05 Jan 2022 03:13:24
Is it me or are people being harsh on Mane, I think he as been very good so far, don't get me wrong he had a dry spell in front of goal before Chelsea but overall he as been very good, people are far to quick to write him off, also please would people think who are more likely to get the same amount of goals as him?
{Ed0666's Note - I think he needs moving on as he isn’t primo Mane not even close. He’s not become a liability buy any measure but I still think we should be looking to replace him.
05 Jan 2022 04:11:39
10 goals is a fairly good return for someone who people are writing off. I am with you MR, although I wouldn't say "very good". Overall ok and still contributing. I feel better when is playing compared to when he isn't.
05 Jan 2022 07:01:51
He's alright still but I think it would be insulting to the player he once was to suggest his level hasn't fallen off a cliff. Cash in on him put Jota out on the left and go big on a centre forward I think is the right idea.
05 Jan 2022 07:16:19
Mane is still doing a lot of things well and is a nuisance to defenders. He seems to have a lost a little pace, and to me it seems like he has lost his confidence in front of goal. I love him, but now would be a good time to move him on whilst his value is still high. Pacy forwards can drop off quickly, and whilst I think he probably has another 2 seasons in him, I think now would be the right to seek a replacement as our model is sell to buy! Just my two cents.
05 Jan 2022 07:36:38
Why not buy a mane replacement and put mane on bench? Mane would be much better, even with him on slide, than what we have now. he can also play all 3 front positions and as stated he not going to bring in fortune on transfer fee anyway.
{Ed002's Note - So sell Jota to make space? And where would the money come from? And how would the club keep Mane happy?}
05 Jan 2022 08:01:29
Not in disagreement with your first 2 points but how do City keep Sterling etc happy when they aren't in the team or dare I say Werner or Pulisic etc. It seems like this "how would they keep "insert player" happy is only relative to Liverpool.
05 Jan 2022 08:11:26
Unfortunately Mane is past his best and needs moving on. Jota is perfect off the bench if we could get a top player for the LW. Easier said than done.
05 Jan 2022 08:13:58
Mane has scored 8 PL goals this season. His best is 22 followed by 18 I think? He isn't far off matching 18 goals when we all praised him as being one of the best in the world.
05 Jan 2022 08:51:50
I think he has been pretty poor in general. I love mane but his choice of pass etc has been bad. Granted he's scored goals which is his objective so it seems odd to say he's been below standard but he's not the mane of old. I'm actually worried about the team. Our inability to finance any new players without sales is a worry.
05 Jan 2022 09:00:24
I agree that he’s getting a lot of unfair criticism. Although he’s had a handful of stinkers thus season he’s been much much better than last season post-C.V. c.v.. His confidence is still a bit shaky - probably not helped by everyone saying he’s finished.
He’s also not helped by the constant change on our left side whereby we’ve had Robbo in mixed form, Tsimikas learning the ropes, no Gini, a lot of no Thiago and having to find a balance with Jota who likes to also occupy some of that space. Lastly his link man Bobby has been in and out.
Yes we need to find his successor but to say he’s finished is unfair. We take him for granted - possibly due to Mo going up another level this season.
Yes he’s past his best but he whilst he continues to be a good team player and a nightmare for defenders to deal with he’s not as easy to replace as people seem to think. Adeyemi would be perfect but looks like he’s heading back to Germany.
{Ed077's Note - just out of curiosity, who are the better LWs than Mane in the league right now?
Although he hasn't hit his form from 2_3 yrs ago but he still has been pretty good. He should have scored more goals and has missed some good chances but he hasn't been awful either, IMO?
(Not directed to you in particular FPF)
05 Jan 2022 09:21:45
I’ve always been a big Mane fan and still am. There’s no denying that he isn’t the Mane from a few seasons ago but I think we have to put into perspective the heights he hit and where he currently is.
If a player has a very good season and then drops to just good or below then that’s a drop off that effects the team. But for me Mane has gone from being consistently world class to still being a very good player who is still scoring plenty of goals and creating problems on his day.
Yes he’s having some off days as well but apart from Salah and Trent I think every other player in the squad is not hitting the same heights as they were consistently in the 2 seasons we won the CL and League. So technically do they come under the same umbrella as him then and also need replacing?
I’d love to keep Mane and bring in another quality forward as that will improve our squad and rotation to what we currently have. But we are a club that has to sell to buy and he is another of a number of players who will be going into the summer transfer window with 12 months left on his contract.
If we get 30 mill for him then Klopp will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to find an adequate replacement at that price.
05 Jan 2022 09:24:51
Great point Ed, not at his best but still as good as practically any other left forward in the league. Think a lot of people underestimate how hard it is to get 20 or thereabouts goals every year from the wing. Also he is always available since he joined, again an underrated trait.
{Ed077's Note - the only other Left sided attacker that jumps out straight away is Son and he hasn't been at his peak form this season either.
05 Jan 2022 09:57:55
Yup. I agree with the "he's still good enough and should be kept" train of thought. Unless we find a replacement who will do better; something which is very difficult to do given our financial constraints. Based on games thus far, Jota is not the answer for the left wing; prefer to keep him where he is in the center of the field. Jota's value is in getting the ball into the net from close quarters, so let's keep him there because he is not as effective in tracking back or pressing like Mane on the left side. A Raphinha would be great, but then how do you pay for it?
In a time of limited funds, I'd rather focus on bringing in a midfielder. I wish one of Keita or Ox would be moved on this window, and a younger, hungrier player brought in to add some energy to that midfield. Morton, Elliott, Jones are all fine and good for the future, but what's wrong in adding competition for them also?
05 Jan 2022 10:24:36
Spot on, Ed077. I love Mane to death and for 3 yrs straight, he was the best left-sided attacker on the planet, IMO. He was voted 4th in the Balon D'Or award with Eden Hazard, Mario Goetze, Joachim Leow, Robert Lewandowski and a certain Lionel Messi (pretty sure people have heard of him) voting for him. The guy is mint, end of.
That said, he has been under par in his performances over the past 18 months BUT even then, he has scored a decent amount over that span and even Sterling or Son (who I rate highly) can't hold a candle to him even now while at his weakest right now, IMO. That is a testament to the dizzy heights and immense standards he has set that not any in his position can even reach right now.
Should he be sold or moved on? There is a case to make for that for sure BUT let us not now act like there is some player out there that will automatically come in and start performing at the level he has set. It will depend on who we get and nothing is guaranteed here. We have to tread lightly here, IMO. Be careful what you wish for.
05 Jan 2022 10:37:08
You make a good point ed. Maybe we are being overly harsh on mane here. He's gone from amazing to good and the drop is noticeable but maybe it is to do with service as well. Ed1 made a similar point a couple of weeks ago. It's just frustrating.
05 Jan 2022 12:06:07
He scored 11 last season and that was him in poor form. I think he is beginning to hit decline and yet there he is still scoring and putting himself about, but the issues are, we’re not getting a huge fee for him and then who can we realistically afford to replace him with? Left field suggestion, but how about Maxwel Cornet? 6 goals in 10 games for a relegation candidate team is good going by any stretch. And we do like signing players from relegated teams?
05 Jan 2022 12:25:50
Manes been poor the last 18 months as he hasn't had the quality competition for his place, like Bobby, until Jota came in, was poor, he has picked up a bit, but with no few fresh faces coming in each summer its no surprise they have gone stale.
05 Jan 2022 13:07:06
People here would jump at the chance to sign son yet want mane sold baffles me.
05 Jan 2022 13:02:31
Ed077 - totally agree. Who is better than Mane in that position? Grealish, Sterling, Rashford, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic and Son are not pulling up trees.
{Ed077's Note - nobody has stood out so far this season from the LW position in the PL and Mane might just actually be the no.1 from the bunch.
Gray at Everton and Martinelli at Arsenal are the only ones that have impressed from the left side of attack this season, more so because of their lack of "reputation" coming into the season, if you get what I mean
05 Jan 2022 13:19:11
You can't say don't sell mane because there isn't a replacement as that just isn't true. Who knows how any player will perform when brought in. Pretty sure when we bought Mane from Southampton, people said he was crap and had attitude problems. It has been said time and time again that we need to sell to buy and it is alarmingly obvious we need to freshen up the squad. Who do you expect us to sell for any decent amount? Yes, Mane is still scoring goals, but what half decent player wouldn't in our team if they fit the style with the chances we create? No room for sentiment, he is an asset with value that would get the club a fairly decent fee for a player his age and situation. The only question is, would anyone want to buy him.
{Ed077's Note - I do agree that the likes of Salah, Mane, Robbo, etc were unfancied players coming from teams much below the top tier teams that have delivered and how.
But the Liverpool team those players joined to wasnt the beast this team has turned into. So the players signed now will have much bigger shoes to fill and a lot more pressure to deliver.
05 Jan 2022 21:47:40
I love Mane and yes he misses his chances but I think that is magnified and overstated by the fact that most of the action these days comes down from the right. Trent, Hendo and Salah operating down that corridor, along with VVD pinging them across to switch play, results in chance after chance after chance. There's just not as much happening on the left these days so his chances are more limited and when he does miss, it stands out more. Mane seems to be taking on the Robin to Salah's Batman.
{Ed025's Note - bobby must be the joker.. :)