22 Jan 2026 10:15:15
I thought Joe Gomez and Kerkez were brilliant last night, if only we could keep Joe Gomez fit, I would love to see him stay fit and have a good run of games next to Virgil, we know how good a partnership they were before ?.
22 Jan 2026 10:55:38
I've said it before, he'd have been a regular for years without the injuries.
22 Jan 2026 10:56:25
One of Joes strengths is composure, he's far less likely than Ibou to make a rash decision or risky play.
He is however a confidence player. If his 1st few actions/ touches are good you can usually expect an assured performance. If they're not, he can be a little shaky
I think Virg and Ali realise this and try to ease him into games. You could see at the end how pleased they were for him.
22 Jan 2026 11:15:49
It's a shame he's been injured so much. His partnership with VVD works really well when he's fit. Could have been a solid regular duo at CB for a decade or so without the injury issues. He's a brilliant option to have, lots of folk are happy for him to be sold but he's probably not on huge wages, he's only 28 and can cover a few defensive positions.
Keep fit and he's ideal……and that's the hard bit!
22 Jan 2026 11:29:16
Was so nice to watch a game and not have to panic when Konate is either on the ball or wondering when his next brain fart moment will be. Gomez and VVD would have been our starting CB pairing for the past 8 years if only Gomez could stay fit.
22 Jan 2026 11:47:04
Don't get carried away. Unfortunately, Joe is just as liable as Ibou to have a moment in a game that costs us a goal, which you will find out if he ever stays fit enough to have a run in the team.
22 Jan 2026 12:28:18
Joe is a much better defender than Konate. Konate doest just have a moment each game. His game is built entirely around mistakes, especially this season.
But as many said, Joe's main problem are the injuries. I don't think he wouldn't have suffered so many of them if not for Southgate's mismanagement of him when he went on international duty though.
22 Jan 2026 12:36:21
Is Konate on the sidelines for a bit?
22 Jan 2026 12:47:56
I don't think so manoftodd, it was a personal issue not an injury.
22 Jan 2026 12:49:44
Gomez is just as brain fart prone as Konate. It's only because he's always injured that it doesn't seem like it. Both need to be moved on IMO.
22 Jan 2026 13:08:45
I think that the FA cup runout was good for Joe. He looked rusty at the start of the FA cup game and gave away a couple of chances but I thought that he looked really solid last night and even bailed Virg out at one point when he completely missed a simple ball.
What made it better was that our right side of defence looked solid even though Frimpong who was bombing forward all night. Great player just can't stay fit.
22 Jan 2026 13:11:00
Spot on, WDW. Gomez is just so unflappable as a CB esp. when he is playing next to VVD. Years ago, this was our best partnership (Matip/ VVD can claim that as well) and they are yet to miss a beat till well, yesterday. Brilliant CB, Gomez is even after all his injuries.
{Ed025's Note - i would say "brilliant" is stretching it a bit Oli, he played quite well yesterday though mate..
22 Jan 2026 13:20:39
I'd like nothing more than to see Gomez getting a run in the side.
He did well last night but wasn't great in his previous appearance v Barnsley and was replaced at 60.
The question is can Gomez body play 90 mins every 3-4 days for the rest of the season?
22 Jan 2026 13:55:33
I think there is a bit of crazy recency bias, Gomez has always been fine as cover. He had a good season a few years back. but he is not a top CB and has made many howlers in his time
He did a good job last night, but there was hardly much pressure on his.
22 Jan 2026 15:27:34
TSK I don't know where you are getting that from once full match fit when Gomez plays next to Virgil they are a great partnership under Klopp with a very attacking side they still never hardly conceded any goals as a Partnership.
They had some ridiculous record where they never conceded more than one goal together for something like 1.5 seasons.
So I would say the only brain fart is your comment there about Joe it just does not help that he never gets a run of games at cb and am sure if they kept him away from covering full back he would have less injuries.
22 Jan 2026 16:25:47
Gomez's career has been blighted by injuries, as we all know. He had a good game last night, but let's not run away with the idea that he's a brilliant defender, because he's not. He, like Ibou, is also prone to a mistake and he's had pelters on here from posters wanting him out.
I hope he plays on Saturday and has a blinder, but let's not get carried away with our expectations.
22 Jan 2026 16:22:44
Ed25, JG was brilliant esp. for a guy who keeps getting slandered for no longer being good enuff. It's my opinion and Im sticking with it.
{Ed025's Note - that is your prerogative Oli, i would class him as a half decent stop-gap who can be anything from a 1 to a 10 but can never really be relied upon mate..
22 Jan 2026 18:41:07
Before Southgate broke Gomez on international duty by insisting on training him hard, when Klopp said he was already in the red, was unforgivable. That knee injury was horrific.
Before that he was not injury prone and his partnership with VVD was the main reason we won the league.
22 Jan 2026 19:46:20
StEtienne, he had a cruciate ligament tear in 15/ 16, before Southgate was England manager.
22 Jan 2026 20:07:21
I have been one of the Arne out brigade but I have to hold my hands up very good performance from the lads and a big pat on the back for Arne credit were credit is due.
Lets hope we have turned a corner .
ynwa.
22 Jan 2026 23:50:06
And his next big injury was in 20/ 21 during international duty. So that indicates that prior to being mismanaged by Southgate, he wasn't as injury prone as he is now and he recovered well from the acl injury.
Southgate even admitted that he knew Gomez was in the red during that particular international duty so it was gross negligence on his part. StEtienne is right in that regard and you kinda proved it too.
23 Jan 2026 05:07:41
That's not quite true Drac.
I suppose it all depends on what one would classify as a big injury mate. But Joe
15/ 16 - 8 months (discussed) ACL
16/ 17 - 4 months Achilles
17/ 18 - 3 months ankle surgery
18/ 19 - 4 months further ankle surgery
20/ 21 - 8 months patellar (England)
The 7 injuries that have come since then have been 5 muscle (3 hamstring) 1 virus and Achilles again。.
23 Jan 2026 05:16:18
What's recency bias? Is 2019 recent?
23 Jan 2026 07:43:31
I'd probably also add Vvd and Gomez partnership was a big reason that we won the league but there's absolutely no way of proving it was the main reason.
I'm sure, Ali, Robbo, Trent, Hendo, Gini, Fab, Milner, Bobbie, Mane and Salah were also big reasons.