Topic: Naby Keita Watch

[The 1989 Brit Awards]

Don't think him not learning the language yet should have much bearing on his football - Aguero seems to barely speak a word of English and he's been here for years.

sames as David Silva, Tevez.

[oxenstierna]

sames as David Silva, Tevez.

and rooney

[farawayred]

and rooney

What a first post! 

[Crouch Potato]

sames as David Silva, Tevez.

It's the staff communication for instructions to players that i consider most important, and those players, for instance have had plenty of staff to communicate in Spanish, however, as far as i know, hardly any of our present staff speak French for the sake of instructing Keita. I know we may have the odd player who can speak french but it would still be a pain.

[princeoftherocks]

He's an Aquarius, so communication is important to him.  Aquarians like to talk. 

[RedG13]

It's the staff communication for instructions to players that i consider most important, and those players, for instance have had plenty of staff to communicate in Spanish, however, as far as i know, hardly any of our present staff speak French for the sake of instructing Keita. I know we may have the odd player who can speak french but it would still be a pain.

Matip and Mane speak French. Wont shock me if anyone all off Virgil, Fabinho, Gini, Origi also speak french

[Crouch Potato]

Matip and Mane speak French. Wont shock me if anyone all off Virgil, Fabinho, Gini, Origi also speak french

True but i think one to one is always best when giving a player specific instructions. Anyway, let's just hope he starts getting in the swing of things asap.

[TepidT2O]

Matip and Mane speak French. Wont shock me if anyone all off Virgil, Fabinho, Gini, Origi also speak french

Lovren speaks French, Origi certainly does too..

[RedG13]

Lovren speaks French, Origi certainly does too..

Thanks. Mignolet also speak french

[jooneyisdagod]

He just doesn't look like a final third player to me. I feel like playing him further up almost neutralises his best strength, which is from what I have seen of him, ball progression.

[Mutton Geoff]

He's an Aquarius, so communication is important to him.  Aquarians like to talk. 

Is he is waiting for the age of aquarius then ?

[redmark]

Is he is waiting for the age of aquarius then ?

No, just 20th January.

[bobadicious]

It's the staff communication for instructions to players that i consider most important, and those players, for instance have had plenty of staff to communicate in Spanish, however, as far as i know, hardly any of our present staff speak French for the sake of instructing Keita. I know we may have the odd player who can speak french but it would still be a pain.

Surely Naby knows German from his time in the bundesliga. I think klopp knows a bit too so he should be fine.

[Yesitsanextender]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

[CraigDS]

Just you.

[Yesitsanextender]

Just you.

seriously??

[redmark]

Surely Naby knows German from his time in the bundesliga. I think klopp knows a bit too so he should be fine.

Apparently not.

"We don't have a common language," said Klopp, explaining: "He speaks a little bit of German, a little bit of English. Not too much though like 'hello' and 'goodbye'."

[Phil M]

Apparently not.

"We don't have a common language," said Klopp, explaining: "He speaks a little bit of German, a little bit of English. Not too much though like 'hello' and 'goodbye'."

And "ball".

[Hazell]

Ha! Not really concerned, he's been here 6 months, yeah it'd be ice if he was a mainstay in the midfield and putting in performances that dominate other sides but frequently that doesn't happen for a combination of reasons - some of them obvious, new league, new team (moreso with the way Klopp wants his new players to learn about the way team plays), some not so much - others intangible (new environment, club etc). Not even convinced he's been as bad as is made out, he's had some good games, some not so good, been injured, eased in and out of the side. The high expectations (mine too) at the beginning of the season probably don't help either. Personally don't get concerned after 6 months, it's not the same for every player.

[Djimi Smicer34]

seriously??

It's probably not just you judging by some posts here.

It's misplaced concern though.

[SerbianScouser]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season?

Sure but the interesting thing is we're yet to see him in a position of double pivot which is where he actually made a name for himself and impressed Klopp so much that he was willing to wait a whole year for him.

Personally I think now that 4231 is becoming our default formation it's only a matter of time before we see him as 6 and then we'll have a better idea on how close he is to replicating his Leipzig form here. In theory his defending ability and drives from deep as 6 should make him a permanent fixture in the team and make 4231 work to its fullest potential.

[joezydudek]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

I think everyone expected him to impress more than he has done so far given his reputation and undoubted quality, but I can see enough about him to make me think he'll come good.
He's not quite the same sort of player, but it reminds me of Bernardo Silva in his first season in that he was showing the odd glimpse of quality, but was struggling to nail down a role due to his team performing extremely well and him not being fully adapted. Silva looks excellent now he's fully integrated into the Man City side and I'm sure it'll be a similar story with Keita next season, if not in the closing stages of this one.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

Just you. Because he's hardly had a consistent run in the team, due to injuries. He started the season well, got injured, was out for a month, came back, got injured for the national side, rinse and repeat. In a new league with new players new environment, you need a consistent run to see whether or not you can adapt. He's had some good games some solid ones and one or two poor ones, but you can't say that he's had a full run in the side where we can evaluate him properly.

[Cheesehead]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

No mate I agree with you. He should be doing more to impose himself on games. I think he can be a good player for us but so far it’s been a bit meh. Especially as he cost 57m.

[Perham]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

I know what you mean but I'm not too concerned as it sometimes takes a while for certain players to fully integrate and it seems that Keita's one of those players. I definitely have faith in his ability and think he'll come good. If it gets to the end of the season and he's still struggling them maybe that's cause for concern but even then I'd probably still be confident that he'll be fine. I did expect more from him and when I saw him in pre season I was really impressed and thought he'd be an instant success but as we know pre season is very unreliable. Even still though we have seen flashes of what he could be already.

[simesy]

He's an Aquarius, so communication is important to him.  Aquarians like to talk.

Lovren must be an Aquarian then

[JackWard33]

He just doesn't look like a final third player to me. I feel like playing him further up almost neutralises his best strength, which is from what I have seen of him, ball progression.

Yup .... ball progressions through the midfield but also defensive actions there and possession regains
He’s not a final third player and hasn’t been before he got here. He has so much ability he can still play well higher but it’s not what he’s elite at

[slaphead]

Anyone else a bit hmmm about his progress this season? I mean, He is surrounded by top class players but doesn't seem to be performing at the same level as leipzeg... We can all see his obvious talent but he seems to lose the ball more often than he should I'm sure his tackling stats aren't anything that stands out. I know he hasn't had much game time but to that in its self is a concern..Surely if your performing at a high level during training then you get a nudge to the starting 11 and we all know his quality should be starting 11. The only and i mean only player i think that has suprised and put a spanner in him starting is the performances by Gini.


Is it just me that's a bit concerned about this??

You'd be right to be concerned if we had a Jose Mourinho in the dug out. who isn't interested in anyone who isn't right on it, but we have the big man, and you've seen the results of his patience, eye for a player and coaching ability and what it has done for the likes of Ox, Fabinho, Robertson to name a few.
I'm not concerned at all, dissapointed a shade maybe, not in the player, but just in the situation with injuries and that. I think we'll see what a player he is more next season, but what a boost for us it would be if he stepped it up for the run in

[Brian Blessed]

No mate I agree with you. He should be doing more to impose himself on games. I think he can be a good player for us but so far it’s been a bit meh. Especially as he cost 57m.

You have doubts concerning the team? I, for one, am shocked.

[rafathegaffa83]

Ha! Not really concerned, he's been here 6 months, yeah it'd be ice if he was a mainstay in the midfield and putting in performances that dominate other sides but frequently that doesn't happen for a combination of reasons - some of them obvious, new league, new team (moreso with the way Klopp wants his new players to learn about the way team plays), some not so much - others intangible (new environment, club etc). Not even convinced he's been as bad as is made out, he's had some good games, some not so good, been injured, eased in and out of the side. The high expectations (mine too) at the beginning of the season probably don't help either. Personally don't get concerned after 6 months, it's not the same for every player.

People also tend to forget, he started off well, then got injured and was out, which allowed the likes of Wijnaldum and Fabinho to cement their places in the starting eleven, which has made it difficult for him to get a prolonged look-in

[88_RED]

With Fabinho most likely in the back 4, I would start Keita in midfield with Gini and Milner (I would have preferred to have gone with Hendo instead of Milner but he seems to be out as well)

I would also play Keita as the most advanced of the 3 midfielders and tell him to be the creative force out there..

                          Allison
TAA       Fabinho        VVD        Robbo

                  Milner            Gini
                              Keita

           Salah     Firmino      Mane

Maybe Keita just needs a run of games and an arm around his shoulder..  The latter will never be a problem with Klopp around.. The former is probably more difficult given the centre backs and midfielders likely to return soon and the kind fixture list from here on in..

So today could actually be really crucial for Keita and how he is viewed by Klopp for the rest of the season..

In any case.. with a season of adjustment under his belt and another full pre season behind him, we will see him fulfill his truw potential next season I feel..

[Samio]

With Fabinho most likely in the back 4, I would start Keita in midfield with Gini and Milner (I would have preferred to have gone with Hendo instead of Milner but he seems to be out as well)

I would also play Keita as the most advanced of the 3 midfielders and tell him to be the creative force out there..

                          Allison
TAA       Fabinho        VVD        Robbo

                  Milner            Gini
                              Keita

           Salah     Firmino      Mane

Maybe Keita just needs a run of games and an arm around his shoulder..  The latter will never be a problem with Klopp around.. The former is probably more difficult given the centre backs and midfielders likely to return soon and the kind fixture list from here on in..

So today could actually be really crucial for Keita and how he is viewed by Klopp for the rest of the season..

In any case.. with a season of adjustment under his belt and another full pre season behind him, we will see him fulfill his truw potential next season I feel..

Will be surprised if Salah isn't playing as our striker to be honest - with Bobby linking.

[88_RED]

Will be surprised if Salah isn't playing as our striker to be honest - with Bobby linking.

Nothing to be surprised about mate..
Given how the front 3 play you are likely to see the below options through the course of the match:

     Salah      Firmino       Mane

        Or

                    Firmino
                Salah     Mane

        Or

      Salah      Mane     Firmino

        Or

      Firmino       
                                    Mane
                   Salah

        Or

      Mane     Salah      Firmino

[Yorkykopite]

Nothing to be surprised about mate..
Given how the front 3 play you are likely to see the below options through the course of the match:

     Salah      Firmino       Mane

        Or

                    Firmino
                Salah     Mane

        Or

      Salah      Mane     Firmino

        Or

      Firmino       
                                    Mane
                   Salah

        Or

      Mane     Salah      Firmino

Any more?

[Wool]

I know we won, but fuck me that moment in like the 92nd minute where he lost the ball and just stopped playing did my head in. He’d only just come on as well.

[tubby]

He's done that a few times, expected a free kick that was never coming, think he just needs to get used to how the game is reffed here.

[Frank Becton]

I know we won, but fuck me that moment in like the 92nd minute where he lost the ball and just stopped playing did my head in. He’d only just come on as well.

Hard to judge in the space of a few minutes, but overall so far I am a bit underwhelmed to be honest.

[deFacto please, you bastards]

That was a foul on him but some.of you are ready to crucify him at the first.given opportunity.

[FlashGordon]

Some people need to re-evaluate their lives.

[farawayred]

That was a foul on him but some.of you are ready to crucify him at the first.given opportunity.

Brighton made these fouls all game long on all players, but got uncalled. Still, Keita should have held his own like Gini, Milly, Hendo, etc.