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McManaman: I would be gutted if Gomez left

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King Binny

Part of the Furniture
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[article]Steve McManaman has admitted he would be "gutted" were Joe Gomez to leave Liverpool in January or at the end of the current season.

The 26-year-old has been a key performer in Jurgen Klopp's side this term, featuring in various positions across the backline, and has seen regular opportunities arise as a result of injuries to Andy Robertson, Joel Matip and Kostas Tsimikas.

So often in the past it has been Gomez on the treatment table with a long-term setback, though the 2019 Champions League winner is now the player Liverpool are relying on at a time of need.

Such is the character of the versatile defender, Gomez is quietly going about his business - not that this should come as a surprise to supporters. Never one to hit the headlines for his performances, McManaman believes the Reds' No.2 is someone who is not appreciated in the same way as other members of Klopp's star-studded squad.

"I think he is a quiet lad, who has had terrible injuries in the past. Because he is not screaming out of magazines, doing photoshoots and being prolific on social media, he is underrated," the former Liverpool midfielder told the ECHO.

"The modern-day footballer seems to be everywhere. Joe goes about his business in the right way all the time and is an exceptional professional. He has played right-back, left-back and centre-back. When Jurgen wants him to play right-back to move into midfield, he does it even though he is not as comfortable with that as Trent. He gets on with the game and I think he is a superstar. There are times where he might have a bad game, like anyone else.

"I wouldn’t like him to go anywhere else," continued McManaman. "If he wants to play every single game, that’s a problem. It is probably to his detriment that he can play three or four different positions as, when you do that, people start thinking you can do everything. He can play left-back, but not as well as Andy Robertson. Robertson is left-footed and wants to get forward more. That’s not Joe’s fault. He is a great defender and always does an incredible job for Liverpool.

"I would be gutted if he left because people like Gomez are absolutely priceless to you at a football club. If you go back to Real Madrid, they’ve got Lucas Vasquez and Nacho, who have both been at the club for over ten years. If you speak to any of their team-mates about what they think of them, they adore them. That’s why they’re still there. Teams need players like that and they are just as important as the superstars."

Gomez has made a total of 24 first-team appearances for Liverpool this season, which has seen various demands placed on the centre-back. Assisting with the Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield plan, the Charlton Athletic academy graduate has at times starred at right-back to allow Alexander-Arnold to remain in central areas.

The success of this switch came to the fore during the Reds' 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace earlier this month when Gomez was introduced at half-time, occupying the right flank to allow Alexander-Arnold to flourish further up the pitch. On whether this is an approach Klopp should deploy from the start of games as opposed to midway through encounters, McManaman added: "I personally think Trent should start at right-back as that means you get another midfielder into the team.

"If Liverpool dominate possession, Trent will always move into midfield anyway and make it four guys in there. If Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Gravenberch play and Liverpool are dominating, Trent will go into midfield anyway and push Mac Allister on. I’ve got no problem with how Liverpool set up. If Trent goes and plays in midfield, where will Gomez go when Liverpool are controlling games? He would end up sitting on Trent’s shoulders. The current system works. Trent plays as a midfielder most games, regardless of if he sets up at right-back.”[/article]

 
Bit of a random article, was he actually asked about Gomez or did he just decide to give his 2pence worth about him?

80% of his time here he’s been used as a squad player, of course he’s not gonna be held in the same breath or spoken about inn the same light as Ali Virgil Robbo Salah etc, come on Macca wake up, would you have felt disrespected if the media back in the day were speaking about Matteo or Mcateer in the same glowing terms as you? Course you would’ve.

He’s proved to be a much improved squad filler this season, why would there be any contemplation over him leaving now or in the summer? He’d would’ve been long gone by now if we weren’t or he wasn’t happy his situation.

Oh and someone should probably explain to Macca what underrated actually means because for the last 2-3 years Gomez has been absolute piss, it’s funny how these pundits only ever want to acknowledge the good and never the bad.
 
Not only has he done the basics well, much better than before, but he's showing strings to his bow we've never seen before. He's taking it forward well, retaining possession and starting to look a goal threat. Only a matter of time before he gets his 1st goal for us.

I'm a complete convert.

And don't insult him by comparing to Oshea and Wes Brown 😵
 
Not only has he done the basics well, much better than before, but he's showing strings to his bow we've never seen before. He's taking it forward well, retaining possession and starting to look a goal threat. Only a matter of time before he gets his 1st goal for us.

I'm a complete convert.

And don't insult him by comparing to Oshea and Wes Brown 😵


Insult? I hope you're kidding.
 
When Gomez first broke into the first team he showed all the same promise at full back he is displaying now. Confidence and a lack of injuries is a wonderful thing.
Playing for a new contract is also an amazing motivator 😀
 
When Gomez first broke into the first team he showed all the same promise at full back he is displaying now. Confidence and a lack of injuries is a wonderful thing.
Playing for a new contract is also an amazing motivator 😀
He has three and a half years left on his current deal
 
Yeah I've changed my mind about Gomez. We need a few Wes Brown, Oshea types in the team

I was always very much on board with the home-grown utility player idea (if you don’t want to use Ferguson-era United players as an example, you can say Nacho or Lucas Vasquez type), but they have to be reliable when stepping in and unfortunately for a long time Gomez wasn’t - he was erratic and low on confidence. THIS version of Gomez, however, could be useful for any team in the world. Long it may continue.

Which is why, once again, I hope Gareth Southgate forgot Gomez ever existed.
 
I was always very much on board with the home-grown utility player idea (if you don’t want to use Ferguson-era United players as an example, you can say Nacho or Lucas Vasquez type), but they have to be reliable when stepping in and unfortunately for a long time Gomez wasn’t - he was erratic and low on confidence. THIS version of Gomez, however, could be useful for any team in the world. Long it may continue.

Which is why, once again, I hope Gareth Southgate forgot Gomez ever existed.
Oh Southgate will fuck him up again
 
I think he's better as a fullback, despite being a very good CB at times. For me the big advantage is that when Trent goes on his work experience trips to midfield Gomez drops into a back 3 much more easily that either Tsimikas or Robbo can. He's got the pace to play at FB and take the ball upfield but also the physical power to cover at CB in a 3

He's been one of the best surprises in an already surprisingly good season so far. Does he start when Robbo comes back? Honestly it's not as straightforward as you might have previously expected, I don't think you mess with a winning team, particularly in defense. So unless Joe needs a rest I'd be inclined to let him keep doing his thing Robbo wasn't playing all that well before he got injured
 
I think he's better as a fullback, despite being a very good CB at times. For me the big advantage is that when Trent goes on his work experience trips to midfield Gomez drops into a back 3 much more easily that either Tsimikas or Robbo can. He's got the pace to play at FB and take the ball upfield but also the physical power to cover at CB in a 3

He's been one of the best surprises in an already surprisingly good season so far. Does he start when Robbo comes back? Honestly it's not as straightforward as you might have previously expected, I don't think you mess with a winning team, particularly in defense. So unless Joe needs a rest I'd be inclined to let him keep doing his thing Robbo wasn't playing all that well before he got injured

Nah - I would take Robbo back just for pure attitude. I know Gomez was really bad last season, but he is on a different level this season, and you may laugh but I think he has leadership qualities as a central defender. The first clean sheet of the season for us came when Gomez had to play central defence and marshal that back-line while VVD was suspended. He was outstanding in those games.
 

This is why he's better than Robbo now - his pace (and CB like tackling) is exceptional and gets us out of a lot of potentially tricky situations. For me he shouldn't be losing his place, Robbo is now the backup (esp if we buy another CB).
 
Let's pray he's still available when Robbo gets back. He's been playing every match in a physical position recently, which he's not seen used to.

Hopefully Klopp gives him a rest, as he's now one of our most important players with Robbo and Tsimi out...
 
This is why he's better than Robbo now - his pace (and CB like tackling) is exceptional and gets us out of a lot of potentially tricky situations. For me he shouldn't be losing his place, Robbo is now the backup (esp if we buy another CB).

er...Robbo is no slouch, and Tsimi is quite quick as well. If we are not going to sign another defender there is no way he should be playing in that position regularly due to the physical needs of a RB/LB position. It's too risky with his injury record.
 
er...Robbo is no slouch, and Tsimi is quite quick as well. If we are not going to sign another defender there is no way he should be playing in that position regularly due to the physical needs of a RB/LB position. It's too risky with his injury record.
Rubbish. The best player for the slot plays there - you can't start ruling players out because "it's too risky", if it's too risky for that position then it's too risky full stop.
 
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