The rise of Coutinho ?

[Rosco]

He's been a good to very good player for us since joining and every now and again shows flashes of absolute brilliance.

Obviously he has started well this season, is this going to be the year that he makes the jump and becomes a top level talent ?

Or is he going to be exactly what he is already, a talented but inconsistent and sometimes frustrating player who just shows flashes of greatness ?

 

[gkmacca]

It's impossible to be sure it will be his year, after just one game, but it definitely NEEDS to be his year if he's to realise his potential. The promising thing is he has a more varied line-up of attacking talent around him now, so there's no need for him to always be straining to come up with the killer pass.

 

[keniget]

Thought he started the season really well last year too and ended up getting weighed down by the shitness of the team overall. Same goes for Sterling season before that.

If we want these players to be able to progress then we need to give them the platform. Very few can do it irrespective of what's around them.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

The talent was never in question - it's just the ability to constantly 'show it' ... It's tough to tell with him - but he obviously cares, obviously works hard and hopefully - as Macca mentions - that the many different options we have will allow him to let the game come to him more naturally.

 

[jexykrodic]

If he can't find one of the many attacking forwards we have surrounded him with now he'll never move up. He can hardly fail.

 

[6TimesaRed]

I'm tipping he will be Ronaldo esq this season.. People will be comparing him..

The way he played against Arsenal was very Ronaldo like.. The free kick (Ronaldo in his plomb) and the goal..

Even the potential third he could of scored, but pulled up because of cramp..

He gets his fitness at 100% and maintains consistency we will have some player on our hands.. He is scoring goals..

He was the best player for Brazil in their dismal Copa America campaign.. Bagged a Hattrick in one game

 

[Jack D Rips]

Ronaldo never gets cramp

 

[gkmacca]

(Ronaldo in his plomb)

Ronaldo pictured in the brand new Mercedes Plomb.

 

[leftpeg]

He's at the perfect stage in his career to shine. He's a great talent but he has to show it more consistently. He's got the team around him on and off the pitch so it really is up to the lad himself.

 

[Squiggles]

I'm encouraged by his comments about wanting to score more and that was a evident a during for his second Arsenal goal. He wouldn't have been in the box to score that last year. I just hope the rest of the team can perform to a high enough standard to compete for the league or win something.

Part of me thinks him having an amazing season guarantees he'll be off come the summer.

 

[gkmacca]

I don't mean this in a sexual sense, but it would be good if Coutinho mixed it up more and was sometimes a receiver as well as a giver. Last season especially we tended to have Coutinho on the ball and two or three other players moving around waiting for him to deliver the killer pass. This season I'd like to see him make some runs into the box to finish off moves rather than start them all. Last season opponents knew if they controlled Coutinho they controlled the whole team. This season they ought to find us a much more varied and fluid side.

 

[ILD]

I really hope he kicks on to another level this season. He has flown under the radar a little bit this summer. We were half expecting Barca or some other European club to come calling but there hasn't been much talk in the press at all. It looks like we've survived this window anyway. Back off Barca.

I know it's only fantasy football (yes, Fuck FF etc) but I noticed that more players of the game had picked Mane and Frimino over Coutinho for their team, me included. Mane at 13%, Frim at 10% and Coutinho only selected by 8% of players. I had forgotten about him a little until he stepped up and buried his free kick.

Coutinho will relish players like Mane in the team. Mane can shift some focus onto himself and allow Coutinho ghost into areas unopposed. I love our little Brazilian magician, one of my favourite players and arguably our best player with Sturridge out injured.

 

[rurikbird]

The start is very encouraging, let's hope he avoids injury and stays consistent. I was growing frustrated with him last season, but in this game he reminded me why I liked him in the first place.

One observation I'd like to share: Coutinho really needs a left-back who will always overlap and will have energy and speed to run beyond him. Phil rarely beat players on the outside (unless he's already inside the box and can shoot right away), so a passing option to his left is essential. That's why you can't just replace Moreno with any stay-at-home fullback, because it's going to adversely affect Coutinho's effectiveness.

 

[Frogfish]

Coutinho will relish players like Mane in the team. Mane can shift some focus onto himself and allow Coutinho ghost into areas unopposed. I love our little Brazilian magician, one of my favourite players and arguably our best player with Sturridge out injured.

Indeed he was often double, or even triple-teamed last season. That's not going to happen as much this.
Some interesting stats from last season to see where our little maestro can improve :

 

[rurikbird]

Indeed he was often double, or even triple-teamed last season. That's not going to happen as much this.
Some interesting stats from last season to see where our little maestro can improve :

This shows a profile of a player closer to Hazard than to Ozil and Silva. He certainly has the ability to thread a pass through; I think the challenge for Klopp is to make sure his partners are making plenty of runs and make sure Coutinho trusts somebody else to finish a chance. He would be a much better player if he could add chances created and key passes as well as goalscoring to his game.

 

[gkmacca]

Interesting move by Conte regarding Hazard. Maybe Coutinho could follow suit and get a bit stronger physically. I know he's not prone to the same am-dram tumbles that Hazard tends to favour, but he could benefit from a bit more strength in tight situations.


Antonio Conte has instructed Eden Hazard to put on more muscle to help him regain the form that led to him winning the PFA Player of the Year and the Footballer of the Year awards the season before last.

The Belgium playmaker has been conducting extra weights sessions in the gym every day since returning to pre-season training last month and appeared to be reaping the rewards when he put in an impressive performance in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham United on Monday.

After watching many of Chelsea’s matches from last season the Italian concluded that Hazard lost possession too easily because of his lack of strength and as a result became peripheral far too often, and the player has been working hard with Chelsea’s fitness staff to improve what the manager sees as a weakness in his game.

 

[hmmmmm1]

10 goals should always be the target.

If he gets 15+ goals we will make top 4

 

[HC]

Those additional 5 goals will all be match winners against the teams above us??

 

[Silver Sean]

I look forward to him improving so he can move to Real Madrid or Barcelona in 2018.

 

[Frogfish]

This shows a profile of a player closer to Hazard than to Ozil and Silva. He certainly has the ability to thread a pass through; I think the challenge for Klopp is to make sure his partners are making plenty of runs and make sure Coutinho trusts somebody else to finish a chance. He would be a much better player if he could add chances created and key passes as well as goalscoring to his game.

Indeed. In fact looking at those stats you would have to concede he is an inside left/left midfield rather than a creative #10. However I suspect that that is not the whole truth as who he has ahead of him is almost as important to his figures. We'll see this season (and maybe also check back on the previous two seasons to compare).

 

[Comical Aly]

I look forward to him improving so he can move to Real Madrid or Barcelona in 2018.

If we get 2 great seasons out of him and he goes to one of those two, we may not be that displeased. We should have top 4 at least if he becomes that good and the Klopp juggernaut will be in 5th gear by then. Who knows he might not even want to go.

 

[Gary25]

If he plays like he did against Arsenal on a more regular basis he could make us genuine Title contenders. That's how deadly he was and can be. And I've been critical of him in the past.