Probably later. Might here something from Joyce midweek.
You lot are gonna fuckkng flip when Alexis sits down to sign and rips off his mask to reveal he’s actually Alex Teixeira.
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I read that as rips his calf which is probably likely knowing us.
I’ve still yet to understand what his real strengths are.
Neat and tidy for sure. Not a physical presence or someone with a big engine. Looks sound technically but he’s not a real driver with the ball or a passing wizard like Thiago. Doesn’t score and assist loads outside of penalties.
What is it people are hoping he’ll bring to the team?
I’m not questioning his ability as much as my ability to see and appreciate what he’ll bring. Perhaps he’s one of those 7.5/10 for everything types we need and maybe he’ll be the player we hoped Keita would be as that’s the style of player I see him as.
Dunno what it is. If at the start of this season you’d said we end up getting him on a bosman in the summer I’d have thought that’d be a nice addition to the squad. If you’d said we’d pay something in the £40-£50m range I’d have thought he’d need an amazing season for us to pay that. He’s obviously been good but I’m not yet convinced on him as the centrepiece of this rebuild in midfield.
A blind spot perhaps due to not getting to see as much football as I used to. He seems to have been in and out the team after our interest became apparent and I started paying attention too.
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In fairness his xG and xA are way higher than his actual output. If he had someone a bit better than Danny Welbeck to feed it to then the numbers suggest he would have looked more impressive.
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Its all the same questions that people were asking when Gini arrived nobody could see the logic. It seems people are too hung up on what he is now but for me that’s a nothing point. The question we will get the answer too hopefully is what will he become under Klopps system.
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6 month stay is compulsary.
Not too sure why… but I have a young James Milner vibe about this guy
I’m not sure if you’re implying that Alexis is going to be Gini 2.0. I do see some value in having a stabilizing force in the midfield who will do the dirty work like Gini did so well. But I am hoping Alexis is a bit more dynamic than Gini, because my biggest issue with Gini was that he wasn’t particularly effective at breaking down teams who were parking the bus against us.
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Gini did a lot more than dirty work. How soon we forget!
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I had no issues with Gini, he’s a very underrated player. He was never replaced, which was a mistake in my view.
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Gini was a livewire on the field. I would say the quintessential klopp midfielder. Think a lot of the tactics in midfield have been revised when Buvac left and Pepjin became the assistant. Not that the change of tactics is a bad thing , every team does need to adapt their tactics over time because players physical attributes change over time as well… Along with their skills.
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That was never his job under Klopp. His job was to win back possession, recycle the ball to the front three or to the marauding fullbacks, and fill in the gaps they left behind.
When on rare occasions he was let off the leash as against Barca at home he came up with two crucial goals
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We didn’t want to change him. We tried working with the individual abilities of the midfielders who came in after. Namely , Jones and Thiago.
Which probably is how it should be , it’s not as if you take a Xerox , keep Gini over there and generate a regen.
Gini played as a #6, #8 and even fit in as a #10 with Netherlands.
That level of versatility coupled with his other attributes is rare.
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Wijnaldum is a guy who plays the ball 90% of the time sideways or backwards to keep position.
Mac Allister is more thinking and playing the ball forwards IMO.
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Would be interesting to see Gini’s stats during his stay here compared with other midfielders to see who statistically comes the closest.
@Sweeting surely has an idea about that.
His job was to win possession. Get the better end of the 50-50 and then release the ball quickly. If he did play it sideways, it’s likely cause other people were in a better position to pick the fullbacks
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