Joe GOMEZ: 2022/23

Some of those moments were horrible, I cannot defend him. He’s had some good games this season, but largely it’s been more of the same with him in last years. Not good enough.

What are horrible, how can he defend different when taking into account momentum and covering for other players also on 2 of the occasions the skill from the opponent was excellent especially what Mitoma did

What Mitoma did was good, but very basic. If you don’t count on a player trying to turn the other way, then something is fundamentally wrong with your defending and simply reading danger. You don’t turn your arse completely like that (you can do it in a better way) and you don’t jump away from the goal like that. You don’t go all in like that like a wild idiot. It’s horrible. There’s nothing brave in it. It’s in fact stupid. It diminishes your chances to block the shot. You don’t have to be Franz Beckenbauer to know that. Lovren used to come out against Lukaku 30 yards away from the goal for every long ball, lost almost every challenge. Is that brave defending? It’s shit defending.

Sorry totally disagree, Joe had to make up the distance and then had to reach to cover the shot, which is the 1st rule of defending, especially close to goal and with stretching and moving to close down there was no way he could have also covered when Mitoma chopped back. I actually was looking to blame Nunez inside him for not being aware but Mitoma chopped back with a fantastic touch and then shot almost in one movement there was no blame on either.

The only way was to let Mitoma shoot from an angle and that was not an option, turning his back had no effect on the outcome.

That’s not how you defend a block, it’s surrendering. You don’t have to reach, what he did was too wild, too naive. I’m not saying he would’ve blocked it, but what he did didn’t help him one bit. It was really horrible at that level (not that other players do it sometimes, but it needs to be called what it is).

He’s just not a very good defender. Positionally not good enough. And he’s not a young player from Charlton anymore, regardless of him averaging something like 22 games per season for us. He’s 26 soon.

Mainly gives players too much room, or when he goes up higher out of position, he gets lost. Or gets beaten when he’s pinned down. I remember a goal Bournemouth scored at Anfield before the lockdown when Callum Wilson scored on the counter attack, Gomez just gave him a few extra metres and practically let him score. That is almost trademark Gomez when defending.

A lot of times, you see him just retreating and doing nothing, regardless if it’s his fault or he took part in where the defence stands on the pitch while we’re conceding the goal. Too far from the opponent, too deep. You can be too aggressive (which I don’t want either) or too calm. Gomez is just too passive.

I don’t know, there will come a point when his homegrown status, versatility and other factors won’t be so key anymore. He seems a bit shy to me, but playing like he thinks his pace will sort everything out. Even some of passing yesterday, what the hell was that? Obviously it isn’t working. And he’s been through hell injury wise.

So I don’t see a great future for him defending wise in coming years, if we talk about one of the 4 CB’s at a club like Liverpool (eh, we’ll see if we’re dropping to lower levels now). If his physical capabilities drop sooner than normal due to the injuries he’s had and we see even more what are his decisions like defensively.

All of our ‘other’ CB partners alongside Virgil had their good and bad periods. Stregths and weaknesses, like every player. Gomez had his good periods, it was not only in early 18/19. But those good ones are a long time ago now. He could stay here as 4th choice for another year or two, we could be lucky if we don’t need him for more than 20ish games per season. But as long as he plays like he does (and it’s been going on in different periods, not only this season), that is not good enough.

He was moving at pace to make a block and had to to prevent the shot, sounds like you have never played as momentum is something that his hard to change and without that he wouldn’t have been able to get in position to block.

It’s not like he was in position.

I don’t think he has been the player he was before the injury but many of the instance people use haven’t got a clue in regards to what happens in the real world if football when motion is involved.

Also saying what Mitoma did was basic is laughable, if Mo had done it we would be bowing down to his technique and skill.

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I did, though at terrible level and I was nowhere near talented enough to make it as a pro. It doesn’t matter. You have to read it much better and not go so all in in that situation. There are situations where you go all in and just hope you can save something. That was not one of them. What he did can be done better, he did the worst version of turning his body completely and move away, jump, fall like he lost balance or something.

Which injury and what player he was before? We’ve seen some of these things even when he was in the best version of himself.

Your bias is showing.

Not saying that I liked his reaction but how was that one of the situations where he didn’t have to go all in? Mitoma was completely unmarked with the goal at his mercy.

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In most situations, you have to defend by knowing the attacker might go the other way. Not talking of skills or tricks, but in changing direction. Some have that instinct more than others of course. And his “all in” in that situation was one of the poorest versions I’ve seen. That by-passed all in defending and went the other way to just a wild surrender. We’ve heard many coaches and defenders speaking how it’s important to stay alive as long as possible in some situations inside the box.

A player is very close to the goal in a shooting position and you say you don’t go all out to block it?

In a better way than he did, what he did was turning his whole body and weirdly jumping to the side. No defending there.

I’m sorry but if in that situation if Joe hadn’t got across to try and block the shot and Mitoma had scored, he would have been even more lambasted for not even trying.

I have seen the best if defenders beaten just as easy as I have said and repeated the 1st rule is stop the shot, which he did and it was then Mitoma’s skill, balance and quick feet that resulted in him scoring.

For me I applaud the attacker and feel non of the defenders could have changed the result without hindsight.

Would he have blocked the initial chance to shoot?

For me Mitoma thought it thats why he chopped back, simple

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You wouldn’t hear that from me. It’s exactly what I’m explaining, is that you can be aggressive in a good or bad way, you can be calm in a good or bad way. Gomez had to do something, but certainly didn’t have to do what he did. What he did is absolutely useless, not to be copy/paste in any other situation. It would’ve been useful only if Mitoma had a terrible shot and Gomez was lucky it hit part of his body.

I hated it when Skrtel used to grab people in defensive duels. I adored when Carra was aggressive, but mostly in a clean way, knowing the moment when to finally “risk” and pinch the ball. I hated it when Lovren used to rush everywhere like he’s Superman (for some people that is bravery, attitude, commitment, for me, that’s stupidity or simply a lack of quality). I love to see a proactive defender in a good way.

You aren’t understanding the situation, Joe wasn’t directly in front of Mitoma he had to move at pace to get in a position to make a block. With that movement at pace, irrespective of how he blocked, there was no chance of him being in place to block and also be able to respond to the change of direction.

As a defender he actually made Mitoma take a 2nd touch in a packed box, unfortunately his 2nd and then 3rd touch were beyond perfect

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He should be able to pause more and defend it with much more stability, not doing what he did. It’s Joe Gomez, he’s apparently this unusually mobile and fast modern defender. Yeah, apart from his lack of defensive instinct. It’s nice defending up the pitch when we’re a compact unit that presses like hell all over the pitch. When teams break our lines and attack our deep zones, that’s when he’s in problems.

Like banging my head against a brick wall, you pause he shoots sometimes you have to react quickly in sports he did the right thing, technique not great but he had to stop the 1st shot!!!

Which he did

He should’ve done better and that doesn’t mean Mitoma wouldn’t score. But it would increase our chances. What he did was horrible, something we rarely see. Not like that.

We can agree to disagree and leave it here, points are made from short to long, we are just repeating ourselves.

Devoid of confidence and form.

Get rid of that ridiculous beard, take Trent with you while you’re at it.

I defended him last week as i through he had a good game with one or two iffy moments but yesterday he was poor.