30 Nov 2009

EVERTON v LIVERPOOL - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

A look at all the good and bad points to come out of Liverpool's much-needed victory against Everton earlier today.

The GOOD

Dirk Kuyt ended his current barren spell

After 19 hours of football, Kuyt finally got back on the score sheet. It's kind of ironic in a way: 19 hours as a right-midfielder and he couldn't score; 5 minutes as a striker, and he scores a goal.

As I and many other LFC fans have argued, Liverpool can and must do better than Kuyt on the right. He has far too many barren spells, and a right midfielder should be more consistently creative than Kuyt. However, whilst he's at the club - and guaranteed to start every game - it's good for him to be confident, and hopefully this goal will kick-start his season.

The end of a terrible run of results

Six defeats and three draws in the previous eleven games prior to Everton was a horrific run by anyone's standards. It was important to arrest the slump, and somehow, Liverpool managed to do this.

Clean sheet

A clean sheet is always good! No matter how it was achieved, not conceding goals can only ever be a positive thing.

Good luck instead of bad


Rightly or wrongly, decisions and luck went Liverpool's way during the game. Offsides came at the right time; goals were correctly disallowed; certain goals were avoided as a result of poor Everton finishing, and nothing contentious went against the team.

No new injuries

This season has been horrendous for injuries. Indeed, in Liverpool's last league game, two players went off injured in the first 20 minutes. Given what's happened so far on the injury front, no new problems is a major blessing.

Played badly but still won

The mark of champions...though realistically, in Liverpool's case, it's the mark of a struggling team finally getting some good luck. Winning is always great, but winning when you've played badly is always a bonus.

Reina made some fantastic saves

Liverpool's keeper proved once again that he is one of the best keepers in Europe, especially with the double save from Cahill and Fellaini in the second half.

One step closer to having a fully fit squad

Agger, Gerrard, Aurelio, Johnson, Benayoun and Riera all played some part in the game, which will be great for their fitness levels, which in turn will have a positive knock-on effect on the strength of Liverpool's squad.

The BAD

Overly defensive line-up

Benayoun, Riera and Aquilani were all ignored in favour of Fabio Aurelio and Lucas Leiva. A more progressive approach would have seen Aquilani in place of Lucas and Benayoun in for Aurelio.

It's not a case of injures or match-fitness - Aurelio, Johnson, Gerrard and Agger have all had injuries but they still played. The difference is, three of those four play defensive roles in the team, thus Benitez is more likely to play them.

Benitez's line-up was typically cautious, and Liverpool nearly paid the price. To me, Benitez's objective was simple: Keep it tight and compact (i.e. defensive - play not to lose), and if the team can get a goal, hang onto it. If the team starts to struggle/loses a goal, then bring in the attacking reinforcements.

How refreshing would it be to have a manager who played the most attacking line-up available every time? A manager who believed that the best form of defence was attack?

Why couldn't we start with Benayoun and/or Aquilani/Riera and then just go for it from the first minute. Then, replace those players if/when they got tired? Why does it have to be safety first?

Regularly overrun in midfield

Lucas and Mascherano were swamped in midfield and try as they might, they could not win the battle. There were several instances where Everton players stormed through the centre of the pitch unchallenged, which could have been fatal had Everton been more incisive with their final ball.

Individually, Lucas and Masch are good players, but they are far too similar to be an effective partnership in the long-term. Neither player has a great range of passing; neither is particular positive or direct with their play; both spend most of their time defending, and neither offers anything consistently in an attacking sense.

Ineffective performance from Steven Gerrard

A very poor performance from Liverpool's captain. Did not influence the play in any consistent way and was on the periphery for much of the game. Having said that, he is still recovering from injury, and as he gets fitter, I'm sure we'll see a big improvement.

Benitez still persisting with Gerrard in the hole

Part of the reason that Gerrard was so anonymous was Benitez's continued preference for playing him in the hole. Given the fact Everton played with 5 midfielders (!), Gerrard was always going to be isolated because Kuyt and Aurelio inevitably got sucked in to help Lucas and Masch. That Left Gerrard and Ngog alone upfront, isolated and largely ineffective.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: Gerrard in the hole is no longer a viable option for Liverpool. It worked for a while when Gerrard and Torres were in tandem, but most defences have now cottoned onto this tactical approach, which means its impact can easily be nullified.

With Aquilani (allegedly) being introduced into the team, a new approach is required. I have looked at the various possibilities here --->>

Benitez did not react quickly enough with subs

The ball retention problem was obvious for most of the game but it wasn't until the 75th minute that Benitez decided to do something about it. Ngog - who was guilty of repeatedly wasting possession - was removed, and Benayoun - a master at keeping possession - was introduced.

If Everton had taken their chances, it would've been too late. Giving the ball away cheaply was one of the main reasons Liverpool were constantly under pressure.

The UGLY

Inability to keep the ball

The team's ball retention was atrocious. I lost count of the number of times the ball was given away/hoofed aimlessly upfield. Aurelio, Ngog and Kuyt were the worst offenders in this respect, but no one in the team really put their foot on the ball and calmed things down.

All the players with the ability to actually keep the ball were on the bench, i.e. Aquilani, Benayoun and Riera, with the latter two players showing their ball retention skills when they came on late in the game.

Ball retention is clearly one of the key areas in which Liverpool miss Xabi Alonso

Alberto Aquilani did not play. Again

Almost 4 months after his signing, Aquilani continues to warm the bench. What is the point of having such a quality player if he never plays?! It really is ridiculously frustrating. The premiership is a physical league, but Benitez knew this before he signed Aquilani! Keeping him on the bench to prevent him getting injured just makes a further mockery of what was already an (arguably) ill-advised signing.

Liverpool play Blackburn next, another notoriously physical side. Will Aquilani stay on the bench again just because the physical contest is likely to be intense?!

Defence still making mistakes

Liverpool may have escaped with a clean sheet but there was quite a bit of suspect defending from the team. In previous games, poor defending has been punished, but luckily, a combination of good luck and bad finishing from Everton conspired to prevent the defensive lapses from being fatal.

The team may not get so lucky against other teams with superior finishing. On the plus side, the more Carra and Agger play together, the better their understanding and solidity will (hopefully) become.

VERDICT

It's great to win, especially against Everton, but the victory should not mask the fact that Liverpool struggled for most of the game. Clearly, there are still major problems that need to be addressed, and until they are, talk of 'turning points' is premature. The team needs to beat Blackburn next week, or this victory will have been for nothing.

Jaimie Kanwar
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46 comments:

  1. <span>"Benayoun, Riera and Aquilani were all ignored in favour of Fabio Aurelio and Lucas Leiva. A more progressive approach would have seen Aquilani in place of Lucas and Benayoun in for Aurelio.

    It's not a case of injures or match-fitness - Aurelio, Johnson, Gerrard and Agger have all had injuries but they still played."</span>

    Ok. We had 4 starting recovering players. It's a lot. But not enough for you. You would like to have 3 more (efectively 2 more as you would probably swap Aurelio and one of the benchers) as the starters...

    It is more likely that an recovering player will get injured - and there are just three substitutions allowed...

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  2. Jaimie, the more i read you the more i think you make a lot of sense. For a while i really thought you just were another so called "fan" that kept taking swipes at the team for the sake of getting hits to you site.
    But I guess it's just "critical realism" 
    Keep it up and don't forget.... 
    YNWA

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  3. Totally agree Jamie !
    Rafa said the other day, on playing Aquilani.  "If it is 1-0 like it was the other day and they are attacking a bit more and you changed Lucas, Gerrard or Mascherano to play him, maybe you are making a mistake because you will lose the control.

    "If we were winning 3-0 in the first half of every game he would be playing because it would be easier for him to settle down.


    Gerrard did nothing during the whole match ! Was rafa the only one not to see that ?

    He continued: "The derby game is a physical one and everyone knows that when you are not fully fit they can be difficult to manage so you have to think about what’s best for the player and the best for the team

    "What's best for the team", "Not fully fit",  is Gerrard, Orelio, Johnson, Benayoun fully fit?  He's not even giving the lad playing time, how does he expect he will be fit?  Exact same thing with babel, Rafa is all about giving interviews of how great aquilani is, how important babel is, how this , how that.
    What was the cost of bringing Aquilani on today?  Him playing worst than Gerrard? If that would have been the case, then why did we buy him ? Cause let's be honest, Gerrard's performance was near to zero today. You could see clearly gerrard was not fit.   Rafa keeps on <span><span>contradicting himself !</span></span>
    <span><span>If Rafa does not start Aquilani for the Fiorentina match, then definitely we should look for another manager next season. 

    You should write an article on that. "The Self Contradicting Rafael Benitez."
    </span></span><span><span> 
    </span></span>

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  4. Hi Hayth - thanks for the comments. I'm glad you can see that it's not about taking swipes at the team but being honest.

    I don't do this for hits - if I did, i would have advertising on the site, which I don't.  Without advertising, what incentive is there for me to just get more hits?  I like reading the views of other fans, and I like writing about the club.  It's as simple as that.

    Cheers, JK

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  5. May I just point out that Kuyt played 15 minutes against Debrecen as a striker, rendering your expeditious argument about him making negligible creative impact as a right winger false. He can be equally ineffectual as a striker.

    Having said that, whether as a right-midfielder or as the frontman, Kuyt regularly gets into positions to poach goals like the one scored today. The fact that he hasn't done that as much this season can perhaps be attributed to lackluster team performances as a whole, rather than Kuyt's personal limitations.

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  6. Although I disagree with pretty much everything you say Jaimie this is your best article to date. But to sum up my sentiments on any competition a Wins a Win no matter how ugly. 

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  7. one of the few bads and certainly one of the definite uglys about liverpool is stupid blogs like this

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  8. jamie, can u stop making up new pseudonyms and praise your own self. 

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  9. I agree as well, going very defensive from the off gives us a sense that we were looking for a draw, or just playing not to lose.
    It's very frustrating to keep the ball and do nothing with it, just waiting and see what happens.
    As you previously mentioned Jamie, Blackburn being a physical team, I guess we won't be seeing Aquilani again, although this would be an excellent place for him to start. All we can do is hope that all this would be worth the wait.
    Now that I'm thinking about it, the premier league being the most physical league out there, and Rafa's fear of playing Aquilani to soon and avoiding the physical teams etc, Does this mean that were not going to see Aquilani ever.?.?

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  10. "offsides came at the right time" to quote you an offside is a offside, and they were offside by yards is because the defence was playing as a unit, as for a more attacking side I think Rafa got it spot on, this was a Meseyside derby something which we Scousers know a litle more about than a Scotsman who seems to spend his life on the end of is mouse, the substitions worked a dream and were timed to perfection with both Benny and Riera not able to play the 90 rafa used them for impact late in the game, tacticaly spot on. 

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  11. Jaime i get what your trying to say with the defensive formation, but think about it this way.  We all KNOW that benayoun, reira and aquilani are coming back from injuries and certainly are not match fit.  Lets say that hypothetically they are fit enough to get 30-45 mins out of them.

    So we start with todays team but Aquilani replaces Lucas, Reira replacing Aurelio and Yossi replacing Ngog (Kuyt upfront, Yossi on the right).  Lets say in this hypothetical situation that we dominate the game, play really well but are being held or are 1-0 down at half time...the players come into the dressing room and the 3 players that have just come back are so knackered they cant continue...Rafa therefore is FORCED to substitute them, who do we bring on? El Zhar? Ngog? By doing this we are effectively surrendering the game by taking off three of our best attacking players when we are drawing or losing...

    If Rafa had started with the team you suggested he had absolutely no way to change the game if it wasnt going our way...now there is always the possibility that we would have dominated and been 3-0 by half time, and that would have been great, but its not a risk worth taking as it could so easily have backfired

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  12. Aquilani is still too frail to play in a physical game, yet N'gog was chosen to lead the line. Baffling

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  13. Jamie, thanks for your post. You do look at all this the wrong way round though. It's very pessemistic and can't be good for your health. The Ugly section was just an extension of your Bad part... tht's really negative mate. Be happy :)

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  14. though I do not often agree with your views, I share your frustration as Aquilani is concerned..The last 4 matches its been claimed he was to play a part and was disgracefully introduced on 90 minutes against Debrecen. I feel that honesty has to prevail here, if our £20mln player was injured by the stress of recovering from an injury, the club needs to let fans know rather than name him in the squad knowing fully well he was not going to play. it was theorised he would be back in October and by December he would only have played 15 minutes. If he was fit to play 15 minutes against Arsenal almost a month ago, what is the ho;d up? I am not  trying to bad vibe a win because I am happy with the 3 points but rather pissed by the Aquilani no show. Anyone who knows better please advise why this is

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  15. I had to have an ugly part as I was using the title of the film 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  I had no choice ;)

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  16. on Aquilani: is it just me or does Rafa's justification,"if we were winning 3-0 in the first half.." make no sense at all?!
    1) let's face it, with the attacking options we have, we'll never be winning 3-0; let alone at half-time.
    2) Aquilani IS the sort of player who's supposed to help us win 3-0, or at least that's what Rafa claimed (he's very clever with final passes etc)
    so, by logical deduction, Aquilani will NEVER get to play! 

    i still can't get over how some people rave about Lucas. yes, he is better; but only because he was rubbish before! he passes the ball better (mostly without gaining any useful ground) and tackles better (in comparison with the bumbling mess he was before). today, was it not for Mascherano, he would've been steamrolled by Fellaini!

    It's not a case of position but ABILITY: Xavi is a holding, creative central midfielder but he makes Lucas look like a schoolboy not even worthy of a place in the reserves. Iniesta can tackle better than Lucas. okay those weren't fair comparisons but you get the point.

    So yes Jaimie, Rafa makes me chew my fingers in frustration for Lucas, late substitutions and illogical protection of Aquilani. 

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  17. you're trying to make a name as a sensationalist journalist. it's called a long con and it's truly transparent. besides, the amount of keywords you insist on using in your titles means you are in this for the hits.

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  18. yeah, that makes sense.  Tell me, what do I have to gain from being 'in this for the hits'?  There is no advertising on this site; I fund it myself, which means the more visitors the site receives, the more bandwidth used, which means it costs me more money.  No, your argument makes no sense.

    I am in this first and foremost because I love LFC and enjoy writing about it and reading the views of other fans.

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  19. Jaime, You want a manager who always plays the most attacking line up? Someone like Kevin Kegan yeah? Good luck with that.

    I think Benitez was right not to play Aquilani today. Sure, we all want to see him in actin but a derby that we weren't in control of is not the right time. I expect him to get a good run out against Fiorentina.

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  20. ask benites to find replacement for dirk kunyit in january window..

    he was so fu****g careless on the pitch..

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  21. U got some points there, but i dnt agree with some. It wasnt the best attacking line up but still we managed to win the game. Everton were playing home and i thought may be Yosi could have started. As for Aquilani i dnt think it would have been good to start him but as you said Stivie had an offday and should have been replaced by Aquilani. Dirk is a good player and he works hard, but the problem with this season the the whole team is nt playin well and for a player like dirk it is difficult to raise his game and get on the end of crosses and second balls when the team is playin bad, cos i dnt belive he have enough individual qulities. But he always manages to score goals like that and he is a great player to have. Ngog is a great prospect though right now he can only last 60 mins maximum. As fas as the deffence it was the best diffensive display of the season. I think Carra is gettin to his very best and Agger is improving as well and johnson doing his bit too, but i have my doubts about insua. We saw Bains and how good he was, Insua isnt close to that level yet. But if we can play the same diffence for a couple of games without having to change it would be great and we would have more cleensheets like this. Lets see Aquilani plays next week, if he doesnt i think we should question about Rafa.

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  22. <span>Dear Jamie, I think you'd agree that most managers subscribe to the philosophy of easing in new players/players returning from injury, delete as appropriate, or not as in this case he fits both criteria. I would just love to have seen your comments had Aquilani been scythed down through his newly-healed ankle and out for the rest of the season. The game was still there for the winning, if we'd been 2-0 up at half time, you could bet on Aquilani getting the rest of the game and then starting the following one. Who have you managed again? Exactly. The only thing you manage is rubbing people up the wrong way on a regular basis, your raison d'etre as it were.ps Mark Hughes went with his most attacking lineup this weekend, did you notice anything? Very good, it's about balance<span></span></span>

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  23. It is a little bit bizaar that most of the correpondants on this forum don't appreciate the recent historical nature of the Derby, inasmuch as Everton's sole intent is to kick Liverpool off the park. Not the right environment to introduce a new player to the team, Aquilani would have been well and truely targeted by the Dogs of War.
    I agree that we were pretty poor, but this was more due to Gerrard having another bad game (in fact when has he played well this season? is he trying to get rid of the manager like he did with Houllier?) I think that Rafa's tactics were spot on, but the players weren't up to it

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  24. "I've said it once and I'll say it again: Gerrard in the hole is no longer a viable option for Liverpool. It worked for a while when Gerrard and Torres were in tandem, but most defences have now cottoned onto this tactical approach, which means its impact can easily be nullified."

    Sorry Jaimie but this is a terrible assumption. Gerrard & Torres have started very few games together this season but when they have they've been excellent, there's no denying Gerrard's recent form has been poor but anyone with an eyeball can see he's not 100%.

    Gerrard & Torres in partnership have amassed 5 assists and 11 goals in just 7 matches (EPL) this season, how in the World can you say their impact is easily nullified?!

    Sorry Jaimie, you're way off the mark here, I think your hatred of Benitez is SERIOUSLY clouding your judgement.

    With Gerrard playing in the hole over the last two seasons alone his statistics are as follows (FULL season - 2007/08, 2008/09):

    Games: 97
    Goals: 45
    Assists: 30

    Considering teams have cottoned on to this tactic they still appear to be allowing him to score and contribute quite freely!

    Since Benitez took charge and changed Gerrard's position from CM, Gerrard has scored 83 goals and 51 assists in 214 appearances. Again, if teams are wise to this tactic they've not done a very good job of stopping him!

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  25. "I've said it once and I'll say it again: Gerrard in the hole is no longer a viable option for Liverpool. It worked for a while when Gerrard and Torres were in tandem, but most defences have now cottoned onto this tactical approach, which means its impact can easily be nullified."

    Sorry Jaimie but this is a terrible assumption. Gerrard & Torres have started very few games together this season but when they have they've been excellent, there's no denying Gerrard's recent form has been poor but anyone with an eyeball can see he's not 100%.

    Gerrard & Torres in partnership have amassed 5 assists and 11 goals in just 7 matches (EPL) this season, how in the World can you say their impact is easily nullified?!

    Sorry Jaimie, you're way off the mark here, I think your hatred of Benitez is SERIOUSLY clouding your judgement.

    With Gerrard playing in the hole over the last two seasons alone his statistics are as follows (FULL season - 2007/08, 2008/09):

    Games: 97
    Goals: 45
    Assists: 30

    Considering teams have cottoned on to this tactic they still appear to be allowing him to score and contribute quite freely!

    Since Benitez took charge and changed Gerrard's position from CM, Gerrard has scored 83 goals and 51 assists in 214 appearances. Again, if teams are wise to this tactic they've not done a very good job of stopping him!

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  26. If Aquilani had been scythed down and got injured again then that's mlife.  I wouldn't have said anything about that; it's part and parcel of the game. And tha particular point has no real validity as that could happen to him anytime he plays.  What is Benitez going to do - leave him on the bench indefinitely just in case he might get injured again?!

    And Damo - please stick to arguing the points and leave out the snide asides.  I've edited them out but in future I'll just delee your posts alltogether.

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  27. Of course you think Benitez was right not to play Aquilani.  If he doesn't start a game for the rest of the season youll still defend enitez and say he was right.

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  28. For me the bad and ugly is still Kuyt. He's simply not good enough, okay he got a goal but with him in the side, and others that aren't good enough, there's simply nothing going forward.

    Look at his goal - pumped forward relatively aimlessly, dreadful header down by Kuyt which was only made good by a. Yobo being unable to clear it and b. Gerrard making something out of nothing. He doesn't warrant a place in that side - I'd sooner see Riera and Benayoun on the wings, Aquilani and Mach in the middle with Gerrard in the hole. Obviously that'd mean Johnson having to be more defensive, but Benayoun is better than him going forward anyway so I'm happy with that trade-off.

    Alas, this goal just cements his place in the side for the remainder of the season, and another dreadful performance clearly highlighting why Benitez should go is masked. Everton should have won that game without question, but we got lucky. The torment continues!

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  29. You hit the nail on the head about Gerrard in the hole there Guest. But I think only when Torres in playing myself I think he should be there in my opinion.

    He was on the fringes of the game for the most part yesterday until Yossi came on and Dirk pushed further up it allowed Gerrard to be effective as we seen with the clinching goal. Albeit a mistake from Yobo/Distin.

    I think why we played defensively as pointed out by Lawrenson last night we needed to consildate the 0-0 and take it from there considering:

    (a) our awful form and low confidence
    (b) the lack of fitness of some players coming back from injury, Yossi, Riera etc...

    The season has a long way to go, in my opinion Chelsea are going to walk this League espeically if United drop any points over the coming weeks. Our priority is to take it game by game and build on yesterday.

    In regards to Aquilani, it was better not to introduce him into the fray yesterday. But Rafa needs to bed him in over the course of the 4 weeks as between now and the end of January will make or break our season.

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  30. I agree Alan, but as you'll no doubt agree he looked short on fitness and wasn't his normal dynamic self. He looked slugish to be honest, but his mere presence on the pitch is enough to worry any side as he's capable of moments of genius even if not 100%.

    I think Benitez started with the right team and Insua/Aurelio did their best to keep Pienaar quiet who for me was there most creative player, I would have liked to have seen Benayoun and Riera on sooner but securing the win was more important.

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  31. Benitez has already explained his reasons for leaving Aquilani out of the game Jaimie, I find his reasons entirely feasible to be honest.

    A "must not lose" game when we are 1-0 up away from home is not the ideal time to introduce a recently recovered player, given that we'd have to sacrifice a more defensive and combative player to accomodate him.

    I do believe we'll see Aquilani at Blackburn.

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  32. Ehhh? Being in the web usability business all I can tell from JK is that he writes his titles in plain English which easily readable and therefore search engine friendly.

    A lot of 'news' sites could learn a lot from this site about how to structure your content and write-well....anyway gone a bit off topic ;)

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  33. "Gerrard did nothing in the whole match"

    apart from doing brilliantly to get the ball back to riera to shoot for kuyt's goal.

    did you even watch the match?

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  34. hopefully if yoshi and riera can play as well as they can and stay fit well then kuyt can be used as a back up to gerrard and torres... he gives the ball away too much and never gets a proper contact on the ball for the final pass or killer strike on goal. i love his dedication and always cheer him on.. but he is having a poor season and needs to be rested  from his midfield role

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  35. Jamie that's not fair.  i didn't post the last point but i agree that the time has not been right to introduce Aquilani to date.  the team has not been performing well at all and Rafa clearly ahs concerns over his general fitness.  okay, i accept he needs games to get this fitness, but at a time when Liverpool are struggling so badly, replacing 1 of our 2 most consistant performers in Macherano or Lucas would not have been logical.  we have conceede an absurd amount of goal;s and that has been witht he 2 holging players, so i can see his reluctance.  There is no way we would have wanted him to play on that pitch in Hungarym and the hustle and bustle of a merseyside derby is also not ideal for a first start.

    Trust me, i wnat to see him as much an anyone and had we been on good form recently, i think we would have done.  However, i expect to see him start againt Fiorentina and hopefully go from there

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  36. Why should he play Aqualini? does he have a divine right to play?


    The man has been out since March he cost 20 million, Roma rushed him back with 2 other injuries, RB has said from the start he will play when he is ready, and while he is sat on the bench he is watching and learning what the prem lleague is all about, and if he had played yesterday the blue noses would of kicked him from pillar to post.......

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  37. Thats life!!!!!!!!!!! *DONT_KNOW*  so if who had 20 million pounds of assets you would let someone abuse it?  UNBELIEVABLE comment

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  38. well, we cant judge players on 1 game only. but in my opinion, kuyt will do better on a more central role like a 2nd striker. he cant be a winger. no pace, average crossing, clearly not as creative as we expect for a winger. he scored more goals in the past as a striker. that's why liv bought him in the 1st place. at least play him in his natural positions.

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  39. hope he will not flop & then being sold after 1 or 2 seasons. but i think he could do well. he is a kind of player rafa will buy. so he will fit into rafa's system. i just dont understand why he's still on the bench. okay, not fit enuf, but give him more minutes. how many 'seconds' he played during debrecen's game?

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  40. yeah, the way he scored that goal was shocking wasn't it?

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  41. And notorious sicknote Aurelio was picked too. And Benny and Riera have just had hammys and are on the bench too.

    Gee, Aqua, must be well flattered by this cotton wool he's been wrapped in lol

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  42. Yeh i think that was pre-determined about a month ago.

    Which just about sums up Rafa.

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  43. LMAO - Oh right great he is "watching and learning"..Oh well that's ok then might as well bench him all season so he can "watch and learn" eh..

    So no other teams will kick him either, just Everton? Hmm we'll see..

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  44. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this point jamie...

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