Topic: Darwin Núñez (Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro)

[The G in Gerrard]

Edwards and Hughes will decide who we sell and keep and not the manager?

[killer-heels]

Edwards and Hughes will decide who we sell and keep and not the manager?

Slot will be involved. Seems to be involved in everything at Feyenoord.

[wheresnemeth]

How about Joyce then?


You haven't got a clue what Edwards will value. Nobody knows what metrics they value. They wanted Bruno Guimaraes but Klopp refused to part with one of Hendo/Milner. They wanted Nkuku but Klopp stuck on Nunez. I see no reason for them to show love to Nunez.

So we nearly ended up with another permanently injured player.

[The G in Gerrard]

Slot will be involved. Seems to be involved in everything at Feyenoord.

Seen it in multiple threads that this will happen with Edwards. Bit concerning to be honest. Should be the manager (whoever it is).

[Paul JH]

Until this morning I was convinced he had very little time to think about his shot and that he had to get it away quickly. But looking back at it again this morning he has time. It might only be a second but other strikers only need that to know where to place hit rather than just hitting it.
I wouldn't write him off after last night and I was perturbed to see he was high on the scapegoat list last night, however unfortunately for any existing and future Liverpool strikers we have a historical richness of previous quality to compare to. Strikers who were sharper, more clinical and more ruthless.

Fresh coaching might do him the world of good.

Exactly. I was genuinely baffled last night when people were using his age to defend his rawness. I'm not having that, it's bizarre. He's not some academy graduate, he's been here two years now too, in the first team. Any half decent, intelligent player doesn't do what he did last night, not just the blasting it at Pickford, but Trent puts an amazing pass through to him and rather than control it and run onto it, miscontrols it and has to lay it off to Salah. His control, decision making and finishing are nowhere near good enough, no matter how many times he pats a fan on the head after a goal.

Not saying he deserves the scapegoating, but at the same time, I don't think he deserves the adulation he gets for being a bit mad and going a bit mental when someone scores. Better players than him have been on the end of fan stick, and I don't get it.

[Saus76]

If someone offered 50M I’d bite their hands off. I love the lad’s attitude, but his failures in front of goal have cost us.

[Fiasco]

I don't think we would recoup enough of his fee to consider selling and I would be surprised if we did anyway. He's never going to produce the goals the deniers say he will. I'm happy to keep him as an option but in no way do you build an attack around him or have him as a certified starter.

The real numbers say he doesn't score enough goals and he certainly hasn't done anything in the big games this season really. That finish last night was unforgivable; no finesse, no strikers instinct, no smarts, just smash it as hard as you can. The numbers don't tell you that part of the equation.

[HeartAndSoul]

His record against the top 6 isn’t the best either is it? Think he’s scored a couple against United in the 7-0 win but can’t really remember any other goals against the other 5.

[Paul JH]

Can even his staunch defenders really say that he's the answer or the future of our goalscoring going forward without Mo knocking them in? And if he isn't, he's certainly not a left winger either, so where does that leave us?

I mean, if we need someone to go mad and pat fans on the head after a goal, then yeah, keep him. Seems that gets him off any criticism with a lot of our support.

I defended him earlier in the season, watched him have a decent run of form, but he's really not ever going to be the answer for us. He just isn't, whether you like his 'chaos' or not.

[Bread]

How about Joyce then?

Regardless of how poor Nunez has been, I'm really not a big fan of a journo with such close ties to the club throwing a player under the bus like that. I thought "manager vs. recruitment team" discourse was a thing of the past. I'd never cared for the Benteke vs. Firmino situation.

[JackWard33]

Seems that gets him off any criticism with a lot of our support.

bloody hell - what forum are you on?

[robertobaggio37]

He did take a lovely first touch to get in on goal. I actually think he may have been a bit off side.

No chance, he was onside. That first touch was lovely, shame about that finish.

[HomesickRed]

Until this morning I was convinced he had very little time to think about his shot and that he had to get it away quickly. But looking back at it again this morning he has time. It might only be a second but other strikers only need that to know where to place hit rather than just hitting it.
I wouldn't write him off after last night and I was perturbed to see he was high on the scapegoat list last night, however unfortunately for any existing and future Liverpool strikers we have a historical richness of previous quality to compare to. Strikers who were sharper, more clinical and more ruthless.

Fresh coaching might do him the world of good.

He's frustrating. A rough diamond.
But whisper it quietly, his goal stats are not dissimilar to Firminho's...... around one in three. As for assists, I'm not sure.
One area that has seen a drop from roughly one in two, to only one goal in four games is on the left wing, where Diaz has replaced Mane.
From that position in years gone by, Mane would have added an average of around 8 extra goals at this stage of the season.
Fact is, we have not one but two players in our front three who are a bit lacking when it comes to being clinical. Added into the equation is the injury situation regarding Diaz, Mo and Jota, that hasn't helped.

[Davidbowie]

Nunez is summed up perfectly by his goal against Bournemouth a couple of months back.

He completely miscontrolled a simple 15 yard pass into his feet, recovered the ball, and then curled it into the top corner from outside the area.

Totally bizarre player.

[paddysour]

Yup but not in the direction you and Bascombe think where Nunez is concerned
It's unintentionally hilarious that anyone would think numbers guys would look at Nunez and think he was a bad signing or that he shouldn't be first choice

This sort of assumes the models the data folks use never change. Sure, on paper things look great. But it's been 2 season and they aren't. Did we miss a variable? Is the assumption in the original model wrong? Do we have new information that helps us make a more informed decision? Is there anyone on the market that's affordable and now looks a safer bet?

It's a bit like the original iteration of this approach signed Downing and Adam based on chances created, then we learned actually that's not a great indicator after all. Maybe now generating lots of high value shots isn't the be all and end all.

[Fiasco]

He's frustrating. A rough diamond.
But whisper it quietly, his goal stats are not dissimilar to Firminho's...... around one in three. As for assists, I'm not sure.
One area that has seen a drop from roughly one in two, to only one goal in four games is on the left wing, where Diaz has replaced Mane.
From that position in years gone by, Mane would have added an average of around 8 extra goals at this stage of the season.
Fact is, we have not one but two players in our front three who are a bit lacking when it comes to being clinical. Added into the equation is the injury situation regarding Diaz, Mo and Jota, that hasn't helped.

The comparisons to Firmino are meaningless. They are pretty much polar opposites as players and have/had totally different roles individually and for the team.

[Jay012345]

His misses have cost us games, and he lacks the instincts of a true striker. Useful as a wide forward, but not the main striker we hang out hopes on.

[Paul JH]

He's frustrating. A rough diamond.
But whisper it quietly, his goal stats are not dissimilar to Firminho's...... around one in three. As for assists, I'm not sure.

Sorry mate, while that might be true, they are light years from each other in terms of intelligence on the pitch.

[paddysour]

Sorry mate, while that might be true, they are light years from each other in terms of intelligence on the pitch.

Yep, you need to measure how often our attack breaks down with an offside, or a wasted shot, or a foul, or a bad touch, or releasing the ball too slowly. Our issues scoring goals isn't all finishing related. We're a disaster on the break these days due to those issues mentioned.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

[RedEire]

Yep, you need to measure how often our attack breaks down with an offside, or a wasted shot, or a foul, or a bad touch, or releasing the ball too slowly. Our issues scoring goals isn't all finishing related. We're a disaster on the break these days due to those issues mentioned.

Totally agree

[A-Bomb]

He's frustrating. A rough diamond.
But whisper it quietly, his goal stats are not dissimilar to Firminho's...... around one in three. As for assists, I'm not sure.
One area that has seen a drop from roughly one in two, to only one goal in four games is on the left wing, where Diaz has replaced Mane.
From that position in years gone by, Mane would have added an average of around 8 extra goals at this stage of the season.
Fact is, we have not one but two players in our front three who are a bit lacking when it comes to being clinical. Added into the equation is the injury situation regarding Diaz, Mo and Jota, that hasn't helped.

That's a really interesting point, would have perhaps been interesting to have seen how to season developed had Jota been more available, however the dynamic of that front three (Jota, Nunez and Mo) doesn't really have a lot of ball carrying ability from wide areas these days.

[GreatEx]

He got injured playing for Liverpool

It was a recurrence of an AFCON injury.

'Equatorial hellfest'. Really?

Go have a look at climate charts for Cote d'Ivoire.

[rocco]

Slot will be involved. Seems to be involved in everything at Feyenoord.

Read he has full control over Transfers at the Feyenoord

I won’t be surprised if he wants the bring Santiago Giménez with him , if we’re looking for a clinical no 9

[Cpt_Reina]

Timing of that Nunez byline is very telling.

Putting the blame very publicly at Klopp's feet which he can take with him as he exits, distancing the recruitment dept from any loss we take on any possible departure.

Didn't think we'd entertain moving him out with so long still on his contract but those noises are being made for a reason, and being made now for a reason.

[Sat1]

His control is terrible, he can take simple chances, we've been suckered in by the fist pumps and crazy attitude.

[Lynndenberries]

No idea what to think about him. As a numbers guys, the analytics will tell you he's a top top forward. The eye test disagrees.

Regarding yesterday's performance, I was more annoyed with the two miscontrolled passes and his ghost second half performance than the missed chance to be honest.

[Jookie]

I think Nunez is an improved player from the one who joined 2 years ago.

We bought him for 65M based on his potential promise. 2 years on what’s his value?

I don’t think we’ll sell him but his recent performances, not so far fulfilling his potential and Klopp leaving makes him feel a bit vulnerable to a sale this summer. Not the only player in this situation to be fair. To some degree you could say the same thing about Diaz and Konate for example , though their situation makes a definitive decision more acute this summer.

[MonsLibpool]

Timing of that Nunez byline is very telling.

Putting the blame very publicly at Klopp's feet which he can take with him as he exits, distancing the recruitment dept from any loss we take on any possible departure.

Didn't think we'd entertain moving him out with so long still on his contract but those noises are being made for a reason, and being made now for a reason.

It reminds me of the end of Rodgers' tenure with the  articles stating that this or that player was the manager's signing.

There was an article saying the same thing last season so I guess the data guys don't rate him which is ironic reading his thread.

[Kopenhagen]

I think this summer will surprise us more than we think.

Find this a bit strange considering all the nerds love him.

IIRC, the nerds were negative about signing him in the beginning because his "underlying" numbers weren't great, and it came out later that Lijnders pushed hard to sign him (it's in the infamous book). Now that his numbers have improved (or the sample size is better; whatever), he absolutely should not be sold.

Long story short, he wouldn't be here if the laptop brigade hadn't left, but with them in charge, he'll remain.

Also, I thought Bascombe was banned on here.

[Lynndenberries]

Timing of that Nunez byline is very telling.

Putting the blame very publicly at Klopp's feet which he can take with him as he exits, distancing the recruitment dept from any loss we take on any possible departure.

Didn't think we'd entertain moving him out with so long still on his contract but those noises are being made for a reason, and being made now for a reason.

Not a fan of us airing our dirty laundry, but Klopp and Ljinder's involvement in recruitment over the few years seems to be a common theme.

[killer-heels]

Find this a bit strange considering all the nerds love him.

IIRC, the nerds were negative about signing him in the beginning because his "underlying" numbers weren't great, and it came out later that Lijnders pushed hard to sign him (it's in the infamous book). Now that his numbers have improved (or the sample size is better; whatever), he absolutely should not be sold.

Long story short, he wouldn't be here if the laptop brigade hadn't left, but with them in charge, he'll remain.

Also, I thought Bascombe was banned on here.

I don't think its that clear cut to be honest. I would keep him, but I think its a stretch to say the nerds now definitely like him. We have also read that Hughes isnt data driven, he uses it for sure and will use it here, but not prisoner to it. Then you will have Slot and his preference.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

I don't think its that clear cut to be honest. I would keep him, but I think its a stretch to say the nerds now definitely like him. We have also read that Hughes isnt data driven, he uses it for sure and will use it here, but not prisoner to it. Then you will have Slot and his preference.

Wait wait wait wait wait

You saying our team of nerds are not actually nerds? Have we just been invaded by hipsters instead?!

This changes fucking everything

[The WASP]

Did we properly scout this lad or just impressed when we played Benfica when he was a handful but I remember thinking I didn't like him.

I've given him a chance, as Carra said last night I think he can go now. If we're going to play him then it has to be off the left.

[JackWard33]

but I think its a stretch to say the nerds now definitely like him.

would love to hear this one..
shout out to the person above who said it might have changed and high value shots aren't a thing anymore... can you top it?

[Kopenhagen]

I don't think its that clear cut to be honest. I would keep him, but I think its a stretch to say the nerds now definitely like him. We have also read that Hughes isnt data driven, he uses it for sure and will use it here, but not prisoner to it. Then you will have Slot and his preference.

Guess that explains why he signed Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith.

[smicer07]

Did we properly scout this lad or just impressed when we played Benfica when he was a handful but I remember thinking I didn't like him.

I've given him a chance, as Carra said last night I think he can go now. If we're going to play him then it has to be off the left.

He was brilliant for Benfica against us. Also, listening to Carragher 🙄

[MonsLibpool]

Anfield Sector
@AnfieldSector
·
1h
[🟢] NEW: Nunez was very much a Klopp signing, with Liverpool’s recruitment team preferring Christopher Nkunku (Paul Joyce)

The wording shows what they think. "Very much" a Klopp signing and "had nothing to do with us".

[smicer07]

Anfield Sector
@AnfieldSector
·
1h
[🟢] NEW: Nunez was very much a Klopp signing, with Liverpool’s recruitment team preferring Christopher Nkunku (Paul Joyce)

The wording shows what they think. "Very much" a Klopp signing and "had nothing to do with us".

Nkunku 😂

[Eeyore]

Klopp hasn't even left and the absolute gobshites are leaking poison about him to the usual suspects. Sadly far too many on here are lapping it up.

The club is fucked if we are going back to the dark days of one section of the club briefing against another. Not surprising Edwards coming back was played out in the media. The club needs to get rid of anyone leaking to the media. It is an absolute joke that the team news is available on the internet hours before kick of. I wonder how many managers have changed their line up after seeing ours.