Hopefully he heads on to Barcelona, then.
Virgil van Dijk | Performances
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Yes, impressive how he constantly beats Miura in the air.
Prick is looking like a bargain.
He just has to stand in the one spot and head everything away
Much like Pogba or Lukaku in the sense that his fee looked massive but was actually pretty good given how insane the market has gone since. He's also done better than Pogba and Lukaku.
Rolls Royce of a defender.
Don't think he's done any better than either tbf
People still question that hes the best CB in the league. Weird to me
I think he’s been miles better as a signing than Pogba.
Lukaku’s done what he was signed for so it’s harder to argue for Van Dijk being better than him.
Beste st defender turning his back to a shot which turns into a goal. Then makes a free kick. Dominant, Rolls Royce
The absolute state of that defending for Lamela’s goal there.
Shithouse.
Shithouse.
Very convenient how no one was calling him a Rolls Royce 6 days ago when he defended so poorly against Giroud that Koeman actually went on a public rant about it post match, and rightfully so because it was amateur level defending.
He's a fine defender and great in the air, something that suits the high intensity pressing dippers very well like we saw today when opponents hoof it he can dominate. But overall he's not even better than guys like Alderweireld and Vertonghen, let alone the real elite bracket of defenders. Nothing truly special or exceptional about him, other than his brilliant looks and the 75 million pound price tag.
He's a fine defender and great in the air, something that suits the high intensity pressing dippers very well like we saw today when opponents hoof it he can dominate. But overall he's not even better than guys like Alderweireld and Vertonghen, let alone the real elite bracket of defenders. Nothing truly special or exceptional about him, other than his brilliant looks and the 75 million pound price tag.
He's miles better than Toby by any defensive metric. Playing long passes is their only comparison whereby he comes out on top.
It's a stupid argument full stop, let's be honest.
Perhaps you missed his international performance midweek. He didn't do anything especially good today either.
As said he's a good player undoubtedly but not a top top bracket one.
Liverpool have the least goals conceeded in the league, having played Spurs just like we did. They also have the best record despite having a new goalkeeper bedding in (though he was incredibly expensive) and a 21 CB playing in the middle.
Its important to credit Gomez with his own development and good performances, but I don't think its a coincidence that hes doing well with VVD next to him helping him out.
I'm curious to hear what posters who dismiss VVD as the best CB in the league attribute that defensive record to? They have the highest scoring record too which shows they arent just sitting 10 players behind the ball. But they are still the most solid defensively.
Its important to credit Gomez with his own development and good performances, but I don't think its a coincidence that hes doing well with VVD next to him helping him out.
I'm curious to hear what posters who dismiss VVD as the best CB in the league attribute that defensive record to? They have the highest scoring record too which shows they arent just sitting 10 players behind the ball. But they are still the most solid defensively.
I did indeed miss his international performance midweek. But I wasnt talking about international football.
I'm talking about being the best CB in the premier league on a weekly basis.
Change in system with the full backs going forward. They take it in turns now rather then both bombing up (like Spurs today) then being exposed down the flanks out of possession.
Obviously VVD has helped but it's not just him.
Yeah you're going far too OTT.
Well yeah, three players in different positions.
Van Dijk is top three in the league in his position in my opinion.
I agree that he's probably the best centre back in the league but he's helped by the workrate of everyone ahead of him meaning their defence is rarely exposed, compare it to the likes of Pogba who barely put a shift in. Last season even before they bought Van Dijk they were conceding very few chances on goal, it's just that everything was going in.
He has errors in him. Today he should have been closer to Lamela, at palace he mistimed a jump 90th min that almost let Benteke(i think) to equalize. He definately has his flaws.
Good for him man. Also just another example of why all the stats are incredibly overrated I think, but then anyone with half a brain has already realised this a long time ago and stopped referring to it when it conveniently suits their argument.
Some things are simply not so easy to put down in stats, that's the bottom line in my opinion. You saw Virgil looking like a 16 year old girl against Giroud last week, despite having played against him previously he seemed to have no clue the guy was left footed. Now again watching the ball for Lamela's goal. That's not a coincidence, it's as much his trademark as his aerial dominance. But at least he has the defensive metrics in his favour I guess.
Talking about stats it has to be said, when John Henry took over and all the talk about wanting to 'moneyball' Liverpool a la the Red Sox I was a bit sceptical. But they have got their shite spot on, no doubt about it that they are on to something.
Van Dijks specific qualities seem to fit Liverpool's game extremely well to a point where you can be sure they deliberately picked him for his aerial presence or something and forked out that amount of cash instead of looking for another player. Same with a player like Wijnaldum who I really adore, but at the same time obviously doesn't have the natural talent of the real top midfielders in the game. Milner is another piece of the puzzle that seems to fit in so well, sadly they're really doing a remarkable job at making the team much better than the sum of its parts.
As for Van Dijk, I don't necessarily disagree he's among the best in the league by the way. At the same time, having seen both him and someone like Toby or Vertonghen since they were youngsters at Ajax and Groningen, I simply think they're pretty much on par. Vertonghen and Alderweireld seemed quite a bit more talented up until they were 25 years of age, but Virgil has turned out to be a bit of a late bloomer not unlike Jaap Stam before him. But I also don't see what makes him objectively better than those too, though admittedly I am a bit bitter towards Virgil because having seen all of his caps for the Netherlands I can't remember one proper performance and he has reached nowhere near the level Vertonghen and Alderweireld have for their country over the years.
Even the best defenders make plenty of mistakes, something our fanbase will have to accept when Smalling/Jones and co are replaced and the new lot are not perfect.
Well of course its not just him, but if you change him for any other CB in the league I think you get a different result.
Then why isnt the same courtesy extended to Smalling and Jones?
No, the best defenders dont make many mistakes over the course of a season. Not 0, but you can count on them most weeks and will have just 2 or 3 mistakes.
Defensively Smalling is one of those types. He just doesnt often do a great deal on the ball.
24 fecking pages on Liverpools centreback. What forum am I on again?
Any idiot can dismiss facts when they dont like the results.
I'll let you continue living in your bubble where your eyes arent like any other human being on the planet and are more reliable than those facts.
Because familiarity breeds contempt, and they are among the last holdovers from the days of Fergie, Moyes and LVG. Someone bright, shiny and new will have their weaknesses ignored, at least initially, fans love the Honeymoon Glow of a new or potential signing. Look at Bailly, great fun to watch, was anointed as our best CB instantaneously, has plenty of issues to work on.
When I mentioned mistakes I didn't only mean the obvious, goal conceding ones, I mean all the small minor ones that happen during every game and are rarely discussed, because teams defend as a unit and most goals come from a number of mistakes happening in concert.
Well I guess with the tough fixtures for Liverpool coming up ahead in the next weeks it's a great opportunity to see how well Virgil's magnificent statistics by any magical metric hold up against his trademark lack of basic defending skills when it's crunch time.
He wasn't that good today. It's easy to defend against balls thrown up in the air to Lucas .. he was barely tested, of course he's going to look good when you consistently play to his strengths. He's undeniably given Liverpool more tactical flexibility/they're no longer weak to that long ball tactic, but no he wasn't anything special. He's physically very dominant but we already knew that.
He made Harry Kane look like he belongs in Sunday league football.
Last edited:
Toby reads the game better and he's a better 1 v 1 defender. Van Djik is a great defender, second best in the league imo.
Toby certainly didn't look like a great 1v1 defender today, when he was being legged all over the place by the Liverpool frontline.
There's no comparison between the two. VVD is clearly better.
Who beat him 1 v 1?
What would indicate that he reads the game better than VVD?
Toby
(Based on last season's performances Vs. every other CB in the Prem who played at least 10 matches)
+ Most Accurate Long Passes per game, 8th Most Dribbles per game, 10th Most Total Passes per game, Joint 10th Most Shots per game, Playing offside, Commits very few fouls
- Most Inaccurate Long Passes per game, Least Interceptions in the league, Least Amount of Successful Aerials in the league per game, 5th Least Clearances in the league, Joint 7th Least Attempted Aerials, 9th Least Shots blocked, Makes relatively few Tackles, Age
I'm absolutely shocked that a knackered Harry Kane who has been invisible in most games post-injury, struggled to do much with long balls being thrown in to him up against the 6'4 Van Djik. Amazed.
Kane needs a months rest, and far better support from midfield.
Oh please. Toby was constantly exposed today in a way Van Djik simply wasn't. Attacking wise we were horribly one dimensional and you were admittedly well organised, though it is easy to look solid when a team plays the same ball over and over again.
Toby had to deal with Dier passing it to Salah, and just generally constant errors around him. Liverpool are a better team than we are at the moment, it's as simple as that. You look more organised, better motivated, and far less fatigued.
If Liverpool were just constantly firing it long and high to Salah all game, I'm pretty sure Toby would have dealt with it easily enough.
I was thinking the same. Couldn't pay me to post on a L/pool site. Some are even arguing with with fans from a 3rd club about their respective players.