Joe Gomez

[dockers_strike]

Gomez might make some mistakes but we've seen Konate in his short time here make stupid mistakes that have resulted in goals, we've seen Matip make stupid mistakes and yes, even Virgil makes them. Even Alli's made them.

 

But what hacks me off regarding Joe is lots of people use them to talk him down. There isnt a player in our team who doesnt make stupid mistakes. All players make them.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

If I was Southgate - and I'm not saying I'm not him - I'd have Tomori and Gomez at CB.

[gkmacca]

12 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Gomez might make some mistakes but we've seen Konate in his short time here make stupid mistakes that have resulted in goals, we've seen Matip make stupid mistakes and yes, even Virgil makes them. Even Alli's made them.

 

But what hacks me off regarding Joe is lots of people use them to talk him down. There isnt a player in our team who doesnt make stupid mistakes. All players make them.

Exactly. When he came here he was obliged to play quite a few games at left back, and did very well - none of this 'he lacks positional sense'/'doesn't concentrate' stuff. And he did so well at CB in his first stint with Virge that it looked like they'd be the main ones for a fair while. His injuries have been horrendous but have been played down by those who wanted to dismiss him as not good enough. The same goes for the times when he's been thrown on without any rhythm at all. Criticising errors is one thing, but this relentless desire to depict each one as definitive proof that he's incapable of improvement is quite another. Yes, he really has to build on that performance and he does have to show he can be consistent (again), but give the guy some slack.

[alles ist gut]

1 hour ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

If I was Southgate - and I'm not saying I'm not him - I'd have Tomori and Gomez at CB.

If you were Southgate, it would have taken you more than 24 hours to type that.

[manwiththestick]

Is Gomez allowed back into the England squad since the time he shoved his face into Sterling's hand and got roundly booed for it?

[Carvalho Diablo]

I've often thought that Gomez is a bit passive and needs to play with more aggression.

 

Yesterday he played with that added aggression.

[Scott_M]

Unfortunately Gomez has lost so much through injury.

 

Yesterday he was brilliant. However he was brilliant at Everton and then threw in a howler at Napoli in the next game.

 

Hopefully the longer he remains fit, the more we see more performances like yesterday. 

[Funkasy]

2 hours ago, dockers_strike said:

Gomez might make some mistakes but we've seen Konate in his short time here make stupid mistakes that have resulted in goals, we've seen Matip make stupid mistakes and yes, even Virgil makes them. Even Alli's made them.

 

But what hacks me off regarding Joe is lots of people use them to talk him down. There isnt a player in our team who doesnt make stupid mistakes. All players make them.

I think he has allot more misstakes in him then the other three, but he can also be among the best in the league, just a pitty his form swings so much and all of his injuries are hard to leave behind him, i think he will just keep getting some sort of injuries going forward because of the other two big ones hes had. Lets hope im wrong and he will maintain a stable injuryfree career from now on.

[etho]

He's got all the tools and made up he signed a long term contract as he will be a top centre half. He was arguably pretty much there when he sustained the last horrendous injury. Says alot about where he was then that even without van dijk we were looking fine with Joe moving over to the left centre back slot.

He hasn't quite looked the same since till yesterday, which is arguably understandable. Compared with Konate and Matip he seems to need more time when coming back into the team at cb to regain performance level, which is not ideal for a reserve cb.  It's arguably decision making and positioning which is his biggest weakness when rusty.

[Guest]

Liverpool 1-0 Man City: 'Why Liverpool had to wait for Joe Gomez to get back to his best' - Martin Keown analysis - BBC Sport

 

Liverpool's entire defence was exceptional in their win over Manchester City, but I was especially pleased with Joe Gomez's performance alongside Virgil van Dijk.

 

It's four years since they were first paired together at centre-half for the Reds, when Gomez was 21. Back then, in November 2018, I said we might be seeing the start of one of the all-time great Premier League partnerships in central defence.

 

We've been denied that because of the serious injury that Gomez suffered while training with England in November 2020, when he ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee.

 

I still always believed in Gomez, who has hardly played at centre-half since, but I knew it would take time for him recover because I know that injury well, and the saga that comes with it.

 

That's why Sunday was very big day for him.

Gomez helped keep out Haaland, who failed to score a goal or make an assist for the first time in 13 Premier League or Champions League games this season. Liverpool also became the first Premier League side to keep a clean sheet against City this season

An injury that is 'always on your mind'

I suffered a partial tear of my patellar tendon playing against Sweden at the 1992 European Championship, and it was the most debilitating injury of my career.

 

I was out of action for four months, but it took me a couple of years to get my pace back completely, and be able to deal with a striker's acceleration the same way I used to.

 

It took much longer than that for me to get over it completely, and it is serious enough to be something you can end up nursing for the rest of your career.

 

Gomez's was a complete tear, where the tendon is separated from the kneecap, so it was worse than mine. Even for me, though, it was an injury that stayed with me.

 

To understand why, you have to know about the amount of force that goes through your knee when you are a Premier League centre-half. The demands during a game are unbelievable, and your body has to be able to deal with it or you are found out.

 

I watched Gomez live when Liverpool were thrashed by Napoli in the Champions League earlier in the season. It was a game where he and the rest of Liverpool's defence came in for a lot of criticism, not for the first or last time in recent weeks.

 

Gomez was playing at centre-half alongside Van Dijk then too, but he wasn't himself. He looked to me like he was just trying to get through the game, which is what you do after an injury like that.

 

You don't want to put too much energy through that leg, or ask too much of it, because, believe me, you are always thinking about it. It is always on your mind.

 

Against City, Gomez could not let his knee affect him like that. Not when he was playing against Erling Haaland.

Ibrahima Konate's injury meant Gomez was making his first start at centre-half since he played there in Liverpool's 4-1 defeat by Napoli on 7 September

This was big for him because it wasn't just about him playing well to get a result for Liverpool, it was about rebuilding his reputation. He has fallen a long way down the pecking order for club and country, especially in the centre of defence.

 

Gomez only started four Premier League games last season, all of them at right-back, but he is an absolutely top-class centre-half and he showed it on Sunday.

 

He had the pace to deal with Haaland, and the power in the air. He also had the desire and the confidence, now that his injury is behind him.

 

That is great news for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, and I think Gomez might also have answered some of Gareth Southgate's prayers before the World Cup.

With this performance, he was back to his best. It was brilliant to see

MOTD2 analysis: How Liverpool exploited Man City's 'unusual tactics'

Alongside Gomez, Van Dijk was also in the mood where he decided he would not just stand up to Haaland, he would try to bully him.

 

There was one City chance late on where Van Dijk headed the ball over his own bar when it would have otherwise been a close-range tap-in for Haaland.

 

It was a difficult ball to deal with, across the face of goal, but if it reaches the striker and he scores we ask 'where are the defenders?'

 

Well, this time, they were bang on it. He and Gomez were always in the right place when it mattered, when the ball came into the box.

 

They knew they had to target Haaland, and challenge him everywhere he went.

 

There had been enough said and written about him and his 20 goals in 13 games for them to say to each other as a centre-half pairing 'you deal with that' in different scenarios.

Between them, they got it exactly right.

Are Liverpool contenders again?

Liverpool are eighth, with 13 points from nine games

This was a great result for Liverpool but I don't think it changes much for them in the title race.

 

It would have to be one of the biggest comebacks of all time for them to win the Premier League from here, even after this win.

 

Liverpool are still 10 points behind City, although Jurgen Klopp's side do have a game in hand.

 

Crucially, we know how City react when they are beaten. Under Pep Guardiola, they always seem to go on long runs of winning game after game.

 

They had won seven out of nine in the league before they went to Anfield and I'd expect them now to go and win their next seven games in all competitions before the season stops for the World Cup. That's what they do.

 

So, although it was a good day for Liverpool, in terms of what it means at the top of the table, it was a much better one for my old team, Arsenal.

 

City's first league defeat of the season means our 2003-04 'Invincibles' record is intact for another year, and although the Gunners really rode their luck to beat Leeds, they are now four points clear at the top.

 

Martin Keown was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

Gomez was fantastic yesterday, strong contender for man of the match. As fourth choice CB we’ll struggle to do better I believe.

 

However he lacks a few things to take the step up to first choice imo. Positioning is not top class, he’s not dominant enough in the air and his longer range passing isn’t good enough.

 

Not good enough to be first choice that is. Overall he’s a very good player. Quite good close control, good in tight spaces, strong and great pace. Seems like he’s got a fairly calm head on him as well. So lots of good things to say about him, but reckon he’ll remain a valuable squad player here, and as long as he’s happy with that we should keep him.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Hasn't improved since we bought him. Brainless mistakes litter his time here occasionally punctuated with a good performance 1/10 games. 

 

Don't want to hear about the weird crowd less title winning season, he's a liability and needs jibbing. No better than Lovren or Skrtel were.

[Carra_is_legend]

1 minute ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

Hasn't improved since we bought him. Brainless mistakes litter his time here occasionally punctuated with a good performance 1/10 games. 

 

Don't want to hear about the weird crowd less title winning season, he's a liability and needs jibbing. No better than Lovren or Skrtel were.

He is a liability, full stop. I have never trusted him and never will. 

[TheSire]

On 17/10/2022 at 14:40, dockers_strike said:

Gomez might make some mistakes but we've seen Konate in his short time here make stupid mistakes that have resulted in goals, we've seen Matip make stupid mistakes and yes, even Virgil makes them. Even Alli's made them.

 

But what hacks me off regarding Joe is lots of people use them to talk him down. There isnt a player in our team who doesnt make stupid mistakes. All players make them.

This aged well

[Strontium]

Great athlete, good defensive ability, all undone by having a walnut for a brain. Pity.

[Turkish Delight]

There are lots of causes of our problems this season but Matip's and Konate's lack of availability is right up there because they're both miles ahead of Joe.

 

He has lots of good attributes but that doesn't matter when he's making basic concentration errors nearly every game he plays.

[ZonkoVille77]

A bang average right full with a brain like a drug addled bouncer. Not good enough at CB.

 

But let's not forget he's playing with a version of VVD who has just given up and is now playing on ego. 

[DJLJ]

On 17/10/2022 at 14:40, dockers_strike said:

Gomez might make some mistakes but we've seen Konate in his short time here make stupid mistakes that have resulted in goals, we've seen Matip make stupid mistakes and yes, even Virgil makes them. Even Alli's made them.

 

But what hacks me off regarding Joe is lots of people use them to talk him down. There isnt a player in our team who doesnt make stupid mistakes. All players make them.

hmmmm.....

[J-V]

Better at right back.  

As I said in the summer if we get a decent offer get rid now Gerrard’s been sacked the decent offer part has gone.

[VladimirIlyich]

2 hours ago, J-V said:

Better at right back.  

As I said in the summer if we get a decent offer get rid now Gerrard’s been sacked the decent offer part has gone.

We cant sell him as now all our CBs are injured or playing like shite. If it wasnt for our keeper we'd likely be close to the relegation zone.

[J-V]

15 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

We cant sell him as now all our CBs are injured or playing like shite. If it wasnt for our keeper we'd likely be close to the relegation zone.

Regardless, we didn't get an offer and won't now he's just got a new contract so he's not being sold anyway.  He's a backup centreback and a better right back the issue is we've two perma crocks in Matip and Konate as first choice centrebacks.

[El Dangerous]

There won’t be a better 4th choice centre back/back up right back in the Prem. Shame he’s playing so much. Seems he puts a dodgy back pass in every game where he’ll needlessly put the keeper under pressure. His passing forward and crossing isn’t too bad either he just has really poor awareness.

[Freddo]

If he's 4th choice he'll be going. He won't want to be 4th choice. He should be but he won't want that as his role. He was at fault for the first goal. Yes alli slipped but the pass was shit. Didn't even look. He isn't even that quick these days. 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

13 hours ago, TheSire said:

This aged well

Watch it, Dockers is looking to let off steam mate.

[Bob]

13 hours ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

Hasn't improved since we bought him. Brainless mistakes litter his time here occasionally punctuated with a good performance 1/10 games. 

 

Don't want to hear about the weird crowd less title winning season, he's a liability and needs jibbing. No better than Lovren or Skrtel were.

I agree with your overall point and I saw comparisons with Lovren yesterday big time - especially how once he’s made an error you know more will follow - but I do feel sorry for the lad as his injuries have had a big impact on his development.

 

all that said though, the weird crowdless season wasn’t the title winning season. The crowdless season was when we scraped 4th.