Author Topic: Naby Keita Watch  (Read 1880227 times)

Offline Red Dane

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9920 on: April 7, 2021, 08:45:33 am »
Keita played in the front of Phillips and Trent. He should have protected that area. And where did the goals come from? 
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9921 on: April 7, 2021, 08:50:51 am »
I think he played quite well. He was the only player in midfield willing to take the ball forward. He created a couple of half decent chances.

For people saying he should have protected Trent and Phillips. How could he protect a ball a diagonal ball from Kroos from Gini's side?

He didn't play amazingly but was much better than Gini and Fabinho.

I think the main issue was not playing Firmino. which meant we had no one coming deep to help the midfield when we were on the ball and meant that Modric and Kroos had no one shutting them down from behind.

Offline Fordy

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9922 on: April 7, 2021, 08:56:33 am »
Poor decision to start him last night.

He's had about 2 good games for us since he has been here.

It's just not working out for him here but he is a talented player for sure.

Offline OOS

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9923 on: April 7, 2021, 09:14:48 am »
Id sell him if only to stop that cringe Naby Lad meme.

Same.  ;D

You can see what he can bring to the side, but when you have a player who is only fit for around 25 games a season, time to reconsider his position in the squad. We have a few players who aren't good enough to start, and when we do need them, they aren't available or don't fit in. Interesting summer ahead.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9924 on: April 7, 2021, 09:19:00 am »
It is game over for Naby Keita I believe now.

And, yes, a poor choice from Klopp to play him in this match, after the guy had I think only 42 mins in a Reds shirt in the last month.

Don't think Keita is going to make it at Liverpool as a starter, so it would probably be best to part ways in the summer.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9925 on: April 7, 2021, 09:49:26 am »
So was he just hooked or is he injured?
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9926 on: April 7, 2021, 09:50:23 am »
So was he just hooked or is he injured?

The gaffer said it was tactical
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Offline Clint Eastwood

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9927 on: April 7, 2021, 09:55:51 am »
Keita played in the front of Phillips and Trent. He should have protected that area. And where did the goals come from?
In fairness, they were both long balls over midfield. The real issue was leaving Kroos with all the time in the world to find a pass and nobody being arsed about it while playing a high line. The equivalent of leaving a striker unmarked in the box really.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9928 on: April 7, 2021, 09:56:24 am »
I think he played quite well. He was the only player in midfield willing to take the ball forward. He created a couple of half decent chances.

For people saying he should have protected Trent and Phillips. How could he protect a ball a diagonal ball from Kroos from Gini's side?

He didn't play amazingly but was much better than Gini and Fabinho.

I think the main issue was not playing Firmino. which meant we had no one coming deep to help the midfield when we were on the ball and meant that Modric and Kroos had no one shutting them down from behind.

I agree with all that. He shouldn't have played in my opinion with so little game time under his belt, but Gini was terrible and stayed on to remain just a body on the pitch.

Offline Big Dirk

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9929 on: April 7, 2021, 10:01:36 am »
I agree with all that. He shouldn't have played in my opinion with so little game time under his belt, but Gini was terrible and stayed on to remain just a body on the pitch.
You agree that he played quite well?FFS he was awful hence why he got hooked.
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Offline amir87

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9930 on: April 7, 2021, 10:06:11 am »
Was largely anonymous besides one good run with the ball. You can't be anonymous in a game of this magnitude.

I think Klopp will struggle to trust him again to start in a big game unless injuries force his hand.

Offline pathetic

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9931 on: April 7, 2021, 10:09:47 am »
Starting him over Thiago was mind boggling to say the least. I've stuck by Keita for a long time now and you can clearly see the potential, but if a good offer comes in the summer I would get rid.

Offline Fordy

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9932 on: April 7, 2021, 10:11:59 am »
Starting him over Thiago was mind boggling to say the least. I've stuck by Keita for a long time now and you can clearly see the potential, but if a good offer comes in the summer I would get rid.

Starting over Milner was just as mind boggling.

We needed leadership last night.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9933 on: April 7, 2021, 10:13:05 am »
I agree with all that. He shouldn't have played in my opinion with so little game time under his belt, but Gini was terrible and stayed on to remain just a body on the pitch.

Keita was no worse than most of the players on the pitch in that 1st 45 minutes. However, he was far from good as well.

I actually thought Wijnaldum improved massively 2nd half and him and Thiago got us a bit of a foothold in the game. Thought Fabinho was the midfielder who struggled the most over the entire game. It's unusual for him but positionally he didn't seem right and he hardly provided any protection for the centre backs. The 3rd goal he has to take some blame for also. Modirc side steps him way too easily, though others are culpable too (Phillips and Alisson).

It'll be intretsing to see what Klopp does with Keita. Klopp rehabilitated Lovren under similar circumstance post Spurs in 2017. However, he needed Lovren at that point since we had 3 senior centre backs (Lovren, Matip and Klavan) in the squad and were 2 months off the transfer window opening up. Klopp doesn't necessarily have the same need to rehabilitate Keita if he doesn't think he's part of his long term plans. If Keita doesn't start in the next few games then I think the writing is on the wall for him. I think Klopp still likes him and he'll start against Villa though.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9934 on: April 7, 2021, 10:14:11 am »
Such a shame it's not worked out for him here but I don't really see any coming back for him now. He's shown what he can do in fits and starts but that's about it, I'm absolutely gutted as he looked the image of what klopp would want from a midfielder but he's never fit long enough to put a run of form together and last night really does feel like Klopp washing his hands with him. Reckon he'll end up having a decent career in germany or italy.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9935 on: April 7, 2021, 10:18:54 am »
Starting over Milner was just as mind boggling.

We needed leadership last night.

I like Milner but starting him yesterday would have been a bit of a gamble. Not sure he has the legs to start two games in three days, especially against Real Madrid.

Offline El Lobo

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9936 on: April 7, 2021, 10:24:31 am »
Starting him over Thiago was mind boggling to say the least. I've stuck by Keita for a long time now and you can clearly see the potential, but if a good offer comes in the summer I would get rid.

Its so easy in hindsight isn't it.

With Naby and Diogo starting it looked like we'd be a bit more direct, heavy metal but clearly that just didnt happen.
If he's being asked to head the ball too frequently - which isn't exactly his specialty - it could affect his ear and cause an infection. Especially if the ball hits him on the ear directly.

Offline aw1991

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9937 on: April 7, 2021, 10:25:48 am »
Honestly I think he was subbed because Fab and Gini are more reliable and fit, rather than his level was much below them or something.

Klopp wanted Thiago in but not take the risk that Naby might get injured during the match, so he would need to make another substitution.

Just my opinion of course...

Offline Fordy

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9938 on: April 7, 2021, 10:27:05 am »
I like Milner but starting him yesterday would have been a bit of a gamble. Not sure he has the legs to start two games in three days, especially against Real Madrid.

Milner is one of the fittest players in the squad mate.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9939 on: April 7, 2021, 10:29:12 am »
Think all his injuries have taken something away from him. This is not the player we bought from Leipzig. He's had his good moments when he's had a run in the team. But then he breaks down. I think it's time to sell.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9940 on: April 7, 2021, 10:29:23 am »
Starting over Milner was just as mind boggling.

We needed leadership last night.

Milner would have been passed around by them for fun.

Offline Studgotelli

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9941 on: April 7, 2021, 10:30:26 am »
Think all his injuries have taken something away from him. This is not the player we bought from Leipzig. He's had his good moments when he's had a run in the team. But then he breaks down. I think it's time to sell.

He also looks incredibly slow these days. Looked a lot more mobile and explosive at Leipzig. He looks like he’s running through mud here.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9942 on: April 7, 2021, 10:31:12 am »
You agree that he played quite well?FFS he was awful hence why he got hooked.
He was hooked because he wanted Thiago playing and didn't want to take off Gini or Fab. Gini played much worse than him yesterday. I have never seen him give the ball away so much.

It was ridiculous to throw Naby into this came when he has 30 minutes under his belt in the last few months.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9943 on: April 7, 2021, 10:31:41 am »
I genuinely think any of them could have been hooked but I can understand why it was him. He felt like a weak point. So far the good hasn't outweighed the bad with Naby. A lot of them were poor last night and the cog definitely wasn't spinning properly, and he probably suffers as a result - same with the defence.

Hard to see how his LFC career kicks on with Klopp. He can't stay fit enough to put a run of games together and he can't take the opportunities when he gets them.

Hindsight is great but I was one of the ones a bit surprised but also excited by last night's team. I think the inclusion of Naby gave us all the impression that we would try and leg them all over, press them high and get Jota, Mane and Salah in dangerous areas, but it just didn't happen. It's not his fault. But he feels further and further away from making his time at LFC a success. I wouldn't be surprised if we cashed in on Naby.

Offline amir87

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9944 on: April 7, 2021, 10:33:27 am »
Milner is one of the fittest players in the squad mate.

Not if he has to play 2 games every week he isn't. He was picking injuries up more frequently when he was having to play too often.

Age has finally caught up with him.

Offline Dr Stu-Pid

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9945 on: April 7, 2021, 10:39:40 am »
Keita obviously wasn't great last night, but I don't think that he was any worse than Gini in the first half.  Ultimately I think that Klopp just got his selection wrong starting Keita and Jota in the same side.  For me if you wanted to play Keita then you also play Firmino and drop one of Jota or Mane, as Keita seems to always be best when he has a striker dropping deeper that he can link with and run beyond.  All 3 of the strikers last night wanted to play on the turn or make forward runs, so Thiago would have been the better midfield option to play those passes into feet.  Ultimately I think going with the same line-up as against Arsenal with the exception of Gini for Milner was the best option, and keeping Jota and Keita as options off the bench in the second half, but that's easy to say with hindsight, and I was actually excited when I first saw the line-up posted.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9946 on: April 7, 2021, 10:55:42 am »
Done nothing to warrant a start yet he starts our biggest match of the season.

He didn’t look bothered.

I think this is the main issue I have. Klopp put a huge amount of trust in him in a massive game and he didn't remotely look interested. You didn't have to be a body language expert to see it. No urgency, walking around the pitch, not covering Trent, no intensity in his play aside from one decent dribble.



Offline Fordy

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9947 on: April 7, 2021, 10:58:30 am »
Not if he has to play 2 games every week he isn't. He was picking injuries up more frequently when he was having to play too often.

Age has finally caught up with him.

Would have rather him started over Keita in a massive game like last night.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9948 on: April 7, 2021, 11:00:54 am »
He is a fantastic player but the fact is he cannot stay injury free for long enough. But even then, when is the last time that Keita actually helped in turning a game around for us? Great when the team is playing well and of course he is an important part of that, but not somebody who has shown an ability to dig us out.


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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9949 on: April 7, 2021, 11:11:47 am »
Would have rather him started over Keita in a massive game like last night.

Hindsight is great and I'm sure Klopp would not start Naby given what happened, but I very much doubt he's thinking Milner was the answer.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9950 on: April 7, 2021, 11:12:25 am »
He is a fantastic player but the fact is he cannot stay injury free for long enough. But even then, when is the last time that Keita actually helped in turning a game around for us? Great when the team is playing well and of course he is an important part of that, but not somebody who has shown an ability to dig us out.


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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9951 on: April 7, 2021, 11:20:27 am »
For the first 12 minutes I thought we might be playing a 4-2-3-1 with Naby right side of the 3, but it turns out he was just wildly out of position and showed no desire or even willingness to get back into position. Maybe he didn't know what his position was supposed to be in the first place? I don't think it should come as a big surprise - it's not the first, nor even the 10th time that the midfield has been completely over-run once Naby is parachuted in. It was a weird decision to play him, and it has cost us. Upgrade in the summer, please.
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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9952 on: April 7, 2021, 11:22:06 am »
He's been here for how long and played how many games? He's been decent in a few, come on as a sub in a few, but that's it really. Not really a solid member of the squad and not a reliable player in the slightest.

Madness to start him in the biggest game of our season so far based on some training performances, when consistency is the biggest thing we have been missing in defence and midfield this season.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9953 on: April 7, 2021, 11:24:37 am »
Such a shame it's not worked out for him here but I don't really see any coming back for him now. He's shown what he can do in fits and starts but that's about it, I'm absolutely gutted as he looked the image of what klopp would want from a midfielder but he's never fit long enough to put a run of form together and last night really does feel like Klopp washing his hands with him. Reckon he'll end up having a decent career in germany or italy.

Agree with this. Genuinely gutted as I thought he was going to become world class under Klopp, just hasn't worked out for him unfortunately.

May be time to cut our losses in the summer if a decent enough offer comes in?

Offline Fordy

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9954 on: April 7, 2021, 11:37:42 am »
Hindsight is great and I'm sure Klopp would not start Naby given what happened, but I very much doubt he's thinking Milner was the answer.

Highsight isn't a wonderful thing when you play Arsenal and the midfield produces a high level of performance. I don't see the point in dropping Milner or Thiago. Maybe bring Gini back fair enough but to bring Keita in who has play what 42 mins in recent months and hasn't played to the standard required was a poor decision. A decision that might have ruined his career here.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9955 on: April 7, 2021, 11:48:48 am »
Highsight isn't a wonderful thing when you play Arsenal and the midfield produces a high level of performance. I don't see the point in dropping Milner or Thiago. Maybe bring Gini back fair enough but to bring Keita in who has play what 42 mins in recent months and hasn't played to the standard required was a poor decision. A decision that might have ruined his career here.

Keita for Thiago is the one most would argue wasn't a sensible move given the lack of game time Naby has had in recent months. That was quite clear to see.

Gini for Milner was the obvious change. Let's not pretend like producing a good performance against a pretty pathetic Arsenal side is a good judge of what is required against one the best midfields in the world.


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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9956 on: April 7, 2021, 11:56:43 am »
I'm guessing he'll be off to AFCON next season as well so if he does come good between now and then we can safely assume that will put him back to square one.

As others have said Klopp probably got it wrong in picking Keita but the second half - whilst an improvement - showed why he was selected.  Real were organised and aggressive in their defending of our front three and whilst we enjoyed more control in the second half we had no cutting edge.  The goal came from Gini beating a man in midfield and carrying the ball with a bit of purpose, unsettling their defence in a way that rarely happened all game.  I'm sure the hope was that Keita would do quite a lot of that without us completely losing control of the midfield like we did in the first half.

I don't think we should write Keita off but neither he nor Ox seem a good fit with the fragility of our team right now.  We essentially need our midfield to control the game with low risk football to such an extent that our defence isn't exposed.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9957 on: April 7, 2021, 12:09:02 pm »
Times up for Naby. The rare times he is actually fit he can’t affect games in any shape from our 3 man midfield. Too much of a luxury for me.

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9958 on: April 7, 2021, 12:17:02 pm »
Should never have started ahead of Thiago. Thats on Klopp. That whole midfield looked shite. Wijnaldum shite again also. What must the others be thinking seeing him going at the end of a season and he gets the armband for a huge game like this and turns in another shite performance.

Wish he had of went with Thiago, Fab and bobby with the front three ahead. and bring Wijnaldum or Keita in on the 60/70. min mark.  Return leg will almost 100% have all four on the pitch.

Offline MPowerYNWA

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Re: Naby Keita Watch
« Reply #9959 on: April 7, 2021, 01:08:33 pm »
Bottom line is that a team/squad with talent, over a prolonged period, will perform better than a team which needs to be ‘at it’ for every single game. We don’t have the required depth of talent and Klopp is doing the best with what he has - we have been exceptional in retaining intensity, but it is impossible to keep it going season after season, especially when major trophies have been won (there is a difference in motivation between winners and serial winners).

FSG invested on the basis of financial fair play rules being enforced, but they probably realise now that the rules are nonsense - Man City funded by a country, Chelsea by an oligarch and at the height of a global pandemic and no crowds, Real Madrid can somehow able to undertake a £500m stadium facelift (a bit of government support no doubt).

Hence I think FSG will be at a cross roads now - they need to decide to either invest and challenge for the top honours now, or just accept that we battle to get into the top 4 every season and perhaps the odd cup along the way.  I suspect they will do some light investment and hope we can turn coal into diamonds on the transfer front.

If we genuinely want to be in the elite of football we need to move to having 2 quality players for each position - but that is far easier to say than do - commercially you have to pay high salaries to keep a quality player in the squad and perhaps not playing.

This transfer window coming up will give us a good steer on what we will be challenging for over the next few years - of course with VVD back we’ll be stronger, but we cannot have a whole club performance across a season dictated to by the absence or not of one player - that is madness.

In terms of immediate thoughts on the game :

1) I was proud of Phillips and Kabak - they did what they could given their experience and ability- not fair for them to be judged in any other way.

2) Naby was an unusual shambles - he didn’t want to run or make himself available and for the 2nd goal couldn’t even be bothered to put pressure on the midfielder who played the ball.  I’ve not see that with him before.  Don’t be surprised if we don’t see him again as a starter, if LFC can offload him for £40m or so they will (I suspect)

3) Salah put more effort in closing down than I have seen in years, I hope it was for the right reasons than a pseudo audition to Zindane imho.

4) Trent defending was worse than it has been in a while, hopefully he can learn to keep his concentration as his attacking play is immense - maybe there is a case to be made to put someone like Trent into the right hand side of midfield

5) Gini did what he could - always puts in 100%


Be nice to have a clear out of some of the deadwood in the squad and instead have a bench of individuals who can actually change a game...