Mails: Where does Coutinho fit in for Liverpool?

Matt Stead

Send your thoughts in to theeditor@football365.com.

 

United conclusions
Before some United conclusions from the Palace game, a quick word on Klopp; it’s more than a touch hypocritical to come out and criticise people like Gary Neville for his comments about Karius and basically dismiss them as wrong, then proceed to drop him at the very next available opportunity. Not sure of the logic there. Anyway:

1. First and foremost: the refereeing in that match was utterly abysmal. I am getting totally sick of talking and hearing about bad decisions – not just in our games, but in any – it is beyond a joke now that such important decisions are being missed or made incorrectly in this day and age. Tonight Pawson got every big call wrong: Rojo should have gone; our first goal was offside and maybe handball (hard to say from the replays); we should have had a penalty for handball; the Palace free-kick shortly before their goal was never a foul in a million years; Mata and Rojo were both onside for the disallowed goal.

We have the means to fix these problems with technology, or at least lessen them, but not enough is being done and without good reason. Goal line technology and the magic spray have completely eradicated their respective issues from the modern game, so we absolutely have to take the next step and introduce video refereeing to cut out as many more as we can: offsides, diving, handballs, proper retrospective punishment (whether the ref has seen it/dealt with it during the match or not) are blights on the game and ruin so many matches.

2. How stupid is Rojo? He gets away with an atrocious two-footed challenge on Sunday and then does the exact same thing again three days later. Yet again, he gets away with it, which is shocking. He needs to be dropped first then sold before someone gets seriously hurt at his studs.

3. I am calling it now: I was wrong about Zlatan, he is absolutely class. That finish was something else – he wasn’t even looking at the goal when he hit it and it was bloody perfect. But what a pass from Pogba. That performance from him was his best for us so far, and hopefully something we can start seeing on a regular basis.

4. De Gea could have done better for their goal, if I’m being overly critical, but he more than made up for it with a few stunning saves to keep it tight. I don’t believe he is playing much worse than he ehas done previously, it’s just that the few mistakes he has made have come in matches that have been affected by the odd goal, so they seem more prominent.

5. Without wanting to jinx it, perhaps we have turned a corner and we are now picking up the wins we have deserved but not always been getting. We’re even getting a good dose of luck going our way for a change (we certainly did tonight), in both refereeing decisions and the games themselves. Long may it continue!

6. I think that game proves that we definitely need to go and get another centre back in January. Bailey is either going to the ACN or the treatment room, but Rojo is a liability and who knows how long Jones will last. Smalling has also been very poor so far and Blind is only a stopgap in that position, so we could do with one more good option.

Two league wins on the spin, were going into a crucial period in good form so hopefully we can keep up the pace and put ourselves in a position to go for the top four. Weirdly, we’re not playing that much better than before, we’re just making it count now, so I think I was right not to be too worried. Happy Ted.
Ted, Manchester

 

Flat-track bully Pogba?
Interesting piece from Matt Stead on Pogba. This is the sort of game Mesut Ozil was playing well in from the very off for Arsenal, but it wasn’t deemed big enough to be acceptable. Since then, goals against United, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Bayern and a couple of instrumental displays against City haven’t rendered him a big game player.

Can’t wait for Pogba to play well in a “big” fixture and we can all lose our heads about it.

Can you tell that I’m bitter at this awful midweek.
Joe, AFC, East Sussex

 

Silly person
I don’t have the time to look for it now but I remember someone in the summer telling us to mark their words that Zlatan wouldn’t even get into double figures for the season.

I’m not sure if they meant League or in all competitions but either way they look pretty silly now. It’s okay to make predictions but when you say it like it’s gospel you leave yourself open for ridicule.

Whoever that person was has learnt this the hard way.
Bradley Kirrage.

 

Karius ain’t no loser
You can’t just make Karius a loser because he was dropped (I know you did and you can but that’s not the point!).

I would rather credit Klopp for making the right calls despite all the media noise.

A stubborn manager might have stuck with Karius to prove a point costing the team points and shattering a youngster’s already fragile confidence.

Take him out of the limelight, protect him for the future and get the team going again.

Mig played well so justified Klopp’s decision.

Top class management.

Oh and Lalalalalanana is MAGNIFICENT!
H, (Klopp vs Koeman – bring it!)

 

Where does Coutinho fit in now?
Remember when Origi was the “worst player” in Ligue un?

Where does Coutinho fit back into this side? Ironically Liverpool clearly don’t have enough depth (check the bench from the past few games), but have too many players to squeeze into first team slots, up front anyway. All 5 of Firmino, Coutinho, Mane, Sturridge and Origi deserve to start every week, but after them there’s nothing (sorry Ings). Weird situation.
KC (5 players have scored 5 goals now)

 

Cesc appeal
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one impressed by Fabregas last night, but what really impressed me was his interview afterwards ”In football today people forget very, very, very quickly who you are, and what you can do”.

Fabregas time at Chelsea has at times been controversial, when things get tough Cesc always seems to be made a scapegoat for weakness in the team. Much of the blame for last seasons meltdown was laid at his feet, maybe the Arsenal roots made him an easy target compared to Chelsea stalwarts Ivanovic and Cahill. He was one of our best performers in the second half of the season.

Cesc started this season with some super sub appearances, getting us over the line with his magnificent control of midfield play in those early games. He earned his first league start at Arsenal, we lost……badly, and again Fabregas was the scapegoat.

A subsequent injury didn’t help and rumours began popping up about a transfer away. Conte has always denied this and talked up his importance and professionalism. I can’t help but feel that people forget just how good Cesc was in our title winning campaign. No other midfielder in the Premier League can control a game quite like him. Conte has proven himself a tactical master, and I hope he finds a way to let Fabregas give everybody a reminder of just how good he is.
Steve

 

Mustafi a big loss
In all furore around the way Arsenal lost, mentally weak one week, mentally strong the next… blah blah… I think one Mailbox entry touched on my biggest worry with regards to Arsenal, which was how big a loss Mustafi would be. This entry slightly underestimated this loss with Gabrial being considered adequate cover (or “as good as any”). He is good cover, indeed, but the goals we conceded against Everton clearly highlighted to me what a colossus Mustafi is in the air, as well as being a leader alongside Koscielny who also looks a bit lost with Gabrial next to him. On a personal level i’m sure he would have wanted to play back at Goodison Park also.

To lose Shkodran in a busy Christmas period could break Arsenal’s season alone I fear. I sincerely hope it doesn’t, and we do have a fairly kind January fixture list compared to most of the big hitters, though how Arsenal play Sunday 1st of Jan, and Tuesday 3rd of Jan, and Chelsea play Saturday 31st Dec, and Wednesday 4th of Jan is anyones’ guess. Fairness in the fixtures there for a team with no European football getting an extra 2 days rest in. That’s almost like a winter break.

he writing is on the wall a bit when you see things like that, and I’m running scared of a wounded Man City in our next game.
Rob, Croydon (hoping City play 3 at the back)

 

Cappenachio
The fact that West Brom have scored more goals than Manchester United makes me happy.
Stu, Southampton

 

Beautiful Salomon
Just a quick story about Solomon Rondon that people may or may not not how we came to sign him. Due to Russia’s awful performance during the last world cup Putin put a restriction on the number of foreign players that teams in the Russian league could field. This subsequently led to a number of players being surplus to requirements and Pulis contacted Zenit manager Villas-Boas to see if there were any players he would recommend.

Due to this we secured Rondon for £12m, and while raw in his first year (not helped by an unbelievably negative approach by Pulis, which as you rightly identified often left him isolated) we now have a player who is an absolute beast and fits right into our (new) style of play. He often plays with a smile on his face and an attitude that is the complete opposite of his team mate Berahino. Thank you Solomon for starting to make it fun to be an Albion fan and thank you Vladimir Putin!
S Ellis (Birmingham)

 

Assorted midweek thoughts

*Leave it to Alan Pardew to play the league’s most dangerous winger as a striker instead. Leave it to José Mourinho to play without wingers at all against a team weak at fullback. But most of all, leave it to Zlatan.

*West Ham-Burnley set a record for Most Elbows Thrown In A Game Not Involving Marouane Fellaini. But it was interesting tactically. West Ham used their 3-4-2-1 to get the ball between the lines to the two playmaking attackers, but Andy Carroll doesn’t really fit that system, so not much happened from open play. Even Mark Noble’s penalty came from a set piece. Burnley’s 4-4-2 also got nowhere until around the hour mark they realized they could bring a wing midfielder inside and pass their way through. Scott Arfield forced Darren Randolph into an excellent save, then Sam Vokes missed a sitter on the follow-up. But when it came time for an attacking substitution, Sean Dyche removed wing midfielder George Boyd and brought in target man Ashley Barnes. Burnley never got close again.

*In law school we used to play a lot of bridge, because it beat studying. The game has a classic phrase, “not through the Iron Duke,” which involves playing a high card to make sure you win a trick. That’s what it’s like watching Chelsea defend. Sunderland admittedly aren’t a free-scoring side, but Kanté, Azpilicueta, Moses, Willian, and Courtois are a war council full of Iron Dukes. Nice to see, too, that Antonio Conte figured out that a parked bus calls for Cesc Fabregas.

*Hull City have made the big pounce from pussycats to lions – notice I didn’t say tigers – in little more than a week. They were fierce and fearless at White Hart Lane, and only lost because they don’t have players as good as Christian Eriksen. More of the same and they might have a roaring chance.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA

 

– Antonio Conte’s Chelsea have been (rightly) lauded for many reasons in our 10 game winning streak, but what has appealed to me the most is the team’s adaptability against various situations/opponents.

– During our early wins against Hull, Leicester etc. it was more about a new system and a certain element of unpredictability, then some thumping wins against Untied and Everton made me awe. What Chelsea have subsequently done especially post second international break is to grind out the cliched 1-0 wins of champions. The 2-0 at Southampton, 1-0 at Borough, the smash and grab against City (boy what a game), Spursing spurs, and the latest two 1-0 wins all speak of different ways to skin a cat.

– I expected the rest of the teams to catch Conte’s system and throw us challenges during the season and also duly expect us to drop points sooner (than later), but one thing has totally stood out to me so far is the hunger to win the smallest of challenges, 50-50s and run the channels (to quote English pundits, whatever the heck it means). We had no right to beat West Brom, but we showed respect to Pulisball (I’m a fan of it btw) by putting in the same effort/energy as the Baggies. Despite it being only Sunderland last night, we showed the same respect at the Stadium of light. By rights of out running and out spiriting opponents, we’ve earned our rights to out play them and at times ride our luck.

– Now, to some football thoughts. Really happy with Thibaut Cortouis. The game had a 1-1 written all over it when the ball dropped in front of our box. What a save it was. I’ve been pretty harsh on him for being so poor for a season and a quarter. The abysmal performances of his established colleagues had masked his poor season in 2015-16. And the goals we conceded earlier were all the first shots Thibaut likely faced. From there, he’s been absolutely phenomenal making me believe that he is one of the top 3 keepers in the world again. How much of the new goal keeping coach had an impact I never know.

– Arsenal fans have staunchly defended Arsene Wenger yesterday, and I saw the game vs Everton. Here’s why I think Mr. Daniel Storey may have a point. The hallmark of Arsenal’s remarkable wins so far has been their conversion rate (around 15%). If you dig at some stats, you’d find that 13% by itself is a big number and their current rate of 15% cannot be realistically sustainable over a season. What was evident since their best performance of the season against us was that they kept gaining points they shouldnt have, by the genius of Ozil and Sanchez who kept converting the only shots in the game (also Giroud at OT). Long story short, in various other parameters, Arsenal have to improve – creating more chances, allowing less shots on target etc. That pattern must be more worrying than anything else. If they had most of the key indicators right and a general level of acceptable performances, the loss at Goodison can be construed as an aberration, but to a lot of us at least, this was coming.

– Why dont the likes of Neville, Carragher etc. criticize the rubbish English players? I wrote last week questioning whether Stones was going in the right direction, then Leicester happened. As much as I’d like to give Stones benefit of doubt given his age, he’s not helped by a manager who doesnt believe in ‘tackles’ (no, I dont think Pep is a fraud) and flanked by the likes of Kolarov and Sagna. My point stands vindicated at least as of today. Without a senior defender to guide him or a manager to help him defensively, I foresee more struggle for Stones. Its an absolute shame the pundits keep a blind eye to all of this.
Aravind, Chelsea Fan.

 

*Midweek premiership games usually provide a twist and some tension this was no different

*I’m going to side with Arsenal fans a full editorial on their bad result from a bad performance is a bit premature.however being the only losers in the top six this week does qualify them or their manager for at least early loser status and it does cran up the pressure on sundays result the loser of that match or even a draw will mean losing out on the top four will be a bigger concern than winning the title you should have kept your load a little longer.

*When I saw the traveling party I had a feeling Jose was going to be ultra defensive but he did manage to cobble together a mostly cohenrent side you can see the side taking shape the worry is their is the way the team is set up their is no space for everyone favourite huggable Spainard Juan Mata and he really didn’t take his chance today.Hopefully their is somemore goodwill in the bank for him after previous performances

* As for Rooney I hope he get’s the record soon but performances like the last two give you the impression that’s the only reason he is still in the team.He has always been a streaky player but it used to be that his hot streak was seven to ten games where he contributed a goal or assist now a streak for him is three games where he doesn’t fall over his own shoelaces

*Am i allowed to smack those who complained about Zlatan yet .This was another stellar performance of holding up the ball and contributing to the cause. Micheal Owen’s retort about
only being paid a 10th of his wages seems lamer every match if anything Utd paid Owen too much.

* Aside Arsenal and Juan Mata my other early loser nominee would be lieciester the expectation was that they would use the Man city victory to clim up the table instead it’s the same old one step forward one step back and they’ve lost the champions league excuse.

* I saw only snippets but Lamina Kone looked immense policing Diego Costa yesterday could Sunderland let me know if he is that good normally.Koeman was interested in the summer and If what I saw is the norm then any advances need to be rejected. It would be a shame if SUnderland tied both of Moyes hands by not giving him funds and let someone like that go.

* It’s all tight from 2nd to 6th and at the bottom Roll on the weekend .
Timi MUFC.

 

The ref word
Ok so here we go, another moaning Arsenal fan who can’t take a defeat. Well yes obviously, but just because people moan it doesn’t mean it’s unjustified, and just because you’re paranoid don’t mean they’re not after you.

The Arsenal Everton game was decided by the referee and his ineptitude. The Palace vs Man Utd game was decided by the referee and his STAGGERING ineptitude. I’m not saying the results would have been any different had the officials done their job, but is it too much to ask that we are allowed to enjoy football knowing the result can only be decided by the players?

I thought there was a review policy in place now where refs watched prior games and saw where there were mistakes so they don’t happen again. How the hell did Rojo get away with yet another 2 footed assault last night? Unbelievable. Will it take him to break someone’s leg to get a red? How can the ref not see Zlatans handball and how can the linesman think Pogba was onside? How was Rooney not booked for his continuous verbal attacks on the ref? How did the ref miss Ledleys handball? At what point do people start questioning if this goes beyond sheer and utter incompetence? It was hard to be any more wrong than Poulson was last night. But let’s just all laugh about it “it’s part of the game”. Incorrect LBW decisions were part of cricket until DRS came along and cleared all that nonsense up.

There are a number of factors turning me right off football. The money, the incompetence and the media (F365 excepted). It isn’t going to take much more for me to finally grow up.

With the lights on, it’s less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us.

Nevermind.
Brad

 

Just finished watching the Palace vs United game; and the refereeing was p**s poor. Craig Pawson lost control of the game very early on when he allowed wayward tackles to go by without cards(Lee Chung Yong’s tackle should have been a straight red, and most likely Rojo’s as well, although there wasn’t much contact on Rojo’s tackle). What a joke of decision making.

The question comes to mind, that do refs frequently try to balance their mistakes? Pogba’s goal was marginally offside. Did the refs go in at half time, see the replay, come back in the second half, and decide to drop a clanger for Mata’s ruled out goal which was clearly on-side(i.e. not even room for error at the top level clear). The hand ball was blatant, and missed. What do these guys smoke? Has anyone at 365 ever heard of the refs getting reprimanded? What a poor performance. Just glad Zlatan scored a delightful goal, else it would have been a bitter pill to swallow…

Regards,
Adway

 

The TV deal
With a full PL schedule over two nights, surely a £5bn tv deal should include more than 1 live game?

With BT having the goals show for CL games and it being a great way of seeing all the best action. Why does the ridiculously enormous PL TV deal still involve waiting to watch MOTD highlights?

Just feel that an enormous price is being paid to view games in a 20th century style, when there are so many better options and styles that could be used to watch them.

Rather than Ex-pros verbalising a goal, which is basically a new take on watching teletext results.

Would a deal involving a 21st century way of watching your team legally/lawfully then be valued at 2-3 times as much by the PL? If so that’s ridiculous!

Surely a realistic deal can be made with a 21st century way of watching your clubs games.
Will (skint and frustrated armchair fan) F

 

The view from China
Hi there, long time reader, first time er… emailer, and all that. Love you work.

I read Jo’s email in Wednesday’s mail box in which he paints a vivid picture of a Chinese team winning the European Champions league in 20 years time and felt I had to respond. I’ve think you’ve been at the baidu too much mate!

I have been to watch Beijing Guoan play a few times as it’s a lot of fun. The Workers Stadium is a little bit shabby (part of the charm), the crowds make a lot of noise (I learnt some of my best Chinese swearwords there) and even though the football on display is a bit shit you can smuggle a few beers in with you and its a good way to start your Saturday night as it’s not like I can hop a bus to Anfield anymore. As someone who is involved in local football here in Beijing though, China simply doesn’t have the football infrastructure to get anywhere close to the European super powers.

Basketball is way more popular in China than football. Some of the Kids I coach in the U13s team have literally never even kicked a ball before they try out for the team. Visit any major park or public space and you will find hundreds of basketball courts and table tennis tables that are packed out all year round. Football, not so much. In my local park which hosts the 5-A-side league I play in, there are probably four basketball courts to every 1 five-a-side pitch.

And money is actually part of the problem. President Xi’s government has focused on football recently as a potential way of increasing China’s soft power globally and to that end China has built some state-of-the-art residential football academies, employing youth coaches who cut their teeth at top european clubs. The problem is that aspiring footballers have to pay to attend and the cost is way out of reach of the average Chinese family. So only the really rich kids get to go, and rich doesn’t always mean good at football, not matter how much money you throw at it. The academies are pretty much glorified boarding schools for rich kids who like to play football.

The professional league has not been short of a few corruption and match fixing scandals down the years and some of the league rules don’t help. No foreign goalkeepers allowed for a start as its not fair is hardly going to help hone your striking talent.

The foreign players who do come to China are at a way higher level than the local players and stand out like a sore thumb. Freddie kKnoute was the best player in the league a couple of years ago in his mid-30s! And one good foreign player can massively influence the season.

Jo asked about foreign players who turned down a European club to come to China and I can think of one. I’m pretty sure Alex Texeria turned down my beloved Liverpool for Jiangsu Suning not so long ago for an Asian record transfer fee and a massive salary. Good on him. He wasn’t close to the Brazil team, Liverpool weren’t looking like playing in the Champions League any time soon and there weren’t any better offers, so absolutely go and set your family up financially for life. Who wouldn’t. But seeing a European Super Star choose Evergrande or Beijing over Barcelona? Never going to happen.
Ste, Beijing Red

 

A Club World Cupdate
I’m sure the world wasn’t looking on with great interest last night as Japanese champions Kashima Antlers played Atletico Nacional in the first semi-final of the Club World Cup, but it was actually an entertaining game. Kashima were playing their sixth game in about three weeks at the end of what has been a long season. Both teams attacked, and Atletico hot the bar twice and forced the Kashima keeper into a couple of good saves in the first half. Kashima eventually won 3-0, thanks to two late goals; one a backheel from five yards and the other a back-post tap-in a couple of minutes later.

It was the first goal, though, that provided the main point of interest: a first-half penalty given after intervention from the officials monitoring the video technology alerted the referee to a foul that he had missed. This year’s tournament is trialling video technology to assist the on-field officials with disputed decisions and to correct mistakes.

There have been complaints that play had continued and gone up the other end before the referee was able to review the footage of the incident, so the video review disrupts the flow of the game and slows it down, and also that the Kashima player was offside when he was fouled (he was at the back post for a long-range free kick but nowhere near the ball at the time of the foul).

These are early days in the introduction of the technology and but of course they’ll need more trials before they can decide in which circumstances the technology should be used. Personally I don’t have a problem with using the technology in some situations and the argument that play has continued or that it slows the game down seems irrelevant to me, as there’s already plenty of timewasting and petty fouls that in my opinion ruin the flow of the game just as much. Also, if it means getting correct decisions and perhaps eradicating some cheating then I’m all for it. What do other Mailboxers think?

Regards,
James T, Kanazawa, Japan

 

Timewasting
I am really enjoying the Last Defender series of articles – it’s always good to read a different point of view, challenge the accepted wisdom etc and Steven Chicken is genuinely funny. I do think a man with a stopwatch should be introduced though, and here’s my suggestion for how:

According to Soccermetrics, Premier League matches in 2010/11 averaged 55 minutes of “effective time of ball in play”, with the upper and lower extremes being 44 and 66 minutes (insert Stoke-related joke here). If the powers-that-be decreed that the ball should be in play a specified minimum length of time per half (I would argue for 30 or even 35 minutes per half, but the likes of Tony Pulis would argue for less), this would instantly cut out timewasting.

This isn’t a new idea, but as Chicken mentioned it would be a relatively small and easy change to implement and I think it would immediately eliminate time-wasting in its current guise, and improve the experience for those watching.
Colm, London

 

Good luck, Gary
I could not be more angry at my club and the disgraceful and unwarranted decision that it has just made.

Like F365, I too never felt it necessary to champion the cause of the British manager, believing that if there were any out there capable of taking on the foreign heavyweights, they would rise to the top regardless. Gary Rowett may not scale those heights, but as young, resourceful and tactically astute British managers go, he is up there among the best we have right now in this country. To watch my club stab him in the back in such a manner is nothing short of disgusting. He has done so much with so little available to him, that it should not be underestimated how good a job he was doing to get us anywhere remotely close to a playoff spot. I shan’t expect him and his staff to be out of work for too long.

Some may cite Southampton when they brought in Mauricio Pochettino as an example of puzzling managerial changes that worked in the club’s favour. Hopefully we will see a similar outcome. But that shouldn’t distract from the shameful way that Rowett was treated to make way for an uncertain future.
James F, BCFC KRO

 

In the past five years, we have seen multiple clubs fall into states of internal turmoil/make absurd footballing decisions following foreign takeovers. Villa, Leeds, Hull, and Blackburn all come to mind but I am struggling to think of a more perplexing decision than Birmingham sacking Gary Rowett. Rowett is ex-Brum, widely regarded as one of our finest managerial talents, and has done magnificently well while operating on a non-existent budget. He had City punching way above their weight this season – 7th place with a forward line of Donaldson and Jutkiewicz is a damn near miracle – so to see him discarded in such a fashion is disheartening to say the least.

Best of luck to Gary, who I’m sure will land on his feet. I hope City get what they deserve.
Alex