Liverpool FC Forum

[roberto green]

Reading the posts its as if everyone has made there mind up about aqua already and most are that he won't be good enough, I'm not saying he will or won't because he needs alot of games to prove himself but of what I saw of him today I could see the promise of the fella and I liked the way he was willing to get high up the pitch or he wasn't afraid of making a playmaking pass, i am no lover of Lucas but Lucas actually looked half decent today because he had  different type of midfielder with him and getting back to Aqualani I think that given more games we might well have a very good midfielder but that's if he can stay fit that is.

[Zidane]

Aquilani throughout the game was in dangerous positions and constantly tried to create plays but the team is stagnant at the moment so it doesn't quite all work out.  He's going to drift in and out of space throughout games he doesn't look like the type of midfielder to "control" a game but he can certainly change them.  I think he'll be somewhat of a Gerrard type player for us, he drifts a lot and needs have a bit more discipline to play the position effectively here.  That said we haven't seen his shot which from what I've heard is supposed to be really good and we haven't seen him play his type of football yet imo.  He's trying to ease his way in, probably worried about losing his place, his confidence more than likely isn't that great considering everything that is going on around him and the team isn't playing well.  All things considered it is way too early to say if he is or isn't worth the 20m price tag.

Either way though, would you prefer Lucas/Masch in midfield?  I certainly wouldn't even if Aquilani is a little rusty right now he provides another attacking option that we are in dire need of right now.

[Zidane]

Also I don't buy the not getting stuck in enough thing.  I don't believe you have to throw in all that many tackles if you're good positionally.  Xabi excelled at defensive positioning even more so than Masch imo.  He knew when and where to throw in a tackle but it wasn't that often, Aquilani just needs to improve in that aspect.

[bigmick]

All things considered it is way too early for me to say if he is or isn't worth the 20m price tag, I'd prefer to wait until it's glaringly obvious and everyone agrees one way or the other before sticking my neck out .

I just corrected your post for you mate, hope you don't mind  .

[Number 9]

Last I seen of him he done a few wee flicks and a backheel thingy..........I never seen Gerrard even dream of one of them in ages and today he tried quite a few!
Now Im not saying they are effective,good for moral or anything like that but he albeit quietly made a very good reason NOT to play lucas and masch together again..I hope Rafa hears it!

[Number 9]

Oh and by the way it was his full home debut in a side short of confidence(incase anyone needed reminded)

Solid display,no Zidane,but I felt he held his own for a while then faded....he does remind me of someone that would play Robin Hood in a local adaptation of a play or something in a Bingo Hall....but Im sure this will pass!

He has that sort of hair and a void,defunct look about him!

[made in UK]

Well, its still a tad to early to call this one but on first glimpses it looks as though the selling club again got the better deal of the transfer.

He was okay, nothing more really, I'm hoping his fitness improves and his performances pick up from there. He does look lightweight and typical Italian in the fact taht his energy levels look way off the pace, technically he looks good. Hope gets a bit more of a run in the side to prove his worth. Villa away I think will tell us a lot more, if he has recovered in time.

[Number 9]

Well, its still a tad to early to call this one but on first glimpses it looks as though the selling club again got the better deal of the transfer.

He was okay, nothing more really, I'm hoping his fitness improves and his performances pick up from there. He does look lightweight and typical Italian in the fact taht his energy levels look way off the pace, technically he looks good. Hope gets a bit more of a run in the side to prove his worth. Villa away I think will tell us a lot more, if he has recovered in time.

He does good pointless flicks and looks tidy though!!

[Zidane]

All things considered it is way too early for me to say if he is or isn't worth the 20m price tag, I'd prefer to wait until it's glaringly obvious and everyone agrees one way or the other before sticking my neck out .

I just corrected your post for you mate, hope you don't mind  .

Whatever floats your boat Mick, to reply to the last remark in your post it isn't what he will do to change your opinion its what the team will do that may or may not change what people think of him.  We're in a situation where almost everyone looks bad out there about 80% of the time in EVERY game so uh it's a little hard for me to gauge him right now, all I can tell is that he can pick a pass, gets into dangerous areas, plays some nice 1-2's, could use a little defensive work, needs to adjust to the speed of things and has to really, really up his fitness/energy levels.

Anyway, I believe that it is too early for anyone to write him off if you really think about the situation.  Now if you still believe he's shown us everything well then.. that's you but I prefer to make a rational opinion about him.  If it actually does turn out that he isn't suited for English football well then so be it, I'll make my definitive opinion then but for me it is still too early right now.  He's played 1 game for us ffs.

[Owzat]

Well, its still a tad to early to call this one but on first glimpses it looks as though the selling club again got the better deal of the transfer.

He was okay, nothing more really, I'm hoping his fitness improves and his performances pick up from there. He does look lightweight and typical Italian in the fact taht his energy levels look way off the pace, technically he looks good. Hope gets a bit more of a run in the side to prove his worth. Villa away I think will tell us a lot more, if he has recovered in time.

You will always expect a lot for £20m, probably best to either be 100% sure you're buying quality or leave it to those who can really afford £20m flops (not saying he is a flop, just saying we can't afford to buy £20m players who don't work out)

If that was THE game Rafa was waiting for, an easy run out, then you do wonder if he'll start villa away

[devaney]

In his first ten minute cameo performance, which seems a very long time ago now, he played with a very high level of confidence producing two or three 20 to 30 yards raking pinpoint accurate passes and looked very impressive. Where has that Aquilani gone? He looked as if he was lacking confidence with his pretty little flicks and five yard passes that did very little and created nothing. Has all this bench warming fkd up his brain. Let's face it that is actually something Bentitez is good at!

[akumaface]

I think if playing Aqua and Lucas at the same time would be a mistake as both are not good at holding the ball and get easily pushed off the ball. Aqua showed me nothing special last night. Again, he really looked like another lucas (just the way he pass sideways and runs....). I know it is early but he doesn't seems like a so called big game player. He might be a decent player but not the one that can dictate or turn the game around. I hope I'm wrong. Maybe we are too used to watching Gerrard or Alonso bossing the midfield. Maybe it is not fair to compare them but need to remind people that it is not his fault that he caused 20 million......Rafa might have put aqua in the wrong position. He is better suited to play behind Torres. Just put Gerrard back in the middle.

In the meantime, I thought Pacheco looked really good last night. True that Wolves were a man down and was tired. But Pacheco looked very practical and knows what he is doing. Hope rafa can play him more as I think he can do what Aqua did last night.

[Johnny Boy]

The guy needs time to settle, he has only featured properly in one game.
We are rushing our opinions because we are looking at him as the saviour for our season.

[Spinner]

Aquilani is a gun.

I love how people state they didn't watch him at Roma, and then go on to judge him harshly only on what he has done at Liverpool. What a simplistic approach.

Players take time to settle, and gel into the team. Aquilani will be no different.

The bloke is still coming back from injury too. Let him gain some form and fitness.

[Scottbot]

I only caught the 2nd half of the game yesterday as have been in France for Chrimbo and it's still too early for me to come to an opinion. The areas he's being picked up on at the moment are his work-rate, his defensive abilities and his tenacity however, the first two are highly dependent on his fitness levels which are clearly lacking at the moment. Masch's ban could be a blessing in disguise as far as Aqua goes because Rafa has no choice but to dump the doomed Lucas-Masch partnership and play him every game.

My early impressions of Aqualani are:

- He's a clever player, has good vision, sees the game early (as evidenced with the first time passes), can play all the passes

- He likes to get in and around the box

- He shows for the ball and take up similar positions like an Alonso or a Scholes.

- He will need some time to get the hang of how little time/space he will get on the ball in England and this will be the making or breaking of him.

- He doesn't look particular tenacious or combative and he will HAVE to work on that part of his game or risk being a passenger in away games.

- We will see the best of the player if the team (as a whole) can play at a higher tempo when we've got the ball. Better movement, quicker passes and confidence are needed.

- I think he will play well with a more traditional target man (a Crouch type) in the side. He looks a player who will knock it into feet and then burst into the box for the return ball or getting ahead of play once the front man drops off.