1.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 11:32:53
Ed, I thought his vision is more than average. Maybe sometimes he just drifts in from left for a shot but when he wants to dictate the play he is too good. Maybe his creativity better compared to our mid then at Barcelona.

{Ed001's Note - what's your point? I never said it was average.}

2.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 11:37:28
That's an interesting assessment ed, so was he holding us back as a team because of these issues?

Also, didn't anyone advise him that he had these things to work on if he wanted to go to Barca.

{Ed001's Note - well I think he was, I said it before he went that we would play better without him and we did. I think he did well for us while he was here but Klopp's team moved past him and his head down run and shoot. He always wanted to go to Barca.}

3.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 11:48:38
Thanks Ed001! I love Coutinho he was a lot better here than in Barcelona hope we can get him back 😥.

{Ed001's Note - please no, he is simply not as good as what we have and does not do enough often enough to earn a spot anywhere in our team now. Only player he could possibly replace is Shaqiri or someone else usually on the bench and he is far too expensive for that.}

4.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 11:54:49
Ed do you think insigne would fit our system?

{Ed001's Note - probably yes. As one of the front players he could provide a lot of danger.}

5.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 12:09:29
Cheers ed, appreciate your thoughts as always.

{Ed001's Note - welcome mate.}

6.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 12:12:00
Hit the nail on the head for me Ed. He has the vision and the ability to pass but never uses it because he is so insistent on cutting inside and shooting in any situation. In my opinion, we made him look good by being bad, in that when we were at our lowest between 2014-2016, often the only way we would be able to score was through Coutinho banging one in from 30 yards. I think the way in which he took upon this mantle for the team has severely hurt his game in the long run. He has the ability to be better but doesn’t use it. It is not so surprising for me that he has struggled at Barca.

{Ed001's Note - that is exactly how I see it as well. Once we improved we left him behind.}

7.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 12:51:22
If you watch the highlights from his first 6 months with us, some of his assists were excellent, he could really slice open a defence. It's a shame he didn't focus his game around this instead of punting the ball from 30 yards everytime.

8.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 12:59:58
I think ‘inconsistent’ describes him best. He was heralded as our best player when he was at Liverpool but i remember too many games when he was off the boil or just not as involved as he should have been. Then he would go and score a screamer from 30 yards and he would be trumpeted by the pundits as the second coming of Messi.
One thing ill add though is that he worked hard and tracked back a lot.
Certainly don't think we've missed him at Liverpool since he scored his dream job.

9.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 13:18:43
He'd get into our team this season 100% on his form before he left but last season after he left we were far better without him but this season the front 3 have massively underwhelmed. Mane has been the best of them this season in the main with salah second and Bobby last he's so frustrating because he has it all but he's just not secure on the ball constantly giving it away the total panic when he picks up the ball in deep positions and we get countered his work rate is fantastic but if he's chasing the ball after his own poor pass it doesn't count.

10.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 13:34:15
Great review ED001, I see what you mean about him being a jack of all trades.

Nun red, so what you're saying is that he would get into our current team, where we are (arguably) in the best position to win the league and are in the last 16 of the ECL (so far) BUT he wouldn't have got into our team for the second half of last year when we finished 4th and lost in the ECL final?

He sounds quite the enigma! ;D:D.

11.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 13:20:51
Thanks for the good read Ed, as always.

I have never understood the hype about the lad, I really haven't. Sure he had good games with us but people talk like losing him was like losing a limb when it wasn't, we did better when he left and more importantly Firmino looked 10x better when Coutinho left. People talk like they want him back at the club, pile of sh*t if you as me, people have short memories. We're better off without him, he's not needed. Never was and never will be, we're better then that now.

{Ed001's Note - agreed completely.}

12.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 14:18:48
He wasn't inconsistent he was on a different level to the players in front of him, the movement up top was awful and he'd constantly have to check back and lay off because he'd wait and wait and wait and still nobody was on his wavelength to see the pass he wanted to play and make that run.

Top draw player, would I have him back? No, simply because it never works when a player goes back, but if he goes to united I'll be devestaed.

13.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 16:10:46
Spot on Waro, I agree completely that he was on another level. For me, he was at his best when driving from deep. Only issue was that he didn't contribute enough defensively. I never rated him as a winger at all. Would I have him back? Yes, without a doubt. He is world class and it was a joy to watch him skipping past players for fun, which is something we haven't seen much of this season. I'm hoping Keita will develop into a similar player, but i'll be suprised if he gets anywhere Coutinho's level.

Red-Rum.

14.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 16:34:24
I thought decent means average.

15.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 17:34:00
Red-Rum I have never seen Coutinho drive from deep in all my life. When he played in the midfield it was his lack of driving from deep that caused us a huge problem. He’d try to take people on from the DM position and end up just putting us under pressure.
He was decent coming from the left as he was always liable to curl one into the far corner but playing as a deep lying midfielder he was a liability as Barcelona have now found out.
He’s technically brilliant which is why he’s great to watch sometimes but when it comes to the effect he has on the team and results he was just too hit and miss.
I loved to watch him play but he’s not good enough to get into our current side he just doesn’t have the right skill set.

16.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 19:13:23
Bobby, Coutinho would often pick up the ball from deep (usually from the left side) and drive through the middle, taking on two, three, four players. I'm not sure how you can say that he didn't drive at players bro, that was what made him so brilliant for us. I can't quite understand why people only remember him cutting in and shooting either, that was usually when he was played out of position on the wing or when he didn't have forwards making the runs. His best position is from attacking midfield; dropping deep to pick up the ball and drive.

Red-Rum.

17.) 08 Feb 2019
08 Feb 2019 19:47:05
Salah mate, you were all for a return of Suso a few months ago and yet you’ve never understood the hype with Coutinho?
How does that one work?
Shaqiri is Coutinho-lite, no wonder FSG have just made a record profit.

18.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 00:35:28
The juicer, post of the day.

19.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 02:03:48
Ed01.how in the World did we get that much fron Barcelona for him? 😂i mean if his best position is of messi. why did they even get him?

{Ed001's Note - because they needed to replace Iniesta and thought he could do that. He has the skill set to do so, but he just doesn't have the intelligence or consistency.}

20.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 11:15:45
While agreeing fully with Waro on this one (what a rarity, my goodness), i think everything is a matter of perspective and context. The Coutinho I knew 2-3 years ago was the cat's whiskers for a team that was consistently around or just below the top 6. The team has progressed since then; clearly deserving of being within the top 3. And the Coutinho of today has clearly lost a step or two in form and confidence, either physically or mentally, or both.

I wouldn't want the Coutinho of today. Would be a clear mismatch, now.