Liverpool FC Forum

[Toffeehater]

My heads in a mess at the moment Mick that I cannot respond to your topic in a sensible manner.
But Andy Gray said the one to look out for next season was Ryan Babel he has all the traights to becoming the new Henry, he has that many tricks up his sleve but it all depends on what Babel turns up on the day.

Because he is very lazy.

Well we know that already turning up twice late in the Holland training Camp.

lazy in a certain sense , not lazy just because he woke up late , babel is a solid player but like u said it is a matter of which babel turns up , there is one whom trips over the ball , tries too hards and ends up making something worse and there is the other babel which uses his skills , pace and trickery to beat players and without a doubt like mick said , ryan babel is improving with every match he plays for us , he just needs the confidence and he will be a star for the future , rafa should play him week in and week out to give him that confidence , but at the moment , it seems that this will be the only type of matches he will start until rafa decides that babel is ready to actually tart bigger and more matches rather then just player against weak teams and come on as a sub

[Toffeehater]

Agreed on Lucas, he looks like he'll be class.  We'll have trouble finding a place for him but there's no question the talent's there.

On Babel, I'm still not convinced, TBH.  Much has to do with the fact that he's no winger and so we're not seeing his best out there.  A lot has to do with his mentality, though.  As Ciggy has said, he seems a bit of a dozy lad.  When he's on song and buzzing about he can be a real threat but he seems to hide all too easily if things don't go smoothly for him.  I just haven't seen that determination from him yet that says he's ready to sweat blood for the cause.  Now, as Kuyt well demonstrates, sheer determination is not enough but with this kid, I'd like to see a bit more passion, a bit more conviction, a bit more ferocity.  Perhaps I'm being harsh on the lad but that's my feeling on him thus far.

fair point bob but don't forget mate it's only his first season , how many did henry take to become what he was at arsenal and what he is today , only with time and experience will tell what kind of player babel will become

[Toffeehater]

I agree that Babel's not at his best when played out wide.  I've also seen a lot of people wondering when we're going to see him partnered with Torres up top.  So, my second question is whether that partnership would actually work?  That is, is it one of those partnerships that sounds great on paper (Think of the flair!  Think of the pace!) but never quite clicks on the pitch?  Would Babel actually be a good foil for Torres?  Answers in an envelope...

In the Euro' U-21 tournament last summer, he played up front alongside Maceo Rigters - an equally pacey forward. Rigters was generally the guy who made runs beyond the opposition back line, creating space for Babel to run into - which is what he needs because he's not really a guy who can operate as effectively in tight spaces. If Babel played up top with Torres I would imagine they could alternate (I was going to say rotate) running the channels, as they both have plenty of pace. They both have powerful and quite accurate shots, so any space they were able to create between them theyd be able to get a shot off, Kuyt unfortunately seems to have slowed down so much that getting a meaningful shot off is unlikely to happen, in spite of any space created by Torres' runs. Voronin, well, I'll not go there.

good point but just for the record , he's faster then torres  , ur point on babel having a good shot is where i don't really agree , yes he has good power in his shots but his accuracy is the problem , i think that's something that he has got to work on and improve possibly over the summer

Fyi , for those who say that babel is lazy as he does not run back to defend and all that , look at ronaldo? when have u ever seen him in defence , or tevez or rooney for that matter ,

Strikers and wingers don't usually fall back to defend , they stay foward and push up just incase of a counter but as for where babel's best role would be , can't be decided as we haven't seen enough of babel playing as a striker , so our conclusions and comments can only be based on so much as a guess if he would be a better player up top

[Toffeehater]

I know lucas has potential to become a world class midfielder.... I don't know about babel mate... he seems to have potential but I'm starting to doubt this potential... he's definitely not a winger but at the same time he needs to be deadlier as a forward IMO... right now he doesn't have a striker's instinct...

because he's playing as  a winger , keep ur judgement's on whether he's a good striker when he is ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PLAY THERE!!!

[puroresu]

The fact that Babel seems more of a goal threat than Crouch, Kuyt and Vorinin even though his been playing wide is enough to tell me he should be given a go up front.

[stmichael]

Babel was really dangerous last night but I'm not going over the top. Some of his play is still ridiculously sloppy and his crossing isn't always the best. However you can see that he's trying to be make better decisions with the ball and his technique is superb.

I'm not having a go at the lad because I really like him and I think it's about time he gets a run. He's done great from the bench but he's been here a while now and we need him to really step up and fulfil a bit of his potential.

The one thing you can say about him, is the fact that he's so dangerous with his pace and shooting ability. He's definitely a striker.

[maguskwt]

I know lucas has potential to become a world class midfielder.... I don't know about babel mate... he seems to have potential but I'm starting to doubt this potential... he's definitely not a winger but at the same time he needs to be deadlier as a forward IMO... right now he doesn't have a striker's instinct...

because he's playing as  a winger , keep ur judgement's on whether he's a good striker when he is ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PLAY THERE!!!

I've seen enough of him getting to a striker's position (by cutting in) to make this comment... it's not a judgement... it's an opinion... time and time again he gets to a good position to strike because of his pace... but time and time again he misses just wide... don't get me wrong I like his shooting technique alot... the ball is always kept lower than the bar and the shots are always fast and powerful... but he's not calculative enough... he just looks down and shoots wishing for it to go in... how about sidestepping your marker and make a simple well placed shot?... haven't seen this kind of calculativeness from him... in other words he doesn't use his head enough...

[Igor Zidane]

I made my mind up about Lucas pretty early on . I watched a pre season game (can't remember who against ) and Jack hobbs was playing in the centre of midfield in the 1st half and Lucas in the 2nd half . Now i know Hobbs is now playing at centre back ,but he was a a midfielder ,anyway the difference betwwen the two was very striking . In the 1st half Hobbs must have touched the ball half a dozen times . Each time he made a nice and tidy pass of to a team mate, no problems there i hear you say. In the 2nd half lucas controlled the midfield ,he must have had half a dozen touches in the first 5 mins. He showed for the ball constantly , making space for himself and others , his passing was crisp and accurate , and his ball control was perfect. That was his first game in a liverpool shirt , very impressive indeed.

Now babel is a different matter , like most have said , he's defo a striker and potentially a great one . He's very direct and not scared to have a crack at goal , but like most have said again , he needs to work on his awareness and his control a little , but if we stick him upfront i have no doubts whatsoever that he will be afar more potent weapon than either vorinin or kuyt.

[stmichael]

Now babel is a different matter , like most have said , he's defo a striker and potentially a great one . He's very direct and not scared to have a crack at goal , but like most have said again , he needs to work on his awareness and his control a little , but if we stick him upfront i have no doubts whatsoever that he will be afar more potent weapon than either vorinin or kuyt.

He's miles more of a goal threat then Crouch, Kuyt and Voronin because he has pace, power and seems like he knows how to finish. Anyone who gets taught by Marco Van Basten on how to strike a ball is going to pick some pointers up.

We know how popular Andy Gray is on here but apparently even he remarked last night about how good a prospect Babel is and the fact that probably this season is just a learning curve for him and he expects him to explode next season.

I can see why Rafa is holding him back but he is playing regular now and its only the fact we are sh#te on the left that Babel is there.

[Ace Ventura]

I've seen enough of him getting to a striker's position (by cutting in) to make this comment... it's not a judgement... it's an opinion... time and time again he gets to a good position to strike because of his pace... but time and time again he misses just wide... don't get me wrong I like his shooting technique alot... the ball is always kept lower than the bar and the shots are always fast and powerful... but he's not calculative enough... he just looks down and shoots wishing for it to go in... how about sidestepping your marker and make a simple well placed shot?... haven't seen this kind of calculativeness from him... in other words he doesn't use his head enough...

About the side stepping his marker comment, did you not see the goal at home to Derby when he sent two players the wrong way with a drop of the shoulder, then finished with a brilliant placed shot ?

[Igor Zidane]

I've seen enough of him getting to a striker's position (by cutting in) to make this comment... it's not a judgement... it's an opinion... time and time again he gets to a good position to strike because of his pace... but time and time again he misses just wide... don't get me wrong I like his shooting technique alot... the ball is always kept lower than the bar and the shots are always fast and powerful... but he's not calculative enough... he just looks down and shoots wishing for it to go in... how about sidestepping your marker and make a simple well placed shot?... haven't seen this kind of calculativeness from him... in other words he doesn't use his head enough...

About the side stepping his marker comment, did you not see the goal at home to Derby when he sent two players the wrong way with a drop of the shoulder, then finished with a brilliant placed shot ?

Babels finish yesterday was excellent , also his shot that hit the post was really unlucky . He's defo got the ability to score alot of goals, he's proved that already this season .

[66-1112520797]

I've seen enough of him getting to a striker's position (by cutting in) to make this comment... it's not a judgement... it's an opinion... time and time again he gets to a good position to strike because of his pace... but time and time again he misses just wide... don't get me wrong I like his shooting technique alot... the ball is always kept lower than the bar and the shots are always fast and powerful... but he's not calculative enough... he just looks down and shoots wishing for it to go in... how about sidestepping your marker and make a simple well placed shot?... haven't seen this kind of calculativeness from him... in other words he doesn't use his head enough...

About the side stepping his marker comment, did you not see the goal at home to Derby when he sent two players the wrong way with a drop of the shoulder, then finished with a brilliant placed shot ?

Babels finish yesterday was excellent , also his shot that hit the post was really unlucky . He's defo got the ability to score alot of goals, he's proved that already this season .

He's scored more than Kuyt and has had less minutes on pitch.

[neil]

dang, the bigmick "i know its early but" voodoo, i liked these 2 aswell, especially Babel on the telly.

[ivor_the_injun]

I've seen enough of him getting to a striker's position (by cutting in) to make this comment... it's not a judgement... it's an opinion... time and time again he gets to a good position to strike because of his pace... but time and time again he misses just wide... don't get me wrong I like his shooting technique alot... the ball is always kept lower than the bar and the shots are always fast and powerful... but he's not calculative enough... he just looks down and shoots wishing for it to go in... how about sidestepping your marker and make a simple well placed shot?... haven't seen this kind of calculativeness from him... in other words he doesn't use his head enough...

About the side stepping his marker comment, did you not see the goal at home to Derby when he sent two players the wrong way with a drop of the shoulder, then finished with a brilliant placed shot ?

Babels finish yesterday was excellent , also his shot that hit the post was really unlucky . He's defo got the ability to score alot of goals, he's proved that already this season .

He's scored more than Kuyt and has had less minutes on pitch.

Not so - they've both got 7 goals each this season.

According to lfc.tv, Babel has actually appeared in 29 games this season, the same number as Reina and Gerrard. Only Carra has featured in more games for us this season.

Not sure how this translates to minutes on the pitch, but according to BBC:

Babel:
Apps 29 (16 as sub) - League 18, FA Cup 2, League Cup 2, Europe 7
Goals 7 (3 league, 3 Europe, 1 FA Cup)

Kuyt:
Apps 26 (9 as sub) - League 18, FA Cup 2, Europe 6
Goals 7 (3 league, 4 Europe)

Don't get me wrong though, I'd have Babel ahead of Kuyt in the pecking order without any hesitation whatsoever, regardless of what the stats say.

[heimdall]

I like both of them and would like to see them play more regularly. I think Babel should partner Torres up front for a few games and we should play Lucas alongside Stevie for a bit and actually start attacking teams, like we did last night.