Speaking to Off the Ball, John Giles has been discussing Fabinho and his poor run of form this season.
There’s no question about it, Fabinho has been off the boil this year. The Brazilian has looked a shadow of his former self and it’s been sad to see such a brilliant player decline in this way.
However, Giles doesn’t quite see things in that way.
Indeed, the Leeds United legend is of the opinion that Fabinho has actually never been that good of a player, stating that he often had the tendency to disappear from games and not control proceedings.
Giles slams Fabinho
The pundit spoke about the Liverpool midfielder.
“The thing is with Fabinho is he just doesn’t have it,” Giles said.
“Did he not have it last season?” The pundit was asked.
“Not really, Liverpool were playing better last season but he’s a player who looks very good and then he can disappear out of the game. Look at someone like Modric or Graeme Souness, they would never go out of the game.
“They might not be spectacular, but they’d have the passes at the right time. I never thought he could control the game.
“He’d play a good pass sometimes and then he’d go missing for six, seven or eight minutes. Great players in the midfield never go missing. I never thought he had that, I’m not just having a go now because they’re not doing well. I never saw him as a player who could control the game.”
Harsh
Giles has claimed that Fabinho was never a top player, and that’s incredibly harsh.
Yes, he’s not like Modric or Souness in that he takes every game by the scruff of the neck, but not every midfielder has to be.
Fabinho instead is a great reader of the game and a very consistent performer and while he doesn’t always come up with the spectacular, he has been a vital player for Liverpool in recent years.
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