Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has taken time out from his constant FSG bashing to write off 10m striker Fabio Borini.
Ever since the club let Andy Carroll go, Lawro's vitriol toward's FSG has grown exponentially, and in his latest column for The Mirror, he:
* Labels the group 'nuts' for letting Carroll go without a replacement.
* Blasts FSG's 'ridiculous' decision not to spend money on Clint Dempsey.
* Dismisses their open letter to the fans as 'a load of bull'.
Whether you you agree or disagree, you have to admire Lawro for speaking his mind (!) He doesn't moderate his views just to appease people, and that's most definitely a good thing.
Lawro's views on Borini, however, seem a little harsh, especially considering the Italian has played only 3.5 league games for the club so far. He observed:
"The man who had arrived to lighten the load on Luis Suarez is Fabio Borini, but the trouble is he looks like he just hasn't got it at all. He might look the part if they persevere with him as a central striker, but at the moment it doesn't look like he is up to it. You have to ask why didn't Roma buy him where he was on loan?"
Lawro is not the only former player who feels this way. Last week, John Aldridge argued that Borini should be dropped to the bench, and Ian St. John also believes the 23 year old is not doing enough to justify his place in the team. He told LFC TV:
"Borini's got to do more; I haven't seen much of him at all. He should be backing up Suarez and getting into the box. He's not imposing on games, and we need to see more of him".e
For me, its way to early to be throwing Borini under the bus. It's a cliche, but he needs time to settle, and it's clearly not reasonable to judge him so negatively after only three and half league games .
The biggest issue is that Borini has been played out of position in almost every game. He finally played centrally for a while against Sunderland, but despite getting into good goalscoring positions and forcing saves, Rodgers reverted to playing Suarez centrally in the second half, and then subbed Borini off in the 64th minute.
During his loan spell at Swansea, Rodgers often played Borini through the middle, and the striker rewarded him with 6 goals and 3 assists in 12 appearances. Why not give him the same chances at Anfield?
I feel confident hat if Borini gets a run of games in the centre, he will score goals, but it has to be a consistent run, i.e. 4,5 consecutive 90-minute games playing centrally, not just 45 minutes every now and again.
Jaimie Kanwar
Ever since the club let Andy Carroll go, Lawro's vitriol toward's FSG has grown exponentially, and in his latest column for The Mirror, he:
* Labels the group 'nuts' for letting Carroll go without a replacement.
* Blasts FSG's 'ridiculous' decision not to spend money on Clint Dempsey.
* Dismisses their open letter to the fans as 'a load of bull'.
Whether you you agree or disagree, you have to admire Lawro for speaking his mind (!) He doesn't moderate his views just to appease people, and that's most definitely a good thing.
Lawro's views on Borini, however, seem a little harsh, especially considering the Italian has played only 3.5 league games for the club so far. He observed:
"The man who had arrived to lighten the load on Luis Suarez is Fabio Borini, but the trouble is he looks like he just hasn't got it at all. He might look the part if they persevere with him as a central striker, but at the moment it doesn't look like he is up to it. You have to ask why didn't Roma buy him where he was on loan?"
Lawro is not the only former player who feels this way. Last week, John Aldridge argued that Borini should be dropped to the bench, and Ian St. John also believes the 23 year old is not doing enough to justify his place in the team. He told LFC TV:
"Borini's got to do more; I haven't seen much of him at all. He should be backing up Suarez and getting into the box. He's not imposing on games, and we need to see more of him".e
For me, its way to early to be throwing Borini under the bus. It's a cliche, but he needs time to settle, and it's clearly not reasonable to judge him so negatively after only three and half league games .
The biggest issue is that Borini has been played out of position in almost every game. He finally played centrally for a while against Sunderland, but despite getting into good goalscoring positions and forcing saves, Rodgers reverted to playing Suarez centrally in the second half, and then subbed Borini off in the 64th minute.
During his loan spell at Swansea, Rodgers often played Borini through the middle, and the striker rewarded him with 6 goals and 3 assists in 12 appearances. Why not give him the same chances at Anfield?
I feel confident hat if Borini gets a run of games in the centre, he will score goals, but it has to be a consistent run, i.e. 4,5 consecutive 90-minute games playing centrally, not just 45 minutes every now and again.
Jaimie Kanwar
Id have the old style .. id rather win with havin 2% possesion than to lose having 80%
ReplyDeleteborini is 21 years old, and roma dit excaly buy him and then soolld him too Liverpool FC and i think we should giv him a time too shine...
ReplyDeleteFar too early. Granted, he hasn't perhaps been the free-scoring superstar we hoped he'd be, but he's only a kid with very little experience. It's far too much to have expected us to somehow have unearthed a goalscoring gem for 10 million, and to have nabbed him from the clutches of better clubs.
ReplyDeleteBasically, if Borini had scored from one of his chances on saturday, then none of this is said.
I watched that St John interview too. He said that Borini was anonymous towards the end of the game. That might have had a lot to do with Borini being substituted with half an hour left to play.
The point is - these 'experts' are getting all their information from each other. It's boring, it's lazy, and it could be a dangerous thing. It's one thing to hear people who hate LFC having a dig at our players. It's quite another to hear ex-LFC 'legends' having a pop.
Although, it's fair to say that Lawrenson has an agenda because his mate Dalglish was ousted, and St John is bordering on senility.
Have put on my shin guards again as I started kicking the new furniture. My wife has called in the guys to put new cables in the spare room so that I don't cause anymore damage. They will be around on Thursday morning. True!
ReplyDeleteI have been warned of taking the game too serious. All that possession and no goals, and whats even more frustrating the ball played back into lfc half instead of attacking football.
Give the guy a chance! Some players are offloaded way to early!Also give managers a chance!LFC is under intense scrutiny from all media outlets and the negatives are highlighted to the full,it pees me right off.
ReplyDeleteHow can you write a player off after three games. Borini will be a class player. Spearing had three years. Carrol a year and a half. He's twenty one. He will deliver.
ReplyDeletethought he was ok against sunderland but he has tended to drift out of games after a good start.he looks better suited as a central striker than out wide.
ReplyDeleteit's a bit early to be writing him off, i hope he scores soon otherwise his confidence will go.
u know what i would like to know where were all these critics when Kenny was in charge
ReplyDeleteBordering? I think that ship has sailed!
ReplyDeleteSent from Samsung Galaxy Note
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Subject: [liverpoolkop] Re: 'He's not up to it! - Lawro claims LFC attacker is failing at Anfield. Agree...? | Liverpool-Kop.com
he is just 3-4 games old...andy was give one full season...why not give him time atleast till jan...he works hard,gets in good positions..only thing lacking is goals...hope he scores against young boys...heard that yesil will make his debut...hope he does well...
ReplyDeleteBorini seems to me like the player who is getting mostly into goal-scoring positions. His shots are normally on target as well. When you are getting into goal scoring positions and hitting them on target, chances are you will score.
ReplyDeleteOur biggest problem regarding our lack of goals scored is that we have a very [low shots on target to total shots taken] ratio. If you look at the sides which score most goals, that ratio is very high. If you look at this statistic of players who score a lot of goals (RVP, Demspey..) you will immediately notice how much this ratio is important when scoring converting chances into goals. RVP rarely places the ball nowadays, he just sticks it anywhere in between the net and it goes in. Dempsey does similarly.
I was reading an article on how Dempsey increased his goals drastically (it was on an LFC fan site for sure, just cannot remember which one) and the two biggest factors in his goal yield increase are that he shot less from far away and his shot on target percentage went up from *23% to round about 64%. Even when he shot from a distance, about 52% of those shots were on target. (*The percentages I am mentioning are rough estimates, I cannot remember them precisely from a month ago)
Considering these figures, Borini is actually one of our most dangerous players if he is played in a central forward position. Lawrenson's and Aldridge's criticism has a little bit of merit when they mention that he is not imposing himself on games, but when their arguments lack form of qualitative statistical evidence. Top strikers normally require a certain system to perform optimally (take a look at what happened to these players: Carroll at LFC, Torres at Chelsea, Messi with Argentina) and it is fair to argue that right now, Borini is not being played in his optimal position, yet he is the player most likely to score because most of his shots are on target.
Ha!
ReplyDeleteIts a habit managers at Liverpool seem to get into playing players out of their best position because they can do a job there. Im not going to judge him yet, its not as if hes been playing badly and the rest of the team has been amazing.
ReplyDeleteLike you argument jk. When hes played in the centre he may not score. But, hes getting into goal scoring positions. Thats what counts. If he wasnt then they may have a point. I remember Owen going through barren spells. Managers say what ive posted. If he keeps getting in those positions the goals will come.
ReplyDeleteHe played centrally against Sunderland for the most part, and I think he looked better, he was unlucky not to get a goal. He chased loose balls, and gambled on things, 1 of which nearly paid off (the poor header back to the keeper). People take time to settle, and lets not forget the rest of the team are still adapting to the new style as well, so not everyone is ticking over properly yet.
ReplyDeleteYou have just concluded the case for the opposition. You can give Spearing and Carroll five seasons each and they would still remain average at best. The same applies to Borini. Three and a half games or three and a half seasons, Borini would still be mediocre then as he is now.
ReplyDeletePeople go on about Carroll, yet we have a better player in the reserves, Michael Ngoo is his name. This lad is bigger than Carroll, quicker, tricky and scores goals, need i say more. Borini will come good but he is still a baby yet, give the lad time to get going. Yesil, Suso, Teixeira, Coady, Wisdom, Sama etc are the future of LFC, forget Carroll as he is history!!!
ReplyDeletethats seems to be the way at liverpool. buy players change their position.
ReplyDeleteBorini definitely needs time to settle down at Liverpool but still he needs to earn those minutes on the pitch whereas his performances hasn't deserved those automatic starts he's getting so far. Even when he settles down i don't think he would make much difference because he looks like an average talent and if Liverpool want to compete for the top honours in the future then i don't think Borini will be answer as he isn't that good.
ReplyDeleteI'm confident he'll come good on the basis that he's hungry , works hard , and most of all has skill. He could be your favourite player by Jan.
ReplyDeletehe wins the ball in the oppostion half and he does seem to come alive in the box. with time and played up the middle with suarez and sterling i think goals will come. at least he can keep up with the play last season suarez put countless balls across the 6 yard box and carroll would be in the d. is assadi fit? would like to see him and yesil on thursday. coates should defo get a run aggar and skrtyl not looking too hot at the minute.
ReplyDeleteborini needs to improve his match fitness in all the games so far this season his performances have detereated as the games gone on personally i dont think he will make it at anfield but goodluck to him and i hope he proves me wrong.....looks like the new comments system his hear to stay
ReplyDeleteTo be frank, I'm not happy at all with the results in the league so far but I'm excited about the future of LFC. The reason is the pack of bright youngsters we are having right now, Raheem, Jonjo, Samed Yesil, Suso and Sebastian Coates etc. Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin, Oussama Assaidi and Luis Suarez are not that old either. Though we have yet to witness the abilities of some in the league. Borini can be in this pack of players too, he's only 21 this year, though he already has a few EPL games under his belt before coming to LFC. It may be a blessing in disguise for LFC after we failed to bring in established forwards for the season. Some youngsters may turn out to be genius in the making, but we do need more patience and play them in games as and when we can.
ReplyDeletePeople, please have faith in our manager and team! Hope we can hammer Man Utd in the coming league game for our first 3 point game. Cool!
YNWA
Old system was better !!!
ReplyDeleteIs Borini better, same as or worse than Andy Carroll. IMO worse. Big Andy is a much better player.
Rodgers should have used his famous coaching ability to ensure that Carroll could improve and fit in with his new system (which looks remarkably like the old system with a few more passes and no penetration)
If we buy players to replace players they should at least be as good as the player they are replacing better if possible. Borini is not better than Carroll.
This is not just a Rodgers problem, time after time we replace good players with worse players. look at Riise we replaced him with Dossena. We have never had a decent left back since. (Robinson could be)
He is Italian. Says it all really., LFC and Italians match made in hell.
ReplyDeleteGive the lad time. He is adapting to a new environment and new players.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to note that he is opening up well, that is a genuine threat for goals.
He will be a prolific goal poacher. When he clicks with Suarez, we will see the goals coming
lawrenson doesn't know much yet when he talks he has that smug look about him. Roma co owned him and bought the other 50% this summer and we bought him from Roma. Yet he says why didn't Roma sign him where he was on loan. He mostly talks rubbish along with most other pundits I'd rather have a football convo with my mates in the pub than listen to the dross on match of the day
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Henderson - Played out of position, it must be difficult to start firing. I think more time in the middle will allow Borini to justify his worth to the team, Henderson got some games in central midfield and looked better in my opinion. But now Henderson is being snubbed.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people and Jamie gave KK's signings about a season to justify there worth, how much time you gonna give Borini? Critical thing here is we need goals.
Agree with those that say it is too early, in relation to Borini, and the need for the time for the lad. Definitely fared better centrally for Roma in the few games I saw. Maybe he is finding it a wee bit difficult getting into the game from the position he is playing in, (whereas Suarez is more accustomed to such a role from his Ajax days, so one can understand why some want them two to swap roles) but it really is very early days as this is a new system for the team in general. This is going to be a long ride, a bumpy one at that, for all at this new chapter under Rodgers, just hope we have the patience for the ride.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, that part of our game has been lacking for a while, the backing up in the box. Too many times the support act do not get in the box. Maxi aside, it has generally been poor for a long time that part of our game.
Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteLook you have to ask you 2 questions if Brendan Rogers was that good would Chelsea have let him go? and Has Tiki Taka Just been invented? NO and NO
ReplyDeleteThe reason Spain/ Barcelona dominate is they have over a Billion Euros worth of talent not a one size fits all Playing style called Tiki Taka.
The ball must go forward at all cost and the ball has to be chased down if not for the chaser to get it but to let one of his team mates take the ball back and then kick the dam ball up the pitch into space, then your striker runs his backside off to win the ball before the goalie takes it!
Forget Tiki Taka just because the spanish like tappas doesnt me we have to replace our National Dish!!!
YNWA
Some say Chicken Tikka Masala is one of UK's national dishes, a dish that is inspired by foreign shores. Not that bad to learn from others and using what is learnt.
ReplyDeleteI have been saying since day 1 that Borini is crap, now all these legends are agreeing with me, 11m spent on that, what a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteEveryone here saying to give Borini a central role are right. Suarez should play where sterling currently is as he can get all the "hard to score" goals rather than the easy goals which come to the central attacker. If Brendan Rodgers plays Yesil Borini sterling against Young boys and rest Suarez then everyone would see how much better Borini plays and with the help of the youngsters. Anyway he's still young players need time to slowly shine. Not all players can play out wide when they are suited to central attacking. If the manager believes in him we should too. At the end of the day he's a Liverpool player so we(as Liverpool supporters) should treat him like one and believe in him too.
ReplyDeletefsg are to blame. borini has good potential. but were missing 2 other decent forwards simple as that. expectations are even higher now we have a pathetic small squad. come january and no signings, i hope it kicks off and fans protest.
ReplyDeleteeach year how its going we will fall into oblivion
sorry but how many clubs has lawro managed
ReplyDeleteOf course we should not have let Carroll go, madness to be left so bare
ReplyDeleteFulham may never have sold to us, maybe Dempsey signing was impossible
Borini of course deserves a good run of games, and he will get it
i feel like ripping my heart apart with with my tv remote when i see borini playing out wide.
ReplyDeletewhen i look through BR's eyes i see liverpool as barca and suarez as messi . but its just not working , suarez's reputation as a diver (than a goal scorer ) has led to countless geniune penalties being lost since last season.we need to put that in consideration and play borini IN THE MIDDLE . Jesus!!
Borini needs to play through the middle or sit on the bench/in the reserves - simple as. He doesn't have the technical ability or speed to be a legitimate quality wide man and we're wasting time persisting with him out there.
ReplyDeleteThis much talked of movement that he supposedly displays is only of use if he is a front man, tasked with just getting in and around the box.
I've always argued that average players that just get by on work rate should be cheap players from our own reserves, rather than big money signings from elsewhere (does Borini really look that much different to Morgan??), but we've already wasted the money on him (imo) so now it's just to hope for the best that Borini's best attributes are all in his head and he is just a skilled goalscorer, rather than the hoped for talented all around footballer.
He's right about FSG though... utter morons..
ReplyDeleteamen. we've been doing this with strikers for far too long.
ReplyDeletewhen it comes to Lawrence and Aldridge, they always have the same attitude. Are they aliens playing dress up?!! Now that Dalglish has left, and Rodgers has come in, I have noticed that I don't keep the high expectations that I used to have watching Liverpool. If Liverpool sign Guardiola or Benitez again, maybe I would go back to expecting top 4, but Liverpool atm are figuring out how to get there, and it is pretty much rocket science for any team that has only 2 out and out strikers in the team competing for places, whilst one is being played out of position. Add to that a depleting Gerrard, and injured Lucas, as well as a 17 year old winger replacing a 20 million pound 27 year old Downing doesn't make it any easier either. Oh, also add that to the fact we sold a lot of players that were once very good first team players (maxi, bellamy, kuyt ) and not replacing them with already seasoned professionals just adds to the misery, which was addressed by the owners through an open letter. Haha. For now, I'm just enjoying each game as it comes as long, and the moment of magic that could happen when Suarez is on the field, or even Sterling now . That Liverpool spirit of challenging the top teams in the premiership week in week out is going, but its not the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteSure, we're really missing the one goal Andy Carrol would have scored us by now...he's out on loan and all of a sudden he was Fernando Torres and scored thirty goals a season?
ReplyDeleteLuv it, he he.
ReplyDeleteBorini has had about 8 or 9 competitive games this season so far, so drop this 3.5 epl games, no smokescreens please. Lets be objective and truthful about the player.
ReplyDeleteIMO he has potential, based on his 8/9 games so far this season. Was that worth £11mill, I doubt it. For example, if Shelvey went tomorrow, would we get £11mill for him, ?. No Way IMO.
I hope Bren is not playing him just because he bought him, it could come back to haunt him. I do hope he fulfills his potential ASAP, but if we could swap him for lets say, Defoe, Sturridge, Dempsey, Bent, I would take it.
Agree with the other points Lawro commented on.
Borini thru the centre. We do not NEED to play him as a wide forward when we have natural better wide forwards in Sterling, Assaidi.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that saying again? If we judge a fish on its ability to climb trees,etc. ?centre forward.
Adam Morgan, Yessil, Ngoo are all better be sharpening their skills right now.
the ex players mentioned all know what a decent forward is so have a right to moan about borini and his inability to impose himself. he has played in England recently under rodgers so settling can not be an excuse. i think it would help him to miss a few games and then it might make him put a bit more effort in
ReplyDeleteif Yesil shines borini will struggle to keep his place
ReplyDeleteWhats so frustrating to me, Brenden Rodgers seems too be playing Borini, Gerrard, and Johnson, out of their best possitions why ? Its cost us i think, in most games. I know its no good moaning about Borini now, but I just couldn`t understand Brenden Rodgers, not going for a more experienced goalscorer like Demba Ba, we could have got him for £3m cheaper with the buy out clause set at £7m, than what we paid for Borini? And i bet you he would have had, two or three goals too his credit by now. Its going to be a hard slog until January, lets hope we have won a couple of games by then.
ReplyDeleteYep, he has played under Rodgers before but before arriving at Liverpool, had he even started a game of PL football? Nope, just a 4 or so sub appearances for Chelsea. So of course, he has a settling in excuse of sorts.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, we are lacking a lot of experience in PL in this squad.
Yep, managers follow your comments like they are the be all and end all, than go on to regurgitate it themselves. Justifies your giant ego if managers do that...
ReplyDeleteThats not what i said. I am repeating what top managers say when players go through a barren spell. Do you pay these antagonistic herberts to post here JK? Getting ridiculous replys like the above is becomming all to familiar.
ReplyDeleteFrom his couch, all of them...
ReplyDeleteno doubt Lawro will be at the Young Boys match
ReplyDeleteSeems that I have been sacked by JK as my comment has been deleted. Ah well, the pay wasn't good that anyway, JK(!) Unintentional hilarious accusation from Gideon the Great about JK paying people to post. Wow, just wow, Gideon the Great himself preaches against juvenile behavior, yet he himself comes out with such juvenile accusations. Doh. You are a bit like Carragher of old, the one who used to be such a prolific own-goal marksman.
ReplyDeleteWhere has he labelled Borini a "Failure"? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteThx for the compliments. :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries. I think 'Gideon the Great' is a great name for someone with such a big ego but isn't so great at all. Has a certain sarcastic comedy value to it, the name.
ReplyDeleteThx again. X
ReplyDeleteThx again.
ReplyDeleteBless but leave your kisses for those who appreciate it and your hypocritical juvenility, such as your beloved Bruno. Though getting the feeling that you suffer from the silly last-word syndrome, so considering that and your penchant for Bruno, my money is on your next nothing reply will be 'xoxo gossip girl'
ReplyDeleteCorrect.
ReplyDelete