Mind the Gap(ko)

[rurikbird]

View: https://x.com/1947prod/status/1836158110475645133

So let’s talk about Cody. The Milan game was possibly his best performance in the Liverpool shirt to date; he might not have scored, but he dominated his fullback and was key in making our system work, creating consistent danger and penetration that was missing against Forest.


View: https://youtu.be/iDN9nOtJEm4?si=aoAsjTF--jncxpF5
The 2nd half of this video contains an interesting heat-map based analysis of Gakpo and makes a strong claim that what he is, his essence as a player, is certsinly not a Firmino-esque intelligent playmaker who finds pockets of space and deftly connects attacking moves. Quite the opposite, according to this analysis he is more like a Rashford (this is my comparison, not the video guy’s, but he probably would agree) - a pure physical wing-forward who needs to be encouraged to run at the opposition every time he gets the ball and not asked to do anything too sophisticated - just take players on and create high volume of shots and assists.

Do you agree with this line of thinking? Did Van Gaal make a mistake in moving Gakpo centrally and did Klopp repeat that mistake? Does Gakpo have enough speed, energy and trickery to be a full-time winger at a top level?

 

[Modo]

Well no shit 😉

 

[Fabio]

He was bought based off form as a left winger. If given the support and freedom he'll do well there.

 

[Stevesquash]

I don't really see a weakness in his game, but he's maybe not world class at anything. Intelligent, yes, quick yes, good finisher yes, etc. But not outstanding at any.

Given our 9 is misfiring, id like to see him there as i think this is where he could become world class as a strong, clever, but clinical (our best) finisher.

 

[rurikbird]

Yeah, but would moving him back centrally negate some of his better qualities? I think much like Rashford (or at a higher level Mbappe or Thierry Henry) his game is based very much on the cutting-inside-from-the-wing type of movement; those kinds of players can do a job in the middle, but never fully convince there. Benzema is kind of an exception, someone who managed to make a transition from LW to centre-forward and become better in the process.

 

[Fabio]

I never want to see gakpo as the 9. He's alright there but doesn't have that natural 9 movement. Our system needs players playing where they're comfortable.

Our 9s are Jota, Nunez, Danns and that's it

 

[Mystic]

The way he got in front of the full back for Szlobs goal was glorious, I'd love to see more of that from him.

 

[keniget]

Not to be overly cynical, but did we get "How Arne just broke Liverpool" after we lost the other day? Some of this stuff gets a bit much at times.

Anyways, I'd love for Gakpo to turn into Mane v2 for us - because that appears to be what we're talking about here - but all the clever analysis aside, it doesn't feel very realistic, does it?

I think the reason Gakpo has been tried in different positions is because he's a bit of a jack of all trades. He's a very good footballer but he doesn't seem to have the skill set to make him elite in any one position.

And that's the problem we've had with a few of our attackers of late - Diaz, Jota, Gakpo. None of them are bad players at all. It's just that they're not great. And that's fine in isolation but these types of players need to play alongside players who are great.

But who knows maybe Arne Slot will just fix everything and everyone.

 

[Brizzle]

Gakpo has shown glimpses of being good at everything, but we need to choose how we use him and be consistent.

His best performance was the Man United drubbing.

I think we will see him uses consistently as a winger, and if he can perform to a high standard than that is great for us.

The loser in that is Nunez who was really a left sided forward too and is being trained as a CF target man.

 

[SummerOnions]

I feel like Gakpo could be upfront in a 2 but I don't see how him and Diaz are on the pitch together unless we play a 3-4-2-1 which isn't likely

 

[binomial]

He's a left winger and has always looked best/most threatening as such, he's said himself numerous times that's where he feels he's able to thrive so perhaps it's worth adhering to?

Like most forwards nowadays, he's versatile and can "do a job" as the #9 like he did at the world cup, from what I recall the Dutch played a 352 with Blind and Dumfries as wingbacks and Gakpo and Depay as the front 2. He did relatively well then but you also have to factor in the opposition were Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the USofA

 

[Judge Jules]

Play him left side where he's best. He's an intelligent lad and a willing worker who'll put a shift in wherever he's selected, but I never like to see players put in positions where they merely "do a job" other than in emergencies. Unlucky for Nunez who IMO also needs to start left side, but Gakpo's taken the opportunity and done well with it. We need two viable options for every position and Gakpo/Diaz seems OK to me for LW.

 

[mark1975]

My only concern really is that once he does get in full flow, he tends to, a lot of the time, cut inside and try to run across the opposition back four. He seems to do this a lot, which is great if the opportunity is there and space opens up for a shot, but when it becomes a bit predictable I imagine teams will get on to it and snuff him out. The other day he did what he did against United, he went on the outside and did that almost Torres-esque thing where he slowed down the defender and then blazed past him. He needs to do more stuff like that, but he's certainly come on quite a bit since the latter half of last season.

I don't think he has half the natural ability that Darwin has in some respects, but luckily he has way more game intelligence.

 

[Frogfish]

Yeah, but would moving him back centrally negate some of his better qualities? I think much like Rashford (or at a higher level Mbappe or Thierry Henry) his game is based very much on the cutting-inside-from-the-wing type of movement; those kinds of players can do a job in the middle, but never fully convince there. Benzema is kind of an exception, someone who managed to make a transition from LW to centre-forward and become better in the process.

So what you're saying is there's precedent 😜

 

[Squiggles]

I think we just need to let him compete with Diaz and ask them to perform the same duties. Whoever is doing that better gets the start. Slot is still implementing his game and for me we need to get that engrained before we start tweaking it to sort individual strengths.

I wouldn't move Gakpo centrally all year, TBH. I think the Rashford comparison is apt. Gakpos opener against United in the infamous 7-0 needs to become something Cody can do blindfolded.

 

[rurikbird]

Added a poll

 

[Markeh]

is the poll question who should start in general or who starts the next match?

i’m a diaz fan, i start him in a one off game. gakpo has been looking sharp and i think diaz benefits in the long run from some breaks, when he’s run into the ground his end product dries up imo.

i’d consider giving gakpo the start against bournemouth

 

[rurikbird]

is the poll question who should start in general or who starts the next match?

i’m a diaz fan, i start him in a one off game. gakpo has been looking sharp and i think diaz benefits in the long run from some breaks, when he’s run into the ground his end product dries up imo.

i’d consider giving gakpo the start against bournemouth

In general - just who would you like to be a starter on the LW for us.

Like, we all know Diaz started the season well – like others said, possibly our best forward in terms of overall contribution, attacking and work-rate wise. But did Gakpo against Milan, those Torres-like changes of speed, show potentially an even higher upside? I don't know the answer myself; right now I'm choosing to settle on Diaz being preferable against stronger opponents and Gakpo maybe being a more direct way to break stubborn defences down.

Either way, why the fuck did we ever need Anthony Gordon?

 

[rurikbird]

View: https://x.com/1947prod/status/1834930754452701333

We also have this guy potentially stepping up next year. We have an abundance of riches in terms of right-footed left wing-forwards; not so much bar Salah on the other side.

 

[Markeh]

In general - just who would you like to be a starter on the LW for us.

Like, we all know Diaz started the season well – like others said, possibly our best forward in terms of overall contribution, attacking and work-rate wise. But did Gakpo against Milan, those Torres-like changes of speed, show potentially an even higher upside? I don't know the answer myself; right now I'm choosing to settle on Diaz being preferable against stronger opponents and Gakpo maybe being a more direct way to break stubborn defences down.

Either way, why the fuck did we ever need Anthony Gordon?

i think we were keeping gordon on the long finger incase diaz and barcelona started flirting in public and a deal could be done.

for me diaz never lets us down on anything but end product, we just need to keep him fresh so the decision making and finishing isn’t marred by tiredness. gakpo is pushing for the start though, great problem to have.

i wonder instead of shifting cody around does slot think about putting diaz on the right