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Where has Liverpool’s little Magician gone?

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Liverpool's little magician is currently struggling for his form

Liverpool’s Brazilian star is currently struggling badly for his any kind of form

Philippe Coutinho is my favourite Liverpool player.

Even last season – when Suarez was reaching incredible heights, Sturridge was scoring at a faster rate than many of our former great strikers and Stevie Gerrard was defining a new career as a quarterback – Philippe Coutinho was STILL my favourite player.

As Luis Suarez told ESPN Brasil:

“When Coutinho’s right, he is the difference that makes Liverpool.”

“I guess that he is a very great player and he is showing that he has the quality to play for both Liverpool and in the national team. I’m proud to be playing with him.”

That Suarez chose to say ‘when he’s right’ before eulogising over his friend is very telling!

There is a popular vine doing the rounds showcasing just how good Liverpool can be when Coutinho is on form.

This was taken during the 4-0 blitzing of Dortmund during pre-season. Sadly Philippe hasn’t been able to replicate this form since the season started.

Hi angelic touch is a little stiff, his dribbles keep running into opposition players and most of all his passing has been lacking accuracy & the correct weight. This is very un’Coutinho’like.

Last season his impish dribbling, subtle movement and constant intelligent forward probing was key in many of our successful wins. This season all three areas have fallen short.

It is true he hasn’t seemed to gel instantly with Balotelli. Coutinho often likes to pass the ball into space, for a willing runner to latch onto. This works perfectly with the movement of Suarez and Sturridge, but with one gone and the other injured, Philippe has constantly mis-connected with Balotelli.

Mario certainly doesn’t play like the SAS, but he does make movements – they’re just different types of runs. When Gerrard played the No.10 position briefly against West Brom it was evident that Mario can interlink very well with attacking midfielders if the types of passes are suited.

Philippe and Mario both need to adapt. But Mario’s movement (or lack of) is not the reason for Coutinho’s poor form. His passes to Sterling & Henderson have been wayward all season. Even in the first few games before Balotelli joined, when Sturridge was fit, Coutinho was often giving the ball away unnecessarily.

Given the high level he is capable of I would say Coutinho has been our most disappointing player this season.

Even with all the mistakes our defence has made, the responsibility for continuing our pattern of play and pressing from last season should rest primarily on the players who were already here and not on the new signings. Sterling and Henderson have both done well this season, Sturridge and Allen have been injured. Coutinho & Gerrard have been inconsistent.

The question as to why Philippe’s form has suffered is a hard one to answer without looking at training.

The little magician has won a call up back into the Brazil squad, primarily on the back of last season’s form and Brazil’s struggles in the World Cup, but this shouldn’t be a reason for a dip in his Liverpool form. He’s had a groin injury that made him miss a couple of games, but this doesn’t explain why he was so good in pre-season but not in the 1st few games.

Perhaps it simply comes down to that ineffable quality of consistency. Coutinho suffered from it last season too, but with Suarez in the side and other players on top form the team motored on. When Coutinho wasn’t performing, Allen often stepped in and did perform.

This season Liverpool need the old Coutinho back more than ever. With so many new players in the squad he is key to dictating how the team plays.

It must also be remembered he’s only 22.

In the 1-0 loss to Basel the 3 players behind Balotelli were Coutinho, Markovic and Sterling. 22, 20 and 19 years old playing in a tough away game in the Champions League. They actually created enough chances to win the game, but all their first touches were letting them down, leading Brendan Rodgers to highlight the poor technical performance of the team as his key complaint – even more than the awful goal the team conceded from yet another corner.

Giving so much responsibility to a 22 year old can be tough. Which is why the good form of a now fit Lallana and the returning Allen will be key to helping Liverpool recover their groove after the international break.

Although I’ve been critical of Coutinho’s form this season, I’m still a huge admirer and perhaps, like with Sterling at the beginning of last season, some time out of the team will do him good.

You can catch more from me on my own blog: http://taintlessred.blogspot.co.uk/ or follow me on twitter: @taintlessred

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Gabriel Darshan (Writer) - aka Sutha Nirmalananthan aka TaintlessRed. I am a lifelong Liverpool fan who has followed the Reds from near (e.g. living in Kirkby) and far (e.g. living in Johannesburg), though am again living back home in the UK. I’ve watched football in stadia all around the world, from the Maracana to the Camp Nou, though Anfield will of course always be the greatest! I enjoy healthy football debate, preferring reasoned analysis based on sound evidence over gossip. I also write a blog at http://taintlessred.blogspot.co.uk/ on all things Liverpool FC and you can follow me on twitter @taintlessred

1 comment

  • marshall says:

    He will blend in back to his form .he is natural creative midfelder.I think he will form good combination with llalana sterling sturidge.

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