Firmino

[Mystic]

Admittedly it's only two substitute appearances, but he's looked a bit meh hasn't he? He just doesn't look up to speed yet, and I think it's a great shame that Rodgers didn't give him 60 against Bournemouth to get him ready, because I wouldn't want him starting against Arsenal. What do you guys think, do we stick with him on the bench for the time being, or do we twist and throw him in for the Arsenal game?

 

[doctor_mac]

Couldn't disagree more. Very little evidence, but we've already seen glimpses of real class and vision. I'm excited about him.

I'd love to see him get a start against Arsenal.

 

[dmishra]

Couldn't disagree more. Very little evidence, but we've already seen glimpses of real class and vision. I'm excited about him.

I'd love to see him get a start against Arsenal.

Absolutely. I think he needs to come in for Ibe who was very poor against Bournemouth.

 

[ILD]

Yeah Mystic, I'm gonna have to disagree with you here on the Meh review. His touch is excellent and he seems to have that Suarez like ability to twist and turn and find space. He drifts into space nicely and will pick up the ball in dangerous positions. Very early days but I'm liking what I'm seeing. He hasn't impacted a game yet so I kinda get your point but he must be in contention to have his first start against Arsenal.

 

[Mystic]

Yeh, it wasn't so much a dig at his ability, I'm just concerned about his fitness, he just hasn't looked up to speed, and you contrast that to Coutinho and Sanchez who both had similar summers, he's quite behind. I think the fact he's new to the team is compounding that fact, I just think it's a crying shame that Rodgers hasn't made more use of him to get him ready for the Arsenal game where his ability could be massive for us. Hopefully it's just Rodgers taking it slow with him, but it's really frustrating to watch because the sooner he starts firing for us, the better.

 

[keniget]

It's been difficult to gauge because both times he's come on has been against very hard working and motivated opposition where we've kinda struggled for possession and control of the game.

There were a couple fleeting glimmers of class against Stoke and against Bournemouth I'm not sure there was anything to really judge.

Brodgers is likely thinking back to the horror show of last season and playing it real safe this time round. Probably a good idea but he's going to have to get us improving very quickly if this season is to be a success.

 

[dmishra]

I'll add that I think it's a mistake to play him in a wide area. He needs to play in a free-ish central role off Benteke.

 

[Judge Jules]

Couldn't agree more. Skilful players like this guy have been shunted out wide in the Prem too often, simply because managers didn't really know what to do with them (we've done it ourselves with McMoneyman and Smicer, to name two). It'll be a real waste if we end up doing that to Firmino.

 

[Dahuge]

I am massively disappointed that he only got a few minutes against bournemouth, it was a game for him to get 60 mins...

I think he will have to play through the middle to get the most from him.

He needs to start against Arsenal, otherwise he won't get match fit from 15 minute cameos.

 

[Squiggles]

Couldn't agree more. Skilful players like this guy have been shunted out wide in the Prem too often, simply because managers didn't really know what to do with them (we've done it ourselves with McMoneyman and Smicer, to name two). It'll be a real waste if we end up doing that to Firmino.

Given that Milner and Henderson are guaranteed to start in the middle, the natural consequence of moving Firminho inside is moving Coutinho wider. I don't have a problem with that personally as I feel he can thrive in a narrow left sided position, but with your reasoning, you might.

 

[leftpeg]

If Henderson is fit I'd start Firmino without question. If he isn't, I'd be tempted to switch the system a bit to bolster that midfield.

 

[Judge Jules]

Squiggs: not really. For one thing they may not always start games together and, for another, starting games from wider out isn't the same as playing wide. Rodgers will want them all to interchange and that's fine by me. What I wouldn't like to see repeated is the mistake we made with the other two I mentioned, namely expecting them to stay wide and do most if not all of their work out there.