Nothing reactionary about this, mate. He was brought in because he fit a lot of statistical categories from what I remember and his price wasn’t exorbitant (hi, Pep!). Took him a while to get over injuries, COVID, whatnot, he now looks every bit a Klopp player. Will he ever be as good as Robbo at his best, I don’t know, not many fullbacks can reach that level and none bar Trent have reached it in my time watching Liverpool, which is nigh on two decades.
He does look clumsy at times, though, almost too willing to commit himself in aerial and ground duels without really thinking of the consequences. I think he’ll need to iron out that aspect of his game if he’s to truly challenge Robbo. That said, Robertson is obviously suffering from being overplayed, I expected him to get injured at some point this year, rather than playing at half of his full capacity. I think that Klopp is aware of that, not just in his case, he seems to be rotating much more this season than the last one.
I’m a sucker for intangibles, and I know it counts for nothing if you cant play, but one the things I really liked about him even before last year was how comfortable he was in the group despite how little he’d played. Often players wont feel like they’re really part of the group until they’ve earned it with their performances. There’s a certain amount of respect inherent in that attitude, but you’re also unlikely to succeed at this level in this environment unless your willing to take up space and fight for more. You could see from very early on he was doing that.
Think a big assist on that goes to Mo bringing him smack bang into the middle of the group banter as the “Lovren replacement/upgrade” for Mo bromance wise to wind Dejan up. Obviously as an integral part of the group being dragged around and included by Mo will have helped Kostas fit in. We’ve got an absolutely exceptional group of lads. Still remember how much they were making efforts to bring Taki into the title celebrations when he seemed to want to quietly hang back in the background. Kind of like they were saying “nah mate you’re one of us now you’re getting in here and celebrating if ya like it or not”!
This post of yours was like one of those dreamy sequences from movies, with sunny skies and rainbows and angels playing harps - and suddenly someone dropped an atomic bomb on all of it in the end!
I had no issues with the team selection today, it was the XI I expected (not saying like some decisions were easy or equally easy). The execution wasn’t good enough however. I don’t think Tsimikas in for Robbo today would’ve changed much. I think we could’ve reacted better and earlier with some different subs and/or changing the structure.
Andy’s crossing has fallen of a cliff while Tsimi’s has been putting the ball in the right areas consistently in his appearances thus far. I can remember two occasions on the top of my head where Andy got to the byline and cut te ball back so far as almost be on the 18 yard line, one of which led to the break which earned them the corner they scored the first from.
He’s been brilliant over the years, no doubt, but that kind of play is pretty silly knowing our forwards are likely to be on the 6 yard line. It’s a long way away from our goal but with the way we set up that kind of ball is literally telling the opposition to have a go. Tsimikas is a much more measured crosser IMHO, or at least he is at the moment, and I think he’d have made a difference yesterday considering how often Andy was in a crossing position.
Why would you say that? A huge part of our success has been the assists of our full backs who, by and large, have gotten those numbers due to the crosses they have put in. Trent and Andy haven’t been racking up the assists by playing fancy 1-2 or through balls, now have they. Assists through crossing is a major part of our play.
Because that’s not the way to beat West Ham. It can be, I’m not saying it’s not a weapon at all, even against a side like them (football is both simple and stupid, free and that’s what makes it popular), but it really shouldn’t be our main attacking focus. Assists can be in different ways, full backs can attack in different ways.
I really don’t think one of the main points after yesterday’s defeat should be Konstantinos Tsimikas. With all due respect he’s done well, I defended him last season when he never played, felt from the start that there’s a decent player in him, but he’s still yet to be properly tested also.
I have no issues if at the moment, in a game like yesterday, Klopp went with Robbo. That wasn’t perhaps 100% for Robbo, but even if it was 60%.
Maybe in some next situation, he stays in the side for a few games in a row. I just don’t see it as drastic as some of you make it. There are many factors that decide who starts, even if it’s a tight call.