IT was a big weekend on Merseyside.
The Giants from the French arts company Royal de Luxe were drawing the crowds in the city centre of Liverpool, while two giants of the Premier League were ready to clash at Anfield.
The hostile welcome Manchester City were expecting as their Super Grassbus 3000 made its way to the ground was almost as badly misjudged as Virgil van Dijk’s late challenge on Leroy Sane that gifted the visitors a penalty, but in both cases, it came to absolutely nothing.
Both sides cancelled one another out in what was a much higher quality game than the average observer seemed to give it credit for.
No win in four isn’t an ideal end to what has been an incredibly tough run of fixtures for Liverpool, but nor is it all that bad, particularly when you consider this. Chelsea have 20 points and their best players are on fire, especially Eden Hazard. City have 20 points and they very much look like they’ve picked up where they left off from last season. Liverpool have 20 points, and all anyone can talk about is how meek they look up top.
There would be justified concern if The Reds had been electric but were only level on points with City at a time when Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Hazard were having a bad patch. Liverpool have clear gears to go up, while Chelsea look like they’re at full throttle, and though City have Kevin De Bruyne coming back, they didn’t seem to miss him much when he was gone thanks to the performances of their spare Silva.
It is fair to say though that Jürgen Klopp needs his front three firing again before long, in particular Mo Salah, but there’s one other area that has been identified by some as a hole in the Liverpool team at the moment.
The Reds’ midfield has largely performed well this season, at least in terms of individual showings. James Milner is deservedly earning all sorts of plaudits, Gini Wijnaldum has thrived in a deeper role than usual and Jordan Henderson has mainly been impressive (or terrible, depending on which part of Twitter you happen to be).
As a unit though, they don’t offer quite as much thrust going forward as they did when Phil Coutinho or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were around. The front three of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino have all been short of form lately, but the supply line to them also doesn’t feel as potent as it was last season.
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With Coutinho gone and Oxlade-Chamberlain out for the majority of the campaign, Klopp needed another to step up into the role of midfield creator this season. A lot of people, myself included, assumed that “another” would be newboy Naby Keita. However, the £52m signing from RB Leipzig is yet to live up to the hype that followed him from Germany.
It seemed to be a good sign that Klopp, a manager famed for allowing his signings – no matter how expensive – time to settle, decided to throw Keita in straight away by starting him in the first game of the season against West Ham. The diminutive firecracker was impressive, and gave a glimpse of what fans could expect. The following week he produced THAT turn against Crystal Palace and in an instant, Reds seemed to fall in love once again.
Shortly after that turn, Keita was in a similar area of the field and gave a loose pass to van Dijk that nearly handed Palace a run on goal. Ever since then his confidence and form seems to have dipped. Klopp has understandably rotated him more than others, but it’s difficult to tell whether it is down to allowing his new signing a gradual introduction, or if it’s because he’s noticed how much the 23-year-old has struggled (or both).
Having taken to the French second division as a teenager at FC Istres seamlessly, and then the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg, and the German Bundesliga with RB Leipzig without any struggle whatsoever, it appears that for the first time in his career, Keita has found a league that might just take a bit longer to master.
Some concerns have started to creep into the fan base (let’s face it, it doesn’t usually take long) that Keita perhaps isn’t quite as good as advertised when he arrived, which would be a concern given the needs that Liverpool have if they are to maintain the pace in the Premier League and progress in the Champions League.
His sub appearance at Chelsea gave hope as his energy late in the game at Stamford Bridge did have a positive influence, and as a result, he was given a start in Naples a few days later, only to spend 15 minutes giving the ball away time and again before ultimately going down with a back injury and having to come off.
It could be that the injury was the reason for his iffy touches, and he was far from the only one who had a bad night in the 1-0 defeat, but it was an alarming – albeit short – cameo.
Then on Sunday, in the biggest game of the season, he was on the other side of it, having to replace a teammate unexpectedly in the first half, and he struggled to get up to the pace of the game. It wasn’t a bad performance per se, he showed some nice touches and produced some good dribbles. He also misplaced some simple balls though and didn’t show the usual energy not only expected of a Liverpool player, but also of him after the levels he showed in Germany.
And that’s the thing. The Keita we have seen since the Palace game has been practically unrecognisable from the Keita who dominated the Bundesliga. All the plaudits he received in Germany were fully deserved.
He was a phenomenon in his first season at Leipzig, comfortably the best player in the league outside of Bayern Munich’s squad, which is why Liverpool made the deal for him a year in advance, and why Barcelona tried to usurp them at the last minute.
It’s also why Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick insisted time and again after the deal was done that he was worth more, and that if it wasn’t for his release clause, they would have rejected any and every offer for him.
You could tell from the effusive words used by Klopp when the signing was confirmed that this was a signing that the manager was particularly excited by. It was almost like interviewing a 10-year-old at Christmas to see what he thought of his new puppy, games console and remote-controlled Ferrari.
“Naby was two years ago, together with maybe Thiago Alcantara of Bayern, for sure the best player in the Bundesliga by far,” Klopp told the Liverpool Echo in pre season.
“It was unbelievable how he played and then we wanted to get him in, but Leipzig didn’t think that was the best idea in the world so they kept him.
“And then last season he was still good. Not as good as the year before but still good. He is young, he is full of football skills, very stable, very good in small spaces, endurance wise fantastic, quick, good finishes, good runs in the box.”
The thing that struck me most about watching Keita in the Bundesliga was his decision making. Whether it was something simple or something intricate, he almost always did the right thing for any situation. That is something that he has struggled to replicate so far in England, probably due to the increased speed of the Premier League, and is therefore likely to be something he improves on, even if it’s gradually.
His teammates have seen Keita’s talents up close as well, with Daniel Sturridge telling the club’s website when asked about his new teammate in July “I love that guy. I’m surprised how good he is actually, if I’m honest. I knew he was good but I don’t watch German football too often.
“I haven’t seen a midfielder like him for a while, he is something different. It’s crazy. The things he can do with the ball, he can defend, he can pass, he can dribble, he is fast, he is strong. He has got everything. I’m excited to see what he does.”
Those who have seen enough of Keita know just how good he is once he gets going, and trying to build up form in a new team, a new system and a new league is hard enough, but more so when you’re playing the likes of Chelsea, PSG and Manchester City every few days.
However, after this international break, Liverpool have a run of games that could be an ideal opportunity to give Keita plenty of starts and allow him to get up and running. The sort of teams The Reds are set to come up against will be more like West Ham in the first game of the season when he had more time on the ball, less pressure on him and could put things together to build up his confidence.
With Milner out for a few weeks, now is the time for him to step up and show everyone exactly what he’s about.
Once Keita is up to full speed his link ups with Salah, Firmino and his mate Mane, it has the potential to be game changing, and exactly what has been missing from the team so far this campaign. Just ask Leipzig stars Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner what playing with him was like when he was in form.
In 2015, I wrote an article for this very website about how exciting it was to be signing Bundesliga hipsters’ favourite Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim. A few months later I had to write another article reassuring everyone that he wasn’t anywhere near as bad as he appeared to be from his first few games, and that with a bit of patience, he’d come good.
Admittedly, Bobby had to go through the end of the Brendan Rodgers era which couldn’t have been easy, but he came through it to become a key part of Klopp’s team, and just yesterday made it to the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award.
Consider this my article on Naby’s behalf. He’ll be fine and will come good. As with Bobby, he’s too talented and determined not to.
Like the giants, once Keita rises from his slumber and starts marching through midfields, kids and grownups alike will look on in awe. Great swathes of onlookers will gather to gaze on his cultured magnificence.
And they’ll probably stop the bloody trains again.
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Would love it if he starts justifying his price tag on the pitch. With Milner being out now, this is Naby’s chance to impress in midfield. Hope he takes it.
I am with you in these desires. I was far from impressed at him just sitting his arse down in Naples and waiting to be carted off on a golfing trolley.
GROW A PAIR AND MAN THE FUCK UP CAME TO MIND when i saw this and him just not liking the conditions of a bit of wind, rain, cold and crap pitch.
I’m just curious.. What’s your age??
“It could be that the injury was the reason for his iffy touches, and he was far from the only one who had a bad night in the 1-0 defeat, but it was an alarming – albeit short – cameo.”
I agree, I think that was probably the case.
“In 2015, I wrote an article for this very website about how exciting it was to be signing Bundesliga hipsters’ favourite Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim. A few months later I had to write another article reassuring everyone that he wasn’t anywhere near as bad as he appeared to be from his first few games, and that with a bit of patience, he’d come good.”
Well you might need to write another one for Keita. Patience is needed with this guy. Don’t read too much into Leipzig, etc. Different managers, quality of opposition, teammates and tactics.
Once Jurgen Klopp trusts him (and Shaqiri) enough to do their own biz on the field, you will see the Lion in him come out.
Injury or just a case of he didn’t quite fancy it… Which it truly was the latter. So far to date he doesn’t seem to like the cut and thrust of it and yet we were told he was all up for this type of rough and tumble.
If we saw him getting STUCK IN as we were told he likes to do, then we might be more convinced. However of late he seems more interested in going missing.
I am convinced he will come good, but in the meantime Shaqiri is showing the goods and it is no surprise that our best result in the last few games has come when this fella has been running about on the pitch. At least he hasn’t gone missing… and this despite his best buddy at Stoke saying that’s exactly what he does do. On current form I would sooner have Shaq’ in our team over Naby.
@J
I have had back spasms from time to time. It’s really painful and feels like your world is going to end at the moment. If that was the case then I will empathize with Naby.
Also Klopp hasn’t tried him in different formations, and preferred risk over caution against City and Chelsea. How about 4-3-1-2? 4-3-3 at this moment seems like old tactics that are exposing our mids, and forwards.
Would love to see Shaq in there as well.
Against Chelsea Naby shone right away. Something about the dynamics of that game or maybe the timing when he helped our midfield force the issue towards the latter stages of the game.
We take it for granted that players, especially foreign are all global citizens wherever they go. There are other mitigating factors, like language, culture, food, weather, attitude that sometimes takes time to get used to. I know, because I had been a foreigner in the US for over 2 decades now.
IMO, not every one will hit the ground running. The media hypes up the players, and supporters with their fucking BS, especially when the price of a player is high or he has had one great game.
It skews the reality a bit and is unfair to the player.
Also Klopp needs to keep his trap shut when it is needed. Talking up Naby, etc before he has time to prove his worth doesn’t help. Okay, Klopp is human after all and makes mistakes too. So he could also be wrong about his pick of player.
It’s one thing for Klopp to make a mistake to pick a new player and end up with a dud, but it’s another for persisting with players who are known to be duds. That equally hinders progress.
I pulled up some stats on our midfielders from LFC’s website. Normally I don’t give a fuck about stats.
However if I am impatient about a new player performing, I need to have a peek at least to be fair. It’s more for my benefit, but I will share this with you and anyone else interested.
Liverpool Midfielders
Henderson, first EPL season, 37 appearances, 2 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 215, scored 21 goals, EPL titles won 0
Gini, first EPL season, 36 appearances, 6 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 77, scored 8 goals, EPL titles won 0
Milner, first EPL appearances 28, 5 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 104, scored 13 goals, trophies, EPL titles won 0
Ox, first EPL appearances 32, 3 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 32, scored 3 goals, EPL titles won 0
Lallana, first EPL season, 27 appearances, 5 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 101, scored 29 goals, EPL titles won 0
Coutinho, first EPL season 13 EPL appearances, 3 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 209, scored 62 goals, EPL titles won 0
Can, first EPL season, 27 appearances, 1 goal scored.
Total EPL appearances 145, scored 11 goals , EPL titles won 0
Naby Keita, first EPL season, 8 appearances, 0 goals scored.
Total EPL appearances 8.
Some of the goals are penalties, also in many matches the above players have gone missing too, especially in their first season.
Given their first season who would you have thrown out of the club? I would have to say none. After 5 seasons and two managers?
Sorry for the long response, but I want to be patient with Naby (and Shaq) and trust them and Klopp to give their best.
Hi Sash, I am not going to place the reply under your post (as it squashes then to fit the narrow parameters and makes for annoying reading). Please note that an am not advocating getting rid of Naby and I am aware he is work in progress, but he did come with a lot of hype and we have seen some glimpses. The annoyance for me is the preference. Naby has still done very little to date, where as Shaq in his few cameos has actually shown more.
As for back spasms, a fair few of us have had these… But you could tell from his body language from the off against Napoli that he didn’t want to be there.
You make a valid point about settling in at new environments, however it is not like he is not new to all this, given he had to do this in France, Austria and Germany and he had a full year of knowing he was coming to us. I believe that he has still yet to learn English; If true then it may have helped him if he had taken some lessons before coming.
So like most I am happy to be patient with Naby (not my call anyways regardless of whatever I think). I do hope we get to see the player that came with all this hype. However as mentioned I go with Shaq over him at present and like you mention, I’d be inclined to change our formation to accommodate this, as we are hardly setting the world on fire with scoring goals of late. perhaps then if we can get a few goals clear we can then introduce Naby and Fabinho without any pressure and let them settle in a lot easier.
It maybe that we actually see Klopp bring in Shaq and tweak the formation and then we are absolutely shit, thus proving what-do-I-know :) – However I’d like to see it given a go. equally I’d love to see Naby be the player we all hope for him to be.
Finally you put up Lallana in among all the stats above. Apart for a small period under Klopp where he looked the part in midfield, we have still yet to see anything that inspires from this lad, so I hope Naby is a vast improvement on even Lallana on even his better days.
@J Glad to know you have your head on as a supporter as well. :)
Agree with you on seeing some formation tweaks that could accommodate Fab, Shaq and Naby’s playing style and what they have to offer. I also am excited to see how this will affect the rest of the team, especially the midfield.
Re Lallana, he was the deal back a couple of seasons ago. Ox brings more to the game than Lallana for me.
When Lallana was bought, I thought it was poor vision and scouting, especially when you compare him to the imperious Xabi Alonso, David Silva, Willian, etc.
I prefer direct, sure-footed players like Ox/Hazard/DeBruyne vs Cruyff-like players prancing about. But given the type of game and opposition we have in the league., I understand and see why both types are needed.
Anyways we are without Lallana (at 50-60% now) and Ox (0%).
I wish Ox a speedy recovery, and that Lallana gets the opportunity to prove himself as the team’s evolving nicely and we have some big games and moments coming up.
Naby will come good just like Bobby. Its a bit much to demand he starts producing the goods in the next game. It took Bobby a season despite flashes. My concern is wether a ball carrying midfielder actually suits the front 3 who thrive on quick transitions?