Darwin Nunez - Thoughts?

[Section_31]

9 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

What does that mean "a Rush/Owen/Fowler style striker?

 

I think when you sign someone who scored 30 goals the season before you buy him, you think you're buying a top striker. So is he not a top striker?

 

Prolific striker, penalty box player who can find their net with their eyes closed. Goals would bounce in off Fowler's arse. Hardly any around now, in the world. 

 

Klopp seems to go for 'attackers', strikers come wingers. That's just the way he sets up his teams. 

[manwiththestick]

1 minute ago, Section_31 said:

 

Prolific striker, penalty box player who can find their net with their eyes closed. Goals would bounce in off Fowler's arse. Hardly any around now, in the world. 

 

Klopp seems to go for 'attackers', strikers come wingers. That's just the way he sets up his teams. 

That's Jota. If only he could stay fit.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Keep thinking back to that chance a Old Trafford in the second half. Feet all wrong, zero composure, looked completely bewildered and overawed. 

 

 

[Saintslfc13]

52 minutes ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

Keep thinking back to that chance a Old Trafford in the second half. Feet all wrong, zero composure, looked completely bewildered and overawed. 

 

 

Are you talking about the one where Diaz played him into a impossibly tight angle with the keeper and a defender on top of him as the ball gets there before wheeling away to the corner instead of crashing the goal which would've put him into exactly the space Nunez ended up putting the ball?

[Smell The Glove]

16 minutes ago, Saintslfc13 said:

Are you talking about the one where Diaz played him into a impossibly tight angle with the keeper and a defender on top of him as the ball gets there before wheeling away to the corner instead of crashing the goal which would've put him into exactly the space Nunez ended up putting the ball?

Fucking hell that's some take

[joe_fishfish]

Huge season for him next time out. Has it all to do to impress the new manager. 
 

Last night when Jones played him clean through, it barely even registered how bad the finish was, I knew he wasn’t scoring that in a million years. 

[TD_LFC]

Wasn't this season the one where it was all going to come together?

 

 

[Carra_is_legend]

He needs a goal against Palace. 

[TD_LFC]

Just now, Carra_is_legend said:

He needs a goal against Palace. 

 

They're 14th, he'll get one maybe two, and we can all go back to pretending he's ace.

 

[s(k)aturation]

1 minute ago, TD_LFC said:

 

They're 14th, he'll get one maybe two, and we can all go back to pretending he's ace.

 

 

 

He's kind of a big deal.

 

 

[dave u]

29 minutes ago, Saintslfc13 said:

Are you talking about the one where Diaz played him into a impossibly tight angle with the keeper and a defender on top of him as the ball gets there before wheeling away to the corner instead of crashing the goal which would've put him into exactly the space Nunez ended up putting the ball?

 

I agree with most of this, but he's not blameless as if he cuts it back to Szoboszlai it's a tap in. It was a bad decision from him, as well as a bad one from Diaz. Typifies everything we've done against United in three games. Either continually taking the wrong option and fucking up great situations, or on the rare occasion we got it right and created a chance we then fucked up with the finishing.

 

Just like the team, Nunez looked like he was coming right into form for the run in only to then inexplicably take a big step backwards just when it matters most. Mac Allister is the only creative / attacking player to step up and deliver over the past month and even he was piss poor last night.

[TD_LFC]

 

Inexplicably?

[Smell The Glove]

27 minutes ago, dave u said:

 

I agree with most of this, but he's not blameless as if he cuts it back to Szoboszlai it's a tap in. It was a bad decision from him, as well as a bad one from Diaz. Typifies everything we've done against United in three games. Either continually taking the wrong option and fucking up great situations, or on the rare occasion we got it right and created a chance we then fucked up with the finishing.

 

Just like the team, Nunez looked like he was coming right into form for the run in only to then inexplicably take a big step backwards just when it matters most. Mac Allister is the only creative / attacking player to step up and deliver over the past month and even he was piss poor last night.

Nothing wrong with the ball from Diaz. Nunez had 3 options, took the worst one which he made to look 100 times worse. Regarding Diaz, he let the ball run across his body so all his weight was on his right side so it's not like he could just run towards the six yard box. If you want to blame Diaz for not shooting what % would you place on him scoring from there on his left foot? Because I'd put 99% on Dom scoring a simple tap back.

[Jairzinho]

9 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

Yeah, it was a bit of a rhetorical question. Lot of goal-post moving with our manbuned Uruguayan. 

 

Got some people who think stats are nonsense telling you he has got a great goal p90 record and that means he has been great. Mind you, it is also great when he doesnt score because Klopp doesnt need his centre forwards to score apparently. 

 

And meanwhile a big stat that matters; the fact he scores about 1 in 10 chances, thats totally fine. 

 

Yeah, I got that. It was a slightly flippant reply. 

 

Agree with everything you've written here. Presumably his stats were better before he joined us...but in Portugal. That made the transfer a huge gamble. A weird one to take, in my opinion. 

 

I get we have five forwards, all with different skills, and that has allowed us to ride out some shit performances and score a lot of late goals. It has created the chaos which has led to us probably having more points than you'd expect from the squad as a whole. I think we are the third best team in the league. Despite being stiffed by refs in some big games, and riddled with injuries for large parts of the season, I still look at City and Arsenal and see better teams than us. Although City have weakened themselves with Haaland (his numbers probably mask stuff like Nunez and Salah's have for us this year), and De Bruyne's injury has meant the balance of the side has been a bit off. Arsenal have been very lucky with injuries but you can't really argue with their performances, especially in this calendar year.

 

I think any new manager is going to want make significant changes this summer. A big offer for Diaz would see him leaving, and I just don't see how a new manager is going to look at Salah and want to hang his hat on his performances for the mid term future. It's cash in time. The other three will probably stay, but for varying reasons can't be relied upon. I just hope a priority is signing a forward who can finish and whose legs aren't made of puff pastry.

 

[johnsusername]

Has anyone considered that his purple patch a few months ago was out of the ordinary, and this form is just his norm? I mean the evidence (during his time at Liverpool) is pretty convincing of the latter. 

 

We needed a striker in the summer, but it was a recruitment car crash. 

[Binomial]

1 hour ago, Smell The Glove said:

Fucking hell that's some take

Diaz should've just taken the shot on, no question. Far better angle, well within shooting distance and on his stronger foot. 

[Babb'sBurstNad]

I still can't quite work out how he missed so badly 1-on-1. Was he trying to kid the keeper? Opens his body, then tries to whip it near post? It was about five yards wide.

[Bjornebye]

He’s brilliant at everything but finishing. Arguably the hardest work rate in the team. The finishing will eventually come but he’s a player who needs the right players around him. He can’t play with Gakpo IMO. 

[joe_fishfish]

6 minutes ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

I still can't quite work out how he missed so badly 1-on-1. Was he trying to kid the keeper? Opens his body, then tries to whip it near post? It was about five yards wide.

He’s just crap

[3 Stacks]

42 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

 

Yeah, I got that. It was a slightly flippant reply. 

 

Agree with everything you've written here. Presumably his stats were better before he joined us...but in Portugal. That made the transfer a huge gamble. A weird one to take, in my opinion. 

 

I get we have five forwards, all with different skills, and that has allowed us to ride out some shit performances and score a lot of late goals. It has created the chaos which has led to us probably having more points than you'd expect from the squad as a whole. I think we are the third best team in the league. Despite being stiffed by refs in some big games, and riddled with injuries for large parts of the season, I still look at City and Arsenal and see better teams than us. Although City have weakened themselves with Haaland (his numbers probably mask stuff like Nunez and Salah's have for us this year), and De Bruyne's injury has meant the balance of the side has been a bit off. Arsenal have been very lucky with injuries but you can't really argue with their performances, especially in this calendar year.

 

I think any new manager is going to want make significant changes this summer. A big offer for Diaz would see him leaving, and I just don't see how a new manager is going to look at Salah and want to hang his hat on his performances for the mid term future. It's cash in time. The other three will probably stay, but for varying reasons can't be relied upon. I just hope a priority is signing a forward who can finish and whose legs aren't made of puff pastry.

 

 

His last season in Portugal he wildly overperformed his xG, which you can interpret as him being a great finisher, or as a fluke. He has proceeded to now have almost two seasons where his finishing absolutely stinks, so it is a bit clearer what the answer his. The thing is, he could catch fire next season, or even just score the amount of goals his chances say he should, but when was the time to come up big, now under Klopp when you can win the league or 3 years into your transfer when you are fighting for 4th under a different manager?

 

And the 5 forwards thing I would imagine has worked because Klopp rates them all, bought them all, built a rapport with them, rotates them all adequately. The chances this sort of dynamic continues with the new manager is slim to none and like you said, Salah and Diaz could be on the way out so there might be a change there anyway. 

[Bobby Hundreds]

He's like  cross between Cisse and Milan Baros with Kevin Lisbie thrown in for shits and giggles. 

 

There's a player there but he wouldn't be my number 9.

[Carra_is_legend]

1 hour ago, TD_LFC said:

 

They're 14th, he'll get one maybe two, and we can all go back to pretending he's ace.

 

 

Pretending or not, it would be a good idea for the forwards to score some goals, eh?

[Jairzinho]

5 minutes ago, 3 Stacks said:

 

His last season in Portugal he wildly overperformed his xG, which you can interpret as him being a great finisher, or as a fluke. He has proceeded to now have almost two seasons where his finishing absolutely stinks, so it is a bit clearer what the answer his. The thing is, he could catch fire next season, or even just score the amount of goals his chances say he should, but when was the time to come up big, now under Klopp when you can win the league or 3 years into your transfer when you are fighting for 4th under a different manager?

 

And the 5 forwards thing I would imagine has worked because Klopp rates them all, bought them all, built a rapport with them, rotates them all adequately. The chances this sort of dynamic continues with the new manager is slim to none and like you said, Salah and Diaz could be on the way out so there might be a change there anyway. 

 

Ordinarily you'd possibly put some of it down to the pressure of playing for us compared to playing in a league where everyone outside the top four would get relegated from League One. However, that doesn't seem like his character at all. He seems completely unfazed, blissfully unaware, or whatever it is. He's almost 25 so the idea he suddenly going to become a very good technical finisher and have the requisite composure seems highly unlikely.

 

I think it's fairly obvious whoever the new manager is will have a much colder relationship with the players. For good and bad.

[Carra_is_legend]

8 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

He’s brilliant at everything but finishing. Arguably the hardest work rate in the team. The finishing will eventually come but he’s a player who needs the right players around him. He can’t play with Gakpo IMO. 

 

I like Nunez and the passion & work rate that he brings to the team but if we cannot rely on our no.9 for goals when we need them, I don't see why he should be our no.9.

 

We just don't know what we are going to get out of him when he steps onto the pitch - except of course work rate & passion, which are guaranteed.

[chrisbonnie]

10 minutes ago, Carra_is_legend said:

 

I like Nunez and the passion & work rate that he brings to the team but if we cannot rely on our no.9 for goals when we need them, I don't see why he should be our no.9.

 

We just don't know what we are going to get out of him when he steps onto the pitch - except of course work rate & passion, which are guaranteed.

Spot on. 

 

I'd even argue the case that he gets into better positions and gets more chances than any other striker in the league. 

 

But you just don't get the finishing.. Unfortunately......