This has been going on for a while now and has been at the back of my mind as something Klopp and his coaching staff needed to address, although our winning ways seemed to put the issue to the back of the que, but after Sundays game it seems to of come to the forefront of everyone's attention again. I remember the Deep Dive you did with Chris in November last year entitled 'The Curious Case of Cody Gakpo' off the back of some questionable performances from him at the beginning of the season and we still find ourselves talking about the same stuff which is disappointing but also alarming, we all hoped he would of stepped up his game, found his place in the squad and kicked on but he seems stuck in this questionable run of form. The most annoying part of it all is not knowing what the cause of it is. He has such high potential as a Liverpool player. I don't believe there is one simple answer to this mystery but rather a mixture of everything that you've mentioned in the article. I honestly think the best option is to give him a solid run of 5+ games in his preferred position whenever possible and see if this improves his confidence and form.
bad: xAG: 0.06 (5th), progressive Carries: 2.09 (5th), touches in att penalty area: 4.73 (5th)
Aside from the stats I feel that his first touch and turn was his main weapon last season which he rarely pulls off this season. His combination play seems to have suffered.
In my eyes he is one of the highest potential players we have at the club, but where Nunez represents our new way, Klopp seems to impose some of the old ways on him.
Honestly a very good piece so I don’t want to sound too critical here but I feel that you’ve completely brushed aside how poor Diaz has been. Diaz gets consistent minutes as a starter in his preferred position, yet he’s less productive. And from watching the games this season, we know Diaz’s exciting dribbles often don’t actually produce much for the team because of his lack of end product and decision making. Obviously he’s had plenty of difficulties on and off the field this season and I prefer to back the players. But if we are singling out people for underperformance, I think it’s fair to call out both of them. Personally I would’ve been interested in seeing some analysis how Gakpo performs specifically in his preferred left wing position (esp. with Nunez as a striker). To my memory, that’s some of the best our offense has looked overall in the last two seasons. The solution might be as simple as more evenly rotating both Diaz and Gakpo in the same LW position to help keep the former fresher and build the confidence and consistency of the latter.
How frequently is Gakpo subbing for Diaz? Seems like this position would suit him way better and given Diaz's lack of goal production sometimes in various matches, one would imagine that maybe they would compliment each other in-game as alternates. Obviously there are other reasons he has been where he has been this season but I wonder about this (disclaimer: maybe its happened more frequently than I am aware of or I am way off the mark).
This has been going on for a while now and has been at the back of my mind as something Klopp and his coaching staff needed to address, although our winning ways seemed to put the issue to the back of the que, but after Sundays game it seems to of come to the forefront of everyone's attention again. I remember the Deep Dive you did with Chris in November last year entitled 'The Curious Case of Cody Gakpo' off the back of some questionable performances from him at the beginning of the season and we still find ourselves talking about the same stuff which is disappointing but also alarming, we all hoped he would of stepped up his game, found his place in the squad and kicked on but he seems stuck in this questionable run of form. The most annoying part of it all is not knowing what the cause of it is. He has such high potential as a Liverpool player. I don't believe there is one simple answer to this mystery but rather a mixture of everything that you've mentioned in the article. I honestly think the best option is to give him a solid run of 5+ games in his preferred position whenever possible and see if this improves his confidence and form.
It's good to get a 'problem' debated using 'data' - the only thing missing from the piece is an analysis of potential solutions.
Hi Josh, how do his touch numbers compare to his last season at PSV? I‘d be interested if he was more of a build-up player or a finisher?
Couple of other defining per90 stats from fbref of this LFC season with comparison to our other forwards (Salah, Nunez,Diaz,Jota)
good: pass completion %: 75.7 (2nd), tackles and interceptions: 2.02 (2nd), aerials won%: 50.0 (1st)
bad: xAG: 0.06 (5th), progressive Carries: 2.09 (5th), touches in att penalty area: 4.73 (5th)
Aside from the stats I feel that his first touch and turn was his main weapon last season which he rarely pulls off this season. His combination play seems to have suffered.
In my eyes he is one of the highest potential players we have at the club, but where Nunez represents our new way, Klopp seems to impose some of the old ways on him.
Honestly a very good piece so I don’t want to sound too critical here but I feel that you’ve completely brushed aside how poor Diaz has been. Diaz gets consistent minutes as a starter in his preferred position, yet he’s less productive. And from watching the games this season, we know Diaz’s exciting dribbles often don’t actually produce much for the team because of his lack of end product and decision making. Obviously he’s had plenty of difficulties on and off the field this season and I prefer to back the players. But if we are singling out people for underperformance, I think it’s fair to call out both of them. Personally I would’ve been interested in seeing some analysis how Gakpo performs specifically in his preferred left wing position (esp. with Nunez as a striker). To my memory, that’s some of the best our offense has looked overall in the last two seasons. The solution might be as simple as more evenly rotating both Diaz and Gakpo in the same LW position to help keep the former fresher and build the confidence and consistency of the latter.
How frequently is Gakpo subbing for Diaz? Seems like this position would suit him way better and given Diaz's lack of goal production sometimes in various matches, one would imagine that maybe they would compliment each other in-game as alternates. Obviously there are other reasons he has been where he has been this season but I wonder about this (disclaimer: maybe its happened more frequently than I am aware of or I am way off the mark).