Firmino started in all 17 league games so far and has averaged 83 mins per game. His performances weren’t exactly stellar, to say the least. So playing him into form isn’t actually working.
His alternatives:
Jota got injured
Shaqiri was injured
Origi is a Jovanovic
Takumi is a mystery
So yeah, not much alternatives there.
But why didn’t Klopp try changing the system? Our attack isn’t just a 3-in-1 unit, Bobby is the axis it spins around. So if Bobby isn’t firing, this system isn’t going to work. Hopefully, Klopp will try some alternatives during the next few days.
Yeah, weak and inacurate finishing. Other than that, still thought he was good in other things. Our best player for me was between Thiago and Alisson. Fabinho was also quality. Bobby is everything other than a “he’ll score every time” type of player.
Some rather inexplicable decision from him, especially when it comes to (not) passing - and his passing in key moments around the box was mostly too weak. I feel like a right piece of crap for criticising any of our players in a season like this but I can’t help thinking he’s the most expendable out of first XI players - yet Trent and Salah have been equally as bad as him in the past month or so.
I wonder if corona caught Klopp’s evolution of the team off guard, or halted it completely. He said he’d do everything to make Liverpool harder to predict, yet without Alcantara, Keita and Jota, this team has been everything but unpredictable. When he signed Alcantara, I thought that he’d be looking to continue the evolution of the team from what was mainly a pressing juggernaut to a possession-oriented side that grinds down opponents and picks the tightest of locks. Last season certainly suggested so.
I don’t think that a player like Firmino would thrive in such a side, to be honest, and my theory is that such a half-enacted plan has impacted him the hardest of Liverpool’s attacking players. I’d wager a guess that if someone like Guardiola or Pochettino took over at Liverpool tomorrow, Firmino would be replaced by a different forward and that front three would be reshuffled to add more pace and “goal oriented” approach.
Lindelof’s reaction was poor during our first goal, while he ended up at LCB for a minute. But yeah, it was both a nice assist and finish. Millie’s reaction for our second goal was nice piece of play, just as I thought he’d take the shot first time. So it was partly Bobby’s and partly Millie’s assist.
Lack of acceleration and/or pace. He’s more a pivot who can do some wonderful tricky stuff outside the box to get into the box or open things up for a pass to another (he does semm very good defensively to me either). Well he has done.
He certainly looks slower and he hasn’t that burst that for example Shaqiri has. Btw this isn’t coparing quaility (as far as form is concerned all 3 Shaq, Aoc and Bobby have been poor).
Whilst we expect Keita/Ox etc. to be the more penetrative players there is also the expectation that until the final third they retain possession unless it’s on to break the line.
One of Bobbys biggest faults recently is coming deep and then losing it typically leading to a direct counter by the opposition.
I didn’t like the idea with Shaqiri on the left, he didn’t play that in ages and I’m in slight shock how little it’s talked about in the media. I was curious to see how he’d do, but it was telling to see Robbo hitting a wall each time he went forward. Shaq didn’t do anything. Neither go out wide and beat his man, nor run into space behind the defenders on the inside. He just remains the same player, even if we had James Milner at LB that day, he will want the ball into feet.
Firmino, yeah, I was never a fan of the idea to pull him back even deeper. He’s either a false 9 or a 10. There’s a point when he plays too deep for his and our own good. I don’t see him as one of the or the highest 8 of the two we mostly play with. His control, turns and passing are good most of the time, but yeah, he can also easily lose possession in some key moments. Certainly not “bipolar” like Luis Garcia (incredibly frustrating to watch, one of the most inconstent players during a game I’ve seen), but he should remain in the final third.
Unfortunately for Bobby, this was always going to happen in my opinion. It took a while for a good portion of fans to even understand or warm to him. But as soon as his level would start dropping a bit, so many people would leave that ship as soon as possible. I think a lot of people never really got to love him or faked it (would be weird to call Klopp a footballing God and then spit on the idea with Firmino, which worked pretty bloody well for a good number of years). It’s okay. He’s a really unusual type of offensive central player. People want to see the likes of Aubameyang in those roles, it is how it is.
After Jota, I would like us to add another one along those lines next summer. So we can prepare the summer of 2022 the best possible. We’ll have to make some big decisions in 2021 and 2022. Quite a few of our players across multiple positions have their contracts until 2023. Let’s have our front 3 next season and two players who can do a proper job, more like Jota does, less like Origi and co. And then we’ll play with it and see how it pans out.
