7 - Philippe Coutinho - V1

[Raki13]

I seriously must have been blind the whole game? Honestly quite surprised by how a lot of people seem to think this guys had a "bad" game.

I think he actually had a phenomenal performance, especially accounting for the fact that this was only his 2nd game with us.

Dude came off as extremely confident on the ball, with an excellent vision for through balls, and overall as a solid player with a great understanding of the game and Barca's style.

Yes, he did lose the ball couple of times. But those were mostly on attacking occasions, and that is a normal part of the sport. It happens to the best of players.

Looks like this will be an unpopular opinion, but I think Coutinho had an excellent performance against Alaves.

To say he was phenomenal is as ridiculous as saying he was bad.He was ok thats all , and knows that to play for this side you need to move up a level. He got took off last night because it just wasnt working for him.
Those that moan he was out of position are crazy , for £145m he should be able to play anywhere.

 

[Kohe321]

To say he was phenomenal is as ridiculous as saying he was bad.He was ok thats all , and knows that to play for this side you need to move up a level. He got took off last night because it just wasnt working for him.
Those that moan he was out of position are crazy , for £145m he should be able to play anywhere.

This argument is about as solid as a jellyfish. By that logic Dembele should make for an insane defensive midfielder, he was even more expensive after all.

Otherwise I agree, he was OK while showing his undeniable quality. I have no doubt Valverde and Coutinho himself will slowly but surely find the position and role where he can be most effective. This is just his second game after all.

 

[Neymessi]

I seriously must have been blind the whole game? Honestly quite surprised by how a lot of people seem to think this guys had a "bad" game.

I think he actually had a phenomenal performance, especially accounting for the fact that this was only his 2nd game with us.

Dude came off as extremely confident on the ball, with an excellent vision for through balls, and overall as a solid player with a great understanding of the game and Barca's style.

Yes, he did lose the ball couple of times. But those were mostly on attacking occasions, and that is a normal part of the sport. It happens to the best of players.

Looks like this will be an unpopular opinion, but I think Coutinho had an excellent performance against Alaves.

Thank god people apart from me think he played fine. He was quite good actually and when he was subbed I was a bit dissapointed.

Maybe its the hype or that people expect him to kill shit in every game that they found his performance mediocre.

 

[Ghostmaster]

To say he was phenomenal is as ridiculous as saying he was bad.He was ok thats all , and knows that to play for this side you need to move up a level. He got took off last night because it just wasnt working for him.
Those that moan he was out of position are crazy , for £145m he should be able to play anywhere.

He likes to cut to the right, playing him as RW is the same as playing Messi as LW.

And of course his price starting to be an issue. Forget the price, we would never have paid this amount if it wasn't for Neymar's transfer.

 

[Neymessi]

If we are smart him, not playing CL can be a blessing in disguise for us. He needs to start all league and copa games which would mean more rest to our players for CL.

 

[Raki13]

This argument is about as solid as a jellyfish. By that logic Dembele should make for an insane defensive midfielder, he was even more expensive after all.

Otherwise I agree, he was OK while showing his undeniable quality. I have no doubt Valverde and Coutinho himself will slowly but surely find the position and role where he can be most effective. This is just his second game after all.

Will rephrase , he should be able to play anywhere in midfield/ forward position.

 

[MagIX]

.

 

[dakt]

Still not close enough, not yet accepted in the brotherhood to share a straw with GOAT and Suarez.

 

[ATLBarcaFan]

He'll be fine, obviously not playing his best position. It will take some time for Valverde to figure out the best lineup with all of this talent.

 

[FC B]

If I were EV I wouldn't play him on the right, at least for as long as it takes him to fully integrate and adapt to the team. It's a crime to force him on the right when knowing what is able to produce on the left and doing it right from the start.

 

[Blaugranaa]

I think Valverde wanted to start with Coutinho. Problem was though, if Coutinho should've played on the left side, Iniesta should've played on the right. This doesn't suit Iniesta, just like we saw it didn't suit Coutinho. His ball control and moves on the ball were still brilliant, so I'm not at all concerned for him. Glad to see many of you guys in here think the same.

 

[Ken_rosseneri]

The problem is you can't play 4-4-2 with coutinho and Iniesta and be effective.... won't happen like that. To play them both you have to switch to a 433. Idk if Valverde favors 433 over 442. but we'll see what really happens or how this unfolds. when Dembele returns it would be harder for him to pick who and who to play and what formation. but we'll see... Coutinho has played as a RM/RW for Brazil btw but he's not as effective at this position. he's not a Deloufeu that'll just keep crossing in with no head.

 

[Barcaman]

Pretty clear Valverde used Alaves to experiment with Coutinho to see if he can play on the right side. We are all a bit disappointed but shouldn't really look deep into it.

 

[PhilS]

So, Valverde is saying that he wants to use Coutinho at 5 positions. The two outside positions up front in the 4-3-3, and all midfield positions except Busi's in the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3.

Good plan, this is the guy for that sort of versatility. Even though he is tiny. I'm surprised how small he looks even standing next to Iniesta.

 

[Sekou]

I hope he starts today, in LCM position.