Yet- if I am not mistaken- he has played the most minutes behind Salah and Firmino. If it was anyone else, he would be deemed to be a starter and not a squad player. The thing is that the game has moved on from the first xi but rather to a squad where horses for courses apply. This would apply in the big games and cup finals as well. It will depend on tactics and game plan as to who starts and who is to come on. He may not be your cup of tea or he may be improved upon (like almost every player)- you have to ask why Klopp plays him that often as well as question your ability in understanding his role in the team and what your expectation is.
Gini is a controller. He has the shortest average pass length and highest accuracy of all our midfielders.
If his starting position is 15 yards higher, like last season, then he is playing little 10 yard passes into forwards and racking up the assists - he got 9 last season.
If his starting role is deeper, like this season, then he is playing little 10-15 yard passes into the players between the lines to feed the strikers. Unfortunately this season we have a chronic lack of players who can play between the lines and a player schooled in Dutch possession based football isn't about to start trying to break 3 lines of the opponents formation with very low success rate passes.
I mentioned earlier in the season before the City games, JCB and I were looking at penetrative passes - passes that advance an attack within the opposition shape taking the ball closer to the opponents goal. Gini had the largest success rate in our team of such passes (Solanke scored well also, albeit with limited pitch time).
Likewise in games where sides press us, like Sevilla away, Man City away, Roma away, he is our only midfielder whose game doesn't fall to pieces and they fail to keep the ball.
It reminds me somewhat of when Pep left Barca and things changed under Martino. Xavi and Iniesta "regressed". I remember Iniesta finished a season with 1 assist in the league. But both of their goals and assist numbers dropped off. But they were playing more as transition midfielders who were getting the ball forward quicker to their attackers rather than advanced controllers who would patiently build play up and get on the ball more in and around the box. Their role changed therefore their numbers changed too. Just as Gini's has changed this season.
Gini will consistently play the ball 10-15 yards from where he receives it with extremely high accuracy regardless of opponent or pressure he is under. His starting location and nearby team mates will dictate whether he is linking play or creating chances. If you play him with Milner & Trent - the ball is going wide as they are players who gravitate wide to create. If you play him with Coutinho and Lallana, he will look for them between the lines as that is where they gravitate to to create.
Again, if your approach to football is one of measurement myopia then it's hard to comprehend what tactically intelligent players do. The solution isn't to create derogatory nicknames for such players to cover up your own inadequacies, instead assume there is more to the game beyond your comprehension and try to expand your knowledge. With many people it is very much an area of known unknowns vs unknown unknowns. I understand the game better on an analytical level than any other level given my background working in the finance sector. But it is just a one of many levels on which the game can be understood. At the moment it provides an edge with clubs because they already have the tactical knowledge but without the data. However, strip away the tactical knowledge and you are going to run into some problems pretty quickly.
“When I was 13 years old I used to keep notes on all my teammates,” Benitez adds. “I still have the books.
“At 13, I went to Real Madrid and started taking notes. I was giving points and marks to our players after every game, writing down the top scorers. I still have everything. When I was 16, I was coach in the summer and a player. When I was at university at 17, 18, I was player, coach, manager.
“I used to put all the training sessions on to a computer, a Commodore 64, I didn’t play games on it, I put information on there. It was very basic, but at this time I was using computers when nobody was using computers.
“What I learned is that you have to be careful with computers. They give too much information. You need to be sure you have the right information and at the same time, one thing I don’t want to do - and it’s a key thing - is lose the feeling.
“I know how you feel when you make a mistake. Like a lot of professionals, I can hear when you are kicking the ball properly or not (he smacks his hands together), just by the sound.
“I like to see players. We see the players and know if they are good or bad. You can’t say I don’t want the information, you need the data, but there is more.
“When I joined Newcastle, I asked for all the data about players in the Championship, so I have the best stats in the Championships and I was watching players and talking to people and saying ‘what do you know about this player’. That human part is crucial.
“You can watch a player and have a feeling and after you can see the stats. That is fine, but it’s not just the stats. You have to watch the players.”
People trying to use analytics as the only way to understand the game are likely just arrogant people who aren't even aware of what little they know.
