Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | Set to miss the 2018/19 season

[Camilo]

You mean he looked like an Arsenal player in his Arsenal days
A bit like Aboomerang and Mkhi do now

Don't give Mkhi a pass, he's just shite.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Which shouldn't be too difficult seeing how shite England are

Not really.

Henderson
Alli
Lallana
Dier
Wilshere
Lingard
Barkley
Loftus-Cheek
Winks

None of the above are world class, but all decent when on top of their game, as we're seeing from Oxlade now.

Klopp has done a fantastic job with him so far. To be fair, he's always said he prefers to play in midfield, and with a run of games there, I'm starting to see why.

Been really good of late, and if we (England) think about playing a 433 in the world cup, then he should definitely be an option.

Energy, drive and creativity.

 

[Dumbstar]

Not really.

Henderson - shit
Alli - Meh
Lallana - always injured meh
Dier - shit
Wilshere - shit
Lingard - meh
Barkley - absolutely shit
Loftus-Cheek - shit
Winks - meh

Above ratings are under an England manager rather than club. Hope that helps save you unnecessary heartbreak if you're an England fan.

Edit: Ox - meh

 

[Jaybomb]

Dier
Alli Lingard

Would be my midfield three for England.

The Ox could maybe go on the wing with Sterling. But even then I think Rashford is a much better option alongside Kane.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Would go for something like this:

Butland
Walker Stones Jones Young
Henderson
Oxlade Lallana
Sterling-------------Lingard
Kane​

 

[Halds]

Man of the Match and a wonderful assist today.

 

[hellohello]

He has impressed since his move from Arsenal, was also a very smart and mature decision to leave Arsenal because he felt it was good for his career and would make him a better player.

 

[Fish in kettles]

Would go for something like this:

Butland
Walker Stones Jones Young
Henderson
Oxlade Lallana
Sterling-------------Lingard
Kane​

That is a depressingly poor side, if that was in the premiership, i appreciate they can't play against themselves, but theoretically, where do you fancy they would finish, mid table? I only say that because there are probably goals in them but they would ship loads, and no midfield general, no passer of the ball.

 

[Carl]

Dier
Alli Lingard

Would be my midfield three for England.

The Ox could maybe go on the wing with Sterling. But even then I think Rashford is a much better option alongside Kane.

I hope Southgate pays no attention to you in that case. That midfield would get absolutely battered. Ali is practically a 2nd striker and Lingard is a wide man primarily.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

That is a depressingly poor side, if that was in the premiership, i appreciate they can't play against themselves, but theoretically, where do you fancy they would finish, mid table? I only say that because there are probably goals in them but they would ship loads, and no midfield general, no passer of the ball.

Liverpool are second using 2 of the 3 in midfield, stick Dier in there as the general and it isn’t that bad.

 

[B20]

That is a depressingly poor side, if that was in the premiership, i appreciate they can't play against themselves, but theoretically, where do you fancy they would finish, mid table? I only say that because there are probably goals in them but they would ship loads, and no midfield general, no passer of the ball.

It's not that much worse than the current Liverpool side. I reckon around arsenals level.

 

[JulesWinnfield]

That is a depressingly poor side, if that was in the premiership, i appreciate they can't play against themselves, but theoretically, where do you fancy they would finish, mid table? I only say that because there are probably goals in them but they would ship loads, and no midfield general, no passer of the ball.

You think a team where 9 of the 11 are all pretty regular for top 6 teams would finish mid-table? Why?

England might not be the best team in the world but the players are hardly all Mark Noble's either. All this nonsense I keep seeing of they'll do well to get out the group and such is massively exaggerated.

 

[fergieisold]

It's the centre mid positions that are the worry for England. We've got plenty of attacking talent, no reason why we can't score a lot of goals!

 

[Rob]

That is a depressingly poor side, if that was in the premiership, i appreciate they can't play against themselves, but theoretically, where do you fancy they would finish, mid table? I only say that because there are probably goals in them but they would ship loads, and no midfield general, no passer of the ball.

What? 9 of those players are regulars for top 4 clubs in England. Other than Lallana, that’s how I’d set up as well, and it’s a decent enough team.

 

[Dumbstar]

What? 9 of those players are regulars for top 4 clubs in England. Other than Lallana, that’s how I’d set up as well, and it’s a decent enough team.

More appropriately they all play for some of the top managers in the top four, and the world. All these players have played under lesser managers and proven their true value (the Rodgers, the LvGs, the Hodgsons). Kane obviously has surpassed the managers but all other players are being made to look better than they are by foreign players around them or the managers' style of play.

England will get out of their group. Then come home soon after.

 

[Jaybomb]

I hope Southgate pays no attention to you in that case. That midfield would get absolutely battered. Ali is practically a 2nd striker and Lingard is a wide man primarily.

What’s the difference in that midfield and what Peps doing? De Bruyne and Silva are “attackers” too just like Alli and Lingard.

You can play anyone anywhere as long as you make it work.

 

[Rob]

More appropriately they all play for some of the top managers in the top four, and the world. All these players have played under lesser managers and proven their true value (the Rodgers, the LvGs, the Hodgsons). Kane obviously has surpassed the managers but all other players are being made to look better than they are by foreign players around them or the managers' style of play.

England will get out of their group. Then come home soon after.

Certainly, and there are obviously better teams that will eventually knock you out. I just don't think the team is depressingly poor. With a bit of luck in the draw, I could see you reach the quarter finals.

 

[Carl]

What’s the difference in that midfield and what Peps doing? De Bruyne and Silva are “attackers” too just like Alli and Lingard.

You can play anyone anywhere as long as you make it work.

And as long as the players are good enough to make it work. Firstly, you're comparing De Bruyne and Silva to Lingard and Alli. That's ridiculous in itself tbh. But more importantly you're comparing Southgate's ability to make something work to Pep's.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

What? 9 of those players are regulars for top 4 clubs in England. Other than Lallana, that’s how I’d set up as well, and it’s a decent enough team.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about Lallana but he's always been one of England's top performers in the last couple of years. If he gets trusted with more game time he surely has to be an option. Otherwise it's going to have to be Wilshere, Winks or maybe Alli but then it would probably have to be a 4-2-3-1 and I'm not sure about Oxlade in a midfield 2.

 

[Fish in kettles]

Certainly, and there are obviously better teams that will eventually knock you out. I just don't think the team is depressingly poor. With a bit of luck in the draw, I could see you reach the quarter finals.

The keeper is distinctly average.
Two full backs both better going forward than defending, Walker always has a mistake in him, Young isn't really a full back is he?
Jones is pretty awful, Stones is good on the ball but not the greatest defender, again always has a mistake in him.
Henderson is workmanlike but no real quality,
A decent front 3 but who is going to supply them?
More importantly who is going to stop the opposition playing?
Yes Walker and Stones play for City (although Stones does not appear to be first choice), but they get away with so many mistakes because City are so good.

Oxlade has had a couple of good games but was pretty gash at Arsenal.

The manager doesn't inspire confidence.

I see Kane as the only WC player in there. Yes they should progress from the group, but you think they have the beating of any of the top teams? They are ranked 16th for a reason.

 

[Rob]

The keeper is distinctly average.
Two full backs both better going forward than defending, Walker always has a mistake in him, Young isn't really a full back is he?
Jones is pretty awful, Stones is good on the ball but not the greatest defender, again always has a mistake in him.
Henderson is workmanlike but no real quality,
A decent front 3 but who is going to supply them?
More importantly who is going to stop the opposition playing?
Yes Walker and Stones play for City (although Stones does not appear to be first choice), but they get away with so many mistakes because City are so good.

Oxlade has had a couple of good games but was pretty gash at Arsenal.

The manager doesn't inspire confidence.

I see Kane as the only WC player in there. Yes they should progress from the group, but you think they have the beating of any of the top teams? They are ranked 16th for a reason.

Sure, there are teams like Germany, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, France that are far better, but like I said, unless you draw them in the 1/16 final, then you should at least reach the QF. Obviously that all depends on you winning your group which could be difficult with Belgium there.

 

[Akshay]

This thread is getting derailed. Please take the conversation about England's WC chances to another thread.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

He was shite today.

 

[Brophs]

I've said this before and will probably be proven utterly wrong, but I just don't get him at all. My reading of him would be that he's a technically pretty average footballer, who doesn't have particularly good vision or reading of the game, but who is very strong and quick and willing to go up against players. Yet the media narrative this week seems to be that it was a masterstroke bringing him in.

He also has one of the worst nicknames in football.

 

[2cents]

Think he was their third worst player after Lovren and the right-back. For some reason he seemed baffled to be taken off.

 

[Klopper76]

He’s been a mixed bag since we signed him. He was the MOTM in our previous league game against Newcastle, then he had a stinker today. He’s got potential to get better but his favoured role is in midfield where I think we’ll look to strengthen in the summer, with Keita and one other player coming in.

We’ll see how he fares when that happens.

 

[Nick7]

Think he was their third worst player after Lovren and the right-back. For some reason he seemed baffled to be taken off.

He looked like he was pissed off at himself.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

He's similar to Emre Can in that he can often look like the best player and the worst player in the same game. He looked like he could be their most threatening player, his pace and movement were always a worry, he continually popped up in the right areas whist we were busy trying to nullify Salah but then he ends up doing nothing. I don't really know what he's good at. I certainly don't see a midfielder in there.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Had a mare today. I still think overall he's a poor player that's capable of the odd good game.

 

[Alex99]

He’s been a mixed bag since we signed him. He was the MOTM in our previous league game against Newcastle, then he had a stinker today. He’s got potential to get better but his favoured role is in midfield where I think we’ll look to strengthen in the summer, with Keita and one other player coming in.

We’ll see how he fares when that happens.

I still think he was a very strange signing and Arsenal were probably laughing all the way to the bank when you agreed to the transfer.

The line I hear time and again about Liverpool is that they haven't got the spending power of the likes of City, United and Chelsea and they've got more of a deficit depth-wise than those clubs too, and I agree. In light of that, and until you have more strength in depth, the signings you make should be immediate and obvious improvements to your strongest XI, with the likes of Milner, Moreno, Lovren, etc. dropping down to the bench as rotation options and backup.

van Dijk, Salah, Mane, and even Robertson with the way he's been playing of late, all fit that bill, and I think Keita will too when he arrives. Wijnaldum, and now Oxlade-Chamberlain, not so much. That's £65 million worth of investment in the squad for two players that are likely to find themselves out on their arses sooner rather than later.

My understanding with Ox was that he was fed up of the utility role he was filling at Arsenal, filling in up top, out wide, behind the striker, and I think even at full-back a couple of times, when he felt his best position was in the middle of the park. Klopp signed him for a very high fee, even in this transfer climate, and it's only really been the few games in the run up to the United game that I've heard any real praise for him.

I can't see him ever being a regular starter as a central midfielder for any team with Champions League ambitions, nor can I see him slotting back into that wide-forward/winger role he's more often associated with. He is a decent enough squad option, and every now and then he'll have a run of games where he actually looks very good, but he'll always revert to type, and if he was unhappy with his role as a squad option at Arsenal, I see no reason to believe why he'll be happy as a squad option at Liverpool.

Looking back at his signing, it appears a lot like you thought Coutinho was still on his way out in the summer, and panic bought a sort of replacement in Ox when it became apparent that any deal for Lemar was going to be difficult to get across the line. Coutinho ended up staying until and were left with a player that you didn't really have a role for.

He's not been out with injury since signing for you, and since he's signed you've played 38 games, 34 of which he has appeared in. However, he has started in just 17 of those, and has only completed a full match for you 8 times. Of those 8 full games, 5 have been in the Premier League, but the first didn't happen until 17th December when you went to Bournemouth (he was subbed off in the 87th minute and 89th minute against West Ham and Chelsea respectively in November). The other full matches have been Maribor at home in the CL, Leicester away in the League Cup, and Everton at home in the FA Cup. He has actually made more appearances for you lasting less than 15 minutes than he has lasting a full game (he's made 10 appearances lasting 15 minutes or less, and 5 of those actually total at less than 7 minutes).

If you can keep Salah, Mane and Firmino, there's no room for him in your attack, and even if one left, you'd want to replace them rather than putting Ox there. Once Keita comes in, I don't really see any room for him in your midfield, particularly not if you look to sign someone to replace the creative spark lost with Coutinho's departure. At which point, you have to start wondering what exactly you spent £40 million on. It's not for this thread, but I think it's an issue Klopp has to address with his transfer policy. Karius and Klavan were cheap enough to be expendable, but Wijnaldum and Ox may well pan out to be two quite expensive flops from two consecutive summer windows. I don't think you can afford many more.

 

[ShadesOfTomato]

I still think he was a very strange signing and Arsenal were probably laughing all the way to the bank when you agreed to the transfer.

The line I hear time and again about Liverpool is that they haven't got the spending power of the likes of City, United and Chelsea and they've got more of a deficit depth-wise than those clubs too, and I agree. In light of that, and until you have more strength in depth, the signings you make should be immediate and obvious improvements to your strongest XI, with the likes of Milner, Moreno, Lovren, etc. dropping down to the bench as rotation options and backup.

van Dijk, Salah, Mane, and even Robertson with the way he's been playing of late, all fit that bill, and I think Keita will too when he arrives. Wijnaldum, and now Oxlade-Chamberlain, not so much. That's £65 million worth of investment in the squad for two players that are likely to find themselves out on their arses sooner rather than later.

My understanding with Ox was that he was fed up of the utility role he was filling at Arsenal, filling in up top, out wide, behind the striker, and I think even at full-back a couple of times, when he felt his best position was in the middle of the park. Klopp signed him for a very high fee, even in this transfer climate, and it's only really been the few games in the run up to the United game that I've heard any real praise for him.

I can't see him ever being a regular starter as a central midfielder for any team with Champions League ambitions, nor can I see him slotting back into that wide-forward/winger role he's more often associated with. He is a decent enough squad option, and every now and then he'll have a run of games where he actually looks very good, but he'll always revert to type, and if he was unhappy with his role as a squad option at Arsenal, I see no reason to believe why he'll be happy as a squad option at Liverpool.

Looking back at his signing, it appears a lot like you thought Coutinho was still on his way out in the summer, and panic bought a sort of replacement in Ox when it became apparent that any deal for Lemar was going to be difficult to get across the line. Coutinho ended up staying until and were left with a player that you didn't really have a role for.

He's not been out with injury since signing for you, and since he's signed you've played 38 games, 34 of which he has appeared in. However, he has started in just 17 of those, and has only completed a full match for you 8 times. Of those 8 full games, 5 have been in the Premier League, but the first didn't happen until 17th December when you went to Bournemouth (he was subbed off in the 87th minute and 89th minute against West Ham and Chelsea respectively in November). The other full matches have been Maribor at home in the CL, Leicester away in the League Cup, and Everton at home in the FA Cup. He has actually made more appearances for you lasting less than 15 minutes than he has lasting a full game (he's made 10 appearances lasting 15 minutes or less, and 5 of those actually total at less than 7 minutes).

If you can keep Salah, Mane and Firmino, there's no room for him in your attack, and even if one left, you'd want to replace them rather than putting Ox there. Once Keita comes in, I don't really see any room for him in your midfield, particularly not if you look to sign someone to replace the creative spark lost with Coutinho's departure. At which point, you have to start wondering what exactly you spent £40 million on. It's not for this thread, but I think it's an issue Klopp has to address with his transfer policy. Karius and Klavan were cheap enough to be expendable, but Wijnaldum and Ox may well pan out to be two quite expensive flops from two consecutive summer windows. I don't think you can afford many more.

1) Ox was rumoured to be joining us all summer.

2) I don't think I've ever heard any LFC fan label Wijnaldum a flop.

 

[Liver_bird]

We haven't signed many if any duds under Klopp, he'll get a lot more recognition here under Klopp but his shooting needs working on as does his consistency.
Ultimately how successful he is will be determined by the set up around him. He can be a valuable piece but he doesn't scream centre piece to me. He'd need to improve a couple levels for that.
Still we need more in the summer and he'll play a valuable role till the end of the season.
One thing I've learnt from the last few weeks is the blame on players is exacerbated when your defence screws up.
Till we gain some consistency back there it's futile blaming anything else.
Midfield does need a 're jig and overhaul though.
Gini has been excellent for us, anyone calling him a flop is probably expecting Newcastle Gini and he doesn't play that role here.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Oxlade Chamberlain looked the same painfully average player he looked in his 7 or 8 years at Arsenal to me today.

 

[MAME DIOUF 32]

There was a point where he tried to play a Hollywood pass that was so easily cut out that I burst out laughing.

He's a nothing player and a media creation. It's so embarrassing seeing pundits actually calling him "the Ox". Hopefully he doesn't go to the WC and can fully focus on being a younger version of James Milner.

 

[elmo]

He went missing yesterday, I literally forgot he was on the pitch till he was subbed off.

 

[criticalanalysis]

He can be good when the pitch opens up and there's lots of green in front of him (as does most football players and especially Liverpool's players with Klopp's tactics) but to play in the centre, you've got to have a bit more guile and craft to break down two banks of four.

Physically and mentality wise he has it, just not sure his natural game suits the position he wants to play. Also to be fair maybe he was trying to be disciplined as if he went venturing forward, Utd would have been on the break every time.

 

[GaryLifo]

I notice this Keita is becoming a bit of a Liverpool legend before he's even kicked a ball in English football.

I'm sure he's a very good player and all that, but he's going to have to come in and hit Salah levels if he's to live up to the expectations.

 

[ThatsGreat]

Flatters to deceive..

 

[Samid]

Any player with an engine will look half decent in a heavy metal pressing system. Average footballer.

 

[KM]

Was absolutely bossed by McTominay today in midfield. The passage of play where he was booked summed up his game today.