themanupstairs

Perez is a very interesting case.  In a way, he disappointed lots of people here as we all believed that he has huge talent and should improve significantly by time, which was not the case on the pitch. That's one of the reason why he has played so many games and still learning his trade - sometimes great, sometimes frustrating, lots of ups and downs.  He is still far from the finished article.

 

However, what people ignored, or only very few mentioned, is the direction he is heading to.  In the past he was extremely weak, great technique and vision and unable to hold up the ball, doesn't have the power to strike the ball, and mainly takes on the defender when he is fully accelerated and use his quick feet to get pass the defender.  He didn't have enough stamina to sustain 90 mins.  He always get muscled out.  He is so weak that he always get into good position but unable to materialise.

 

What he is doing now is completely different.  He is strong enough to hold off lots of the challenges. He has enough stamina to run for 90 mins.  His strike power has improved massively.  And he doesn't seem to get slower too - the turn he did yesterday is pure class, great first touch, quick turn, great acceleration to take on the defender, and poor final execution.  We don't have any player who can do this, not even Merino or Atsu, in the middle of the pitch.  The only draw back I noticed is just his quick feet seems to become slower than before.

 

Yes, ultimately it's the final ball that matters most, and Perez is still very frustrating in this area.  However you shouldn't ignore the improvements he makes on other areas.  Not every player, especially technique based, can changed and developed his body like what Perez did, and this allows Perez to be able to do a lot of stuff that normal players are unable to do even in EPL.  That's what we have invested, and Perez obviously is heading to the right direction.  We just need to, and we have to be patient.  A classy no.10 is coming from our own hands, and we witnessing the process.

 

This is not worth the strength though. He relied on having quick feet to beat people, he looks too heavy and cumbersome now. That is clearly not his natural weight. I don't think a ten needs to be physical, he's heading backwards. He was far better off at his original weight. Managers getting players to "bulk up" is one my pet hates in football

I get this feeling as well.

Wonder what has happened to the Ayoze we first saw burst into the team. Wonder what has happened to the clever flicks and sharp turns. He has improved physically, but seems to have regressed mentally and to some extent, technically.

That pass out wide at the end of the game when under pressure, f***ing class.

 

That was superb  just a joy to watch

When he took control of the ball you just knew he would see Shelvey in space and make the pass. Delightful player.

He simply made the wrong decision time after time yesterday. He undoubtedly has the quality to deliver but needs to know when to shoot and when to cross and when to lay it off. Blood rush to the head one too many times.

0-4 away win. A proper spanking to show Sky and The Merse that this shit's for real.

1-1.

They have Coutinho ye nah? He usually starts in midfield rather than as part of the front three.

Who do you reckon will make way for him from the current 3 when Mane's back? Wijnaldum? Can?

They don't have any real playmakers, or players who can break you down.

 

Just look at what they can do, Henderson and Can are basically just better versions of Hayden and if Wijnaldum isn't ghosting into the box to score he's not doing much.

 

Plus that's ignoring how meh it is defensively as already pointed out. It sounds nice on paper as they all decent players individually, but in reality it doesn't really do that much.

This. I keep banging on about it but if I supported them I would be furious with the ludicrous way they handled 2 key decisions during the transfer window: 1- Choosing not to bring Keita in immediately and instead wasting money on OxC, and 2- Failing to move on from Van Dijk in time to bring someone competent if only to beef up a squad playing in the CL.

Liverpool's midfield is terrible? Utter nonsense.

 

It's quite good going forward but found wanting in defensive transition and often leave the back 4 exposed. They really needed Keita this season far more than they needed to blow their load on Oxlade-Chamberlain.

 

I disagree like, I think their midfield has a very good balance to it, but that the back four and 'keeper are all pretty bad, particularly Lovren, Moreno and whichever 'keeper they play.

Their own fans don't seem to rate their captain (neither do I), and see him as the weak link. The defence and keeper situation is mind-boggling. Apart from Matip and Clyne, they're all average players at best and seem to have no cohesion playing together which is a far bigger problem for them.

Liverpool's midfield is terrible? Utter nonsense.

It's quite good going forward but found wanting in defensive transition and often leave the back 4 exposed. They really needed Keita this season far more than they needed to blow their load on Oxlade-Chamberlain.

This cunt started yet?

....

Win this and a defeat to Liverpool would be OK. 2 points from both games would be good going, however. I'd like 4 points though as I think we can beat these and get a draw at home to Liverpool. We'll probably lose

Aye. Fuck 6 points man, it's so passé.

Taking Liverpool to the title is almost impossible TBH. The only time they came close was when they stumbled on a superhuman player to carry them there.

 

If Leicester can do it, then Liverpool can with the right investment.

Leicester had a lot more balance to their main side than Liverpool do currently.

Dafuq's the point of that?

Their home kit is lush. This is quite....meh.

These are in a dark place atm man, no light at the end of the tunnel either

Hopefully they'll see a tiny flicker at the end of the tunnel, and as they look up with hope, the flicker dies out and they smash into a massive stone wall.

Tbf all I said is they don't have the talent to contend for a title, not top 4. Them finishing top 4 wouldn't surprise me.

 

But that isn't Klopp's fault and I doubt there's a manager alive who could make them title contenders with these players.

 

They have the talent, its just not being utilised correctly. They don't have the actual talent to win the league agreed, but to compete, I believe they do. It is indeed Klopp's fault because he has spent a huge wedge on basically staying still. the football is good though... until they run out of stamina, however.

 

They are kind of like Arsenal, too many samey samey players. Did they really need Oxlaide-Chamberlain? Salah even?

 

Salah is decent and done well for them, not sure spunking 40m on the Ox was wise. That money could have landed two quality defensive signings would have been better for them.

They should have paid 15m more and landed Keita now rather than wait for next season. He's exactly what they need in midfield.

Tbf all I said is they don't have the talent to contend for a title, not top 4. Them finishing top 4 wouldn't surprise me.

 

But that isn't Klopp's fault and I doubt there's a manager alive who could make them title contenders with these players.

 

They have the talent, its just not being utilised correctly. They don't have the actual talent to win the league agreed, but to compete, I believe they do. It is indeed Klopp's fault because he has spent a huge wedge on basically staying still. the football is good though... until they run out of stamina, however.

 

They are kind of like Arsenal, too many samey samey players. Did they really need Oxlaide-Chamberlain? Salah even?

They needed to significantly strengthen their backbone. Their keepers, CB's (maybe apart from Matip), and central midfielders apart from Can aren't up to scratch. Jordan Henderson as captain of Liverpool makes me laugh every time.

Key chances created is arguably the best one. Far more indicative of a good player than assists imo.

 

Players get assists if they happened to pass to a guy before he hit a 30 yard goal. If someone is always creating chances they are generally going to be decent.

Yup. Joe fucking Allen got an assist for Shaqiri's goal the other day. He did fuck all but pass sideways and Shaqiri did everything else.

Rafa Benitez ladies and gents 

If this is true then it confirms what we all know tbh.

 

Even if it's not the fact most of us would believe it was says it all.

If this is true then it confirms what we all know tbh.

Don't think they took assists very seriously back then did they? Feels like a relatively new thing.

 

In fairness to him, he probably needs a project to focus his mind on with all the s*** he has had the last year or so.

Precisely. Good for him IMO. Not enough people in this world trying to excel at different things.

It's not as bad as the Park song they sang for a decade and neebody batted an eyelid at that.

Please stop talking about that c*** in this thread

Amen brother