Jordon Ibe

[baitman]

he looks good when he has the ball played in front of him and he has to run onto it, as do most attacking forward players.
he seems to like to get the ball run out wide and then it all comes to a stop...
he will then be stationary for a few seconds trying to bluff the defender to go one way or the other and then it often means he then passes back to the middle.

what could have been a break and a quick cross in to the middle just stutters to become **** all again
his passing is often slack as ****, just dont see it with him. he looked good on loan at derby. he needs game time away from the first team as his contribution is certainly not good enough.

these young lads need to be fully ready to come into the first team before they get the chance to be more than a last 5-10 minute sub.
they need a couple of loan periods at different clubs to gain more playing time and experience before we give them a first team shirt.

[Harv]

Ojo hasn't done anything other than showing glimpses of his ability against lesser opposition. Ibe struggled in the semi-final of the Europa League and has been inconsistent with erratic game time all season. His inconsistency is typical of a young player and one who may be low on confidence which can lead to him (and others) making the wrong decision or dwelling too long trying to think of the right one.

We have a lot of raw, exciting young players but patience is the key. We'll praise Ojo when he's showing glimpses of skill and berate him when he can't do it week in, week out. Just think back to all the clamour for Ibe to replace Sterling. We've seen it with Origi and people questioning the purchase when he was on loan at Lille. He was probably coasting through games and counting down until the summer! He then comes in and because he doesn't score a perfect hat-trick, he's worse than N'gog .

Ibe may not push on, but I think our expectation of our younger players is set way to high.

Laugh all you want.

Im judging my opinion on having played loads of football and watching even more for a great number of years now. Some players just don't have the brain to put it all together. In Ibe's case, he's fast, he can dribble (into blind alleys) and has a strong, powerful physique that lets him barge his way past defenders. On the outside he has it all doesn't he for a 20yr old. But its all irrelevant IMO, as he just doesn't make use of it.

Confidence has little to do with it either. He hasn't changed, even when he was getting plaudits when breaking through, he was still running into blind alleys and showing absolutely no composure when shooting, passing and crossing.

Yes, he's young, he can learn more, i hear you saying. Maybe he can? But what he's missing is probably the hardest part to learn (if you even can...)

Ojo, in the brief glimpse we've had, has shown he has a brain. He has end product, he makes good decisions, he's not 'head down and charge' like Ibe. I don't need to see any more, you can tell straight away how a player reacts when in those positions. Doesn't matter what the opposition is, Ibe just puts his head down and runs, he has no idea where anyone is and when he shoots, he hits it as hard as he possibly can. Its infuriating. You don't need to hit the ball so hard. Look at Crespo, Owen, Inzaghi and Van Horseface of years past. How many times did you see them smash the **** out of the thing? They just rolled the ball into the opposite corner.

In Ibe's case, people desperately want to believe he will come good and he'll learn these things. But i don't believe he will be any more than mid table standard. Jermaine Pennant/Aaron Lennon/Ryan Babel standard. Glimpses of quality, but in the end, mainly just disappointment and untapped potential. Because IMO the things he's not good at just can't be learnt that easy. You either have it, or you don't. Its what sets the best apart from the rest. That football brain- just knowing where to be, what to do, where other players are, where the pressure is coming from, that ability to make everything look easy.

We'll see. I don't agree with selling him. Theres no point, (unless someones offering stupid money) but i wouldn't be banking on him being our new super star winger. He comes across as a good kid though, and at least he doesnt act like a little prima donna ****house like $terling and Sinclair

[wiw]

Felt a bit sorry for him after he was caught offside immediately after the thrown-in. No doubt it was stupid but when you **** up and know it, the last thing you want is your boss screaming at you telling you what a dickhead you are

[redmike65]

We'll see. I don't agree with selling him. Theres no point, (unless someones offering stupid money) but i wouldn't be banking on him being our new super star winger. He comes across as a good kid though, and at least he doesnt act like a little prima donna ****house like $terling and Sinclair

He deleted all his social media stuff a couple of weeks ago, everyone assumed he was in a huff.

[Phoenix07]

I'm still of the opinion that he needs to be elsewhere next season, whether that's via a loan, or sell with a buy-back clause. I just think he needs a different environment, without the pressures of Liverpool, to develop and allow for the odd dodgy game here and there.

[Muddled]

Laugh all you want.

Im judging my opinion on having played loads of football and watching even more for a great number of years now.

That and the 199 minutes of football Ojo has played for us.

You should be a scout.

[RichC]

That and the 199 minutes of football Ojo has played for us.

You should be a scout.

I genuinely laughed out loud to that comment. Harv meet a football forum where most have played and watched a **** load of football, football forum meet Harv our resident football scout

[Harv]

No need to be a such a patronising dick. Playing football to a reasonably high level and watching it almost religiously for 20+ years (not just our games) doesn't count for anything when judging if a player has talent or not?

You want to lick Ibe's ring, I think he's bang average and have stated why. I just posted a far lengthier post than i usually would, explaining it- and all you can retort with is some condescending ****e about i should be a scout **** off

I'll go back to being a sarcastic ****wit and making up more **** nicknames now i know your pleas earlier this year for me to argue my point properly are in fact a load of frog ****.

[RichC]

Genuinely found it funny. Ok to explain your reasoning I just found it funny

[Harv]

You can **** off too

Im going back to normal Harv mode

[RedReet]

[Harv]

I genuinely laughed out loud to that comment. Harv meet a football forum where most have played and watched a **** load of football, football forum meet Harv our resident football scout

I'd actually question if that many have played to a decent standard on here

Obviously we all watch it, thank you captain obvious.

[RichC]

You are most welcome

[Mike]

FWIW I completely agree with Harv. Yes Ibe is young but that doesn't mean we can't get frustrated and wound up with him and have a rant - he shouldn't be exempt just because of his age. I wouldn't mind if he did a few good things and occasionally dipped, but this is beyond a dip. It's every game this season.

The running down blind alleys, slowing down the full-back when there's loads of space in behind, being offside after the throw in, letting loose passes go in the opposition half - these are the things that require game intelligence. He has all the attributes to be brilliant, but so does Balotelli. Without game intelligence you'll fail to reach half of your potential. Yes he is young and has time to put things right, but there has been zero glimpses this season that he is learning and/or improving. Its the same old, every game. Its infuriating.

I wouldn't sell him or loan him out. He should get more time but needs to start taking things on board and adding to his game.

[Harv]

amen