ALBERTO AQUILANI - Official Thread

Liverpool Football Club - General Discussion

Postby Sir Roger » Thu May 06, 2010 9:42 am

bigmick wrote:Aquilani is a really strange one, not as a footballer, but as a catalyst for people to get all worked up. As a footballer, he obviously has talent and ability, and the question is really whether he can impose himself on matches sufficiently to compensate for the fact he doesn't do a lot of graft and is defensively non existent. He's hardly the first player who has had to deal with doubters such as myself, blokes like Modric and Deco will always and continue to polarise opinions amongst football followers.

So are people wrong to have faith in him? Well no obviously they aren't. The bare stats of his appearances (six starts and eight assistants or whatever the feck it is) indicate that our eyes don't decieve us, he has got ability. Also, he's scored a couple of goals (one of which was an excellent one against Athletico Madrid), so clearly he isn't sh!t. The question still remains though, and those of us who ask it aren't wrong either.

It's when people get hot under the collar that they get carried away. Earlier on we had someone comparing him to Alonso which made me sit up. Firstly they aren't even similar types of player so the comparison doesn't hold water, and secondly Alonso is in a different class entirely. The next outlandish claim was that Aquilani could become one of the best attacking midfielders we've ever had. Quite apart from the fact that he can't get in the team as a genuine midfielder, it is a quite ridiculous statement. Sorry to be so dismissive but come on, fecks sake lets try and keep it sensible at least.

You use the word "impose". Is that what you expect in his handful of matches in an unfamiliar league with a group of ne'er do wells and a manager who fiddles like Nero?
:laugh:
As for being sensible. You should try that one on Rafa. He lost any sense he had a good while ago. Maybe thats why the lad cant get a consistant run in the team. Not because hes not good enough?

Rafas like Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny

:wwww
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Postby Sir Roger » Thu May 06, 2010 9:46 am

andy_g wrote:
Sir Roger wrote:You said:
" its probably too much of a coincidence that he never seems to impress against a strong team."

Could you elaborate on this?

"its not just that everyone was rubbish against chelsea its that certain players didn't even seem to have it in them to try, and sadly aquilani was one of them"

This too please.

by all means...

i mean that seeing as he fails to impress against strong teams but does against weak teams means that when he is up against a strong team that doesn't allow him a lot of freedom he doesn't seem able to produce a good performance. this *might* point to the 'fact' that he is not cut out for the english game at its highest level.

and in the chelsea game he had a more ineffective game than most of the other ineffective players.

just my opinions from what i have seen so far, of course. if he's still with us next season he may come good, and i really hope so. we're all aware of the 'what about pires?' argument when it comes to foreign imports having a poor first season and i guess there is some validity in that. more recently we have seen malouda go from looking like a complete waste of space to being one of this seasons most impressive attacking players, so of course there is the possibility that aquilani will do the same. we'll just have to wait and see and keep our fingers crossed.

Hmmm
You seem to be suggesting that the players around him have no influence on his game. If they play :censored:, it doesnt affect what he is trying to do in a game?
What do you put Gerrards disatrous tw@t of a season down to? That hes not "cut out" for this league either?
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Postby kazza » Thu May 06, 2010 9:49 am

bigmick wrote:fecks sake lets try and keep it sensible at least.

Yes your right, as sensible as "he will NEVER make it in the prem" and he is only worth "five million". We should try to keep it sensible  :nod
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Postby andy_g » Thu May 06, 2010 9:50 am

Sir Roger wrote:What do you put Gerrards disatrous tw@t of a season down to? That hes not "cut out" for this league either?

now you're just being silly
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Postby rocky29 » Thu May 06, 2010 3:48 pm

am sorry but when u have players like lucas kuyt and babbel playing around you what do u expect. i bet if u put xavi or iniesta who play similar style to aqua wouldnt be as effective playing next to those donkeys
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Postby Bad Bob » Thu May 06, 2010 4:24 pm

rocky29 wrote:am sorry but when u have players like lucas kuyt and babbel playing around you what do u expect. i bet if u put xavi or iniesta who play similar style to aqua wouldnt be as effective playing next to those donkeys

Yet, Torres plays with these same 'donkeys' and excels.  Funny that.   ???
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Postby Sir Roger » Thu May 06, 2010 4:56 pm

andy_g wrote:
Sir Roger wrote:What do you put Gerrards disatrous tw@t of a season down to? That hes not "cut out" for this league either?

now you're just being silly

So Gerrards had a good season?
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Postby rocky29 » Thu May 06, 2010 5:23 pm

Bad Bob wrote:
rocky29 wrote:am sorry but when u have players like lucas kuyt and babbel playing around you what do u expect. i bet if u put xavi or iniesta who play similar style to aqua wouldnt be as effective playing next to those donkeys

Yet, Torres plays with these same 'donkeys' and excels.  Funny that.   ???

is torres a midfielder?
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Postby Bad Bob » Thu May 06, 2010 6:11 pm

rocky29 wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:
rocky29 wrote:am sorry but when u have players like lucas kuyt and babbel playing around you what do u expect. i bet if u put xavi or iniesta who play similar style to aqua wouldnt be as effective playing next to those donkeys

Yet, Torres plays with these same 'donkeys' and excels.  Funny that.   ???

is torres a midfielder?

Nah, just a striker playing up top on his own and relying on the service provided by all the midfielders around him.  I'd think it's fair to wonder why he has little trouble showing his class despite being surrounded by the so-called donkeys.
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Postby LittleHobo » Thu May 06, 2010 6:59 pm

its true though

aqua is a flair player, he needs to play with players who are on his wavelengh

not kuyt, babel, mascherano, lucas, ngog

when he has played with alot of other decent attackign players hes done very well
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Postby bigmick » Thu May 06, 2010 7:39 pm

This "Aquilani needs to playn with X Y and Z" couldn't be more wrong if it tried. Look, if you fill the team with Aquilaniesque players, you'll end up looking like Ardiles's Tottenham who got beat 5-3 every week because Alberto doesn't do a tap. I'm no lover of Lucas and Kuyt, but because of the way Alberto plays, these are precisely the kind of players he will have to play with in order to be a success in England.

That's all well and good, providing that the fetching and water carrying which others have to do in order to get him into the team is repaid with game changing contributions in big matches. Back to the same connundrum then, does Alberto do enough? I don't think he does, but some others do. We have a disagreement which is fine, lets just wait and see.
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Postby Scottbot » Thu May 06, 2010 8:10 pm

Sir Roger wrote:Is that what you expect in his handful of matches in an unfamiliar league with a group of ne'er do wells and a manager who fiddles like Nero?
:laugh:

I've had a sh....i....t day today but that absolutely broke me!!! :D
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Postby Scottbot » Thu May 06, 2010 8:11 pm

kazza wrote:
bigmick wrote:fecks sake lets try and keep it sensible at least.

Yes your right, as sensible as "he will NEVER make it in the prem" and he is only worth "five million". We should try to keep it sensible  :nod

You do actually stalk him.
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Postby Scottbot » Thu May 06, 2010 8:43 pm

bigmick wrote:This "Aquilani needs to playn with X Y and Z" couldn't be more wrong if it tried. Look, if you fill the team with Aquilaniesque players, you'll end up looking like Ardiles's Tottenham who got beat 5-3 every week because Alberto doesn't do a tap. I'm no lover of Lucas and Kuyt, but because of the way Alberto plays, these are precisely the kind of players he will have to play with in order to be a success in England.

That's all well and good, providing that the fetching and water carrying which others have to do in order to get him into the team is repaid with game changing contributions in big matches. Back to the same connundrum then, does Alberto do enough? I don't think he does, but some others do. We have a disagreement which is fine, lets just wait and see.

I'm not sure i agree, at least not when it comes to playing the lesser teams. I think if you put a player like Aquilani in with a team of clappers (aka hardworking, but technically limited players) and expect him to be the one to provide the spark and pull all the strings then it isn't gonna happen. Play him in a front five with Gerrard, Maxi, Babel, Torres and Masch in behind and you'll get the best out of him I think. He needs to play with clever players,  good movement and in a side that can keep it and play a quick tempo. From that respect I can understand why Wenger looked at him as a player.

In a Rafa Benitez team I don't honestly think he has much of a chance. This lad can't be the shining light in a team that is set up to defend and 'control' games.
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Postby aCe' » Thu May 06, 2010 9:06 pm

bigmick wrote:This "Aquilani needs to playn with X Y and Z" couldn't be more wrong if it tried. Look, if you fill the team with Aquilaniesque players, you'll end up looking like Ardiles's Tottenham who got beat 5-3 every week because Alberto doesn't do a tap. I'm no lover of Lucas and Kuyt, but because of the way Alberto plays, these are precisely the kind of players he will have to play with in order to be a success in England.

That's all well and good, providing that the fetching and water carrying which others have to do in order to get him into the team is repaid with game changing contributions in big matches. Back to the same connundrum then, does Alberto do enough? I don't think he does, but some others do. We have a disagreement which is fine, lets just wait and see.

I actually quite like the look of our midfield with Aquilani in it... Granted he does somewhat limit your 'possibilities' because of his lack of defensive qualities... He does however offer something different and i think if the manager manages to get the balance right then he could become an important player in our side..

Like you said, having him in the side forces us to play a 3man midfield.. Which in turn means that we either continue to rely on a superstriker like Torres being there or try to get more out of our wingers..

To me though, it all comes down to how the manager decides to go about his tactics when Aquilani is in the side... Having him in there means that Gerrard would probably have to give up the 2nd striker role which he has been occupying the past couple of seasons.. That will no doubt increase the pressure on Torres, Kuyt, Babel..etc to produce in the final third which is why i think that if we decide to keep Aquilani, we'll have to go for a top winger in the summer..

As things stand, i dont think Aquilani quite fits with our system of play.. He doesnt have the drive and goal-threat of Gerrard in the final third and he certainly cant play as part of a midfield duo especially not against decent opposition.. We're hugely reliant on central positions which is one of the reasons why we fcked this season up..

Get a decent winger in... Get gerrard to play a little depper.. and then this side would have alot more balance to it..
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