We really need that sporting director or whatever the name will be as soon as possible.
If we buy players like Coutinho that means the club learned nothing.
If we buy players like Coutinho that means the club learned nothing.
Curious Case of Coutinho...
- Thread starter Cheekiey
- Start date
instead of Pogba?
Pointing out the obvious: Liverpool are threatening to do more than they did when Coutinho was there but in all honesty I didn't see much of him s I don't make a point of watching the dippers
He was class for Liverpool (and watching them spit phlegm over him coming our way would be lovely) but I just don't see how he fits in what we're trying to do. He's great coming in from the left or having a free role behind a striker. Might even be good as false 9 but we don't really need him to do any of those things for us. RW, CM, RB and CB should be the priorities and we don't have limitless cash to spunk on luxury signings. A reluctant no thanks, then.
Take him on loan 
Take him on loan
Pay to play too
I think Allison and Van dike might be contributing to that.
As you have brought this topic up, alot of Liverpool fans are now saying they are missing a player like Courtinho.
"Doesnt fit into what we are trying to do"
What actually is that?
The answer was in the post.
"He's great coming in from the left or having a free role behind a striker. Might even be good as false 9 but we don't really need him to do any of those things for us."
Loan deal with option to buy will be nice if Barca are desperate to get rid. Otherwise no deal for me
Indeed. He is probably my dream signing this summer as we are crying out for a creative midfielder and I think he would work well in the hole behind the front three.
He's great comming in from the left. I take it Martial is good at that so we don't need him.
He will be a good false 9. I take it lingard is out false 9. So we don't need him.
He will be a good at a free role. I take it Pogba is good at that. So we don't need him.
So you are saying he would be great in the 3 postions. But as we have cover, we don't need him.
That's exactly why we do need a player like him!
Why would we spunk a fortune on a player who performs best in positions we either rarely use or already have covered? We tried that with Sanchez.
We've got way more pressing concerns elsewhere.
We have positions where we need cover for our first choice players and we have positions where we need new first choice players. If we're making any £80m+ signings, it should be for the latter.
I agree.
But doesn't mean Courthino isn't a class player.
I agree. But doesn't mean Courtinho isn't a class player.
He is a class player. That's literally the first thing I said. We just don't need him.
It is up to the manager to find a way to fit him in. Of course if he's going to perform the same as at barca then there's no point, but if theres a chance to rediscover his old liverpool form, you dont say no to world class players like this, and then go on to look at Rabiot on a free. I think he can play the Lingard/Mata role where hes given the freedom to roam around the front line as well as cutting inside midfield, allowing Dalot to push forward and provide the width. The only question is his defensive game, but he has PL experience so shouldnt be an issue.
This isn't the first time we've been linked btw, so its either his agent trying to get him more starts at barca or there might be some interest from our side. If it can work out, be hell of a coup.
This isn't the first time we've been linked btw, so its either his agent trying to get him more starts at barca or there might be some interest from our side. If it can work out, be hell of a coup.
Just because we have Martial doesn't mean we can't find room in the squad for a talent like Coutinho. If we want to have a real go at getting back to the pinnacle we need squad depth.
Pogba aside, we really don't have that player that can pick the lock. If Coutinho is available at the right price we should be in for him. He knows the league and can play of the left and behind the striker. I'm not entirely convinced by United at home and that's because we don't have that creativity when teams sit in.
Pogba aside, we really don't have that player that can pick the lock. If Coutinho is available at the right price we should be in for him. He knows the league and can play of the left and behind the striker. I'm not entirely convinced by United at home and that's because we don't have that creativity when teams sit in.
He is left winger and no10. Two positions that we don't need at all. This is the most rubbish story ever
I get not wanting him because you don't rate him or because he played for Liverpool, but this idea that he doesn't fit what we are doing makes no sense, more and more we are moving towards a two striker system, primarily because none of our strikers are good central pivots in a front 3 as their hold up play is erratic at best, in the 2 striker system you need a #10 or false 9 in the mix and Coutinho would be an upgrade on Lingard and Mata, but the Caf seem to be ignoring what we are doing and just want a right winger to a play a 4-3-3 we don't have the #9 for.
I disagree. I don’t think a player like him would fit. We’re a counterattacking side. A player who has pace to burn would be excellent for us. That player is not Coutinho.
Plus Coutinho does not play on the right.
Would hate to see Liverpool re-sign him, but definitely wouldn't want him here either.
We're only just starting to see Pogba's top form, having given him the midfield three he best suits, plus we're only just getting Martial back to his best after the Sanchez hijack.
He won't fit the right, so it'd be a ridiculous transfer record sum, for a player who won't suit us.
If we're going to go huge for a forward, it either needs to be a right sided player, or a striker so good he's instantly first choice over Lukaku and Rashford and peak age - 24-27 type material.
We're only just starting to see Pogba's top form, having given him the midfield three he best suits, plus we're only just getting Martial back to his best after the Sanchez hijack.
He won't fit the right, so it'd be a ridiculous transfer record sum, for a player who won't suit us.
If we're going to go huge for a forward, it either needs to be a right sided player, or a striker so good he's instantly first choice over Lukaku and Rashford and peak age - 24-27 type material.
Obsession with pace is another thing, we can't just rely on counter attacking, that's for smaller teams, there are many games where we will dominate posession and need more creativity to open up teams, plus we already have pace on the counter, we need a player that can feed the counter, something Coutinho can do.
Playing on the right is irrelevant in the diamond system we are using, he'd play at the tip, behind the 2 strikers.
plus can you imagine all the selection headaches trying to shoehorn him on the wing after we find him too indisiplined to carry in the midfield? it will be a nightmare. nobody explain why we should spend on a downgrade when you've got arguably the worlds best in thst position already thriving.
Can he play in midfield? In central midfield position, not on no10? Something like Silva and De bruyne play in City.
Do you not think he would get in Pogbas way?
Counter-attacking is not all about pace though. You obviously need pace, but you also need movement, top decision-making and precision with passes. Pogba and our forwards have got pace in abundance, but we don't have enough players that are technically sophosticated. I could see Coutinho fitting in at the tip of a textbook diamond midfield with Pogba at LCM, Herrera at RCM + a DM at the base. With forwards such as Martial, Lukaku, Rashford, Sanchez and potentially Greenwood, I'd say we are covered in attack, and a two-striker system would fit better too.
Fair enough, that makes sense.
I wouldn’t dismiss the idea of the two of them in a midfield three so hastily. Certainly, neither of them excel defensively, but both have demonstrated a willingness to work and defend as part of the unit.
Pogba is a strange one. Sure, there are times where he has been completely passive defensively - just look at the final stages yesterday where he effectively gave up tracking back a couple of times. He has also, however, previously shown great appetite for both pressing high (initial games under Solskjaer) and defending in a deep shape - he was fantastic in a very disciplined role at the World Cup.
Coutinho had a great World Cup himself. Although it’s easy to say he had two more disciplined players alongside him in midfield to help in that sense, in reality Paulinho was quick to storm forward and empty the midfield area, and Coutinho was as industrious out of possession.
When you look at players like Xavi, Scholes or Modric, they operate deep in midfield and were/ are fantastic players, but you wouldn’t describe them as great defenders. They didn’t excel in those aspects of play in the way that Keane, Vieira or Essien did as no.8’s. All are willing and adequate though. Coutinho is of a similar mindset - he is not Ozil or Riquelme.
De Bruyne and David Silva were magnificent last season in these kind of roles. They worked extremely hard and were very effective when defending as part of their team even though you wouldn’t look at them individually as being strong defenders. Eriksen is the same - looked at as a no.10, but he shows enough to know he could be deployed deeper. Coutinho is that kind of player.
Coutinho is being dismissed due to the role Pogba has been fulfilling and performing well in since Solskjaer came in. I can understand that, but for me Pogba’s position is a problem - or rather exacerbates a problem with balance in our side. We are far too left-sided, and Pogba operates almost exclusively down that half of the pitch. Many want to see a change in Herrera’s position, but I struggle to see a player who can come in who will go box to box, provide creativity through passing/ dribbling and who is actually comfortable doing so from a deliberately right-of-centre position. ‘A player like Verratti’ - great to have a calm and methodical passer who can snake his way through high pressure on the ball, but he would find the right-sided positioning constricting and supporting the play down that side in higher areas uncomfortable. Same with Neves from the (very) little I’ve seen, and a great many players of that ilk. The ideal would be someone like Modric, Gerrard, De Bruyne, a right-sided prime Di Maria - Bernardo Silva would have been great. That kind of profile and caliber of player - who is suitable? Who can shine in the type of role Kante has been given this season at Chelsea?
No one really jumps to my mind, and Coutinho is high quality and potentially available. I would say the same about Isco, though I think the Brazilian has more grit about him. Pogba is a more adaptable and complete player than most, I think he can still excel operating from the right - he has produced from that side before. Perhaps you lose a little bit of imagination in his play from that side in comparison, but based on what we’ve seen I would argue he is slightly less frivolous and more mature with his decisions too. Maybe I’m just sick of having such an underwhelming right flank...
No, Lingard didn't playing that role, neither did Mata and neither did Dybala when they played together at Juve, having some central Pogba can switch with and link up with would be beneficial, the issue we had with Sanchez was in 4-3-3 where Sanchez wasn't holding his width and they ended up practically on top of each other in the channel.
While I would love having Coutinho scoring a winning goal at Anfield for us, I’m not really looking forward to another square peg in round hole situation.
With all due respect, Coutinho is a good player and would improve most teams, but the positions he thrives on aren’t available in our squad. Even as a #10 or false nine, I would imagine him drifting out to the left in order to cut in for his signature right footed shot. Crowding out our left side more than it is already.
With all due respect, Coutinho is a good player and would improve most teams, but the positions he thrives on aren’t available in our squad. Even as a #10 or false nine, I would imagine him drifting out to the left in order to cut in for his signature right footed shot. Crowding out our left side more than it is already.
Same here but even if we signed him on a free in the morning fate would be too kind to the scousers and Coutinho would never show up against them. Im still waiting on Micheal Owen to score against them.
I think Fred can do the job of breaking down stubborn defences. He has shown some nice through balls and shots from outside the area. It's been his best quality so far. Coutinho is another damaged goods player who would cost a fortune.
Square pegs in round holes and all that. Fantastic play maker and loves scoring outside the box. I don't think he ever scored a tap in.
He won't fit our preferred formation. If it were a Shaqiriesque squad player buy, I'd be all for getting him and watching him score against Liverpool. Besides being a bad fit, he's also not a 100 mil player either which is the price Barca would want.
If he were available for 50-60 mil, might consider it as 50-60 is the new 20-30 in today's market.
If he were available for 50-60 mil, might consider it as 50-60 is the new 20-30 in today's market.
Wouldn't spend more than 60m for him.
If we buy him I will lose my faith on the recruitment side of this club . But we wont, does not make any sense.
Not another overrated player that other teams do not want.
Bad season for 10s it seems. Coutinho, Dybala, Ozil, De Bruyne, Isco, James all been mediocre for one reason or another.
He's played his best football through the left this season, we already have two players in that position in Martial and Rashford. That's his problem in Barcelona, he can't play as a midfielder.