Ross – @rossic89
JUDGEMENT; The ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.Easy for some, difficult for Twitter.We all like to judge, it’s natural. Some like to do it more than others though.In a desperate attempt to create content I have decided to judge and rate the Liverpool players so far this season, which could turn out to be the actual season. I hope not.The main problem with doing this is that one persons 6 out of 10 is another persons 8 out of ten. It’s a game of fine margins. I will do my best to explain my rationale behind the numbers and argue my points. If you choose to agree, thanks, if you choose to disagree, thanks.I’m here for the conversation. Working from home can be a struggle. I’ve nailed down self-isolation from human beings. In fact, I’d mastered that a few years back. Or maybe they mastered me. Who knows. All I know now is I really need to start doing it with my fridge as well…..I’ve done the goalkeepers which you can find here…. https://theredmentv.com/season-so-far-goalkeepers/So now I will crack on with the defenders..Enjoy.@rossic89Andrew Robertson I’ll go left to right for the back line with the main four, or what I consider the main four, then I will do the rest.As with most Liverpool players it can be difficult to judge, the standard is so high and our last memories of football were the defeats to Atletico, Chelsea and Watford. Sorry, I know you didn’t need reminding.Robertson is no different and probably hard to quantify considering he has propelled himself into one of the best left backs in world football. There have been several highlights to his season and most notably for me, it’s his goals. A wonderful team effort against Salzburg in the Champions League group stages saw Robbo start and finish the move to the delight of the Anfield crowd.If you were to criticise the man about anything it would be more than likely be his finishing. And that would be nitpicking to the extreme! Robbo often finds himself in the right position to have a pop at goal but it doesn’t often end up in the back of the net.He’s a defender like, so we can let him off.I suppose the novelty of him scoring is just something we all crave. An honest, humble and hardworking lad will always be a fan favourite. Working class if you will.
In 41 appearances Robbo has bagged two goals and totalled 7 assists – which on first glance may sound a little disappointing but again, that’s due to his own high standard and it’s important to remember…he’s a left back.Trent’s record doesn’t help him either does it? Robbo’s stats shouldn’t go under the radar, I don’t think they do, but when compared to TAA’s it feels a bit anti climatic when it shouldn’t.In terms of his actual performances, on the balance, I think they have been more than impressive, there have been games where he has fallen under slight criticism; looked tired, leggy or has been carrying an injury. But what he produces week in, week out is impeccable. He does so much work off the ball, he probably doesn’t get the plaudits for it.His rapport and understanding with Sadio Mané is one of our main threats going forward and Robbo’s selflessness is key to how Liverpool play.Only fair to give the loveable, piss boiling rogue 8/10 in my opinion.Virgil van DijkLet’s not mess about here. van Dijk has been impeccable for Liverpool yet again. So many wins this season have been narrow wins often accompanied by the words “we’ve not been at out best, but we still won.” OR if you support any other team “lucky”.It’s not luck, it’s awareness, it’s being positionally astute, it’s being able to read the game, bully opponents and look pretty casual whilst doing it. And what’s a poor van Dijk performance? 7/10? 8/10? Given some of the shite we have seen over the past few decades I’m sure we all take that!In 41 games (3,780 minutes) Virgil has accumulated a grand total of one yellow card. ONE!! I’m sure opposing fans could argue that should be more, but we aren’t here for that. To remain so calm and composed, to carry out his job to the best of his ability and to only have one booking across all comps really impressed me.No idea why.As mentioned, he reads the game so well he doesn’t often get himself into a situation where he’s in trouble and very rarely pulls out a slidey. In fact, it’s a major inconvenience for him if he has to slip into second gear. Reminds me of the famous Maldini quote “If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake.” It’s not all defending with ‘big Virg’ either. He’s contributed going forward as well with 4 goals and two assists. One of which came against Manchester United, Virgil has since admitted it might be his favourite in a recent Q & A on the Twitter.Finally, he’s also captained the side twice this season, Newcastle and West Ham – both at home and both resulted in wins.I don’t take him or his performances for granted. He gets 9/10 from me. Or 10/10. You decide in the comments below.
Joe GomezI put this out on Twitter and Facebook to get the opinion of fans and Gomez scored very high across the board, rightly so.One of my main concerns was the amount of football that he missed at beginning of the season but that wasn’t through injury, it was just that Joël Matip was in fine form and who were we to argue? We were winning every game.For Joe that meant he was on the bench for most of the start of the season, making one start v Norwich before sitting out the next fourteen league games. Not ideal for the lad but he made a handful substitute appearances in a few of them.Since match day sixteen Joe has returned to fine form building and improving his partnership with Virgil van Dijk and has remained part of a solid foundation of Jurgen Klopp’s team. Joe and Virgil have amassed 10 clean sheets between them in the Premier League, a pretty impressive stat!One of the key things that sticks out when looking back at Joe Gomez and something which I feel highlight his importance are some of the games he has missed. This should be a compliment to Joe and not something we should use to berate other players.The one Premier League game we have lost Joe wasn’t there. The group stage game v Napoli, Joe wasn’t there. The Carabao Cup games, yep you guessed it. Joe wasn’t there.I know there is also the argument he was there for Chelsea in the FA Cup and Atletico in the UCL but I don’t feel he was terrible in either of those, they were either a poor collective team performance, individual errors or in the case of Atletico as frustrating as they were, they were just better than us in the first leg, dark arts a side, and extremely lucky in the second.My final point on Joe Gomez has nothing to do with his performance on the pitch but more so to do with his mental strength.That whole business with Sterling (which they have both said is behind them) and being booed by ignorant, ill-informed, Brexit-wielding, Tory England fans can’t have done anything for his confidence or self-esteem.It’s all well and good to throw the “yeah but he gets paid loads of money” argument at him. But it’s a lazy argument.This is something that should not be forgotten. Now I have no agenda against Sterling, this isn’t about him. It’s how it was perceived in the media and the mental pressures that come with it. It feels like Joe has been around for ages and yet he’s still only 22. To take on that burden for such a quiet, reserved and humble lad, I think it’s exceptional.Anyway Joe gets an 8/10 for me!
Trent Alexander ArnoldThe scouser in our team. The lad with more whip than a Rhianna video. A slightly dated reference there, if you’re not sure look it up on the YouTube. Just make sure your parents aren’t in the same room.I digress.Trent has been nothing short of spectacular again so far this season. Fourteen assists from right-back, twelve in the Premier League alone has left current and former players in awe of how performs on a weekly basis.In fact, he’s made it look perfectly normal. We have all become accustomed to his style of play, his range of passing and his awareness to pick out a team mate regardless of where they are on the pitch. It’s probably why we almost disregard Robbo’s 7 assists like that nothing special, when it is. They are both special, they are both key to our style of play and ultimatley they are both arguable the most creative players in this side.Which brings out similarities, Trent can cut open a midfield, a defence, fuck it, even an entire side if he sees fit. Him and Mo go hand in hand. Trent’s overlaps, although not always picked out create space for Mo to cut inside and bend one in with his left peg. Equally when Mo cuts inside it allows space and time for Trent to pick out his target and whip one in.
The one criticism which is still fired at Trent is his lack of ability to defend. Which I think some of it is fair. But you can’t have it both ways. Or it’s very rare. The likes of Marcelo, Alves and probably Carvajal are all very good going forward and do their defensive duties too but like Trent they are much better going forward.I’ll also add the caveat that he’s a kid in the scheme of things, he has time to learn, to grow – both mentally and physically. He can defend and it’s something he has got much better at. Can he improve? Of course he can. But how many players are the finished article at 22? None.Look around the league though and see who can do both. Wan-Bissaka loves a slidey and is a very good defender but he gets a nose bleed the moment he gets into the opponents third.Kyle Walker is great going forward but suspect at best at the back and he can’t create or cause problems going forward like Trent.Let’s give Trent some credit and some time.40 appearances, 2 goals and 14 assists for Trent this season. And if you could quantify the amount of times we’ve all said “ooofff” or “what a fucking ball” every time he pinged it 60 or 70 yards I imagine that would be pretty high too.9/10 for me. Not sure why I’ve not give him 10. If Virg doesn’t get 10 then no one does.???? Yes, @trentaa98 ????
— Liverpool FC (at ????) (@LFC) April 2, 2020
All of TAA's @premierleague assists back to back ???? pic.twitter.com/Z1l2jDsKgj
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Joël MatipAh Joël, I bloody love Joël you know.But for this piece he’s the most difficult to judge. Not because I think he has been terrible or I can’t fathom what he has done. It’s the lack of game time, which I fully understand isn’t his fault. A combination of injuries and Joe Gomez have stood in his way.Kind of reassuring having them both to be honest, yes they have both suffered a number of injuries in recent seasons but when one is injured the other one always steps up. The back end of last season, or most of last season Joël was in sensational form.This season, less so.Just the twelve appearances in the 19/20 for Matip. Injured for twenty. That also includes a few Carabao Cup and FA Cup games which he may not have played in anyway.Going slightly off course here, but I think for many his injuries paired with his age are a concern for a few Liverpool fans. And I say age, for some bizarre reason I’ve got it in my head he’s 30 – which is fine for the average human but in a footballers career that’s knocking on the back end.He’s not 30, he’s 28. So as far as defenders go, he’s got a few years left in him yet. BUT as I said the injuries concern me. Thanks to the lovely people at Transfermarkt I am able to provide you with the data. This has been his longest spell out at Liverpool so far.
Something which he may be able to work on and rectify with football being off for the foreseeable.In those twelve appearances Joël has kept just two clean sheets. Something which isn’t directly his fault but in his defence, no pun intended, he’s also scored two goals. Two goals in twelve games is something a few Premier League strikers would be proud of **COUGH Shane Long COUGH** never mind a centre back.Based on everything I have discussed and using some of the feedback I asked for on the Facebook and the Twitter I’m going to give Joël a 7/10. Happy to take discussions for more and less.Tweet me – @rossic89. Be nice.Dejan LovrenRight, maybe this was the tough one. Judging by some of the numbers I was given it was easy for some. Or maybe they couldn’t decide whether to give him 3/10 or 2/10.As I did with some of the goalkeepers I think it’s important to judge Dejan on what he is. Or what he’s not. He’s not a first choice defender, I know, you know it and he knows it. I’m not going to slam him for not being van Dijk or Gomez.And I know he backs himself. I know he is prone to a mistake or being a bit rash. I know a lot of people don’t want him at the club. That’s fair, I understand that. But lets look at is season so far as a whole.Let’s get the shit stuff out of the way first. Watford. Now I jokingly said he made a better appearance in that coconut advert than he did versus Watford. A slight truth in it yes, but lets face it, everyone was shocking that day and to their credit, Watford were pretty good.It’s easy to throw Dejan under the bus, of course it is, he has previous.Put those frustrations to one side for a second.He’s made more appearances that Joël Matip this season. Only by two. But in those fourteen games he’s kept six clean sheets. That’s a clean sheet in 42.8571429 percent of his games according to Google. I won’t take credit for good math.He’s got one assist and one goal too. The goal? Versus Napoli to rescue a point. Turned out to be a fucking vital point too. Well turned out it didn’t matter at all now were are out, but at the time, it was integral. Fans are fickle, I include myself in this. Remember the shite of Lovren not the rest. As mentioned, easy target. I’m here for a bit of balance. I’m not Dejan propaganda. I think it’s just good to remind ourselves that he’s not first choice.Take a look at other teams in the league or across Europe. Look at their fourth choice centre backs. Are they better than Dejan? Are they bollocks. Some of their first and second choice aren’t near Dejan. Our squad and certain individuals have surpassed him, thats all.Now I’m not looking at this with red tinted glasses, I’m aware the Watford game wasn’t his only poor showing this season. Partly at fault for the Genk goal away and maybe some others along the way, if you know any I’m sure you will let me know.I’m going to give him 6/10.Again, that score will piss a few people off, if you’re scrunching your face and that’s pissed you off, let me know what you would give him and why.
Happy to have a discussion on any of these any points I’ve missed, if you think I’ve got them spot on or if you think I’m completely wide of the mark on any of them.Tweet me.Ross – @rossic89
