Philippe Coutinho

[G]

He's too far forward, as many have said before. Milner is taking the position he might well be better in.

Said it many times myself. He'd be far better further back with more of the play ahead of him but of curse he needs intelligent movement ahead of him too and we don't have much of that right now.

[Keyser Soze]

Said it many times myself. He'd be far better further back with more of the play ahead of him but of curse he needs intelligent movement ahead of him too and we don't have much of that right now.

Would you really want him 'in the engine room'?
He's too lightweight - any touch and he goes flying.
Contrast that to Sterling who's a similar build and he's pretty much strong as an ox. If Coutinho adds some aggression to his game then maybe he could play a tad deeper.

[G]

Would you really want him 'in the engine room'?
He's too lightweight - any touch and he goes flying.
Contrast that to Sterling who's a similar build and he's pretty much strong as an ox. If Coutinho adds some aggression to his game then maybe he could play a tad deeper.

Yes I would. His best game I saw him play for us was in there in the 5-1 against Arsenal, he was immense. He needs more players to play ahead of him to give him more options for the killer pass. He'll have other lads in the middle with him to do the bruising stuff.

Plus if he's further from goal he might stop taking wild long shots

[redmike65]

Yes I would. His best game I saw him play for us was in there in the 5-1 against Arsenal, he was immense. He needs more players to play ahead of him to give him more options for the killer pass. He'll have other lads in the middle with him to do the bruising stuff.

Which is why I have Milner (or Hendo) and Can (or Hendo) either side. He has a delicious pass he needs to get that aspect of his game back.

Plus if he's further from goal he might stop taking wild long shots

QFT

[Fosterbloke]

I'd drop Milner for Henderson FYI

[Pablo]

I think Milner needs a rest to be honest. Not on top of his game right now.

[danperkins]

Yeah definitely

[kingfunk]

Pre transfer blues?!

[McDermotX]

Nice header Phil

[danperkins]

[Maxiedge]

sort of thing that happens when you're on a downer

Doesn't seem to be enjoying his football at the moment and he's definitely the sort that plays better with a smile on his face. Would give him a break tbh or at least bring him on later in the game.

[Pablo]

He's got more important things than football to worry about:

[vlahka]

I wish I was born a WAG

[redmike65]

This is where Coutinho needs to be played - the transition fulcrum who can send the ball to the most appropriate area of the field.



Obviously when Henderson is back someone will have to be dropped - one of Can/Milner I suppose.

I'm a Coutinho fan but he's been dog awful all season.
Maybe a rest would do him good as he played through the summer, it may also give him the kick up the backside as well.
Whats not helping his causes is the lack of runners, but until we can buy some he's going to continue to have that problem - he needs to adjust his game.
The current trend is he'll try and beat 5 defenders and then shoot from 30 yards (same as Lallana).

Someone on reddit has been digging the numbers which show that Coutinho has taken the most at goal in the Premier League apart from Sanchez and more than half are outside the area. Coutinho has scored 1, Sanchez 6. So he is very wasteful which of course we already knew.

[McDermotX]

Someone on reddit has been digging the numbers which show that Coutinho has taken the most at goal in the Premier League apart from Sanchez and more than half are outside the area. Coutinho has scored 1, Sanchez 6. So he is very wasteful which of course we already knew.

From article on F365

After attempting just one shot against Spurs, Coutinho the wasteful shooter was back. Against Southampton he had four shots, all off target. Since scoring the winner against Manchester City in March, the Brazilian has had 53 shots in the league. Less than half have been on target, and only two have led to goals. A shot conversion rate of less than 4% indicates that Coutinho should look to create, not score.

‘He’s in danger of becoming something of a one-trick pony,’ Lawrenson wrote. ‘Stepover from the left, cut inside and have a shot. Stepover from the left, cut inside and have a shot. And so on.’ All were present and correct at Anfield.

This is not all Coutinho’s fault, of course. With limited options ahead of him, he is forced to do things himself. The Brazilian’s style is far more suited to serving a striker with the attributes of Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge, rather than a forward like Christian Benteke. Brendan Rodgers was only too keen to insist that Benteke’s arrival would not force Liverpool to change style, but it has severely hampered Coutinho’s effectiveness. Coutinho has provided one league assist since January when Sturridge has not been on the field.

That said, there is no doubt that Coutinho is struggling. Between New Year’s Day and the end of last season he created chances at a rate of 2.37 per game. That has since dropped to 1.0 per match. When Sturridge hasn’t played, it’s just four chances created in six games. That’s a pitiful return for Liverpool’s most creative player.