Peter gets the thoughts of Dan Vanderkamp on the situation with Phil Coutinho
So the big question is: Can Coutinho be replaced? The answer is yes. Am I sure? I absolutely am. If you thinking that I sound over-confident you would be right and here’s my reasoning. He already has been replaced and who replaced him has been the best player in the league. Phil Coutinho played on the left of a three last season and when Mo Salah signed he moved into the middle, in behind. Don’t get me wrong, he has been great this season in the number 8 role but has he been good because he was playing for a move? It doesn’t matter, he’s gone now. He was one our most influential players and any other year his loss would absolutely kill us but, as with any Klopp team, it doesn’t depend on one player.
Klopp has a history of making players. He also has a history of replacing them and that’s what people should look at it in this situation because at the end of the day all we need is for someone to step into that role before it’s naturally replaced by one of the best number 8s in world football, Naby Keita. So that’s Coutinho replaced twice in two windows, unintentionally, and if you think for one minute that we will struggle without Coutinho with our front three, go and delve into the world of statistics we have available these days and you will think otherwise. We are not Phil Coutinho FC, we aren’t Sadio Mane FC, who we missed so dearly last January and we aren’t Mo Salah FC this year. We are Liverpool FC and we are on a SEVENTEEN game unbeaten streak.
Support the team and support the best manager we have had in a long time.