I actually thought he tried to do the right things last night, he’s just a bit slow in the head and lacks a bit of quality.
When you make a squad player first choice every week their limitations become painfully obvious. He’s nowhere near talented enough to be starting for Liverpool, it’s the club’s fault for putting so much faith in him.
Yeah, I thought he was pretty good. Battled hard, was more of a physical presence that we’re used to seeing, and it was good to see him taking on his full back on the outside.
I thought he was good last season, so maybe he is just someone who needs competition to bring out the best in him.
I didn’t think he was good, he still wasted a number of good opportunities. But he did try, and he made a couple of simple passes he’d usually miss.
Better than usual, still not the standard required.
He is playing like his confidence has taken a huge hit. You can see him delay the thing he wants to do, knowing that the defenders know that’s what he’s likely going to do and it isn’t going to work. You can see the wheels in his head grinding to a halt when he gets on the ball
I actually think he is being played out of position for the talents he has… I can remember back in the school days when a teacher played kids in a position they weren’t used to, nor happy to play in… I get the same vibes here with Gakpo
Fuck knows what his favourite/best position is though :0)
Maybe he’s naturally a right back.
Gakpo treats the football as his lover and needs to caress it as much and as often as possible. He looks at the football as if it were his lover and would not take his eyes away from it. You? No Looking at it and No Touching It! 
The key difference between him and Diaz imo: decision making. Gakpo frequently makes wrong calls in key moments, and it’s starting to damage the team.
The one he’s playing.
He does well, then no end product, just seems to be wrong in his decision making at the moment and seems to have lost confidence.
You can’t knock his effort, he definitely is a trier and does go past his man but then pffft, just fizzles out
Bumping this.
We sold the wrong winger.
His interception before which initiates the counter is class though. That’s probably why Slot keeps him in the team. For his work rate and fulfilling his defensive duties.
Hmm, so-so.
He naturally does lack aggression and in both directions for me.
He is a player who you could give a specific defensive task to (for example the one he had to defend Timber as the lad attacks with variety, which he did pretty well) and I feel he’ll accept it as a pro without any moaning, but his pressing is not as some of our recent forwards’ was and when he’s not in form, on the ball he can have a real lack of unpredictability.
And there is no doubt that there’s been a drop in competition in his position, albeit our best attack last season was the trio combination with Diaz up top. But having less players who can play in his position (and no, of course Ngumoha is not his only competition) at the club, coupled with a new contract, perhaps he relaxed just a little bit.
He seems like a very nice guy, maybe even too nice. I’d like to see him being more “angry” in a football way, more concrete.
Hope he understands that the battle to keep a starting position at such a club that wants to go back to competing for the biggest prizes is… constant. Ngumohas as backup and new contracts are not eternal security.
Absolutely sick to death of this big useless giraffe trodding around the pitch doing fuck all.
I’d sooner rather see Endo on the wing over him, that’s how torturous it is watching him try play football.
My frustration with him is that he rarely syncs with team mates and almost always plays with “belief” beyond the reach of his ability. His passing is usually limited to, I can’t score and am about to loose the ball - is there a random/hospital/aimless pass I can make?
The thing is that ultimately we should be able to make him “work” within the team. Players strengths and weaknesses need not be defining and successful Liverpool teams have always maximized players skill sets to achieve a greater sum of the parts.
Liverpool have rarely (never?) dined at the top table in terms of transfers - yes, we have overpaid and the extravagance of last summer smacked of second tier largess rather than top tier indulgence.
I am sure in past seasons I remember him passing. Then again I might be delusional.
Since he joined us, he was improving constantly - up until the end of the last season. This is when the whole team’s form nosedived, and some players now stink out the place more than others. That’s why I hope that FSG will sack Slot with immediate effect, get someone (Alonso?) in, so we can see if he can stop the rot and get these players back to their previous levels or if they are beyond redemption.
actually feeling sorry for Gakpo (which i know is a stretch for a multimillionaire getting paid to kick a ball) but purely from a football viewpoint, hes struggling and struggling badly… nothing needs to be added…
i hope he starts to enjoy his football again at somepoint in the near future. i think hes here for a while as noones offering him the figures we are rumoured to be paying…so…lets hope the next manager gives him a spell, and gets something out of him.
im on your side Cody…love to see you play like you have done in the past.
yes he was limited, but he was useful as well…
Well said, another player not playing at his level under Arne