The Darwin evolution

[Squiggles]

Nunez is not going to be slickest of players in the build up, but the impact he's having is undeniable. The finish at the weekend was brilliant, so was the assist. It looked awkward, but he meant it. Additionally he could have had another assist after laying the ball off neatly for Diaz who was unfortunate his effort was blocked from close range. Salah and Diaz are quickly learning that if they get near Nunez, they will be presented with decent goal-scoring opportunities close to goal. It's reassuring to see that coming together already. And all this impact from Nunez came in second half cameo where our fullbacks were mostly dog shit, so imagine where we'll be when we're on song and dominating the ball from the wider areas.

It's no exaggeration to say would have won the game if Nunez had started. Klopp needs to accept that Firmino is now a rotation player. I've read elsewhere that if we're to win the league we'll need around 95 points, which means we've dropped around 10% of the points allowed already on the opening day. Unfortunately the standards are so high that there's simply no time not to go with our strongest eleven from the get-go.

 

[Donavan Ried]

It's no exaggeration to say would have won the game if Nunez had started. Klopp needs to accept that Firmino is now a rotation player. I've read elsewhere that if we're to win the league we'll need around 95 points, which means we've dropped around 10% of the points allowed already on the opening day. Unfortunately the standards are so high that there's simply no time not to go with our strongest eleven from the get-go.

I was saying the same at the end of the match tread....
But I believe Bobby has a lot more to offer. So I would like to see him get a decent run in midfield, to see what he could do there.
There are quite a few players over the years That started life in one area of the pitch and moved to another area and exceled there. I think Frimino could do that

 

[tombrown]

Nunez is not going to be slickest of players in the build up, but the impact he's having is undeniable. The finish at the weekend was brilliant, so was the assist. It looked awkward, but he meant it. Additionally he could have had another assist after laying the ball off neatly for Diaz who was unfortunate his effort was blocked from close range. Salah and Diaz are quickly learning that if they get near Nunez, they will be presented with decent goal-scoring opportunities close to goal. It's reassuring to see that coming together already. And all this impact from Nunez came in second half cameo where our fullbacks were mostly dog shit, so imagine where we'll be when we're on song and dominating the ball from the wider areas.

It's no exaggeration to say would have won the game if Nunez had started. Klopp needs to accept that Firmino is now a rotation player. I've read elsewhere that if we're to win the league we'll need around 95 points, which means we've dropped around 10% of the points allowed already on the opening day. Unfortunately the standards are so high that there's simply no time not to go with our strongest eleven from the get-go.

Agree, but I read somewhere else that 80 points will win it, so we're grand.

 

[StevieM]

Agree, but I read somewhere else that 80 points will win it, so we're grand.

We’re finishing 7th or lower - so we’ll only need 50 odd points.

 

[MomoWASright]

He’s fucking shit. Has he even kick the ball properly since we signed him? Even Andy Carroll could ducking kick it right.

 

[MomoWASright]

Just fuck off. Go.

 

[RedStar]

Hes brainless, you can't coach that.

 

[peekay]

He is a very likable guy but that statement also makes me a wee bit nervous. Some of the best ones - Torres, Suarez - strutted onto the Anfield pitch on day one like they owned it.

He is way too sensitive to criticism on and off the pitch. A LFC striker needs bulletproof mentality. Yes, he does not have the experience of Torres and Suarez but he will have to learn fast. Not his fault we paid close to 100 million for him, but he will need to forget that transfer fee and get into the right headspace. He is physical, a threat and got into dangerous positions even though Palace had defenders right in front of the goalkeeper.

He should watch the Torres vs Reading performance , his third or fourth game for us. The Reading defenders, kicked him, punched him, scythed him. Torres didn't react. Got up every time he was bought down, smiled at them, scored a hat trick and walked of the pitch like a boss, not a single strand of hair out of place.

He is going to have a target on his back every time he steps out now. Forget reacting with words and actions, the best way to shut up opposition fans and defenders is by scoring goals.

 

[StevieM]

In reality he should have spent a little while bedding in while coming off the bench - Jota would have started in the central role.

Ah well - he’ll need to get his head right as every other CB knows he caN be easily would up.

 

[Irishanfield]

He was useless today even forgetting about that headbutt.missed two glaring chances and tbh Salah wasn't any better.

 

[Irishanfield]

So far he is everything we had all hoped for when signing him for that role. What a fucking player.

Lol this aged well

 

[RedStar]

He was useless today even forgetting about that headbutt.missed two glaring chances and tbh Salah wasn't any better.

Yes his meltdown has obscured the fact that his all round play is pretty average

 

[Irishanfield]

Yes his meltdown has obscured the fact that his all round play is pretty average

Average is being nice to him. His control was terrible, his finishing was terrible but still saying that he still did get chances which is important.

 

[moron]

Lol this aged well

It's only been 3 games for him, let's see:
2 goals
1 assist
1 Red

It's still good.

 

[i_rushie]

I don't know what we're complaining about. Poor control, iffy finishing, passing not his forte, its like Sadio never left!

 

[MomoWASright]

It's only been 3 games for him, let's see:
2 goals
1 assist
1 Red

It's still good.

Zero balls hit cleanly.

 

[Frogfish]

Yes his meltdown has obscured the fact that his all round play is pretty average

His meltdown? Fucking hell the meltdown on here is worse than his (fully deserved and stupid) red card ! Ridiculous. Anyone who saw him in the two games against us, or even just the compilation of his goals last season, knows what he is capable of. Most of the forum was drooling.

He's done well so far as an inexperienced player under a lot of pressure, we've seen some high quality play as well as the snatching at opportunities. He's learning and yesterday will have been a huge learning experience for him, he has clearly been trying to impress, especially on his home debut where the pressure told and he just lost it.

So often we read on here ... "what Klopp could do with this or that player given time" ... and yet, after what isn't a slow start by any means - in fact there have been very promising signs in a change of direction for how we play - half the forum is angst ridden, has given up in him, and is showing greater loss of control than Nunez !

 

[MomoWASright]

I’ve got better ball control than Nunez. Klopp must be able to work miracles if he can teach him the basics.

 

[bluebell]

Brain fart moment yesterday, look at Song, I remember him fly kicking a guy and getting a red.
I also remember Mane getting away with some antics that could have warranted a red.
Yesterday again showed how bad our MF is, and we do not have real comp on the Right.

 

[tomasjj]

someone put him in a cinema, giving him the clockwork orange treatment, showing endless videos of fowler and torres´ finishing

 

[Modo]

I can excuse a tackle like Robbos against Spurs, but there are no excuses for what Nunez did. Fuck him.
(Until he wins us the league)

 

[Halmeister]

He was absolutely hopeless. I'm worried about him. A trampoline has a better first touch.

 

[keniget]

In reality he should have spent a little while bedding in while coming off the bench - Jota would have started in the central role.

Ah well - he’ll need to get his head right as every other CB knows he caN be easily would up.

Rightly or wrongly, 65M strikers don't really get bedding in periods... he needed to hit the ground running. We needed him to hit the ground running.

 

[moron]

I am sure he can finish despite all the bollix talk on here. I think what is causing him issues is that he needs to be a bit quicker to the ball in this league. He scored 34 goals last season...honestly you think a player can score that many goals and not know about finishing ? Fuck off. Also, part of me is happy we have a hard nut up front, mad mistake but he will learn. Think he needs to watch a video of Sadio Mane, just keep moving around so the announcing defender won't keep targeting you easily.

 

[StevieM]

Rightly or wrongly, 65M strikers don't really get bedding in periods... he needed to hit the ground running. We needed him to hit the ground running.

I don’t disagree.

 

[bluebell]

Rightly or wrongly, 65M strikers don't really get bedding in periods... he needed to hit the ground running. We needed him to hit the ground running.

Who wrote the Rule Book on that? Injuries has forced our hands

 

[MomoWASright]

Rush was the last boss striker we had that needed to be bedded in.

Fowler
Owen
Torres
Suarez
Even Mané and Salah all came in with absolute swag and owned the pitch from day one. To lead the line for us you have to be full of self belief. This Lukaku/Werner hybrid doesn’t have that.

 

[Silver Sean]

The usual calm and rational response to one game on here I see.

 

[RedStar]

The usual calm and rational response to one game on here I see.

Not exactly, plenty of people were concerned about his technical ability before he signed. The fact that he's continued to look sub par in terms of first touch and technique is in no way a knee jerk reaction based on yesterday. It's a consistently observable issue he's got.

 

[RedStar]

I am sure he can finish despite all the bollix talk on here. I think what is causing him issues is that he needs to be a bit quicker to the ball in this league. He scored 34 goals last season...honestly you think a player can score that many goals and not know about finishing ? Fuck off. Also, part of me is happy we have a hard nut up front, mad mistake but he will learn. Think he needs to watch a video of Sadio Mane, just keep moving around so the announcing defender won't keep targeting you easily.

Thing is you don't actually need to be a great finisher to score a decent number of goal. Sterling is an atrocious finisher, always has been, and yet he scores a pretty decent number of goals. Heskey wasn't a great finisher either. What players who are average finishers need is lots of chances, because they will inevitably miss quite a few. On all the evidence so far he will get a fair number of chances so I don't doubt he will score goals. If you are going to play up front and you aren't an elite level finisher you will need some other attributes to compensate. I don't know what that is with Nunez but he and Klopp need to figure it out quickly.