Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ciggy** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:44 am

Persie, Robben, Sjnieder, Drenthe, Vaart and Huntelaar are all potentially great players but in Ryan Babel, Liverpool have the one Dutch player who will without a shadow of a doubt take the world by storm.

Described as the next Thierry Henry by Van Basten and still only 20 years of age, the Liverpool winger is the youngest ranking member (no:17) on the list of the 20 most commercially valuable players in the world (ahead of Andrei Shevchencko) last year and the fourth youngest player to ever score for the senior national team, there will be no stopping him.

Consistently players are labeled as bargains of the season such as Pizzaro, Santa Cruz, Voronin, McCarthy etc. but Babel really is a snip for Liverpool at £11.5m. Man of the Match in the final of the 2007 Euro U-21 Championships, Babel really can be the best player in the world for a long time to come. He can play on either wing, up front or as a second striker. He is very direct, skillful, fast, electric and explosive.

Combined with his aggressiveness and strength Babel has already taken to the Premiership like a duck to water. Mark Lawrenson has already been quoted in the Liverpool Echo that Babel is very reminiscent of the great John Barnes. This was clearly seen with the goal he scored against Derby. Babel has class, guile, flair, movement and close control in abundance.

The big advantage he has over Robben is that he is not injury prone and at Liverpool under Benitez post 06/07 he will be able to play to a system based on attack.

Each Dutch player aforementioned have certain assets, for example while Persie has skill, pace and guile he doesn’t have the strength and aggression to go with it. In Ryan Babel Liverpool have a player who has all these features to his make up, which in turn gives him the greatest potential to realise over the next few years. In the future there will not be a weakness to his game.

Ryan Babel wasn’t being over confident when he said he would be better than Henry one day and all that’s left to say is that we’re already seeing the signs.

Arsenal were interested in Babel for quite a while but their loss will be Liverpool’s gain.

http://soccerlens.com/why-liv....011

What a player we could have on our hands he was something else in the under 21s comp this year, he has seemed a bit scared since playing for us bit of a rabbit caught in the headlights being at such a big club.

He will probably take a while to settle but if he can show the form he showed in the euro games I am prepared to wait.
Maybe breaking his duck at Anfield on saturday will have taken a lot of pressure off his shoulders.

by **mungi** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:05 am

good player and the article was correct in saying he has all the atrtributes while robben and van persie lack strength and tend to be injury prone. hopefully a sign of things to come

by **Elchris** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:12 am

Can't wait to see him perform against arsenal

This guy is quality , still has to learn alot . Really reminds me of henry when he play , the way he moves , the pace and skill . Once his game has matured , he'll be massive. Still remember how the ajax fan came to this forum and said he's not worth the price . But look who is laughing now

by **woof woof !** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:15 am

Maybe breaking his duck at Anfield on saturday will have taken a lot of pressure off his shoulders.

And it was some goal, after having sold an outrageous dummy to the two defenders he was a picture of composure , confidence and awareness as he rifled the ball precisely where he wanted it, the goalie stood no chance.

An outstanding prospect for us.

by **mungi** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:28 am

admitely it was againt derby. do it against one of the top 4 or in a champs league final then that will show whetehr or not he has got composure

by **The Manhattan Project** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:35 am

He looks good so far.

Huntelaar may be a good addition too. Now that Ajax have been knocked out of the Champions League, it might be a good idea to buy him next season. Before someone else does.

by **bunglemark2** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:37 am

Here;s my tuppence worth...The lad has obivous talent, there's no question about that. He's a bit lightweight though so could do with an extra portion of pies though, beef himself up in the gym as well...But, I sincerely hope he has more of a work ethic than either of those two prima donnas Van Persie or Robben. Hopefully Rafa will instill that in him...

by **Ciggy** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:38 am

The Manhattan Project wrote:

Huntelaar may be a good addition too. Now that Ajax have been knocked out of the Champions League, it might be a good idea to buy him next season. Before someone else does.

The mancs will probably buy him in January. I am really suprised no one bought him in the summer transfer window.

by **112-1077774096** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:42 am

woof woof ! wrote:
Maybe breaking his duck at Anfield on saturday will have taken a lot of pressure off his shoulders.

And it was some goal, after having sold an outrageous dummy to the two defenders he was a picture of composure , confidence and awareness as he rifled the ball precisely where he wanted it, the goalie stood no chance.

An outstanding prospect for us.

he sent the defenders so far the wrong way, i heared they had to pay to get back in

by **nesta** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:44 am

Sneijder is doing well for Madrid, wish he joined us aswell

by **woof woof !** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:47 am

mungi wrote:admitely it was againt derby. do it against one of the top 4 or in a champs league final then that will show whetehr or not he has got composure

I assume from that remark you dont think the lad has composure ?

He didn't exactly look panicked to me .

by **bigmick** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:53 am

He obviously has ability and really could be anything. I must confess however I really rate Van Persie and think it's probably a little premature to be putting Babel in the same bracket. Hopefully he continues to develop, and once again without wanting to put a dampener on things, if he can get into the same stratosphere as Henri was at his best then I'll be very happy. Those who say he reminds them of the ex-Arsenal player can see something which has so far eluded me I must say.

All that said, to repeat myself he obviously has lots of talent and if he develops, could turn into a really good player.

by **66-1112520797** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:55 am

From what I've seen of him so far, he hasnt set the Prem alight ala Torres. But has showed glimpse's of class here and there. While last season I was critical of Pennant, he has happily rammed my critical words back down my throat, and this season over the few games played IMHO has probably been our best consistent performer. So with that I'm hoping the same will come of Babel, the way he has started his career with us is pretty similar to how Pennant started his at Anfield. Unsure, "rabbit caught in headlights" and possibly a tad low on confidence. But as I said before its pretty clear he has some class attributes in his locker, and when he finally settles and relax's into the side I think he'll have a massive impact on our displays played.

The goal he scored was a bit of a gem, like Woof said he dummied two defenders on the edge of the box, and wrong footed the keeper with a lovely finnish to match, and I'm sure that will boast his confidence. An exciting player to watch unfold at Anfield me thinks. :nod

by **112-1077774096** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:58 am

bigmick wrote:and think it's probably a little premature

is that the same as "I know its early, but......"

trying to change the words hoping we don't notice

by **Rafa D** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:59 am

Not totally convinced by the lad yet and think that article Ciggy posted is far far too pro-Babel.

Yes he may have potential and be strong and quick, but his distribution is awful at present and he won't get anywhere without improving that.

Robben and Van Persie are REAL stars, he has to do a lot more to convince me that he's on par with those two.

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