Wataru Endo Welcome to Liverpool

[Elite]

1 minute ago, stringvest said:

 

sorry, but while he contributes to winning games the way he has, you're obsessing over trying to detract from his performances.  Can you name a player who could come in and improve on what we've seen recently?  I don't think he's a world beater, but I don't think we'll find someone markedly better than him.  The last half dozen performances would absolutely be comparable with Makelele.

How am I detracting from his performances? I said he's playing well.

 

Paulinha for starters and his last half dozen performances are comparable with Makelele? Haha, fucking hell.

[stringvest]

Just now, Elite said:

How am I detracting from his performances? I said he's playing well.

 

Paulinha for starters and his last half dozen performances are comparable with Makelele? Haha, fucking hell.

 

of course they were.  Makelele was efficient, and broke the opposition play, and set his team(s) on the front foot.  He didn't deliver world class performances every week.  What do you think has been lacking in that regard?  

[bossy]

Another solid performance from Endo.

 

[Elite]

Just now, stringvest said:

 

of course they were.  Makelele was efficient, and broke the opposition play, and set his team(s) on the front foot.  He didn't deliver world class performances every week.  What do you think has been lacking in that regard?  

Pace, we are still getting done on the counter and his use of the ball is basic. He can definitely be improved upon, what's hard to understand about that? I'm not even knocking him, he's a very useful squad player.

[Carra_is_legend]

Why should we mind if his use of the ball is basic when the team score 4 goals and should have scored a lot more? He is playing really well and it's poor from to find reasons to say he is not a long term solution. The lad is playing incredibly well. 

 

Our issues are upfront and lack of finishing ability.

[No2]

I'm warming to him.

[Supremolad]

1 hour ago, Elite said:

Pace, we are still getting done on the counter and his use of the ball is basic. He can definitely be improved upon, what's hard to understand about that? I'm not even knocking him, he's a very useful squad player.

 

It's true he lacks pace on the turn and cant make up ground running back towards goal.

 

However, he is actually quite good on the ball. Surprisingly so. It's incorrect to say his use of the ball is "basic". He threads through many good passes and considering he is supposed to be a bog standard DM, he is a decent goal threat around the opponents' box.

[El Dangerous]

I hope we sign Kuba and that centre back we’ve been linked to and the three of them march out on to the pitch waving their national flag and wearing rising sun head bands and start talking shit about America in Japanese before big Billy Hogan runs out and gives them all leg drops before ripping his shirt off and mugging for the crowd.

[Elite]

People don't half overrate players on here.

[skend04]

39 minutes ago, Elite said:

People don't half overrate players on here.

 

I don't see anyone overrating him. The fact is, he's come in and bar the first half against Palace he's bought some solidity to the team. We were conceding chances left right and centre prior to him coming in and now we don't bar the odd counter attack. It's not a coincidence but we'll see how we play whilst he's on Asia Cup duty 

[3 Stacks]

I think this run he's had has of course been severely overrated by people who have "Darwin Syndrome" (hyperbole in the opposite direction because of some perceived initial slights about a player), but he gained a lot of points towards being a legitimate high level option yesterday.

 

It was one of the best performances we have had in years between both boxes and he was part of it. If football was only about what happens in the midfield, we'd have won that game 10-0. Newcastle couldn't cope whatsoever with the physicality and intensity of that trio.

[Jairzinho]

Excellent player. Reminds me of Lucas Leiva.

[aws]

3 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

Excellent player. Reminds me of Lucas Leiva.

He’s really good but let’s not get carried away. 

[Scott_M]

Disappointed Endo didn’t sign off by leaving Gordon in a crying, broken, heap from which he’d never get back up.

[Mark M]

So what's the likely amount of matches Endo will miss due to the Asia cup ?

[aws]

33 minutes ago, Mark M said:

So what's the likely amount of matches Endo will miss due to the Asia cup ?

Maximum four league games, I think. 

[TheHowieLama]

1 hour ago, Mark M said:

So what's the likely amount of matches Endo will miss due to the Asia cup ?

 

The cup itself or the injury he picks up in it?

[VladimirIlyich]

On 01/01/2024 at 23:17, Carra_is_legend said:

Why should we mind if his use of the ball is basic when the team score 4 goals and should have scored a lot more? He is playing really well and it's poor from to find reasons to say he is not a long term solution. The lad is playing incredibly well. 

 

Our issues are upfront and lack of finishing ability.

Our issues are up front??? We scored 4 and without the oppo GK having an excellent game we'd have scored 7 or 8. Where the fuck are those issues?

PS,another ruled out for a marginal offside and a penalty miss. 

[Barrington Womble]

On 01/01/2024 at 23:54, Supremolad said:

 

It's true he lacks pace on the turn and cant make up ground running back towards goal.

 

However, he is actually quite good on the ball. Surprisingly so. It's incorrect to say his use of the ball is "basic". He threads through many good passes and considering he is supposed to be a bog standard DM, he is a decent goal threat around the opponents' box.

 

he can pass a ball when he has time and space. it seems to me opposition seem to play him in one of 2 ways, either treat him as a press victim, because he can be very slow getting the ball out of his feet to play it and doesn't have a picture of where his team mates are, or they let him have the ball and try to cut off his options as he's unlikely to use it quickly and they can use his time finding a pass to cut out danger. 

 

as @Elite says, he is a really useful squad player. he offers different things to macca when he plays the 6. some of those things he is much better at, but many much worse. in my opinion neither is a top class number 6 for entirely different reasons. macca just doesn't have in his locker some essential number 6 work without the ball and sometimes gets a little caught with his back to goal receiving the ball. otherwise his use of the ball from that position is world class. Endo does lots of the dirty stuff well, but he's not quick enough or quick on the turn. his use of the ball while often accurate, is pedestrian most of the time. there's just absolutely no doubt we could improve on our number 6 options. i would probably put endo on a par with someone like soucek at west ham. a very decent player, but quite some way from being world class.

 

I have no problem we have Endo - we couldn't find a 6 we wanted in the summer, but realised we had to have someone, so we made a smart tactical move to fill a gap for a year or two while we find the player we want. but number 6 is probably the easiest place in out first XI to upgrade. 

[TheHowieLama]

doesn't have a picture of where his team mates are,

 

This is one thing he does have -- he is quite progressive with the ball.

ATM the praise for him is a bit OTT but he can pick a forward pass.

[Pungkoq Hang]

On 02/01/2024 at 19:09, Jairzinho said:

Excellent player. Reminds me of Lucas Leiva.

Giving silly free kicks in dangerous areas towards the arse-end of matches?

[Barrington Womble]

22 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

doesn't have a picture of where his team mates are,

 

This is one thing he does have -- he is quite progressive with the ball.

ATM the praise for him is a bit OTT but he can pick a forward pass.

he doesn't pick a quick forward pass. he get the ball under control, he looks up and he finds a pass. he is fine at that. which is exactly why i started the post with "he can pass a ball when he has time and space"

[stringvest]

11 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

he doesn't pick a quick forward pass. he get the ball under control, he looks up and he finds a pass. he is fine at that. which is exactly why i started the post with "he can pass a ball when he has time and space"

I think you’ll find he can move the ball with his first touch when the situation requires it 

[Barrington Womble]

2 minutes ago, stringvest said:

I think you’ll find he can move the ball with his first touch when the situation requires it 

he should do it a bit more often then. because he doesn't do it anywhere near enough. it normally takes him 3 touches to control the ball. 

[stringvest]

No-one is arguing that he’s a world beater, I just don’t accept that he is the easiest part of the team to upgrade.  I think he’s performing closer to the required level than most of our forward players.