Philippe Coutinho

[lukastama]

this guy will be a star.. I believe you Philippe

[Guest ShoePiss]

[Guest ShoePiss]

So he has had a recent injury then :-

 

Boss: Coutinho adds competition - Liverpool FC

 

New attacker Philippe Coutinho will add an extra level of competition to the Liverpool first team according to manager Brendan Rodgers.

 

The Northern Irishman swooped for the Inter Milan midfielder on the penultimate day of the January transfer window to further bolster his options after the arrival of Daniel Sturridge.

 

A previous injury means Coutinho may not be available for as instant an impact as the striker - who has notched four times in six appearances - and the 20-year-old's fitness will be assessed in the coming days.

 

But the increased battle for places in the starting XI that the signing of Coutinho brings is exactly what the boss was aiming for.

 

"He had been injured but he trained this morning. He's a young player that I've got very high hopes for," Rodgers told reporters at his pre-West Brom press conference on Friday.

 

"Daniel was ready to come in and play; with Philippe, we'll see how he goes in the next few days.

 

"He had a bridging session yesterday - he was with the medical team in Milan, came here and we've assessed where he's at in terms of fitness.

 

"He trained with the group this morning and we'll observe him over the next couple of days.

 

"He's a top young player with big experience. Bringing him into the group adds competition. The team that have been involved in the last couple of games have been exceptional.

 

"It's very important that the players on the side are fighting to get into the team. The key for us all was to build a competitive squad to challenge.

 

"The players have done remarkably well up to this point, but there's still a long way to go for us - an awful lot of improvements to make, consistency to find. But we're on the right path."

 

Despite performances deserving of six points from fixtures at Arsenal and Manchester City, the Reds collected just two from the respective journeys to the Emirates and the Etihad.

 

Rodgers refused to concede defeat in the battle for fourth, however, and says his players are of the same mentality.

[smilezzz]

 

I can tell from this picture that this lad will go on to be the bestest best player forever and ever.

 

Hope he's on the bench tonight, would like to see him in action.

[Gym Beglin]

I'd be very surprised to see him in the squad tonight, not least because he is shit as fuck.

 

LOLZZZZZ

[johnno]

Hes tiny i thought he looked like a mascot.

[robslappa]

He looks like Fred West's love child.

[Guest San Don]

Kinell. The lad only played 10 minutes!

[Champ]

Our very own refugee from the Disney channel

[xerxes]

The team that have been involved in the last couple of games have been exceptional.

 

Is that the team that took one point from six?

[Gym Beglin]

Is that the team that took one point from six?

 

Naughty.

 

Yes, it's the same defence that can't defend anymore, for personal reasons.

[Mathewbet1]

He's by far the quickest player in training according to reeeehms. skillz to. mad skills...and illing it innitz.

[RedRazor]

So we have now had the chance to see him start a game and give his best for an hour or so. What did everyone think?

 

My thoughts as follows.

 

Good to see him crown his Anfield debut with a goal. He definitely has those fancy dancing feet. I think he will need to beef up a little and be a bit tougher to knock off the ball. Didn't see much of his much touted electric pace but probably wasn't the sort of game where he would get much chance to use it with Swansea defending deep and in numbers. Positionally he seemed to drift at times and didn't seem tuned into the movement of the other players but that will only come with game time so was to be expected. Cautiously optimistic that he might make the grade.

[Frankenhooker]

He reminded me of Luis Garcia, I can see him be very annoying but then scoring a wonder goal to shut everyone up. I like him.

[WhiskeyJar]

His link up play shot power and first touch all good.

[razor]

So we have now had the chance to see him start a game and give his best for an hour or so. What did everyone think?

 

My thoughts as follows.

 

Good to see him crown his Anfield debut with a goal. He definitely has those fancy dancing feet. I think he will need to beef up a little and be a bit tougher to knock off the ball. Didn't see much of his much touted electric pace but probably wasn't the sort of game where he would get much chance to use it with Swansea defending deep and in numbers. Positionally he seemed to drift at times and didn't seem tuned into the movement of the other players but that will only come with game time so was to be expected. Cautiously optimistic that he might make the grade.

 

Thought you'd already made your mind up after that 10 minute cameo last week?

 

Did you think Coutinho showed any real quality in any part of his contribution?

I didn't.

I saw nothing from him that gave me any encouragement whatsoever.

 

A real turn around in fortunes for the lad...

[jsims]

Didn't see much of his much touted electric pace

 

I thought we did, for his goal

 

His cruyff flick attempt shortly afterwards was class...he got some nice power in that.

 

He tried a nice through ball to sturridge in the first half aswell, we have been lacking creative slide passes like that for ages.

 

He will be a really good player for us because he adds to the talent and ability of Suarez and Strurridge. They can all beat a man with skill and technique which we hav lacked for a long time.

[Paco]

That defence splitting ball he played for sturridge in the first half was pure quality. Looked perfectly weighted but sturridge never fully accelerated for some reason.

 

Hopefully this lad can unlock defences on a regular basis.

[Newport]

That defence splitting ball he played for sturridge in the first half was pure quality. Looked perfectly weighted but sturridge never fully accelerated for some reason.

 

 

Sturridge was just on the offside line and probably wasn't expecting a pass like that.

[jsims]

That defence splitting ball he played for sturridge in the first half was pure quality. Looked perfectly weighted but sturridge never fully accelerated for some reason.

 

Hopefully this lad can unlock defences on a regular basis.

 

Yea i thought so too, we just dont see downing try anything like that.

 

I think sterling has it in his locker (he played a great one on his England debut) but he is young and has lost abit of confidence

 

Henderson rarely plays balls like that (yet) so its nice to have a player with compsure and awareness

 

I think he will have games when he struggles as he adapts to the pace and physical side of the Prem, and then we will have guys coming into this thread saying his is shit

 

Cant wait

[G Richards]

Thought little Frodo did quite well today. He can beat a man and he had a few shots as well, which is nice to see. He got a goal on his Anfield debut which is not bad at all. Hopefully we will see more of his pace and trickery as he settles, and hopefully we will see him link up with the others up front too. When that happens we will look so much better and we will give any defence a lot to worry about. There were decent signs today, but obviously we need to see much more of him before we can judge what he's all about.

[RedRazor]

Thought you'd already made your mind up after that 10 minute cameo last week?

 

A real turn around in fortunes for the lad...

 

I'm completely missing the point you are trying to make.

[bossy]

I insist we call him Ford.

[zigackly]

A good start.

[Gym Beglin]

If he can't look good against Swansea, a depleted Swansea side at that, at Anfield, then it would have been all over for him.

 

It's a cunts trick, and often mentioned in jest, but we need to see his qualities away from home as well as at Anfield.