06 May 2024 01:29:00
Konate
Genuine question here for the Eds or anyone.
Why is Klopp starting Quansah over Konate?
I've been so impressed with Quansah, young lad who has come in and done an incredible job for us. I know he's made a few mistakes but that's to be expected with his age.
Konate, a French international, possible injury issues, has been rotated with mid week games. Should have played more Premier League games with his physicality, as Ed.001 suggested, with Quansah in Europe.
Without Matip and with Gomez essentially being L/ R back cover, we have gone through the season with basically 3 centre backs.
However, we haven't played since West Ham, over a week since our last game. Why is Quansah above Konate?
{Ed001's Note - because he is better on the ball.}
06 May 2024 03:35:31
I think Quansah has played amazingly well thus far. His first season of top flight football and he does not look out of place at all. In fact, I dare say that he has played his way from being 5th choice CB to being 2nd/ 3rd choice. If he was playing for another club, we were all be putting his name forward as a potential signing for us. He does have his faults but he is going from strength to strength and if he keeps clear of injuries, I can definitely see him as our long-term CB.
I love Konate but his injuries are a concern. Especially so for CBs where partnership is so important. It's no surprise that Arsenal have been playing well when they have an assured CB partnership of Gabriel and Saliba. Maybe that's something that we need to look into after the season ends - who our 1st choice would be moving forward instead of rotating between Quansah and Konate.
06 May 2024 06:46:01
My personal feeling is that our defence has suffered massively through the level of rotation that Klopp has insisted on. Pick your favoured CB partnership and play it as often as you possibly/ reasonably can. Only then will we tighten up how many goals we concede.
I get Konate has injury options but how can he possibly build form and momentum being in and out of the team.
06 May 2024 06:55:10
Changingofthegvardiol (reference to rival player in username? )
Konate doesn’t deserve to start. He is unfit to be a starting center back at any club because he can’t keep himself in good shape or injury-free for a reasonable length of time. It’s absolutely not good enough from both him and our medical team.
Let Quansah be the starting CB alongside Virgil and see if Konate has it within him to win his place back. He is a better player (at the moment) than Quansah, but good CB partnerships are rarely about the quality of individuals solely.
06 May 2024 07:24:46
Quansah plays because he's better in every aspect other than recovery pace and 1v1 defending. His positioning is better, he can actually head the ball in the intended direction, he reads the game better, he carries the ball forward better, he has a better passing range, he is less rash when stepping out to meet the ball, he actually wins headers at set pieces instead of shirking responsibility and leaving them all the Virgil etc. I really think Quansah is the best player we've produced since Trent and I highly doubt he's going anywhere short or long term.
Konate for me does not justify a starting role. To be honest he is near impossible to beat 1v1 but there's not much else good to his game. He's not a CB you win major titles with in my opinion because he doesn't have a football brain or composure. We need to be ruthless if we want to progress and he was a £36m mistake. Why on earth did we sign an injury prone CB who played in a back 3?
Quansah arguably has too much composure and sometimes he just needs to get rid or play the easier pass, but that is a learnable thing. You can't really coach a lot of things Konate is lacking so he'll never be elite. It would not surprise me if Slot pushes Konate out within 12 months, because he is more possession orientated than Klopp, and Konate is not a player you want to be giving the ball to under pressure.
Gomez probably won't be far behind either as he's even slower and less aware on the ball. His laziness also let Spurs back into the game last night. Robbo had Kulusevski and Johnson on toast and within minutes of coming on Gomez let them in behind from a simple straight pass, to square for a tap in. Average defenders have been allowed to fester in our squad for far too long because Virgil has carried them, but he's too old to do that now and he needs to be able to focus on his own game because he is struggling. He needs some bloody help. Matip has been his only half decent partner throughout Klopp's tenure and he's about as robust as a poppadum.
06 May 2024 08:25:39
Konate is a better player, at the moment, IF he stays fit.
{Ed025's Note - i dont know about that Rome, DCL played him like a second hand fiddle in the derby mate..
06 May 2024 08:50:05
Ed025, he get's bullied a lot for such a big man. Seen him get brushed aside by a few too many players to be honest. One that always sticks in my mind was Brentford last season. Mbuemo just shrugged him off like he was an u16.
On the flip side though I've also seen him completely dominate players who rely on speed because he's so quick and good at getting his body across in 1v1 situations. I reckon if we played a back 3 and he was defending against pace instead of physicality, he'd thrive. But we don't so for me we need to take off the red tinted specs and see him for what he is. He's not much better than Lovren or Sakho were. He's not even any use as a back up player because of his fitness issues. You want your back ups to be readily available. I think he'll get a chance to impress Slot, but I can't see a manager who wants his teams to keep the ball selecting Konate regularly.
Be interesting to see if Sepp Van den Berg has improved out on loan. I saw a thread the other day where some Bundesliga fans were saying VdB's in the top 10 CB's in Germany and makes loads of great clearances, but no idea how Mainz play, or if his strengths are transferable to how Slot will want to play.
{Ed025's Note - i would tend to agree MK, i dont think he is the best against a robust forward but he does well in some areas and is comfortable going forward mate, but as you highlight his injury record will always hold him back, decent enough back up but if Slot brings in his own guys he could struggle..
06 May 2024 08:53:32
Totally agree with that, Ed. He was absolutely useless that night. Quansah, if he keeps his head down, will save us a fortune and will become a better player.
{Ed025's Note - i like Quansah Rome and think he is only going to get better, i just hope Slot gives him the chance mate because he looks a bit special to me..
06 May 2024 09:19:18
Konate is a player that needs a run of games to get his form. Unfortunately poor performances and injuries are stopping that from happening.
Quansah Deserves that starting place and has been brilliant.
06 May 2024 09:24:43
Unfortunately konate sijust to injury prone, can't get a relationship built up At centre of defence as he can't put any sort of run of games together at all. if he willing to stay as 3rd r 4th choice id keep him but if not id sell him if we could. Excellent player no doubt but just to injury prone, here 3 seasons now and they've all been more r less the same, stop- start.
06 May 2024 10:56:49
I would sell Konate this summer while he still has two years left on his contract. Rumours about a move to PSG have persisted for years so get it over with while we can still maximise his value. Give van den Berg Matip's role and bring in someone new to replace Konate.
{Ed002's Note - PSG has no interest in Konate and it is the player who wants to join them.}
06 May 2024 11:01:52
Feel like Konate would play well in a back as the right sided CB.
06 May 2024 11:39:42
Cb. Is definitely an area that needs reinforcements. We concede every game. DKL absolutely destroyed Konate, he will take a long time to get over that.
06 May 2024 13:16:02
What I didn't like about Konate against DCL is that he tried to win the ball off him every time. You don't have to. DCL is a big lad and if he has the ball under control with his back to goal, let him have it and bide your time. Don't foul him, stay on your feet and stay in the game and prepare for the next phase of play. If he lays it off and spins, just go with him.
06 May 2024 14:36:26
People forget konate was awful at the start of the season too and matip was on a resurgence until the injury which has allowed quansah to get his chance. Konate just isn't elite levels good player but not world class. The same can be said for a few players Nunez gakpo etc.