Topic: Joël Matip (Job Joël André Matip)

[PoetryInMotion]

It's bang out of order, especially given the platform, he is far from anything but shite.

Epic Fail 

You've mixed "far from being" and "anything but" and have got exactly the opposite of what you intended 

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Epic Fail 

You've mixed "far from being" and "anything but" and have got exactly the opposite of what you intended 

It's early mate don't mind me 

[Dim Glas]

Can't remember the name of the guy on the Anfield Wrap (big bald fella) but he described Matip as 'shite' not long into his current spell in the side. He was then on maybe a week ago saying he's been 'decent' but should still be taken out of the side for Gomez. Whether he should be taken out for Gomez or not, (I don't believe he should be playing as well as he is), some fans will never give certain players the credit that they deserve.

Shite that they pedal lies about players. I don't listen to them and have zero interst in ever listening to them, but I'm guessing it's very popular. So shame on then churning out shite like that.

[AndyMuller]

He’s been really good lately. He must be one of the best dribblers in the team!

[Dim Glas]

A nice little compilation of some of Joel's Strolls (and passes):

https://twitter.com/Comps_INC/status/1120375458523164672

[vagabond]

A nice little compilation of some of Joel's Strolls (and passes):

https://twitter.com/Comps_INC/status/1120375458523164672

Lovely stuff

[Giono]

Matip vs Eyebrows' lads

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/zf55sAXe5GM&amp;feature=share" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/zf55sAXe5GM&amp;feature=share</a>

[Giono]

Shite that they pedal lies about players. I don't listen to them and have zero interst in ever listening to them, but I'm guessing it's very popular. So shame on then churning out shite like that.

I don't understand why they have a thread in the main board to be honest. I don't really care, it just seems odd that a professional podcast gets a designated thread.maybe others do too, hut they just aren't popular.

[PoetryInMotion]

It's early mate don't mind me 

 

[PoetryInMotion]

I remember the stick Lucas Leiva used to get - it carried of for a few seasons and became embarrassing.

Personally, I find it hard to accept that Liverpool fans would get on the back of any of our players.  Maybe my opinion's a generational thing, something to do with this new thing called the Internet or something!

Absolutely. There were quite a few abysmal signings & players for us in the last 2 decades, but players like Riise, Skrtel, Lucas, Hendo, Lovren, Matip & Gini have been important & extremely committed for us overall & they don't deserve even a fraction of the abuse they've got in general so far.

Even Skrtel wasn't that bad at all. His goals were immense in our title challenging season & he was a solid defender under Rafa, he just got exposed a lot defensively under Brendan in a high-line without protection & then swiftly declined by age. People remember him by his last season(s) struggles but he was very good at his peak.

I remember similar abuse that Riise used to get as well, with people remembering him by his struggles in his last 1 or 2 seasons and they forget how good a player he was for us in his peak.

[Giono]

Absolutely. There were quite a few abysmal signings & players for us in the last 2 decades, but players like Riise, Skrtel, Lucas, Hendo, Lovren, Matip & Gini have been important & extremely committed for us overall & they don't deserve even a fraction of the abuse they've got in general so far.

Even Skrtel wasn't that bad at all. His goals were immense in our title challenging season & he was a solid defender under Rafa, he just got exposed a lot defensively under Brendan in a high-line without protection & then swiftly declined by age. People remember him by his last season(s) struggles but he was very good at his peak.

I remember similar abuse that Riise used to get as well, with people remembering him by his struggles in his last 1 or 2 seasons and they forget how good a player he was for us in his peak.

I don't think anyone comes close to Lucas in terms of scapegoating and abuse. He was expected to fill both Xabi and Mascherano's shoes. His threads in here were routinely closed cause of the abuse. On top of that he was criminally undervalued by Roy and Rodgers. I was delighted when Klopp came and Lucas fit his tactics despite his physical decline after injuries. I hope he gets a testimonial after he retires. He deserves it for sticking with us during such a turbulent period.

I don't think Matip is in that bracket at all. Like Aurelio, it has been more a case of injuries making people forget. And now that he is playing next to Virgil, he has become an even more valuable allrounder.

I really like Gomez, essentially for the same attributes as Joel. But as long as Matip is playing with this form and confidence, he has earned his place in the starting line-up for certain.

[harrylfc]

Joel Matip has been outstanding,he’s been the CB we expected him to be this season

[royhendo]

You never see big Joel and the boy who restores wood on The Repair Shop in the same room at the same time.

[So… Howard Philips]

I remember the stick Lucas Leiva used to get - it carried of for a few seasons and became embarrassing.

Personally, I find it hard to accept that Liverpool fans would get on the back of any of our players.  Maybe my opinion's a generational thing, something to do with this new thing called the Internet or something!

It's not just this generation. In 1976/77 a bloke who stood near me in the Kop would give Ian Callaghan dogs abuse at every opportunity. He couldn't get his head around the fact that the young, nippy winger of 1966  had turned into a mature midfielder.

[blacksun]

It's not just this generation. In 1976/77 a bloke who stood near me in the Kop would give Ian Callaghan dogs abuse at every opportunity. He couldn't get his head around the fact that the young, nippy winger of 1966  had turned into a mature midfielder.

Geez he'd have pelted Barnes in the 90's then 

[dirks digglers]

Probably the unsung hero of our run of good form, particularly when you factor in the stop start nature of his career with us previously. And then when we were really scrabbling around for CB options he stayed fit and has gone from strength to strength. He’s one of those players that looks a little bambi on ice at times with the way he runs and this can give a slightly false impression. Deserves a lot of credit, and those dribbles are becoming a bit of a cult hero calling card.

[PhilV]

Someone put together this clip of him playing from the back this season and it just confirmed what we all already knew - Joel loves having the ball and making a killer pass!

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/bg69lq/joel_matip_playing_out_from_the_back_1819/

Love Him!

[Giono]

Probably the unsung hero of our run of good form, particularly when you factor in the stop start nature of his career with us previously. And then when we were really scrabbling around for CB options he stayed fit and has gone from strength to strength. He’s one of those players that looks a little bambi on ice at times with the way he runs and this can give a slightly false impression. Deserves a lot of credit, and those dribbles are becoming a bit of a cult hero calling card.

I remember people unsure of Sakho because of his awkward passing style. Despute being hard, accurate and positive regardless of how he looked while doing it.  I don't care about how he looks like he may fall down or whatever. His runs are great and so is his passing.

[FlashGordon]

I remember being laughed out of the thread for daring to suggest there was only a handful of CBs better on the ball than him in the league. I was wrong, there's no one.

What a player.

[Lone Star Red]

Someone put together this clip of him playing from the back this season and it just confirmed what we all already knew - Joel loves having the ball and making a killer pass!

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/bg69lq/joel_matip_playing_out_from_the_back_1819/

Love Him!

Great video!

[Jookie]

He's an unorthodox centre half in many ways but Matip has been excellent recently. I thought he had a great game away at Cardiff.

Think he has 1 year left on his contract so may be a big decision on him coming this summer.

[jepovic]

I thought he was a bit passive in defense in the beginning. Got caught out of position, not competing for headers, small stuff. Passing was always excellent, in his slightly unorthodox style. Now he has really adapted to the tempo of the league and is mostly at the right place. I'd be shocked if he doesn't play the rest of the season.

[TealC]

You never see big Joel and the boy who restores wood on The Repair Shop in the same room at the same time.

[edge]

He's an unorthodox centre half in many ways but Matip has been excellent recently. I thought he had a great game away at Cardiff.

Think he has 1 year left on his contract so may be a big decision on him coming this summer.

Definitely some work to be done, Edwards. Probably won't hear anything before the end of the season though.

[Yorkykopite]

I remember people unsure of Sakho because of his awkward passing style. Despute being hard, accurate and positive regardless of how he looked while doing it.  I don't care about how he looks like he may fall down or whatever. His runs are great and so is his passing.

I didn't like his passing style because, while it was all of the things you describe, it was also essentially mindless. The number of times Sakho fired these hard, accurate and positive passes into midfield colleagues already closely marked was horrible. He seemed to believe that a pass was correct so long as it reached one of his own players - regardless of how much pressure they were under or how unpromising their own prospects were for moving it on again. Klopp must have seen that and thought "he's got to go."

Matip on the other hand. How beautifully he threads passes between opponents to find a Red in space. How gorgeously he disguises practically every one of them. A different class of centre back.   

[Giono]

I didn't like his passing style because, while it was all of the things you describe, it was also essentially mindless. The number of times Sakho fired these hard, accurate and positive passes into midfield colleagues already closely marked was horrible. He seemed to believe that a pass was correct so long as it reached one of his own players - regardless of how much pressure they were under or how unpromising their own prospects were for moving it on again. Klopp must have seen that and thought "he's got to go."

Matip on the other hand. How beautifully he threads passes between opponents to find a Red in space. How gorgeously he disguises practically every one of them. A different class of centre back.   

Agree. Matip is a whole different level. And a much greater range. Sometimes I'm left wondering how he saw some of those long ones through a crowd.

[Too early for flapjacks?]

I didn't like his passing style because, while it was all of the things you describe, it was also essentially mindless. The number of times Sakho fired these hard, accurate and positive passes into midfield colleagues already closely marked was horrible. He seemed to believe that a pass was correct so long as it reached one of his own players - regardless of how much pressure they were under or how unpromising their own prospects were for moving it on again. Klopp must have seen that and thought "he's got to go."

Matip on the other hand. How beautifully he threads passes between opponents to find a Red in space. How gorgeously he disguises practically every one of them. A different class of centre back.

I think if you look at who will be on the receiving end of the pass first and make a call based on that it's fine. Certain midfield players actually position themselves like this to receive the ball. Coutinho for example did this when Sakho was on the ball and would receive the pass and take it past a man or even two in one move.

[Giono]

One for the old timers:



Oh oh ob it's Matip
You know


Liverpool's red
Libero

[Yorkykopite]

I think if you look at who will be on the receiving end of the pass first and make a call based on that it's fine. Certain midfield players actually position themselves like this to receive the ball. Coutinho for example did this when Sakho was on the ball and would receive the pass and take it past a man or even two in one move.

Aye, I know what you mean about Coutinho, but it was when some of our receiving lads were facing the wrong way and clearly making a decoy run to drag an opponent towards them. Very often in these circumstances they had someone snapping at their heels. Sakho would pass to them anyway.

[PoetryInMotion]

I didn't like his passing style because, while it was all of the things you describe, it was also essentially mindless. The number of times Sakho fired these hard, accurate and positive passes into midfield colleagues already closely marked was horrible. He seemed to believe that a pass was correct so long as it reached one of his own players - regardless of how much pressure they were under or how unpromising their own prospects were for moving it on again. Klopp must have seen that and thought "he's got to go."

Matip on the other hand. How beautifully he threads passes between opponents to find a Red in space. How gorgeously he disguises practically every one of them. A different class of centre back.

Totally agree with the sentiments on the passing of the two players. Matip elegantly executes these passes between the lines that take the opposition in surprise, while Sakho's passes take our own receiving players in surprise 

That's the biggest difference between the two even though both attempt similar types of passes.

[PoetryInMotion]

Aye, I know what you mean about Coutinho, but it was when some of our receiving lads were facing the wrong way and clearly making a decoy run to drag an opponent towards them. Very often in these circumstances they had someone snapping at their heels. Sakho would pass to them anyway.

VVD is perfect in those situations. He never risks those passes, makes the simple passes when our receivers are in pressure & then picks his moments to switch it or pass it forward.

Matip's passing is even better than VVD's, so sometimes he wants to take bigger risks, but it's great having VVD with him who'll keep things organized and sane amidst chaos - I've seen Van Dijk asking Matip to stop when he's doing too much with it or gets another player to cover. These are simple details, but often keeps us safe from counters. I've seen this attention to detail from Klopp who gets his midfielders to cover when his FB/CB wandered around - I never saw this under Rodgers, which was why we were so exposed defensively under him. These little details matter so much & it's brilliant that Klopp, his staff & his players have so much attention to detail.

[oxenstierna]

Fantastic today, was our best out there and did not deserve to lose

[Red-Soldier]

Played really well tonight.

[Ratboy3G]

Fantastic today, was our best out there and did not deserve to lose

Superb again

[dudleyred]

Fantastic tonight again

[Reeves]

Agreed he played well tonight. Nice run of form from him

[LallanaInPyjamas]

Our best player by a country mile tonight. We'd be absolutely mad to spend any money on a centre-back.

[cashmere pringle]

Our best player by a country mile tonight. We'd be absolutely mad to spend any money on a centre-back.

agreed . but we lost 0-3

[west_london_red]

agreed . but we lost 0-3

I don’t think it’s a priority position - but in all honesty I’m not actually sure what is.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

agreed . but we lost 0-3

We did, but none of them were on Matip. VVD should've done better for the first two but what can you do? He can't be elite every game.

We've conceded 20 goals in the league this season. We have four very good centre-halves for two positions, yet only three very good forwards for three positions. And some want us to blow £60m on a complete vanity signing in De Ligt. The mind boggles.