Disclaimer: Stats have been interpreted the way I see them, and what I make of them is obviously my opinion of what they reveal. Future reference to a Llama may actually mean Lallana.
Most of this season has seen a frenzy about the midfielders of Liverpool, with the Merseyside club having established itself as a potent attack. The Four amigos have featured in our squads, at times on the double, but the debate has always been whom among them was the best option. Liverpool now have been eliminated in all other competitions, meaning they are the top six side with the fewest maximum fixtures at this point. As we head into a weekend featuring a Leicester fixture that’s ripe and juiced up for assets in red, I have decided to chip in the discussion, trying to explain why Firmino should be the least of your consideration – aside from the fact that the term “Failmino”®™ speaks for itself.
The Stats
When you dig into the Liverpool assets we see that Firmino undoubtedly has the most threat among the four, owing largely to his OOP as a F9 (false 9). Firmino has been involved in the most attempts, has the most shots in the box and on target, in fact he leads in almost all attacking stats. So why did I start by saying he is the worst option of them all? In spite of this magnified threat, is he clinical enough compared to the other three?
Generally, Firmino and Mane are the most viable among the four from just the looks of it – something can be said of the absence of Coutinho during that injury spell, though. Mane has always been stealthy and seems like that player who will pounce given the right scenario of opportunity. He has shown that and done it, with him just about half a step behind Firmino. If we look at the goals per app (appearance), Mane leads the pack, and leads also in goals/assists per app, with Firmino ranking last in the latter stat. Yes, Firmino has the least goal/assist per app rate, this keeping in mind that he has only missed one game. Waste of space?
The Four Amigos
We have all seen how unhinged Liverpool have been since the successive shuffles effected by the absences of Lallana, Coutinho and Mane due to injuries and the AfCON stint. The above stats were taken regardless of any absences, but when we filter to accommodate only the games where all four played at the same time, we see the influence and creativity of Coutinho enhanced, scoring similar amount of goals and one more assist than Firmino, but still a few paces behind Mane.
Coutinho is most involved in attempts, has second most assists, has the most attempts, has the most shots on target and is just behind Mane in goals/assists per app rate (at 0.75) – Lallana and Firmino are both at 0.67 in that ratio. All Firmino has to show during this time is his most attempts inside the box and most touches inside the box. Mane is obviously the top scorer (8) when all have played at the same time, three better than the next best, hence also leads in goals per app.
Let’s also not forget when Coutinho got injured, Firmino lost his starting berth as a F9 and was forced out wide. His returns diminished considerably, only scoring once in seven apps while he still enjoyed the most goal attempts, most shots inside the box and most attempts involvement. In that same time Lallana and Mane scored (4) and (3) respectively, with both assisting twice.
So, what am I saying? We have an OOP midfielder in Firmino who in truth should be more appealing in that aspect – he should be getting the chances, and most importantly, should be getting the most out of all others. BUT instead he is being out-performed and outdone by more clinical and creative players in Mane and Coutinho. Firmino will always remain a big threat because of his F9, but that’s just about it. How clinical is he compared to Mane or Coutinho? Go back to the stats and check, make out what they actually show. Is that points per million pound better than Lallana? (It isn’t, by the way. Ha!) When all four are playing he will seem like an underpriced Mane, but his fantasy output will always show that he actually is an overpriced Llama!
Casual FPL Musings 