Welcome Endo

[Doc_Piptorious]

I missed the 2nd half... did our RB get a season ending injury... again?

Carried off on a stretcher, so does not look good.

[Buzzo]

I don’t understand how he was allowed to play on. I love the warrior spirit and all that and he truly is one. But surely not to the extent that he suffers an even worse injury as when he finally got taken off it was on a stretcher. After the Gomez injury debacle against Bournemouth I have to say I find all of this surprising.

[Doc_Piptorious]

]I don’t understand how he was allowed to play on[/B]. I love the warrior spirit and all that and he truly is one. But surely not to the extent that he suffers an even worse injury as when he finally got taken off it was on a stretcher. After the Gomez injury debacle against Bournemouth I have to say I find all of this surprising.

Players gives an audible that he thinks he can walk it off and that is what usually gets allowed. Different with a head injury or a more obvious dehabiltating injury.

A lot of fractures can give a sharp pain at first and then suddenly feel ok until you put further stress on them, unfortunately the feeling ok period often leads people to thinking they only tok a knock and are ok.


Not saying Endo defo has a fracture of the ankle or nearby area, just saying he might have done something, then felt like it was minor and gave the audible that he might be ok.

[Scratch]

They also mentioned on comms that if he had of gone off, we likely wouldn't have had a sub ready in time and would have been a man down at the first set piece, so his warrior spirit probably helped us a little bit there, as he was able to block a runner from the first delivery.

I doubt that was in his head at the time, probably more as Doc says, it was a case of "I'll be fine" followed shortly thereafter by a "actually, ow!" moment.

[Exiled_red]

The RB position is cursed this season.

Everyone thinks Slot doesn't like Ramsay, actually the truth is he's protecting him from the RB curse

[Doc_Piptorious]

Everyone thinks Slot doesn't like Ramsay, actually the truth is he's protecting him from the RB curse

Yep. He does not hate the young players, he is saving them from dark magic.


Slot of the Maiar

[SB]

Just saw this post from a FB group. It sums up how I feel about this guy.

Wataru Endo Gave Everything Before the Injury. This Was His Performance

He was not supposed to start.
Not at right-back.

But injuries and suspension reshuffled the board.
And suddenly, Wataru Endo was there.

Only his first Premier League start of the season.
Only his second under Arne Slot.

Yet he never looked like a player who had been waiting on the bench for months.

He pushed forward quickly.
Quicker than many expected.
Willing to overlap, willing to offer an outlet down the right.

Angulo tried to target him.
Tried to isolate him.

Endo held his ground.

He stayed disciplined across the back line.
Ran hard.
Kept the shape intact.

There were moments he looked less comfortable.
That is natural in an unfamiliar role.
Not everything flowed smoothly going forward.

But he kept battling.

And then came the twist.

An awkward moment.
An ankle that turned the wrong way.
A walk off the pitch that did not look reassuring.

Substituted.
Not for fatigue.
But because he could not continue.

This was not a flawless display.
It was something else.

A player stepping into a role that was not his.
Doing the work.
Taking the hits.

And leaving the pitch only when his body refused to carry him any further.

Sometimes performance is not about brilliance.

It is about commitment.

[badpiggy]

I've been surprised and disappointed by Endo's treatment by Slot but also but the "not really up to it" comments. One thing I think I've noticed about him - but I guess stats could prove me wrong - is that he's a very quick and progressive passer. I'm under the impression that when he wins or receives the ball, more often than not, he plays it quickly and generally forward. And I'm also under the impression that he's got an excellent long crossfield pass in his locker. And he's willing to play anywhere he's asked. This 13 man squad of Slot's is doing my head in.

[memzey]

Endo's definitely a warrior and I admire him for that. It can't be ignored however, that technically he just isn't good enough for a place in our starting line up. That No. 6 role requires someone who is more comfortable in possession when under pressure and with a better range of passing than he offers. His niche is when we are a goal up, defending for our lives and need someone willing to put their body on the line to keep the opposition out. That's probably not enough of a role for him or for us.

[badpiggy]

Well I can't understand how he had a place in Klopp team with so much speed and quick transitions yet he doesn't have a place in a team that seems to spend most of its time standing around.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Well I can't understand how he had a place in Klopp team with so much speed and quick transitions yet he doesn't have a place in a team that seems to spend most of its time standing around.

Think you have pretty much explained why he got more time in his only season with Klopp and also last season under Slot.


He had lots of other mobile players and movement around him then, so he could come into a team and add solidity later on in games and compliment the quick movements around him. That constant movement and lots of transistions meant he could find players easily with the ball and let them do their stuff.


Now he is two years older than when he arrived and the team around him is slower along with him probably being a tad slower himself at 33. He gets the ball now in a deep position and chances are he gets swarmed by opposition players whilst waiting for someone to show for the ball.


IMO of course

[memzey]

Think you have pretty much explained why he got more time in his only season with Klopp and also last season under Slot.


He had lots of other mobile players and movement around him then, so he could come into a team and add solidity later on in games and compliment the quick movements around him. That constant movement and lots of transistions meant he could find players easily with the ball and let them do their stuff.


Now he is two years older than when he arrived and the team around him is slower along with him probably being a tad slower himself at 33. He gets the ball now in a deep position and chances are he gets swarmed by opposition players whilst waiting for someone to show for the ball.


IMO of course

Exactly. Nail on the head I would say. In addition, it shouldn't be forgotten that he would often win the ball and have Trent at hand, 10 yards or so away, to play the ball to. I know it's painful to admit but we definitely miss having that out from a defensive situation.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Exactly. Nail on the head I would say. In addition, it shouldn't be forgotten that he would often win the ball and have Trent at hand, 10 yards or so away, to play the ball to. I know it's painful to admit but we definitely miss having that out from a defensive situation.

We also had Grav sitting deeper too last season and a pass to him would then see Grav carry the ball 20 to 30 yards upfield before releasing it to someone.

Plus MacAllister was also coming back to receive the ball from the CBs and Endo. Something he seems to have totally forgotten how to do along with rarely making himself available for a quick ball from deep so that the CBs have a release.

Is something that makes the likes of Jones stand out for me as Jones will make himself available to receive a pass from a CB even when in a tight space.


And it is not even a tactical thing that is stopping players from still doing that, seems to be more a willingness thing as the likes of MacAllister still playes in the same rle as last season it just looks like he is less proactive in giving the CBs an outlet or when he does he tends to get rid of it fast either sideways or back in the direction he got it from.

[memzey]

Agree with all of that. Grav's position this season has been an annoyance to me for a long time. He's a good 8 but a world class 6, in his own unique way. I much prefer him playing deeper although I also understand the reasoning behind the change (I just disagree with it).

Jones seems to have come on leaps and bounds in the last year and a half. I'd be very sad if he were to leave.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Agree with all of that. Grav's position this season has been an annoyance to me for a long time. He's a good 8 but a world class 6, in his own unique way. I much prefer him playing deeper although I also understand the reasoning behind the change (I just disagree with it).

Jones seems to have come on leaps and bounds in the last year and a half. I'd be very sad if he were to leave.

For me, and it is a drum I keep beating, Grav the class ball carrier needs to play in a double pivot with a class ball progressor. Now that progressor needs to be mobile ( in terms of pace, physicality and tactical awareness) and very capable defensively along with being able to knit play together, but think it is what we are missing.


Agree on Jones too. Have always rated him but when he is in the team at the same time as Wirtz and Ekitike you can see how he shares the same quality of being able to receive the ball under pressure and do something positive with it as thse two and he also links so damn well with them. He also has a very good habit of making himself available to players in deeper positions.