Lazar Markovic

[keniget]

I noticed that in Oncey's signings revisited thread opinion seemed generally positive regarding our young Serb and I'm interested in understanding that further because he's still a bit of an enigma to me.

I'd seen very little of him in the summer but his highlight reel consisted mostly of him racing forward and being a goal threat, which is exactly what we needed. I was hoping for a Robben / Sanchez etc. type that could play out wide and represent a genuine goal threat.

He strikes me as a player that has a lot of qualities but I'm not quite sure how they fit together - for example, he can exhibit a great first touch and control but on the other hand has a Cisse like tendency to let the ball get too far ahead of him when running with it.

I can't help but compare him to Sterling and for me he's a long way from contributing at that level in an attacking sense.

Where do you guys see him fitting in? What do you expect from him next season?

 

[dmishra]

I think his best position eventually is going to be as a left-sided AM.

The Cisse like quality is a concern, and I don't expect him to iron it out very soon.

I think the best bet is for him to be a solid rotation player in attack (sharing the burden with Sterling, Lallana and Ibe), and contributing about 8-10 goals a season.

I'd be quite happy with that - don't expect him to develop into a superstar.

 

[Judge Jules]

A lot of good points above, but I'm suspending judgment on how much further he can develop, because he's already surprised me - quite considerably in fact - by the extent to which he's grown out of his earlier tendency to be a bit of a shithouse. I would never in a month of Sundays have expected him to be either willing or able to play wingback, and I'd have been well off beam with that, so who knows how far he can go?

Incidentally one of the things about which he could take a leaf out of Raheem's book is getting rid of a daft hairstyle. 😎

 

[Silver Sean]

He looks like thoroughbred and a natural player and yet also has a lot of things to improve. Decision-making, final pass, shooting. But he works hard and has ability. I think he'll blossom in the coming years. We have a good young squad. Anyone else with a talented squad as young as ours the media would be creaming themselves.

 

[Markeh]

A lot of good points above, but I'm suspending judgment on how much further he can develop, because he's already surprised me - quite considerably in fact - by the extent to which he's grown out of his earlier tendency to be a bit of a shithouse. I would never in a month of Sundays have expected him to be either willing or able to play wingback, and I'd have been well off beam with that, so who knows how far he can go?

Incidentally one of the things about which he could take a leaf out of Raheem's book is getting rid of a daft hairstyle. 😎

I like the hair, it's just like having Berger back

 

[red_maradona]

A lot of good points above, but I'm suspending judgment on how much further he can develop, because he's already surprised me - quite considerably in fact - by the extent to which he's grown out of his earlier tendency to be a bit of a shithouse. I would never in a month of Sundays have expected him to be either willing or able to play wingback, and I'd have been well off beam with that, so who knows how far he can go?

Incidentally one of the things about which he could take a leaf out of Raheem's book is getting rid of a daft hairstyle. 😎

i like your optimism. I have been disappointed, in part becuase of the hype surrounding him when we signed him. I thought he was some skillful player who beat people easily - he looks like a glorified kick and run merchant - in the long-term he could be a very good central midfielder who breaks lines and scores.

 

[HC]

I'm not particularly impressed. He's got time o His side and hopefully can improve but I'm not overly confident. I'd agree with the stance that he has all of the traits of a ridiculously frustrating yet talented modern day footballer.

 

[hmmmmm1]

The kid will be a world star

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

What I expected (or hoped for) and got: Ball control, quickness in his change of direction, pace
Pleasant surprises: Quickness in learning and adapting to a new position and changing systems, pretty decent workrate
Showing improvement: Confidence, asserting himself and trying to do things in a game rather than being anonymous
Weaknesses: Decision making (what passes to make, when to pass vs dribble), consistency, physical toughness, impulsiveness

It's really too early to say whether he'll live up to the price. Take Sterling for example. I expected him to be a good player in the pros, but didn't expect him to be this good - and he's still not the finished product obviously. Even last season, he was pretty meh for the first half of the season and not playing much. Then he came into the team in about November / December, and then just suddenly took off vertically after a couple of games. Yes, he showed good promise in his first season, but the trajectory of his improvement was just crazy. Not that Markovic will take the same curve, but you never know with these youngsters. I think he will at least be a good player though - seems to have the tools for it. Will he live up to the price tag though? Hard to tell.

Here's an interesting one - how do people see Ibe relative to Markovic? Obviously, he hasn't played too many senior minutes for us, but while Markovic looked tentative for the first half of the season, Ibe has always looked nothing like a rookie in terms of his confidence when he's pulled on the red shirt. And he's built like a bull. I'm really excited by the prospects of this kid. Obviously, it's way too early to tell as well, but if I were to try and make a best guess right now on who I think will turn out to be the better player for us - I'll pick Ibe.

 

[Oncy]

He looks a good player.
My worry is that Mr Rodgers has gone a bit FIFA and just signed a fuckload of players whos best position is AM.

He isnt a wing back. Right now we have Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana, Gerrard and Markovic who realistically are all AM's
I worry Markovic will be the one to miss out and we will never see his potential.

 

[dmishra]

He looks a good player.
My worry is that Mr Rodgers has gone a bit FIFA and just signed a fuckload of players whos best position is AM.

He isnt a wing back. Right now we have Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana, Gerrard and Markovic who realistically are all AM's
I worry Markovic will be the one to miss out and we will never see his potential.

Gerrard is retiring. Coutinho is dropping deeper.

So it's really Sterling and Lallana who's his competition. Add Ibe as well. I'm sure he'll get plenty of chances there next season on.

 

[jexykrodic]

He looks a good player.
My worry is that Mr Rodgers has gone a bit FIFA and just signed a fuckload of players whos best position is AM.

He isnt a wing back. Right now we have Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana, Gerrard and Markovic who realistically are all AM's
I worry Markovic will be the one to miss out and we will never see his potential.

I think Rodgers is being quite canny here and allowing Markovic to get plenty of experience, when for the reason you point out he may have few opportunities otherwise. The experiences he's getting will sharpen his game and I'm sure he'll gravitate forwards as time passes.

 

[Squiggles]

I'm very optimistic about his prospects.

There's been touches of pure class from Markovic and that's rare for someone of his age. Keni's right in that he needs time to knit together all his qualities, but there is a large level of talent there and I think he's set to be one of the best attacking players in Europe.

 

[doctor_mac]

He is the best player in world football.

 

[Zlate]

I'm a bit torn on Markovic.

I had previously watched him play with Benfica (quite a lot in Europa) and he was very direct and quite awesome to watch, so when we signed him, was really exciting.

Now when I watch him play for us, he seems to just want to pass the ball as soon as he touches it, doesn't seem confident or like he wants the ball.

He is still young and hopefully in time he will get that confidence and tear apart the EPL like he did Portugal.

Too be honest, I rate Ibe as a bigger prospect than Markovic and think we'd be better off selling Markovic, investing that into the team and putting our faith in Ibe for that RW position.

I rate Ibe on the same level as Sterling, if not higher. He's bigger, more skillful, better shot and sprint speed is very similar, only different is Sterling is more versatile.

Anyway this is just my opinion

 

[doctor_mac]

I rate Ibe on the same level as Sterling, if not higher. He's bigger, more skillful, better shot and sprint speed is very similar, only different is Sterling is more versatile.

Anyway this is just my opinion

It is generally agreed that Ibe has a higher ceiling than Sterling but that he needs it because he's much taller.

 

[Oncy]

Baddum Tsh.

 

[Sherman]

The makings of a top class player.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Now when I watch him play for us, he seems to just want to pass the ball as soon as he touches it, doesn't seem confident or like he wants the ball.

He looks to me like another case of the Henderson syndrome - came to us on a big price tag and then proceeded to play within himself in the first season, afraid to take control, wary of making mistakes, and deferring a lot to the older or more established players in the team. Now and then you'd see some bright moments, but they'd not always show up, leaving doubts to creep in over whether he will make it or not.

Next season, we will have a better gauge of what he'll actually be like for us. A proper pre-season (I think he joined late and then missed a good part of our pre-season to injury), more familiarity with everything around him, etc.

 

[Mors]

I'm a bit torn on Markovic.

I had previously watched him play with Benfica (quite a lot in Europa) and he was very direct and quite awesome to watch, so when we signed him, was really exciting.

Now when I watch him play for us, he seems to just want to pass the ball as soon as he touches it, doesn't seem confident or like he wants the ball.

He is still young and hopefully in time he will get that confidence and tear apart the EPL like he did Portugal.

Too be honest, I rate Ibe as a bigger prospect than Markovic and think we'd be better off selling Markovic, investing that into the team and putting our faith in Ibe for that RW position.

I rate Ibe on the same level as Sterling, if not higher. He's bigger, more skillful, better shot and sprint speed is very similar, only different is Sterling is more versatile.

Anyway this is just my opinion

I thought when we loaned out Ibe at first that we'd sent the wrong one out - he looked better than Sterling. But since then Sterling has come on in leaps and bounds. Be interesting to see if Ibe had have got the same amount of game time as Sterling has for us, where he'd be in his progression.
A loan is the death of any player ever making it for us, if you ever get loaned from Liverpool - it's curtains.

 

[beejay]

He was truly awful in his first few games, looked slow unfit and lacking any bottle. I couldn't see any sort of a player in him and thought he was destined to be another Aquilani - big reputation and price tag but no balls, just a fancy dan unsuited to our league.

But he has grown a set and has been one of the big surprises of the season, showing some spirit and class on the ball.

I'm not sure quite what else he has in his locker because he still lacks confidence when taking on an opponent or in front of goal. His main strength from what I've seen so far is his passing - he rarely loses the ball (sometimes because he plays too safe) but he has the ability to consistently zip the ball on the floor straight to a colleague in space. Some players seem to pass slowly (Lucas) or bobble the ball (Henderson) but the weight and accuracy of Markovic's passing is his stand-out quality from what I've seen.

If he keeps developing and lightens up in the final third, he could be a big asset but while he blows chances like v West Ham, the jury is still out on whether he can be really productive as a Liverpool player.

 

[millskid]

the jury is still out in my opinion, still has a lot to prove.

 

[Mersey86]

I think Rodgers is being quite canny here and allowing Markovic to get plenty of experience, when for the reason you point out he may have few opportunities otherwise. The experiences he's getting will sharpen his game and I'm sure he'll gravitate forwards as time passes.

A lot of good sense in this thread. I think jexyrodic makes a very good point here, though. Rodgers has done very well to get Markovic integrated when it was looking like that may not happen. Lazar certainly has the ability to kick on next season, and happily has shown that he has the steel for this league. Could be a top buy or a disappointment - time will tell.

 

[Lippy]

I'll only judge him when he's played in his correct position for a decent period

 

[Buddha]

He's got bucketloads of potential but still looks really raw at times (as is appropriate at his age).

One huge thing in his favour, and what makes me think he'll make it, has been his desire to adapt his play to a new position and toughen himself up in response to a difficult first few games. He's already shown he's willing to learn at his new club/country and that he's got the stomach for a fight. He has obvious psychological strengths.

Given he's also got the physical tools allied to significant raw ability, i'll say he'll end up a top class player. It might just be that he'll need a while to get there though, whilst more precocious talents like Ibe initially surpass him.

 

[Dreambeliever]

I really want to see him play on the wing or behind the striker. I think a run of games there could really see him explode.
He's shown glimpses of brilliance, but goes missing far to often so far.
He certainly can carry a ball, is very quick, intelligent on the ball and is technically superb (that volley!!!)

I'd love to see

Markovic Coutinho Sterling
Studge

 

[dogboy]

He's been deadly average so far. And he runs like a cartoon cat.

 

[Dirkus_Circus]

He's only 20 years old he has a lot of time to improve. Not everyone is Raheem Sterling.

 

[RedStar]

Where you stand on Markovic is probably largely down to expectations. He was signed for big money with a lot of hype so there was pressure on him to look shit hot from the start, this didnt happen and he was quickly demoted to flop status based on his lack of fitness and astounding timidness. He has come back into the team gradually in a position that he probably doesnt regard as his best fit (much like Can), and relative to the lowered expectations we had for him hes done pretty well. Hes still nowhere near the category of player we were hoping we had signed but neither is he the complete write off he looked in the first 3 months.

Hes clearly still trying to settle into English football and that will probably take a while but hes got pace, balance, a great first touch and decent brain he just needs knuckle down and put the hard work in to getting himself up to the required level of fitness and awareness within the system. Whether he succeeds will be down to whether or not he wants to try hard enough, so far the indications are hes willing to learn and thats very positive because there were rumours of him being difficult in training. I think Sturridges injury blew a whole a mile wide in Rodgers plans for the attacking line up this season so it will probably be a while yet before we see how all the pieces of that jigsaw are meant to fit together

 

[gene hughes]

the jury is still out in my opinion, still has a lot to prove.

If the jury is out then it's too late, they're locked away in a room talking about him. There's nothing he can do at this point. It's quite sad really.