Ex-Player: Takumi MINAMINO

Thing is we kinda need players like Origi, that don’t have the qualities to be playing from the start, week in week out.

Origi, albeit didn’t meet the expectations when we signed him a few years go, has scored some important goals, including in the CL semi and final in 2019. Hes also got a knack of scoring in the Derby and league now and again.

Taki can be at least that, but given some more time, he should end up a better player for us down the track. Origis has his go, and now his time is probably up.

Agree Jota will play more, but Taki can also play from deep and carry the ball well. No reason he won’t score important goals, even if only started rarely.

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I’ve seen nothing since he signed to hold out hope of him making it here. I don’t honestly think he is suited to the Premiership. I think you would have to get down to the level of Southampton maybe before he might be a regular starter.

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Was he bad last night??? I wouldn’t write him off. A lot of players have struggled to get their bearings with us. I believe he will do fine.

Thats harsh on the guy given that he has shown alot of positional knowledge and has worked tirelessly when called upon. In the first place, he isnt here to be a starter but to be a impact player. Ive seen alot of promising things for him to be a good player for us especially in the champions league. He may not have played well in this game, but in this same fixture in the community shield he came on and made a difference. So i think we should chill out.

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Until he gets a run of 10 or so games, it’s hard to assess what his impact can be. Unfortunately for him, Bobby in made of stern stuff, so Taki just needs to bide his time and keep work hard in training. Sometimes need some luck for a door to open and when it does, need to be ready to take it.

I think come December time, he’ll start to make his mark in this team.

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I’ve been paying attention to Minamino’s off the ball work during the last couple of matches. He works hard to press but it’s not smart pressing the way Bobby does. Bobby doesn’t chase after every ball, he’ll first close out options for the pass and inch forward almost one step at a time. Only when he thinks he can go steal the ball will he burst forward.

Taki chases after every single ball. And because he’s so slight of build it’s pretty easy to shake him off. Inevitably he loses steam after some time.

Also when he’s waiting for a pass, he finds himself too often in the middle of a pack of defenders. In that situation, Bobby would move about and make a nuisance either to make it easier for a teammate to pass to him or to move a defender out of position so that space opens up for someone to make a run.

I hope he does well, mainly because he seems like a shy humble guy and one wants to see people with that personality also getting ahead from time to time.

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Midfield trio was our biggest problem last night. Taki can’t really do much if our only performer in midfield is the deepest one, Grujic. It was a tough night for Wilson and Jones didn’t have a good game. That’s two positions through the spine, the connectors with someone like Taki. We still created enough to score, unlucky with the bar.

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The chance he missed wasn’t easy. Difficult height coming at speed. He was OK first half but disappeared in the second like a few others. I think some people are expecting a bit too much of him. He’s not going to be a regular starter. He’s squad depth. Cover for the front 3. For £7 million that’s fine and he’s a much better fit than Origi.

Naby Keita and Firmino have struggled to get a grip of Premier League. Fabinho and Robertson went through an extensive acclamation process. I’m sure Takumi Minamino will find his feet too.

It’s pretty big leap from Austrian League to Premier League and even if you have the talent, it will take some time to find your feet.

Honestly I see nothing but positivity from him. In the games where we haven’t performed, it hasn’t been him that’s the problem.

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I bet Taki looks a lot better than he did yesterday if he’s got more of the regular first team around him.

In games that matter, he won’t be playing with the likes of Wilson, Grujic, and Origi. That would be more like Mane, Thiago and Keita.

Salah was no where near his best yesterday, but if he starts with Trent and a stronger pairing in CM than Wilson and Grujic, he would have played better.

This is why I’m relaxed about Taki, plus what I posted earlier.

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He has been OK so far… Works hard and like to make one touch passes and that’s it… With our formation not sure where he would fit in… He doesn’t have the extravagant flicks like Bobby to put Mane and Salah in or he has a powerful shot and pace in him like Ox to play box to box. He can’t sit back and spray passes like Thiago or defend like Fab/Gini. He would suit teams who play with a formation like 4-2-3-1 where you can play one touch passes with 4 attackers and push a runner through from midfield … Too early to judge but just my opinion having watched him so far…

Runs around a lot, hard worker, but still don’t see where he really fits.

Not writing him off but its been a bit meh so far, and has a bit of a nasty side to him to which he needs to reign in.

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He came in a year, a year and a half too late. Otherwise, I think Firmino would be the one warming the bench at this point. He has bundles of energy that he still can’t channel properly, not when the team forgets to press collectively like tonight. My worry about his future is that Klopp still doesn’t have a clear role for him that he would stick to - I think it’s CF, especially as Firmino looks off form but we’ve seen him play multiple roles so far, I don’t think it helps his cause.

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He is okay. He will be grand once Klopp figures out how to get the best out of him.

Don’t think he will be here next season. He just doesn’t do anything and I barley notice him unless he is starring against the mighty Lincoln.
He either needs a run in the team at the expense of bobby whose been awful for ages or he might as well be sold.
If he can’t get in when Bobby is so bad when does he get in?

First touch is poor. I’ve been giving him time but it’s been like this ever since he joined. I was watching Jota’s reaction to him losing the ball or miscontrolling when in good positions and he was visibly frustrated. Not a good sign. Minamino was lucky Origi was on the pitch last night because he was even worse.

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Won’t judge Taki until he gets the chance to play with a strong11 and especially with 2 or 3 of our Front3 like with Jota.

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Maybe the kid is just too hyped at the moment and until he learns to settle his enthusiasm quickly, his performances will suffer… I am sure the trampoline shins he has for controlling the ball in the games is not present in training… Whether Jurgen has the patience for him to get (a lot) better then the writing is obviously on the wall…!

I think his physicality is troubling him. He losses a crucial moment in tussle.