Liverpool FC Forum

[Scottbot]

Personally, I think that Alberto will need to prove his worth as a centre-mid if he's to be a success in the England. He can do a job behind Torres but i'd agree with those who say Gerrard and Cole would probably do it bit better + he doesn't quite have the attributes I like from a player in that position, I'd prefer a player with more mobility. Simply for me, if he can get a bit stronger, change his mentality with regards to the defensive part of his game ie. he doesn't have to become a great tackler but he does need to put the effort in then he has a chance. If he doesn't I think he will struggle.

[rocky29]

why do england never win feck all. Because you lot are all the fecking same. All u want is tough tackiing huff the ball up type players. All of u moan about aquas frailities. Aquilani will prove this season that hes better than cole and gerrard but all u lot will be looking for is whether hes sticks the boot it. Absolutely typical english mentality.

[andy_g]

you lot

who the feck is this 'you lot' you are always banging on about?

[dawson99]

you dont wanna waste Cole on wide left though... our problem is gonna be no width with anyone playing wide wanting to come into the centre of the park

[Sabre]

He can probably/almost certainly play in a 4-5-1 at the head of the midfield, but Cole will offer more than he will in there, and Gerrard certainly would.

I don't want to jinx things but neither Cole nor Aquilani have exactly been iron men the last two seasons.  If one of them gets hurt, it might be a good plan to have the other as back-up.  If both are fit, we have genuine competition for the between the lines slot.  Win win.

Im 100% against the idea of either one of them playing 'the Gerrard role' as a second striker behind Torres... They both dont offer enough in terms of goals be moving Gerrard that far back to compensate...

Yes the problem is that yesteryear it was an awful season. I don't think we missed Alonso THAT much, I don't think we had a shítty manager, I just think injuries and some of the positions plainly didn't work (and yes, that's because of the manager). The midfield didn't work, that's all I know.

And I know Gerrard can play as a pure CM alongside Mascherano. And that's what I want to see, because I don't want to see Lucas alongside Mascherano 3/4 of the season again.

If the main central midfield pairing doesn't work, you can put Gerrard behind Torres, but without good service they won't be as effective as the showed 2 years ago when they scored lots of goals together.

So to solve the problem we have some pieces, and without signings, the only way to put the best players of midfield together, and that's, Aquilani, Gerrard and Mascherano, is to put Gerrard as a CM.

If we play that way and injuries are not as hard as last season, it can be a very good season.

Why not Aquilani? because he's less complete than Gerrard, and is a player to have a well safe CM behind him.

In a nutshell I'm of the "play Mascha and Gerrard together, Lucas as a sub" brigade.

[NANNY RED]

Last few lines are the one that is concerning me, briliant prospect, and sad if he dosnt stay,

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7907704/Liverpool-misfit-Alberto-Aquilani-given-vote-of-confidence-by-new-manager-Roy-Hodgson.html
]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport....on.html[/url]


Liverpool misfit Alberto Aquilani given vote of confidence by new manager Roy Hodgson
Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani says he has been assured that he has a future at Anfield despite his struggles to adapt to life in the Premier League since his £17 million move from Roma last year.


By Rory Smith
Published: 7:00AM BST 24 Jul 2010

Aquilani missed much of the first half of last season with an ankle injury suffered while still in Serie A and, even once he had regained his fitness, could show only glimpses of the ability which once made him one of Italy's brightest prospects.

But, although speculation continues to link the 26 year-old with a return to his homeland as new manager Roy Hodgson attempts to raise funds, the former Fulham manager has told the Italian international that he is very much in his plans for the coming campaign.

"Alberto has had very positive conversations with Roy Hodgson and he expects to stay for at least another year at Liverpool," said the player's agent, Franco Zavaglia.

"There are always rumours, but Alberto is enjoying his life in England and he does not want to go anywhere."

Liverpool's Daniel Pacheco, 19, the Spanish youth international who is emerging as one of the stars of the European Under-19 Championship, has admitted he will consider his future once the competition ends.

[Ben Patrick]

Last few lines are the one that is concerning me, briliant prospect, and sad if he dosnt stay,

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/7907704/Liverpool-misfit-Alberto-Aquilani-given-vote-of-confidence-by-new-manager-Roy-Hodgson.html

]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport....on.html[/url]


Liverpool misfit Alberto Aquilani given vote of confidence by new manager Roy Hodgson
Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani says he has been assured that he has a future at Anfield despite his struggles to adapt to life in the Premier League since his £17 million move from Roma last year.


By Rory Smith
Published: 7:00AM BST 24 Jul 2010

Aquilani missed much of the first half of last season with an ankle injury suffered while still in Serie A and, even once he had regained his fitness, could show only glimpses of the ability which once made him one of Italy's brightest prospects.

But, although speculation continues to link the 26 year-old with a return to his homeland as new manager Roy Hodgson attempts to raise funds, the former Fulham manager has told the Italian international that he is very much in his plans for the coming campaign.

"Alberto has had very positive conversations with Roy Hodgson and he expects to stay for at least another year at Liverpool," said the player's agent, Franco Zavaglia.

"There are always rumours, but Alberto is enjoying his life in England and he does not want to go anywhere."

Liverpool's Daniel Pacheco, 19, the Spanish youth international who is emerging as one of the stars of the European Under-19 Championship, has admitted he will consider his future once the competition ends.

You know what, while these youth tournaments are obviously great for young players to be playing in, representing their country at that age must be very special.
But its held Pacheco back for me, there have been numerous occasions last year when he may have featured for us like against Leeds i think it was, when he was away with the spanish youth team.
Its frustrated me to be honest.

[NANNY RED]

I understand what you mean Ben . but have you seen him in this tournament , he has been outstanding , unbelievable , scoring some great goals. it would be a sacralidge to lose this kid, because i think he could play a big part next season, he is more than ready from what i have seen of him here to do his bit, i just hope the kid stays.

[Ben Patrick]

I understand what you mean Ben . but have you seen him in this tournament , he has been outstanding , unbelievable , scoring some great goals. it would be a sacralidge to lose this kid, because i think he could play a big part next season, he is more than ready from what i have seen of him here to do his bit, i just hope the kid stays.

Based on what i have seen of him before the tournament i agree the lad has a lot of talent.
He should have been given a bit part role last season and he would have been in a better position for now.
He is definately not one that i would consider letting go of at all.

[aCe']

He can probably/almost certainly play in a 4-5-1 at the head of the midfield, but Cole will offer more than he will in there, and Gerrard certainly would.

I don't want to jinx things but neither Cole nor Aquilani have exactly been iron men the last two seasons.  If one of them gets hurt, it might be a good plan to have the other as back-up.  If both are fit, we have genuine competition for the between the lines slot.  Win win.

Im 100% against the idea of either one of them playing 'the Gerrard role' as a second striker behind Torres... They both dont offer enough in terms of goals be moving Gerrard that far back to compensate...

Yes the problem is that yesteryear it was an awful season. I don't think we missed Alonso THAT much, I don't think we had a shítty manager, I just think injuries and some of the positions plainly didn't work (and yes, that's because of the manager). The midfield didn't work, that's all I know.

And I know Gerrard can play as a pure CM alongside Mascherano. And that's what I want to see, because I don't want to see Lucas alongside Mascherano 3/4 of the season again.

If the main central midfield pairing doesn't work, you can put Gerrard behind Torres, but without good service they won't be as effective as the showed 2 years ago when they scored lots of goals together.

So to solve the problem we have some pieces, and without signings, the only way to put the best players of midfield together, and that's, Aquilani, Gerrard and Mascherano, is to put Gerrard as a CM.

If we play that way and injuries are not as hard as last season, it can be a very good season.

Why not Aquilani? because he's less complete than Gerrard, and is a player to have a well safe CM behind him.

In a nutshell I'm of the "play Mascha and Gerrard together, Lucas as a sub" brigade.

I understand your point Sabre and im all for having a trio of Mascherano-Gerrard-Aquilani playing in CM with Gerrard obviously the one tracking back with Mascherano to cover at the defensive end... But my point was that the setup from last season (and the season before for that matter) was not one that relied on one holding midfielder along with a box-to-box midfielder and an attacking one... it was more of a 2 holding midfielders with one second striker thing

                         Mascherano           Lucas

Kuyt                                                                     Benny

                                          Gerrard

                                           Torres

What I would like to see is a slight change of setup when we are on the ball with Gerrard and Aquilani playing higher up while Mascherano stays behind and protects the back4... Obviously that might leave Torres a bit isolated (us not playing a second striker) but if we abandon the counter attacking style and try to focus more on a possession passing game ( In Aquilani, Cole, Gerrard, and Maxi/Kuyt we have players capable of doing so imo) then it might work better for us... Regardless of J.Cole's position he can always roam around providing support for Torres from deeper. Same with Kuyt if he's played down the flank.. To be honest i think we'd play much better football in terms of buildup play if we played this

                              Mascherano

             Gerrard                              Aquilani

Kuyt                                                               J.Cole     
                                   Torres


Both Gerrard and Aquilani have shown that they are capable of driving towards the box on and off the ball and with the added support of Cole and Kuyt we'd have a formidable attacking unit imo with the 5 players above..

Another main reason for playing Cole sown the flank is our lack of quality options down the left flank... Lets be honest here, not many have seen Jovanovic play and from what I have seen of him in the WorldCup he doesnt strike me as a flair player who would provide much in terms of buildup play, much like Kuyt... Realistically, J.Cole is the best player we have in that position.. Also, in Gerrard and Aquilani i believe we have 2 quality attacking player who play a more central role ... To get the best out of what we have we'll probably need to play Aquilani in there and have J.Cole pushed out wide...

[Sabre]

i´m in the beach with the cell phone and i cannot comment more than
good post .

[Tim LFC]

Big season for this lad, hope he shines we really need him too as it would add more quality to our team. Sink or swim is the game for Aquilani now.

[bigmick]

To make it, for me, he has to show things that we haven't seen from him before. Ace's post on this page is an excellent one, but although playing 4-1-4-1 with Masherano as the lone sitter sounds attractive, I  simply can't see us playing that way. If we do, Torres is going to get destroyed playing up there totally on his own. Equally, I don't think FWIW Masherano is going to be at the club.

No, for me Aquilani either has to make it as a bona fide midfielder in a 4-4-2, or he has to be better than Joey Cole or Gerrard or any striker we bring in at playing off Torres (obviously injuries to other players permitting).

He can do any of the above, but whether he will or not is another matter. He is obviously a talented player, but I maintain he isn't talented enough for us to be able to carry him. He isn't a Christiano Ronaldo, nor is he a Thierry Henri in his pomp, or an Eric Cantona or a Gianfranco Zola. What he is, is a good footballer. That isn't on it's own enough to warrant carrying him. He isn't going to contibute enough going forward to compensate for what he doesn't fo going backwards based on what we've seen so far IMHO.

He MUST though make one of those roles work for him. I'm coming round to the idea that if we don't buy a Steven Ireland, central midfield might be his best chance.

[Tim LFC]

To make it, for me, he has to show things that we haven't seen from him before. Ace's post on this page is an excellent one, but although playing 4-1-4-1 with Masherano as the lone sitter sounds attractive, I  simply can't see us playing that way. If we do, Torres is going to get destroyed playing up there totally on his own. Equally, I don't think FWIW Masherano is going to be at the club.

No, for me Aquilani either has to make it as a bona fide midfielder in a 4-4-2, or he has to be better than Joey Cole or Gerrard or any striker we bring in at playing off Torres (obviously injuries to other players permitting).

He can do any of the above, but whether he will or not is another matter. He is obviously a talented player, but I maintain he isn't talented enough for us to be able to carry him. He isn't a Christiano Ronaldo, nor is he a Thierry Henri in his pomp, or an Eric Cantona or a Gianfranco Zola. What he is, is a good footballer. That isn't on it's own enough to warrant carrying him. He isn't going to contibute enough going forward to compensate for what he doesn't fo going backwards based on what we've seen so far IMHO.

He MUST though make one of those roles work for him. I'm coming round to the idea that if we don't buy a Steven Ireland, central midfield might be his best chance.

I agree he needs to put some tackles in, unleash the shackles off him, i would like him to shoot a lot more, he's easily got the best long range shots in the team or on par with Gerrard but can hit with both feet. He bulks up and does some tackles, he'll start a lot more.

[PabloAimar]

why do england never win feck all. Because you lot are all the fecking same. All u want is tough tackiing huff the ball up type players. All of u moan about aquas frailities. Aquilani will prove this season that hes better than cole and gerrard but all u lot will be looking for is whether hes sticks the boot it. Absolutely typical english mentality.

I kind of agree with where you're coming from