Is Matip finally the rock I always hoped for?

[Dreambeliever]

He’s been on many posters ‘not good enough’ list for a long time for valid reasons.

Injury prone
Weak
50 pence head
Positioning
Dives in
Etc.

But in reality with Gomez crocked and Lovren been injured for months our title assault and CL efforts have remained in tact with him a main stay with God aka VVD.

Has he done enough to be seen as first choice until the end of season?
Is he playing that well?
Should he stay beyond that or is his next injury just around the corner?

Obviously playing next to VVD could make Neil Ruddock look good but still I expected a few fuck ups and they haven’t happened (own goal aside)

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Mate, there is only one God ... and that's Robbie.

 

[MomoWASright]

No. He’s 3rd choice at best. He’s still a 50p head who looks like bambi on ice.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Mate, there is only one God ... and that's Robbie.

Ha you know it

 

[Markeh]

I thought the problem with Matip was that he got injured every time he started to look decent and it took him forever to get back to that place?

The longer he's stayed in the better he has looked.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Ha you know it

But back to question - very solid back up CB, but I'd rather we have Gomez & another player of Gomez's level ...

 

[Modo]

Agreed we miss Gomez's pace and agility. I also believe VVD and Gomez fit better together.
Matip is a good 3rd choice. Nowhere near as bad as people here think he is.
Lovren has a higher ceiling than Matip but so fucking error prone.

 

[Modo]

Mate, there is only one God ... and that's Robbie.

Blasphemy

 

[Brizzle]

Agreed we miss Gomez's pace and agility. I also believe VVD and Gomez fit better together.
Matip is a good 3rd choice. Nowhere near as bad as people here think he is.
Lovren has a higher ceiling than Matip but so fucking error prone.

Agree with all of this.

 

[KopRed]

He got completely done by Kane and left Virgil on a 1V2 situation.

He has been better than I thought but should still be behind Gomez.

 

[StevieM]

Lets be honest.

You could stick a traffic cone next to VVD and he’d make it look like a world class defender.

 

[moron]

Lets be honest.

You could stick a traffic cone next to VVD and he’d make it look like a world class defender.

No .. maybe a world class traffic cone.

But on the issue of Matip..I think @Mystic is spot on. I also like the fact he is very tall..him and VVD as a partnership are quite imposing as a central defensive pairing. In all honesty I actually think we have 4 very high quality world class CBs. But VVD stands out mainly for being the guy with the coolest head and the lead organiser, a team always needs one of them for the back line, and allows the others to show they are individually capable.

 

[ibromurph]

If he could put his height to good use and sort out his 50p head(ing), and contribute a few goals, I'd keep him around.

However, as the 4th choice CB. We need a better 3rd choice one (Lovren to be replaced; he's too injury prone). If VVD was out, as much as I like Gomez, i'd worry about him alongside a non-imposing Matip.

 

[Peatcheo]

He will start for the rest of the season, but that is more to do with Gomez's fitness. Once Gomez is fit he is back to the bench.

He has been a great stand in though, he looks much more solid with VVD, but I suppose anyone would.

 

[jexykrodic]

Top tip Matip is tops.

 

[mom]

What’s a 50p head?

 

[tombrown]

What’s a 50p head?

 

[Shay_K]

He will start for the rest of the season, but that is more to do with Gomez's fitness. Once Gomez is fit he is back to the bench.

He has been a great stand in though, he looks much more solid with VVD, but I suppose anyone would.

I seem to remember that we purchased Phil Babb based on the fact that he looked good standing next to Paul McGrath in the Irish setup 🙁

 

[Judge Jules]

True, but this is a tad different in that Matip's done it when already playing for us, wouldn't you say?

Fair play to him, he's got his chance and has taken it. Like others I see Gomez coming back in when fully fit, but now he's going to have to earn his place back and that can only be a good thing.

 

[Dreambeliever]

True, but this is a tad different in that Matip's done it when already playing for us, wouldn't you say?

Fair play to him, he's got his chance and has taken it. Like others I see Gomez coming back in when fully fit, but now he's going to have to earn his place back and that can only be a good thing.

If someone had told us the week before Gomez got injured he’d effectively be out for the season and we were going to rely on Matip mainly as our starting CB nobody would have given us a chance.

He’s done well and VVD has elevated the entire team.

 

[Frogfish]

He will start for the rest of the season, but that is more to do with Gomez's fitness. Once Gomez is fit he is back to the bench.

He has been a great stand in though, he looks much more solid with VVD, but I suppose anyone would.

Am I the only one that has kittens every time he goes on a run ? Or is one v one vs. a good striker ? Or tackles in the box ? Credit where it's due but he's like an octopus with legs everywhere ... and then one of them sweeps the ball away.

 

[moron]

If someone had told us the week before Gomez got injured he’d effectively be out for the season and we were going to rely on Matip mainly as our starting CB nobody would have given us a chance.

He’s done well and VVD has elevated the entire team.

Was there not a few game last season where Matip and VVD were paired - I seem to remember they looked good together back then before Matip had his usual injury.

 

[darkstarexodus]

Am I the only one that has kittens every time he goes on a run ? Or is one v one vs. a good striker ? Or tackles in the box ? Credit where it's due but he's like an octopus with legs everywhere ... and then one of them sweeps the ball away.

He mostly terrifies me.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Matip was a big part of our weaknesses yesterday. We played much deeper & it all seemed to stem from the way he was playing. He's just not aggressive or commanding enough...

I'd play Lovren ahead of him every time, I can only imagine that gomez being close to a return is what's holding klopp back, as switching centre backs twice in a short period would almost certainly cause issues, even with VVD alongside them.