You think they’re better with him in the side and not Firminho?
Darwin Núñez | Liverpool player | Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shish
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Drogba played 9 seasons for Chelsea in the PL. He averaged more than a goal every two games in a grand total of two of those seasons:
2004/'05: 10 in 26
2005/'06: 12 in 29
2006/'07: 20 in 36
2007/'08: 8 in 19
2008/'09: 5 in 24
2009/'10: 29 in 32
2010/'11: 11 in 36
2011/'12: 5 in 24
2014/'15: 4 in 28
Drogba was a very good example of how important a striker can be even if he isn't scoring all that much himself. He was one of Chelsea's most important players throughout most of his time there and was a key for how they played.
Gone are the days when players are given a season to settle before people write them off
This sums Núñez up quite well from my perspective only that I'd include that he seems to possess great stamina, and also a childlike determination not to give up. Whether this equates to anything of any real value in the long run remains to be seen, and the opportunity cost of losing someone like Firmino from the mix should not be underestimated.
I'll say this, had we played Villa yesterday with similar tactics (first-time ball in behind their two center backs) , I don't expect we'd have created as much chances as Nunez through his sheer runs created. That is got to be worth something.
After years of being stuck with Martial (and later Ronaldo) lumbering about, it would be fantastic if we also had a striker who can stretch play, make runs in behind - and actually finish.
After years of being stuck with Martial (and later Ronaldo) lumbering about, it would be fantastic if we also had a striker who can stretch play, make runs in behind - and actually finish.
Yes. I'm particularly remembering the Saha days and the space it would open up for Rooney and Ronaldo.
The elephant in the room is Drogba cost 20m whilst Nunez is 100m
Whilst Nunez may well turn in to a useful player for Liverpool you simply have to judge his success against his price tag.
He’s incredibly frustrating and yet I have some hope for him. Mostly because he gets in to so many goal scoring situations that I can’t help but think he’s got the ingredients to turn it around.
Not to defend Nunez or anything but you can't really compare price tags from almost 20 years ago to the transfer market of today.
Back in 2004 even the £24M spent on Drogba was a lot of money. In that transfer window only Rooney to United cost more across all the leagues.
That said, Nunez has a long way to go to deserve being even talked about in the same sentence as Didier Drogba.
Think it's because your team create so much for the forwards that any forward who's willing to run in behind will get the chances he does.
Isn't that because they have no one else better?
Wonder how Jota would've handled all those chances he's had
That’s very possible. But somehow, his speed and strength makes me think there’s a really good forward in there.
Oh of course, totally agree. That said though people seem to be forgetting just how expensive Nunez was and having the attitude that he’s some kind of useful squad player and that’s okay.
I genuinely think that you guys look better with him on the pitch than you do without him.
There's a bad mix of players who aren't physically strong enough yet (Carvalho and Elliot) and players who are physically "past it" IMO (Milner ,Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Robertson, Firmino, VVD, Matip and even Salah vs his prime self) with Trent/ Diaz/Konate and Nunez (and 3 of those have injury/ form issues) being the only ones who are in or approaching their physical prime.
You look more "at it" , faster and stronger with him on the pitch.
I guess that could either be viewed as a compliment for Nunez or an indictment of the physical abilities of the rest of the side
but I still think it's true.Yeah. At the moment his impact on Liverpool's game is positive even when he's not scoring because of everything else he does on the pitch, but his main job is still scoring goals and the same excuses about 'the team looking better with him in it' won't carry forever if he doesn't start scoring.
Last night someone on here made the comparison of Nunez to Timo Werner and I thought it was spot on. In his first season with Chelsea he too couldn't hit a barn door but everyone kept going on and on about how he always seemed to get himself into dangerous positions with great movement and how he had an overall good effect on the team's game even when he wasn't in the scoresheet. At the time it was definitely true, but the longer his goalscoring woes continued it clearly started to take a toll on his mental state too and as a result even his all round play started to decline massively. If Nunez wants to avoid the same fate he really needs to start scoring those chances or else it can really started fecking up his head.
Here's to many more misses.
He will come good. Everything is there except some maturity and klopp will stamp it in eventually.
Definitely, if he start to kick on with salah improving form with gakpo on the flanks, we are in trouble.Yeah. At the moment his impact on Liverpool's game is positive even when he's not scoring because of everything else he does on the pitch, but his main job is still scoring goals and the same excuses about 'the team looking better with him in it' won't carry forever if he doesn't start scoring.
Last night someone on here made the comparison of Nunez to Timo Werner and I thought it was spot on. In his first season with Chelsea he too couldn't hit a barn door but everyone kept going on and on about how he always seemed to get himself into dangerous positions with great movement and how he had an overall good effect on the team's game even when he wasn't in the scoresheet. At the time it was definitely true, but the longer his goalscoring woes continued it clearly started to take a toll on his mental state too and as a result even his all round play started to decline massively. If Nunez wants to avoid the same fate he really needs to start scoring those chances or else it can really started fecking up his head.
Here's to many more misses.
Seems not to have improved his faults that much yet.
The point is to compare United’s top goal scorer with Núñez and determine whether he would’ve been worth it for you. You’re extremely limited up top so maybe he would’ve, but then again maybe not because Núñez has extremely erratic finishing.
I don’t know what this 100 million fee is all about. It’s 75 million EUR plus 25 in add ons. We’ve overpaid but Núñez is at least playing and heavily involved in games. It’s completely different to what we’ve had with someone like Keita. He’s also improved a fair bit on the ball compared to his early Liverpool games when everything was bouncing off of him. My hope is that he’ll start converting these chances he’s getting.
What a complete disservice you all are doing by comparing this buffoon to Drogba. Drogba wasn't very prolific save for couple of seasons, but he could play. He had a good touch, and great awareness to bring people into play. Nunez is more like run in behind striker, he is nowhere near as technically sound as someone like Drogba.
Liverpool fans getting defensive over criticism is nothing new, softest bunch by far.
Liverpool fans getting defensive over criticism is nothing new, softest bunch by far.
75m plus 25m equals 100m. When United sign players everyone quotes the full package why should it be different for Liverpool?
It's going to be a achievable add ons so he will cost you 100m euros.
I understand you hope that he'll become a superstar, it's your player and you dumped a huge amount on him but if he was United player everyone from the mainstream media to every other medium would be rinsing him and United for his performances and you can be assured it'll be 100m euros that'll be front and centre of it as well.
Incidentally Rashford tonight, 1 shot 1 goal of and an assist at half time.
Call me old fashioned but I prefer not to write a signing off after a third of a season.
I think Núñez is getting a fair bit of scrutiny from the media from what I’ve seen. He’s certainly getting it from some sections of our fan base. The fact that he’s so heavily involved is probably why he’s not getting as hard of a time. If he wasn’t even getting chances I think you’d see more questions asked.
On Rashford, I do rate him and he has had a better season than Núñez so far. He’s had a very up and down career though and from what I’ve read on here, he’s been a source of frustration at times for your fan base with his own erratic behaviour in front of goal. Considering the quality from Fernandes and Eriksen in terms of chance creation, Núñez might’ve been a good fit for you. Especially when you consider how injury prone Martial is.
I was the one who bought Drogba into the conversation, and I specifically said they were very different players. It was the criticism of the players that I was comparing. Both have/had a lot of criticism in their early days, but both also showed enough that I could see them coming good and making that over-the-top criticism look foolish. Obviously that did happen in Drogba's case. Hopefully it won't with Nunez.
I feel there's some oversimplification in this statement.
Yes, willing runners tend to get more chances.
But that has to be combined with other attributes like guile, speed, strength, and such.
From Villa-Liverpool match, it's astonishing how many times Darwin gets into 1-on-1 situation.
Even prime Salah didn't manage to do it as much.
Granted Darwin made a mess of it all.
Liverpool transfer board must have taken this kind of stats into account when they decide to splurged that €75m upfront.
It's was a massive gamble obviously.
I guess being destroyed twice in Champions League by this proverbial donkey is what convinced Klopp.
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Darwin is like a Lukaku but with a better mentality and a more natural physique for a footballer (leaner, faster, more agile, better stamina). Which means he'll score a feck load of goals but consistently look funny and shit while doing so.
They will take it. feck i will take it
Let's be real here. Most of you would've loved if he played for United right now. Sure he's missed a lot of clear chances and sitters but it's obvious he'll come good. He hasn't even played a season here yet and no, he doesn't look like a €100m player but the price tag isn't really his fault, is it?
Ridiculous that some of you instantly visit this thread a second after he missed a chance to say how shit he is.
Confidence can also lead to composure, so once he's banged in some more goals and gotten to know his teammates more and learnt the language, some of you are gonna look foolish.
Ridiculous that some of you instantly visit this thread a second after he missed a chance to say how shit he is.
Confidence can also lead to composure, so once he's banged in some more goals and gotten to know his teammates more and learnt the language, some of you are gonna look foolish.
It isn't at all obvious that he will come good actually
Absolute nonsense. Why would we love it if he played for United when he's missing chances? Your hypothesis is predicated on the notion that he fulfills his potential and finds some confidence - that isn't what we are crying out for at the moment. We want and need a player that is an established finisher in a top league, not a 100m prospect. The only one looking foolish is yourself.
Because he is a very good striker with potential to be a great one? I mean, there's quite a few on here that would get Morata ffs.
Are you forgetting that his actual stats aren't even bad, but more his bad misses that take up all the attention? He has 5 goals and 2 assists in 691 PL minutes (7-8 full matches) which is a goal and/or assist every 90 min.
He is in the 97th percentile for non-penalty goals for strikers and 98th percentile for expected goals. He has elite movement (Cavani like) but similarly to El Matador, his finishing can make him look silly sometimes. Cavani looked like a clown many times, but still a world class striker.
Nunez' strength, pace, endless running and movement is going to outweigh his finishing. And if there's something every forward can work on and improve easily, it's exactly that.
To be fair it depends on what you feel "Coming good" entails.
I would say that even if he doesn't get any better and continues his scoring and assist rate (8 goals and 4 assists in 1000 minutes discounting the Charity Shield) for the next 5 seasons I'd say Id call that a successful transfer for Liverpool to be honest.
Even at this point I would say that it's looking more likely he will "come good" (contributions per 90) in the end than not.
If your idea of coming good is being as good as Haaland (or the best players of his generation) then he will never come good IMO.
On a separate note ..
I love football but as I get older I have less time for the tribalism i guess.
If everyone can agree that they overpayed and that he isn't a 100m striker (at least at this moment in time) then I don't know what the big fascination is with repeatedly talking about how he isnt (and most likely won't be) a 100m Pound/Euro player.
I'm not on opposition sites but I'm sure the same things are being said about Antony right now (United did overpay to get him, he hasn't performed to the level of expenditure and it's not looking likely at the moment that he will reach that level but he still may) and I would say the same thing to them.
Enzo Fernandez had a great world cup and in my opinion the worst thing that could happen to him and his career right now is that Chelsea trigger his 120m release clause and he goes into a team that is struggling with their own footballing identity currently and he gets scapegoated for it because for 120m the fans will expect immediate GOAT level performances.
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The price tag isn't his fault but it does relate directly to your assertion that we'd love if he played for United right now. Because him playing for United right now would have come with €100m worth of opportunity cost.
We’ve had him play for us in Lukaku and hated every minute of it
That is true! But Antony's price tag was similar if I recall correctly. And although I wish he performed better consistently, I'm personally very happy he plays for us.
If he doesn't score tonight he may as well do a Ronaldo.
My wife might divorce me before new year if I dont come off this thread.
Help me Darwin Nunez, your my only hope
From BBC Sport
"It was his 50th shot in the Premier League this season. Only four players have attempted more in the division in 2022-23 despite this only being the Liverpool forward's ninth game"
This donkey is getting plenty of chances
"It was his 50th shot in the Premier League this season. Only four players have attempted more in the division in 2022-23 despite this only being the Liverpool forward's ninth game"
This donkey is getting plenty of chances
All he had to do was get it on target. It was Ward FFS
No matter how it sounds i would take him to United. He will start converting his chances.