bigmick wrote:Jeez can everybody stop quoting each other otherwise each post will take up a page.
My take is this. Fowler isn't the player he was when he was in his golden era at Liverpool. I don't think anybody would sensibly dispute that or indeed that anybody is claiming that. So what has he lost from those days, what has he gained and given that he is an inferior player to the world-beater that he was, to what extent have his overall powers diminished?
Clearly he has lost a good deal of his pace. Now it's a bit lazy to say "but he never had any pace". I would accept that he wouldn't have been beating Cisse over 100 yards but he had a sharpness, an explosion over two or three yards which enabled him to get to a a ball first, to get wrong side of a defender or to gain himself an extra yard when he'd wrongfooted a marker with a feint. It doesn't mean that he can no longer do these things, it just means that it's more difficult for him. It also means it's easier for the quicker and stronger defenders to momentarily be fooled by Robbies ability but then regain their position, to get right side.
His awareness like most older players has improved. I'll wager there's ten times a day when Robbie wishes he knew then (in the golden era) what he knows now. His appreciation of others aroud him and intelligence of the game as a whole will be at it's peak in his career.
His fitness has waned somewhat. Mostly because of some crippling injuries and partly I suspect because of his lifestyle away from the game. This would affect his mobility, his ability to work the defenders. Also his strength will have diminished a fair amount, making it more difficult for him to protect the ball when played up to him. His spring would be effected aswell. It's unlikely he would posess quite the same potency in the air as he used to have.
From what I've seen in the last couple of games he retains both his sublimity of touch in it's entireity and his godgiven and unsurpassed finishing ability. He remains one of the sweetest strikers of a football you ever did see and his goal against Manure was absolute poetry in the perfection of it's execution.
So that's my opinions. Not based on what anybody else thinks, my opinions. The conclusion? I think he would have a similar effect on games if he played for us as Morientes does now, except I think he'd probably score more regularly. I think he's past his best and is priobably only 70% of the fantastic player we all remember and I would consider signing him only as a bench-dweller to brought on for the last 20 in games, as much to gee the crowd up as for what he would actually do. Anybody who has read my previous posts would know that I don't think that Morientes will do the business for Liverpool, FWIW I don't think Fowler will either except in the role I have described. We need a fit and firing striker in his prime. If Defoe is the man (and I think he may be) then possibly we could consider Fowler to play mentor to the young fella.
You've spoken sense Mick, yes he's lost half a yard, yes he's lost mobility. No i don't believe he's lost strength at all to be honest.
For me now, he's still 80% of the player he was and would be electric in this Liverpool side. Do i think he'll be man of the match every week? No chance, do i think he'd score 20-25 goals and be our top scorer while positively contributing to open play in as you put it (the same way Morientes does), damn right he would. For me he's still better than Morientes. He's also the STYLE of player we need. I've said in the past you need pace as an option, my attitude has changed slightly was a right winger with Pace and Gerrard is plenty of it. Kewell has a burst still aswell.
Fowler would relish a return to Liverpool, he'll never been the same player he was, only a fool would say that. But by the same token only a fool would say he couldn't and wouldn't score goals in this side. He also has the players to link up with in Kewell, Luis Garcia and Gerrard, players that will be on his wave length.
I'd still put him in the top 10 strikers in the country easily and in the top 5 or 6 english strikers.
Owen, Rooney, Defoe and Ashton are better players. After that i'm struggling.
three weeks ago with Luis Garcia who was stone cold sober in the panamerican club on the albert dock, whats your point? Just because someone goes out and gets bladdered doesn't mean they can't be fit. I have a friend who runs marathons, yet he's out with us every sunday.
