Liverpool 3-0 Stuttgart | 3 Random Things noticed

Three (3) curious observations from our first pre-season game against Stuttgart were worth highlighting here.

1. The Presence of Curtis Jones

I remember when a few years ago Curtis Jones was invited up from Steven Gerrard’s under 18 team by Jurgen Klopp along with Rafael Camacho to train with the first team squad. Even though he was only 17 years old at the time and had bags of talent, my initial impression was that this kid was a bit too slight to offer the option Klopp needed in the middle of the park. Under Klopp’s intense and disciplined system, the midfield is the engine room where he only selects players that have proven capable of following his instructions in minutia. Aside from his slight build, I suspected that Jones’ self-confidence might hinder his ability to play within himself for the sake of the system and he would therefore be better suited on the left wing where he is hardly a like for like Sadio Mane replacement. Fast forward several years, and Curtis Jones has had a breakthrough 2019/20 season with the Reds, scoring a handful of goals and offering something different in the middle for Klopp to ponder. He has surprised me with his willingness to play a disciplined game at times where I can guarantee he has been desperate to be unleashed and express himself.

Fast forward a few more weeks and bringing us to this pre-season game, Jones appears to have either grown a couple of inches taller, added a few pounds/kilos of upper body muscle or both. Suddenly he looks as imposing in the midfield as combination between Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum. Combine that with his natural talent and confidence on the ball and Klopp might suddenly have more than a few tough decisions to make as to how to ensure Jones is given the game time needed to continue his rapid development.

This boy is ready to compete with not only the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner for minutes, but even Henderson and Gini for one of the two more advanced positions in the midfield three. Some might consider this a dilemma for Klopp, but I’m sure he’s sitting back thinking what a great problem this is for him to have.

2. Salah goes Deeper

From the various Inside Training clips offered up by LFC TV and the LFC YouTube channel, one thing I started to notice was how much deeper Mo Salah appeared to drop during their drills. Because these clips are relatively short I did not think much of it at the time, however seeing him replicate this behaviour during the actual friendly game with Stuttgart made me suspect that this could be the seasonal tweak from Klopp and company this time around. In previous seasons we have seen the tweak represented by Salah moving to the center forward position (and then back), the high defensive line on ALL opposition free kicks and of course the cessation of Jurgen Klopp’s famed gegenpress i.e. “heavy metal football”.

From the various Inside Training clips offered up by LFC TV and the LFC YouTube channel, one thing I started to notice was how much deeper Mo Salah appeared to drop during their drills. Because these clips are relatively short I did not think much of it at the time, however seeing him replicate this behaviour during the actual friendly game with Stuttgart made me suspect that this could be the seasonal tweak from Klopp and company this time around. In previous seasons we have seen the tweak represented by Salah moving to the center forward position (and then back), the high defensive line on ALL opposition free kicks and of course the cessation of Jurgen Klopp’s famed gegenpress i.e. “heavy metal football”.

Although it was difficult to get a full grasp of the game given the less than ideal camera angles during the friendly coverage, I could see Salah dropping deeper during our attacks and even popping up on the left week, floating balls in over the defenders in contrast to his typical starting positions. Perhaps there is nothing to it and Klopp is playing mind games with opposition scouts, but you get the sense that this season will see a new Mo instructed to play more for the team while the likes of Keita and Jones will surprise opposition by finding themselves more in the opponent’s box. New haircut new BFF (Kostas!) but hopefully as far as goals return it will be the same old Mo…but deeper.

3. These Nike Jerseys Though!

I have a love hate relationship with this new Nike kit. Going back to the Warrior days I was convinced that surely kit manufacturers knew what it would take to create a stellar jersey but for reasons unknown to me they would choose questionable designs. Were they trolling? Is there a science that dictates higher sales if more fans hate a jersey design? I did not get it. And along came New Balance (who of course own Warrior). Kit after kit was a hit and finally it seemed as if reason prevailed and somebody was getting paid to simply give the fans what they wanted. A straight forward red kit that highlighted the Liver Bird crest and played on our yearning for nostalgia from yesteryear.

Now back to Nike… The kit definitely looks smarter when graced by the players, although I wonder about the white stripes on the shorts and sides of the shirt. But what struck me most was the design of the collar on the back of the neck. Perhaps I am in the minority, but I wish they had done three things with this kit:

1. Get rid of the green strip on the collar and the sleeves
2. Get rid of the white lines down the side
3. Keep the back of the collar uniform

Perhaps this would be considered too plain and I am in the minority. And the sales have by all accounts exceeded expectations for which as a fan I am thankful. Going back to my earlier statement, I suspect there is something the higher ups at Nike know about fan mentality that translates into successful sales in spite of less than positive reviews (or is it is because of?).