Georgian on my mind
- Thread starter rurikbird
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Honestly when i was at the Spain Georgia game even though they got smacked he looked really top level
Here we slow.
Have no doubts about his shot-stopping - but if other parts of his game like short passing won’t improve, passing mistakes can affect the overall confidence, like it did with Mignolet. In that regard, letting him stay at Valencia which mostly play direct football doesn’t seem logical.
I expect he will go on loan to a prem team next year anyway
That was one of my concerns, in comparison to Kelleher. Maybe this guy is a better shot stopper - and that IS the number one requirement of the role - but if we have to change our style of play to accommodate his relative lack of skill on the ball, it may not be the upgrade we've had in mind.
Time will tell and hopefully we are working with him on a development plan in this regard.
Unless there's a need to see him, feels a bit pointless to send our staff to watch him. We've already bought him.
He's probably involved in a people traffficking ring.
Disagree. I think all of our players out on loan need to feel the love to stay connected.
Maybe there's a 60-day return policy / defects period
Watching him after we've bought the fella is the new way.
Nah, not for me. We probably lost Sepp van den Berg because we didn't give him any attention when we loaned him out.
There is probably a good business opportunity for someone to set up a bot that sends loaned out players messages on behalf of Slot to say some variation of "well played" after every game.
I've been following Mamardashvili a bit since we've signed him. Seems like a great second keeper. Young, big, athletic, and with a great positioning sense. He could potentially be developed into a beast of a keeper.
Here, however, is one example of an error that he made in a recent game. This was a tap-in, training-pitch goal he should've rather easily prevented.
Video Link: https://youtu.be...
/vihWWHf5q0w?t=98
This ball on this photo should've been his and he should've kicked it out. Valencia as a team played a very high position. All of the 10 footballers were in the opposing team's half. That means that Mamardashvili should have also been positioned much higher up the pitch. But he hasn't been. He appears to potentially even greatly struggle reading the plays and intervening confidently when far outside the penalty box which is his comfort area. That is a skill he can be expected to develop especially when he starts working with Alisson. But he will have to work very hard on that. Such things are not at all easy to change and acquire, especially for keepers who have no such natural inclinations but who, instead, hold insecurities and lack of comfort in such situations.
My sense of him is that he is a great buy. From what I've seen of him, he seems like a solid shot stopper that assumes good positioning in many shot-stopping situations in his box. I just haven't seen his footballing skills in terms of playing from the back and even intervening in situations like this. Perhaps that is not his strong suit? And perhaps that is not at all his strong suit? And that could potentially be a problem at a top-level club that seeks to employ cutting edge football strategies.
ps A great title to this thread (btw)
/ggGzE5KfCio
Here, however, is one example of an error that he made in a recent game. This was a tap-in, training-pitch goal he should've rather easily prevented.
Video Link: https://youtu.be...
/vihWWHf5q0w?t=98
This ball on this photo should've been his and he should've kicked it out. Valencia as a team played a very high position. All of the 10 footballers were in the opposing team's half. That means that Mamardashvili should have also been positioned much higher up the pitch. But he hasn't been. He appears to potentially even greatly struggle reading the plays and intervening confidently when far outside the penalty box which is his comfort area. That is a skill he can be expected to develop especially when he starts working with Alisson. But he will have to work very hard on that. Such things are not at all easy to change and acquire, especially for keepers who have no such natural inclinations but who, instead, hold insecurities and lack of comfort in such situations.
My sense of him is that he is a great buy. From what I've seen of him, he seems like a solid shot stopper that assumes good positioning in many shot-stopping situations in his box. I just haven't seen his footballing skills in terms of playing from the back and even intervening in situations like this. Perhaps that is not his strong suit? And perhaps that is not at all his strong suit? And that could potentially be a problem at a top-level club that seeks to employ cutting edge football strategies.
ps A great title to this thread (btw)
/ggGzE5KfCio
Notice how when making these saves Mamardashvili is about 1 meter or so in front of the goal line. That shows his great fundamental positioning. By being in front of the line he makes himself bigger and that is what every goalkeeper should always do. Try and make himself as big as possible given the situation he finds himself in (without risking an easy lob or some sort of other open-netter). That is the most important goalkeeping skill: positioning. And Mamardashvili has good such movement on many, many occasions. I think that instinctively he has good such movement.
And notice the second Arsenal goal from the yesterday's game. Notice how Kelleher was disappearing into his own net and thereby making himself smaller as the cross was coming in. At the moment when the Arsenal player hit the ball with his head one of Kelleher's feet was actually behind the goal line.
You may think that such things and differences of 1 or 2 meters are not big or relevant. But they very, very much are. Every 10 or 20 centimeters make an exponential difference in such situations, let alone differences of a meter, or two, or five depending upon the situation.
And during the first Arsenal goal you can notice how Kelleher did not make one jumping step in front of himself with both feet when Saka turned onto his left foot and it became obvious he would shoot it. By doing that he would make himself bigger. And if you watch Mamardashvili play you can notice that he sometimes and in some situations makes such jumping steps with both feet in front of himself to make himself bigger, close down angles, and give himself the best opportunity to make a save.
This what I have written here does not mean that Mamardashvili can just like that become a solid number 1 keeper at Liverpool. In my opinion, he can become something like that in about 4-5 years if he works under (and with) Alisson.
Above are the photos and the link to more extensive highlights from that Mamardashvili game discussed above. Those highlights will soon be removed from that website as such extensive highlights are posted I think for only a day or two/three.
The play Mamardashvili made on that photo in the minute 45 is why he has a great talent and why Liverpool got him. Notice how he timed his run perfectly and closed down the angle fully and completely making a top notch save. Notice on the first (upper) photo how he has great whereabouts about himself in his box. He measures his positioning and his presence very well. He is in charge and confidently moves to cover the entirety of his box. Most keepers struggle greatly with that and are wedded to one or two spots. Yet he is a great mover and he feels confident closing down angles and stepping relatively far out from his net. That is an exceptional quality that he appears to posses.
Notice how on that first photo he must judge the offensive attack just as a central defender would, and be prepared to run out or step back only optimally. Great awareness. This play that he made basically requires a goalkeeper to be a great footballer too. That is, it requires a goalkeeper to defend almost like a footballing central defender would. To step out and block the shot at the right moment with his legs/feet. Great football playing (and not just goalkeeping) skills are required for that; great awareness of the space, of the runs made, of the balls trajectory, of the speed of the attacker, of one's own speed etc. etc. This is precisely the sort of play Alisson would make and regularly makes.
These are matters of timing backed up by fundamental footballing skills. And that's hard to develop.
Basically he didn't make a save here. Instead he nullified the chance. And whenever possible that is the highest efficiency goalkeeping. Many keepers struggle greatly with things like this. They lack such fundamental skills and have no confidence moving far and fast in front of the net (and back). And to work with them on such things is always a great risk because trials of such things can produce great errors, shatter one's confidence, etc. etc. It is one thing to practice this with someone on training grounds and then have them try and execute it in big-game situations. That can produce grave, grave errors. These are matters of fundamental things and fundamental comforts and confidences that some keeper have due to how they grew up and how they played football over many, many years.
