Rating Nunez's 1st Year at LFC

[jan]

I guess I'd rate him as 5 out of 10 at best.

He cost a fortune, he hasn't scored enough goals, we didn't win anything or even finish top 4, he could barely get in the team by the end of the season. That's not a good first season.

That said, he has the attributes to get better next season. I hope he does.

This is where I'm standing. All things considering, 14 goals in a debut season isn't that bad (Suarez got 17 in his first full year, Drogba got 16 at Chelsea, Mane 13 in his first season with us) but finishing the season as 5th/6th choice for the front three can't be good

 

[Farkmaster]

Most expensive ever signing, he's been crap, and he's stupid. He might get better. 3/10

How do you know he's stupid?

 

[binomial]

How do you know he's stupid?

He was his exam marker back in his school days in Uruguay and remembers the name.

 

[Woland]

Apart from the fact he plays and acts like a thick twat, klopp was moaning about him not knowing any English at the end of season.

 

[Richey]

But why bring team (or lack of) achievements into it?

If we'd won the league or FA cup and finished 4th then.....it is then a better season for Nunez?

Probably, yes.

I am not saying he was an awful lot worse than a lot of other players, and I am not saying that our collective failure this season is all down to him, but he was a big player in the squad that failed.

If he had been amazing but we had still done badly then maybe I would think differently, but noone in their right mind would argue that. He scored an unimpressive number of goals and ended up being dropped.

 

[binomial]

Probably, yes.

I am not saying he was an awful lot worse than a lot of other players, and I am not saying that our collective failure this season is all down to him, but he was a big player in the squad that failed.

If he had been amazing but we had still done badly then maybe I would think differently, but noone in their right mind would argue that. He scored an unimpressive number of goals and ended up being dropped.

The only 3 players that come away from the season with credit 7/10+ seasons is Ali, Mo and Darwin.

People will say Trent was unbelievable but forget the first 28 games of the season before he moved inside then criticise Darwin for being dropped last third of the season.....maybe he played enough games/minutes at the start and Klopp wanted to use the time to get Diaz/Jota back up to speed after 6 months out?

People using the English language against him is pathetic tbh and wouldn't have even been a talking point if Klopp didn't allude to it, and the price tag is an easy target to use against him as well...if he came for 30-40m then suddenly it's an amazing season.

 

[Woland]

No it isn't. He was shit no matter what the price. It's just a bigger fuck up because it looks to be money badly spent.

 

[Richey]

If he cost 30 million he still wouldn’t have had an amazing season. Because by no metric did he have an amazing season.

It obviously isn’t his fault that we spent a lot on him, and some may argue that we didn’t play to his strengths or whatever. If so, not his fault either.

Doesn’t change the fact that he just wasn’t that good. If a player is injured pretty much the whole season, they still had a shit season. You can only judge by what a player actually does.

 

[binomial]

Will you all shut up once he gets 30 goals next season or will he still be a flop to you if he doesn't hit Haaland figures?

 

[Richey]

If he scores 30 goals next season and we have a thread asking people to rate Nunez’s second season then I’d give him a much higher rating than last season.

Even more so if he helps us win something.

 

[binomial]

If he scores 30 goals next season and we have a thread asking people to rate Nunez’s second season then I’d give him a much higher rating than last season.

Even more so if he helps us win something.

You can be sure I'll be asking when he does.

What would you rate Mo's season out of 10 to get a inkling.

 

[Richey]

You can be sure I'll be asking when he does.

What would you rate Mo's season out of 10 to get a inkling.

About 7 probably.

 

[binomial]

About 7 probably.

Damn Richey boy you are brutal. Not even gonna bother asking for Fab Hendo or Thiago then 😀 😀

 

[Farkmaster]

Apart from the fact he plays and acts like a thick twat, klopp was moaning about him not knowing any English at the end of season.

Yeah, and that annoys me but it doesn't indicate he's stupid necessarily.

I have been looking for a Spanish interview with him and have run into the fact that being asked whether you are excited to join the national team from some idiot sports journalist doesn't exactly offer a turing test. I'm none the wiser about him being none the wiser.

 

[StevieM]

The only 3 players that come away from the season with credit 7/10+ seasons is Ali, Mo and Darwin.

People will say Trent was unbelievable but forget the first 28 games of the season before he moved inside then criticise Darwin for being dropped last third of the season.....maybe he played enough games/minutes at the start and Klopp wanted to use the time to get Diaz/Jota back up to speed after 6 months out?

People using the English language against him is pathetic tbh and wouldn't have even been a talking point if Klopp didn't allude to it, and the price tag is an easy target to use against him as well...if he came for 30-40m then suddenly it's an amazing season.

If you think Nunez deserves a 7 and Gakpo doesn’t then you truly are off your rocker.

 

[binomial]

If you think Nunez deserves a 7 and Gakpo doesn’t then you truly are off your rocker.

Gakpo came in Jan though so it's tougher to judge, you only really tend to rate the whole season.....for the half season he played I'd give him a 7 as well, think he'll be a great player for us.

Ask yourself if Gakpo was the 1 bought for 65m-80m instead of Nunez, and had the half season Gakpo had if people talk highly of him....I'm not so sure.

Fans will find anything to complain about........"runs offside too much", "pea for a brain", "can't speak english", "can't run or press" etc. Not me, I'll get behind the boys so long as they've shown moments of quality mixed with hard work and endeavour.

 

[StevieM]

Gakpo came in Jan though so it's tougher to judge...for the half season he played I'd give him a 7 as well, think he'll be a great player for us.

Ask yourself if Gakpo was the 1 bought for 65m-80m instead of Nunez, and had the half season Gakpo had if people talk highly of him....I'm not so sure.

Then Gakpo still would have a got a 7.

If he’d been bought for £80m had half a season like he did but the other picking splinters out of his arse in the bench then he would have got a 6.

Like Nunez.

Here’s the thing though - he didn’t cost £80m and he became a very important part of the team making the middle forward position his.

 

[Richey]

Damn Richey boy you are brutal. Not even gonna bother asking for Fab Hendo or Thiago then 😀 😀

Haha. Yeah, I'd probably rate them lower than Nunez last season!!

 

[binomial]

Haha. Yeah, I'd probably rate them lower than Nunez last season!!

Rate them lower than the temperature in the south pole!!!

 

[darkstarexodus]

His chance creation was off the charts early in the season when Klopp reengineered the attack to suit him, unfortunately he couldn't convert most of these chances and then the bottom fell out of the midfield so we abruptly shifted from the whole team working to create chances for Nunez to asking Nunez to sacrifice his game for the team. His numbers immediately suffered and he lost the starting place.

So where are we now? To be at his best, he needs a bespoke role carved out for him, just like Salah. His finishing is better coming in from left, but he should not be a winger; in fact he should touch the ball as little as possible during build-up, much like Haaland at City. His movement and ability to get himself into goal-scoring positions are extraordinary. If we imagine a team with Nunez rather than Salah as a focal point, I can see a lopsided formation with him in a LWF/CF hybrid role playing on the shoulder of defenders while the rest of his attacking partners are far deeper and more involved in the build-up. Him and Salah together will be more difficult to make it work, unless Mo would be willing to adjust his game to become more of a creator.

------Nunez------------------------
Diaz------------Gakpo----Salah
--[K.Thuram]--MacAllister------
------------------------Trent--------
---[LCB]---Virgil-----Konate-----

This begs the question - in conjunction with the Mbappe leaving PSG issue - as to whether we need to directly replace Mo, if PSG does indeed look to make a marquee replacement signing in Salah.

What if we were to make Darwin the focus on the left and play Diaz (or Harvey/Doak as backup) on the right or find a different type of right winger altogether?

That would certainly seem to be the best way of getting something out of the Nunez investment while not having to find someone to exactly replace one of our club's greatest modern legends.

 

[tombrown]

In binary code maybe.

So 3 out of 2 then? Not bad