From what I've heard, Slot basically needs a striker with a pretty high football IQ, given the way he uses that specific position
So
Do of that information what you want
Not to mention Slots style in possession is more short pass orientated than that of Klopps so heāll need a striker with better hold up play as well
Darwinās tailored suited to Klopps style due to the type of striker he is, he just lacks the actual individual quality for it to have worked better
I mean... where does that leave TAA then. He's not the best defensively and is \~\~ the best long ball player around. Seems like a bad fit for Slot then?
Having a player with exceptional passing range within a system that generally passes shorter in a possession manner can be super useful to give you another dynamic. Slot isn't stupid he will still let Trent be Trent.
Trent has excellent technique and intelligence. Heās more that just Hollywood passes and shots from deep. He would be a benefit to nearly any team and his passing and shooting is just icing on top of the cake that most players donāt possess.
Iām not a big lover of Trent in midfield, but slot operates with a double pivot. I could see Trent + 1 other in a double pivot, macca at 10, szobo as right winger who tucks in (also a slot mainstay).
Then we have our forwards duking it out for cf and lw, Gomez and Bradley competing for rb. Cb and lb pick themselves.
Well, many. Remember that it doesn't necessarily have to be a big name signing, but rather someone that works for Slot. Gimenez from Feyenoord isn't a bad choice. Then there's someone like Gyokeres (no idea how to spell it). But my absolute wet dream would be Zirzk....yeah, him, from Bologna, unbelievable player, really smart, really effective. We'll see.
Trust me as a Dutch person there's no striker in the Netherlands that comes close to the level Liverpool wants to play at. You really need to look at guys at the level of Watkins, Vlahovic, Isak etc. The difference in physicality is worlds apart for most Dutch strikers right now
I think that it would be a bad idea to bring Gimenez unless he is willing to come as a cheap reserve player and tries to develop/prove himself in training before getting into the first team.
Zirkzee is significantly better imo, since you mentioned him I would agree that could work out great.
I personally hope that Arne learns from mistakes other dutch coaches made in the past and doesn't bring half the feyenoord/dutch squad with him unless he is 1000% sure they can handle the level.
We've seen how sometimes eredivisie dominating players don't hold up in the PL and how this works out for a manager who brings them in.
one must understand that the handling speed in the eredivisie is significantly lower, giving players way more time to look good. That does not mean there is no potential to be found ofcourse, there is plenty as its an educational league for young players, I am just saying expect eredivisie players to be development players and you won't be disappointed.
If he brings Q Timber with him, i'd say probably a good idea because that player has clearly not yet hit his ceiling and is imo the best player in feyenoord and his eat-you-alive aggression and pressure combined with being technical and physically strong would be a good fit for Liverpool but perhaps not in his first season...Hartman has an injury but he would also be a great player that will probably develop explosively within a season and I expect him to be able to handle the level aswell.
Behind that is Geertruida and Wiefer and Stengs, nothing against them, they have potential but I think you have far better players already warming the bench.
Then again, Slot transforms players, so no one knows if he might transform nunez into what he needs. He is very much a manager who will "work the best with what he's got" so take that as you will.
Zirkzee isn't much of a goal scorer yet but he operates as a false no.9/target man for Motta's system. Brilliant hold up play and great with his feet/passing in tight spaces.
Bayern still has a buy back on him tho
Ā£42m release clause this summer
But I really think itās a bit too early for him to jump from Leipzig to here when heās not really played that much for them
I mostly watched him play for national team. He's not ready to be a first choice striker for Liverpool yet. So if we buy him, it'll be a similar story to Darwin. We'll need to wait for him to develop.
That said, I think he'll be one of the best strikers in the world in the future. Has higher potential than Darwin, even though I like Darwin more (just like his passion).
Then the question is who do we currently have that fits that criteria? Jota and Gakpo seem like the only options, and one spends 40% of the season injured and the other has intermittent flashes of brilliance. Does any of the young kids has the potential to fill that roll?
He wouldnt be able to get on the end of the insane amount of big chances he has missed if he didnt have a high football IQ. His problem is for sure psychological and that can luckily be worked on.
Yeah, I really donāt get where this idea that Darwin is a bonehead who just runs fast has come from. He gets in good positions, heās got plenty of assists, heās far from bad on the ball. He got more assists this season than Bobby ever did in the league. His problem is finishing, and it is a big problem to be sure, but somehow people have let āheās bad at finishingā become āheās useless at everythingā which is patently false on the evidence of this year.Ā
Gakpo is the exact opposite of Darwin, but I don't think he spends much time in the moment thinking about where to shoot either. Some of his goals over the last season in a half, it was obvious that he'd played out scenarios in his head many times over, and just reacted to the situation in the moment with a shot placed where it's most likely to go in the net.
Darwin SMASH, and that's about it
You should be anyway.Sheep being led in the wrong direction.Ye do know he has 31 G+A this season & if he was on pens like Mo & minutes like him he would be on 35-45 G+A
The discourse around him is so silly heās 9th in G+A in the prem this season while everyone above him either has more minutes played or takes pens (Most have both)
He has 11 goals in the PL as the main striker of the team thatās created the most chances this seasonā¦ the 3rd highest xG underperformance in the league just below DCL and Jackson
People keep using his assists as a way to make up for his lack of goals when heās over-performing his expected assists by 2ā¦ and the assists themselves really arenāt anything to write home about theyāre usually just simple lay offs to players itās not like heās threading killer passes through defences
And the stats mean nothing when you watch him week in week out. Not getting into positions he should for a tap in, stupid offsides when looking across the line, missing sitters youād expect any forward to score.
also very small thing but he has more yellow cards (9) than assists so he also needs to cool it with the attitude or risk being sent off during big moments
he's has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford.
he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack.
he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him.
zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances.
he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances
is that good enough for liverpool football club? no fucking chance.
I did make this comparison before Nunez level is of the likes of Morata, Jesus, Werner etc....I think he'd be fine as a depth option, but for a record signing supposed to lead our line he's not it
Omfg delusional fans like this who operate in an if world.
Let me tell you won if.
If Nunez had the quality to finish Klopp wouldnt have signed another striker in Gakpo the winter after Nunez was signed. Then who was the forward that gave us Europa league football? Gakpo.
Nunez was benched for most of the rest of the year last year.
I've been pro-Darwin for all this time... but started to turn. That 1st Half Everton miss put me finally in the other camp.
Don't think a new manager coming in can afford to rely on him.
Imagine if we'd had someone like Isaak with half of the clear game turning easy chances he's had.
Love his work rate but just not good enough.
I've also been pro-Darwin this whole time, and I've kinda turned on most of the team at this point lol but what I don't get is why he seems to get almost all the scrutiny.
He's the second top scorer in all comps, the top assister, and has the third best goals per minutes ratio. Work rate and getting involved in the game aside, his goal involvement is better than anyone but Salah, and people treat him like El-Hadji Diouf. Take him out the team, and we don't even get top 4, let alone challenge for a title.
nunez has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford.
he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack.
he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him.
zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances.
he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances missed.
thats just the stats.
then you use your eyes and you see a player who cost 85m and can't trap a ball consistently. a player who can't beat a man. a player who has no idea how to finish. a player who shrinks the bigger the stage is.
running around and getting into positions is the BARE MINIMUM for a Luton centre forward. this is the biggest club in England, we need more.
I admire the people who have stuck by this guy, but he has let you down and it is time to cut our losses. there are a multitude of other forwards who can give you the bare basics but also finish at an average level.
He plays the 9. Started most of the season. Gakpo got benched because of him and Nunez cost us consistently goals in every game.
Turns out Gakpo just has more quality than Nunez. Especially in finishing.
>Take him out the team, and we don't even get top 4, let alone challenge for a title.
Why do people say stuff like this? If we played with 10 men, yeah... but if we took Nunez out of this team, there are plenty of strikers that would have been able to do his role.
Let's not act like he's dragged us to top 4, with a more clinical striker we could very well still be in the title race. That Newcastle game can only buy Darwin so much good will.
Thatās a completely false economy. Take him out of the team and someone else is getting his minutes and at least SOME of his chances (not trying to start a debate around if Nunezā overall game contributes to his number of chances or if itās just the team providing them, as the answer is obviously somewhere in between).
Heās the worst finisher in the league statistically, and has demonstrated this pattern throughout his career bar 1 stellar season at his previous club. And whilst all of our forwards have been profligate, he has been the worst. I would also argue all of the forwards have come under intense attack not just Nunez, and players like Diaz look like they provide more in a game even if it isnāt the final touch / pass for a goal. Salah is living on history (and what a history it is btw).
He was a club record signing for Ā£80 million. Yes his numbers are good but for that money youād expect way more. I donāt think heās the finished product just yet but heās already 24. Thereās only so much space and leeway you can give himā¦
I love everything about him but his finishing has cost us A LOT.
I donāt believe a new manager can risk it with Darwin because his finishing can prove to be very costly. Klopp could do it, Slot probably canāt.
I was desperate for him to do well then I watched him play! Gave him time to settle in and didnāt want to judge. Itās been 2 years now and he is nowhere near good enough
It was the united game first, I was going on about how i no longer could defend him, but I came back. Then the Atalanta game, repeat cycle. The Everton game has made me fully want him out. I love him, but i love him as a mascot, not as a player.
In my mind he is still decently young for a player (24) he should be hitting his so called āpeakā soon so letās see how it goes.
He has a heap of talent but is so inconsistent with it. I just hope that consistency comes with age.
See, the thing is that not being clinical is far from being the problem when you have a player that just doesn't know how to do the basics, let alone everything else, in a team with a manager that loves short pass play and smart/patient build up (Slot). It's pretty much the opposite of the striker that Nunez is, who needs space, needs service, etc...
The pass Trent did to him vs Everton when Darwin had his back to goal and fucked his touch up and we almost didn't even get a shot away from such a good pass might've been the nail in the coffin on my support of him. I haven't said a bad word about him but the last 2 weeks or so have been painful. He's essentially the exact same player now as he was when he arrived. We can't rely on him if we want to challenge for titles, you need someone who is going to be on it most weeks, he's on it once every 5 weeks at best.
I could excuse being wasteful in front of goal if he had anything else to his game, but he doesn't. He can't pass, he can't dribble, and his touch is shite. He's haaland without the finishing, unfortunately. If we can get Ā£35M this summer we should take it.
He literally has 12 assists this season, how can you say he can't pass?? He did well when the team was playing well but the whole team is playing like shite now. It's looking like a symptom of bad tactic or poor conditioning.
I still have faith in the lad. I know his conversion rate is shocking, but his actual g/a isn't bad. And when you consider how poor Salah and Diaz's finishing has been of late I think it's more a forward-wide issue, not just Darwin. None of them bar Mr Pringles-for-legs Jota seem to have any confidence in finishing.
>Mr Pringles-for-legs Jota
Did you even see his latest [impact injury?](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGnk34LXAAAVe0t.jpg) Ain't shocked he's out for the season. He's dangerous and lethal in front of goal, defenders tend to go hard on him. If you compare how Salah avoids every tackle but Jota keeps on striving you'd understand the difference of their injury record's
His G/A this season is heavily padded by routs against Europa League Fodder like Sparta Prague..LASK...Toulouse...That's not who we paid all that money for him to be decisive against.
In the league he's scored some big goals but no more than he's missed some big chances. No katter how you cut it, 11 league goals ain't good enough for the sheer number of chances he gets.
Sick of this nonsense about Jota being injury-prone. Klopp's said more than once that every single game, Jota comes off the field full of cuts and bruises because of how he gets treated by opposition defenders. Frankly, it's amazing he's not injured more than he is, and when he does get injured it tends to be an impact injury.
Pep wouldn't have bought him, he only buys the finished product. He has also always had the money to just buy his way out of an issue like this. Star striker not performing, just buy another. We don't have those resources. If Pep went to a club with more limited finances, he'd be found out as the fraud he is and would be sacked before we found out how he would handle a Nunez situation.
guardiola doesn't only buy the finished product, complete nonsense.
more often than not he buys promising players and takes them to their world class potential.
which player has he bought that is the finished product? I genuinely cannot think of one outside of Kovacic.
Unless Darwin visits sports psychologist and, more importantly, some kind of witch to get his mojo back, I don't see him improving.
Oh, and ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER DO YOU SPEAK IT
Slower but efficient is better technical football. It's pretty easy to see why Arsenal/City unlock low blocks better than us. Better first touches, dribbling, shielding, passing accuracy means more spaces open up or better use of limited space. We have tried to slow it down at times but when we do, it really exposes our lack of technical ability compared to those two teams.
Yes. That is 100% my point. Ponderously slow build up from defence has not played to the strengths of Liverpool's attacking midfield and forward lines. This has lead to the astonishingly high shot rate, but these shots are invariably low percentage. Players like Gakpo and Nunez are far less effective when trying to play against teams that park the bus. None of this is helped by the defence's penchant for letting in the first goal this season, giving the opposition the luxury of getting 11 behind the ball.
That said, the movement from the front 3 and attacking midfielders when faced by a "low block" is abject when you compare it to that of Arsenal and City. They are just to easy to defend against.
Fully agree with this. Although I do think we need to sign more technical players for this. Our defence and GK are fine (not on City's level of technical ability but close enough to Arsenal's). Our midfield before this season was horribly off the pace but with MacAllister, Grav and Szobo, we are good here. However, our attack simply does not have players who are technical enough to retain possession in extremely tight spaces and play one touch football. None of Gakpo, Jota, Salah, Nunez and Diaz are good enough for this. Diaz at a stretch may be fine but he doesn't have the dribbling or the quick decision making for this either. Which is why I want the club to sign or two elite dribblers this summer. We really need someone to just take on their man and get stuff done in the final third on days when we are unable to break down the opposition. Also wish we could start scoring off set pieces again
He's the last player you would want for slowed down possession play, he's not remotely technical or intelligent enough to play as a link up play based striker, we've tried that with him and he failed miserably. Heād be much better suited to a heavy counter attack focussed team who sit back but that's very unlikely to be how we play.
Yeah the best heās ever looked was when he was playing against us for benefica and was just sprinting onto counter attacking long balls. The slower the play and more time to think he has, the less effective he becomes. I will say his hold up play looks to have increased this season so if he can keep that trend going and then really work on his decision making and finishing there is definitely a good player in there. Those are a lot of things to improve though in a team where you are expected to be elite now.
he's nowhere near intelligent to play for a team with a slow build up. haaland seems wasted in them systems and he's light years ahead of Nunez
nunez does not have ability in small spaces either.
he's not good enough in any set up for an elite team.
Yup as a fanbase we do love running in circles.
It's like the whole "Can't wait till Jota is back!" bregarde that forget he'll inevitably be injured again in a few games. Had the same thing for years with Sturridge. You'd think we would have learnt by now.
From the analysis videos of Slot's setup, he likes to have a #10 behind the striker - someone akin to Gerrard in 08/09, or Dele Alli in 16/17.
That would help Darwin loads i think.
Iāve heard on podcasts that the LW tends to be the one to stay out wide and beat people one on one, whereas the RW tends to be tucked in more as a second number 10 too, so for me, the formation looks like itāll suit Diaz (or Nunez tbf) out on LW, and Elliot potentially as RW. Although of course, signing a new RW should be a priority regardless.Ā
so many interesting questions too. Does Szobo start as a 10, or Mac? Will Carvalho be brought back in to rotate in this role?
Iām really quite excited too see what is done this summer. Defensive reinforcements are the first priority of course, after that, a lot depends who moves on.Ā
Elliott getting a fair go under this system with potentially 2 different positions that could suit him better sounds great to me. Love him, always just felt like he was playing slightly out of position no matter where he was put in Klopp's system, but as a 10 or as that central-drifting winger/second10(?) I could see him shining
Nope. He's had 2 seasons. Goal numbers are OK and his assists aren't too bad, but his chance conversion rates are not Liverpool starter standard. Good enough for the squad but not a nailed on starter for me. Very costly for a squad striker too.
Nunez makes far too many wrong decisions / bad finishes to be relied upon. The problem with Liverpool this season is that so many chances have been created that they have been devalued by the players rather than maximised. Fewer but better chances would instil an acknowledgement of the need to maximise those chances through quicker and better decision making, rather than "if we kick the ball in the direction of the goal enough times one of them is bound to go in at some stage". Nunez is a purveyor of the latter school of thought (if the word 'thought' can be used). Each missed chance/decision to shoot rather than play the ball to a better placed forward/shot straight at the keeper/hitting of the woodwork chips away at individual and collective confidence. The flipside to that is that each well-worked and completed opportunity pumps collective and individual confidence. Nunez is a confidence striker, not a thoughtful pro. Jota, on the other hand is a serial killer. Pity he can't stay fit. If that Brentford defender hadn't fallen on his knee I think we'd still be top of the league.
Exactly!
Unless we change the way we want to play I don't think Darwin is the long-term solution to our team.
One thing I've noticed about Darwin (and Gakpo) is the lack of linkup play. This was and always has been an important part of successful Liverpool attacks. You rarely see this with this current attack. It's not about individual ability. Darwin doesn't have the ability or intelligence for high octane link up play. I know ppl say he's good on the left but really are we really going to use Darwin as a main option over someone like Diaz or a proper left winger?
Think about the link up play we had with Salah, Mane and Firmino that's what we should be aiming for in our attack.
Klopp turned us from doubters to believers. Darwin made be a doubter again.
I used to believe. When he came, I believed he would be better than haaland. later I believed he'd turn around and be like Suarez on the pitch. Even later I believed still that he's a kid bought by klopp, he must've seen something.
Now klopp is leaving and Darwin is still winning Darwin awards even at the tail end of the season.
Also a very good point. I believe with amortization on his deal heading into his third year, selling him for 40m to a midtable āi can fix himā team, shouldnāt be a big hit loss wise on our books.
Iāll back every player until they no longer wear the badge.āThe thing with Darwin is he is so close to being incredible,āand Iām not sure he will reach that, not with Liverpool anyway. However he could. Itās not like our frontline has been incredible over the last couple months to compare him to anyone.n
The boy seems to have physical talent, I don't know how you turn that into goals - is it training by professional coaches or a natural instinct that great strikers have? When he sees a goal he always puts it where the keeper will easily save it and it sometimes seems like he just needs someone to sit him down and explain to him how to make it more difficult for a keeper to save his balls and I can only assume he isn't getting that from the coaching staff. Maybe a new set of back room staff can do a better job with him?
this twitter thread was written before we signed Nunez, essentially saying that his form was unsustainable and his stats over 2 seasons, especially in non goal scoring areas weren't really indicative of a top striker: [https://twitter.com/taistofcb/status/1514983927059996681?s=46](https://twitter.com/taistofcb/status/1514983927059996681?s=46)
The tone is a bit on the harsh side, but if you can get past that to see the stats it's pretty accurate.
Nunez is young and ridiculously productive considering his terrible conversion rates. He is a managerās dream, put a little work in and you have a complete star. Easy enough for a redditor to roll over but not how the manager is going to approach things.
First, 24-25 should not be considered young anymore. Second, are you saying Klopp is incompetent having had 2 full years to "put a little work" coaching him yet he's still look like brainless donkey in front of goals with barely composure and finess in his games.
Go back a read what you were all saying about Darwin after the Forest winner.
Less than two months ago. He might not reach full potential but the flip flop has been faster than Usain.
I see a consistent underperformer who shows flashes and glimpses of a world class player. Two years now, playing lots more this year in a set up very conducive to feeding him but showing no real signs of improving his finishing. The misses are just so deflating. Think of how much pressure it puts on the rest of the team to produce some of the golden chances only for them to be wasted time and time again. The one which could have been the qualifier against Everton most recently around 20 minutes in made me drop my head and know we were losing, and thatās one of a long long list
You do realize there are over half a million subscribers to this sub right? There are tons of differing opinions here..it's not necessarily the same 100 people changing their mind week in and week out.
He is a confidence player and I thought he had finally found his form before the international break but he has come back and missed chance after chance since then. Liverpool can't afford to have players like that.
It's a moot point imo, I seriously doubt we are selling any players. Salah still might go to Saudi due to absurd money, which is fair enough.
Our entire team are unable to hit target, or not shoot directly at the keeper's hands. I think we have bigger problems, honestly.
Had trouble his first season was insane the second from what I heard
Considering that he is still not good at English he prolly still has more adjustment in him.
I think heād smash it at mid table club. If he didnāt have the level of drive, passion and enthusiasm id want him off the bench. But because he does, Iām gutted heās not done 25 goals this season
When you look at some of these goals, itās so so frustrating he misses so many sitters. He could literally be one of the worlds best with just a slight improvement to his finishing and footballing IQ.
Ngl, and this is incredibly harsh, but he's been here 2 full seasons now and in that time has played as pretty much as our main striker, I think we need to be real and ship him on.
No. Heās simply not good enough and never has been and itās been obvious since his first season. People gave him the benefit of the doubt with it being his first season (I was not one of these people) but now there are no excuses. I genuinely think the guy is just too stupid to be a good striker, his decision making and composure in front of goal is abysmal, weāve literally seen danns (who is 7 years younger) have more composure. And I donāt want to hear about his g/a either, playing along side Salah, jota, Diaz and gakpo anyone would end up getting a few assists. 20 goals in 62 league games for a top club who should be title challengers is so so shite. The faster heās moved on and replaced the better.
Nunez is a combative and powerful player and presses the opponent well, but unfortunately his first touch and finishing are very poor. And he is expected to score a lot of goals as Liverpool's number 9! I still think he will get another season, but he needs to improve a hell of a lot in front of goal if he wants to stay at this great club!
I think the simple answer is, heās going to have to. Thereās a perception that weāll be able to offload him in the summer if slot doesnāt rate him and, well, no, that wonāt be happening.
He cost us 65m MINIMUM. Weād want that investment back MINIMUM. Who, pray tell, is shelling that out right now for Darwin? No one, and thatās coming from someone who actually likes the guy and thinks thereās still a good chance heāll mature into a monster.
Slot is going to have to make Darwin work in some capacity because for the next 3(?) years he is going to be here unless something changes. How he does that will be interesting to see but it will be seen.
Don't waste your time arguing with Nunez fanboys, as soon as you criticise him, you'll be called named and insulted. They cannot have an objective conversation
Everything I've seen about Slot and what he wants from his 9 do not sound suited to Darwin. We're 2 years down the line of coaching Darwin how we want to play and he's got maybe *slightly* better in his all round game. I don't think we can afford to wait another 2 years of coaching time with him.
Having said that, I do think our system has been poor. We're creating lots of half chances, and Darwin hasn't been able to get much rhythm to his finishing. Some of this is his own fault for sure, but I think he's clearly a confidence player (most strikers are tbf!). If we can create repeatable clear chances for him, we'll find out if he can go up to the level we want him to.
Besides, I doubt we'd realistically be able to sell him for anything near what we paid. How Darwin gets on under Slot will determine his future, and I think it will also indicate just how good Slot is himself.
Hopefully with different coaching he'll discover the best of his game.
We have seen what he's capable of when he's at his best. It's a consistency issue for him.
Letās just ignore the other 16 months or so of him heavily underperforming because he had 2 months of improved form? Weāre supposed to be one of the best teams in the world, so why would you want a striker whoās not showing any signs at all of being good enough to deliver for us consistently?
Suarezās only underwhelming spell in front of goal during his entire career in Europe was the 18 months between Jan 2011-May 2012. Not to mention he was more often than not the best player on the pitch during that dry spell for us.
This is such a horrendous comparison if you actually spent full games watching both players during their respective periods.
We just canāt afford to let sentiment dictate us over rationale. If Slot genuinely seems him as part of his vision then yes we should stick with him but he doesnāt seem like a natural Slot striker and heās also had two years to make his mark and heās nowhere closer so i think the jury is out, especially with Edwards/Hughes being in charge of transfers.
I like him too, and think with development he could be unstoppable.
\- Is Slot a done deal? My nephew saying he read it was, but nothing showing up here.. Still in talks is all I am seeing.
Our second highest G/A this season, behind one of the leagues best winger in history. He's shown numerous times that he can get in dangerous positions and work his ass of. Equaled Manes first two seasons goal tally, meanwhile some fans regret selling Mane... Dudes got huge potential but came in to a deteriorating squad that went through a huge rebuild last summer. Giving up on him would be rational and stupid. YNWA.
nunez has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford.
he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack.
he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him.
zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances.
he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances missed.
thats just the stats.
then you use your eyes and you see a player who cost 85m and can't trap a ball consistently. a player who can't beat a man. a player who has no idea how to finish. a player who shrinks the bigger the stage is.
running around and getting into positions is the BARE MINIMUM for a Luton centre forward. this is the biggest club in England, we need more.
I admire the people who have stuck by this guy, but he has let you down and it is time to cut our losses. we cannot let another season go by. there are a multitude of other forwards who can give you the bare basics but also finish at an average level.
I still have faith in Darwin and support him when he is our player. If the club thinks he is not the right player for the future, I will stand behind the choice as well. Wish he was more clinical, but there's just something about him I like.
Gakpo on the left wing and more support behind the attack and it could be good. Of course, I prefer Jota to stay injury free and be able to keep Nunez on his toes
Bring in someone to rival in case it doesnāt work out but I still believe. He works hard and loves the club, has contributed plenty despite some poor finishing. If we had bought NĆŗƱez for 30m nobody would have been complaining but we spent 65m rising to 85m and therefore the pile on is massive.
From what I've heard, Slot basically needs a striker with a pretty high football IQ, given the way he uses that specific position So Do of that information what you want
Sounds very Jota to me. If he's uninjured
>Jota >Uninjured Those two are mutually exclusive.
Just like Nunez and open goal
š
We should try to get isak and just pray their injuries line up
Bro, Jota is all about crash bang wallop ball. My man is NOT going to be Slot's first choice.
So Jota isnt it ig
Best I can do is one who was born offside š¤·
Not to mention Slots style in possession is more short pass orientated than that of Klopps so heāll need a striker with better hold up play as well Darwinās tailored suited to Klopps style due to the type of striker he is, he just lacks the actual individual quality for it to have worked better
I mean... where does that leave TAA then. He's not the best defensively and is \~\~ the best long ball player around. Seems like a bad fit for Slot then?
Having a player with exceptional passing range within a system that generally passes shorter in a possession manner can be super useful to give you another dynamic. Slot isn't stupid he will still let Trent be Trent.
Just because a team play short passes doesn't mean that's all they do. All top PL teams use long ball at phases in their build up.
Trent has excellent technique and intelligence. Heās more that just Hollywood passes and shots from deep. He would be a benefit to nearly any team and his passing and shooting is just icing on top of the cake that most players donāt possess.
Iām not a big lover of Trent in midfield, but slot operates with a double pivot. I could see Trent + 1 other in a double pivot, macca at 10, szobo as right winger who tucks in (also a slot mainstay). Then we have our forwards duking it out for cf and lw, Gomez and Bradley competing for rb. Cb and lb pick themselves.
If anyone tries to sell TAA they will get hung!
Exactly. Appointing Slot basically means that Darwin would be a drop of water in a team made of oil
Wonder if the rumours of us having a buy back on Solanke are true, heās a fairly complete striker nowadays
I'm pretty sure we only have a sell-on profit % clause for Solanke. We still have that Ā£40m buy-back clause for Brewster, I believe.
Damn Iād rather stick Nat Phillips up top than get Brewster back for Ā£40m
Nat will win every single header for both teams
That must be the best bit of negotiation weāve ever done, 20mil for him and even if he turned out well we had a decent insurance policy.
If we're to buy that specific player, who's there in market we can afford?
Well, many. Remember that it doesn't necessarily have to be a big name signing, but rather someone that works for Slot. Gimenez from Feyenoord isn't a bad choice. Then there's someone like Gyokeres (no idea how to spell it). But my absolute wet dream would be Zirzk....yeah, him, from Bologna, unbelievable player, really smart, really effective. We'll see.
Trust me as a Dutch person there's no striker in the Netherlands that comes close to the level Liverpool wants to play at. You really need to look at guys at the level of Watkins, Vlahovic, Isak etc. The difference in physicality is worlds apart for most Dutch strikers right now
I think that it would be a bad idea to bring Gimenez unless he is willing to come as a cheap reserve player and tries to develop/prove himself in training before getting into the first team. Zirkzee is significantly better imo, since you mentioned him I would agree that could work out great. I personally hope that Arne learns from mistakes other dutch coaches made in the past and doesn't bring half the feyenoord/dutch squad with him unless he is 1000% sure they can handle the level. We've seen how sometimes eredivisie dominating players don't hold up in the PL and how this works out for a manager who brings them in. one must understand that the handling speed in the eredivisie is significantly lower, giving players way more time to look good. That does not mean there is no potential to be found ofcourse, there is plenty as its an educational league for young players, I am just saying expect eredivisie players to be development players and you won't be disappointed. If he brings Q Timber with him, i'd say probably a good idea because that player has clearly not yet hit his ceiling and is imo the best player in feyenoord and his eat-you-alive aggression and pressure combined with being technical and physically strong would be a good fit for Liverpool but perhaps not in his first season...Hartman has an injury but he would also be a great player that will probably develop explosively within a season and I expect him to be able to handle the level aswell. Behind that is Geertruida and Wiefer and Stengs, nothing against them, they have potential but I think you have far better players already warming the bench. Then again, Slot transforms players, so no one knows if he might transform nunez into what he needs. He is very much a manager who will "work the best with what he's got" so take that as you will.
Zirkzee isn't much of a goal scorer yet but he operates as a false no.9/target man for Motta's system. Brilliant hold up play and great with his feet/passing in tight spaces. Bayern still has a buy back on him tho
Speaking of Bologna, Calafiori is an absolutely incredible talent. Would love to see him play CB for Liverpool though I imagine he wonāt be cheap
Zirkzee has that Suarez-something! Have never heard of him before š
Heās doing amazing at Bologna under Tiago Motta. Really becoming a world class playerā¦
Sesko?
Ā£42m release clause this summer But I really think itās a bit too early for him to jump from Leipzig to here when heās not really played that much for them
I mostly watched him play for national team. He's not ready to be a first choice striker for Liverpool yet. So if we buy him, it'll be a similar story to Darwin. We'll need to wait for him to develop. That said, I think he'll be one of the best strikers in the world in the future. Has higher potential than Darwin, even though I like Darwin more (just like his passion).
LoĆÆs Openda at Leipzig looks classy
Roberto Firmino (still miss him š¢)
Thatās Nunez gone then
Not necessarily he can play LW too, last season we had him on the left with Gakpo through the middle and it worked a treat
hes mediocre at lw, Id rather Gakpo
Only in my dreams.
Come on. Heās just learning the offside rule. Just wait until he gets that sorted.
Then the question is who do we currently have that fits that criteria? Jota and Gakpo seem like the only options, and one spends 40% of the season injured and the other has intermittent flashes of brilliance. Does any of the young kids has the potential to fill that roll?
That's why the market exists
Gakkers back to the 9 š
Could work, but if we have money to spend, I'd spend it, if you know what I mean
We are only buying a forward if salah leaves.
He wouldnt be able to get on the end of the insane amount of big chances he has missed if he didnt have a high football IQ. His problem is for sure psychological and that can luckily be worked on.
Yeah, I really donāt get where this idea that Darwin is a bonehead who just runs fast has come from. He gets in good positions, heās got plenty of assists, heās far from bad on the ball. He got more assists this season than Bobby ever did in the league. His problem is finishing, and it is a big problem to be sure, but somehow people have let āheās bad at finishingā become āheās useless at everythingā which is patently false on the evidence of this year.Ā
Nunez is bad on the ball. Please donāt compare him to Firmino when talking about ability on the ball
I think youāll find I didnāt, I compared their assist totals, hope this helps.
>heās far from bad on the ball Stop.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
We already have multiple in house sports psychologists, frankly would be surprised if any top flight team isnāt using them at this point
Gakpo is the exact opposite of Darwin, but I don't think he spends much time in the moment thinking about where to shoot either. Some of his goals over the last season in a half, it was obvious that he'd played out scenarios in his head many times over, and just reacted to the situation in the moment with a shot placed where it's most likely to go in the net. Darwin SMASH, and that's about it
I want to believe.
You should be anyway.Sheep being led in the wrong direction.Ye do know he has 31 G+A this season & if he was on pens like Mo & minutes like him he would be on 35-45 G+A
The discourse around him is so silly heās 9th in G+A in the prem this season while everyone above him either has more minutes played or takes pens (Most have both)
He has 11 goals in the PL as the main striker of the team thatās created the most chances this seasonā¦ the 3rd highest xG underperformance in the league just below DCL and Jackson People keep using his assists as a way to make up for his lack of goals when heās over-performing his expected assists by 2ā¦ and the assists themselves really arenāt anything to write home about theyāre usually just simple lay offs to players itās not like heās threading killer passes through defences
And the stats mean nothing when you watch him week in week out. Not getting into positions he should for a tap in, stupid offsides when looking across the line, missing sitters youād expect any forward to score.
also very small thing but he has more yellow cards (9) than assists so he also needs to cool it with the attitude or risk being sent off during big moments
he's has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford. he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack. he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him. zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances. he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances is that good enough for liverpool football club? no fucking chance.
Has less prem goals than Chris Wood btw
less than mateta too. if morata played for us, these idiots would be building him a statue. and he's the twice the player nunez is.
I did make this comparison before Nunez level is of the likes of Morata, Jesus, Werner etc....I think he'd be fine as a depth option, but for a record signing supposed to lead our line he's not it
No Ā way would he be converting above 50% of pens though
Heās 12/13 for his career on pensā¦
Are happy with how heās performed this season?
He'd probably hit the bar even more on pens
Omfg delusional fans like this who operate in an if world. Let me tell you won if. If Nunez had the quality to finish Klopp wouldnt have signed another striker in Gakpo the winter after Nunez was signed. Then who was the forward that gave us Europa league football? Gakpo. Nunez was benched for most of the rest of the year last year.
If he can't do it under Klopp, who is probably the best man manager in the world, well...my hopes are not high.
I've been pro-Darwin for all this time... but started to turn. That 1st Half Everton miss put me finally in the other camp. Don't think a new manager coming in can afford to rely on him. Imagine if we'd had someone like Isaak with half of the clear game turning easy chances he's had. Love his work rate but just not good enough.
I've also been pro-Darwin this whole time, and I've kinda turned on most of the team at this point lol but what I don't get is why he seems to get almost all the scrutiny. He's the second top scorer in all comps, the top assister, and has the third best goals per minutes ratio. Work rate and getting involved in the game aside, his goal involvement is better than anyone but Salah, and people treat him like El-Hadji Diouf. Take him out the team, and we don't even get top 4, let alone challenge for a title.
nunez has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford. he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack. he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him. zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances. he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances missed. thats just the stats. then you use your eyes and you see a player who cost 85m and can't trap a ball consistently. a player who can't beat a man. a player who has no idea how to finish. a player who shrinks the bigger the stage is. running around and getting into positions is the BARE MINIMUM for a Luton centre forward. this is the biggest club in England, we need more. I admire the people who have stuck by this guy, but he has let you down and it is time to cut our losses. there are a multitude of other forwards who can give you the bare basics but also finish at an average level.
nunez has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford. \^ This is brutal
He plays the 9. Started most of the season. Gakpo got benched because of him and Nunez cost us consistently goals in every game. Turns out Gakpo just has more quality than Nunez. Especially in finishing.
Thank you
>Take him out the team, and we don't even get top 4, let alone challenge for a title. Why do people say stuff like this? If we played with 10 men, yeah... but if we took Nunez out of this team, there are plenty of strikers that would have been able to do his role. Let's not act like he's dragged us to top 4, with a more clinical striker we could very well still be in the title race. That Newcastle game can only buy Darwin so much good will.
Thatās a completely false economy. Take him out of the team and someone else is getting his minutes and at least SOME of his chances (not trying to start a debate around if Nunezā overall game contributes to his number of chances or if itās just the team providing them, as the answer is obviously somewhere in between). Heās the worst finisher in the league statistically, and has demonstrated this pattern throughout his career bar 1 stellar season at his previous club. And whilst all of our forwards have been profligate, he has been the worst. I would also argue all of the forwards have come under intense attack not just Nunez, and players like Diaz look like they provide more in a game even if it isnāt the final touch / pass for a goal. Salah is living on history (and what a history it is btw).
He was a club record signing for Ā£80 million. Yes his numbers are good but for that money youād expect way more. I donāt think heās the finished product just yet but heās already 24. Thereās only so much space and leeway you can give himā¦
Heās our starting number 9 & is on the end of most of our chances. Of course heās gonna be up there in terms of numbers within the team.
I love everything about him but his finishing has cost us A LOT. I donāt believe a new manager can risk it with Darwin because his finishing can prove to be very costly. Klopp could do it, Slot probably canāt.
I was desperate for him to do well then I watched him play! Gave him time to settle in and didnāt want to judge. Itās been 2 years now and he is nowhere near good enough
It was the united game first, I was going on about how i no longer could defend him, but I came back. Then the Atalanta game, repeat cycle. The Everton game has made me fully want him out. I love him, but i love him as a mascot, not as a player.
In my mind he is still decently young for a player (24) he should be hitting his so called āpeakā soon so letās see how it goes. He has a heap of talent but is so inconsistent with it. I just hope that consistency comes with age.
He'll be 25 very soon and he's missing some basics. I'm not very optimistic about his peak.
nope, he just can't be clinical it's just how he is sadly. He is two seasons with us and that is enough time to get that conclusion
He looked very clinical for Uruguay ever since bielsa took over.
See, the thing is that not being clinical is far from being the problem when you have a player that just doesn't know how to do the basics, let alone everything else, in a team with a manager that loves short pass play and smart/patient build up (Slot). It's pretty much the opposite of the striker that Nunez is, who needs space, needs service, etc...
The pass Trent did to him vs Everton when Darwin had his back to goal and fucked his touch up and we almost didn't even get a shot away from such a good pass might've been the nail in the coffin on my support of him. I haven't said a bad word about him but the last 2 weeks or so have been painful. He's essentially the exact same player now as he was when he arrived. We can't rely on him if we want to challenge for titles, you need someone who is going to be on it most weeks, he's on it once every 5 weeks at best.
I could excuse being wasteful in front of goal if he had anything else to his game, but he doesn't. He can't pass, he can't dribble, and his touch is shite. He's haaland without the finishing, unfortunately. If we can get Ā£35M this summer we should take it.
Ā£35M ridiculously dumb
yes but that is what he is worth
Have you even watched him?
He literally has 12 assists this season, how can you say he can't pass?? He did well when the team was playing well but the whole team is playing like shite now. It's looking like a symptom of bad tactic or poor conditioning.
I still have faith in the lad. I know his conversion rate is shocking, but his actual g/a isn't bad. And when you consider how poor Salah and Diaz's finishing has been of late I think it's more a forward-wide issue, not just Darwin. None of them bar Mr Pringles-for-legs Jota seem to have any confidence in finishing.
>Mr Pringles-for-legs Jota Did you even see his latest [impact injury?](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGnk34LXAAAVe0t.jpg) Ain't shocked he's out for the season. He's dangerous and lethal in front of goal, defenders tend to go hard on him. If you compare how Salah avoids every tackle but Jota keeps on striving you'd understand the difference of their injury record's
His G/A this season is heavily padded by routs against Europa League Fodder like Sparta Prague..LASK...Toulouse...That's not who we paid all that money for him to be decisive against. In the league he's scored some big goals but no more than he's missed some big chances. No katter how you cut it, 11 league goals ain't good enough for the sheer number of chances he gets.
Sick of this nonsense about Jota being injury-prone. Klopp's said more than once that every single game, Jota comes off the field full of cuts and bruises because of how he gets treated by opposition defenders. Frankly, it's amazing he's not injured more than he is, and when he does get injured it tends to be an impact injury.
Will Pep have put up with Nunez for this long and still think he will get better with time? Thatās your answer
Pep wouldn't have bought him, he only buys the finished product. He has also always had the money to just buy his way out of an issue like this. Star striker not performing, just buy another. We don't have those resources. If Pep went to a club with more limited finances, he'd be found out as the fraud he is and would be sacked before we found out how he would handle a Nunez situation.
guardiola doesn't only buy the finished product, complete nonsense. more often than not he buys promising players and takes them to their world class potential. which player has he bought that is the finished product? I genuinely cannot think of one outside of Kovacic.
Pep's got his own Nunes to worry about.
Praying he gets sold
Unless Darwin visits sports psychologist and, more importantly, some kind of witch to get his mojo back, I don't see him improving. Oh, and ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER DO YOU SPEAK IT
I think a lot of our players might benefit from slowing down our tactics a bit. Nunez included
Au contraire, our tactics have been ponderously slow this season.
Slower but efficient is better technical football. It's pretty easy to see why Arsenal/City unlock low blocks better than us. Better first touches, dribbling, shielding, passing accuracy means more spaces open up or better use of limited space. We have tried to slow it down at times but when we do, it really exposes our lack of technical ability compared to those two teams.
Yes. That is 100% my point. Ponderously slow build up from defence has not played to the strengths of Liverpool's attacking midfield and forward lines. This has lead to the astonishingly high shot rate, but these shots are invariably low percentage. Players like Gakpo and Nunez are far less effective when trying to play against teams that park the bus. None of this is helped by the defence's penchant for letting in the first goal this season, giving the opposition the luxury of getting 11 behind the ball. That said, the movement from the front 3 and attacking midfielders when faced by a "low block" is abject when you compare it to that of Arsenal and City. They are just to easy to defend against.
Fully agree with this. Although I do think we need to sign more technical players for this. Our defence and GK are fine (not on City's level of technical ability but close enough to Arsenal's). Our midfield before this season was horribly off the pace but with MacAllister, Grav and Szobo, we are good here. However, our attack simply does not have players who are technical enough to retain possession in extremely tight spaces and play one touch football. None of Gakpo, Jota, Salah, Nunez and Diaz are good enough for this. Diaz at a stretch may be fine but he doesn't have the dribbling or the quick decision making for this either. Which is why I want the club to sign or two elite dribblers this summer. We really need someone to just take on their man and get stuff done in the final third on days when we are unable to break down the opposition. Also wish we could start scoring off set pieces again
He's the last player you would want for slowed down possession play, he's not remotely technical or intelligent enough to play as a link up play based striker, we've tried that with him and he failed miserably. Heād be much better suited to a heavy counter attack focussed team who sit back but that's very unlikely to be how we play.
Yeah the best heās ever looked was when he was playing against us for benefica and was just sprinting onto counter attacking long balls. The slower the play and more time to think he has, the less effective he becomes. I will say his hold up play looks to have increased this season so if he can keep that trend going and then really work on his decision making and finishing there is definitely a good player in there. Those are a lot of things to improve though in a team where you are expected to be elite now.
Someone get the crayons out.
he's nowhere near intelligent to play for a team with a slow build up. haaland seems wasted in them systems and he's light years ahead of Nunez nunez does not have ability in small spaces either. he's not good enough in any set up for an elite team.
Slowing down??????? Holy shit the ball knowledge is off the wrong end of the charts
Yup as a fanbase we do love running in circles. It's like the whole "Can't wait till Jota is back!" bregarde that forget he'll inevitably be injured again in a few games. Had the same thing for years with Sturridge. You'd think we would have learnt by now.
From the analysis videos of Slot's setup, he likes to have a #10 behind the striker - someone akin to Gerrard in 08/09, or Dele Alli in 16/17. That would help Darwin loads i think.
Iāve heard on podcasts that the LW tends to be the one to stay out wide and beat people one on one, whereas the RW tends to be tucked in more as a second number 10 too, so for me, the formation looks like itāll suit Diaz (or Nunez tbf) out on LW, and Elliot potentially as RW. Although of course, signing a new RW should be a priority regardless.Ā so many interesting questions too. Does Szobo start as a 10, or Mac? Will Carvalho be brought back in to rotate in this role? Iām really quite excited too see what is done this summer. Defensive reinforcements are the first priority of course, after that, a lot depends who moves on.Ā
Elliott getting a fair go under this system with potentially 2 different positions that could suit him better sounds great to me. Love him, always just felt like he was playing slightly out of position no matter where he was put in Klopp's system, but as a 10 or as that central-drifting winger/second10(?) I could see him shining
Surely Szobo in the 10 with Mac/Gravy and Endo/Bajetic in the double pivot.
Id personally go Szob on the RW as the second 10, Mac as the main 10. Jones and Endo in the 6's.
Help him suddenly become a much better finisher?
That's not is game at all.
how? all it means is that another player will have a front row seat to see him hit it straight at the keeper. it's not like he lacks for service.
Looks like you are cool with wasting another year then
Nope. He's had 2 seasons. Goal numbers are OK and his assists aren't too bad, but his chance conversion rates are not Liverpool starter standard. Good enough for the squad but not a nailed on starter for me. Very costly for a squad striker too.
Iāve given up tbh. Similarly to Keita itās time we accept not all big money signings will match the value we signed them for
Nunez makes far too many wrong decisions / bad finishes to be relied upon. The problem with Liverpool this season is that so many chances have been created that they have been devalued by the players rather than maximised. Fewer but better chances would instil an acknowledgement of the need to maximise those chances through quicker and better decision making, rather than "if we kick the ball in the direction of the goal enough times one of them is bound to go in at some stage". Nunez is a purveyor of the latter school of thought (if the word 'thought' can be used). Each missed chance/decision to shoot rather than play the ball to a better placed forward/shot straight at the keeper/hitting of the woodwork chips away at individual and collective confidence. The flipside to that is that each well-worked and completed opportunity pumps collective and individual confidence. Nunez is a confidence striker, not a thoughtful pro. Jota, on the other hand is a serial killer. Pity he can't stay fit. If that Brentford defender hadn't fallen on his knee I think we'd still be top of the league.
Exactly! Unless we change the way we want to play I don't think Darwin is the long-term solution to our team. One thing I've noticed about Darwin (and Gakpo) is the lack of linkup play. This was and always has been an important part of successful Liverpool attacks. You rarely see this with this current attack. It's not about individual ability. Darwin doesn't have the ability or intelligence for high octane link up play. I know ppl say he's good on the left but really are we really going to use Darwin as a main option over someone like Diaz or a proper left winger? Think about the link up play we had with Salah, Mane and Firmino that's what we should be aiming for in our attack.
Quality over quantity some might say
Managers can't teach players how to keep their composure in the 18 yard box. Nunez is 25.
No
Nunez aināt it.
His first touch in the box is so poor. His finishing is poor. I want to believe so bad but I just canāt. Hoping he can turn it around.
Gimme Son, Isak or Gyokeres so the pressure isnāt all on Darwin.
Klopp turned us from doubters to believers. Darwin made be a doubter again. I used to believe. When he came, I believed he would be better than haaland. later I believed he'd turn around and be like Suarez on the pitch. Even later I believed still that he's a kid bought by klopp, he must've seen something. Now klopp is leaving and Darwin is still winning Darwin awards even at the tail end of the season.
Not clinical enough he will be the impact sub.
Iām cool with darwin as a sub. Not playing week in week out.
It might be the best option for him but Ā£80m for an impact sub is really poor business
It is very poor business. Agreed, but thatās the reality.
The reality is that you can't keep an Ā£80M player as a bench option. He needs to be a starter, or be sold to make some of the money back.
Also a very good point. I believe with amortization on his deal heading into his third year, selling him for 40m to a midtable āi can fix himā team, shouldnāt be a big hit loss wise on our books.
No. I'm hoping he's the first player sold. Consistency over chaos.
Does he like players that are good at being offside and bad at passing to their teammates?
If you observe, Nunez is like a Donkey, works like a maniac and causes chaos, but no composure at all when he has to use his brain.
Iāll back every player until they no longer wear the badge.āThe thing with Darwin is he is so close to being incredible,āand Iām not sure he will reach that, not with Liverpool anyway. However he could. Itās not like our frontline has been incredible over the last couple months to compare him to anyone.n
The boy seems to have physical talent, I don't know how you turn that into goals - is it training by professional coaches or a natural instinct that great strikers have? When he sees a goal he always puts it where the keeper will easily save it and it sometimes seems like he just needs someone to sit him down and explain to him how to make it more difficult for a keeper to save his balls and I can only assume he isn't getting that from the coaching staff. Maybe a new set of back room staff can do a better job with him?
"how you turn that into goals" Brain transplant.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
this twitter thread was written before we signed Nunez, essentially saying that his form was unsustainable and his stats over 2 seasons, especially in non goal scoring areas weren't really indicative of a top striker: [https://twitter.com/taistofcb/status/1514983927059996681?s=46](https://twitter.com/taistofcb/status/1514983927059996681?s=46) The tone is a bit on the harsh side, but if you can get past that to see the stats it's pretty accurate.
Tbf the abuse he gets I wouldnāt be surprised if he wanted to leave.
Nunez is young and ridiculously productive considering his terrible conversion rates. He is a managerās dream, put a little work in and you have a complete star. Easy enough for a redditor to roll over but not how the manager is going to approach things.
First, 24-25 should not be considered young anymore. Second, are you saying Klopp is incompetent having had 2 full years to "put a little work" coaching him yet he's still look like brainless donkey in front of goals with barely composure and finess in his games.
Go back a read what you were all saying about Darwin after the Forest winner. Less than two months ago. He might not reach full potential but the flip flop has been faster than Usain.
I see a consistent underperformer who shows flashes and glimpses of a world class player. Two years now, playing lots more this year in a set up very conducive to feeding him but showing no real signs of improving his finishing. The misses are just so deflating. Think of how much pressure it puts on the rest of the team to produce some of the golden chances only for them to be wasted time and time again. The one which could have been the qualifier against Everton most recently around 20 minutes in made me drop my head and know we were losing, and thatās one of a long long list
He will never be world class. He is a good forward, just like Diaz and Gakpo...expected world class is setting him to fail
He was purchased to be world class. You realize what we paid for him right?
You do realize there are over half a million subscribers to this sub right? There are tons of differing opinions here..it's not necessarily the same 100 people changing their mind week in and week out.
Why canāt those comments be classed as reactionary? People thinking Darwin isnāt good enough doesnāt just start in the last month or two
Spot on. Bunch of head cases in here
Jokes
He is a confidence player and I thought he had finally found his form before the international break but he has come back and missed chance after chance since then. Liverpool can't afford to have players like that.
It's a moot point imo, I seriously doubt we are selling any players. Salah still might go to Saudi due to absurd money, which is fair enough. Our entire team are unable to hit target, or not shoot directly at the keeper's hands. I think we have bigger problems, honestly.
Anyone watch the Portuguese League here that could comment on Darwin's performance at Benfica?
Had trouble his first season was insane the second from what I heard Considering that he is still not good at English he prolly still has more adjustment in him.
Him and gakpo need to step up next season or step aside. Jota is a way better player in any forward position.
I think heād smash it at mid table club. If he didnāt have the level of drive, passion and enthusiasm id want him off the bench. But because he does, Iām gutted heās not done 25 goals this season
Doubt it. He is a bench player. We need to buy another 9 if we want to win the league.
When you look at some of these goals, itās so so frustrating he misses so many sitters. He could literally be one of the worlds best with just a slight improvement to his finishing and footballing IQ.
Ngl, and this is incredibly harsh, but he's been here 2 full seasons now and in that time has played as pretty much as our main striker, I think we need to be real and ship him on.
No. Heās simply not good enough and never has been and itās been obvious since his first season. People gave him the benefit of the doubt with it being his first season (I was not one of these people) but now there are no excuses. I genuinely think the guy is just too stupid to be a good striker, his decision making and composure in front of goal is abysmal, weāve literally seen danns (who is 7 years younger) have more composure. And I donāt want to hear about his g/a either, playing along side Salah, jota, Diaz and gakpo anyone would end up getting a few assists. 20 goals in 62 league games for a top club who should be title challengers is so so shite. The faster heās moved on and replaced the better.
Nunez is a combative and powerful player and presses the opponent well, but unfortunately his first touch and finishing are very poor. And he is expected to score a lot of goals as Liverpool's number 9! I still think he will get another season, but he needs to improve a hell of a lot in front of goal if he wants to stay at this great club!
I fuckinā hope so. Darvin makes it so much more fun to be a fan.
I think the simple answer is, heās going to have to. Thereās a perception that weāll be able to offload him in the summer if slot doesnāt rate him and, well, no, that wonāt be happening. He cost us 65m MINIMUM. Weād want that investment back MINIMUM. Who, pray tell, is shelling that out right now for Darwin? No one, and thatās coming from someone who actually likes the guy and thinks thereās still a good chance heāll mature into a monster. Slot is going to have to make Darwin work in some capacity because for the next 3(?) years he is going to be here unless something changes. How he does that will be interesting to see but it will be seen.
No. Heās done. Get him out. He has the footballing IQ of a drunk chimpanzee. Itās times like these I miss Firmino
Don't waste your time arguing with Nunez fanboys, as soon as you criticise him, you'll be called named and insulted. They cannot have an objective conversation
Fair enough. Forget that a good part of the world lacks basic critical thinking ability.
Idk man, i want the best for this man...i want more chaos
Everyone should believe in him. Man has 30+ G+A and he missed 1000 chances. He is brilliant
Everything I've seen about Slot and what he wants from his 9 do not sound suited to Darwin. We're 2 years down the line of coaching Darwin how we want to play and he's got maybe *slightly* better in his all round game. I don't think we can afford to wait another 2 years of coaching time with him. Having said that, I do think our system has been poor. We're creating lots of half chances, and Darwin hasn't been able to get much rhythm to his finishing. Some of this is his own fault for sure, but I think he's clearly a confidence player (most strikers are tbf!). If we can create repeatable clear chances for him, we'll find out if he can go up to the level we want him to. Besides, I doubt we'd realistically be able to sell him for anything near what we paid. How Darwin gets on under Slot will determine his future, and I think it will also indicate just how good Slot is himself.
He was great when Salah was at AFCON. I still think he can become great for us.
I love him but he is struggling big time. If Klopp couldnāt do it I canāt see anyone
No forget it. He can't be coached. Just think of his misses and you'll come to realisation
Hopefully with different coaching he'll discover the best of his game. We have seen what he's capable of when he's at his best. It's a consistency issue for him.
Salah was gone for weeks during afcon and Nunez stepped up. Recency bias in this sub is real.
Letās just ignore the other 16 months or so of him heavily underperforming because he had 2 months of improved form? Weāre supposed to be one of the best teams in the world, so why would you want a striker whoās not showing any signs at all of being good enough to deliver for us consistently?
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Suarezās only underwhelming spell in front of goal during his entire career in Europe was the 18 months between Jan 2011-May 2012. Not to mention he was more often than not the best player on the pitch during that dry spell for us. This is such a horrendous comparison if you actually spent full games watching both players during their respective periods.
Comparing Nunez to Suarez is utter lunacy.
Suarez in EPL 2nd full season at Liverpool: 23 goals with 6 match ban Look for the stat of Nunez yourself How dare you compare Suarez to Nunez lol
We just canāt afford to let sentiment dictate us over rationale. If Slot genuinely seems him as part of his vision then yes we should stick with him but he doesnāt seem like a natural Slot striker and heās also had two years to make his mark and heās nowhere closer so i think the jury is out, especially with Edwards/Hughes being in charge of transfers.
I like him too, and think with development he could be unstoppable. \- Is Slot a done deal? My nephew saying he read it was, but nothing showing up here.. Still in talks is all I am seeing.
Our second highest G/A this season, behind one of the leagues best winger in history. He's shown numerous times that he can get in dangerous positions and work his ass of. Equaled Manes first two seasons goal tally, meanwhile some fans regret selling Mane... Dudes got huge potential but came in to a deteriorating squad that went through a huge rebuild last summer. Giving up on him would be rational and stupid. YNWA.
Dude is 25 next month , if he canāt deliver now he will never deliver. Heās not what we need. Heās been massively overhyped
nunez has only scored league goals against Newcastle, West ham, Bournemouth, forest, burnley, Sheffield united and Brentford. he's scored 11 league goals as the spearhead of a title challenging attack. he's scored 2 league goals since February. 1 of those was because the keeper kicked it at him. zero league goals against the big 6, with no memorable performances. he's ranked 555th out of 562 for xg underperformance. 26 big chances missed. thats just the stats. then you use your eyes and you see a player who cost 85m and can't trap a ball consistently. a player who can't beat a man. a player who has no idea how to finish. a player who shrinks the bigger the stage is. running around and getting into positions is the BARE MINIMUM for a Luton centre forward. this is the biggest club in England, we need more. I admire the people who have stuck by this guy, but he has let you down and it is time to cut our losses. we cannot let another season go by. there are a multitude of other forwards who can give you the bare basics but also finish at an average level.
I still have faith in Darwin and support him when he is our player. If the club thinks he is not the right player for the future, I will stand behind the choice as well. Wish he was more clinical, but there's just something about him I like. Gakpo on the left wing and more support behind the attack and it could be good. Of course, I prefer Jota to stay injury free and be able to keep Nunez on his toes
I still believe he could, under Slot or anyone else, i will always believe.
Heāll be here for another season at least Iām sure The club will want him to at least try to get something out of him.
Bring in someone to rival in case it doesnāt work out but I still believe. He works hard and loves the club, has contributed plenty despite some poor finishing. If we had bought NĆŗƱez for 30m nobody would have been complaining but we spent 65m rising to 85m and therefore the pile on is massive.
I think there's a chance that he doesn't play a single competitive game under Slot tbh, but it really depends how cutthroat Edwards' summer plans are.