Author Topic: Cody Mathès Gakpo  (Read 294145 times)

Online jepovic

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3920 on: March 20, 2024, 08:37:12 am »
I think it depends what your preference is to do in those situations. If he passes to Darwin sooner or Elliott/Bradley, it changes the point of the attack, potentially moves the two defenders and could lead to a cut back for a big chance. If he holds onto the ball and forces one of the defenders to commit/close him down, again, it could lead to a lay off nearer to goal for one of his teammates to get a shot away. If he carries the ball closer to goal and has a shot on on the edge of the box, again, it’s probably better than what he ended up doing. Harvey still ballsed it up, I just wanted Cody to take control of that situation and make the right decision. Yes, hindsight’s 20/20, but this is football, everything we say is made with the benefit of hindsight.
But you scrutinize a single pass from Gakpo, and from that you try to extrapolate that he's not good enough or whatever.

Why dont you do the same with Harvey? He messed up the same situation one second later, and then for the ManU goal. Just go into the Harvey thread and dump some pictures there...

I dont blame Harvey in particular myself, many players were poor, but I find this focus on Gakpo unfair and its exactly why its scapegoating

Offline Knight

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3921 on: March 20, 2024, 09:37:52 am »
I've been someone who has always defended Gakpo since his early days at Liverpool, but today's cameo is poor. Can't argue with that. You'd think with only 15 mins to play he would make more sprints than that but he was just jogging most of the times. Even if the ball doesn't come to you, running a bit more would scare defenders and may force an error.

The reason Gapko is getting more stick about individual moments (perhaps unfairly) is because he’s had a few weeks of poor performances. This is from PEG, by no means a critic of Gapko, from a few pages back. Elliot, on the other hand, has been a gem through this period.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2024, 09:39:38 am by Knight »

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3922 on: March 20, 2024, 09:41:15 am »
Diaz was being criticised recently for his lack of end product and holding onto the ball too much, but the last couple of months his levels have increased and he’s looking a lot more dangerous and working his socks off.

Nunez was the one getting more scrutiny than any other player I’d seen until recently, but he’s stepped up and his performances have improve massively. You can go through his thread and see posts a lot worse than anything that’s been said in here about Gakpo even if we’d won the game. 

Jota was being openly discussed about being sold as he’d gone a few months without scoring regularly.

Gakpo isn’t being ‘scapegoated’, I don’t think anyone has said we lost the game because of him. He’s being criticised for having a large contribution to messing up a 4 on 2 (it wasn’t really 5) which would probably have put the game to bed. I find it hypocritical that there are certain posters who are rigorously defending Gakpo’s part in that counter-attack in here, who have been in the Nunez thread in the past, criticising him for ‘messing up’ counter attacks against Man City and Sheff Utd (even though he set up a goal).
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Offline Garlic Red

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3923 on: March 20, 2024, 10:22:29 am »
But you scrutinize a single pass from Gakpo, and from that you try to extrapolate that he's not good enough or whatever.

Why dont you do the same with Harvey? He messed up the same situation one second later, and then for the ManU goal. Just go into the Harvey thread and dump some pictures there...

I dont blame Harvey in particular myself, many players were poor, but I find this focus on Gakpo unfair and its exactly why its scapegoating

I think you’re accusing me of something you want to believe I’ve said but I actually haven’t, do sharpen up if you’re going to accuse anyone of anything as none of my posts have I said Gakpo isn’t good enough. I rate him highly, he can do a lot better than he has been recently (his performances 12 months ago were outstanding at times), but he isn’t in good form.

If you think highlighting arguably the most pivotal moment in the game at 2-1 and saying I wish he’d done better is scapegoating, fair play, you sound like a proper mard arse.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3924 on: March 20, 2024, 11:13:42 am »
The most pivotal moment in the game was of course ManUs goal

Offline Garlic Red

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3925 on: March 20, 2024, 11:22:17 am »
Splitting hairs when you know exactly what I mean

Offline William Regal

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3926 on: March 20, 2024, 11:33:21 am »
Tbf I think Gapko really stood up in the absence of Salah and Jota.  Gapko has inparticular done a great job in the cups as well as coming off the bench.  Sunday was a bad day at the office for him but the overreaction in here by many as been too much.

Gapko's position in our set up has always been an interesting one, his best position throughout his club career has been on the left of a front 3, yet we seem to have played him everywhere bar that position.  We're probably not gonna see it now at liverpool but I'd love to see Gapko get a 15-20 game run on the left of a front 3 to see how he does.

Offline Wool

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3927 on: March 20, 2024, 11:56:39 am »
Tbf I think Gapko really stood up in the absence of Salah and Jota.  Gapko has inparticular done a great job in the cups as well as coming off the bench.  Sunday was a bad day at the office for him but the overreaction in here by many as been too much.
Can’t agree with this at all. Nunez stepped up and Diaz who’s come in for a lot of criticism this season was a one man army at times leading that attack in the absence of key players. Gakpo was largely anonymous and I think it’s where a lot of the criticism is coming from because it’s not just the fa cup game, it’s the league cup final, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest etc.

Offline The Final Third

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3928 on: March 20, 2024, 12:02:07 pm »
Cody's been used as a patch-up job for the holes left in the side due to various injuries and he's become somewhat victim to that versatility. It has left him visibly unsettled and exhausted. He's often being compared to attacking midfielders as a forward and forwards as an attacking midfielder. He's not going to excel at either if he's tasked with playing a different role each match.

In all that time he's still put up 0.62 (non-penalty) goal contributions per game, which is amongst the top 85 players in the top 5 leagues in Europe and a solid return.

Despite his languidness, "slow-motion"ness and "black-hole"ness he's also our 5th best presser.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2024, 12:06:32 pm by The Final Third »

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3929 on: March 20, 2024, 01:10:07 pm »
He's obviously been getting it on twitter to. A timely article.

https://t.co/Wr2uBYgY6W
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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3930 on: March 20, 2024, 01:16:40 pm »
This is not a dig on anyone in here or in general, but imagine being at work and being scrutinized like this with everything you do.

He sent the mail without a signature!?
That excel was really sloppy. No end product in row F.
He ordered the potato salad for lunch? That's a lot of wasted carb.
He checked the phone during the meeting. Useless.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3931 on: March 20, 2024, 01:18:11 pm »
Seen others mention his pressing, that doesn't bother me as much as how little he creates. If you're not going to score lots of goals as a CF then you at least need to be involved in moves and setting things up for other players. Last season he was fine at that but it's non-existent this term.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3932 on: March 20, 2024, 01:24:11 pm »
Seen others mention his pressing, that doesn't bother me as much as how little he creates. If you're not going to score lots of goals as a CF then you at least need to be involved in moves and setting things up for other players. Last season he was fine at that but it's non-existent this term.

It maybe something to do with him being played here, there and everywhere; say nothing of being in and out of the team and how that affects both rhythm and confidence. He proved last season playing in a natural position he fully contributed, but that's something he has lacked this season so he's having to adjust all over again. If only people showed patience.
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Offline Garlic Red

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3933 on: March 20, 2024, 01:57:42 pm »
He's obviously been getting it on twitter to. A timely article.

https://t.co/Wr2uBYgY6W

It echoes nearly everything that most people criticising him in here have said. I don’t know a Liverpool fan that doesn’t rate him, we all know the qualities he possesses, he’s just the most out of form of the five and has been all season. It’s normal at this club, there was a point when Diaz came that Jota lost a bit of form at the end of 21/22, Gomez was bang out of form for most of last season, these things happen. I suppose the frustrating thing is he hasn’t been on the fringes, he’s had opportunities but hasn’t seized the moment.

The grief he’s had on Twitter is unforgivable but it’s Twitter and by now we should all have our heads around how much of a sewer it is. Quite why Carra felt the need to tweet that I’ve no idea. He gets support in the ground, it’s not like he’s been treated like Sterling was over the weekend. On here we can discuss his level and shouldn’t feel vilified for offering pretty fair criticism.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3934 on: March 20, 2024, 01:59:13 pm »
It maybe something to do with him being played here, there and everywhere; say nothing of being in and out of the team and how that affects both rhythm and confidence. He proved last season playing in a natural position he fully contributed, but that's something he has lacked this season so he's having to adjust all over again. If only people showed patience.
That speaks to a larger issue though, Nunez and Jota are far and away preferable choices for his main position and the latter can be out of the team for months and scores freely. If being out of the team is inhibiting his ability then perhaps he needs to go somewhere where he'd be first choice every week. We need impact players in reserve.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3935 on: March 20, 2024, 02:37:30 pm »
Seen others mention his pressing, that doesn't bother me as much as how little he creates. If you're not going to score lots of goals as a CF then you at least need to be involved in moves and setting things up for other players. Last season he was fine at that but it's non-existent this term.

Gakpo 23/24 - 18 G/A at one every 130 mins

Salah - 34 G/A at one every 68 mins (mans a fucking freak)
Nunez - 31 G/A at one every 80 mins (mans also a fucking freak)
Jota - 18 G/A at one every 87 mins (...also a fucking freak)
Diaz - 16 G/A at one every 170 mins

Gakpo 22/23 - 10 G/A at one every 186 mins

Just a few others:

Gabriel Jesus - 13 G/A at one every 117 mins
Martinelli - 13 G/A at one every 173 mins
Rashford - 14 G/A at one every 186 mins
Doku - 11 G/A at one every 161 mins
Kulusevski - 9 G/A at one every 268 mins
Garnacho - 11 G/A at one every 238 mins

Sorry, what exactly is it that he was doing last season that he isn't this season? I'd suggest a big part of the problem is that we've got three attackers who are having incredible seasons, Mo and Darwin in particular, and so it looks a bit more stark that he isn't. But he's still scoring and assisting at a good rate, he's still been very important in us getting this far still in contention in another two competitions, he's scored important goals in three. And he's scoring/assisting at a significantly better rate than far more hyped, first choice players elsewhere.

People need to have a serious think about what its actually sensible to expect from a fifth choice striker. Maybe see if Arsenal would swap us Reiss Nelson for him, that lads a machine.

Offline William Regal

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3936 on: March 20, 2024, 02:38:12 pm »
Seen others mention his pressing, that doesn't bother me as much as how little he creates. If you're not going to score lots of goals as a CF then you at least need to be involved in moves and setting things up for other players. Last season he was fine at that but it's non-existent this term.

I thought his minutes to goal / assist ratio was quite high this season?

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3937 on: March 21, 2024, 09:51:44 am »
I thought his minutes to goal / assist ratio was quite high this season?

They are good, I just think like other people that there is way more in him.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3938 on: March 23, 2024, 09:59:54 am »
I thought his minutes to goal / assist ratio was quite high this season?
It is, the issue is the ‘value’ of his goals. I did a breakdown in the transfer thread and can’t remember the exact numbers, but he’s only got 2 goals that changed a result this season - both in the league cup - and he’s got braces in two or three games where we were already winning by 2+ goals, so it’s fair to say he’s not affecting results enough.

I am a Gakpo fan. I thought his first 6 months were some of the most promising we’d seen from an attacker in recent times, and I think he is low on confidence. He’s not doing any of the things that he did so well at PSV. Firstly, he needs to be played off the left, and I would like to see Gakpo, Nunez and Salah as a front three. I think he’s someone who should be kept because he offers that 7/10 across the front line and that’s valuable, even if he’s clearly at his best wide left. Hopefully his good performance for his country last night will bring him back feeling more confident.
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Offline Knight

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3939 on: March 23, 2024, 11:38:25 am »
It is, the issue is the ‘value’ of his goals. I did a breakdown in the transfer thread and can’t remember the exact numbers, but he’s only got 2 goals that changed a result this season - both in the league cup - and he’s got braces in two or three games where we were already winning by 2+ goals, so it’s fair to say he’s not affecting results enough.

I am a Gakpo fan. I thought his first 6 months were some of the most promising we’d seen from an attacker in recent times, and I think he is low on confidence. He’s not doing any of the things that he did so well at PSV. Firstly, he needs to be played off the left, and I would like to see Gakpo, Nunez and Salah as a front three. I think he’s someone who should be kept because he offers that 7/10 across the front line and that’s valuable, even if he’s clearly at his best wide left. Hopefully his good performance for his country last night will bring him back feeling more confident.

That analysis got some pushback though. You dismissed some goals as unimportant when, in context, they were important at the moment they happened. If you end up winning 4-1 the 1st and 3nd goals, particularly when you come from behind, are definitely significant. That said he’s scored plenty of goals in the Europa League and the level of the Europa League thus far has not been high.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3940 on: March 23, 2024, 12:00:32 pm »
That analysis got some pushback though. You dismissed some goals as unimportant when, in context, they were important at the moment they happened. If you end up winning 4-1 the 1st and 3nd goals, particularly when you come from behind, are definitely significant. That said he’s scored plenty of goals in the Europa League and the level of the Europa League thus far has not been high.
I didn’t catch that, I think I’d pretty clearly shown the proportion of his goals that came in ‘dead’ games. I wasn’t completely dismissing the value of other goals of his.

The point stands, he’s not affecting games in a decisive enough sense. Especially in the Premier League. I’m a Gakpo fan and think we’re misusing him but I’m also seeing a lack of concerted effort to press in tandem with others and launch the counter press at the correct moments. He needs to be played off the left and given a few starts that aren’t enforced due to a lack of other options.
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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3941 on: March 23, 2024, 12:24:42 pm »
I didn’t catch that, I think I’d pretty clearly shown the proportion of his goals that came in ‘dead’ games. I wasn’t completely dismissing the value of other goals of his.

The point stands, he’s not affecting games in a decisive enough sense. Especially in the Premier League. I’m a Gakpo fan and think we’re misusing him but I’m also seeing a lack of concerted effort to press in tandem with others and launch the counter press at the correct moments. He needs to be played off the left and given a few starts that aren’t enforced due to a lack of other options.

You didn’t, you just took his goals from the final score. He scored the equaliser against Wolves, equaliser against Spurs, assisted the opener against Burnley, the clincher against Newcastle, assisted the opener against Bournemouth and scored the goal to put us into the lead against Luton. In the league the only ‘dead’ goals or assists were against Brentford. Same last season in the league games he scored in.

Also decisive goals in three of the four league cup games he scored in.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2024, 12:26:38 pm by Redley »

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3942 on: March 23, 2024, 12:35:09 pm »
You didn’t, you just took his goals from the final score. He scored the equaliser against Wolves, equaliser against Spurs, assisted the opener against Burnley, the clincher against Newcastle, assisted the opener against Bournemouth and scored the goal to put us into the lead against Luton. In the league the only ‘dead’ goals or assists were against Brentford. Same last season in the league games he scored in.

Also decisive goals in three of the four league cup games he scored in.

That's true, his goals have definitely counted for something this season, and I've got a feeling if we win the Europa League he'll have likely had a contribution as big as any single other player. I'm not asking for much more from someone viewed as being our 5th best attacker and think people have gone so overboard these past few weeks on him.
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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3943 on: March 23, 2024, 12:45:16 pm »
That's true, his goals have definitely counted for something this season, and I've got a feeling if we win the Europa League he'll have likely had a contribution as big as any single other player. I'm not asking for much more from someone viewed as being our 5th best attacker and think people have gone so overboard these past few weeks on him.

Thing is he’s played the 3rd most minutes and as that player I don’t think he is good enough. If his and Jota’s availability were reversed no one would be suggesting upgrading any of our forwards.

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Re: Cody Mathès Gakpo
« Reply #3944 on: March 23, 2024, 12:46:11 pm »
Some players can come in or come off the bench and just look amazing every time they play even if they were benched the previous games. Others it's harder. By the gaffer's own admission, the attempts to play him in midfield earlier in the season wasn't good for him. I think if he had run in team he'd be able show his quality. As it is I think he'll continue to pop to with important goals. Then next season we have new boss so who knows.