It is early days for Firmino, but watching him the other day I thought that he is not of the caliber that will take a leadership role in a struggling team and carry the team on his own. The price tag suggests he should be, but he is not. Some players are great players in a given system.
If the team game is setup well, players perform very well. I thought Moreno is this type of player, and so is Markovic, IMO. In a right system with a right manager, and given the right role, these players will do very well. I think Firmino is in that category as well. A bit like Kagawa, too, for example. We could add Ozil here as well. But if the team is collection of individuals with no cohesive team game, these players will struggle.
My point is, until Liverpool's team game is back to a decent standard, Firmino will struggle whether you put him centrally or behind the striker, second striker, first striker, winger etc. These are somewhat secondary to his adaptation. A decent pass and move football is a must for these kinds of players. Coutinho would benefit a lot from this, too.
