroad more detached from the constant criticism he receives in England won’t be a bad thing either.
So Bellingham aside, there aren’t many star players, difference makers, who don’t require compensation in the way you build your team.
Now Liverpool could not afford to buy Trent if he came on the market.
So if Liverpool want a star player.. (1) they can’t afford one (2) they have to compensate for them anyway.
So let’s say Kane was 25, we couldn’t afford him (wages + transfer) and he can’t run in behind or press properly so you have to compensate anyway.
Likewise… there are no fullbacks or midfielders who pass like Trent *and* tackle like Kante/walker.
Trent’s only got 1year left.. you wouldn’t get enough selling him to make it worth while, and even if you did you would be in the same situation.
Ahh Josh so you are normally the king of context but I do think you are missing some here.. (if I may make such a bold claim)
1) pass completion - Trent is on a level with KDB and Trippier, two other high assist, high crossing, high set piece taking players. These distort the average, particularly crosses & set pieces of which he takes a huge amount per 90.
If I read correctly If you break it down pass completion in other areas is good.
2) klopp has ZERO chill 😂 pep ljinders talks about the final pass from anywhere, Liverpool talk about space control, klopp is mental, and losing the ball high up creates counter press situations.
We don’t actually know how chill Trent is.
If you combine these points - different role, different coach - Trent has actually been recording 88% & 91% pass completion for England whilst still topping chance created and line breaking pass stats. Potentially due to lack of runners for long passes but still..
Likewise, Trent’s “positional discipline” of often just where klopp wants him. Very different in these last two England games, very disciplined.
3) Trent is crap at tackling. Hasn’t got the quick feet.
However; very good stats for ball recoveries and interceptions, plus passes blocked. Gives a different profile.. more of blocking passes.
Also… Trent is crap at tackling. So the biggest risk is actually yellow card, fullback on yellow card, and best playmaker on yellow card.
So the betting/data/risk based decision is… don’t tackle. Slow the player down, force them inside.
Do not risk getting a yellow card and being at risk of players diving to take out our best creator.
I would put this with Liverpools data led approach to not blocking shots and tackling on the box.
There is too much evidence, too much of a pattern. Too few yellows for a bad tackler. Don’t risk the tackle… look to block passes, intercept etc.
Think of vs Newcastle.. Trent got early yellow, held out, and played a key pass in the set up of first goal. Keep Trent on the pitch and ideally not on yellow.
Point is.. Trent is absolutely a bit of a unicorn... but so many of the things he is judged on may be due to one coach and how he is used.
People say Trent isn’t good in tight spaces but watch rice get robbed a load of times. Mac alister lose the ball at 6. There are different solutions to that, scanning and moving the ball quick.
But because Trent is Trent they say “it’s cos he is not a midfielder”.
I think.. given time to adjust, Trent could well flourish in midfield. He’ll never be Kante. But could well work as part of a double pivot.
You make some excellent points. I agree with a lot of what you’ve said, but disagree on a few.
1) I appreciate the demands of different roles and managers, but I do think we’ve got a pretty decent gauge of how chill Trent is now. I think he’s Hollywood and it won’t be easy to train that out of him. He’s a natural when it comes to the last pass. Just like it’s natural for Robertson to run loads.
2) I never actually mentioned Trent being bad at tackling or having positional issues. It’s not that for me. It’s more to do with intensity and wanting to defend. Sticking tight to your man, being aggressive and not losing one-on-one duels with dribblers, which is easier said than done for sure. It’s not a coincidence that Guardiola targets him every time he faces Liverpool.
I agree with your final point. I do think he can be a midfielder. England aren’t conducting a proper experiment. He’d cope better under Slot.
Ahh sorry didn’t mean to rant, PTSD from Trent arguments 🫣 I agree with both those points..
I do think it’s inherent in Trent to be Hollywood because he’s so good at those passes and has the vision. That’s the USP.
There’s a difference to like (eg) stevie though. I always felt Stevie was better further forward because then he literally couldn’t kind of get bored and hit a 50yard ball 😂. I kind of felt Stevie went cross field when it wasn’t required.. Whereas with Trent I think the passes tend to be the right option, if relatively high risk and very direct. (But that could just be me)
I guess the things isn’t not being Hollywood.. he’ll never be Kroos.. it’s can he temper it when required from the 75% pure mental kloppness to a more controlled game if required… which I do think there has been evidence of.
I think some folks get carried away with a sexy half turn and dribble in midfield.. but then label a long pass Hollywood. Eg IMO Mainoo is just as Hollywood as Trent. Except a dribble can leave you out of position and after a long pass you should be behind the ball…
& defensively.. yeah he’s not mad energy and intensity. But I do wonder how much that’s role specific. There’s a lot of energy given to chasing around in the RB/inverted role.. could that be channeled differently.
That’s the one bit that has been a bit confusing in the England games is just how low energy Trent has been for England.
It looks to me like he is focused 100% on staying exactly in line with rice & about 10m away and keeping the defensive positioning above all else
(Which makes sense as it wouldn’t be something with loads of matches worth of practice)
Likewise with avoiding being caught with the ball, more scanning and making first time wall passes.. Once those have been learnt and become more second nature we may see more energy injected.