Liverpool FC Forum

[Scottbot]

Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Great – Rafa Benitez is about to waste another £20m of Liverpool FC’s money

Of all the players in all the world, why does Rafa Benitez seem intent on gambling a reputed £20m of the club's money on an injury prone midfielder who has barely managed 27 league starts in the last 3 years?

Liverpool released an official statement today earlier today confirming the club’s interest in Alberto Aquilani, and Rafa Benitez was very complimentary indeed:

“Alberto is a very good player who has a winning mentality and great experience... He has long been recognised as a top class talent in Italy, captaining his country at both under 19 and under 21 levels before establishing himself in the senior national side."

Despite Benitez’s (exaggerated) claims, I really do not get the logic behind this purchase. When Xabi Alonso’s move to Real Madrid was confirmed, Benitez revealed that he would try and find the “best replacement” available and do the “best deal for the club".

Considering Aquilani’s horrendous injury record and intermittent appearance record, how is he the “best replacement” for Alonso?

Aquilani’s recent injury record

* 4 Oct 2007 – 1 Jan 2008: Calf injury
* 24 Oct 2008 – 21 Nov 2008: Thigh injury
* 28 Nov 2008 – 2 Jan 2009: Thigh injury
* 13 Feb 2009 – 10 Mar 2009: Ankle
* 12 Mar 2009 – Present: Ankle (recent surgery)

Add up the months spent on the sidelines! These are just recent injury figures and do not include injuries from earlier in his career.

Appearance stats

* Last 3 years: Started 27 league games out of a possible 114 (23% of games)
* Last 5 years: Started 61 league games out of a possible 190 (32% of games)

With the above figures in mind, how can Aquilani be considered “the best deal for the club”?! It’s utterly ludicrous that Benitez is even considering replacing someone as important as Alonso with a player with this kind of injury/appearance record.

To make matters worse, Aquilani is injured *at this very moment*, which means the chances of him being properly fit for the first stage of the season are practically nil, which will decrease the overall strength of the squad.

And let’s get real here – Aquilani’s ongoing injury curse is not just going to magically disappear just because he moves from Italy to England, is it?! Indeed, the Premiership is far more physical than Serie A, so the probability of him getting injured again at some point has to be very high.

With the lack of a proper pre-season and recovering from his latest injury, it’s going to be at least a season before Aquilani adapts to the Premiership and starts to play at a decent level, all of which begs the question, what's the point in signing him in the first place?

We’ve been here before of course; Benitez displayed his acute injury blindness last year with the signing of Philip Degen, who has since pocketed hundreds of thousands of pounds sitting on the sidelines.

Degen only played 10 games for Borussia Dortmund in the 2007-08 season, but Benitez ignored this, just like he is seemingly ignoring Aquilani’s infinitely worse record. Degen was (thankfully) a free transfer but Aquilani will cost a significant amount of money.

I do not doubt that Aquilani is a decent player, but Liverpool need someone to come in and do the job NOW, not in three months. The club should be looking for a reliable player who can *consistently* contribute, not someone who, in all probability, will spend more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.

It really is beyond belief that of all the players Liverpool could sign, Aquilani is the best Benitez can come up with. Even if he passes the medical, the probability that he will get injured again is extremely high.

Roma is the only club getting the 'best deal' here; I imagine its Board members are rubbing their hands together right about now, gleefully toasting their good fortune.

Let's just hope that Liverpool don't suffer the consequences of what could turn out to be a very expensive mistake.

By Jaimie Kanwar

[Fauxy]

That whole article doesnt mean anything tbh. Yes it is a 'gamble' but any other player bought for £20 Million would still be considered a gamble, unless its someone like Kaka.

I guarantee if we bought Silva for £30 Million the press would call it a gamble.

And Im always hearing about injury problems with Roma, they are obviously doing something wrong.

Have faith in Rafa people

[bigmick]

Well of course it's a gamble at 20 million quid, it'd be a gamble if he was fit and Premiership based for that sort of money (Keane for instance). The gamble is in a couple of directions too, not just on Aquilani but on whether the squad is going to be strong enough to cope without a Xabi replacement until the fella is ready. It says he's back in September, which means he'll be coming on as a sub sometime in September and experiencing English football for the first time. Rest assured anyone we play against are going to have central midfielders who are fully fit and wound up, and this lads going to get a pretty rude awakening choose however good he actually is. If we're lucky, by early October he'll be ready to start playing in matches from the first whistle, and then we've got to hope that he picks things up pretty quickly and settles in.

The other problem of course is what we do until then, and then what do we do after then. My guess is that until Aquilani plays, we will almost certainly go with Lucas alongside Masherano. To be perfectly honest however, I don't think Lucas will cut it, and I think after a couple of games we'll move Gerrard back as he certainly will. That'll mean though breaking up the Gerrard/Torres axis, which means we'll probably stick Benayoun into Gerrards slot, or Babel. Obviously once Aquilani comes in, if we are optimistic and assume he settles, then Gerrard will go back up behind Torres. In the meantime of course, should persih the thought Masherano get injured, we could be conservatively described as being completely fecked.

So it's a gamble in many directions. The Mancs fell out of the blocks last season, and we very nearly made them pay for it. This time around they ain't gonna make the same mistake again, and while we've been playing Singapore and Heimdalls Harriers they've been playing Bayern Munich and Valencia. They have their customary easy early matches, and I fancy them to blitz out of the blocks and try to win the first seven or eight and see where they/we/Chelsea are. We simply cannot afford a getting to know you first ten matches, because as we've seen before it can be well and truly over by then.

It's a huge gamble alright, to pretend otherwise is delusional.

[Emerald Red]

Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Great – Rafa Benitez is about to waste another £20m of Liverpool FC’s money

Of all the players in all the world, why does Rafa Benitez seem intent on gambling a reputed £20m of the club's money on an injury prone midfielder who has barely managed 27 league starts in the last 3 years?

Liverpool released an official statement today earlier today confirming the club’s interest in Alberto Aquilani, and Rafa Benitez was very complimentary indeed:

“Alberto is a very good player who has a winning mentality and great experience... He has long been recognised as a top class talent in Italy, captaining his country at both under 19 and under 21 levels before establishing himself in the senior national side."

Despite Benitez’s (exaggerated) claims, I really do not get the logic behind this purchase. When Xabi Alonso’s move to Real Madrid was confirmed, Benitez revealed that he would try and find the “best replacement” available and do the “best deal for the club".

Considering Aquilani’s horrendous injury record and intermittent appearance record, how is he the “best replacement” for Alonso?

Aquilani’s recent injury record

* 4 Oct 2007 – 1 Jan 2008: Calf injury
* 24 Oct 2008 – 21 Nov 2008: Thigh injury
* 28 Nov 2008 – 2 Jan 2009: Thigh injury
* 13 Feb 2009 – 10 Mar 2009: Ankle
* 12 Mar 2009 – Present: Ankle (recent surgery)

Add up the months spent on the sidelines! These are just recent injury figures and do not include injuries from earlier in his career.

Appearance stats

* Last 3 years: Started 27 league games out of a possible 114 (23% of games)
* Last 5 years: Started 61 league games out of a possible 190 (32% of games)

With the above figures in mind, how can Aquilani be considered “the best deal for the club”?! It’s utterly ludicrous that Benitez is even considering replacing someone as important as Alonso with a player with this kind of injury/appearance record.

To make matters worse, Aquilani is injured *at this very moment*, which means the chances of him being properly fit for the first stage of the season are practically nil, which will decrease the overall strength of the squad.

And let’s get real here – Aquilani’s ongoing injury curse is not just going to magically disappear just because he moves from Italy to England, is it?! Indeed, the Premiership is far more physical than Serie A, so the probability of him getting injured again at some point has to be very high.

With the lack of a proper pre-season and recovering from his latest injury, it’s going to be at least a season before Aquilani adapts to the Premiership and starts to play at a decent level, all of which begs the question, what's the point in signing him in the first place?

We’ve been here before of course; Benitez displayed his acute injury blindness last year with the signing of Philip Degen, who has since pocketed hundreds of thousands of pounds sitting on the sidelines.

Degen only played 10 games for Borussia Dortmund in the 2007-08 season, but Benitez ignored this, just like he is seemingly ignoring Aquilani’s infinitely worse record. Degen was (thankfully) a free transfer but Aquilani will cost a significant amount of money.

I do not doubt that Aquilani is a decent player, but Liverpool need someone to come in and do the job NOW, not in three months. The club should be looking for a reliable player who can *consistently* contribute, not someone who, in all probability, will spend more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.

It really is beyond belief that of all the players Liverpool could sign, Aquilani is the best Benitez can come up with. Even if he passes the medical, the probability that he will get injured again is extremely high.

Roma is the only club getting the 'best deal' here; I imagine its Board members are rubbing their hands together right about now, gleefully toasting their good fortune.

Let's just hope that Liverpool don't suffer the consequences of what could turn out to be a very expensive mistake.

By Jaimie Kanwar

Jamie Kanwar talks bollox if you ask me.

[bigmick]

That's cleared that one up then Mind you, it's only the same as i post when someone puts up one of Tompkin's pieces of nonsense so fair play.

[stmichael]

I've seen the lad takes a mean free kick. Please God, let the guy take a decent corner.  

[tubby]

Just heard that he has arrived for his medical.

[Scottbot]

Aquilani’s recent injury record

* 4 Oct 2007 – 1 Jan 2008: Calf injury
* 24 Oct 2008 – 21 Nov 2008: Thigh injury
* 28 Nov 2008 – 2 Jan 2009: Thigh injury
* 13 Feb 2009 – 10 Mar 2009: Ankle
* 12 Mar 2009 – Present: Ankle (recent surgery)


Appearance stats

* Last 3 years: Started 27 league games out of a possible 114 (23% of games)
* Last 5 years: Started 61 league games out of a possible 190 (32% of games)


To make matters worse, Aquilani is injured *at this very moment*, which means the chances of him being properly fit for the first stage of the season are practically nil, which will decrease the overall strength of the squad.







Degen only played 10 games for Borussia Dortmund in the 2007-08 season, but Benitez ignored this, just like he is seemingly ignoring Aquilani’s infinitely worse record. Degen was (thankfully) a free transfer but Aquilani will cost a significant amount of money.



By Jaimie Kanwar

Jamie Kanwar talks bollox if you ask me.[/quote]
I've removed the bits you might consider to be bo.ll.ox...

[tubby]

I've seen the lad takes a mean free kick. Please God, let the guy take a decent corner.  

Hopefully he will. Although some of Stevies corners last season we decent for the most part they are pretty ineffective. But we also need to make sure more people are attacking balls in the box like Skrtel or Agger.

[bunglemark2]

Aquilani’s recent injury record

* 4 Oct 2007 – 1 Jan 2008: Calf injury
* 24 Oct 2008 – 21 Nov 2008: Thigh injury
* 28 Nov 2008 – 2 Jan 2009: Thigh injury
* 13 Feb 2009 – 10 Mar 2009: Ankle
* 12 Mar 2009 – Present: Ankle (recent surgery)


Appearance stats

* Last 3 years: Started 27 league games out of a possible 114 (23% of games)
* Last 5 years: Started 61 league games out of a possible 190 (32% of games)


To make matters worse, Aquilani is injured *at this very moment*, which means the chances of him being properly fit for the first stage of the season are practically nil, which will decrease the overall strength of the squad.







Degen only played 10 games for Borussia Dortmund in the 2007-08 season, but Benitez ignored this, just like he is seemingly ignoring Aquilani’s infinitely worse record. Degen was (thankfully) a free transfer but Aquilani will cost a significant amount of money.



By Jaimie Kanwar

Jamie Kanwar talks bollox if you ask me.

I've removed the bits you might consider to be bo.ll.ox...[/quote]
LOL....

Valid point mate, you can't dispute that injury record.
And I certainly don't buy the "Liverpool know better than Roma about how to nurture a player back to full fitness". FFS, all these clubs have qualified professional experts, or at least access to the best in sports physios etc., so suggesting they're doing something wrong, and we know more about it, is arrogant and facetious....Not on the club's part I mean, 'cos they haven't said that, but there must be an awful lot more that we don't know about here....

[bigmick]

And I certainly don't buy the "Liverpool know better than Roma about how to nurture a player back to full fitness". FFS, all these clubs have qualified professional experts,

Yes I agree Mark, that part of the post was b0ll0cks. Given Degens record, Aurelio's, Torres's etc etc and indeed Alonso's previously, it was a strange claim to make.

The reality is with any player, a huge amount of luck determines whether or not they get injured, and the influence of training and physios and the like is overplayed by hacks on occasions I think. Some players though are more "prone" to injury than others, not through any fault of their own, it's just the way it is.

This fella may well come to Liverpool and never get injured, but on the other hand he may not. Nobody knows for sure, but you can fairly safely say that on the balance of probability, he is more "prone" to an injury than your average player. This is the case however clever we try and convince ourselves that we are in injury management.

[Dundalk]

Riise seems to think we have bought ourselves a good player

[Diego Ribas da Cunha]

I've red a couple of Roma's forum, and almost every Roma supporters have the same thinking about this transfer: Aquilani is a fan favourite and they love him, BUT he never plays and he has been payed a lot, so... well, they won't cry very much.

[Diego Ribas da Cunha]

Aquilani Rabona

I'm sorry for the bad quality...

[Emerald Red]

Aquilani’s recent injury record

* 4 Oct 2007 – 1 Jan 2008: Calf injury
* 24 Oct 2008 – 21 Nov 2008: Thigh injury
* 28 Nov 2008 – 2 Jan 2009: Thigh injury
* 13 Feb 2009 – 10 Mar 2009: Ankle
* 12 Mar 2009 – Present: Ankle (recent surgery)


Appearance stats

* Last 3 years: Started 27 league games out of a possible 114 (23% of games)
* Last 5 years: Started 61 league games out of a possible 190 (32% of games)


To make matters worse, Aquilani is injured *at this very moment*, which means the chances of him being properly fit for the first stage of the season are practically nil, which will decrease the overall strength of the squad.







Degen only played 10 games for Borussia Dortmund in the 2007-08 season, but Benitez ignored this, just like he is seemingly ignoring Aquilani’s infinitely worse record. Degen was (thankfully) a free transfer but Aquilani will cost a significant amount of money.



By Jaimie Kanwar

Jamie Kanwar talks bollox if you ask me.

I've removed the bits you might consider to be bo.ll.ox...

LOL....

Valid point mate, you can't dispute that injury record.
And I certainly don't buy the "Liverpool know better than Roma about how to nurture a player back to full fitness". FFS, all these clubs have qualified professional experts, or at least access to the best in sports physios etc., so suggesting they're doing something wrong, and we know more about it, is arrogant and facetious....Not on the club's part I mean, 'cos they haven't said that, but there must be an awful lot more that we don't know about here....[/quote]
I can dispute it. And there is nothing arrogant in saying that we have a training regime and a manager that knows how to protect a player from reoccuring injury. Take a look at the thigh injury on that list and the dates. Smacks of a player that's been rushed back, and even so a thigh strain is hardly the crux of a injury prone player, now is it? All players get thigh injuries. Could basically just be a dead leg or a strained muscle. Minor and nothing to worry about. It's also a matter of luck and not the case of a player being brittle or injury prone. The guy could have taken a couple of hefty knocks and unfortunately ended up injured. Hardly a Fabio Aurelio, now is he? F*ck sake, he got injured playing football with his kid.

The one that worries me is the current injury. The ankle. Aside from the knee, it's the most vulnerable joint on the body. Apparently his latest injury is to do with an infection after an op. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but is that due to a bad case of luck, or a bad case of medical staff not doing their job properly?