45 | Abdukodir Khusanov - 2025/26

So now Dias (treble winner) is not good with the ball, or in the air, and he isnt fast. Can someone tell me what he is good at ?

Imo he is good at everything, not great at anything specific. Great leadership qualities and lot of intangibles.

Pretty much the same as Guehi.

Cmon tacticos . Enlighten me ....
 
I would be a little hesitant to definitively claim Guehi is better than Dias in aerial duels.

It could be true, but Guehi mostly played in a back 3 and being wide left meant he typically didn't have to face the tallest players if balls over the top were contested, usually wingers.

He has looked good aerially from the sample size of 2 games he played for us, but time will tell.

That being said, the Gvardiol-Dias was very strong, that I think Pep will either go back to it eventually, or try to get Guehi/Khusanov in as a 3rd CB in possession rather than the CDM doing it currently.
 
Kippax Kidd said:
So now Dias (treble winner) is not good with the ball, or in the air, and he isnt fast. Can someone tell me what he is good at ?

Imo he is good at everything, not great at anything specific. Great leadership qualities and lot of intangibles.

Pretty much the same as Guehi.

Cmon tacticos . Enlighten me ....
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Only comparatively, he's not bad just not as good as some of the others. Better on the ball that Khusanov, better leadership qualities than say Stones, better tackler than Ake etc but Guehi is better in every respect.
 
Kippax Kidd said:
So now Dias (treble winner) is not good with the ball, or in the air, and he isnt fast. Can someone tell me what he is good at ?

Imo he is good at everything, not great at anything specific. Great leadership qualities and lot of intangibles.

Pretty much the same as Guehi.

Cmon tacticos . Enlighten me ....
Click to expand...
Dias is a great leader, he is good in duels & puts his body on the line however he cant play out from the back, he lacks pace & he drops too deep in all scenarios. For example when we try to play a high line hes always slow to do so & usually is the one who plays opposition players onside. He also continuously backs off when defenders are running towards him or our goal wich is really really frustrating.

I do rate Dias highly & cant wait for him to be back but he is far from what he is made out to be & he is nothing like Guehi.
 
kippaxchris said:
Dias is a great leader, he is good in duels & puts his body on the line however he cant play out from the back, he lacks pace & he drops too deep in all scenarios. For example when we try to play a high line hes always slow to do so & usually is the one who plays opposition players onside. He also continuously backs off when defenders are running towards him or our goal wich is really really frustrating.

I do rate Dias highly & cant wait for him to be back but he is far from what he is made out to be & he is nothing like Guehi.
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How can you rate Dias highly but think hes bad at all those things . Its simple impossible.
 
I worry that while commentators are too harsh on him, many fans are being too effusive about his strengths. Which are many, but I think we tend to jump in the world class bucket too quickly and then throw them overboard at the first sign of shakiness. We do a great job of hyping a player up after a few games and then cutting them down very cruelly.

He had a solid performance, but if our more seasoned defenders had that performance there would have been criticism or certainly not Motm call outs. Why can’t he just be a great, developing player? It’s like everyone has to be world class or trash.
 
Kippax Kidd said:
How can you rate Dias highly but think hes bad at all those things . Its simple impossible.
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Because he is good at what hes good at. Do you think he has pace & can pass out from the back good? He isn't good at those things but hes still a good defender in general.
 
johnny crossan said:
Only comparatively, he's not bad just not as good as some of the others. Better on the ball that Khusanov, better leadership qualities than say Stones, better tackler than Ake etc but Guehi is better in every respect.
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Ake is a better tackler. Khush is better on the ball. Diasmis better than all of them at organising the defence. Guehi is also great organiser but not at his level however he has better athletical attributes.
 
kingn6 said:
Ake is a better tackler. Khush is better on the ball. Diasmis better than all of them at organising the defence. Guehi is also great organiser but not at his level however he has better athletical attributes.
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You may be right about Ake but don't see how Khusanov is currently anything other than the worst on the ball of all our CBs. He's very young and learning on the job and Guehi is a top organiser, at least on a par with Dias. Just my take, I accept others may disagree.
 
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johnny crossan said:
Don't see how Khusanov is currently anything other than the worst on the ball of all our CBs, he's very young and learning on the job and Guehi is a top organiser, at least on a par with Dias. Just my take, I accept others may disagree.
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I agree Khush is still raw but he has the ability to play the cross field ball to the wing or break the lines. He just lacks confidence and maturity in this area in my opinion. Dias is slow in his passing and keeps it simple.

Agree Guehi has real leadership qualities I just think Dias has it in abundance. Remember when he joined and sorted out our defence in a couple of games.

I think we lack leaders and organizers that is part of the reason for our inconsistency the past few seasons.
 
kingn6 said:
I agree Khush is still raw but he has the ability to play the cross field ball to the wing or break the lines. He just lacks confidence and maturity in this area in my opinion. Dias is slow in his passing and keeps it simple.

Agree Guehi has real leadership qualities I just think Dias has it in abundance. Remember when he joined and sorted out our defence in a couple of games.

I think we lack leaders and organizers that is part of the reason for our inconsistency the past few seasons.
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Sometimes people get tired of listening to the same voice.

It may be a case with Dias talk falling on deaf ears.. which isn't necessarily his own fault but Pep has to find a solution. Maybe it's with someone new.
 
Blue_Lightsaber said:
Sometimes people get tired of listening to the same voice.

It may be a case with Dias talk falling on deaf ears.. which isn't necessarily his own fault but Pep has to find a solution. Maybe it's with someone new.
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This might be the case or may be the case that there has been a lack of stability in front of the back 4.

We have had so many injuries to midfielders and especially Rodri over the pat few years. Up top we don’t have any leaders either.
 
kingn6 said:
Ake is a better tackler. Khush is better on the ball. Diasmis better than all of them at organising the defence. Guehi is also great organiser but not at his level however he has better athletical attributes.
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How do u know that Dias is a better organizer ? By screaming on the pitch? Our defense looked quite open for him being that good of an organizer. For me personally Khusanov is a better defender and as long we play this high line we are killing ourselves with Dias on the pitch
 
Kippax Kidd said:
So now Dias (treble winner) is not good with the ball, or in the air, and he isnt fast. Can someone tell me what he is good at ?

Imo he is good at everything, not great at anything specific. Great leadership qualities and lot of intangibles.

Pretty much the same as Guehi.

Cmon tacticos . Enlighten me ....
Click to expand...
Purely on the speed thing, the max recorded speed of our defenders:
Dias is approx 30.3km/h, Ake 30.7, Gvardiol 32.4, Stones 33.8, Guehi 33.9, O Reilly 35.9, Khusanov 36.2, and Nunes 36.7.
(Highest speeds are Walker and Van der ven both 37.3)
Obviously only one metric, acceleration and stamina not considered
Guehi and Khusanov are considerably faster than Dias and Ake if we have a high line.
 
King Jay said:
How do u know that Dias is a better organizer ? By screaming on the pitch? Our defense looked quite open for him being that good of an organizer. For me personally Khusanov is a better defender and as long we play this high line we are killing ourselves with Dias on the pitch
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I don’t know this is my perception based on three things
1. Speaking to former Benfica great ahead of him signing
2. Observing his influence from my amateur perspective
3. Listening to what pep and the players have said about him

I agree with you Khush is better for the highline. My favoured partnership right now is probably Khush and Guehi. I am undecided if that is better or I should have Josko in there instead.
 
We need 4 very good to world class centre backs. Dias , Guehi and Gvardiol all fit the bill (as would Stones if he could stay fit). Khusanov has been superb when you look at his individual performances but he is not going to organise the back 4 yet.

Its a dilemma as Khusanov needs games , the more he has had the better he has looked and his pace is huge for us playing the high line. Am still (but less so with passing games) worried he will get himself sent off at some point with a mistimed lunge but he has started to use his pace to get himself between man and ball rather than going for it soon as he has sight of the football. Think he is going to be fantastic and hopefully will add some authority to his game with age and experience.

I do expect Dias to come back in but would want to see Khusanov start against Liverpool as we lack pace with the high line and both full backs pushing forward.
 
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For Liverpool, a solid defense with Khusanov's speed, Dias and Guehi's character, and the freedom for O'Reilly and Nunes to provide crosses and attacking threat.

Nico Gonzalez and Rodri in midfield, and an attacking trio of Cherki, Semenyo, and either Marmoush or Haaland.

It's a very balanced starting eleven, considering current form and availability.

......... khusanov....días..... Guehi.....
Nunes....................................... O'Reilly
 
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