Topic: Cody Mathès Gakpo

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Garnacho and McNeill?

He did and iirc, argued when people laughed at him.

[lgvkarlos]

Really needs to get out of this slump, absolutely top player but he's gone into his shell when we really need him.
Come on Cody lad get stuck in, hatrick time against City please.

[MD1990]

he is pretty selfish around the box loves a shot. Diaz similar as well.
Both quite frustating

[Redley]

He’s playing a shit tonne of football in multiple positions whilst we keep challenging on all fronts when we need him

[JP!]

He was better when he moved out wide. Since I'm pretty happy and want to stay positive after a fucking great win I'll limit myself to that

[jepovic]

Really needs to get out of this slump, absolutely top player but he's gone into his shell when we really need him.
Come on Cody lad get stuck in, hatrick time against City please.

He scored the previous two League games.

[jillcwhomever]

Really needs to get out of this slump, absolutely top player but he's gone into his shell when we really need him.
Come on Cody lad get stuck in, hatrick time against City please.

He's scored goals recently.

[dramared]

Very poor today and has been for a while.
Hope he can find some form as we need him to.

[Gods_Left_Boot]

Low on confidence at the moment, and that affects his decision making. Play him in Prague and hope that he bags. Need him at his best for the run in.

[TheShanklyGates]

Needs a rest.

[PEG2K]

Yeah his shooting recently has been dodgy to say the least. Also not impacting play enough as no 9 but I will give him leeway because the last two games we've been playing with a non functioning midfield. He was good as a no 9 for us last season although not exactly in the same way as Firmino. So it has to be either a dip in form or the system. Certainly doesn't help that both wingers today and the last two games are also players who like to drop deep and pick up the ball.

[kj999]

I like Cody and he will offer a lot in the coming months and years.

He looks knackered

Also not quite sure what he is... Could be a victim of his own versatility

I think we won't know Cody's true potential until the next manager.

[Knight]

I don't think he's been great in any of the games this week but for Wed and today he's got the mitigating factor of playing so much football recently.

I also think he's suffered from not having top level forwards alongside him, which almost all players would.

[Bread]

I still love Gakpo, and I have every faith that he'll improve and become an influential figure for us going forward.

However, being part of a world class squad is quite cutthroat. His impact for us this season simply hasn't been on the same level as any of our other senior forwards. On current form, it's going to be tough for him to force his way into the team when Salah and Jota are back, though the latter is presumably some ways off so Cody will certainly gets minutes to get himself sorted.

[Garlic Red]

Really should have passed to Darwin today and took on a disgusting shot instead that required elite precision, something he’s not shown consistently. Really poor moment at 0-0, Klopp should be having serious words with him after that. Fatigue or not, it’s training ground stuff that where he’s just seen the headlines.

[Hestoic]

Really should have passed to Darwin today and took on a disgusting shot instead that required elite precision, something he’s not shown consistently. Really poor moment at 0-0, Klopp should be having serious words with him after that. Fatigue or not, it’s training ground stuff that where he’s just seen the headlines.

He consistently makes poor final decisions and slows our attacks down, but seems to score just enough goals to have any criticism directed at him look quite harsh.

[rossipersempre]

He consistently makes poor final decisions and slows our attacks down, but seems to score just enough goals to have any criticism directed at him look quite harsh.

If you put it like that, almost reads like a certain other Dutch forward who played for us.

I hope you're happy now as that's me shivering and rocking back and forth in a foetal position for the next hour. Thanks a lot.

[HeartAndSoul]

Needs to really stop shooting at the first sight at goal when there’s better options around. He’s played a lot of football recently so won’t be harsh on him but his form has been well bolow par this season compared to last.

[jillcwhomever]

I don't think he's been great in any of the games this week but for Wed and today he's got the mitigating factor of playing so much football recently.

I also think he's suffered from not having top level forwards alongside him, which almost all players would.

Klopp admitted sometime ago he hadn't always been fair on where he was playing him, I feel for him sometimes as he is trying but he does struggle from time to time. But he just has to keep his head down and continue to work away. I think it will click for him eventually but on occasion players have to suffer before they find their true place in a team.

[Saus76]

Really should have passed to Darwin today and took on a disgusting shot instead that required elite precision, something he’s not shown consistently. Really poor moment at 0-0, Klopp should be having serious words with him after that. Fatigue or not, it’s training ground stuff that where he’s just seen the headlines.

That pass to Nunez was never on in truth. He was justified in shooting in my opinion but his touch was slightly under him which caused him to cut across it.

The lad has played a lot of minutes recently and has contributed to our form whilst others have been injured. A bit of perspective eh.

[PEG2K]

Really should have passed to Darwin today and took on a disgusting shot instead that required elite precision, something he’s not shown consistently. Really poor moment at 0-0, Klopp should be having serious words with him after that. Fatigue or not, it’s training ground stuff that where he’s just seen the headlines.

In the 63th minute Nunez also took a shot from a even tighter angle while Gakpo and Elliott were ready for the tap in. The pass wasn't completely obvious in both cases so the criticism should be that they should hit the target for a potential rebound.

[Knight]

Klopp admitted sometime ago he hadn't always been fair on where he was playing him, I feel for him sometimes as he is trying but he does struggle from time to time. But he just has to keep his head down and continue to work away. I think it will click for him eventually but on occasion players have to suffer before they find their true place in a team.

He’s also been a really valuable squad player for us for the 13 months or so he’s been with us. Even if he stays at this level he’ll be a useful player to have around. For me the problem is he’s not a rapid wide forward or a Firmino type false 9 or an ‘on the last shoulder’ true 9 which means he doesn’t really have a route to the first 11. Nunez/ Jota are better down the middle, Salah and Diaz are better on the flanks.

[DangerScouse]

Most people criticising Cody won't see the inside of Anfield this season. That is a great thing.

[Garlic Red]

In the 63th minute Nunez also took a shot from a even tighter angle while Gakpo and Elliott were ready for the tap in. The pass wasn't completely obvious in both cases so the criticism should be that they should hit the target for a potential rebound.

Absolute nonsense. Darwin was much closer to goal, on the turn, on his weaker foot, he had far less time to assess his options and the space to find his teammates was minimal. It would’ve been a stupendous assist to get the ball there, trying to test the keeper, beat him at his near post or force a save to win a corner/force a rebound is about the best you can do in that situation.

Gakpo’s decision to shoot was inexplicable and wasted a great position with an awfully low % play.

[JP!]

He was and has been poor the last few games, there's no criticism in that, he's had a tough job to do and I  think he'd know that himself.  There's also been plenty of times this season where he's been a positive and that's great. He's a good squad player.  The difficulty is knowing what his position is and where he actually fits in this team, which is no clearer now than it was in August.  If saying that makes it great I'm not gonna see the inside of Anfield, fair enough.

[Garlic Red]

That pass to Nunez was never on in truth. He was justified in shooting in my opinion but his touch was slightly under him which caused him to cut across it.

The lad has played a lot of minutes recently and has contributed to our form whilst others have been injured. A bit of perspective eh.

I’m a huge fan, I put a post on the bottom of the previous page mentioning where I think he needs to improve and also added why I think he’s sometimes shooting instead of passing.

He’s a great talent and has moments in most games that make me say wow, his versatility has definitely hindered his ability to shine, but that doesn’t excuse him making really poor decisions when the game’s at 0-0. That entire situation he messed up, Darwin had played him in, his first touch wasn’t great and the ball seemed to spin away from him, he then decided to lash at it wildly and sliced it wide. I’m not hammering him or anything, I appreciate his situation and I appreciate what he brings. But today we needed him to step up in decisive moments and he didn’t. At 0-0 he had a huge moment and fumbled it.

[FlashGordon]

He's a 5th choice attacker. Quite easily the best fifth choice attacker in the league.

[andy07]

Just needs something to click like an injury time winner against City and all will be good.

[6BigCups]

He has a tendency to go missing for large periods. He has quality, however he really hasn’t stepped up for us as hoped he would. His availability and work rate has been his best attribute.

[PEG2K]

Absolute nonsense. Darwin was much closer to goal, on the turn, on his weaker foot, he had far less time to assess his options and the space to find his teammates was minimal. It would’ve been a stupendous assist to get the ball there, trying to test the keeper, beat him at his near post or force a save to win a corner/force a rebound is about the best you can do in that situation.

Gakpo’s decision to shoot was inexplicable and wasted a great position with an awfully low % play.

Come on man. If you show these two pictures to any neutrals they'd say a hard low cross is the better option in the first one. Nunez wasn't on the turn, he was making a run towards the ball. Weaker foot is not the excuse, because if you dare to take a shot at that angle with your weaker foot then you can make a cross too. And he does have time to see his options during his run up, although he doesn't even need to, because a hard low cross across the goal is almost textbook execution in this situation. It's more the job of the strikers to get on the end of that.

And in the second picture you can see a clear path to drive a shot towards the far post. You're making it sound like it's an impossible angle but Nunez himself scored two against Newcastle in almost the exact position. The criticism here is that Gakpo chose to hit it with power towards the near post.

To back it up with numbers, Nunez shot has an xG of 0.04 while Gakpo one is 0.07. It doesn't tell you in which case the alternative option which is the pass is easier to execute because there is a defender cutting out the passing lane in both cases, but it does tell you in Gakpo's position the shot is 75% more likely to go in.

[Garlic Red]

Utter bollocks mate and you know it is you’re just doubling down, I’ve no idea why. Darwin made an ‘arcing’ run from the centre to the left side, it meant when he was hitting the ball he was essentially facing away from the goal  so ‘turning’ when striking the ball, it wasn’t ahead of him in a natural position to shoot like it was against Newcastle. Against Newcastle he was further out, had a larger angle and was on his stronger foot with more time to set himself.  There is a defender directly in front of him taking away the passing angle, and - as I’ve just said - he was turning, he didn’t have his head up with time to see where his teammates were and play the ball, it was very instinctive and he simply missed a difficult chance against a set low block, they had 8 men in the box and the chances of pulling off something in that situation are slim. Could he have hit the target? Yes, but achieving anything in that situation is incredibly difficult.

Gakpo’s situation wasn’t difficult, his touch lets him down, his shot was sliced wide when he had two teammates available for HUGE chances in the centre of the box with only one defender ahead of him and a total of 2 defenders in the box. Our bread and butter is transitions, Gakpo wasted probably our best transition moment. Stop trying to drag Darwin into it, Gakpo needs to improve.

[PEG2K]

Utter bollocks mate and you know it is you’re just doubling down, I’ve no idea why. Darwin made an ‘arcing’ run from the centre to the left side, it meant when he was hitting the ball he was essentially facing away from the goal  so ‘turning’ when striking the ball, it wasn’t ahead of him in a natural position to shoot like it was against Newcastle. Against Newcastle he was further out, had a larger angle and was on his stronger foot with more time to set himself.  There is a defender directly in front of him taking away the passing angle, and - as I’ve just said - he was turning, he didn’t have his head up with time to see where his teammates were and play the ball, it was very instinctive and he simply missed a difficult chance against a set low block, they had 8 men in the box and the chances of pulling off something in that situation are slim. Could he have hit the target? Yes, but achieving anything in that situation is incredibly difficult.

Gakpo’s situation wasn’t difficult, his touch lets him down, his shot was sliced wide when he had two teammates available for HUGE chances in the centre of the box with only one defender ahead of him and a total of 2 defenders in the box. Our bread and butter is transitions, Gakpo wasted probably our best transition moment. Stop trying to drag Darwin into it, Gakpo needs to improve.

So you just explained how Nunez's shot is very difficult to pull off, which proves my point that the pass is the better option? My point is that if Nunez decided to shoot with an xG of 0.04 then Gakpo decision to shoot with an xG of 0.07 also makes sense. Nothing inexplicable about that. That's why I brought the Nunez shot as an example.

I mean you can clearly see in the pictures you posted that no matter how many defenders were there in the box, the pass in both cases only needed to beat 1 defender, but in both cases the passing lane was blocked by that defender so it's at best a 50/50 option. But in Nunez case it'd be a hard and low cross fizzled across the goal because any connection on the ball would be goal, and in Gakpo case it'd be an intricate soft pass so either Nunez or Elliott can control/take a shot (so it's even easier for the defender to intercept). Do you remember the VVD 1v2 defending against Sissoko and Son a couple of years ago? It being a 2v1 for Spurs doesn't mean the pass to Son is an obvious one hence Sissoko was forced to take the shot. The pass that Gakpo could have made to Nunez was not obvious either. If it was like the one that Diaz didn't pass to Darwin a couple of games ago then I agree but this one is different.

[Garlic Red]

So you just explained how Nunez's shot is very difficult to pull off, which proves my point that the pass is the better option? My point is that if Nunez decided to shoot with an xG of 0.04 then Gakpo decision to shoot with an xG of 0.07 also makes sense. Nothing inexplicable about that. That's why I brought the Nunez shot as an example.

I mean you can clearly see in the pictures you posted that no matter how many defenders were there in the box, the pass in both cases only needed to beat 1 defender, but in both cases the passing lane was blocked by that defender so it's at best a 50/50 option. But in Nunez case it'd be a hard and low cross fizzled across the goal because any connection on the ball would be goal, and in Gakpo case it'd be an intricate soft pass so either Nunez or Elliott can control/take a shot (so it's even easier for the defender to intercept). Do you remember the VVD 1v2 defending against Sissoko and Son a couple of years ago? It being a 2v1 for Spurs doesn't mean the pass to Son is an obvious one hence Sissoko was forced to take the shot. The pass that Gakpo could have made to Nunez was not obvious either. If it was like the one that Diaz didn't pass to Darwin a couple of games ago then I agree but this one is different.

Mate, the xG has absolutely nothing to do with it. Darwin’s shot might have been lower %, but there was nothing high % on in the situation. They were in a low block, he’s just been subbed in and is trying to change the pace of the game by offering movement and getting a shot in. It wasn’t a good shot that he took but the chances of him pulling the pass off across goal were incredibly small as it was an extremely difficult pass to pull off. Darwin’s pass had to beat two defenders and the space between defender and goalkeeper was relatively small. Darwin didn’t waste a good opportunity, that’s why teams defend in a low block to take away options and the probability of creating big chances. Darwin had a tame effort from a situation that was looking pretty fruitless.

Gakpo had two teammates who if he plays a relatively simple pass to end up with a chance over 0.5 xG to use your terms, maybe even higher, you’re talking on the penalty spot with no defenders blocking any area of the goal and almost no pressure on the shooter. Gakpo’s first touch also lets him down making the execution of the pass slightly more difficult than it should have been, he could have played a first time pass to either teammate for a top chance. If Darwin’s pass was that easy I would completely agree with you. My issue isn’t Gakpo shooting from a low xG area, my issue is he didn’t turn a fantastic situation into a big chance and instead chose the worst option. Darwin barely had a choice, Gakpo did and made the wrong one. It was an awful decision.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

He deserves and needs his well earned rest.

The lad and he is still a lad, has had a lot on his shoulders this past couple of weeks and we're still top of the table, had to buy some more silvo and are about to knock some manc twats out of the other Cup.

Fuck all to argue about.

[PEG2K]

Mate, the xG has absolutely nothing to do with it. Darwin’s shot might have been lower %, but there was nothing high % on in the situation. They were in a low block, he’s just been subbed in and is trying to change the pace of the game by offering movement and getting a shot in. It wasn’t a good shot that he took but the chances of him pulling the pass off across goal were incredibly small as it was an extremely difficult pass to pull off. Darwin’s pass had to beat two defenders and the space between defender and goalkeeper was relatively small. Darwin didn’t waste a good opportunity, that’s why teams defend in a low block to take away options and the probability of creating big chances. Darwin had a tame effort from a situation that was looking pretty fruitless.

Gakpo had two teammates who if he plays a relatively simple pass to end up with a chance over 0.5 xG to use your terms, maybe even higher, you’re talking on the penalty spot with no defenders blocking any area of the goal and almost no pressure on the shooter. Gakpo’s first touch also lets him down making the execution of the pass slightly more difficult than it should have been, he could have played a first time pass to either teammate for a top chance. If Darwin’s pass was that easy I would completely agree with you. My issue isn’t Gakpo shooting from a low xG area, my issue is he didn’t turn a fantastic situation into a big chance and instead chose the worst option. Darwin barely had a choice, Gakpo did and made the wrong one. It was an awful decision.

I've watched the two situations many times again. Nunez's cross would be 50/50 but Gakpo's hypothetical pass is not simple at all unless you're assuming the defender in front of him would just stand there like a statue. He was cutting out the passing lane the entire time. It seems like I can't convince you no matter what so we'd have to agree to disagree on this one.

[AmanShah21]

Except he wasnt cutting that passing lane. He was following Cody and Darwin had held his run to be behind the ball. I dont think Cody had the chance to look up though and I dont think he deserves much criticism for it. On another day, in better form he is more than capable of scoring from that angle so I personally have no issue with him taking that shot. I was thoroughly annoyed in the first half when 3 or 4 times we got close to the 6 yard box and then chose to cutback or play across the goal instead if shooting. If a striker has the ball inside the box, I think they should have the confidence to shoot. Cody has that finish in him, just not today.
He is currently not in great scoring form and that happens with any striker. What is slightly concerning is that the lack of goals is visibly affecting him right now where his composure has been missing in those moments. I am sure the coaching staff will talk him through it. The good thing is that he is still always involved, albeit a bit deeper than I would like, but doesnt go hiding despite his form. The goals will come. The thing about this squad is that their effort can never be questioned. They all put everything into every single game. All the other problems, they can dig each other out game by game and play themselves into form. He'll do fine.

[Silverbird]

Cody had every right to take the shot from where he was. It’s how he took it that’s the problem. You are taught to shoot across goal in these situations because the near post is a tighter angle and if the keeper spills the shot across goal your teammates have a chance on the rebound. Cody didn’t shoot across goal and his shot towards the near post was wild. I don’t think a pass into the centre was as easy as some people are making it out to be. There’s a replay from horizontally across (camera is on Cody’s right) and you can see that the defender is blocking the passing lane (as the defender should be doing).

[The Final Third]

Cody had every right to take the shot from where he was. It’s how he took it that’s the problem. You are taught to shoot across goal in these situations because the near post is a tighter angle and if the keeper spills the shot across goal your teammates have a chance on the rebound. Cody didn’t shoot across goal and his shot towards the near post was wild. I don’t think a pass into the centre was as easy as some people are making it out to be. There’s a replay from horizontally across (camera is on Cody’s right) and you can see that the defender is blocking the passing lane (as the defender should be doing).

Agree. The only failure was not going for the far corner and forcing a potential parry and rebound goal.

Also agree with others that he needs a rest, he's played almost four full nineties in 10 days

[Garlic Red]

Cody had every right to take the shot from where he was. It’s how he took it that’s the problem. You are taught to shoot across goal in these situations because the near post is a tighter angle and if the keeper spills the shot across goal your teammates have a chance on the rebound. Cody didn’t shoot across goal and his shot towards the near post was wild. I don’t think a pass into the centre was as easy as some people are making it out to be. There’s a replay from horizontally across (camera is on Cody’s right) and you can see that the defender is blocking the passing lane (as the defender should be doing).

I can agree with this a bit, less issues if he shoots across goal as there’s a chance his teammates can get to it or the rebound forces an easy chance. Whether he shoots across goal or tries to find a teammate, either would’ve been much better decisions than what he did. And that was all my original point was. People trying to say “well his teammate took a lower xG effort on than him” isn’t an excuse for him and that decision in that situation, which was a huge moment with the game at 0-0. The pass was definitely on, though, and Darwin rightly went berserk at him for not playing it.

For the record, I agree with everyone saying he’s knackered, I also agree he needs a break and needs a consistent role in the team. But, and it’s a very fair and legitimate but, he needs to improve massively. We’re a team that relies heavily on out front 3 to deliver the goods in games, our gameplan is built around getting them shooting opportunities in the box and relying on them converting. Today wasn’t his day, there’s nothing wrong with calling that out and saying he should have done better. There’s also zero need to bring up completely different scenarios to try and justify him doing something really wasteful on the field. All forwards do it, we all remember Sadio erupting over Mo that time. Mo deserved the criticism at the time too. I’m a massive Gakpo fan, I think there’s loads to come from him in a red shirt, particularly if he fixes his decision making in the final third.

[mullyred94]

He looks knackered, hopefully thats the reason why his decision making was off.

I do want him to show more desire when his number 9, doesn't really put himself into positions that you'd want in our system at the moment.

4/5th choice though, wouldn't be many players of his quality being 4/5th choice attacker so no need to hammer the lad.

Just think there is way more in the lad then what he has shown.