10 Jan 2018 12:42:59
I do see a lot of stressing lately about us being weaker now Coutinho has left.

If somebody said to you that you can either have Lovren and Coutinho in your starting line-up, or Virgil and Mane, which pair would you pick? For me it's a no brainer.

Attacking wise, we've got less depth, but if Virgil is a good as Klopp thinks he is then we should see some massive improvements at the back, which is clearly a bigger problem for us than scoring goals.

In an ideal world, Coutinho would've given us until the summer, but in Southampton's ideal world, they probably wanted Virgil to do that for them. Such is football.

I'm not writing off the season because one player left in a position we're comfortable in, and we broke the world transfer record to fill a position we've been struggling in. I still want Ol' Big Ears.

1.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 13:15:03
Well until a few days ago we could have had VVD and Couts in the starting line up AND Mane as well so.

2.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 13:19:06
Interesting forum to declare your love to Gary Linekar, Adam?!

3.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 13:52:00
He's in his 50's and has better skin than my son does. I asked him what his secret is and he said no. I said "come on Gary, wotsit? "

4.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 13:53:45
Iconicred is correct. At best our transfers balance out, at worst we're weaker.

With Hendo injured and Couts gone we've lossed the class in our midfield. Lallana will take a while to get back to speed, AOC is still finding his feet, Milner's a work house, Can is playing terribly and Wiji just isn't that good.

I think a creative midfielder may be necessary to keep our season on track.

5.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 14:01:55
That's not a fair comparison at all Adam. Mané and Coutinho have totally different styles. Yes, Coutinho often played on the left side of the pitch but his impact came when dropping deep, driving through the centre, and picking out the correct pass. Mané is a winger, who (as good as he is) does not have the same creative qualities.

Without Coutinho we have no drive in the centre of midfield to put teams on the back foot, therefore my question is this: will this give opposing teams confidence to push against us and expose our very weak midfield, defensively?

6.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 14:28:03
Completely disagree El Maestro. Mane also drops deep to receive the ball, quite often in a central position, and then runs at the opposition. His final pass is also very incisive.

This is a player who literally assisted Salah with a back heel whilst he was stood in the No.10 position about 2 weeks ago.

I think Mane can do everything Coutinho can do in open play except get as much bend on the ball, but he's also better with his head and faster giving him the ability to run in behind. Only major thing he can't do that Coutinho can, is offer a threat taking set pieces.

Everyone talks about Mane as if he is a pure winger who hugs the touchline and puts in crosses. He can easily do the role Coutinho did, and the proof is that he already does it! He also produced a brilliant assist against West Ham, again picking up the ball in midfield, driving at the defence, and fizzing a pass into Salah for the goal.

As long as someone can take over free kick duties, i think we're miles stronger with Mane in the team because he breaks at far more speed than Coutinho does and offers a threat in behind. Mane is seemingly (and unfairly) branded as a winger by some, when in actual fact he can play just as well in a central position and tends to just drift all over the pitch creating and driving us forward. His desire to get involved in the build up play is why he doesn't score as many as Salah, who is always on the shoulder trying to get beyond the defence.

Seriously, watch the positions Mane takes up in the next game he plays. He is anything but a winger. Despite starting on the left, the only goal i can remember him creating with a cross was the chip to the back post for Salah against Stoke which Mane made from the right wing after making a diagonal run across the pitch. He plays with way too much freedom and creativity to simply be regarded as a wide player. He's a complete forward. Hopefully he's close to full fitness and people will soon remember just how good he was in the first half of last season as the main driving force of our attack.

7.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 14:37:37
El Maestro - every team bar City who has done well against us sat deep and hit us on the break. If this has left other teams with the confidence to try and get at our 'weak' defense (especially with new defensive reinforcements) is basically like inscribing Salah's name on the golden boot right now - it plays right into our hands.

8.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 15:04:03
Not to mention hjikle, if any manager in the world thinks "oh they've sold Coutinho so the 3 times as fast Mane will be on the pitch. Now we can play a higher line" they are not fit for management 😂 This being the Mane who was in last years team of the season based on about 20 appearances!

Either way, i think people have just forgotten how good Mane is. He basically only played in February and August last year because of injury and an unfortunate suspension so it's unsurprising. He has been eased back into things and despite being ill he's been one of the star players in the last few games. He is unbelievably creative so i don't know how anyone who has ever watched him regularly can Pidgeon hole him as a winger! He plays as a striker, a winger on either side, a second striker, or as a deeper left midfielder. Saying he's just a non-creative winger does him a disservice and sounds to me like a classic case of how short the memories of an average football fan are. I'm not having that argument at all. Our best player last season isn't creative? Nah.

9.) 10 Jan 2018
10 Jan 2018 17:21:48
I'm afraid the crisp is wrong Adam. Best to just walk (er) alone, son.