That video plays like Neville’s silent domination analysis on Rooney. Half of those clips were reaching to me. The first one about him ‘dragging Jorginho away so that Mané can run free’ is nonsense to me. Jorginho isn’t a right back. Mané runs free because the RB is nowhere to be seen. Jorginho is left with two men. There was another similar Jorginho clip. He’s not occupying him so that his strike partners can receive the ball. He’s just taking up a position he should be occupying, as a 9/10 in the team.
Ultimately, he’s not a rubbish player, he’s just not that great. That video, and others like it, would not suffice to justify his place in the team if Liverpool were 5th best. ‘Hea he makes nice touches and stuff but we need to see more’ would be the consensus. That is basically what the same experts say of Martial, who does all the same things, except chase right backs as often as Firmino. Because we aren’t winning, which to me, is the basis of the difference in how they are rated.
He’s an alright player, but Liverpool would not be better off with him than a better striker. I imagine a better player, by virtue of being stood in the front line, would also ‘occupy defenders attention’. Liverpool would swap him for the Suarez that left them in an instant. He’s a good player, just not the very top tier. Same goes for their midfielders, one of whom they want to give player of the year to. Credit to Klopp, he has built an effective unit, but not all of their players are very top players. Firmino isn’t as good as Kane or Son, for example, and Spurs, while already being rubbish, would be a worse side if they swapped either of them for Bobby no goals. United would be no better if we swapped him for Martial. City would be worse if they swapped him for Aguero. All of those teams would be better if they took Mané or Salah instead though. And Liverpool would far more easily replace him out of the three of them.