Philippe Coutinho

[stringvest]

Coutinho needs confidence and players making runs to give him those passing options. Without that he quickly loses heart and goes into his shell.

Actually to be fair to him I thought he was brave and kept showing for the ball, but he was incredibly wasteful with it. Just needs to be rested for a while.

[Trumo]

I'm wondering if being called up for his national side hasn't blunted his motivation slightly. It might sound odd but there are countless examples of players who lose form and/or a bit of motivation after finally being called up by their national side. If a player has been busting a gut to improve and get noticed by his national coach, it will show in his performances for his club side as it's a personal target the player might have set himself. It's what happens once that target has been achieved where the potential problems might begin. It can take a bit of time to re-evaluate your goals and get motivated to step it up again once you've achieved one of them.

 

That's not intended as a criticism of Coutinho or to suggest that he's only arsed about getting into the Brazil squad or that he's resting on his laurels, but just a suggestion as to why his game looks a little off at the moment. A lot of people are suggesting it's down to a lack of movement from those ahead of him but I think that is only part of the problem. Perhaps he just needs a little chat with Dr Steve.

[Paco]

bit lost without sturridge?

 

they showed examples of us winning the ball back and several times coutinho had the ball at the turnover but he either had no one to hit running in behind or he took too many touches possibly as a consequence of this.

 

the other question is where does he fit in when allen returns?

 

a midfield of gerrard hendo and allen leaves 3 spots for sturridge sterling coutinho and lallana

[Barrington Womble]

I think he challenges Allen for a place in midfield and as Allen is injured as much as he's fit, I don't understand why everyone pins their hopes on him. He's been here 2 years and he's yet to establish himself due to either injuries or poor form.

 

[Aldonose]

I think it's no coincidence that he was improved yesterday, with Lallana and Sterling providing more movement in and around him. He has suffered more than anyone else with the lack of movement in our team.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

Coutinho's biggest contribution is his passing, he is a master of the weighted through ball.

With static strikers and general lack of movement in front of him he's not the same player.

Of course all can't be blamed on the surroundings, but I think this is a major factor to his drop of form.

[ratcatcher]

The little magician is missing someone to thread a ball through to. We're far too static for him to put any decent ball forward. That's leading to indecision plus he's having to make sideways passes which either dont come off because the oppos crowd the midfield or dont create anything.

[Dr. J]

 

I'm wondering if being called up for his national side hasn't blunted his motivation slightly.

 

During the game the Brazilian commentators were talking about how ironic it was that when he was playing well he wasn't chosen but now that he's not, he is. He was actually voted the best Brazilian player outside the country, this over Neymar, last year but even the Brazilians recognize he's been poor this season.

[TheFridge]

bit lost without sturridge?

 

they showed examples of us winning the ball back and several times coutinho had the ball at the turnover but he either had no one to hit running in behind or he took too many touches possibly as a consequence of this.

 

the other question is where does he fit in when allen returns?

 

a midfield of gerrard hendo and allen leaves 3 spots for sturridge sterling coutinho and lallana

 

He doesn't, he hasn't been anywhere near his best this season and we have better players in his position when everyone is fit.

 

I don't think the lack of movement for his bad form is the sole reason or should excuse him, he has been really poor this season and contributed next to nothing to the team, if there isn't any movement there then he should adapt and keep hold of the ball more playing it simpler instead of coughing up possession time and again with high risk passes that are never really on.

 

It's harsh but true, he's just having a tough time right now, no doubt he will pick it up again at some point but come QPR we will be better off with him out of the side.

[Aldonose]

He doesn't, he hasn't been anywhere near his best this season and we have better players in his position when everyone is fit.

 

I don't think the lack of movement for his bad form is the sole reason or should excuse him, he has been really poor this season and contributed next to nothing to the team, if there isn't any movement there then he should adapt and keep hold of the ball more playing it simpler instead of coughing up possession time and again with high risk passes that are never really on.

 

It's harsh but true, he's just having a tough time right now, no doubt he will pick it up again at some point but come QPR we will be better off with him out of the side.

Coutinho was bought to compliment how we play offensively. If the attack isn't functioning how it should, or at least how the manager would want it to, someone like Coutinho is going to struggle. Most of Coutinho's game is about quick incisive passing. He can hardly do that if there is nobody offering themselves or no movement ahead of him can he?

[Mathewbet1]

I thought he did ok yesterday and he never hides and shows for the ball even when he's not having the best game. Takes responsibility.

[JohnnyH]

Agree. He was no where near as bad as some are saying. I though he was key to any forward play yesterday (albeit not that much forward play). Certainly Sterling should have been the one to come off ahead of him going on the overall performance.

 

More and more Balotelli and Countinhos performances are getting pre-decided before kick off

[Iceman]

He needs to learn to turn around and do a simple pass to the defender behind him sometimes. He seems to get stuck in an attacking pass mode and then he can't get out of it before he gets closed down and quite often does that little flick thing, that fails, and then we're under attack as the ball bounces off the chest of the opposition and lands nicely at their feet. It's a flaw in his game but it can be so easily rectified if he would just...

 

 

(to the tune of Bonnie Tyler total eclipse of the fart)

 

"turn around, every now and then you get a little bit closed down and you're never turning round...Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of the jeers....Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all your skills have gone by

 

turn around Philip Brighteyes.....every now and then you fall apart 

 

And we need you not to be shite, and we need you more than ever...

And if your hair was permed just right, you wouldn't hold the ball forever..

And you could stop us from playing so shite, and that could never be wrong....

You and Hendo you could take it to the end of the line,

Instead of trying to do your skills all of the time....(all of the time) 

 

You don't know what to do and you're always in the dark

Sometimes you really scare me, make me do a big fart

 

We need you not to be shite

Fuck clever just play the ball right

(Fuck clever just play the ball right)

 

Most of last season you were fucking ace

But now your shit's falling apart

There's nothing we can do

Sometimes he's totally shit like a fart "

 

 

Still love you Phil. 

 

Icey.

[sir roger]

Coutinho has been very poor this season ( I wasn't massively impressed with him last season to be honest ) but to be fair to him we are so static at times it is unbelievable & when he finds space there are very few options available.

 

He has got to stop giving the ball away in bad places though.

[Barrington Womble]

Agree. He was no where near as bad as some are saying. I though he was key to any forward play yesterday (albeit not that much forward play). Certainly Sterling should have been the one to come off ahead of him going on the overall performance.

 

More and more Balotelli and Countinhos performances are getting pre-decided before kick off

He was one of our better players yesterday I thought, although his passing was still not great at times. But he worked his nuts off, covered lots of ground and threw in a couple of tackles too. He's not at his best, but there were signs yesterday he's improving, no doubt helped by the better movement in front of him.

[Boss]

I think he's been quite good, but then again i just love him as a player, his touch, the way he moves with the ball, it's pure poetry, but the criticism is unfounded in the most part, except his shooting which we all knew already needs work.

[Mook]

He has been giving the ball away too much in dangerous areas for my liking.

 

Just a dip in form though, great wee player.

[Mathewbet1]

Him and Lallana twinkle tow city

[magicrat]

Coutinho is fine in a team playing really well and breaking forward in numbers as we did last season .What he isn't is a keep ball merchant so not that surprised he doesn't look as effective this campaign , Question is can he modify his game to protect the ball more now we don't have the same threat up front 

[TheFridge]

Coutinho was bought to compliment how we play offensively. If the attack isn't functioning how it should, or at least how the manager would want it to, someone like Coutinho is going to struggle. Most of Coutinho's game is about quick incisive passing. He can hardly do that if there is nobody offering themselves or no movement ahead of him can he?

 

True but he often still tries those passes anyway and coughs up possession cheaply, why not keep hold of the ball when nothing but a 1 in 5 pass is on? as we know when he's on song he's a brilliant player, he has world class potential though i doubt he'll ever get near to being a genuine world class player because of his inconsistency, the great players are the ones that do it week in week out at the top level, time is on his side though. 

[Ginny]

Coutinho is decent player, that about it. This isn't an out of form Ronaldo or Messi we are talking about. He a decent player that isn't playing too well. Set your expectations a bit lower to avoid disappointment.

[Barrington Womble]

This is no time to be worrying if coutinho is the next world great. He's 22. While Ronaldo is a different type of player, he was only just starting to get over being a step over joke at 22 and certainly wasn't a world great. Zidane was 24 when he left Bordeaux, a decent enough player and yet still a number of years from ruling the planet. And Suarez was still biting people in Holland.

 

Coutinho has shown he has the skills to do anything he wants. He has excelled in the 2 second part of the seasons he's had with us and so far struggled in the two 1st part of the seasons he's had. He's young and with young not only comes some inconsistency within the odd games, but often for long runs through 10-12 games. I think for his age and previous career before he joined us, he's doing tremendously. Get used to this, like it or not this is what our club is now. We buy players before they're tearing up trees and hope we can make them into world beaters and when they're not English, probably for one of the rich Spanish or the oil clubs to enjoy. We've bought a bunch this summer and it's contributing to our shit form. But hopefully in the next 12 months or so we will see coutinho move on to be a true top class player, but at least he's giving 100%, shows he has the attributes and never hides. As far as I'm concerned anyone who expects more from him right now has unreasonable expectations of him.

[JagSquared]

Pretty much what Barry Wom said really. 

[stringvest]

A few people have made the point, but it bears repeating - he is a brave lad, and never hides. Its an attribute we could do with all over the pitch. Hes struggling a bit, and thats in no small part to the lack of options in front of him.

[Jairzinho]

He'll improve a lot when Sturridge is back.