Forget wee Phil, it's Ox we miss. Step forward Naby

This topic contains 103 replies, has 14 voices, and was last updated by mwake mwake 4 years, 9 months ago.

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  • #1704976
    threeps
    threeps
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    Read a lot about how we miss Coutinho and yeah I agree in some instances we do. But I also remember how fragile we looked with him in the centre and how he often ran into traffic cutting in from the left into a low block narrow defence.

    I thought Ox was great for us last season. Gave us something different in midfield. The ability to drive at the opposition, to commit defenders freeing up our other attackers and to change the pace of our transition.

    I didn’t see the game vs Burnley but heard Keita was good both in defence and attack. This is how I saw him play for RBL, similar to Ox for us. We look best when we play a high tempo and I think Keita could do that. Some creative flair players need more time on the ball to do their thing, especially if they come from a slower league like Spain or Italy.

    Whilst in an ideal world we’d have a player for every situation, I say Keita will be our missing link between midfield and attack, and will suit our style more than a Coutinho type.

    #1704986

    NotoriousBingo
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    The thing is that both Ox and Keita are similar players to Coutinho and we have missed Oxlade very much since his injury and Keita has taken some time to adapt to a new league so some of our posters here mix that with us missing Coutinho.

    It was the best game I´ve seen Keita play and he proved to be a goal threat, unlucky not to get the goal, Hart really had to step up to deny him, another shot from him got cleared off the line as well.

    It also seems to me that Trent is a much better set-piece taker than Coutinho, its something that has escaped most of us this season but we are proving to be a real handful at set-pieces this season.

    #1705082
    mwake
    mwake
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    Excellent post bingo and yes I agree that Ox and Naby are wonderful players for that system. But for me to have a complete midfied tactically I still feel we need a Coutinho type. For me Naby is no where near Coutinho in terms of dribbling, Ox and Naby are “power runners” more so than dribblers. Of course we could get into a debate about what is dribbling, but I feel Coutinho is the type of person that even without pace he is still a tricky player but take pace away from Ox for example and you lose the forward thrust and creativity that makes ox so good. As I said ox and Naby overlap each other in terms of attacking qualities but what we still need is a Trickster a Maverick. Just like how Kevin debyrune gives Man City that extra alternative “edge”. Man city I know haven’t looked like they missed de bryune lol but when he is back in the team he gives pep another alternative weapon that they don’t really have.

    Regardless, I think if Naby can play like that more often then we have enough to win the league this year and also as you said Bingo previously it looks like we may be waiting for Pulisic to provide the extra creative edge from deep in midfield.

    #1705083
    nediarb2
    nediarb2
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    Trent is a better set piece taker than Coutinho? Are you on crack? How short people’s memories are!

    #1705148
    threeps
    threeps
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    Pulisic is a winger and has never played deep. Not sure why people keep mentioning him as an option in the midfield 3.

    #1705153

    gingerlfc
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    Noticed that too Nediarb…strange.

    Yea Threeps, he plays wide right. Not sure where people are getting this midfield business from.

    #1705161
    threeps
    threeps
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    Coutinho is a great player, don’t think anyone can really deny that. But was he ideal for our team? Klopp likes his central players to have bags of energy and work their socks off, not sure if they are attributes you can associate with him. I disagree with the idea that Coutinho and Ox are similar other than they are attack minded, as mentioned already Ox is more about direct running. He also works very hard for the team. Don’t think I ever seen Man City scared so much as when Ox played against them. He gives our midfield a different dynamic, I am sure Naby will do the same, and still have the right work ethic for the way Klopp likes to play.

    #1705164
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
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    Trent has a good freekick on him sometimes but ya, nowhere near Coutinho’s level, YET. I think if he works on on this and with some luck he could be a fantastic set-piece taker though.

    #1705219
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Rob Fort Worth TX
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    NB, you were kidding right when you said Trent is a better free kick taker than Phil? You were? Phew! I knew you were having us on!

    #1705223
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
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    No Rob, that’s a fact.

    #1705228

    NotoriousBingo
    Participant
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    Yeah mate spot on, we are doing well though in the set pieces department and I can see the lads relishing the opportunity to step up and make something out of all our free kicks. Van Dijk is major bonus to that, something I criticised him for earlier on in the season.

    #1705229
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Rob Fort Worth TX
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    NB, sorry pal, but Phil was in a different universe than Trent on dead balls.

    #1705230
    mwake
    mwake
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    Actually in Trent I don’t know why Klopp doesn’t just play him as the attacking midfielder. This is his favourite position, this was the position he played in academy. Also his training defender would help us to press higher up the pitch. And not to forget Trent attacking abilities including long range shots would be an asset! Not sure that’s going to happen now that Gomez is injured but if Clyne the forgotten man came back then I’d like to see it as at least an experiment for ten minutes or so.

    #1705232

    Big_Balls
    Participant
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    Just checked with me Nan, she is an expert in the art of dribbling, according to her its running whilst maintaining control of the ball with your feet. Little Phil was a master of the art just lacked a bit of premier pace. Great dead ball specialist around the box, would go out on a limb and say Trent has a better cross

    #1711470
    mwake
    mwake
    Participant
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    Looks like Ox might be ready for this season which is great news, the more midfield options the better. I think Keita will have had a greater influence by the time Ox gets back to match fitness anyways, but still this is a nice bit of news.

    Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back training and could play this season

    #1719132
    mwake
    mwake
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    #1719137

    redsforever
    Participant
    • :

    Ox is a good player and hopefully keita will be too but sorry coutinho will just improve this team. Coutinho pulling strings behind mane salah and firmino is a dream attack.

    We definitely miss coutinho ..most of the teams we play these days will park the bus (even chelsea at the bridge imagine that) and thats where we miss his eye for a pass, dribbling ability to get pass players and shooting ability from outside the box to break the deadlock. Lets face it all our current midfielders are pretty shit at shooting. Against brighton we were poor in the 1st half and in the 2nd half salah start to drop deep and dribble past players from midfield and we looked better. If ee had Coutinho he couldve done that from.the 1st half.

    Citys midfield are so.fucking brilliant because they got 2 coutinho type.players in b silva and d silva whos composed on the ball can dribble, pass and shoot.

    I would take back coutinho in a heartbeat.

    #1719138
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
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    Coutinho’s qualities are self-evident to any Liverpool supporter at this stage. It goes without saying that we (and any team) would miss them. You have to consider what we’ve got now that we wouldn’t have if we still had Coutinho. It just isn’t logical or rational to think about missing X, that you sold to pay for Y, that you are also currently praising.

    When you take into consideration what we were able to pay for by selling Coutinho then no, we don’t miss him.

    I wouldn’t give up Van Dijk for love nor money and I think it’s widely accepted (rightly or wrongly) that Coutinho’s sale paid for Van Dijk. An over-simplification perhaps but his transfer has likely been factored in for some time and has paid for substantial chunks of a number of our transfers. The fact remain though that the money for Van Dijk and others had to come from somewhere and if we look at what Coutinho gave us, what we had before and what we have now then you’re surely saying that we’ve come out really good.

    With Coutinho we could score a lot of goals. The variety of goal types was maybe better than now as you’re right, we don;t have that long-range threat now. However, I think we’re better now than before in breaking buses down. We’re also more resilient off the ball now. Our actual defence though is night and day to what it was then. Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson and Alisson have turned us from a weak team defensively, into one of the best defences in the world. Again, the value of Coutinho’s transfer there is intangible but that’s not to say that it isn’t a telling parameter. £100-£140m goes a long way when it is spent well and we have spent so well.

    I’ve only touched on what Coutinho lacked in this but I’ve said it before. He wasn’t a perfect player. He was very far from being a perfect player but we got the kind of price that you get for this type of competition and you’d forgive Barca fans who looked at his highlights, for thinking that they were getting much more for their money than we gave them.

    All that said, I’d absolutely love to have him in our side but not as a CM. I think he’d do well in our 4231, playing ahead of Wijnaldum and Fabinho. I mean, with those 2 and us not relying on the press, his poor defensive/off the ball skills could be forgiven.

    Ultimately though it’s all moot as there’s no F-ing way that i give up our new and improved defense, or other signings (besides Keita – so far *cross-fingers*) just to bring someone back, who can help us break down staunch defences that we’re actually doing much better than when he was even here anyway.

    #1719146

    gingerlfc
    Participant
    • :

    The purchase of VVD had nothing to do with the sale of Coutinho.

    Coutinho left because PSG bought Neymar and Barca then came to unsettle Coutinho.

    This all happened AFTER it came to light that we were extremely close to signing VVD in summer 2017 but because we jumped the gun and let that go public Southampton withdrew from the deal.

    If things hadda went to plan VVD woulda been a Reds player before Neymar was even sold.

    #1719153
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
    Blocked
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    “The purchase of VVD had nothing to do with the sale of Coutinho.”

    None of what you said after this sentence proves or even comes close to suggesting otherwise. I’d go into it further but you are you, so I won’t.

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