Topic: Roberto Firmino

[Funky_Gibbons]

To me its pointing to us going 4-2-3-1 at the start of next season, based on Klopp's comments around a winger, so i very much doubt we will see Coutinho drop back to the midfield area anytime soon. I think that inside left position is cemented for him. Any midfield passing improvement will have to be made by the midfielders in that position and for that reason I think the likes of Can, Milner and Henderson are all fighting for their place in the starting 11 next season.

Put Coutinho next to the right person in a midfield two and it could work. Arsenal have dropped Carzola into that midfield two position with good effect this season and I could see Coutinho having a similar influence.

As for Firmino, he's still consistently inconsistent. He has a habit of drifting in and out of games. Still not sure what his best position is.

[rowan_d]

Put Coutinho next to the right person in a midfield two and it could work. Arsenal have dropped Carzola into that midfield two position with good effect this season and I could see Coutinho having a similar influence.

As for Firmino, he's still consistently inconsistent. He has a habit of drifting in and out of games. Still not sure what his best position is.

Was pretty weird today. He was quiet for a while, then everything went through him for 20 minutes, then he got booked and was quiet for the rest of the game.

[killer-heels]

Put Coutinho next to the right person in a midfield two and it could work. Arsenal have dropped Carzola into that midfield two position with good effect this season and I could see Coutinho having a similar influence.

As for Firmino, he's still consistently inconsistent. He has a habit of drifting in and out of games. Still not sure what his best position is.

Firmino's best position is quite clearly up front, with a licence to roam. He is inconsistent in the last few games because, quite frankly, him and Sturridge don't know what each other is doing yet. We need to let them play together consistently to get some understanding. Neither of them are adapting their game for each other so its a case of letting them play and then letting them understand what each other wants to do.

I think Firmino would do better with a direct striker like Torres, Origi, Owen etc. in the short term whilst Sturridge would do better with someone who will work the defenders, play the channels etc. Because they both want the ball to feet its all a bit samey.

I don't agree about Coutinho. If we play him in the centre then thats Firmino, Sturridge, Coutinho clogging up the centre. All 3 like to drop into a similar area.

[Funky_Gibbons]

Was pretty weird today. He was quiet for a while, then everything went through him for 20 minutes, then he got booked and was quiet for the rest of the game.

That kind of sums up a lot of his games for me, especially when he's not playing as the lone forward.

[Funky_Gibbons]

Firmino's best position is quite clearly up front, with a licence to roam. He is inconsistent in the last few games because, quite frankly, him and Sturridge don't know what each other is doing yet. We need to let them play together consistently to get some understanding. Neither of them are adapting their game for each other so its a case of letting them play and then letting them understand what each other wants to do.

I’m not sure his inconsistency is all to do with Sturridge. He can look devastating for 20-minutes and then nothing comes off for another half an hour. I’m not sure how shooting off target when well placed or shooting instead of passing (like the volley last night) to someone better placed is because of Sturridge. He’s clearly a very talented player but I’d like to see him impose himself a bit more.

I think Firmino would do better with a direct striker like Torres, Origi, Owen etc. in the short term whilst Sturridge would do better with someone who will work the defenders, play the channels etc. Because they both want the ball to feet its all a bit samey.

I’m not sure Sturridge always wants the ball to feet at all, he’s devastating when the opposition give him space to run into and behind. But last night was typical of many Anfield performances though where the opposition don’t give us space to get in behind. You can have all the pace in the world in your team but without space to run into it’s pointless. That’s why I don’t understand bringing on Origi in both these games after Sturridge wasn’t able to beat their defence. Why not bring on Benteke who offers something different and give the defenders a new challenge rather than a ‘lite’ version of Sturridge. 

I don't agree about Coutinho. If we play him in the centre then thats Firmino, Sturridge, Coutinho clogging up the centre. All 3 like to drop into a similar area.

They're all playing the same space now though. With Coutinho deeper he wouldn’t be occupying the same space and would give the midfield some much needed creativity while being able to beat the opposition press by turning or dribbling. Surely “We need to let them play together consistently to get some understanding”. 

[SerbianScouser]

It's not bizarre, some games he looks 9-10/10 others 5/10, unlike Suarez's off games he'd still run ragged whereas Firmino takes a more cultured approach hence the added criticism. He's not a steady 6-7/10 player.

That`s not what I find weird, what I think is weird is that apart from Clyne we don`t have one single player in the entire squad you can say has been consistent 8/10 performer, so what`s the point? If he was performing like you say he was in Bayern/Barca teams then that criticism would make sense but not really in a Liverpool team that`s still searching for its identity with so many new players put together over the last two years.

[Carlito Roberto]

I’m not sure Sturridge always wants the ball to feet at all, he’s devastating when the opposition give him space to run into and behind. But last night was typical of many Anfield performances though where the opposition don’t give us space to get in behind. You can have all the pace in the world in your team but without space to run into it’s pointless. That’s why I don’t understand bringing on Origi in both these games after Sturridge wasn’t able to beat their defence. Why not bring on Benteke who offers something different and give the defenders a new challenge rather than a ‘lite’ version of Sturridge. 

The simple answer is Benteke isn't a particularly good footballer to begin with, but when you combine that with the fact he's woefully out of form and low on confidence, it would be a big risk to bring him back in from the cold in such an important game.

[Funky_Gibbons]

The simple answer is Benteke isn't a particularly good footballer to begin with, but when you combine that with the fact he's woefully out of form and low on confidence, it would be a big risk to bring him back in from the cold in such an important game.

And keeping him on the bench is doing wonders for his confidence and form?

Despite largely being on the bench, playing for a team that doesn't play to his strengths and apparently lacking movement he's still our leading scorer, not bad considering he's not a particularly good footballer.

[Carlito Roberto]

And keeping him on the bench is doing wonders for his confidence and form?

Despite largely being on the bench, playing for a team that doesn't play to his strengths and apparently lacking movement he's still our leading scorer, not bad considering he's not a particularly good footballer.

It's about the collective though isn't it and not all about Benteke. Keeping him on the bench probably isn't doing wonders for his overall confidence level, but bringing back our most out of form player at a critical stage of one of our important games of the season, doesn’t seem like the best of ideas to me.

[Funky_Gibbons]

It's about the collective though isn't it and not all about Benteke. Keeping him on the bench probably isn't doing wonders for his overall confidence level, but bringing back our most out of form player at a critical stage of one of our important games of the season, doesn’t seem like the best of ideas to me.

Out of form = missing chances so I'm not really sure how that would cost against a team who needed to score twice which was hardly a critical stage. Considering Origi didn't contribute much I'm not sure what Benteke could have done worse.

And yes it is all about the collective rather than Benteke,  that's why I'm saying Origi is a 'Sturridge lite' and considering he couldn't breach their defense there was little chance Origi would either. Same thing happened in the first leg, Origi on for Sturridge and he had little impact. Bringing on someone who offers something different would have given them something else to think about.

Look at the Villa game where Sturridge's pace and movement was destroying them and it makes absolute sense to bring a 'Sturridge lite' on as a replacement.

[Carlito Roberto]

Out of form = missing chances so I'm not really sure how that would cost against a team who needed to score twice which was hardly a critical stage.

They needed to score once mate and we were out. Wish I had thought that I was a nervous wreck, bet you had your feet up and the cigars out.

[Funky_Gibbons]

They needed to score once mate and we were out. Wish I had thought that I was a nervous wreck, bet you had your feet up and the cigars out.

Oh yeah!! Pretty certain I was aware of that last night though...........

[RK7]

To me its pointing to us going 4-2-3-1 at the start of next season, based on Klopp's comments around a winger, so i very much doubt we will see Coutinho drop back to the midfield area anytime soon. I think that inside left position is cemented for him. Any midfield passing improvement will have to be made by the midfielders in that position and for that reason I think the likes of Can, Milner and Henderson are all fighting for their place in the starting 11 next season.

Agreed, I honestly think we would be transformed if we had a true CM player who controlled the game and the players around him. Can and Henderson would benefit from a player like this.

[fewmin' bedwetter]

Agreed, I honestly think we would be transformed if we had a true CM player who controlled the game and the players around him. Can and Henderson would benefit from a player like this.

What, you mean Ilka...? Oops, I nearly said it.

[Angelius]

Dont think he or Sturridge knows what each other is going to do yet and as such we haven't seen the front 3 click yet. Its basically 2 combinations (Firmino-Coutinho/Coutinho-Sturridge) and a missing third peice.

Sturridge's all round game means he is far more unpredictable in his movements and what he does with the ball. He also isn't as direct as someone like a Torres, or even an Origi. Firmino probably would have more joy in the short term in forging an understanding with them 2 players.

Because both Firmino and Sturridge like to get on the ball, I think its going to take a while for them to understand each other. Hopefully Sturridge stays fit long enough so that understanding can be built.

To be fair, and I think this is because he is coming back from injury, but I do think Sturridge has been holding back a bit. I don't know if others have noticed but since he's been back, Sturridge hasn't made many runs on the shoulder or between two defenders. He does that a lot but he has been doing his 'drift to the wing so that there is no one for the center backs to mark' thing. I think and hope it's just his long injury layoff and he really starts using his pace to stretch defenses vertically. He has done this multitude of times before so I'm quite confident.

Origi does this a fair amount and coupled with his pace is why I think he's been starting over Benteke in the last few games.

[Angelius]

Also, it's clear that Firmino is our best/most in-form player right now. It might change as Coutinho and Sturridge play into form but it's not much of a contest at this moment of time.

[SerbianScouser]

Really really impressed with that assist tonight. It needed the pace it had to avoid Kompany`s interception, brilliant pass by a brilliant player. Our top scorer now and I have to say he`s slowly becoming my favorite player.

[wemmick]

Really really impressed with that assist tonight. It needed the pace it had to avoid Kompany`s interception, brilliant pass by a brilliant player. Our top scorer now and I have to say he`s slowly becoming my favorite player.

He has a nice knack of producing an assist or goal even when he isn't playing particularly well. For me, that's worth its weight in gold.

[RedSince86]

Seems to play really well when the midfield has alot of movement and pace in the side,on Sunday he was pretty anonymous.

Great goal tonight.

He will be boss next season with even better players around him,and i expect him to be a 15-20 goals with 10-15 assists a season player for us.

[Gnurglan]

7+8 now, is it? Impressive as he doesn't get to play 90 minutes very often. A goal/assist every 98 minutes if my calculations were right.

Thought he looked very confident today vs City. Took his goal very well.

[Kopite B205]

Played well tonight. As others have said I think he will flourish next season with better players around him.

[Djimi Smicer34]

Thought he was the best player on the pitch tonight personally.

He's worth every penny we spent on him.

[Zoomers]

He's fitting in quite well! And things are only going to get better for him!!

[Solomon Grundy]

Thought he was poor first half. Kept giving the ball away, get knocked off the ball or getting caught offside. Played much better 2nd half when he played further forward as a striker.

[Solomon Grundy]

Thought he was the best player on the pitch tonight personally.

Lallana for me.

[jonkrux]

I'm surprised people think he is inconsistent. Perhaps because he got off to a slow start in his first season here? The man has 6 goals and 7 assists in the league this season, and it's only February. Suarez, by comparison, had 11 goals and 3 assists in his first full season. At the rate Firmino is producing, he'll have a more productive first season than Suarez did.

Now either scored or assisted in 15 goals. Fair play to the lad.

[redprodigal]

Thought he was poor first half. Kept giving the ball away, get knocked off the ball or getting caught offside. Played much better 2nd half when he played further forward as a striker.

This. Some sublime touches and passes tonight and some poor ones too. It's coming but he still needs to show a lot more more consistency. Then he might become the player that some think he is now. If only those around him can repeat tonight's effort then his and other's games would benefit so much.

[RedSince86]

[Shaved Crossbar]

10 goals/ assists in 7 games
Labelled 'inconsistent'
What kind of BS is this

[kaz1983]

Weird one, this.

Firmino looks better when played with Lallana and Origi raher than Coutinho and Sturridge. Firmino is more free and you can see his intent when he commits to going forward when partnered with Lallana/Origi.. it seems... am I going crazy?

[diegoLFC7]

Weird one, this.

Firmino looks better when played with Lallana and Origi raher than Coutinho and Sturridge. Firmino is more free and you can see his intent when he commits to going forward when partnered with Lallana/Origi.. it seems... am I going crazy?

I noticed this, maybe because the players around him depend on his ability more rather than when Coutinho or Sturridge is on the pitch.

[Beninger]

He does strange things from time to time and is prone to a brain fart now and again. But he scores and assists. Can't really argue with that.

[kaz1983]

I noticed this, maybe because the players around him depend on his ability more rather than when Coutinho or Sturridge is on the pitch.

Or it's just a case of we look to play more direct, purposeful and physical with the likes of Lallana and Origi centrally?

With Coutinho and Sturiddge -Firmino sits in as more of a AM rather than forward which he really is.... you can see the build up is slower...... so yeah we look to score pretty goals and some of the play is a joy to watch -phases that Barca would be proud of but the question is - how effective is it? i. I'm not so sure it is......... SO then if that's the case, is playing more direct, physical etc, the way forward?.

[Redinho]

I see his quality every time he plays for us, and his work rate is incredible.  Just because he doesn't show his emotion doesn't mean it doesn't matter to him and he isn't working hard for the team.  Some wonderful link up play and dribbling tonight.  Hope to see him flourish even more in the future.  And, is he having a scouser as well?  Good for him  .

[Bolrick]

Firmino showed that when has enough space...he could really hurt the opposition.

Coutinho and Sturridge were playing in the same pockets of space as Firmino in the previous matches. So they were basically running into each other.

Origi was more direct. Lallana was all over the pitch. And ....bang. Firmino assists with a goal and scores  one himself.

[me76]

Firmino showed that when has enough space...he could really hurt the opposition.

Coutinho and Sturridge were playing in the same pockets of space as Firmino in the previous matches. So they were basically running into each other.

Origi was more direct. Lallana was all over the pitch. And ....bang. Firmino assists with a goal and scores  one himself.

Yep, Origi, Lallana, Firmino and Milner really stretched the Man City defence - pulled them all over the place, and once that occured, there was space to operate for the threee operating behind Origi.  Worked a charm, along with the pressing.

[Kansti]

He's the true magician, not Coutinho. Hart looked lost while trying to take the ball back from him.

[Salger]

He's the true magician, not Coutinho. Hart looked lost while trying to take the ball back from him.

I couldn't tell if Firmino intentionally hid it round his back or if that was coincidence but it was funny as fuck.

[Persephone]

The best compliment I can give him is, that he reminds me of Suarez when he first joined us. He can be madly frustrating and then come up with a moment of quality which can change a game. Hopefully with better players around him next season, we can see Firmino take a further step in his development and cut out some of the silly things he does.

[Funky_Gibbons]

Said it in the post match thread, but I think he has a better understanding with Lallana and Milner than he does with Coutinho and Sturridge......