Mane's form, again

[rurikbird]

Should we be concerned, since we're still scoring and winning? I think it's a bit of a statistical anomaly, as he was unlucky not to score in several situations recently and had two "unofficial" assists vs Newcastle – but you can only go without scoring for so long before it messes with your head. Feed the Mane!

 

[The Nomad]

Should we be concerned, since we're still scoring and winning? I think it's a bit of a statistical anomaly, as he was unlucky not to score in several situations recently and he had two "unofficial" assists vs Newcastle – but you can only go without scoring for so long before it messes with your head. Feed the Mane!

He's still occupying defenders, creating space for Jota and Salah.

I'm getting concerned though. Even against Newcastle, although offside. Hitting the post when one on one. Is a man out of confidence.

 

[momoWASboss]

I think he has been terrible all season and his goals covered that up. Now the goals aren’t there it’s obvious how much he is in a rut.

It’s a concern I shared last year and I haven’t changed my mind. Even the rest of the summer hasn’t improved his form.

 

[rurikbird]

I wouldn’t say he’s been “terrible” by any stretch. His overall play is pretty good and an odd awful pass has always been kind of a feature of his game. It’s just the sharpness in front of goal - for a while it seemed like it had returned; that finish against Man City was like Mane of old. But now he is once again snatching at chances.

 

[737Max]

He'll be fine Rurik.

 

[RedStar]

The fuck he is, he set up the first two goals against Newcastle

 

[momoWASboss]

I wouldn’t say he is “terrible” by any stretch. His overall play is pretty good and an odd awful pass has always been kind of a feature of his game. It’s just the sharpness in front of goal - for a while it seemed like it returned; that finish against Man City was like Mane of old. But now he is against snatching at chances a little bit.

He no longer seems to be beating players for fun. When he does it looks more like a slog.

If you were to be watching him play like this for another team would be wanting to sign him? I wouldn’t.

 

[Tinto]

He no longer seems to be beating players for fun. When he does it looks more like a slog.

If you were to be watching him play like this for another team would be wanting to sign him? I wouldn’t.

He has lost that explosiveness to his game and he seems to be rushing when opportunities come his way, but he's still contributing.

 

[rurikbird]

He no longer seems to be beating players for fun. When he does it looks more like a slog.

If you were to be watching him play like this for another team would be wanting to sign him? I wouldn’t.

Well, we generally don’t sign players of his age anyway - but who would you have ahead of him who is around 29-30 and can do everything Sadio does for the team? You only need to look at the likes of Hazard and Coutinho to see what a proper decline looks like.

 

[momoWASboss]

My point is that he’s not playing at a level which would gain our interest. I think he is on that decline. Thankfully not at the rate Hazard and Coutinho are on.

He will be out of the door in the summer. He’s been a fabulous player for us and a key component in our success. But it’s time to move on.

 

[Hansern]

He has been good this season. 23 games and 9 goals, and we’ve seen an improvement in his overall general play. He’s working extremely hard for the team and is integral to the way we play.

Even though he hasnt scored in the last games, I have to say his link up with Robertson has been excellent after Robbo returned to the team. So many chances created coming from our left side, and it would be interesting to see how many times Mane has the assist assist to the goal.

Wouldnt swap him for anyone. Our attack suffers without him.

 

[Fabio]

I'm with momo on this. He's breaking down more attacks than he's creating, his passing at best is erratic and at worst atrocious. He delays a second which he never used to.

If a stumbling block over salahs contract is that mane might want equal, then give Salah what he wants and wave off mane

 

[binomial]

Isn't he still joint 2nd top scorer in the league? it's like what more do some people want.

Not everyone's like Salah where he can produce 20+ goals for 4-5 consecutive seasons.

 

[walesnj]

What does everyone expect? ........he's probably about 53 now

 

[momoWASboss]

Isn't he still joint 2nd top scorer in the league? it's like what more do some people want.

Not everyone's like Salah where he can produce 20+ goals for 4-5 consecutive seasons.

It’s not those stats which is the issue. Watching the game his passing is off, he no longer beats the opposing player multiple times a game and his decline is on a bad trajectory.

 

[binomial]

It’s not those stats which is the issue. Watching the game his passing is off, he no longer beats the opposing player multiple times a game and his decline is on a bad trajectory.

Dunno Momo, I think Salah is taking a lot of the limelight off Sadio's good work & you tend not to focus so much attention on Mane.

I get he's not performing what he's shown in the season we won the CL/PL and will probably never see it but he's still playing well enough for me...especially for a side with ambitions of winning the PL/CL hence our positions.

 

[Frogfish]

I wouldn’t say he’s been “terrible” by any stretch. His overall play is pretty good and an odd awful pass has always been kind of a feature of his game. It’s just the sharpness in front of goal - for a while it seemed like it had returned; that finish against Man City was like Mane of old. But now he is once again snatching at chances.

it hardly 'an odd awful pass'. His passing in general has been awful for ages and so has his control, which he often tries to cover by diving. As I've said before he can go from the sublime to the ridiculous in a blink of an eye and every time I start lambasting him he comes up with a goal or an assist - until recently. If he is not providing those goals and assists his value to us plummets as he coughs up possession far more than he should. Does well defensively though - need to recognise that too.

Klopp loves him though so he'll continue to start ahead of Jota most games. A mistake IMHO. though it may well be more Bobby vs Jota for a starting place from now on.

 

[Frogfish]

Isn't he still joint 2nd top scorer in the league? it's like what more do some people want.

Not everyone's like Salah where he can produce 20+ goals for 4-5 consecutive seasons.

Hey Jota is No. 2 by himself !

 

[the count]

I think he is better than he was last season though he is not near his best.
I fear we will never see that Sadio again.
He is still an important part of how we play but probably needs replacing sooner rather than later.

 

[mark1975]

He needs to score goals, but we lose something without his pace in there and his ability to put sides on the back foot. He's still doing that. He's still dangerous and players don't like playing against him. He still opens up space for Robbo to exploit and it'll come good again for him. Maybe he's declining, but I don't feel that confident about us winning when his name isn't on the team sheet. For how great Jota has been and how great Bobby has previously been, I'd have Mane in the team every day of the week ahead of those two, because he's more crucial to how we play, even when he's hit and miss.

 

[momoWASboss]

If we go into next season with Mané and Firmino still being 2 out of the 4 forwards we will not be challenging.

 

[Frogfish]

If we go into next season with Mané and Firmino still being 2 out of the 4 forwards we will not be challenging.

When we win #20 this season, and win CL #7, we'll have our choice of the best replacements for both

 

[binomial]

Hey Jota is No. 2 by himself !

How could I forget Diogoal.

 

[Alan Hardaker]

Mane has lost a bit of explosive pace. For whatever reason that slight delay in going at a defender makes the difference, Often means he turns it back to Robbo or doesn't get clear of his marker. Still makes a telling contribution and I don't think the Boss is too concerned but that's not to say the Boss hasn't thought about possible scenario's.

The performance analysts know the score, so the Boss is well aware of the situation.

 

[Frogfish]

Mane has lost a bit of explosive pace. For whatever reason that slight delay in going at a defender makes the difference, Often means he turns it back to Robbo or doesn't get clear of his marker. Still makes a telling contribution and I don't think the Boss is too concerned but that's not to say the Boss hasn't thought about possible scenario's.

The performance analysts know the score, so the Boss is well aware of the situation.

Well that's just Boss then.

 

[King Binny]

 

[kingjulian]

Actually we need to bring in another attacking player this Jan. It's paramount.....we are going to have more of this discussions with Mane, Firmino and Salah.

Hopefully we can find their successor while these guys are still here and performing to a level

 

[KopRed]

Just watched an interview where Klopp said Mane is in a "very good moment", I don't think he has any concern about his form at all.

 

[mom]

He’s in the Firmino category at the moment. Key part of the team that helps the front three be the front three but not scoring too many.

 

[Frogfish]

Just watched an interview where Klopp said Mane is in a "very good moment", I don't think he has any concern about his form at all.

Honestly, what do you expect him to say ?

"Yeah Mane is in clear decline, we're going to have to replace him soon" !

Haha. He can't improve a player's confidence by running him down in the media. Only we are allowed to do that.