There’s a player in Minamino but one ultimately unsuited to the physical demands of PL. I think his energy is limitless but he gets shrugged off the ball too easily for my liking and it hasn’t changed for almost two years. He still spends more time showing his teammates where he wants them to pass him the ball and having his heart broken when they don’t do it. I do hope that his finishing will give him back the confidence, though, even if it’s for some future move. I think he’d kill it in Bundesliga with his intelligence and movement.
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Was thinking about this very thing during the match last night, wondering what is Taki’s true level. I love him and want him to be a success here but I’m not so sure. And I say that with respect, I honestly don’t know what his true level is.
I do like Taki, but I think the above is true. Saw him getting shoved off the ball and first thought was that the Preston lad was just a bit physical. Same guy tried doing the same to Jones a bit later and and Jones stood his ground and gave back as good as he got.
To look at the pair of them you might think they’d have similar body strength, but the difference on the pitch is obvious.
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Jones is quite a lot bigger than Minamino.
Elliot is a good example of someone a bit smaller than Taki but protects the ball far, far better.
Taki should take a leaf out of the likes of Lallana and D.Silva on how to shield the ball or get out of situations like these. Both Silva and Lallana are similarly built but have managed to withstand the rigours of the PL. So I am sure there is a way for Taki to do likewise.
It’s a bit like the bee 
and the bull situation the bee can sting the bull but one swish of the bulls tail and the bee is in trouble.
Takumi in addition to his frail frame also has the issue of Keita, he is better in attack and not so good (maybe, partly due to his physic) in defending. The trouble is, the way we play, defensive qualities are as important as attacking ones.
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I really don’t want to get in trouble for national stereotyping, but he seems a bit too polite, like he doesn’t want to offend the opposition by tackling too strongly.
You get the impression he’s a good guy, and keen to do well, but lacks the mentality needed at this level.
At his age it’s very difficult to imagine him making such a major change.
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I also wonder, has he really settled in this country and Liverpool? The language barrier must’ve been a problem and does he have family with him? What does he do, when he’s not training, any friends?
If you think back to the night when the Premier League trophy was presented, he appeared to be on the periphery of the celebrations. I could be completely wrong of course, but his body language suggests otherwise.
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I don’t think his nationality is important. You can make that observation about him and I think it’s a fair one. It makes no difference what nationality he is, you’re not endorsing any stereotype.
Similar to Naby in a way - similar to Origi, Gomez, Jota…all these guys come across sometimes as being a bit too in their shell. It’s just part of their personality. What is good to see is whether they are still capable of expressing themselves on the field. Whether they make themselves available for the pass. Naby, Gomez, Jota don’t suffer in that department but I feel that Origi and Minamino have a tendency to drift out of games and not actively try and make themselves available to take the ball.
It seems like they have a bit of an inferiority complex at times and perhaps that’s understandable given the quality of their team mates. They may well be ‘good enough’ but perhaps they never see themselves as being the ‘best’ option to give the ball to, compared with anyone else who may be on the field.
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I have always felt that Origi ‘should’ be a beast of a player. Strong, fast, good technique, good shot on him and a very good finisher. Then you hear how laid back he is and he takes that attitude onto the pitch with him and it just doesn’t gel. If you could somehow get a mentality like Mo into Origi he’d be fucking unstoppable and still a genuinely nice guy.
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I get what your saying in general, but I think this part is something that can be taken out of context. He had only come a few months before (so barely even half the season) and then we got Covid hit and the coutnry went into lockdown, so that would have prevented time for him to build any relationships/friendships within the squad. And even after games started up again, the players were kept in secure bubbles, so there wouldn’t have been any opportunity for socialising and helping him get to know anyone.
The next summer he was off on loan to Southampton, so this is really the first time he has spent a proper preseason and season with us
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Think he would be a nice guy to have a pint with, but I don’t think he is suited for the way we play although he made some important goals.
Takumi is not strong enough to play in the PL.
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I feel Taki is a good player who is suffering a little due to the way we play. He is a player who relies a lot on movement when he recieves the ball however often we play to feet (or lob over the top, which for a small player might be even worst). Salah, Mané, Jota and Firmino are all players who like and thrive on balls played to their feet Taki isn’t, he gets pushed off too easily and his 1st touch is almost always to start a move with speed. He’s great when the pass is firmer and asking him to move and create movement, getting on to the end of crosses … etc.
He reminds me a bit of Suarez in what he can do however he hasn’t the strength nor the immense determination of that monster to ‘pull it off’ as frequently. (Sometimes Suarez’ 1st touch was poor however he fought tooth and nail to win it this I feel is the bit that Taki hasn’t got and is probably a lot to do with physical attributes and the mentality that has created).
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Couldn’t be more happy with a 5th choice attacker than I am with Taki.
We‘ll need him during AFCON so hopefully he’ll get minutes or whole games in the next 3 CL games.
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We are arguably the best side in Europe when it comes to runs in behind/offers in behind/plays in behind…
It’s not the only thing we’re good at and we don’t do it in every second (we can’t and thankfully!), but first and foremost, he’s got a difficult task of earning more game time with our main players.
That is also to say, when he plays for our “backup team”, if Origi had a bit more intellince and will to put a few of his strengths on a little pile that makes sense, he’d make more offers in behind as well. But that’s a different topic.
Point is, we are a side that moves a lot when a player is in possession. So it’s much more down to him to prove he can earn more game time with our starting team.
I didn’t mentuion in behind what ever that is, sounds a bit sexual leaning stuff. 
Taki comes deeper for the ball and I was really refering to how he can beat his marker. If it goes to his feet and there’s not enough pace on the ball he will struggle and does struggle with the ensueing physical ‘battle’ even just the 1st touch as he tends to need have or create movement. It’s almost the complete opposite to what Mané does (he recieves a ball to feet and in a fraction of a second is facing goal (bloody amazing). Taki is not amazing in this area, he is a good poacher imo but that’s another conversation. 
That depends on situation, when we have had the ball a while and are circulating it often there’s very little movement from the forwards, thay tend to stand in a line with the opposition defense. It really is difficult to generalise particularly with those that seem not to want to understand what’s being implied and go off on other tangents!
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He looked feisty, even aggressive, in the few games/minutes he have played this season. I think he is being coached about the mentality needed in PL.
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Taki assist during the 1-0 away win for Japan vs over Vietnam.
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Four goals in 242 mins 
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