06 Mar 2024 01:33:35
Wanted to know everyone’s thoughts on Luis Diaz this season. Especially Ed001.
Since his injury it generally looked like he was struggling (his offensive contribution took a complete nosedive) . Of late however he has looked pretty good, popping up with goals and assists and generally running his socks off whilst constantly probing in attack.
He doesn’t look quite what he was when he first joined (he looked like a genuine world beater), but do we think he is the right choice at LW for the foreseeable future? He’s only 27 and has a fair few years left in him.
My general concern is that he seems to have lost his explosive burst of speed which made him so difficult to defend, similar to Mane when he lost his explosiveness towards the latter stages of his Liverpool career. Perhaps it was just a complete knock of confidence, it took VVD almost 2 full seasons to get over his knee injury it seemed.
Cheers!
{Ed001's Note - it is difficult to say what the future will hold for him once Klopp goes. The new man might want a totally different approach from his wide players. He is coming back to something approaching his best and there are always options to replace him which means he can't let his standards slip. I see no reason to replace him when we have the long term future of VVD and Salah to consider. I like that he and his family have become a part of the club and that can be a spur to his performances for the long term.}
06 Mar 2024 07:38:39
Just wish he would cross more.
06 Mar 2024 08:41:09
Hasn’t reached his full potential yet and will only get better if you ask me. I think he’s a great player for how we play.
06 Mar 2024 09:20:41
He’s an essential part of the team and squad. He gives something different than all of the other forwards. People get hung up on his goal return and compare him to Mane but we play a different way now with a proper number 9 instead of the false 9 with the wide forwards inverting.
We really missed Diaz last season because we had no press from the left forward position. His work off the ball is just as important as his work on it.
The only way we should look to replace him is if he wants to leave. Otherwise just leave him where he is.
06 Mar 2024 10:23:44
Diaz can still improve his game esp. his end product creatively-speaking, just like Gakpo and all our forwards can in diff. areas. Apart from that, He is a threat and a pain to play against and he never stops coming at you. No issues with him, personally.
06 Mar 2024 11:42:07
I love Diaz, you can't fault his work rate and the effort he puts in. I do feel sometimes he can be a little frustrating when not picking the right pass or maybe when he should be taking a shot on a little earlier but tbh, with what he's been through this season it's not really surprising he has off days. He scores and assists well. I'd like to see him play on the right as and when Mo decides to leave and then play Jota or Gakpo on the right with Nunez through the middle.
06 Mar 2024 11:50:09
*Sorry, I meant play Jota/ Gakpo on the left.
06 Mar 2024 14:54:35
FOr me Lucho just doesn't have the football brain. He dosen't get himself into the right spot for that breaking ball or pull back. I love his energy and effort but he should be more switched on.