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Coutinho the magician

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rurikbird

rurikbird

Part of the Furniture
Honorary Member
Can we not worry about Barca/PSG for a few days and just enjoy this monster of a player we have in our team? We've all been critical of Phil at one point or another, we've all had our doubts, but also (for the most part) had patience with him because of the obvious immense potential. Well, I think it finally happened – on current form Coutinho is arguably one of the top 3 attacking midfielders in the EPL. He is more dangerous than Silva, more direct than Ozil, scores more than Payet, takes a mean free-kick on par with Eriksen... In terms of the overall contribution, for me only Hazard and De Bruyne can compare right now.

I took the liberty of reposting some stats, courtesy of @King Binny:

39A5AA8500000578-3865058-image-a-43_1477256623392.jpg
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Hazard is not included in this comparison, so here are his stats from Squawka.com and Whoscored.com:
Goals 4, Shooting accuracy 52%, chances created 14, successful dribbles 40

Stats don't tell the whole story, however. Starting from the opening game of the season against Arsenal, Coutinho has been playing like a star and a leader; the only poor performance from him thus far was against Burnley. How about that game vs Hull, when he scored a worldie literally a minute after Hull made it 3:1 and looked like they might get back in the game – Coutinho extinguished that threat all by himself, like a leader does. His 2nd goal vs Arsenal and the recent one against West Brom just made me laugh in disbelief and completely dispirited the opponents by their sheer arrogance. And how crucial does that assist against Chelsea look now?

Coutinho's success this season also puts to rest the idea that Klopp's system is somehow so rigid that it can only accommodate a certain kind of player. Coutinho isn't a stereotypical Klopp player in many ways, but when you play with this kind of quality and attitude, any smart manager will be forced to adjust their system to you. This is exactly what Klopp did this season – now our system is perfectly tailored to Coutinho, he can play as part-winger, part-playmaker and part-forward; he has the freedom to roam around the pitch knowing that the teammates will fill the gaps and provide runs and outlets for him. The understanding with Firmino is particularly telepathic and it's obvious the two Brazilians enjoy playing with each other. Since neither of them is blessed with a lot of pace, then Mane's role as the speedy outlet becomes crucial and that understanding is also developing nicely. This is the lesson Sturridge has to take from this – there is always a place for a world-class talent if you perform and show the right application.

Heatmap vs West Brom (notice the new "station" at center-right):
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The interesting thing about Coutinho is that he's quite a unique player. There aren't very many that combine as many attributes as him in attack. He's a bit of a jack of all trades in some ways and it's nice to see him deliver on all fronts more consistently this season.

My favourite player over the last few years (aside from Suarez of course).
 
Yep, one of my favourite players. That dummy was great in the build up to the Mane goal. Then his little shimmy to create his own goal was sublime.
 
He also does the harrying in midfield that is essential to our style of play. Not long before he came off I remember seeing him chase the ball into the heart of midfield and dispossess their player. Obviously the goals and assists and attacking play is fantastic, but that he has this sense of industry and responsibility (something not true of the Ozils and Hazards of this world) is what makes him perfect for us. He's not just some fancy-dan Brazilian show pony, but gets through a ridiculous amount of defensive work.
 
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Good post!! A little like Lallana I think he has been more aware to keep few touches so we keep up the tempo in the game. When he sat out early in the season I think we played well without him and I was worried he would struggle since we found momentum without him. But he has been brilliant since that game. I love players who has found the solution before they receive the ball, and is obviously skilled enough to fullfill that solution no matter how hard it is!!
 
HC said:
He had a poor game a couple of matches ago, to be fair .

Hes classy , definitely benefiting from klopps system
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That's how fickle we are I guess. One game and you're out.
He's arguably been our best player this season so far. Between him and Mané I would say.
 
Modo said:
And to think people wanted him benched a few weeks ago.
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I did. And he's proven me wrong.

Or more precisely, Klopp found a solution for Phil to diversify his game. Even last season Coutinho was more predictable and thus easier to stop. Now he often goes deeper and he also found a new "station" between the middle and the right flank (see heatmap above), so it's not so easy to close him down.
 
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I'm not sure he has a station, that's what allows for him to be so elusive

Him and lallana and wijanldum when fit are all inter changing , its an incredibly fluent front 4/5 ,I'd imagine their heat maps would be similar.
 
Modo said:
And to think people wanted him benched a few weeks ago.
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Thats a testament to our strength in depth, not a slight on Coutinho. He was playing poor, people advocated dropping him and letting him come off the bench to work his way back into form, hardly unreasonable.
 
rurikbird said:
I did. And he's proven me wrong.

Or more precisely, Klopp found a solution for Phil to diversify his game. Even last season Coutinho was more predictable and thus easier to stop. Now he often goes deeper and he also found a new "station" between the middle and the right flank (see heatmap above), so it's not so easy to close him down.
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It's also suited to the player, as pretending he's a winger who can take people on the outside is pointless. He isn't suited to playing out wide, or trying to provide width and crosses. He hasn't the pace or power.
 
keniget said:
The interesting thing about Coutinho is that he's quite a unique player. There aren't very many that combine as many attributes as him in attack. He's a bit of a jack of all trades in some ways and it's nice to see him deliver on all fronts more consistently this season.

My favourite player over the last few years (aside from Suarez of course).
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But he could have been so much more. I think it is sad to see what has become of him.
 
HC said:
I'm not sure he has a station, that's what allows for him to be so elusive

Him and lallana and wijanldum when fit are all inter changing , its an incredibly fluent front 4/5 ,I'd imagine their heat maps would be similar.
Click to expand...

I think he has more than one "station" now:
1) his usual center-left wing, ready to cut in,
2) just in front of our penalty area when we defend deep, ready to start the counter-attack,
3) near the centre-circle where he does play-making (against West Brom it was Can who usually occupied Coutinho's usual place on the left wing whenever Phil dropped to the centre-circle)
4) the new "station" at center-right, just in front of the opponents' penalty area (I think either Lallana or Mane mostly goes to the left when he does that, but I need to watch more closely).

Screen_Shot_2016_10_24_at_4_24_46_AM.png


Of course he does roam around, but those 4 are the most typical places where he is found at the moment.
 
He's really stepped up this year and directly influencing matches. I hoped it would happen after Suarez left, but he's showing signs of becoming the player he's always promised.
 
I'll be surprised if he's hear next year.

He's a wonderful footballer.

You always feel like something could happen when he gets it.

I also love the fact he likes throwing himself into tackles, not the norm for a flair player.
 
Dreambeliever said:
I'll be surprised if he's hear next year.

He's a wonderful footballer.

You always feel like something could happen when he gets it.

I also love the fact he likes throwing himself into tackles, not the norm for a flair player.
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Something tells me that he may actually stick around if we make it to the CL. I mean Barca have their stars - and we also have Firminho who plays well alongside him - that must play some factor into his decision making. Plus there is the risk that if he did go to Barca he may not start every game (with their current trio) - which really does impact the chances of a player from Brazil playing for their national team. For him to move to Barca will not be a straight forward decision if he is not guaranteed to start every game.
 
He could be behind that trio though, Iniesta looks about 40 they'll need to replace him soon...
 
moron said:
Something tells me that he may actually stick around if we make it to the CL. I mean Barca have their stars - and we also have Firminho who plays well alongside him - that must play some factor into his decision making. Plus there is the risk that if he did go to Barca he may not start every game (with their current trio) - which really does impact the chances of a player from Brazil playing for their national team. For him to move to Barca will not be a straight forward decision if he is not guaranteed to start every game.
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If they want him, he'll go there eventually. But I feel like we could get an extra season or more out of him dependent on our own success.
 
Dreambeliever said:
I'll be surprised if he's hear next year.

He's a wonderful footballer.

You always feel like something could happen when he gets it.

I also love the fact he likes throwing himself into tackles, not the norm for a flair player.
Click to expand...

It's truly amazing how the space between "he's shit, drop him" and "he's gone to Barca next year" is so microscopically thin nowadays in the fans' minds. We literally go from one to the other in the space of a few games. That's why I said in the OP, "can we not worry about Barca/PSG just for a minute and just appreciate the player we have?" I guess I should have highlighted it or written in big red letters or something... 🙂
 
rurikbird said:
It's truly amazing how the space between "he's shit, drop him" and "he's gone to Barca next year" is so microscopically thin nowadays in the fans' minds. We literally go from one to the other in the space of a few games. That's why I said in the OP, "can we not worry about Barca/PSG just for a minute and just appreciate the player we have?" I guess I should have highlighted it or written in big red letters or something... 🙂
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I've never been in the the shit camp myself.

He's a star
 
rurikbird said:
It's truly amazing how the space between "he's shit, drop him" and "he's gone to Barca next year" is so microscopically thin nowadays in the fans' minds. We literally go from one to the other in the space of a few games. That's why I said in the OP, "can we not worry about Barca/PSG just for a minute and just appreciate the player we have?" I guess I should have highlighted it or written in big red letters or something... 🙂
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Yeah, but like it or not it's intrinsic to this conversation.

Coutinho has never been lauded as shit. Everyone who has criticised him (myself included), has used the Garcia analogy, in that he would provide magic, often in big games, then go missing in others, or being maddeningly inconsistent over even ninety minutes.

The fact he seems to be shaking the inconsistencies off & is scoring regularly is boss, but again, the one thing everyone (again including me) has said is that if he started scoring regularly & being more consistent then he would look even inch the Barca player, & every bit too good for where our club was at that time (arguably still is at). The only reason they or any other club hasn't tried tempting him away is that he wasn't the finished article.

I'd argue he still isn't, but he's a damn sight closer, & as such the speculation is inevitable.
 
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