Topic: The Philippe Coutinho Thread

[john_mac]

Very similar to the Luis Suarez thread at the start of his 2nd season, when he had a barren spell for a few weeks. ie A load of bollox

[Istanbulievable]

Can't understand the fuss in here.  He's superb in my opinion.  Ok he may not be getting the headlines like last season but when he gets on the ball I always feel like something could happen, no matter where he is.  I'm always happy for him to drop deep to collect the ball.  It's like he's saying "give me the ball, I'm gunna make something happen here".

Also stats can be misleading as we all know.  For example, assists can be different to making the goal.  Henderson's goal v Spurs was made by Coutinho's sublime first time pass but he doesn't get an assist for that.

I also think his delivery from set pieces has been very good.

As a few have pointed out, his finishing needs working on but he's too good a player for that not to improve.

He's a joy to watch basically.

[jdpapa3]

Very similar to the Luis Suarez thread at the start of his 2nd season, when he had a barren spell for a few weeks. ie A load of bollox

The difference there is that Luis had shown ridiculous scoring form before coming here. We don't know if Coutinho will ever be a prolific goalscorer, but he certainly manages to get into positions where the opportunities exist. As for the rest of his game, I'm not as down on it as the majority seem to be.

[The G in Gerrard]

He's a joy to watch basically.

[stonty]

He just needs to pass the ball into the net instead of snatching his shots

He's gonna be some player for us

[Motty]

Very similar to the Luis Suarez thread at the start of his 2nd season, when he had a barren spell for a few weeks. ie A load of bollox

No one saying he's shite or anything ffs, just wondering on current form will he be in the team ahead of Suarez ,Sturridge, Sterling, id say no myself but it all depends on the formation i suppose.

[random22]

His lousy finishing aside, he is a brilliant little player. Think he is going to contribute a lot in the matches ahead.

[NaivetyinBlack]

The little magician.

Love him.

[Miltonred]

If his finishing improves, he instantly becomes one of the top five  players in the Prem. I am sure he is working on it, and I suspect having Sturridge and Suarez around him, he will be getting some tips. The important thing is that he is making chances both for himself and others - that's much harder to learn. 

Hopefully he will do an Aaron Ramsay and start to fill his boots all of a sudden after struggling.

[Brentieke]

Couldnt disagree more about the through balls, he is still creating one on ones for fun. Recently Suarez, Sterling and Johnson had clear one on one chances and missed them. I think people forget about those great through balls because they didnt result in goals.

This.

Off the top of my head he played 2 phenomal through balls against Cardiff that Johnson and Sterling fluffed, that delightful touch for Henderson against Spurs that eventually ended up in a goal, the ball to Aspas for the Henderson chance against Hull etc...

He's not hitting the heights of last season IMO, but still contributing immensely.

[us_col]

Three things:

1). He is a great little player - and so young

2). His finishing will improve - alot

3). Then he will be another gem.

[AndyMuller]

Few goals to boost his confidence and he'll be flying.

[Funky_Gibbons]

One other thing about Coutinho is that he attempts some of his through balls through very tight gaps so he leaves the pass as long as possible and plays the pass with a lot of pace to penetrate the gaps between the opposition players. This gives two problems, first the pass has to be very accurate or it will run out of play and secondly it needs the receiving player to be able to control the ball and shoot in a quick and fluid movement.

A really good example of this was Wigan last season when he played a short, sharp pass to Suarez to intersect two defenders but Suarez controlled it buetifully before finishing past the keeper. 

I'd say the latter has happened to him a few games this season while if he isn't exactly on top of his game those pacey through balls can easily look misplaced.

[Kochevnik]

It says something about his first season that, as good as he's been this season, it's still a disappointment.

I was really hoping he would kick on and earn himself a spot in the Selecao for the World Cup, I think that would have done wonders for his profile and confidence.  However, I think that's probably not going to happen, and with the talent Brazil have in attacking places, it's hardly a slight on him.

At 21 you have to say that he looks like he'll develop into a truly world-class player.  Loads of young players flub their lines in front of goal, but he's proven that he has the talent on the ball and the vision to be a monster of a player when he improves his finishing.  That weavy run the other week would have been a goal of the season contender had he slotted it above the goalkeeper (or simply squared the ball to, was it Sterling?).

[john_mac]

The difference there is that Luis had shown ridiculous scoring form before coming here. We don't know if Coutinho will ever be a prolific goalscorer, but he certainly manages to get into positions where the opportunities exist. As for the rest of his game, I'm not as down on it as the majority seem to be.

No its exactly the same, read the thread, no mention of his previous record.

Where the real parallels run deep though is that the clueless bastards in here don't know what day it is.

[Motty]

One other thing about Coutinho is that he attempts some of his through balls through very tight gaps so he leaves the pass as long as possible and plays the pass with a lot of pace to penetrate the gaps between the opposition players. This gives two problems, first the pass has to be very accurate or it will run out of play and secondly it needs the receiving player to be able to control the ball and shoot in a quick and fluid movement.

A really good example of this was Wigan last season when he played a short, sharp pass to Suarez to intersect two defenders but Suarez controlled it buetifully before finishing past the keeper. 

I'd say the latter has happened to him a few games this season while if he isn't exactly on top of his game those pacey through balls can easily look misplaced.

there was one exactly like that to Henderson 1st half yesterday only he didnt control it, if he had it would of been a clear shot on goal from 6 yards.

[El Ninos Black Eye]

Just need to sort his finishing out and he'll be fine.

[Eeyore]

The difference there is that Luis had shown ridiculous scoring form before coming here. We don't know if Coutinho will ever be a prolific goalscorer, but he certainly manages to get into positions where the opportunities exist. As for the rest of his game, I'm not as down on it as the majority seem to be.

Coutinho had a record of 1 in 2 for Brazil's U17 and U21's and was 1 in 3 for Espanyol last season and 1 in 4 for us in the League last season so he has shown he is capable of scoring goals. 

[Haggis36]

Couldnt disagree more about the through balls, he is still creating one on ones for fun. Recently Suarez, Sterling and Johnson had clear one on one chances and missed them. I think people forget about those great through balls because they didnt result in goals.
Now that Sturridge is back I think Coutinho will have a field day, two of them have telephatic understanding and if Rodgers manages to somehow put Coutinho centrally with SAS in front of him PHIL will flourish.

I dunno if I would say he is using through balls for fun - he has 9 accurate through balls this season, more than any player bar Suarez, but that's partly because he's attempted more than any other player by a long way. He's at 9/33, while Gerrard (6/12), Henderson (4/9) and Sturridge (4/9) all have respectable totals and a much higher success rate. I think it's fair to say while he does make quite a lot, he maybe isn't choosing his moments quite right, and/or pulling them off as well as he might.

[lorenzo23]

Love the guy but!!! what on earth happened to his vision? he seems to only have one which is shooting rather than passing. Think at the moment he is trying way too hard when he should just let it happen for him like he did when first joined.

[Mike Basset]

He is a brilliant player. When he is not notching a goal or assist every other game as seemed the case last season, i think his overall impact gets overlooked. He is an excellent dribbler and is really our only midfielder who can pick the ball up anywhere on the field and turn it into an attack. He is very direct and his vision is excellent.  His ball retention in tight spaces is of the standard of many Barcelona players. Sure his finishing has been weak recently, but this should improve with time and training. Seems to have a good work ethic so i've no doubt he will be practicing his shooting trying to perfect it and i'm sure we will see the results of this soon enough. He has bags of ability and if he puts as much effort into training as he seems to put into matches i'm sure he can reach is potential to become truly world class. His current ability added to his potential means there aren't many No.10s in the world i'd rather have right now.

[BrandoLFC]

If Gerrard is going to continue to be the deepest mid like yesterday then I'd like to see  Coutinho next to Henderson as Lucas is wasted in the more advanced role.  It would mean one of Suarez/Sturridge would need to help out the LB in defense but I think it would make for a much more well rounded midfield.

[Redman0151]

Think he could do with a week's rest, especially with Sturridge coming back, I think we can afford to drop him against Villa and bring him on when/if he's needed.

If I was Rodgers i'd just have him shooting at the goal for a month in training. It's weird at times he doesn't seem to place it or put power on it.

[clinical]

Hes still been playing quite well but these are the reasons.

1. He's not playing in his favourite 10 role but on the left wing

2. He's trying to impress too much to get in the Brazil team for his home World Cup. Must be every Brazilian's dream!! (the main reason imo) That's why he's shooting so much and that leads onto number 3

3. He along with Henderson and Sterling can not finish. All 3 are fucking awful at it. However, they are still so young and it will come

[Funky_Gibbons]

Hes still been playing quite well but these are the reasons.

1. He's not playing in his favourite 10 role but on the left wing

2. He's trying to impress too much to get in the Brazil team for his home World Cup. Must be every Brazilian's dream!! (the main reason imo)

3. He along with Henderson and Sterling can not finish. All 3 are fucking awful at it. However, they are still so young and it will come

He played predominantly left wing last season and done pretty well there.

It's also not like he has to hug the touchline, he is constantly coming inside and picking up the ball centrally. 

[clinical]

He played predominantly left wing last season and done pretty well there.

It's also not like he has to hug the touchline, he is constantly coming inside and picking up the ball centrally.

True but he's still not as good there. His best performances came away from home when he was playing just behind sturridge. But point 2 is the main reason he's trying to get recognised for the World cup and to do that requires goals

It doesn't matter though he's top class and we as a team play so much better with him in the team

[redmen9]

Fantastic player, on song hes world class. Its quite heartening in a sense seeing as so many players seem to be having 'bad patches'. Presumably, the bad patches will end and well soon see the true class of the likes of Coutinho et al. Were fourth with a sequence of more favourable ties coming our way. Sturridge is back and within a few minutes of him taking to the pitch hes reacquainted himself with his strike partner with a goal and assist each. Phil will come good, with Sterlings return to form and Stevies return from injury,were going to score some goals this year!

[goalrushatgoodison]

Completely pointless thread. Second season syndrome is where a player suffers a dip in form, often because the opposition have worked him out. That's not the case here, he hasn't suffered a drop in form and he certainly hasn't been worked out - he's too good for that.

[Kopite B205]

The lad is shit hot. Close thread.

[houkura]

He's a fantastic young player. Hope he stays at Liverpool for a very long time. We saw last season he was much better in the #10 role and I'm sure that's the case but he's performing very well on the left....fulfilling a need for the team. Eventually I see him in the middle.

He really doesn't need work on his finishing-it's all mental. He knows how to score goals and does it in training all the time and has scored goals since he was a tyke playing futsal. He just needs a few to go in and they will start flowing. I imagine Brendan is telling him to go in and shoot because he is shooting much more than last season. Hopefully he will continue and he will break his duck and we can move on from the notion that he can't shoot.

And yes, he has been threading the through balls-up there with the best in the league-they just aren't being finished.

[redk84]

class act this kid...

cant shoot for shit recently but im sure he'll sort that out

[jepovic]

Amazing talent who is already very important for our game. Especially against compact defenses - Stoke yesterday was more of a Sterling running game.

Still this thread makes sense, because everyone can see that he has even more in him - much like Suarez first season. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with him which prevents him from scoring, and when he gets it right he will be just massive. 

I wonder if BR will return to the 4-3-1-2 formation, with Sturridge back?

[lessthanmatt]

Amazing talent who is already very important for our game. Especially against compact defenses - Stoke yesterday was more of a Sterling running game.

Still this thread makes sense, because everyone can see that he has even more in him - much like Suarez first season. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with him which prevents him from scoring, and when he gets it right he will be just massive. 

I wonder if BR will return to the 4-3-1-2 formation, with Sturridge back?

Who drops out to accommodate Sturridge? Coutinho is amazing but it could be him unless I am overlooking someone, with Sterling/Henderson in great form, and Lucas probably stays in that midfield too

[clinical]

95% of the time he goes for the right option. No one else in our team does that

[GlenJohnson2]

Need to work on his finishing. He's very young. That's it.

[Danny_]

Cr@p thread.  The guy is class.  End of.  And he's only what - 21 or 22?

[helmboy_nige]

He hasn't had the same noticeable impact but he's still playing very well. He creates loads and offers us a superb outlet. People remember his shooting, which is quite frankly woeful, but we didn't sign him to score a bucket load. We signed him to create. Composure in front of goal will come over time.

[Homo rubrum]

30-40 yard through balls are one of the things Coutinho does at a truly world class level already, and it just so happens they were one of the key features of our game from a tactical perspective the second half of last season.  We were all about getting the ball to Coutinho early so he could release Sturridge/ Henderson/ Suarez. 
This season we don't get in that position nearly as much, so Coutinho's sexiest ability (I think his carrying the ball forward and pace setting are the most important things he provides our attack as it is currently set up) is no longer on show. 

He still does the important things from a team perspective, I think. 

[peachybum]

Not hitting the levels he hit in his first 6 months but a very good prospect. However unless he improves his finishing he won't ever be in the top bracket of playmakers. And you have to wonder how long he can be considered a regular in a side trying to challenge without that clinical touch. If we make CL this season and can attract better then look out Phil.

[harryc]

Simply a Fantastic talent. Goals will come all the best players have a barren patch now and again.