Liverpool v Aston Villa - Match Thread
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Bah. The two-year point haul is the important mark, as any fule kno.
I wouldn't lose much sleep if Ox and Origi were shipped off in the Summer. Origi, as much as I've defended him and willed him to come good, has been pretty dreadful this season. Ox has reverted to the player who had bags of potential but mostly flattered to deceive. Its criminal that Shaqiri has been marginalised while these two have had game time.
Can't understand why we bought him (OX) as that was what Wenger was near enough saying about him
Notice Firmino's run taking 2 defenders with him and creating a corridor for Keita's pass to Mane. Without this the goal doesn't happen.
Booby made a difference when he came on as did Hendo
Ryan really rated him, and I must say he won me over in his first season. I thought he was brilliant leading up to his injury. I still think he's got that in him. But you need the other midfielders arranged so as to give him the licence to bomb forward and shoot. In most games since he came back he's only sort of been filling in and doing bits and pieces. Next season will be key for him.
Notice how much Jones was involved in the buildup to his goal....
The beauty of having a top keeper
That was one helluva pass from Keita ... 12m dissecting the penalty box straight to feet and cutting out the whole of the Villa defence.
Yep. I was made up when he left Keita on, cos he'd been playing well & I wanted to see how well he played in that form once Hendo & co came on.
I've already lost faith in Origi and I'm starting to lose my patience for Ox.
He was terrible today and has been up and down since he joined.
Starting to think that he just doesn't have it in him to play in midfield. Maybe it's a confidence thing with him, just like Hendo but I doubt that he even has the fundamentals to play in midfield. His passing is erratic and nervous, close control is sloppy and his game intelligence isn't up to par with the rest of the midfield. I mean who in their right mind would play him over Keita or the usual trio?
He was terrible today and has been up and down since he joined.
Starting to think that he just doesn't have it in him to play in midfield. Maybe it's a confidence thing with him, just like Hendo but I doubt that he even has the fundamentals to play in midfield. His passing is erratic and nervous, close control is sloppy and his game intelligence isn't up to par with the rest of the midfield. I mean who in their right mind would play him over Keita or the usual trio?
Yeah, with Chamberlain, you really don't know what he specialises in. He's not a passer, he's not great at retaining possession, he's not a presser like Wijnaldum or Henderson. The obvious role for him is that of a box-to-box goalscorer, but he's never been a prolific goal getter. This season has been the best of his career with 7 goals. The truly great box-to-box scorers get about 15-20 a season. There's a reason Wenger stuck him at wing-back.
Klopp has coaxed some improvement out of him, and there have been flashes of him being a good midfielder, but he just doesn't do it consistently ever.
Klopp has coaxed some improvement out of him, and there have been flashes of him being a good midfielder, but he just doesn't do it consistently ever.
A few thoughts:
1) Decent bounce back performance from Robbo, but I'd love it if he spent the whole summer learning how to pass better with his right foot. I just think that will make it harder for opponents to do what they were effectively doing today - if he doesn't have space to run into, take away his left side and it limits his effectiveness.
2) Keita's pass was just incredible. He definitely has something his locker that our other midfielders don't have but he needs to consistently show it.
3) Origi - for his own sake, he should move on as its hard to develop rhythm/confidence etc if you're starting once every 6-8 games etc ... I think there's a player there but I don't see how we can unlock it if he's rarely playing.
4) I have time for Ox still ... I know I'm in the minority
5) The team still seems 'off' - it has seemed that way since before the break, but testament to them that they can pull out results. Yes yes, bring up Thursday's pasting but that game is very different if we take our chances early on.
1) Decent bounce back performance from Robbo, but I'd love it if he spent the whole summer learning how to pass better with his right foot. I just think that will make it harder for opponents to do what they were effectively doing today - if he doesn't have space to run into, take away his left side and it limits his effectiveness.
2) Keita's pass was just incredible. He definitely has something his locker that our other midfielders don't have but he needs to consistently show it.
3) Origi - for his own sake, he should move on as its hard to develop rhythm/confidence etc if you're starting once every 6-8 games etc ... I think there's a player there but I don't see how we can unlock it if he's rarely playing.
4) I have time for Ox still ... I know I'm in the minority
5) The team still seems 'off' - it has seemed that way since before the break, but testament to them that they can pull out results. Yes yes, bring up Thursday's pasting but that game is very different if we take our chances early on.
Origi, as much as I love him, needs to move on. He should try and move to a Villarreal or Valencia type side in Spain, and see if he can develop into a starting calibre striker. His pace and power in a slower league would work well for him. Plenty of evidence of strikers moving from England to Spain and finding a lot of success.
I still have time for Ox and I think most fans still do as well – 7 goals in all competitions is not amazing, but it still makes him our 4th leading scorer even though he's played only 12th most minutes in the squad. The one thing I'm finding disappointing with him is his inability to control the pace of the game – he should be able to with his passing ability, but he's just forcing the play too much. It's coachable though – Hendo couldn't do it either and look at him now.
If Ox stays and stays fit, I believe he can produce at least one really, really good season here.
A key difference to Origi who is rather static, offering scant movement off the ball and hence is easy to shackle.
I haven't gone through the thread yet but we spent most of the game being incredibly predictable. Slow in build up, lack of movement and just moving the ball from wing to wing looking to drill in crosses. Origi struggled in his role, but wasn't helped by the lack of intensity or precision shown by Mane, Mo & Ox in the final third. So many sloppy attempts at passing, same from Robbo & TAA.
Nice that we can leave with a win after that, but shows just how much of our team hinges on Bobby's movement and the drive from Hendo in the middle.
Nice that we can leave with a win after that, but shows just how much of our team hinges on Bobby's movement and the drive from Hendo in the middle.
Well if he has 7 so far this season and if a truly great box-to-box (which he isn't) gets 15-20 I'd still say, without injuries and played regularly, he'd likely come close to that 15 benchmark. We can't afford that though if he's not producing elsewhere.
He's never a WB but I do agree he's looking less and less a good fit as a LFC midfielder.
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People weren't saying that when he was blasting in goals like against City. I get what you say about consistency, but I think it's premature. For us he did start to look consistently impressive, and then - let's not forget - he suffered an horrific combination of injuries that might have finished some players. I don't think it's over-generous to give him at least a season to fully regain, or come close to, his previous form. Next season will really be the test, but we've been wanting a midfielder who can really be that kind of attacking threat since Ray Houghton. He's worth giving a bit more time IMHO.
Yeah that didn't look intentional by Firmino. Just looks like he wanted the ball and didn't get it.
Totally agree with this, I think any player coming back from a long-term injury usually takes a full season to reach their old / new level. The extra difficulty for Ox is that he's part of a three-man midfield which has to work its socks off. There's no room in our system for someone who isn't at full capacity and that makes it harder for him.
I wasn't too impressed when we signed him but towards the end of that first season, right before his knee injury, he was really looking like a player. I hope he can get back to that level, but he needs time.
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