13 Jun 2024 07:37:20
Joe Gomez is an excellent player. He’s had significant injuries and they always take time to recover. He’s now back to match and actual fitness and is a very good player.
The people who denigrate him are more interested in the dopamine hit of a new signing. The idea of supporting your team and its players are as unfamiliar to them as they assume, good hygiene.
Joe Gomez was superb this year - but yes, Haerculo Spataccci and Vicenza is levels above him and must be signed.
13 Jun 2024 07:56:08
Gomez is a top player. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to move on though. Think about it. If you have Trent and Bradley for RB. VVD, Konate, Quansah at CB and we’re looking to add more there. Robertson and Tsimikas at LB. Beck probably replaces Tsimikas. He’s not even 2nd choice anywhere which isn’t anything to do with him it’s just the quality ahead of him.
13 Jun 2024 08:16:35
Gomez played a lot of football last season but none at Centre half.
But just because he wasn't Klopps or Peps (whoever picked the side) first choice centre half to partner Virg then it doesn't mean he won't be Slots.
Gonna be a clean slate for more or less every player to put their marker in the sand.
13 Jun 2024 08:17:59
If Joe wants to stay, I’d give him an extension.
Simple as that.
13 Jun 2024 08:40:54
Joe Gomez is an excellent player and was superb this season? I think I must have different definitions for the words excellent and superb.
He's a decent squad player; that's it.
Anyway, I'm off for my weekly shower.
{Ed025's Note - I’m with you Rigsby… not in the shower of course .. ?
13 Jun 2024 08:57:38
Agree Rigsby. He’s so excellent that he couldn’t get a game in his first position of CB pretty much all season, and he couldn’t get a game at LB until Robbo and Tsimikas were injured, then couldn’t get a game at RB until Bradley and Trent were injured.
So for Klopp and Lijnders he was realistically 3rd choice RB, 3rd choice LB and 5th choice CB. He quite simply has profited from an injury crisis that was absolutely relentless all season. You could argue that by the end of the season he’d probably overtaken Tsimikas as 2nd choice LB but that’s not anything to write home about because Tsimikas isn’t good enough either.
Gomez is emergency cover as far as I’m concerned. Now is the perfect time to sell, whilst his stock is relatively high and he’s still only 27. JK23 did make a good point though that he might be perfect for a role in the system Slot wants to play which ultimately isn’t clear yet so we’re all just speculating. But calling Gomez an excellent player is just blind loyalty in my opinion. He was supplanted in his preferred positions by Bradley and Quansah who were playing League 1 only 12 months ago.
13 Jun 2024 09:01:36
Ooh, I was going to let you do my back, Ed0025. I've just put a new blade in my razor, too.
{Ed025's Note - its not a Venus one is it?.. :)
13 Jun 2024 09:10:47
Joe Gomez is a good versatile squad member. But he’s not a starting centre back.
13 Jun 2024 09:11:47
What are his weaknesses?
Pace? - no, physicality? - no, aerial ability? - no, tackling? no.
His weaknesses from my point of view are positioning, marking and reading of the game. His fitness issues play into these weaknesses.
Reading the game is a skill which deteriorates with time away from competitive games. It is essential to be good at reading the game to be a defender. Positioning and marking absolutely depend on you being able to read the game.
Joe had a great run last season, a serious upturn in form. To call him excellent and outstanding might be excessive but he was dependable and in good form.
Being a good defender in the fast paced PL these days is a fairly rare commodity.
Joe needs games, then his form dramatically improves. Same with Curtis. Both are young enough.
In addition I think it’s well known Klopp’s team put a huge emphasis on training intensity. We suffered loads of hamstring injuries when he first arrived with reports of players vomiting during training due to the intensity.
I’m not knocking Klopp’s coaches, that was essential for the way his teams played. However, I think Slot will be different again. He could be more intense, he could be less. He will certainly have different methods and training philosophies.
So players who’ve struggled with sustained fitness under Klopp should be given a clean slate with new coaches and playing style.
I’m confident with Joe and Curtis and they should get our support.
13 Jun 2024 09:11:48
Gomez might not be a regular starter but xan play anywhere across the back. n with the injuries we have, he was a very valuable player for us esp last season. but can see him wanting a new challenge esp with his England place . Personally Id want him to stay.
13 Jun 2024 10:45:23
Its a sell for me, emergency cover who could bring in gOod money to strengthen the first 11.
13 Jun 2024 12:17:49
We have Beck and Quansah, tbh Gomez needs to go for us to get some funds, he has been caught up with this shout of "shoot" near enough every time he plays, as annoying as Coutinho got.
13 Jun 2024 12:52:59
Ron, Gomez is a bit suspect in the air and that’s being generous, also makes a few too many mistakes, like that time he twerked against Brighton instead of properly pressing the attacker and cutting off any chance of shooting. Good squad player but no way is he a starter as things stand.
13 Jun 2024 15:17:37
Have to strongly disagree with those saying we should sell.
Players who can competently cover the entire backline are exceptionally rare. And for every mistake Gomez has made over the years there are an equal if not greater number of excellent performances.
Versatility is a drastically underrated quality by fans.
{Ed025's Note - there is room in the squad for a jack of all trades Nevada, even though he is a master of none..
13 Jun 2024 16:16:54
Very true Nevada, but if he's 3rd choice in all four defensive positions and could bring in 25 odd million do you keep him around? if were lucky in the backline with injuries next year where does he play? he's 27,he should be 1st choice somewhere.
13 Jun 2024 16:21:23
I agree Nevada that a player who can cover the whole defence is rare. Where we disagree is how you define competently.
He is woeful at LB. All he ever does is come inside and shoot and he has no left foot so we always lack width down that side.
At CB he is too weak in the air and leaves every defensive set piece to Van Dijk. He’s so poor in the air that despite being 6ft3 he doesn’t even get sent forward for offensive corners. He also doesn’t watch runners or the offside line so he’s far too easy to run off the back of.
Don’t even get me started on DM. He has no spacial awareness and wants far too long on the ball.
Where I believe he is competent is at RB. But even then he’s miles off the quality of Trent and Bradley.
If Bradley or Trent were to leave and Slot’s style is similar to what we’ve seen in recent years, he’d be an okay back up RB but still one I’d wince at if he had to start in a big game like away to Madrid or in a cup final.
He’s just not elite and that is the level we want to reach. If he went to a team like Bayern I’m sure he’ll do fine. The German league has a habit of reviving careers. Even Sancho and Dier look half decent.
As I said earlier though, all this is based on what Klopp and Lijnders wanted from him. I said on here a few weeks ago that Slot likes fluid systems and one thing he has done at times is have a full back tuck in to form a back 3. On paper that might suit Gomez as the best game I ever saw him play was on the right side of a back 3 for England against Brazil. His best attributes lean towards that being more up his street. So we can only really speculate until Slot gets a look at him and the tactics/ system he wants to deploy in English football become clearer.
All this talk of excellent and versatile though I’m just not on board with it. At the levels Man City and Arsenal are it (and where we want to be) he is a run of the mill squad player and he is ineffective in most of the positions he plays in.
13 Jun 2024 17:48:08
Jude - if he's 3rd choice in all those positions I'd sell all the second choice players in those positions and have Gomez as reliable cover for all the positions, saving a fortune in wages and allowing for investment elsewhere.
I'm being tounge in cheek of course, bit I don't think anyone here is saying Gomez is a world beater. He is a capable and versatile squad player for the defence, just like Milner was in midfield and defence. A good squad needs that sort of player and I personally think he's it. Each to their own though.
13 Jun 2024 18:02:28
So you would sell Bradley? ?.
13 Jun 2024 19:24:34
Some of the amateur analysts on here like the sound of their own voice a little bit too much.
Some of out best performances last season came when Gomez was playing at left back, Newcastle, Chelsea and City at home spring to mind. A defender that can play all positions across the backline is worth their weight in gold.
13 Jun 2024 21:52:50
@TB2, when I was a kid we used to go out and kick a ball about and get into mischief which usually ended up with some sort of punishment and - if we were lucky - some sort of lesson learned which helped us in our efforts to grow up.
Nowadays kids spend hour after hour after hour staring at some sort of box / screen and ‘learn’ about life through video games and experts (seriously what are influencers ??) on social media. The end result is they form their opinions in a vacuum and imagine that they ‘know’ about things.
Everybody has an opinion about everything. The thing that they miss is that their opinions are mostly based on specious data which they automatically assumed was true when they read it because it was on social media and that their opinions are mostly just incorrect (to put it nicely) . I reckon people need to get out more and hopefully get over themselves.
13 Jun 2024 22:19:06
How can an opinion be incorrect ?♂️. I agree WDW, you definitely need to get out more. If not that then at least look up the meaning of opinion.
14 Jun 2024 00:58:32
Gomez stock is high? We’d barely make back anything worth re-investing and we’d be losing a solid squad player and as important imo, the perfect personality and character for the dressing room and club. No issues, gives his all, fills in cold and gives solid performances.
14 Jun 2024 07:02:31
Thunderbird, this may come as a shock to you but you are also an amateur analyst. The difference between me and you is that you believe your opinion is fact and for years you’ve primarily trolled others for giving their opinions if you disagree with them ??♂️
I don’t care if people rate Gomez higher than I do, but given this is a discussion forum, with your permission I’d like to continue to share my views? Thank you in advance your holiness ??.
14 Jun 2024 07:16:35
27 year old england squad member faith, wouldn't fetch a bob or two?
14 Jun 2024 12:43:52
WdW what a condescending post that was, kids these days watch the same games we do and have many other leagues thrown in as well, football has never been so readily available to watch i have an 11 year old who through video games, watchin and playing football could tell each one of us more about a player than the EDS, we have a common theme on this site from us Liverpool fans that we look down on everyone else, it needs to change, opinions are opinions, don't need to agree or disagree on one, its just someone else adding something they think is relevant.
14 Jun 2024 13:56:12
@TIR, there are people who hold the opinion that the Holocaust never actually happened. Opinions can be and usually are wrong.
I really am genuinely mystified that you think opinions can’t be wrong.
I absolutely understand that people have a right to have opinions and to express their opinions but that doesn’t make an opinion correct.
14 Jun 2024 13:58:03
Apologies if I sound condescending, I’m just putting forward an opinion @FSG. Are you saying that only opinions you agree with are acceptable?
14 Jun 2024 14:43:43
I think we all agree that Joe Gomez happened or is happening. We disagree on how good he is for Liverpool. There is no right or wrong opinion and I don't think I'm being disrespectful when I say he's no more than a decent squad player.
I would keep him unless we could sign a better player than him. That shouldn't be too difficult and, again, I'm not being unfair about Gomez.
14 Jun 2024 16:17:43
@ WdW no not at all pal but you dismiss opinions of people as clueless if they are a little different, half these so called experts on TV have terrible opinions half the time, does that make them better judges than one of us? Someone's opinion can be wildly different but it's not for us to push the mantle of being right or wrong or even not important, if someone has a differing opinion the best to do is I find is read it as if it is your own opinion then break it down as to why it doesn't make sense to you or differs from yours, it takes seconds, or the best thing most days (especially on social media ) is to just read it and move on, plus no need to apologies, sorry is thrown around as much as the use of world class on here these days haha.
14 Jun 2024 17:00:16
That was a long sentence, FSGfleecingus.
Just my opinion, of course ?.
14 Jun 2024 21:08:07
Surely the benchmark for players is, are they world class or potentially world class?
IMO, if someone offers 40+m for a squad utility player, we take the money and reinvest in the squad. Filling holes when people are injured is the what the academy is for.
All that said, the power is all with the player. It's Joe's decision.
16 Jun 2024 13:15:28
Genuine question - those who are saying gomes is low choice, not very talented in any position what makes you think he's worth £20m you're describing a sub £5m player not a £20m one.
Baffles me how often fans call players dead wood then expect good fees for them. Either you're wrong about their ability or your wrong about their price, you can't be right that he's awful in all positions AND worth good money.