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enrique - is his poor form a blip?

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spider-Neil

spider-Neil

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I hadn't seen any of enrique before thommo linked us with him. ryan seemed apoplectic with rage slagging off enrique every chance he got (which was a lot). we eventually signed and I got to see enrique for the first time in red and after a couple games I thought ryan doesn't know what the fuck he is talking about. the guy was strong, quick, got back to defend when we didn't have the ball but had the pace and awareness to join the attack and offer himself as a passing option high up the pitch. I would have gone so far as to say he was the best left back I had seen at liverpool in an absolute age. and then with the turn of the year enrique put in terrible performance after terrible performance until it has got to the stage where kenny opted to play agger there in a major semi final.

so the question is, is this just a dip in form and enrique will once again put in performances that were probably the best in the country at left back or was ryan correct all along and the early season enrique was nothing more than a purple patch and we're now seeing the 'real' enrique, the enrique ryan repeatedly warned us about?
 
His performances until about Jan/Feb were top draw, but it has gone a bit downhill since then. I've thought some of it could've been attributed to tiredness because he's virtually been an ever present, but the continued poor form is concerning.

That said, I've largely been impressed by his first season with us - his attributes - pace, strength and one-on-one defending are absolute top notch. He could stand to improve on his positioning at times, his tendency to hold on to the ball, and his end product in the final third. He may never be 'world class', but the fact of the matter is that we don't need him to be. If he can consistently reproduce his first-half form for the rest of his Anfield career, we'd have had easily the best left-back we've had in many a year, and consistently one of the top 1-2 left-backs in the league. That's more than good enough.
 
The real Enrique is the totality of his performances, not one extreme or the other. I think he's struggling from playing too much in the first half of the season.
 
He's worse than Insua going forward. At least Insua could hit some decent crosses. But overall I've been quite impressed by him. I think he's just going through a bad spell and the brief rest will have done him good.
 
Enrique isn't motivated it seems and I don't blame him. Same could be said about captain fantastic. So it's just a blip.
 
For long periods he was our only alternative left hand side in defence. He played well, but there were none to give him even the slightest rest. He had to perform in every game no matter how the team around him was set up and how they performed. All other could be rotated except him. That he goes through a blip in form is natural and I don't blame him at all. i think he has done his job well, and added to our team.
 
Hopefully just a kick up the arse was needed. If we can get that back 4 unit of Johnson, Agger, Skrtel and Enrique back together for the run in and the cup final and they can find their early season form then I think we can deal with chelsea no problem. Just have to get the front players scoring and we'll be sorted 😉
 
I don't think Downing has done Enrique any favours recently. With Downing short of confidence and unwilling to take players on he's used Enrique as an outlet far too often. Sometimes Enrique looks like he doesn't know whether to stick or twist and the balance between his attacking and defending duties definitely isn't right at the moment.
 
I love in El Toro and I agree with Ross and 25_05_05 but I also think macca is spot on about him offensively. I don't think I have EVER seen him put in one decent cross. Hanging on to the ball so much in the final third does my fuckin tits in too. If he cut that shit out and worked on his crossing we'd have have one of the best LB's in the league.

As for the question posed I reckon it's just a blip.
 
I think the bad form in our defence has shown up the flaws in Enriques game, more so than he's suddenly playing shit. He's looked average since Agger was injured, i'd argue he's missing playing with Agger besides him, which makes defending easier for him. As for his attacking displays, I've been pointing out his flaws in the final third and his completely infuriating ability to overcomplicate a situation with fifteen touches going the wrong way since about October, which was often met with ridicule on here as they were easier to disregard when he was defending like a champion, however they were definitely present, so I think that's more a permanent problem than something which he'll play off.
 
I'm also inclined to agree dmirsha as well, I think fatigue from the beginning of the season isn't helping him either.
 
Enrique is woeful going forward, holds the ball t0o long, and he might be our worse crosser of the ball on the team (honestly I think Carra could send in a better cross) but defensively he has been class.

😕
 
He 's probably just another in the long list of full backs we've bought that have started off brightly and turned to shite.
 
Two months ago one would have said he was arguably the best signing of the season for us, and he probably still is for me, but most players have dips in form. He could put in a decent ball with the geordies and Id hope to see him improve on that next season. If he recaptures his earlier form and starts pinging balls into the box he'll be a beast of a left back!
 
I think he needed a rest and im glad he was given it.... i hope in a way kenny didnt tell him that though and left him to fret a bit about his game, maybe it will buck his ideas up a bit.
 
The Slugmonster said:
Two months ago one would have said he was arguably the best signing of the season for us, and he probably still is for me, but most players have dips in form. He could put in a decent ball with the geordies and Id hope to see him improve on that next season. If he recaptures his earlier form and starts pinging balls into the box he'll be a beast of a left back!
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I'd say getting his defensive play back up to standard is more of a priority. Few (if any) opposition wide men got the better of him earlier in the season. We can't truthfully say the same at the moment.
 
Ryan said:
I said exactly that about 2 months ago.

He's alright. And that's about it.
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I think we got our money's worth, but with the benefit of nearly a full a season, I think that just about sums it up, he's ok, nothing great. His upper body strength is great, his positioning isn't bad, but he's pretty poor at cutting out crosses and he's frustrating when he does that stupid pirouette in EVERY game and get's himself into trouble, his distribution in the final third and his overall decision making when he get's up there supporting to the attack is too often woeful. For what we paid he's been a solid buy, I'm not overly convinced in the longterm though.
 
Modo said:
Enrique isn't motivated it seems and I don't blame him. Same could be said about captain fantastic. So it's just a blip.
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Eh? You don't blame someone who's on 40k a week or whatever and playing for one of the biggest clubs in World football for 'not being motivated'? If he's not motivated to play because of how the seasons gone, he can do one. We don't need bottlers or sulks on our side and it baffles me how someone can sympathise with a highly paid footballer and absolve them of blame for not feeling upto giving 100% for the club.
 
mark1975 said:
Eh? You don't blame someone who's on 40k a week or whatever and playing for one of the biggest clubs in World football for 'not being motivated'? If he's not motivated to play because of how the seasons gone, he can do one. We don't need bottlers or sulks on our side and it baffles me how someone can sympathise with a highly paid footballer and absolve them of blame for not feeling upto giving 100% for the club.
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We've had a terrible league season so I get why he isn't arsed.
Also, he hasn't exactly got anyone to compete with. Playing Agger on the left and Carra in the middle is like shooting yourself in the foot. I don't think that deterred Enrique at all.
Last but not least our captain doesn't seem to give a flying fuck either so why should Enrique?
 
It's a stupid mentality Modo, there's no justification for it. The players are the ones who go out on the pitch every week.
 
mark1975 said:
It's a stupid mentality Modo, there's no justification for it. The players are the ones who go out on the pitch every week.
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Of course it is. But it is what it is.
I just hope we come back stronger next season.
 
enrique could improve his play 10 fold simply by releasing the ball early and lifting his head once in a while when he enters the final third with the ball.
 
mark1975 said:
I think we got our money's worth, but with the benefit of nearly a full a season, I think that just about sums it up, he's ok, nothing great. His upper body strength is great, his positioning isn't bad, but he's pretty poor at cutting out crosses and he's frustrating when he does that stupid pirouette in EVERY game and get's himself into trouble, his distribution in the final third and his overall decision making when he get's up there supporting to the attack is too often woeful. For what we paid he's been a solid buy, I'm not overly convinced in the longterm though.
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He reminds me of Rieia.

He’s got great touch and that Riera-like ability to be able to retain possession very very easily. But like Riera he does it too much. ‘Look how easy I can shield the ball from this other guy – I’m immense at it’. Yes Albert/Jose you are. But there’s a reason why you’re both 7M footballers who got nowhere near your International side either – COS THAT’S ALL YOU’VE FUCKING GOT.

Pass the bastarding thing.
 
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