Match Day Thread Vs Arsenal (H)

I like Aubameyang he seems a decent sort of fella as well as an excellent player. Not sure about that Xhaka (spl) though, never stopped moaning.

 

A lot of opposition fans think like that of Henderson....he’s always on the refs case....I didn’t realise how much he was despised until I watched a game with a load of Arsenal and Chelsea fans who despise him. From then on, I loved him more

 

the issue with aubameyang is not where is was situated but the relative changes arsenal made around him.

no saka and niles at lwb. arteta effectively negated that side of their team.

The preamble for the game highlighted how effective they were with interchanging and playing in a triangle.

we in effect saw arsenal play the ball along their goal.line trying to break out press as their cbs and holding have no ability to break a press. they need up mostly hoofing it and giving it to us or worse coughing it up in wide area allowing us to break.

its ironic that aubameyang only had two contributions from the left. one of which robertson should have easily dealt with it was that poor and the other a non event of a run we blocked off after the pass.


the unsung player is actually firmino who's work rate once more is completely ignored by pundits as he didnt score. people should rewind to who won the ball on that chance salah stole off jota or when keita was assaulted by Luiz who kept the move going to salah.

the work rate put him out of the picture when that ball comes in but he allows others get the glory.

 

To truly appreciate a Bobby performance, youd have to not watch the rest of the game. Hes constantly on the move, looking to catch the opposition in possession, closing off channels, making runs to provide space for others, drawing opposition players out of position.

There is a reason he plays every match and is rarely withdrawn. He's integral to how we play.

 

Probably why you miss a lot really

 

Said for a long time that's he's the most important player in our team

 

Klopp made a few tactical adjustments with our pressing. Note how much Keita and Wijnaldum didn't do too much from a playmaking perspective. We used a box press that was triggered by Salah with Keita pressing Xhaka and Trent was told to press the hell out of Tierney. The same happened on the left side with Robertson and Wijnaldum.

The reason why people struggle to understand Liverpool IMO, is that it is the system that is way more important. The players are high quality too but how we play positionaly and tactically is more important. So whilst others focus on lack of goal contributions or assists from midfield they fail to see off the ball work done by these players. There is a reason Wijnaldum plays most games and you hear even our own fans that he is hiding by only focusing on ball contributions. He steps in at left back, right back, DM left wing to ensure we keep our shape. The same applies to Firmino and Hendo.

 

This is the difference with our team to a lot in that you can’t really use the basic stats to judge players, especially our midfielders and firmino. A lot of teams (and successful teams btw, not saying ours is the only way) have a midfielder that gets goals, one that gets assists, one that does defending. That’s easy to judge when you look at basic stats which generally is what fans do Because it’s a easy simple way to understand the game.

Did this player score? Yes.. must have done well.


It’s hard without watching to judge a player like Gini. There is no stat for, he pressed the player into making a mistake / passing the ball to opposition. Or cutting out the angle for a dangerous forward pass and forcing them to go backwards or sidewards, or taking an extra touch which slows the game down so we can get back into defensive position. All these things that we as fans may see some of during the games, but over a season, you can’t judge Just based on reading numbers.

This is where klopp, the coaches, Edwards, the scouts, analysts etc seem to all be in sync to find players that suit that sort of style and coach them into our systems.

 

I think everyone can appreciate Bobby's ability off the ball in terms of pressing and creating space, but we should also expect him to offer more on the ball. His touch, passing and certainly his shooting is erratic.

I don't mind him not scoring or assisting as his role is far more than that - but it is frustrating when he slows or breaks down attacks, or misses big chances. He missed the most big chances in the entire league last season.

 

This is how Garth settles on his TotW.
It's a nonsense really, but it's obvious he can't watch all of every game in time so the whole thing is just a space-filler for the Beeb.

 

Where did that stat come from?
Doesn't really matter if it's true, tbh. If his contribution is crucial to our effectiveness, then his weaknesses are immaterial.
It just means that if he could improve in those areas he'd be an even better player, but as it is he is a vital part of our set-up.

 

I've said this for years about Hendo, even when he was getting slagged off constantly. He's not the most talented player with the ball at his feet, but a team needs players who just do the dirty work effectively while others get the credit. There's a good reason why he gets on the pitch all the time before some of the more obviously gifted players.
I also pointed out a few weeks ago how I'd watched Gini for a few minutes and he'd made a number of contributions without his name even being mentioned because the commentators are too busy nattering amongst themselves.

 

Firmino is just a generous individual to a fault in being lethal. Salah and to some extent Mane has a killer instinct in him. I beleive the emergence of Minamino will motivate Bobby to take more of his chances. Nothing quality competition cannot fix.

Since we signed Jota,Tsimikas and Thiago, some players at risk have stepped up their performances.

 

Yep it is the typical style over substance analogy. People focus on how aesthetically Henderson looks when playing rather than what his output is. It is the reason players like Pogba will get an easier ride because football being an entertainment business will focus on the skills and how a player beats his opponnet with the ball rather than what he does afterwards. The hipsters call them "ballers". However when you dig deep, you will find Henderson is more effective than the fancy players and that is the reason he still survives as a key player for club and country.

 

Just to be clear - he's not a poor player. He's a very good player but he should be doing more on the ball. The Bobby of 17/18 was world class and that's what I expect from him. He has clearly regressed (on the ball since then).

That is a valid criticism which he should be working on improving. Missing big chances hasn't cost us because the other two beside him have scored the goals. Yes, you will argue that they scored the goals because of Bobby but again, he has missed so many big chances himself - which you cannot justify.

And I rather have Salah / Mane over Bobby. There is a perception that bobby is crucial because of his selflessness but I don't agree. The issue we have had is that no one else in the team is able to play the role - now we have Taki and Jota. Will be interesting to see if they can play the role to the same effect.

 

This is what I hope for as well. Again, I don't care if Bobby doesn't score because his job isn't to score. It's create space and create chances. He does the former exceedingly well but his touch and passing is just far too inconsistent for me.

 

Possibly he has got complacent I’ve past year or so knowing place is assured. It’s the same for anyone, get a bit too comfortable etc. With added firepower up top might just give him a nudge. Not a bad position to be in, having won the league and arguably best forward line in world football and talking about how could improve it slightly.

 

Exactly - we're talking fine margins now about how we can improve further. And it's not even a problem area or something that we should be concerned with.

 

Much like salah, youve got forgive his weakness to be able enjoy his strengths.

Not every pass comes off, not every shot hits the back of the net, but I'll forgive him his perceived **** ups as he more than makes up for it with a sublime pass or touch that maybe a handful of players in the world could replicate.

Coupled with his workrate I wouldn't want him any other way.

 

I'm not really arguing with you, it's just a matter of emphasis. A lot of his passes and flicks are speculative - many don't come off but when they do they wrong foot the defence. Against well-organised and high quality defences this is one of the few ways to get through as a more careful approach is more predictable. The simple ball may be too simple in the situations he finds himself trying to open up. It's a game of percentages, and I think the successes are worth the failures - though I too get frustrated sometimes.
Although his flicks and such often don't come off I honestly don't remember him missing all that many glaring goal opportunities, which is why I asked about the source.
If it's some xG nonsense then I'm afraid I don't buy into that at all anyway.