Philippe Coutinho

[rbcuk]

How he starts in front of buendia I’ll never know, buendia did more in 5 mins than coutinho did until he was subbed, he looks dire at the min

[jjaacckk91]

Buendia comes on and somehow manages to find so much more of the ball in space, this isn't because everton weren't marking him the same it's because emi was running deep, giving and going challenging those 2nd balls and just recycling the ball faster. 

Coutinho is defining this teams identity right now, no movement, slow to move the ball around, no interest in the second ball, and no appetite to win it back. 

If it's a choice of one or the other(not that it should be) emi HAS to start.

[Xela]

Its not a case or Phil or Emi.. they should both be starting. 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

3 minutes ago, Xela said:

Its not a case or Phil or Emi.. they should both be starting. 

Not on current form. He is back of the queue behind Buendia, Watkins, Ings and Bailey for me, absolutely miles off it. 

[sparrow1988]

I’d rather seeing him coming on against tiring defences. I don’t think he’s got the legs for fully fit PL teams anymore.

[AVTuco]

I still rate and love him. He'll show you lot.

[Ingram85]

Needs to step up. He’s got a few more games for me and as others have said, it should be him AND Buendia playing. Bailey on for Phil at 60 and if Phil continues to not join the party then he can start coming on for Bailey instead. No time for passengers if we seriously want to improve as a team. 

[maqroll]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

Its not a case or Phil or Emi.. they should both be starting. 

They were brilliant v Man City

[Keyblade]

I think it's because he's declined physically. When Buendia is on the pitch he was everywhere, making runs closing down, showing for the ball. Just constantly on the move. Don't think Phil is able to do that anymore. If he was in a team that's flying, it'd be okay because he can still provide moments of quality. As it stands though we need every ounce of creativity we can get 

[Xela]

48 minutes ago, maqroll said:

They were brilliant v Man City

They were indeed. Which makes playing with 2 strikers instead of 2 attacking midfielders a bit odd. 

If we are going 1 up top then we probably need a new striker. A combination of Ings and Watkins. 

[Demitri_C]

Any news on his injury?

[MrBlack]

5 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Any news on his injury?

Didn't look at all serious when he walked off, but you never know.

I didn't think he was that bad today. But Buendia was miles better. Who's to day Coutinho wouldn't have run riot coming on against tired players in 34 degree heat. Obviously,  he'd never run around as much as Emi does, but I'd back him to score or assist in those conditions.

I'm happy with both of them starting, but if only one of them is, it should definitely be Emi.

[Zatman]

16 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Any news on his injury?

Gerrard said him and Cash should be fit for Palace

[The Fun Factory]

On 13/08/2022 at 16:04, rbcuk said:

How he starts in front of buendia I’ll never know, buendia did more in 5 mins than coutinho did until he was subbed, he looks dire at the min

That's an overeaction. If we starte Buendia within a few games people would be calling for Coutinho. Gerard has 2 good options to use.

[Strog]

I felt Phil should have been playing a little deeper against Everton. There were too many occasions where he was in line with Ings and Watkins, the gap between the rest of the midfield was huge. I think playing Buendia and Phil would work but it means sacrificing either Ings or Watkins..

[mikeyp102]

2 minutes ago, Strog said:

I felt Phil should have been playing a little deeper against Everton. There were too many occasions where he was in line with Ings and Watkins, the gap between the rest of the midfield was huge. I think playing Buendia and Phil would work but it means sacrificing either Ings or Watkins..

But there were also times when he was too deep and getting the ball in Kamara’s position 

[Strog]

Just now, mikeyp102 said:

But there were also times when he was too deep and getting the ball in Kamara’s position 

Agree, I think he was simply trying to get involved. Playing two forwards doesn’t really work with the personnel we have, in my opinion.

[Paulie]

53 minutes ago, Strog said:

Agree, I think he was simply trying to get involved. Playing two forwards doesn’t really work with the personnel we have, in my opinion.

How does it magically work once Buendia is on?

Coutinho getting involved behind the halfway line isn’t really “getting involved”.  He needs to be constantly moving sideline to sideline behind the opposing midfield, popping up in small pockets, asking for the ball and immediately turning, looking to slot balls in behind to our strikers… like Buendia does.

you can’t consistently create from that far away.

[Tomaszk]

1 hour ago, The Fun Factory said:

That's an overeaction. If we starte Buendia within a few games people would be calling for Coutinho.

Of course they wouldn't. Not if they both played like they have been for the last six months.

If one of them plays shit and the other one plays well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out who should be playing.

Our trainee manager obviously been having issues with this throughout the side for his time here. Hopefully he'll learn soon enough picking underperforming players isn't a good idea.

[Strog]

45 minutes ago, Paulie said:

How does it magically work once Buendia is on?

Coutinho getting involved behind the halfway line isn’t really “getting involved”.  He needs to be constantly moving sideline to sideline behind the opposing midfield, popping up in small pockets, asking for the ball and immediately turning, looking to slot balls in behind to our strikers… like Buendia does.

you can’t consistently create from that far away.

Play with one up top with Buendia and Phil as number tens, it gives either one of them to drop deeper to collect the ball. We just seemed a little stifled at times and slow to make things happen.