Former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen has delivered a withering verdict on Ar5ena1 midfielder Mesut Ozil, who failed to live up to his billing yesterday during Ar5ena1's 5-1 annihilation at Anfield.
During his commentary for the game, Owen - who scored five goals against Ar5ena1 during his LFC career (including one in the Reds' 4-0 victory over the gunners in 2000) - claimed that Ozil doesn't produce his best form consistently enough. He scathed*:
"He [Ozil] doesn't do enough for me, enough of the time.
"You look at the Hazards, Silvas etc - they influence game after game.
"Ozil doesn't influence enough games. He's world class, but he hasn't had been a big influence in the big games".
I totally disagree with Owen here. Ozil is a bona-fide world class player, and I'm sure that most LFC fans would love to have him in the team. I know I would. Like every Ar5ena1 player, the German had an off-day against Liverpool, but that doesn't devalue his overall worth.
Luis Suarez didn't influence the games against Chelsea and Man City over Christmas, and he also failed to make an impact against Ar5ena1 earlier in the season, when the Reds lost 2-0. Using Owen's logic, Suarez could be accused of not having a 'big influence' in big games, no? That wouldn't be true, though, and the applies with Ozil.
The same argument could also be made of Philippe Coutinho, whose prolificity (yes, it is a word!) has diminished this season. The Brazilian needs to score/assist more regularly, but I doubt many fans would argue that he doesn't have a consistent influence on LFC's games.
In any event, the idea that Ozil doesn't influence big games is not (for the most part) factually true. This season:
* Goal against Everton.
* Assist against Man City.
* Assist against Liverpool.
* Assist against Marseille (CL)
* Goal and assist against Napoli (CL)
As a comparison: Aside from his goal against LFC, Hazard has not scored or assisted against Man United, Man City, Everton or Spurs this season, and like Ozil, Silva hasn't scored for the last 11 games, yet he's deemed to be more influential than the German.
Liverpool legend Jan Molby summed it up well in a recent column for EuroSport. He raved:
"Ozil is a wonderful player, and in terms of pure quality, his vision is just on another level to most players. He has this uncanny knack of being able to see things before everyone else and create chances for other players. He is going to do some damage".
Ozil is going through a lean spell, but again, like Coutinho, he's one of those players who needs to be in the team due to his superb ability to conjure up moments of match-winning genius.
How I wish LFC had Ozil...
* Comments made during commentary. No link available.
Author: Jaimie K
During his commentary for the game, Owen - who scored five goals against Ar5ena1 during his LFC career (including one in the Reds' 4-0 victory over the gunners in 2000) - claimed that Ozil doesn't produce his best form consistently enough. He scathed*:
"He [Ozil] doesn't do enough for me, enough of the time.
"You look at the Hazards, Silvas etc - they influence game after game.
"Ozil doesn't influence enough games. He's world class, but he hasn't had been a big influence in the big games".
I totally disagree with Owen here. Ozil is a bona-fide world class player, and I'm sure that most LFC fans would love to have him in the team. I know I would. Like every Ar5ena1 player, the German had an off-day against Liverpool, but that doesn't devalue his overall worth.
Luis Suarez didn't influence the games against Chelsea and Man City over Christmas, and he also failed to make an impact against Ar5ena1 earlier in the season, when the Reds lost 2-0. Using Owen's logic, Suarez could be accused of not having a 'big influence' in big games, no? That wouldn't be true, though, and the applies with Ozil.
The same argument could also be made of Philippe Coutinho, whose prolificity (yes, it is a word!) has diminished this season. The Brazilian needs to score/assist more regularly, but I doubt many fans would argue that he doesn't have a consistent influence on LFC's games.
In any event, the idea that Ozil doesn't influence big games is not (for the most part) factually true. This season:
* Goal against Everton.
* Assist against Man City.
* Assist against Liverpool.
* Assist against Marseille (CL)
* Goal and assist against Napoli (CL)
As a comparison: Aside from his goal against LFC, Hazard has not scored or assisted against Man United, Man City, Everton or Spurs this season, and like Ozil, Silva hasn't scored for the last 11 games, yet he's deemed to be more influential than the German.
Liverpool legend Jan Molby summed it up well in a recent column for EuroSport. He raved:
"Ozil is a wonderful player, and in terms of pure quality, his vision is just on another level to most players. He has this uncanny knack of being able to see things before everyone else and create chances for other players. He is going to do some damage".
Ozil is going through a lean spell, but again, like Coutinho, he's one of those players who needs to be in the team due to his superb ability to conjure up moments of match-winning genius.
How I wish LFC had Ozil...
* Comments made during commentary. No link available.
Author: Jaimie K
U have to b kidding. Talented? Maybe, but lacking commitment, desire and graft means he can never be truly world class. Even when Luis is not on form u can be certain he will still try. World class would also include the positive attitude, like CR7, Hazard,
ReplyDeleteArsenal paid £2 million more than they offered for Suarez -minus £1.00.
ReplyDeletear5ena1 and arsenal.... well they are close enough!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYour comparison holds no water. How you came to compare Suarez and Ozil baffles me. Watch that Man City and Chelsea games again. Owen Compared Ozil to Hazard and Silva because they play the same position. Try Again!!!
ReplyDelete£ 42 million odd couple of assists 1 or 2 goals having played 30 odd games this season just isn't nearly good enough ! In fact very poor , I have never seen such an overrated player with such a big price tag in the PL when you look at evertons Seamus Coleman for example is a full back and scored 5 or 6 goals and odd few assists ! Puts everything in to perspective when arsenal are far a better team than everton, I am not doubting that he is not a very good player but people saying he is world class ??? Before the lad has even kicked a ball for arsenal, in my opinion he can't handle the pressure of the PL as we've seen with his odd couple of tantrums here and there, they should of added 8 mill on to his price tag and bought Suarez and probably would of bought the title with it ! But there loss is are gain lfc ynwa
ReplyDeleteyes ozil is a world class player but he doesn't do enough when his team is losing he doesn't try hard to get the ball and help the team. it's been his problem since real madrid and you compare him with coutinho and suarez who work so hard by defending and pressing for the team so they do their part in working for the tema unlike ozil. you mentioned napoli marseille liverpoolman city but where was he against dortmund(twice), man united, liverpool and chelsea where he has been completely over powered by the opposing midfielders.
ReplyDeleteCountinho have a lot of influence on the game. He forces opponent defence to make mistake and he do well in controlling the ball. Yes, he need to score more often but his assist has covered that problem. I think he will do well and become a prominent player for LFC for long term and i wish him all the best and not get injured.
ReplyDeleteAnd where was Coutinho against Chelsea, Arsenal (first game) and Man United earlier this season? Can't you see the mild hypocrisy of your post? You criticse Ozil for not contributing against some top teams but then give Coutinho a pass for the same thing.
ReplyDeleteOzil is world class, and has proven that at all levels of the game; comparatively speaking, Coutinho is a novice, and has achieved nothing in the game.
Well, there's not blinkered pro-LFC bias here, is there? Ozil has 4 goals and 10 assists so far this season, which is a very good return, and there's still three months to go. In his first six months at LFC, Suarez only got 3 goals and 3 assists, and look at him now. Perhaps you should try looking at things in a fairer, more objective manner.
ReplyDeleteThis nissan ad is annoying jamie k. It pops up over every article on my phone
ReplyDeleteHmm. Perhaps you should make a rudimentary attempt to actually understand the point of the article before posting. Like so many others, you seem to have a problem comprehending simple sentences. I did not compare Suarez and Ozil in the way you suggest. That is obvious.
ReplyDeleteThere should've be any pop-up ads. They're outlawed, so there's possibly a glitch somewhere. I'll sort it out, Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've watched Arsenal play a lot and to be honest apart from the first few months of the season,i've found Ozil to be very languid.There is no doubt the ability is there,but not sure on the application? He is not used to competitive football week in week out. There is no bite to him and if i had the choice of all the number tens in the prem he wouldn't make the top five. My choice being Mata,Hazard,Oscar, Willian and our little Coutinho would keep him out and he's only a baby at the moment!By the way Fulham have just scored, i think if carlsberg done footie results,this would be it!!LOL
ReplyDeleteGot to say, another rare, but becoming less so, occasion where I have to agree with Jaimie. The whole Arsenal team were well and truly shell-shocked after the first 20 minutes and it's difficult to show your class when you've been destroyed like that.
ReplyDeleteÖzil is still world class for me and would love to have him at LFC. That said, he cost more that 5 times Coutinho and whilst I see that Coutinho still has some room to grow in ability, he was much better value than Özil.
I don't buy into the criticism of Coutinho though. He had a superb game yesterday, amongst many others and he shouldn't be measured by goals and assists. Statistics seldom tell the whole story and people rely too much on them.
Hopefully if we qualify for CL, we will be able to attract players of Özil quality. We can't keep relying on bargains like Coutinho and Sturridge, or youngsters coming through like Flanaghan and Sterling (yes I know we bought Sterling, but when he was young). We will need a much bigger squad once were fighting for PL, CL and other cup competitions.
Not fair to say that Suarez didn't influence the Man City game - he was one of our best players on the day and set up some great goal scoring opportunities for his teammates, only for them to be squandered!
ReplyDeleteIt's not necessarily fair to compare expectation of Coutinho and Ozil.
ReplyDeleteOzil cost 5 times as much therefore the expectations for his play are much higher (and rightfully so).
The way I look at a player and whether he is good or not, I ask myself:
If that player was on my team, would my team get better and by how much?
Having a player like Ozil would make LFC better and provided the team remained healthy, we'd likely be much closer to the title today.
To me, we are the 4th or 5th best team in the league this year on paper. If we had Ozil, we'd be at 2nd or 3rd best.
Ozil and Suarez are on roughly the same scoring ratio (goals and assists) in there first 6 months with their respective teams (Ozil has played more games).
ReplyDeleteBut Ozil cost approx 20m more.
I understand your point and it's a valid one at that. But at the same time, Ozil's expectations are going to be higher because so much money was spent on him compared to most other players.
Think you missin point it's not about comparing players it's the fact that ozil has massively under performed no matter if your the only 1 who thinks that he hasn't it , even arsenal fans will agree he should be doing a lot lot more , and compiling 7 million coutino to 42 million ozil !!! I know who I would rather have in my team an av got him ! Ha probably come back with a load of rubbish at me but you can't reason or point out opinions with biased people like yourself! Mr know it all
ReplyDeleteyes your right but if coutinho is having a bad day he'll try hard to defend and press whereas ozil would just sulk around which is not a good attitude for your best player
ReplyDeleteJust been reading F365 and loads of Arsenal fans and the writers have been saying that Ozil just hasn't been doing it for a while and really lacks the physical attributes that help in this league. Apparetly it wasn't a one off.
ReplyDeletePhill was great and hopefuly it is a welcome return. He doesn't seem to be that troubled by the physical nature of the league.
don't open y'r 4 meter radius mouth on ozil. he is the on of best player of the year the world. you know that he is best 12 player of the world. you can see that he is the nest legend of arsenal . i believe the the most creative player and his vision is so smart. don't be jeopardize him. live your live and see what is he soon.
ReplyDeleteOzil didn't look up for a scrap yesterday and hasn't for a while. There was a moment where Henderson pinched the ball off him directly leading up to the 3rd goal and instead of tracking back he just sat down on the turf crying for a free kick (which it wasn't). We all know what a classy player he is, but the complaints directed at him recently are about attitude and application rather than ability. Incidentally, you wouldn't have seen that from a Liverpool player yesterday; they were too pumped up, too eager to get on the ball and make something happen, and defending as a unit. Coutinho is a young player, still learning his trade, and he has really adapted very well to the Premier League. He's very tenacious, and quite strong on the ball for a slight fellow. Despite his recent poor form, that side of his game is something he has clearly worked on a lot and he is starting to reassert his influence again. Ultimately fans want to see their players busting a lung with effort, whether winning or losing. Ozil is a luxury player, a fantastic player, and no doubt he will hit top form again, but he needs to start showing a bit more of that fighting attitude that is so essential for Premier League success.
ReplyDeleteI think the truth is that there are some worrying signs there as far as Ozil is concerned. But it could just be a case of form being temporary, class being permanent Time will tell.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside I have to admire your own prolificalness
Get in there Fulham!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile over at Old Trafford, I see bottom placed Fulham have just come up with a last gasp equalizer.
ReplyDeleteUTD 2 Fulham 2, fuck Ozil
ReplyDeleteI quite like fergie time now
ReplyDeleteJaimie, what detrermines World Class, please explain, ??
ReplyDeleteThe refs will get fax soon, 'keep it as short as possible now please lads we 'aint got a clue'.
ReplyDeleteI've outlined my definition of 'world class' here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.liverpool-kop.com/2012/06/world-class-football-performance-new.html
Just my opinion, of course.
Coutinho is a very young player like sterling he has had a dip in form this season but over the last few matches it looks like he is getting his form back. Yesterday he was fantastic on and off the ball. It's down to the club to not over use him as one of the reasons for his dip in form was being rushed back from injury.
ReplyDeleteYou don't achieve what Ozil has in football, or get to his level, without being a top class footballer (mentally, and ability-wise)
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a vast difference in effort too. Saurez even when not scoring or assisting would always be working his socks off. This cannot yet be said of Ozil. Thats what makes Suarez a superior player.
ReplyDeleteYou constantly judge players on the basis of just goals and assists and then want others to be objective....
ReplyDeleteHow could you say Suarez didn't influence the games against Chelsea and Man City, 1 assist each and I can remember him creating two clear cut chances , 1 for Phil and 1 for sterling against City, should have had a penalty against Chelsea as well.Silva and Coutinho are totally different kinds of players compared to Ozil. Silva doesn't need to score to influence a game, he sets the rhythm for the team. Same with Coutinho. You probably would look at whoscored.com and think that Rakitic is a better player than Iniesta/Xavi because he scores more. The points you have made in this article are not objective at all. Please remove them.
Very good point re stats. I mean that work and pass for Henderson was fantastic but as Hendo missed the chance that was not an assist for Cout. That lack of stat doesn't mean the play didn't deserve something and be recognised.
ReplyDeleteI thought the subs were interesting. With the injuries we have and the Fulham game coming so soon does it seem like Rodgers is learning the value of resting players when a game is well won? I hope so.
ReplyDeletePoor Refereeing decisions influenced the Man city Chelsea games and created a 4 point differential between Liverpool and those clubs. we are only 6 point and 5 points behind then. referees win and lose titles.
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about ozil but you still throw a dig at coutinho who played one of the passes of the season .....stop moaning about lfc all the time we just won 5-1 avainst top of the table get a grip
ReplyDeleteAll I know that there's no way in the Holy name of hell that tottenham's only 3 points behind us! How in God's name a team that we have put 5 past on their home turf and did not have only one win vs. the big teams (well Manu is not one! I obviously meant everton) and have lost their manager in the mid-season be this close to us?????? It's all down to the SHIT refereeing decisions! GOD I hate those spurs even dare I say more than Manu! I hope they get relegated to league 3!
ReplyDeleteWhat does Owen know, he hates Arsenal and Ozil. Ozil has the second mosts assists after Rooney in the premier league. Cosidering this is his year in England, he has been fantastic. Next season he will be even better. Liverpool will have bad days as well. Liverpool still need to win the premier league, to be considered as a top team.
ReplyDeleteThis an awful article me basing it purely on stats just remember his assists against lfc and city (where they lost 6-3) were simple passes . Suarez had a great goal against city and should have had two assists (poor finishing and officials) .and for hazard he is fantastic against big teams it's just down to poor finishing. Ozil doesent do enough , he plays cam for one of the best attacking teams . He should do more
ReplyDeleteDon't panic just yet, they've got to come to Anfield and they'll be bricking it.
ReplyDeleteI just won't calm until we beat them well like 6-0 and send them the message Get the hell out of here!
ReplyDeleteBut you look at a lot of his assists ( 5 yard simple passes ) and think it more down to the brilliance of his teammates. And the desire and commitment is lacking plus Suarez arrived in January so it jd always hard and he played very well without scoring or assisting often. (3-1 v united where he had a direct involvement in all the goals )
ReplyDeleteMy verdict of any player depends on 3 factors:
ReplyDelete1) Background ( where did he play previously)
2) Price tag
3) Currents performance
When it comes to Øzil;
1) Came from R.Madrid ( top 5 clubs in the world)
2) 40 mill ( A LOT OF MONEY)
3) Currently not so convincing
If there is anyone i would compare Øzil to it would be Roberto Soldado. Both have some good qualities and a great background, but their price tag is such a hindrance, it is actually blinding my judgment on them.
TomP, we won two european cups, the cup winners and fairs cup. We would have won more, but English teams were banned due to Haysel stadium.
ReplyDeleteAs a huge Liverpool fan what a result I still can't get my head around how good we played. I did find Ozil was left wanting but most of the Arsenal team was, Ozil hasn't made as much of an impact on Arsenals season as he should have, I agree with Jaimie that Ozil is a world class creative midfielder we have to remember he is playing in a league that for many players it takes some time to adjust to. Hazard last season to this season is an example Ozil is a wonderful player and given the time he will prove it but I hope he plays like he did yesterday next time we face Arsenal in the cup.
ReplyDeleteyeah I don't mean to disrespect, but when someone says 'European Cup' they refer to present day Champions league, otherwise we have 3 Uefa cups as well but as a big club with so many trophies, we don't consider it that important. and also since you brought it up, if it wasn't for the shock of Haysel, we DEFINITELY would have won vs. Juventus (We practically gave them the trophy as a consolation) and would have continued to win the trophy for at least the next 3 years
ReplyDeleteDaniel Sturridge tweeted a dressing room group photo after the game and Joao Texiera was on it - yet another sign his time is coming, can't wait.
ReplyDeleteHe was very good against Arsenal in a recent U21s game but he still gives possession away too cheaply by playing for himself instead of the team. I can't see him dislodging Coutinho for that reason. However he has really bulked up which is great to see, starting to look like a man! Possible that central midfield will be his position instead of 10 or the wings. Lovely player but I don't think his time is quite yet.
ReplyDeleteJust read over your definition of world class and in my opinion it is flawed. Success at International level is no barometer,because it excludes too many top,top players. A few players that don't make the world class bracket, George Best, Kenny Dalglish, George Weah, Dennis Law, Jinky Johnston,Elisa Scott,Roy Keane,Alan Hansen,Graeme Souness... I could go on.. The great Franco Baresi once said that Paul Mcgrath was one of the best defenders he ever shared a football pitch with,he called him world class!
ReplyDeleteHe's always been like that though hasn't he, inconsistent, tends to drift out of games for no obvious reason, even when his side are playing well. He's a dreamer! I'm a big fan of his by the way, but I do prefer players like Coutinho or Gerrard when he was young, who want to be involved in *everything*, all the time.
ReplyDeleteEriksen down at Spurs is similar to Ozil in that respect. Some people love those enigmatic players, don't they, who can disappear and then blink back into existence to make a chance or goal out of nothing. I'm old fashioned and like to see a bit of running about, myself ;)
I like that piece.
ReplyDeleteI see world class more simply though: who would I pick for a World XI. That's the world class, the ones who could represent planet earth in a match against, I dunno. The Klingons. Ozil might make the bench I guess.
I think things like that even themselves out over the course of the season. For example, we got lucky that Skrtel wasn't given offside for his first goal yesterday...
ReplyDeleteI understand your point but the fact is, you cater to your superstars as opposed to your superstars catering to you.
ReplyDeleteRodgers admitted as much when he sold Carroll. He sold Carroll as addition by subtraction because he felt it would make Suarez better.
Having a superstar on the team enables you to do so many more things because of the added talent you're dealing with. Ozil has more talent on our team currently than anyone else in our midfield.
But in my opinion, he still has a lot to learn about what it takes to win week in and week out.
Refs didn't win or lose us the 4 points we dropped vs. Villa and West Brom though.
ReplyDeleteEverything contributes to the result (or lack-thereof)
Mohsen, Dont worry about being disrespectul,apart from English teams being banned from Europe, due to the behavior of Liverpool supporters, what about the Italian families who lost family members.
ReplyDeleteTo add to this, I read a statistic from probably about a month ago asking what the big deal about Coutinho was. He doesn't have a lot of goals or assists, so why do LFC keep playing him so much.
ReplyDeleteThe simple reason is that Coutinho is among the most successful at playing through-balls in the prem,
See the link below. Granted this was published in November 2013 (and it's not the original article I read) but you can get the idea
http://www.bsports.com/statsinsights/football/premier-leagues-through-ball-leaders
Arsenal win,,, draw would be ok keep united down as their run in, is easy enough for them on paper at least,, so keep em down,, a draw would be good result and us winning hopefully against Fulham,,then we would be in great position to get 3rd spot if that happens as arsenal have a horrendous fixture list coming up.
ReplyDeleteI dont care about ozil. I like this new position of coutinho playing deeper with gerrard, spot on from BR, from there he gets the ball and then hes unstoppable, Id play him there all season, because he kinda failed as a winger and as a no.10 role, but this new position suits him perfectly, surprisngly!
ReplyDeleteI dont think you will ever see him in the first team, hes training there for months now still br hesitates to give him a place on bench, while he gave to smith rossiter and brannagan who were almost unknown before. Since the oldham game where br didnt even put him on bench I lost hopes we will ever gonna see him, such a cruel treatment, only if we lose like five midfielders maybe we could see him then, otherwise forget it.
ReplyDeleteFrom across the one, that was the best I have seen LFC play, period. Every starting player was terrific. Truth is only Mignolet was average at times. It's been true all year; we press we win; we don't we get beat or tie a crap team......please keep this mojo against Fulham. A win is a win no matter who......
ReplyDeleteFulham has some good names in that line-up. However if we play with the same intensity we did the entire Arsenal match, Fulham will not be able to handle it. With the Spurs win today we are clear of 5 and below. This is the moment to provide separation and the lads must seize it. Attack, attack, attack.
ReplyDeleteNow, LFC need to dish out this type of performances week in week out. It was a joy to witness the performance and against Arsenal of all team and with a big scoreline.
ReplyDeletePeople talk about how bad Arsenal was but in my opinion, it was all about how well Liverpool played so much so that they did not allow Arsenal to play and this made them look bad. We did it to Everton and Spurs, so this is no fluke. Now, lets have consistency please.
What the hell does "Mignolet was average at times" mean?
ReplyDeleteHe only let in one goal, and it was a penalty. Don't really know what else he could have done.
He wasn't exactly that busy.
He scored against Everton, and then 2 against Stoke and 4 assists in his last 4 league games.
ReplyDeleteHe is always dangerous, like you say.
I think a hat trick or brace is on the cards for him against Fulham.
Imagine if that volley had gone in!!!
absolutely no,,,, and still nobody said LFC are genuine tittle contenders come at the end of the season may be there is big surprises to come
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteThe whole team played off-the-chart beautifully. My Mignolet comment comes from his panic-punch save just after Skrtel's first goal. His poor rushed clearance was nearly put in by Monreal. He has done that punch when he could or should have caught the ball instead.
Bottom line, the game was the best I have ever seen the reds play and I'm delighted like we all are. I am a little concerned when SM seems a little uneasy at the start or punches ball he should catch. Still thrilled. Just hope we don't let down vs Fulham; no more Villas or west Broms PLEASE!