Topic: Arthur Melo

[TepidT2O]

Hope he gets a start tomorrow. Throw him in, give him 60 minutes and see how it goes.

Not fit enough to play the 90 says Klopp.

[So… Howard Philips]

You should post this in a few more threads too. Give the Keita, Jones and Ox threads a bump in case anyone missed your moaning the first time.

You missed advising bumping the Thiago and Henderson threads as he had a dig at them as well.

[MBL?]

Thank god he landed in Liverpool where there’s no nightlife, clubs, pubs or any of those shenanigans. No chance he can be a piss head in northern England.

[Ghost Town]

Thank god he landed in Liverpool where there’s no nightlife, clubs, pubs or any of those shenanigans. No chance he can be a piss head in northern England.

I hear that Arthur was  tee-total for a while and only drank non-alcoholic beer, but now he's back on the booze again. Yep, Arthur is an ex-Kaliber drinker



(dammit one of these has gotta land!)

[newterp]

I hear that Arthur was  tee-total for a while and only drank non-alcoholic beer, but now he's back on the booze again. Yep, Arthur is an ex-Kaliber drinker



(dammit one of these had gotta land!)

you and that horrible sword joke should be stoned.

[[new username under construction]]

Looking forward to him playing, could be absolutely fantastic for us

[wemmick]

Hope he starts alongside Thiago tonight. We're struggling to press this season. Let's just control the ball in midfield for ages instead. Save our legs and the back line. They might be redundant together. 

[Clint Eastwood]

Looked... competent. One iffy moment when he lost the ball turning out wide under pressure to, I imagine, pass the ball to our right-back who was no where to be seen, and was probably playing left-wing at that point.

I'd start him.

[killer-heels]

Looked... competent. One iffy moment when he lost the ball turning out wide under pressure to, I imagine, pass the ball to our right-back who was no where to be seen, and was probably playing left-wing at that point.

I'd start him.

He lost it a couple of times. But its his first game in how long?

[NaivetyinBlack]

A right midfielder who played centrally. Small mercies.

[Phineus]

He didn’t hoof it or dive in once and actually took up central positions. I’m in.

[MonsLibpool]

I don't think he'll make it here because he doesn't seem to have that intensity and physicality in his game but it's just an opinion and I hope I'm wrong.

[Trump's tiny tiny hands]

Clearly heavy footed, ie not match sharp, but looked like a midfielder at least.

[DelTrotter]

Thought he should have been on earlier, it was a dead game from half time but maybe it's too much given he hasn't even played a friendly since last season. It was nice to see a central midfielder play in central midfield at least.

[Illmatic]

I don't think he'll make it here because he doesn't seem to have that intensity and physicality in his game but it's just an opinion and I hope I'm wrong.

How much have seen of him prior to tonight? He's really just here to provide a good solid option for us so that we are not overly reliant on a ageing Milner and other injury prone midfielders. Anything more would be a huge bonus.

[number 168]

I don't think he'll make it here because he doesn't seem to have that intensity and physicality in his game but it's just an opinion and I hope I'm wrong.

You can't judge a new player after a few minutes especially in a game like that. I thought he looked OK and wanted to get the ball forward. Only a decent run will give a clear idea of his use and ability.

[MonsLibpool]

You can't judge a new player after a few minutes especially in a game like that. I thought he looked OK and wanted to get the ball forward. Only a decent run will give a clear idea of his use and ability.

Hopefully, he'll boss it.

[J-Mc-]

I don't think he'll make it here because he doesn't seem to have that intensity and physicality in his game but it's just an opinion and I hope I'm wrong.

He’s played 11 minutes of football for us.

It’ll take time.

[Bread]

I was fairly buoyed by his cameo to be honest. Granted, it's hard to gauge an 11 minute performance against a team who have stopped trying with the game sewn up, but even then, I was quite happy with what he did.

Wouldn't mind seeing him start against Wolves.

[SamLad]

we saw a few minutes of a player who isn't match fit, playing with new teammates, in a system he's not familiar with, when we were struggling to do anything against a team playing great.

all things considered, he did just fine.

looks like he can do a job that we really need doing right now.  he doesn't need to set the world on fire as far as I'm concerned.  look forward to seeing more.

[KirkVanHouten]

Hopefully, he'll boss it.

At the very least he should be able to provide back up to Thiago I think. Wait til he’s fit to judge. Is worrying he isn’t fit at the start of the season but Klopp will sort it out.

[JasonF]

At the very least he should be able to provide back up to Thiago I think. Wait til he’s fit to judge. Is worrying he isn’t fit at the start of the season but Klopp will sort it out.

I think Klopp said in the latest pre match conference that he wasn't even training with Juve so he's going to have to be eased in for sure.

[WoodenHanger]

Start him against Wolves, he cannot be worse than Milner.

[groove]

Was a nice moment when he sold a presser the dummy in our box and won the free kick.

[Simplexity]

Clearly not match fit and will probably take a while before he is starting games. If the choice is him or Milner then he is obviously a better option.

[Luke1980]

Does beg the question, if we were desperately scrambling in the transfer market last minute to bring in another midfield body to provide some cover for other midfielders that are/were injured (Henderson, Keita, Thiago, Jones) then why have we only been able to bring in a player that is not match fit and has barely trained recently?

Does that not somewhat defeat the purpose if he's not fit to play and going to take some time to get up to match sharpness?!

[Simplexity]

Does beg the question, if we were desperately scrambling in the transfer market last minute to bring in another midfield body to provide some cover for other midfielders that are/were injured (Henderson, Keita, Thiago, Jones) then why have we only been able to bring in a player that is not match fit and has barely trained recently?

Does that not somewhat defeat the purpose if he's not fit to play and going to take some time to get up to match sharpness?!

Because we were desperately scrambling in the transfer market last minute, it is what it is. Hopefully he gets up to speed fast but Arthur was never the most athletic player so I would not count on him playing 90 minutes twice a week any time soon.

[Fiasco]

Because we were desperately scrambling in the transfer market last minute, it is what it is. Hopefully he gets up to speed fast but Arthur was never the most athletic player so I would not count on him playing 90 minutes twice a week any time soon.

If we're going to tweak our style then having Melo and Thiago in the same side might not be a bad thing, especially if Fabinho is there. Yes, that is a midfield very short on 'legs' and mobility, but it makes up for it by way of having two great passers and another very good one at his best at the base. Opposition teams can't counter us as much if we're not turning the ball over so easily.

It wouldn't work all of the time of course, but we'd be very neat and progressive if they all get up to speed.

[El Lobo]

Does beg the question, if we were desperately scrambling in the transfer market last minute to bring in another midfield body to provide some cover for other midfielders that are/were injured (Henderson, Keita, Thiago, Jones) then why have we only been able to bring in a player that is not match fit and has barely trained recently?

Does that not somewhat defeat the purpose if he's not fit to play and going to take some time to get up to match sharpness?!

Why would it defeat the purpose if it might take some time to get up to match sharpness? Ox and Naby are both seemingly long term, so I doubt we were bringing him in just for the next month and then never to be seen again, otherwise yes....very odd move. Hopefully the plan is to actually use him for the whole season though, in which case it seems more sensible.

[newterp]

We are going to need to play him and play him a lot in the next few weeks to get him up to speed.

Asking Fabinho, Thiago, Elliot / Carvalho to play all the midfield minutes is requesting another injury.

[Luke1980]

Why would it defeat the purpose if it might take some time to get up to match sharpness? Ox and Naby are both seemingly long term, so I doubt we were bringing him in just for the next month and then never to be seen again, otherwise yes....very odd move. Hopefully the plan is to actually use him for the whole season though, in which case it seems more sensible.

It seemed (to me - and I could be wrong) that (after losing out on Touchameni) we only made a genuine attempt to get another midfielder in late when Henderson got his injury, as if that was the last straw? Presumably because we thought with Jones/Thiago being 'short-term' injuries that we could muddle through till they got back.

I assumed we went in for someone late in the window as an emergency so as to provide cover immediately? The fact this midfield cover is himself not fit enough to play many minutes yet seems to defeat the purpose of getting someone in to cover the short-term injury situation?

If the plan all along was actually to get someone in as a longer term prospect, then I don't understand why we left it till the last second of the transfer window? i.e we could have gone for (a) Nunes (or someone of his ilk) instead and got them 'up to speed' by now already.

It feels like there was no plan. Or the plan was to get our first choice target (or no-one this window). Then we have about faced due to another looming injury crisis, but brought in someone who's not fit enough to play anyway? It's just desperately poor planning.

None of this is Melo's fault, of course. and he may turn out to be a shrewd signing when we look back in several months time - but equally he may find himself sat on the bench most of the time (when he's finally fit enough for 90 minutes) because Jones/Thiago/Keita are all (finally) fit (wishful thinking?!).

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

If we're going to tweak our style then having Melo and Thiago in the same side might not be a bad thing, especially if Fabinho is there. Yes, that is a midfield very short on 'legs' and mobility, but it makes up for it by way of having two great passers and another very good one at his best at the base. Opposition teams can't counter us as much if we're not turning the ball over so easily.

It wouldn't work all of the time of course, but we'd be very neat and progressive if they all get up to speed.

It's a good point, but based on what I've seen, our attackers have been turning it over cheaply as have the likes of Trent and Robbo. But there's no doubt a more compact midfield that keeps hold of the ball will help massively.

[Fiasco]

It's a good point, but based on what I've seen, our attackers have been turning it over cheaply as have the likes of Trent and Robbo. But there's no doubt a more compact midfield that keeps hold of the ball will help massively.

Salah couldn't trap a bag of cement last night. Nunez has been very raw and scruffy. Diaz is a different kind of player who will lose out by taking players on at times, but he's been our best player this season. But you're right, the service is one thing but the players in forward positions are not anywhere near the required standard right now in terms of basics.

[MonsLibpool]

It's a good point, but based on what I've seen, our attackers have been turning it over cheaply as have the likes of Trent and Robbo. But there's no doubt a more compact midfield that keeps hold of the ball will help massively.

We'll win it back more often than not if we we are more compact.

[El Lobo]

It seemed (to me - and I could be wrong) that (after losing out on Touchameni) we only made a genuine attempt to get another midfielder in late when Henderson got his injury, as if that was the last straw? Presumably because we thought with Jones/Thiago being 'short-term' injuries that we could muddle through till they got back.

I assumed we went in for someone late in the window as an emergency so as to provide cover immediately? The fact this midfield cover is himself not fit enough to play many minutes yet seems to defeat the purpose of getting someone in to cover the short-term injury situation?

If the plan all along was actually to get someone in as a longer term prospect, then I don't understand why we left it till the last second of the transfer window? i.e we could have gone for (a) Nunes (or someone of his ilk) instead and got them 'up to speed' by now already.

It feels like there was no plan. Or the plan was to get our first choice target (or no-one this window). Then we have about faced due to another looming injury crisis, but brought in someone who's not fit enough to play anyway? It's just desperately poor planning.

None of this is Melo's fault, of course. and he may turn out to be a shrewd signing when we look back in several months time - but equally he may find himself sat on the bench most of the time (when he's finally fit enough for 90 minutes) because Jones/Thiago/Keita are all (finally) fit (wishful thinking?!).

If you're asking yourself what was the point of signing someone for a month who isn't going to be properly match fit in that time, then the answer is most likely that we didn't sign him for a month.

[Luke1980]

If you're asking yourself what was the point of signing someone for a month who isn't going to be properly match fit in that time, then the answer is most likely that we didn't sign him for a month.

Right, I would agree with that. So why not sign him at the start of the window, when the Tchouameni deal fell through?

We clearly identified a need for another midfielder, then didn't get the one(s) we wanted, then changed our mind and decided we could wait (all links to signings went quiet), then got an injury (or two) and panicked so got in someone at the last possible minute that coincidentally was always going to be a long-term signing? I don't buy that was the plan. I think Melo signing is a combination of panic and opportunism - as one of the biggest clubs in the world it's just disappointing and concerning that our transfer 'strategy' is like this?

It smacks of ineptitude to me. No cohesion in the planning. I am blaming FSG for this, not Klopp btw.

[El Lobo]

Right, I would agree with that. So why not sign him at the start of the window, when the Tchouameni deal fell through?

We clearly identified a need for another midfielder, then didn't get the one(s) we wanted, then changed our mind and decided we could wait (all links to signings went quiet), then got an injury (or two) and panicked so got in someone at the last possible minute that coincidentally was always going to be a long-term signing? I don't buy that was the plan. I think Melo signing is a combination of panic and opportunism - as one of the biggest clubs in the world it's just disappointing and concerning that our transfer 'strategy' is like this?

It smacks of ineptitude to me. No cohesion in the planning. I am blaming FSG for this, not Klopp btw.

I got that

[SamLad]

Right, I would agree with that. So why not sign him at the start of the window, when the Tchouameni deal fell through?

We clearly identified a need for another midfielder, then didn't get the one(s) we wanted, then changed our mind and decided we could wait (all links to signings went quiet), then got an injury (or two) and panicked so got in someone at the last possible minute that coincidentally was always going to be a long-term signing? I don't buy that was the plan. I think Melo signing is a combination of panic and opportunism - as one of the biggest clubs in the world it's just disappointing and concerning that our transfer 'strategy' is like this?

It smacks of ineptitude to me. No cohesion in the planning. I am blaming FSG for this, not Klopp btw.

maybe it was, but as always with the transfer shit, you can't conclude much on the whole iceberg when you only see the part that's above the surface. eg maybe we wanted him for weeks but Juve wouldn't play along coz they wanted a straight sale?  who TF knows?

[Luke1980]

maybe it was, but as always with the transfer shit, you can't conclude much on the whole iceberg when you only see the part that's above the surface. eg maybe we wanted him for weeks but Juve wouldn't play along coz they wanted a straight sale?  who TF knows?

That's a possibility I guess. The fucker should have got on the treadmill the second he realised we were interested then so he'd hit the ground running!

[SamLad]

That's a possibility I guess. The fucker should have got on the treadmill the second he realised we were interested then so he'd hit the ground running!

or, knowing our luck, hit the ground falling off the damned treadmill .......