Author Topic: The Indomitable Ibou (Read 270123 times)

LallanaInPyjamas · « **Reply #2480 on:** April 25, 2024, 11:15:23 am »

Quote from: Cormack Snr on April 25, 2024, 11:09:04 am

His confidence is shot, playing one week, getting dropped, injured, not playing well, injured again, back in team, dropped again and then brought back.

While he has to take some responsibility for that, so does the manager. His usage of Konate/Quansah all season has been weird and I think it's clearly had a negative impact on a) our second best defender when he is fit and firing and b) the defensive unit as a collective.

Fromola · « **Reply #2481 on:** April 25, 2024, 11:20:51 am »

Problem is he'll be in the team and playing great and then get injured. Then comes back and takes a while to get his level back, gets it back and then is injured again, rinse and repeat.

We can't carry all the injuries when he's so rusty when returning.

MonsLibpool · « **Reply #2482 on:** April 25, 2024, 11:21:50 am »

Quote from: Fromola on April 25, 2024, 11:20:51 am

Problem is he'll be in the team and playing great and then get injured. Then comes back and takes a while to get his level back, gets it back and then is injured again, rinse and repeat.

We can't carry all the injuries when he's so rusty when returning.

He should be a rotation option at best next season.

LallanaInPyjamas · « **Reply #2483 on:** April 25, 2024, 12:01:23 pm »

Quote from: Fromola on April 25, 2024, 11:20:51 am

Problem is he'll be in the team and playing great and then get injured. Then comes back and takes a while to get his level back, gets it back and then is injured again, rinse and repeat.

We can't carry all the injuries when he's so rusty when returning.

He got injured against Sparta Prague, maybe don't use injury-prone players in games like that when there's a title on the line.

William Regal · « **Reply #2484 on:** April 25, 2024, 12:54:44 pm »

Hes looked a shadow of himself since the injury, can only think hes carrying something, Quansah is ahead of him on merit on current form.

Paul JH · « **Reply #2485 on:** April 25, 2024, 01:48:37 pm »

Quote from: LallanaInPyjamas on April 25, 2024, 11:15:23 am

While he has to take some responsibility for that, so does the manager. His usage of Konate/Quansah all season has been weird and I think it's clearly had a negative impact on a) our second best defender when he is fit and firing and b) the defensive unit as a collective.

Weird or is it that Konate just can't play two games a week because he's got some kind of injury issue?

Kopenhagen · « **Reply #2486 on:** April 25, 2024, 02:27:10 pm »

He's had a season to forget. Best play Quansah for the remaining games and give Ibou a rest. Start again next season.

He shouldn't get into the France team on current form.

Jookie · « **Reply #2487 on:** April 25, 2024, 02:39:04 pm »

I like Konate and he has real potential.

Can or would we build a defence around him long term though? Durability is big question. Can he be relied upon to put together consecutive season where he plays 3500+ minutes per season?

The other question I have is ability. He’s a talented player. Could easily be one of the very best centre backs about. Currently he’s not that level for me. I do not think he’s a Top 5 centre back in the league at this stage. I don’t think he’d be 1st choice at City or Arsenal. I don’t think he’d currently be 1st choice at Liverpool if everyone is fit.

Be interesting to see what we do with Konate and centre back in general this summer.

lgvkarlos · « **Reply #2488 on:** April 25, 2024, 07:41:32 pm »

Is it me or does he look better when Bradley plays?

slotmachine · « **Reply #2489 on:** April 25, 2024, 10:27:27 pm »

Has he been released from DCL's manpurse yet? No wonder VVD was going mental. Last night the whole right hand side of our team was an abomination- TAA, Konate, Dom and Mo.

Giono · « **Reply #2490 on:** April 25, 2024, 11:17:57 pm »

Quote from: lgvkarlos on April 25, 2024, 07:41:32 pm

Is it me or does he look better when Bradley plays?

Agree. The Trent in midfield experiment has put a lot on Konate's shoulders. Well actually his fragile legs have to cover so much more ground.

GreatEx · « **Reply #2491 on:** **Yesterday** at 12:27:04 am »

At his best he's excellent but the injuries mean he's frequently working towards that level and, as others have noted, he doesn't get there quick enough. Leaves us in a pickle... do we gamble on an injury free season which would mean a prolonged period of excellence, or settle on someone more consistent at a lower level? Having said all that, I always felt Matip was the superior player, and he has been/ will be a big miss.

TepidT2O · « **Reply #2492 on:** **Yesterday** at 06:56:01 am »

Aye aye…. Another excellent player people have totally written off.

decosabute · « **Reply #2493 on:** **Today** at 08:22:03 am »

Quote from: TepidT2O on Yesterday at 06:56:01 am

Aye aye…. Another excellent player people have totally written off.

It's very premature to write him off - his age and top level means he can still be the future of our defence.

But it's impossible to dispute that he's been awful lately. To me, he's just as culpable as Salah and Nunez for our worst games. The drop-off is enormous and baffling.

And it would be foolish not to be targeting another good centre back in the summer. Even if Slot wants to use Gomez more at CB, I'd argue we still need one more quality option there with Matip gone. I'd love to think Konate can still be a pillar for us going forward, but relying on his fitness would be stupid.

Zlen · « **Reply #2494 on:** **Today** at 08:38:10 am »

Quote from: TepidT2O on Yesterday at 06:56:01 am

Aye aye…. Another excellent player people have totally written off.

Ibou is pretty good. It is clear to me though he will never be the type of CB we can rely on consistently to be the part of the core pair. If it isn't fitness, it will be form. If it isn't form, it will be fitness. He is too stop and go to fully rely on. He will be in the mix, when available might be the preferred option - but we should look to beef up the CB roster as long as he is here. Because it will be needed.

BTGH · « **Reply #2495 on:** **Today** at 08:55:01 am »

He is a beast of a CB but if we continue to play him as if he is a ball-playing center back, then he is just going to be an inconsistent failure. His passing is pretty poor, and his vision for a forward pass is non-existent. So many times, it's tough watching him try to play the wrong pass, under hit, over hit, running with the ball forward and then turning back or losing the ball. It's much better to have Quansah perform this role than Konate.

Redman78 · « **Reply #2496 on:** **Today** at 09:01:35 am »

To say Ibou is 'Pretty good' is very disingenuous in my opinion, until recently, he was regarded by many of being the best young centre back in Europe (justifiably in my opinion).

His fitness issues have been very frustrating and I think his very recent form has been poor, but how quickly we forget what he's like at his best (see Arsenal FA cup tie for reference). I think it's absolutely mental that people want him sold, he's a brilliant player and will only get better as he approaches his prime. Hopefully we can help him to solve his fitness issues.

spider-neil · « **Reply #2497 on:** **Today** at 09:06:24 am »

I think Konate will improve when he stops getting into grappling matches and relies more on positioning. I think it's been documented enough that Liverpool aren't going to get the decisions with fouls so stop giving shit opposition ample opportunities to launch the box into our box because of cheap freekicks.

Zlen · « **Reply #2498 on:** **Today** at 09:11:01 am »

Quote from: Redman78 on Today at 09:01:35 am

To say Ibou is 'Pretty good' is very disingenuous in my opinion, until recently, he was regarded by many of being the best young centre back in Europe (justifiably in my opinion).

His fitness issues have been very frustrating and I think his very recent form has been poor, but how quickly we forget what he's like at his best (see Arsenal FA cup tie for reference). I think it's absolutely mental that people want him sold, he's a brilliant player and will only get better as he approaches his prime. Hopefully we can help him to solve his fitness issues.

I didn’t mean to make him seem worse than he is at his best. But when describing a player it is good to look at the whole picture.

And from what we have seen so far, no matter how high his peaks are, he does spent a lot of time both injured and out of form.

So yes, I would classify him under pretty good for our team, with undeniable fact of unreliability keeping him out of our top echelon of players.

Don’t think that is im any way controversial.

decosabute · « **Reply #2499 on:** **Today** at 09:51:27 am »

Quote from: Zlen on Today at 09:11:01 am

I didn’t mean to make him seem worse than he is at his best. But when describing a player it is good to look at the whole picture.

And from what we have seen so far, no matter how high his peaks are, he does spent a lot of time both injured and out of form.

So yes, I would classify him under pretty good for our team, with undeniable fact of unreliability keeping him out of our top echelon of players.

Don’t think that is im any way controversial.

I think it's fair enough to say all that. And we need to stop looking merely at a player's top level when judging them.

If Konate was at his best most of the time and seldom injured, then of course he's better than "pretty good", but let's face it, that isn't really the reality. We might not be able to improve on his peak level, but we possibly can improve by getting someone who can be at a good level more often.

Coolie High · « **Reply #2500 on:** **Today** at 10:20:57 am »

The new Ledley King.

Redman78 · « **Reply #2501 on:** **Today** at 12:07:37 pm »

All those points are fair guys, and I think the first position we should priotise in the summer is CB, I just don't agree with the "get rid" shouts.