Markovic

[KopRed]

Have we played all our cards this season? What about our 20million winger? Is this the best we can expect of him? So far he has came on and showed little skill and no balls, always taking the safe route and offering no threat. Isn't he the flying winger touted to have the potential to become one of the world's best?

I am still holding onto the hope of him exploding into a purposeful run or *something* to get a glimpse of what he is bought for. Sadly he is looking like last season's Lamela or in our context, a poor Smicer.

 

[Squiggles]

I was impressed by what of his appearances, but beyond that, he has shown little ability of being able to influence a match or do anything special on the pitch.

 

[6TimesaRed]

I don't know what to make of him.. he just seems a limited player in terms of what he can offer us...

I don't see a place for him in the starting 11 as such yet..

 

[jan]

Admittedly the early signs have not been very promising, no sign of him able to dribble, assist or score so far - at the moment he's looking like an expensive Sebastian Leto.
But he's only been here for 3 months and he's 20 years old, while it would also be a lot easier for him if we weren't so out of form and under pressure, I don't think Rodgers was planning to start him until the last few months of the season maybe (Carling cup excluded).
Anyway, it's way too early to judge him, people writing him off already are probably the ones that will be satisfied if he doesn't improve and gets sold to Galatasaray next season, so they can tell the internet how they were right again.

 

[ibromurph]

He's a 20 year old kid just moved to a new country, understanding a new culture, around people who talk a different language. He probably hasn't yet learnt the route to his local Marks & Spencer, let alone been fully able to focus on his football. Cut the boy some slack and let him settle in first and get his head around a new country and a new way of working, before we start writing him off. Right now, he looks like a deer caught in headlights, but I have faith there's some talent in there we haven't yet seen.

 

[RedStar]

Right now, he looks like a deer caught in headlights, but I have faith there's some talent in there we haven't yet seen.

There would realistically have to be, there is no way a player as hysterically shite as hes been so far could convince some of Europes top clubs to take an interest in him, I mean he has been laughably bad, he has never even looked up to the standard of reserve football. When he comes on he doesnt look like hes going to make a name for himself he looks genuinely terrified

 

[peterhague]

He's obviously struggling to adapt, it's been obvious for a while. Given that, there's not much point getting on his back for a while, is there? It's disappointing but he's one we're just going to have to hope comes good in the longer term.

As for what he offers, he impressed me every time I saw him play for Benfica, and there's extensive footage of him there on Youtube, including whole matches.

So if anyone's genuinely interested in working out what his potential might be it's easy enough to find out.

 

[Jack D Rips]

I think that whilst it is pretty obvious he's not yet ready, I would like to give him a little more time than three months before making judgement.

 

[ibromurph]

There would realistically have to be, there is no way a player as hysterically shite as hes been so far could convince some of Europes top clubs to take an interest in him, I mean he has been laughably bad, he has never even looked up to the standard of reserve football. When he comes on he doesnt look like hes going to make a name for himself he looks genuinely terrified

Agreed. There must be, right?

I've got a guy at my gym who's a massive Benfica fan and he couldn't stop raving about this kid Markovic last year. As in, he was gutted when they lost him and insisted we got a STEAL for the 20m price.

Like you say, he's been laughably shite. So I can only attribute that to settling in problems. There's a been history older, more seasoned pros who have come from other leagues and it's taken them a year or 18months before they just exploded into becoming a great player.

The english league is a difficult league to adapt to. More so than the Spanish or Italian one where you're given more time on the ball. Referees give little to no protection, therefore defenders know they can go in a little more recklessly. Talented attacking players really have to earn the right to play here.

 

[iseered]

He's a 20 year old kid just moved to a new country, understanding a new culture, around people who talk a different language. He probably hasn't yet learnt the route to his local Marks & Spencer, let alone been fully able to focus on his football. Cut the boy some slack and let him settle in first and get his head around a new country and a new way of working, before we start writing him off. Right now, he looks like a deer caught in headlights, but I have faith there's some talent in there we haven't yet seen.

Come on man, what kind of forum would this be if we all went around being perfectly reasonable.

 

[the_dude]

give him time.

 

[Fabio]

Course he is champ

 

[Markeh]

He's doing exactly what I imagine I'd do in his shoes, shitting it a little bit and playing within himself / taking the safe route. Imo he's one that we'll have to wait on coming out of his shell before we see the best.

 

[Gary25]

He's fast falling into the shithouse category.

 

[gkmacca]

Grief... Do you fucking people hear yourselves?? He's fucking shit and will be sold/loan in the summer. And I pointed this out already when he signed! Muck.

Grief... Do you fucking people hear yourselves?? He's fucking shit and will be sold/loan in the summer. And I pointed this out already when he signed! Muck.

Oh great, he's back, and this time in duplicate. It's the acid reflux of the form.

 

[My_Blood_Bleeds_Red]

When I see Markovic play, it kinda makes me wanna miss Babel.

 

[KopRed]

It's like with Carroll, you watch him hoping he is the next messiah. 1 match, 5 matches, 10 matches and nothing, you don't know why he's worth the money we paid or why he's at Liverpool at all. You can grab a striker from Hull or Crystal palace who could arguably do better at a quarter (or less) of the cost. Markovic and Balotelli are our Carroll for this season. They cost about the same and we will be lucky to recoup the Carroll amount when we get rid. We keep making the same mistakes.

 

[Hansern]

Its the typical give players 5 games to adapt story isnt it. The kid has world class potential but will probably take 9-12 months to settle.
I think he'll come good if given time.

But, I was thinking about this yesterday. 20 mill for someone who isnt ready yet. We're not in that sort of position financially and certainly not with Suarez leaving. Short term Ibe would have offered more this season than Markovic, and the 20 mill could have been spent on a settled class player that could have made a difference from day 1.

He's here now and deserves our support. We wont see what he can offer for a while though. Even his running seem off these days. He's normally lightning fast but just looks scared and out of his depth.
Hope he settles in well and can show that world class potential.

 

[kingjulian]

How I wish the loan deal we had was for Markovic and not Origi and that we kept Ibe to do Markovics role in the squad currently.

 

[dmishra]

In his defence, he's being played in the wrong position.

 

[mom]

Young lad. New country, language, club and team. Barely had a chance to unpack his suitcase and already he's been branded as being shit. Great.
As for buying instant quality, look at the storm of excitement over Balotelli when we signed him, and look at him now...

 

[Rafiagra]

He has to play and be given a chance to adapt to the league. However, we won't give him the chance.

Given how shite we are at the minute, it's a bit unfair to put him in now.

 

[irishred]

Its the typical give players 5 games to adapt story isnt it. The kid has world class potential but will probably take 9-12 months to settle.
I think he'll come good if given time.

But, I was thinking about this yesterday. 20 mill for someone who isnt ready yet. We're not in that sort of position financially and certainly not with Suarez leaving. Short term Ibe would have offered more this season than Markovic, and the 20 mill could have been spent on a settled class player that could have made a difference from day 1.

He's here now and deserves our support. We wont see what he can offer for a while though. Even his running seem off these days. He's normally lightning fast but just looks scared and out of his depth.
Hope he settles in well and can show that world class potential.

Yup, that was my thinking too. If we didn't have any prodigious talents waiting in the wings in Ibe and Wilson, I would've seen the logic in getting a young, potentially-top class wide man. Southampton`s scouting department is testament that you can get players to work from day 1 and have value-for-money, the stats for Tadic, Mané and Pellé in the last few seasons were phenomenal.

 

[Oncy]

He does look shit.
But then so did Lamela last season and he is STARTING to come good.
Hes just a kid.
A kid we probably didnt need to spend 20m quid on right now.

 

[Modo]

20 years old, have some patience

 

[Farkmaster]

I do have patience, but I tend to find that the better attacking talent doesn't generally need to be told to attack. If anything, the reverse. It hasn't been the best team to come into, but it is a manager that clearly isn't on the conservative side of things, he's not going to chastise you for trying something and losing the ball, and yet he's played incredibly safe, and even cowardly.

 

[keniget]

I got a completely different impression of his mentality based on tidbits I read in the summer. Felt like people were saying that the only thing holding him back from world domination is willingness to apply himself (or am I attributing that solely to the comment from Matic?)... I just assumed he'd be an arrogant sort. Maybe he is and just doesn't fancy applying himself in a struggling team or in a situation where he knows he can't do his thing.

Maybe he's just young and will take time.

I kinda feel like we need him to become a star in the long run.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

I feel like he's playing like Henderson when he first arrived, i.e. you can see glimpses of talent, but he's deferring to the other more senior / established players more often rather than thinking, "Here, let me do this; I can help to take the lead". Pretty understandable though given his age and unfamiliarity with the team. I wouldn't say he's cowardly or incredibly safe though. He's tried some stuff and they haven't come off for him, be it due to a poor touch, or a wayward pass. Even the deference I mentioned is mainly true when it comes to shooting.

Coming into a team playing in fits and with a lot of nerves hasn't helped either. He'd probably have had a much easier introduction to the club if he'd arrived in January.

 

[FoxForceFive]

He does look shit.
But then so did Lamela last season and he is STARTING to come good.
Hes just a kid.
A kid we probably didnt need to spend 20m quid on right now.

My mate & I were comparing Lamela & Markovic yesterday, there's a lot to be learned.

Tbf we already knew the unofficial rule that foreign players can often take a season to adjust, but we've seen a lot of players defying that so maybe it serves as a reminder.

 

[Buddha]

On a side note, Lamela is NOT starting to come good. He stank the place out again yesterday with zero defensive work to balance his awful attacking play.

Most of my old London mates are Spurs fans and they all want him dropped out of the side.

One rabona against Europa league fodder means nothing when he's having zero impact on any game in the premiership.