by bigmick » Sat Jan 02, 2010 10:24 pm
I think if we are going to expect Aquilani to provide a return from central midfield anytime soon, he will be a waste of 20 million quid yes.
Of course he needs time and the rest, all players do, but you can be absolutely certain that if he does make it as a central midfielder in England he is going to have to completely transform the way he plays the game. That doesn't mean he can't do it, but it does mean he's got an awful lot of work to do. Would I have taken a punt on a guy who is patently unsuited to English football on the off chance that he may be able to adapt? Not in a million years no, but that's by the by because we have already done it. The selection today confirms the suspicion that he's been "fit" for some time but quite simply can't get in the team, such is the paucity of his contribution from a defensive and workrate point of view.
All that said it's fairly obvious he is a talented footballer, so if the desire is there in sufficient quantity then obviously he has a chance. It may well be that we have to kind of invent a role for him in order to use his talents such as they are, perhaps wide left in a similar kind of role to which Modric plays for Spurs. Redknapp has been quite clever with him, he plays him on the left but he pushed into quite an advanced role, almost a cross between a midfielder and an inside forward. It may be that we have to do the same with Alberto in order to shoehorn him into the team, or perhaps on the right although him and Johnson together might be a tad powder puff for the managers tastes.
It'll be an interesting test of the manager though. certainly at the moment I can think of better ways we could have spent 20 million quid last Summer, but we'll see.
"se e in una bottigla ed e bianco, e latte".
