12 Feb 2018 06:42:42
Hey Ed001,

Before you do your match review I just wanted to ask your opinion of Gini Wijnaldum? He seems to be a shadow of the player we saw last year and even then he only was sporadic with his obvious quality. that's what's annoying to me, he has ability, drive technique etc but he always seems so unconfident to drive foward when on the ball, arguably his best quality alongside his workrate. Iv been told by fans if other clubs that I'm being harsh but every time I watch him he does nothing, takes up positions where he CANNOT recieve the ball and looks like he's hiding, when opportunities do arise he passes responsibility. Why did he leave the through ball for Mane yesterday? I like to think I can see what players bring to the team so I defend the likes of Hendo passionately, but I'm either missing something or Gini is just making up numbers. Be interested to hear your thoughts.

{Ed001's Note - I feel the same, he is like a ghost when we have the ball most of the time, particularly in away games. He clearly has a mental weakness which holds him back. This is not a new thing, he was the same at Newcastle. Everything he does is reactive as well, there is nothing pro-active about him, no anticipation, which can help him pick up goals arriving late but is why he is always chasing back, rather that being goalside and jockeying threats away.}

1.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 07:34:22
Spot on Westwood, at some point early last season I remember thinking “hey I was wrong about him, he really does add so much to the midfield”. A year on, I can’t actually remember what it was that actually impressed me. Like most of our problems, is it the absence of Henderson in there?

2.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 07:42:37
To be fair ed, our midfielders in general are notbimmune to the reactive defending and having to chase back. All of them. And equally theyball have theirbgood moments too incl gini.

{Ed001's Note - I don't see how that is an excuse for Gini being poor because most of the others are too? You are not being 'fair' you are making a poor attempt at an excuse for his mediocrity.}

3.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 07:46:00
AOA, i think you're right, i think Gini plays far better with Henderson in the team, and i think it's because Henderson is actually the quickest to get the ball moving in our current midfield, and i think that forces gini to play without thinking so much.

4.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 08:01:49
He hasn't really been the player i hoped he would be. On occassions he can be really good surrounded be a lot of bang average stuff. Disappointing really.

5.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 08:37:45
Ah c'mon fellas. He was by far the best of the midfield three yesterday!
Neat and tidy, didn't waste possession - the Ian Callaghan role if you like in that he was a good link.
Made a couple of great runs forward in the second half, one in particular when Mane should have played him in.
If you want to criticise, save it for Can.

6.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 09:16:14
Gini wasted possession several times, rewatch the game he was incredibly frustrating to watch, there would be forward passes on and he would just turn round and pass it backwards, Hendo would get slaughtered for that.
He seems to be a player that’s not quite given up but one who is doing the bare minimum to get by without drawing too much attention to himself (a bit like me in school), there is no passion or desire in his play at all at the minute.
I would sell him in the summer, he brings nothing to the team anymore and it’s a complete waste of time having him as a squad player or as a sub because he’s never going to change a game with his work rate, you can have all the talent in the world but it’s worthless if your not prepared to use it.

7.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 10:00:40
Gini is another that needs upgrading. Maybe Keita takes his place in the midfield 3 along side Hendo and Lallana/ OX but we need another midfielder on top of Keita. Personally, I would move Gini on in the summer. There seems to be a serious lack of character and strong mentality on the player's part when it comes to being part of a title challenging squad.

8.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 10:27:04
For me Gini has lost the drive that he had in his first season.

The one thing I loved in his first season was that he would always take the ball on the half way and be looking to drive forward with it, only if there wasn't an opportunity would he cut back and play an easier ball.

Now he takes the ball facing the defence, plays the ball straight back to them or hesitates and plays it out to the full back. Very occasionally he will turn and face forward but by the time he has he has been closed down and he has to turn back again slowing everything up.

He needs to get back to taking passes on the half turn and looking to make stuff happen, because I do believe when he has the ball at his feet his head up and is running at the opposition he can be incredibly effective, and with the front 3 we have he could be a real asset.

Unfortunately for him, with Keita coming in the summer and Klopp likely to add other players as well (plus some of the youngsters coming through) it looks like he might be pushed down the pecking order. I hope he has a barnstorming end to the season to give Klopp a real headache next year.

9.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 11:40:35
@Indian buzzer - how does Ox get into your new and improved Liverpool midfield? I think he has put in about 2 good performances this season and the rest have been bang average at best. Yesterday he was very poor and did very little either offensively or defensively. I agree the midfield needs upgrading but I haven't seen anything from Ox to make me think he is the step up we have been waiting for - he needs to improve drastically otherwise I don't really see doing much but warming the bench next season.

Can will leave and, with the addition of Keita, we will need another midfielder to really give us some depth and quality - I would expect whoever we add to be a starter with Keita and Henderson (when fit) .

10.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 13:36:50
Juicer? Gini was by far the best midfielder of the three? What game were you watching? Gini as Ed said, is a bottler on the road and this is coming from a Gini fan. He is a liability and seems to hide during away games. He had a chance to take on a great pass from Bobbie straight to goal last night. What did he do? He bottled it and dummied it to Mane who would NEVER score from that angle. Lampard, Sg, Scholes etc would NEVER have bottled that chance as box to box mids. Scoring goals is what they do and Gini CAN score goals. Why he can't do that on the road is a huge prob and is prolly mental, IMO. If bottling a goalscoring oppo is what you classify as being the best of the mid three then I propose you go re-evaluate what "the best" is.

11.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 15:49:42
I like gini. Unpopular I guess but I do. When Hendo is out he stitches play together. Rather than being brilliant on the ball he makes it very difficult for the opposition.

12.) 13 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 22:55:23
think you've over reacted there ed1. not making an excuse to defend gini, just pointing out that the whole midfield group do the same. to me that speaks more to the group than to any individual.

{Ed001's Note - no it does not. The whole rest of the Chelsea midfield do the same other than Kante. At Man Utd they have only Matic who is not reactive. It is nothing to do with midfield group it is individual mentalities.}