Maradona37
Well-known member
That's a good point. His problem isn't talent - he is capable of doing great things on his day. The problem is his day doesn't come anywhere near enough.Even his biggest detractors here will concede he is capable of this. The problem is it's a 1 in 10 game thing, and the other 25 dribbles he has like that, end up with him making a poor pass or weak shot at the end of it. Exactly the same with Leao, Nico etc.
Which is what sums him up to a tee actually. And why he is not a player for a top top club, which Liverpool themselves have realised in them being okay with him leaving.
People will laugh at the Perisic rumours, but out of all the wingers we've been linked to, I'd want him on the end of a dribble like that. Much much more consistent and nuanced on the ball in dangerous areas.
A few fleeting amazing moments don't compensate for all the times he drifts in and out of games. Same goes for the others as you say.
Most attacking players can do something special here and there - most professional attackers are gifted to varying levels after all, because that's why they are pros at the top level of the game anyway. What makes the best the best is doing it over and over again, repeating it, being consistent. That (and more talent too to be honest) Is why Salah is better than Diaz for Liverpool. Diaz can do some of the sublime things Salah has done - but he cannot do it anywhere near as often as Salah does.
That's also (as much as I hate him) what makes Ronaldo a great player - he doesn't have (even in his prime) as many magical moments as Messi, or anywhere close. But we was capable of great moments. And as he got into his thirties he mastered the art of doing the mundane or the 'normal' on a very regular basis. Other top players can do what he can - just not as much as he can. Plenty would argue this post 30s Ronaldo ability to regularly sniff out tap ins and headers is more impressive than doing something magical once in a blue moon like a Diaz does, and I would agree.
At some point, quantity matters more than quality, if quality is scarcely demonstrated. Quality only matters if it comes with a degree of quantity too. With Messi both come in spades, but someone like Diaz doesn't offer enough 'quantity of quality'.
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