Liverpool FC Forum

Stunner from Trent, what a strike

Nice 3 more points in the bag to keep pace...thanks Rafa for taking points off Chelsea

Not the most convincing against a bottom table team but the 3 points is what matters.

Chelsea have been poor for a while now and finally drop points thanks to Rafa.

A typical December mid week game and 3 points that will determine the outcome of the league come May. Well done Reds.

Not convinced TAA's strike of the beach ball deserves the adulation it seems to be getting, maybe it's more the surprise he managed to keep it down rather than the force of the shot which seems to be quite common these days.

Great 1st half, below par 2nd half but 3 points in the bag.
Would add that despite his renowned talent Thiago's ability to mistime a tackle or just give the ball away still worries me. Newcastle's goal was a direct result Thiago's sloppy clearance straight to Shelvey.

woof woof ! » Fri Dec 17, 2021 12:24 pm wrote:Great 1st half, below par 2nd half but 3 points in the bag.
Would add that despite his renowned talent Thiago's ability to mistime a tackle or just give the ball away still worries me. Newcastle's goal was a direct result Thiago's sloppy clearance straight to Shelvey.

Regarding Thiago- the jury is still out on him as far as I am concerned. Has great moments and shocking ones.

Still haven't seen him take a game by the scruff of the neck.

He had a mare yesterday - lucky not to give a way the second goal - Allison saved his blushes. At 2-0 it may well have been a defeat as momentum would have been with the barcodes.

IMO the PL is a tad too quick for him and unlike Bayern who steamroller everyone as there is hardly any competition the PL is a  well above the Bundesliga in terms of opposition.

It was a quite labored performance, but at least the team has managed to win, as some of the players have looked tired due to too many games in a short space of time.
Thiago is a world-class without a doubt, the odd mistake does not make him an average player!. He is an asset to LFC.

Good Luck Lads against Spurs.

Thiago remains an asset whilst Elliot and Curtis Jones remain young. I guess they will replace him come the end of his contract at no cost to Liverpool. Succession management.

Reg » Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:08 am wrote:A typical December mid week game and 3 points that will determine the outcome of the league come May. Well done Reds.

Not convinced TAA's strike of the beach ball deserves the adulation it seems to be getting, maybe it's more the surprise he managed to keep it down rather than the force of the shot which seems to be quite common these days.

I reckon you're a bit harsh on the shot Reg, yes the balls are cr@p these days but we don't see too many goals like that either so well done TAA.

Reg said it himself, normally when you see someone put their foot through one of these modern balls it usually ends up  ballooning up into the stratosphere, Trent deserves a lot of credit for keeping a strike like that down.

I think Trent’s shot was very well struck, whether it was a beach ball or one of the lead balls of the sixties it was going to do the same thing. I’ve been coaching kids for twenty plus years and I remember once seeing a Paul Scholes demonstration on shooting (who was a world class striker of the ball) and he was basically explaining how the head, knee and foot need to line up to hit a sweet shot and that is how I’ve been teaching the kids and Trent’s shot would be a great example of that technique. If the ball was just a little forward he lofts it or if the ball was a little behind then he ends up scuffing it, for Trent’s shot the technique was perfect and hence the result.

As for Thiago he does worry me with the odd stray pass or tackle, he does it when he is under pressure as he copes with physicality and speed of the premier league but still… a Rolls Royce midfielder that has the technique and intelligence to unlock stubborn defenses with a slick pass, actually why we bought him. Before we bought him we kept having trouble with lower table sides that parked the bus, since we bought him we haven’t really suffered from that. He seems to have improved on a lot of those bad passes this season prior to the last match, so I’m not going to go too overboard on my reaction.

We are looking good this season and long may it continue.

Do you think we have gained by having him when compared to letting Gini go?  Gini to me was more defensive whereas with Hendo and Fab we don't need a further DM so Thiago brings more attacking options with this through passes to the front 3. Net gain overall to me.

Re Thiago, I've been thinking a lot about this and I think overall, thus far, Thiago hasn't been an improvement on Gini and hasn't made us better. His wild, stray passing has brought trouble upon us too many times and he's not used to the speed and the physicality of the Prem.

That's not to say that he's a bad player, far from it. In fact his wild, unpredictable passing can also be benificial sometimes when he doesn't end up giving possession away. Even if his passes may not end up in creating a goal, they unsettle defences and keeps them on the edge at all times. He basically gives us a different way of attacking and gives us more options going forward, which is something Gini never offered us.

What Gini did offer us however, was more defensive security, which is evident since I think we are worst off defensively this season (for example, we never would have conceded the 2 goals against Brighton had Gini been in the team IMO) and Gini would almost never make the mistakes that Thiago does, like the ones he did in this game and he does them regularly.

So all in all, if you want to rate them by their ability and contribution they kind of even out albiet they're different types of players and offer different things. Why Gini edges it for me is simply because he was never injured, while with Thiago you always know he's going to miss a few months during every season. We did the right thing to let Gini go though, he obviously went for the money and it's not something we want in players in this team. Wonder if Salah will suffer a similar fate? Sorry for the long post.

damjan193 » Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:42 am wrote:. We did the right thing to let Gini go though, he obviously went for the money and it's not something we want in players in this team. Wonder if Salah will suffer a similar fate? Sorry for the long post.

Think that saying "he obviously went for the money " is a bit harsh. From what I read Gini was desperate to stay with us. At his age he was just looking for a longer contract that would allow him to finish his top flight career at LFC.

I know most fans share your opinion on Gini, but I just don't see it. Gini, like Salah, was only desperate to stay with us if and only if we payed him what he wanted. But between staying at the club and going for more money, he chose the money. He then apparently wanted to go to Barca to play under Koeman, only to change his mind in the last minute and go to PSG who offered him more than double the money and a 4 year contract. I doubt we offered him less than 4 years. And I mean, what other reason would anyone have to go to PSG other than the money?