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Coutinho - again.

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In the game against Ludogorets, he had more joy when he worked the ball down the left with Sterling and Moreno. That was the adjustment in the game I think we need to see more of from him, rather than trying to force things to happen down the middle. Rodgers will hopefully remind him to not fall in love too much with the defence-splitting through ball. Cheaply conceding possession aside, I thought he was okay without the ball, in terms of trying to press opponents and regain possession.

Here's a screen grab of the passes into the attacking third in the midweek game. He needs to vary his game a bit and he did try against Ludogorets; just couldn't resist that ambitious pass / flick down the middle though.

dZUKezZ.jpg
 
He's like Luis Garcia without the huge goals at vital moments (Citeh at home last year being the exception). He flatters to deceive and gives the ball away a lot. He's infuriating but capable of magnificence. He needs to improve and be consistently better. Would he get into the side at any other top team? Doubt it. A lot better out there.
 
@studsup I think that passes graphic also shows his (our) dependency on Sterling. Maybe Lallana would have looked a lot better if Coutinho had brought him into the game more.

Some telling passages from that Echo article (I hope someone sent BR a copy):

Most worryingly, he was successful in 58% of his attempted dribbles past opponents in the league last season – 59 out of 102 attempts – but this season he has only managed a 30% success rate.

After 45 minutes on Tuesday, Coutinho had made the most passes in the Liverpool side (39), with Sterling making the joint fewest (8). That shows too much expected of one young player, and possibly not enough on another. The balance is still to be struck in the front six.

Perhaps frustration has played a part. Against the Bulgarian side, 73.2% of his passes went forward – a marked increase from his 63.3% average in his three league games – exhibiting his desperation to make a vital contribution. He would receive the ball deep, give that flick of the head and then give away possession.

When a number of new signings come to a club, it is often forgotten how it isn't just the arrivals who need to adapt, but those who play around him. Against Villa and Ludogorets, Coutinho was without the two players he'd supplied for the first 18 months of his Liverpool career. Sturridge will return; Suarez will not.
 
Is it just my imagination/poor recollection or has he been most effective in the past when he's played left wing?
 
I think he is more effective when he's given a free role.
I also think that he needs two players in front of him.
 
singlerider said:
Is it just my imagination/poor recollection or has he been most effective in the past when he's played left wing?
Click to expand...

That has always been my opinion. Seems to have more time and space to pick those juicy passes. And when he cuts in from the left, there is no one assigned to pick him up in the middle, so he also has more time to play the through ball he likes.

This role also works well with someone like Moreno providing the width.

I do think he needs to simplify his game and not try so hard to make things happen every time he has the ball.
 
studsup said:
In the game against Ludogorets, he had more joy when he worked the ball down the left with Sterling and Moreno. That was the adjustment in the game I think we need to see more of from him, rather than trying to force things to happen down the middle. Rodgers will hopefully remind him to not fall in love too much with the defence-splitting through ball. Cheaply conceding possession aside, I thought he was okay without the ball, in terms of trying to press opponents and regain possession.

Here's a screen grab of the passes into the attacking third in the midweek game. He needs to vary his game a bit and he did try against Ludogorets; just couldn't resist that ambitious pass / flick down the middle though.

dZUKezZ.jpg
Click to expand...

What does pale blue signify?
 
Frogfish said:
@studsup I think that passes graphic also shows his (our) dependency on Sterling. Maybe Lallana would have looked a lot better if Coutinho had brought him into the game more.
Click to expand...

That explains part of it but I think the main reason for the lopsided passing is because Coutinho was played on the inside left of the midfield two (though he did drift a lot into the centre). The pass diagram for Henderson on the inside right showed a bias towards Lallana / Manquillo, though he did better than Coutinho in spreading the ball, with a few long passes to the opposite flank (to Sterling / Moreno).

5dYiU3V.jpg


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Clip of Coutinho vs Ludogorets; unfortunately it's in the letterbox format but it shows clearly what worked and what didn't for Coutinho on that day. The plays that worked all involved him working with Sterling on the left to open up space or send a pass down into the area between the FB and CB.



Digressing a bit - those are the sort of plays that I thought we needed to do more of against Villa, when they shut up shop in a re-run of last season's Chelsea game at Anfield. After that Chelsea game, Carra and Neville talked about how we were trying to pass through the middle, cross from wide and shoot from distance against the Chelsea wall, but failed to move the ball quickly enough to create these gaps between the FB and CB to exploit. Two of our three goals against Spurs came from similar methods, with Sturridge drawing the players out then sliding the ball behind the fullback for a runner into the box (Henderson to pass to Sterling or Allen to earn the penalty).

As the best bits of the clip showed, Coutinho can get things done with Sterling (or whoever else plays wide). He just needs to be more patient and not try to force things too much. Bollock a few guys if he needs if they're being too static and not opening up passing lanes to him.
 
BR: Philippe Coutinho is a brilliant, fantastic player. I wanted to rest him against Villa, but we had to play him. He’s a big talent.
BR: Coutinho always gives his best. He wants to do well and I have absolutely no doubts about him.
Rodgers dismisses reporter’s question “Can Coutinho cope in the Premier League?”. — “He’s already proved that."
 
He has the ability, but he's a bit thick, in footballing terms. Or has been over the last few games. I would bench him for a couple of games.
 
It's interesting that he has the confidence to shoot when others don't.

Bit like he realizes that our play isn't going to lead to anything, so he might as well give it a go.
 
This time next season he will either be a much better player or he will be at another club. We've brought in a lot of competition in his area of the pitch and he wont be indulged anymore like he was last year so he will either be forced to become more consistent or he will be benched. Im not giving up on him yet hes a real talent but its time for him to grow up and stop trying to force things that arent on or hit shots he has absolutely no chance of scoring. Hes started the season poorly but so have a number of players, we will have lots of games this season and he will get plenty of chances to play himself back into the first XI but right now he looks like hes not mentally up to speed. Wouldnt be surprised if he sits out the West Ham game
 
He's going to have to step it up. We can;t be waiting around for the Old Phillipe to show up, when he never may
 
He definitely needs to have his minutes limited a bit more, but we've definitely been spoiled by talent if we consider letting him go.

Aside from Isco, Oscar, and Draxler, I can't think of too many players in Coutinho's age range better than him.

He's only 22 after all, which seems to be quickly forgotten in these parts.
 
Whirly said:
He definitely needs to have his minutes limited a bit more, but we've definitely been spoiled by talent if we consider letting him go.

Aside from Isco, Oscar, and Draxler, I can't think of too many players in Coutinho's age range better than him.

He's only 22 after all, which seems to be quickly forgotten in these parts.
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Definitely, he just needs to be rotated a bit, we've got Lallana, Sterling and even possibly Markovic who can play there, so we can afford to do it.
 
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