Since arriving at Liverpool in 2006, Fabio Aurelio has spent an incredible 23 months on the sidelines recovering from injury, which makes him the most injured player in the club's history. The Brazilian's contract is up in the summer, so it's surely time for him to move on...right?
Aurelio has been patiently waiting for his chance after recovering from his latest injury. He told LFC TV:
"For me the most important thing is to be available. At the moment I am fighting to come back but hopefully once I return I can play some minutes on the pitch.
"It's not my decision but I will try to work as hard as possible to have the opportunity. I am capable of doing a job."
"I still have six months of contract here and I hope to finish the season off in a better way than it has started".
Should Aurelio be give a new contract?
I personally can't understand how Aurelio has been allowed to stay at the club for so long despite his injury history, which, it should be noted, was well established *before* Rafa Benitez signed him from Valencia.
At the end of the 2009-10 season, Aurelio did the decent thing and followed Benitez out of the door and off the payroll. Problem solved...Or so we thought.
[Micheal Corelone] Just when we thought he was out, Roy Hodgson pulled him back in! [/Michael Corleone].
Hodgson had one of the great transfer ideas of all time: Re-sign a player who'd spent 18 months of the previous 4 seasons on the injured list. Clearly a decision based on inalienable logic and the common sense that comes with 30 years of experience (NOT).
It was a negligent decision if you ask me, and one that would probably never be sanctioned under the new regime.
Aurelio is clearly a nice guy who has been very unlucky. However, there is no room for sentiment, and when injuries start impacting the team, it's time for a change of approach.
Jaimie Kanwar
Aurelio has been patiently waiting for his chance after recovering from his latest injury. He told LFC TV:
"For me the most important thing is to be available. At the moment I am fighting to come back but hopefully once I return I can play some minutes on the pitch.
"It's not my decision but I will try to work as hard as possible to have the opportunity. I am capable of doing a job."
"I still have six months of contract here and I hope to finish the season off in a better way than it has started".
Should Aurelio be give a new contract?
I personally can't understand how Aurelio has been allowed to stay at the club for so long despite his injury history, which, it should be noted, was well established *before* Rafa Benitez signed him from Valencia.
At the end of the 2009-10 season, Aurelio did the decent thing and followed Benitez out of the door and off the payroll. Problem solved...Or so we thought.
[Micheal Corelone] Just when we thought he was out, Roy Hodgson pulled him back in! [/Michael Corleone].
Hodgson had one of the great transfer ideas of all time: Re-sign a player who'd spent 18 months of the previous 4 seasons on the injured list. Clearly a decision based on inalienable logic and the common sense that comes with 30 years of experience (NOT).
It was a negligent decision if you ask me, and one that would probably never be sanctioned under the new regime.
Aurelio is clearly a nice guy who has been very unlucky. However, there is no room for sentiment, and when injuries start impacting the team, it's time for a change of approach.
Jaimie Kanwar
No. Good luck to him, but we can't afford any deadwood any more.
ReplyDeleteNo let him go. Too unreliable in the fitness department. We have Enrique with Robinson his understudy. Aurelio is made of glass. Get him off the payroll
ReplyDeleteHe should go, but I think you need to remember how good he was at Valencia before saying that it was a bad signing by Rafa. Seems like a nice guy but shouldn't have been resigned.
ReplyDeleteI think we almost certainly let him go this time around, and quite rightly so. Just a couple of points to make really. 1, when fit, i think few would doubt he is a very decent addition in the team/squad, but as you rightly pointed out, it's far too in-frequent. 2. i dont know the details, but i would be amazed if he is not on a 'pay-as-you-play' type contract, whereby we are largely protected. 3. Not a huge fan of many of Hodgson's signings, but i can and could see the sense in re-sining Aurelio, if it was on a 'pay-as-you-play' type contract. We had no LB's during that summer. In fact, it has been a problem position for a while and i question what the scouting department have been doing for the last few years, because we have really struggled in this position prior to Enrique's arrival. At the time he was re-signed, we had lots of transfer activity going on, and no LB at all (shortly followed by Konchesky). If the club was protected, then just bringing him in again was not the worst decision ever made, even if it was a risky one.
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, we have moved on now and i agree, he should not be offered a new contract, and i would be very surprised if he was
Very good player and a nice guy, and would be sad to see him leave. But yes, unfortunately this is the case... he has some muscle injuries all the time, and last I saw him in action was I think in one of the pre-season games.
ReplyDeleteWe have Jose Enrique now, and we have young Jack Robinson. We can let Fabio leave. The question is, whether it's possible to get some money for him at all.
He'll obviously leave in the summer but I believe the Fenway group have already sanctioned a deal which is roughly 35million (just an estimate) times worse than hodgons re-signing of Aurelio.
ReplyDeleteJamie, I agree that it was a mistake for Hodgson to offer Fabio a long-term contract (Rafa had offered him a pay-as-you-play contract that Aurelio turned down), however his contribution when fit probably outweighed the damage caused by his absence during his first years at Liverpool. The ever-more frequent absences through injury, combined with the arrival of Enrique and the emergence of Robinson at left-back, do however mean that Fabio's time at Liverpool is up unless he is willing to accept a pay-as-you-play deal. If he does leave, I will remember with fondness a player who was a joy to watch and who left us with some great memories ...
ReplyDeleteexcellent player pity hes so injury prone we can move on enrique is probably our best LB since staunton at his best
ReplyDeletei agree with you here mate...i think aurelio's time is up...when fit he was a top player for us, perhaps a bit undervalued...technically he was awesome and i dont remember him getting skinned too much considering his lack of pace...however, i think his injuries have ended him, that coupled with the signing of jose enrique who has been awesome. its probably time to push jack robinson up as enrique's understudy now but aurelio will be remembered fondly by liverpool fans i'm sure...if only for that cracking free kick against united....
ReplyDeletejack robinson is an ideal replacement for enrique
ReplyDelete24% who think he should get a new contract are drunk or high on some subtance. Aurelio was once a good player and has played his part in some great games for LFC but hes prone to get injured and now its time for new blood. Everyone at Anfield wish AUrelio well for the future YNWA
ReplyDeleteTime to make a decision n Auelio.
ReplyDeletei don't think Aurelio signed a 'pay-as-you-play' contract. Benitez offered that to him but he rejected. Thus, he was release. But prof. Woy signed him again, most probably with 1-year contract. So it's a bad decision IMO
ReplyDeleteYes he was definately resigned by Woy on a full contract and with 6mths left it must have been a 2 year deal. Rafa offered him a pay as you play contract which he rejected and then we let him stay on to train until he found another club. Wise old Roy then saw what we were letting go and snapped him back up....FOOL!
ReplyDeleteWhat really annoyed me at the time was that Roy created the LB problem by getting rid of Insua.. Insua had his failings but he was a young player and had been thrown in at the deep end the season before and offloading him like that in favour of bringing back someone at the end of his career with a well documented problem with injury was just ridiculous. Thanks goodness we got rid of Roy when we did!
Agreeing with what many have already said; it is definitely time for him to move him. Enrique is doing wonderfully well at LB, and Glen Johnson has demonstrated that he can competently deputize. Furthermore Jack Robinson is a great option for the future.
ReplyDeleteWhat? he's pay per play
ReplyDeleteShould we sign twenty more injury-prone unemployed players on pay per play then?
ReplyDelete'Deadwood' as a term refers not only to somebody who is a financial burden.