It’s a nice compliment. I would say though that Benzema has been in sensational form for quite a while now, he pretty much carries the Madrid team these days. Bobby is in great form currently but Benzema has been far better than him for a number of years.
I think Thomas Mueller over the years is a far better comparison to the way Bobby plays than Benzema to be completely honest.
Bobby is a box to box midfielder playing as a false #9.
theres so much to like about this footballer, my favorite footballers are the ones who look like they still play for the enjoyment of the game, what really brings it home to me, (to qualify ive been playing andor coaching and watching football all my life - over that time ive gone from being a liverpool fan to a football fan who loves liverpool) is that even though im half clued on about the game, what he does, i still dont understand or appreciate it enough…and i watch him…alot…
id love to see him play live in a competitive fixture at his peak (i wont be able to now id imagine) just to get a better perspective… ive watched peak Messi live and (just slightly on the other side of ) peak Torres and they were just different animals to watch live.
awesome stuff Bobby.
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Love this from Bobby. Again, the authentic and genuine spirit in this boy is unmatched.
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Not really because there’s also a limit with Bobby how deep you really want him. There were numerous occasions where he found himself a bit too deep (sometimes with the team struggling and needing him to drop too much) for his own (and his team’s) good. It’s why we never really went with him as one of the advanced #8’s. He can lose possession in dangerous situations, sometimes Luis Garciaesque the way he’s capable in a matter of seconds of doing something amazing and then put the team in danger with a too relaxed move. He’s either a #10 or a false 9, at a push can operate in the left inside channel. He’s naturally an offensive player. Just a very unusual and special one. You can make certain players understand certain things, but what makes him is that he obviously adores sharing the game, as the quote above.
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It’s strange, I think in some team set ups he’d be perfectly fine as a winger, playing as a tucked in attacking mid style winger the way Coutinho does it. But he’s not fast or deadly enough to play the type of winger that Klopp has evolved Liverpool to use.
I actually disagree with him being the number 10 though, he’s a genius an absolute mastermind (when on form at least) at creating space, tying up opposition and creating areas of opportunity for others to create and score goals in. But as a number 10 himself I’m not sure he’d be the “playmaker” creating the chances and assists himself.
Maybe a real intelligent manager (such as Klopp) would see the benefits Firmino brings to the team in a number 10 role and not give a shit Firmino isn’t playmaking himself as he’d be facilitating the team doing well. But most managers wouldn’t have that nuanced insight. And if the team he was the 10 in wasn’t flying he’d probably get negative media and fan attention because it wouldn’t be so obvious and in your face how well he was doing.
Maybe if Klopp switched to a 4231 Firmino could work in the 3 under Klopp but to many would fly under the radar and be thought of as a weak link.
Under managers other than Klopp I think a hard working 9 or false 9 would be his best roles and as an “ok” but not top class attacking midfielder tucked in on the left side playing quite narrow.
I think a huge part of Klopp evolving is into this current type of 433 is due to the realisation that Firmino can be a world class false 9 and get the best out of Mane and Salah.
Lost a lot of balls today (funny because it’s a perfect example what I said above that he shouldn’t play deeper than he does), even if he did some brilliant pressing back as well. But that terrible miss was also a key (or one of) moment to kill the game. You need to do it against Brighton because apart from a few big wins against them, we also had a few tight ones, when it was nervous until the end. If you can’t control the game or defend better than we do right now, you have to score that extra goal.
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Yep nothing worked for him today, just not the player for the job and should have been subbed a lot sooner. I can not believe the coaching staff didn’t notice. Still I think what he seemed to be trying to could have been good if he pulled it off but why so tricky all the time and why the insistance and persistence with it. He even put an end to a decent looking counter trying to be too clever, just give it to Salah or Mané FFS!
Roberto Firmino had too many redundant actions/movements yesterday that ended up slowing us down.
I feel unlike some/most players, Bobby actually needs more playing (less rotation) to become sleek.
I think your right however he also needs to be asked to keep it simple more often. He’s more than capable he did look rusty in his ‘come back’ match but soon got up to speed, now he appears over confident and tries to do too much imo.
Clearly I gave him the kiss of death, so I’m sorry for that.
If you watched the Brighton and the Utd games, you’d argue it wasn’t the same player wearing no.9. Couldn’t have been so polar different.
Saturday was the Bobby I had hoped was gone, dropping too deep, turning over posession in midfield, missing easy chances, under / overhitting very simple passes (causing promising moves to break down totally).
Come on Bobby, you are so so so much more than you showed.
It’s alright, just don’t go kissing our players anymore. 
Don’t forget many unnecessary movements/touches/actions.
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I think I’m seeing a pattern with Firmino. His finishing always sucked (that one-on-one he skied at the Kop End might prove costly at the end of the season - but then again, I think that it will be made redundant because the team will have probably dropped even more silly points by then). However, when it comes to his natural game, his best performances came when the team had a strong midfield showing, meaning that he didn’t have to drop too deep, rather operate in the final third, popping up everywhere where he was needed.
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Looks like he’ll be out for a month at least. Anyone got any details?
Standard paternity leave is 2 weeks mate.
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considering that video I just watched, I don’t care if he’s back in 2 weeks or a month. family is family. Congratulations Bobbby and family. 
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