Liverpool FC Forum

[Rush Job]

We should stick with SG and masch in the middle then.

[Greavesie]

If Rafa wants to sell him he can he can do one and all. I'm sick of this £20m failure bollox and thinking he can just splash another shed load on a different player will he gets it right. Bloody frustrates the t!ts out of me

[Waldo]

It's all good and well saying let's give up on Aquaman and sell him but who the f*ck would buy him given he's hardly kicked a ball for 2 seasons??

I think we are stuck with him and I only hope his injury either isn't too serious OR if it is our medical team act now and do whatever is needed operation-wise and take their time with a proper recuperation period over the coming months and thorough the summer meaning we have a fully fit Aquaman come the start of the 2010/11 season.

[only me]

Sell him and have Rafa pay the difference....The man spends our money so foolishly one might think we just struck gold beneath the Kop.

[Owzat]

I dont think Acqua was ever a £20m player and we knew he was injury prone when we gave him the contract to sign. In fairness to him hes not been given enough game time when hes been fit to play so its impossible for him to make an impact without his injuries on top. Its a mess like everything else unfortunately. Ive been critical of the player but by nature hes clearly an accident waiting to happen but is capable of moments joy while hes on the park (which aint often). He is what he is but the pain is we paid way over the odds for the lad.

It was always going to be a bigger risk paying £20m for a player with an injury history than one without, he was always going to struggle to justify the fee if Rafa was going to wrap him up in cotton wool and underuse him.

I think throwing him in not at the deep end but certainly not in the paddling pool, would have been the best idea ie played him more than Rafa has without taking silly risks. I suspect he may be sold off in the summer, probably at a loss, although much may depend on whether Rafa saves his own neck which is very much on the line. Argue the toss about how much he spent, (meaningless) net or otherwise, we shouldn't be losing one game in every three with the money spent/players bought with the money/squad assembled. Whether or not Alonso was the catalyst that made the engine run smoothly is another argument, but with much the same squad and same style we're underperforming. Is it the manager, the system not working without Alonso or what - who knows for sure? But the bottom line is Rafa carries on as if nothing is wrong and that is a bigger flashing red light than Penny's "check engine" light on her car (Big Bang Theory)

Maybe we'll see less Aquilanis in the future and more Jovanovics. Aurelio may well be on the way out in the summer, will we have any money to buy a LB, stick with the less than solid Insua or FINALLY get a LB to match those that have excelled there in the past? While members on here do debate who is at fault, many blaming the owners, a fair few getting kicks out of blaming and slating Lucas and Kuyt, how about the manager who has plumped for two DMs most of the past two and a half seasons which worked in spells but at the expense of wins?

AUG04 - DEC07 : P210 W118 D41 L51 F338 A174 (Won 56.19%)
JAN08 - APR10 : P131 W71 D34 L26 F231 A122 (Won 54.20%)

A slight shift in emphasis ironically has produced more goals for and against per game, albeit not a lot in it. The biggest impact is that we've drawn 25.96% of our games since January 2007 compared to 19.52% prior to that point.

[Reg]

We needed aqua last night.... the kind of guy who would have made a difference to Benfica's gameplan.

If the lad is crocked, better to get rid, if you spend 20 million on a player, you need one who can play week in, week out.

[tubby]

Hopefully he has a good world cup, maybe he will then want a return back home.

[Sir Roger]

If Aquilani is fit then Rafa needs to play him and if he doesnt he should fu'ck off.
Simple as that

[bunglemark2]

"we've drawn 25.96% of our games since January 2007 compared to 19.52% prior to that point"
WTF is that all about ?
WTF is .96% of a game, eh ?

[DrPepe]

Not familiar with averages?

[account deleted by request]

ANDY HUNTER

RAFAEL BENITEZ has shown the first signs of exasperation with Alberto Aquilani by suggesting the Liverpool midfielder’s latest problem is not merely physical but psychological.

The Italy international has started only eight times for Liverpool since his €22.5 million arrival from Roma and is sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in training on Wednesday.

Aquilani has complained of discomfort in the same ankle that required surgery last May and which forced him to miss the first three months of this season, although scans have so far failed to identify the cause of the problem. Benitez admits he is at a loss as to when the 25-year-old will be fit but indicated that a history of injury problems is affecting Aquilani.

“He was complaining of pain in his ankle and said he couldn’t train,” the Liverpool manager said. “We will have to talk with the doctors to see what’s going on because at the moment we don’t know.”

There are concerns that the Italian, earmarked as the replacement for Xabi Alonso in a season that opened amid high expectation at Anfield, will be absent for the rest of this campaign should he undergo exploratory surgery.

But Benitez said: “We don’t know if he needs an operation. He has some pain and we will just analyse that with the doctor. It’s the same ankle he did before.

“Some players maybe can manage with the pain, some players cannot. When you talk of pain you never know, it depends on each individual and that makes it really difficult.”

Another Liverpool midfielder aggravating Benitez is Albert Riera, whose proposed move to Spartak Moscow has stalled over his demands to be paid almost double what he earns at Anfield.

The Spanish winger effectively announced the end of his Liverpool career when he spoke against Benitez and the club last month, having become marginalised at the club.

Liverpool were “a sinking ship”, according to an interview Riera gave, only to be described by the player this week as “one of the best clubs in the world” following Spartak’s refusal to offer over €68,000 a week in wages. The U-turn represents a further headache for Benitez, who sent Riera home from training three times for poor behaviour before his outburst.

Benitez was told a deal to take Riera to Russia was in place before the player went public with his criticism and, though a permanent transfer to CSKA failed to materialise and the Spartak loan has stalled, he still hopes an exit can be arranged before their transfer window closes next week.

“We still have some time until the end of the Russian transfer window so we will see what happens,” he said. “I didn’t see his latest comments but for me, when he was talking this way on the day before a massive game (against Lille) was disappointing.

“It was especially so when he was saying things that weren’t true. He also said he wants to play, that’s why he had to go, but our fans are not stupid and they will know what’s going on.”

© 2010 Guardian Service

[Kharhaz]

“It was especially so when he was saying things that weren’t true. He also said he wants to play, that’s why he had to go, but our fans are not stupid and they will know what’s going on.”

So what did he say that wasnt true?

As rafa said we are not stupid. Man management isnt his greatest asset so do I believe Riera when he said rafa doesnt talk to the players? yes, I do.

Riera said we are a sinking ship. We are. Look at this season. Yes we have had bad luck but also, with a full strength team, we are just awful.

He also said he wants to play, that’s why he had to go

That doesnt surprise me at all. He is a talented player and as we all know, that counts for nothing. He has to kiss rafas backside  and work hard. And that guarantees your place. It helps also if you are a local lad.

Rafa can whinge about Aquilani as it just proves to me one thing. The Keane signing was also down to him. And as manager he should take responsibility but it is just so easy to pass the buck. In this case, Aquilani is mentally unstable.

I really hope for a change come the end of the season. Who? anybody, really, anybody. Its getting tiresome.

[leep33]

I do not believe Aqualani has cost us 20 million yet!! I would imagine a lot of the fee would come in add ons and future success. As for Riera whether he is right or wrong in his comments he should not have aired them just before an important game, it shows disrespect to the club, players and fans.

[Sir Roger]

“It was especially so when he was saying things that weren’t true. He also said he wants to play, that’s why he had to go, but our fans are not stupid and they will know what’s going on.”

So what did he say that wasnt true?

As rafa said we are not stupid. Man management isnt his greatest asset so do I believe Riera when he said rafa doesnt talk to the players? yes, I do.

Riera said we are a sinking ship. We are. Look at this season. Yes we have had bad luck but also, with a full strength team, we are just awful.

He also said he wants to play, that’s why he had to go

That doesnt surprise me at all. He is a talented player and as we all know, that counts for nothing. He has to kiss rafas backside  and work hard. And that guarantees your place. It helps also if you are a local lad.

Rafa can whinge about Aquilani as it just proves to me one thing. The Keane signing was also down to him. And as manager he should take responsibility but it is just so easy to pass the buck. In this case, Aquilani is mentally unstable.

I really hope for a change come the end of the season. Who? anybody, really, anybody. Its getting tiresome.

And so it begins
One thing we have learned about Rafa with regards to accepting responsibility is that he doesnt like to do it himself. Referees, bad luck, bad pitches, the media, inanimate objects, players, in fact everything and everyone except him is to blame for our situation.
So now Aquilani, the 20 million pound injured player that Rafa bought and has hardly played is a hypocondriach.
It's in his mind and therefore he's a shirker and a whinging little girl whos has no bottle and doesnt want to play because he is scared of a bit of pain.
Oh Rafa, Rafa, Rafa
Are you trying to cover your tracks by making us think that Aquilani is not up to the job because hes too weak?
Are you using a smoke screen to make us believe that you would actually drop Lucas and play Aquilani every game if only he was more of a man?
Turn it in Signor
Youre right on one thing
Were not Fu*king stupid...

[Greavesie]

My biggest problem is the turnover of played at the club. We cant just keep spending £20m on players and shipping them off when they don't work, it cant be done. Its like Rafa want to keep doing it till he finds someone who he can stick with. It's just making Rafa look like a twonk