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Jürgen Klopp is no stranger to throwing a tactical ball. Throughout his time as a Liverpool manager, he has tried all sorts of wacky solutions that he would automatically assume are just a mistake on the team sheet until he actually sees them on the field.
A few months after taking the job, he pitched Steven Caulker as the emergency number nine against Norwich City on Carrow Road. In April 2017, Nathaniel Clyne lined up on the left wing in Stoke City. He deployed Gini Wijnaldum on the left side of a three-man defense against Brighton and Hove Albion in December 2017, and then faced Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final last season.
This season, he used Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as an assistant center forward against Genk at Anfield, and turned to Jordan Henderson as a central defender in the Club World Cup semifinal against Monterrey, although that was a glassbreaker response to injury. crisis. Fabinho was also at the center numerous times last season.
And of course, he took James Milner, a player who has spent almost his entire career as a central or right midfielder, and decided to make him an impromptu left back throughout the 2016/17 campaign after losing patience with Alberto Moreno.
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However, there is one trick in particular that Klopp has never taken out of the bag, something surprising: Milner up front. Yes, seriously, this is a real thing that happened in 2014/15, Milner’s last season at Manchester City before joining Liverpool. Milner is often said to be so versatile that he could play practically any position and do a reasonable job, but few recall the specific three-game streak in which Manuel Pellegrini actually decided to use him as the focal point of his attack.
In December 2014, City had no natural forwards available with the three Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic, all injured at the time. With the festive accessories becoming thick and fast, Pellegrini needed to find a solution. He could have played Yaya Toure, a prolific midfield scorer, as an objective man. Alternatively, he could have gone with David Silva or Samir Nasri as silky, technical players who could play as a fake nine.
But no, he went with Milner to lead the line as No. 9 in a 4-2-3-1 system, operating ahead of the attacking midfielder trio of Silva, Nasri and Jesús Navas. Pellegrini tried first at home with Crystal Palace, and although Milner did not score, he assisted in a comfortable 3-0 win for City, impressing with the intelligence of his movement and passing game.
If you had never seen football before and didn’t know anything about the player, you wouldn’t have guessed that he was a central midfielder who was playing for the first time in his professional career. Ok, so it wasn’t exactly like seeing the first Thierry Henry or Luis Suarez, but in a distinctive Milner-like way, he discovered the task at hand and found a way to be effective, making the most of the tools. provision.
He was buzzing everywhere, stretching the Palace’s bottom line with fast runs behind, dragging defenders out of shape, falling to midfield and sometimes drifting away, leading the press from the front. In fact, there were certain aspects of how he played the No.9 role that closely resemble how Roberto Firmino does for Liverpool now, which makes you wonder if it’s something Klopp has at least thought of. on occasions when the Brazilian has not been available.
After passing his first test with great success, Pellegrini said of the Milner screen: “[He] He did a very good performance, a sacrificial performance, but he moves a lot to create space for the midfielders. David [Silva] It also goes very well in the box, just like Yaya, that’s the way we work during the week to try and create the space for them to arrive on the second line.
“We have been preparing this match all week and we plan this whole movement so that Milner creates freedom for all colleagues.”
In the next game against West Bromwich Albion out on Boxing Day, he stayed with him as City won 3-1 in blizzard conditions at the Hawthorns. Once again, Milner was not on the score sheet, but his industry and tenacity were evident at all times, hitting the ground for 90 minutes, savoring the physical battle against Gareth McAuley and Joleon Lescott.
On the third occasion, City gave Burnley a 2-0 lead at halftime, tying 2-2 when Ashley Barnes’ late draw clinched a point for Sean Dyche’s team. Milner was replaced by Jovetic in form again in 62 minutes that day, and while it might be an overstatement to say the change led directly to City’s poor half-hour finish, taking out Milner hardly helped his cause.
In the next five games, Milner only started leading once more, and City won only once (3-2 against Sunderland at home), tying three and losing the other. Coincidence? Perhaps, but Milner had diligently served his team in an enormously unknown role in a way that allowed the City system to function effectively without an Orthodox No.9.
There is only a very select group of players on the planet who have a propensity to operate in the range of positions that Milner does to such a successful degree, and speaks volumes about his skill and attitude that so many managers have entrusted to him to do so. certain jobs that others would not necessarily be willing or unable to do.
At the age of 34, the time for Milner to play up front for Liverpool has probably passed. He may still be one of the fittest players on the team, but the speed and dynamism of old is no longer there. With Klopp, however, nothing can be ruled out. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see it someday. One can dream.
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