That's just it, agreed on Can. The defensive issues often start higher up the pitch - in the midfield. PL teams know how to play us and string together passes that take advantage of our defenders' weaknesses far too easily. If Klopp buys a high end defender, then moves Matip up to DM in Hendo or even Wijnaldum's role, I'd like to see how that looked. If Can and Wijnaldum become depth, Hendo gets a ball winning partner who can spring an attack, I'd be much happier with depth in the middle of the park.
in his first season he played in the back 4 - RB I think - and did very well, for a while anyway. I'd rather see us place a natural CB in there instead of trying to convert one. Sakho pissing the club off repeatedly and getting shipped out is proving to be a bigger problem than I, for one, thought it would be.
Think Can also played on the right side of a back three? Still think Sakho would probably have been our second best CB (behind Matip).
If he's 23 then it's a good time to sell him. Matip is a great example - he's been first team since 18. Most of the time for field players, you have it or you don't.
I think Can is good enough to be in our squad. The problem is we lack a top class CM (or possibly DM) to make the others look better. Henderson, Can, Lallana, Wijnaldum are all decent enough players but none of them is really a "star". Put another way, if we were behind in a game and those were our bench options, you would not be full of optimism that they could turn it around. Compare to an "in their prime" Gerrard, Toure, Viera etc ....... that's a whole different ball game. You see one of them coming off the bench and you think anything is still possible, and maybe more importantly so do their team mates. In the last decade we have had a number of talismans who could be relied on to single handedly change a game - Gerrard, Torres, Suarez - even when the rest of the team was sub par. But who do we have now? Coutinho and Mane are probably the closest but they are far from consistent. (Incidently, I always thought a top team needs three of this type of player who can change a game. In recent years we have only ever had two at a time ........)
"A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing." - Bill Shankly A lot of very good piano movers, but no piano players other than Mane and he can't do it alone. I'd include Coutinho and Firmino in the strong support player category - they are first teamers but like Lallana they can go missing too often. I know there are needs for strengthening all over the pitch but I'd start with MF. Remember The Greatest Midfield in the World?
i still think this particular disaster would not have happened if he had played, and we would perhaps not have had a couple of the others without this one, and consequently would be now challenging the West London Pox ..... In other words, I love this guy...
💯 @premierleague appearances at the Reds for big Joel 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6tonbcrYg8— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 25, 2021
he has to be the most underrated defender (not just CB) in the Prem. puts in - at worst - solid unspectacular and reliable performances week after week. does things Maguire can only dream of.
He's good, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. He's in no way underrated. For him to be underrated he'd have to be a top-5 defender in the league, and he isn't. He's exactly the type of player that is needed in a trophy challenging squad, but let's be honest about what he is not: a player that is a lynchpin, that is a building block. He's the Ronnie Johnsen of our team right now.
Oh I think he has been underrated largely because of his injury woes which have not allowed him to have extended runs in the team. So he gets written off as this unreliable cb when in fact whenever he's been able to play he consitsently performs at a high level. No doubt thats why Jurgen chooses him for his #1 partnership with Virg. I'm hoping that now we have Gomez/Konate that we'll see a regular rotation which may allow Matip to avoid some of these niggling injuries .
he's underrated because if he does something skillful at either end of the pitch it almost always gets ignored whereas other CBs would have the media creaming themselves.
Again, I'm not saying he's bad. He's a good (that's all he is) and dependable center back. The best teams don't have to have the best XI players. There are plenty of players that fill a job and just get on with it without all the hoopla or praise because they are just good. And Gini kind of falls into this camp, too. A very talented player that was the a player who slotted perfectly into our system and alongside our stars. Was he underrated because he wasn't considered amongst the best 7 or 8 CM's in the world? Nope. They're both rated as they deserve to be - very good players in a great team, performing the exact roles the team needs of them.
Joel Matip continues to be a key piece in Jurgen Klopp's puzzle... the quiet centre back rarely gets the headlines but he is hugely important for Liverpool - and he proved it against Aston Villa. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...Klopps-puzzle-proved-against-Aston-Villa.html
Matip is absolutely one of (if not THE) most underrated players in the Premier League. if an English CB was doing what he does, game after game, the media would drool over him non-stop. but his excellent displays are, for some weird reason, taken for granted. part of it is he's a no-fuss player. all he needs is to slam the ball into the net after one of his 30-yard dribbles, that might get him the attention he should be getting.
Matip is just the kind of player I really enjoy - no nonsense, quality, gets the job done and has that occasional bit of brilliance... Don't talk him up too much - I think he is fine with that
Matip is the ideal LFC player and the ideal Klopp player when fit. No fuss, great skills and game awareness, fits perfectly into the team and concept. Reminds me of a Dirk Kuyt type - unheralded but gets the job done, does the work. The Liverpool ethic.
Joël Matip has been excellent so far for Liverpool this season, and his surges into midfield have been highly beneficial for the club's attacking options. Jürgen Klopp has unearthed an unlikely new playmaking weapon, and Liverpool are benefiting hugely - Liverpool.com
Joel Matip ❤A 150th appearance in all competitions for the club 👏 pic.twitter.com/xoQY1i5RSK— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 13, 2022