Liverpool FC Forum

by **Scottbot** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:48 am

I thought the lad played a good game yesterday and I'm a bit surprised to see him get any faint criticism. Bottom line for me, we looked a better side with him on the pitch and I was disapointed to see him subbed off when we switched to a more direct approach. I'm beginning to re-evaluate my (ever-changing) opinion of him, still a MASSIVE mistake in the context of this season (a complete clusterf...u...c..k in fact) but perhaps he can be a player for us next year. He still can't defend for toffee but he is making more of an effort (he even made a couple of fouls yesterday!), he has looked fitter, sharper and more mobile in the recent games and he affects the tempo of our passing in a positive way (it's much quicker when he plays).

The race for 4th is done and dusted so just play the lad from here on in and see if we've got a player or not.

by **stmichael** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:48 am

leep33 wrote:I do not think he will be here next season, i think he may be too lightweight for our league and is better suited to italian football.

Well thaks for giving the guy a chance anyway. Seriously, what do some fans want? Nobody gets a chance to settle these days.

Kyrgiakos got written off at the start of the season and Benitez was hammered for buying him, but he's settle into the place and is now a good quality player for a bargain price. Same thing will be said of Maxi.

Aquilani was brought for 5 years ffs.

by **kazza** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:04 pm

stmichael wrote:
leep33 wrote:I do not think he will be here next season, i think he may be too lightweight for our league and is better suited to italian football.

Well thaks for giving the guy a chance anyway. Seriously, what do some fans want? Nobody gets a chance to settle these days.

Kyrgiakos got written off at the start of the season and Benitez was hammered for buying him, but he's settle into the place and is now a good quality player for a bargain price. Same thing will be said of Maxi.

Aquilani was brought for 5 years ffs.

I agree, it seems much easier to criticize and right off than it is to complement. One genius even said Aquilani is worth no more than five million pounds :laugh:

It is clear he has quality and he seems to be playing with more confidence of late and seems to be taking more control of things. Obviously the criticism Aquilani had from Rafa about his injury helped as he has played with more umph last couple of matches.

by **stmichael** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:06 pm

FWIW I agree with Scottbott that the signing was a strange one in the context of this season. But how people can say he's not good enough after a handful of performances is laughable. I though he was probably our best player yesterday.

by **andy_g** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:08 pm

agree with you on that. for a while he was the only one who actually had the bowlocks to have a shot

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:08 pm

And then he got subbed...

by **Owzat** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:15 pm

Bad Bob wrote:And then he got subbed...

Well when you're at home looking for goals you keep your DM on and take a playmaker off, didn't you read the Rafa guide to management?

by **Scottbot** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:16 pm

Bad Bob wrote:And then he got subbed...

Yeah I was pretty pretty pis...sed when they called his number. To be fair to Rafa, he actually changed up the system (switching to 4-4-2) by putting Kuyt up top and that is something he hasn't done enough of this season but for me he needed to keep Aquilani on the field. I would have taken off Maxi, played 3 at the back, shunted Johnson up to RM and played a 3-4-1-2 with Gerrard or Aqua behind the front two.

After Johnson, Aqua was our best player yesterday.

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:23 pm

Scottbot wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:And then he got subbed...

Yeah I was pretty pretty pis...sed when they called his number. To be fair to Rafa, he actually changed up the system (switching to 4-4-2) by putting Kuyt up top and that is something he hasn't done enough of this season but for me he needed to keep Aquilani on the field. I would have taken off Maxi, played 3 at the back, shunted Johnson up to RM and played a 3-4-1-2 with Gerrard or Aqua behind the front two.

After Johnson, Aqua was our best player yesterday.

I thought Masch was quite good as well. He didn't have much to do in his conventional destroyer role so I was pleased to see him getting involved in the build-up with some good distribution. Cracking effort at goal in the first half too. Someone mentioned in another thread how his passing is underrated and I agree. He's no Alonso or anything but he's good vision and good technique, which can produce something special from time to time. His close control and ability to accelerate away from challengers with the ball at his feet are also great tools for opening up defenses. I used to get quite frustrated at the offensive side of his game (esp. his propensity to take needless potshots from distance when better options were available) but I think he's really brought that side of his game on. Partner him with a Gerrard or an Aquilani and let them boss the show, Rafa--no need for the double holding formation.

by **Sir Roger** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:28 pm

He disappointed me yesterday. I expect more but he is falling short of what he can do. I have to blame Rafa for not giving him as much time and opportunity as he gave Kuyt and Lucas. If Aquilani played as much as these two I believe he would be a better player. As it stands he is out of sync with the others and he looks lost sometimes. Maybe if he has a decent consistent run next season we will see the best of him. Its too late this season

by **Scottbot** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:32 pm

Sir Roger wrote:He disappointed me yesterday. I expect more but he is falling short of what he can do. I have to blame Rafa for not giving him as much time and opportunity as he gave Kuyt and Lucas. If Aquilani played as much as these two I believe he would be a better player. As it stands he is out of sync with the others and he looks lost sometimes. Maybe if he has a decent consistent run next season we will see the best of him. Its too late this season

How did he disappoint?

For me he saw lot of the ball, he gave good angles, showed for it, was always available, always involved, used it quickly when he had it. He affected the tempo of our play, spread the ball out wide on several occasions, he got a few shots in, covered a lot of ground. I'm not sure what you were expecting from him yesterday? Especially when you have David Ngog playing ahead of you.

by **Sir Roger** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:18 pm

Scottbot wrote:
Sir Roger wrote:He disappointed me yesterday. I expect more but he is falling short of what he can do. I have to blame Rafa for not giving him as much time and opportunity as he gave Kuyt and Lucas. If Aquilani played as much as these two I believe he would be a better player. As it stands he is out of sync with the others and he looks lost sometimes. Maybe if he has a decent consistent run next season we will see the best of him. Its too late this season

How did he disappoint?

For me he saw lot of the ball, he gave good angles, showed for it, was always available, always involved, used it quickly when he had it. He affected the tempo of our play, spread the ball out wide on several occasions, he got a few shots in, covered a lot of ground. I'm not sure what you were expecting from him yesterday? Especially when you have David Ngog playing ahead of you.

I think hes better than he played yesterday. I wanted a goal from him because he had the chances. I want him to be outstanding because unfortunately its Rafas fault he has more to prove than Kuyt or Lucas. The £20 million price tag has seen many many supporters judge him unfairly in my opinion and I want him to be outstanding so he can shove their words down their throats.Some might say Im asking too much but I dont think I am. I genuinly believe he is a class player and cant wait for him to show it

by **LFC2007** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:21 pm

He was one of our better performers for sure (Masch was easily our best player IMO) but in the context of the team underperforming, most of this was efficient but routine play that you expect as a minimum from a Liverpool midfielder (making yourself available, supporting the play), and that's why I would say he was decent (but better than Lucas, obviously). Our general lack of movement and the inability of Ngog to hold the ball up well enough, often enough, was our major downfall on the day, but equally I thought we needed to pass it quicker to the wide areas and that's where Aquilani could have made more a difference. I also think he could've done better with the four or five chances he had. He faciliated well some of the stuff higher up with Gerrard, but when he was deeper it needed to be quicker and/or more direct. You can't really afford to go through another player when you're up against opposition like that. You have to get it there quick, otherwise they shift bodies over and crowd you out, and that's exactly what Fulham did.

by **Reg** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:52 pm

stmichael wrote:Aquilani was brought for 5 years ffs.

Thats true but his year on teh sidelines has costs us a lot of money.

12 months interest on 5 million downpayment = 400,000 quid
52 weeks salary at (guess) 45,000 a week 2,340,000
Social payments at 50% salary 1,170,000
Depreciation on 20 million purchase price 7 million?
Very rough cost of 12 months on the bench: 10.910 million pounds.

Yes... lets not forget depreciation.

Most clubs would not allow so much money to be carelessly wasted. Zero impact value.

by **Scottbot** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:32 pm

Sir Roger wrote:
Scottbot wrote:
Sir Roger wrote:He disappointed me yesterday. I expect more but he is falling short of what he can do. I have to blame Rafa for not giving him as much time and opportunity as he gave Kuyt and Lucas. If Aquilani played as much as these two I believe he would be a better player. As it stands he is out of sync with the others and he looks lost sometimes. Maybe if he has a decent consistent run next season we will see the best of him. Its too late this season

How did he disappoint?

For me he saw lot of the ball, he gave good angles, showed for it, was always available, always involved, used it quickly when he had it. He affected the tempo of our play, spread the ball out wide on several occasions, he got a few shots in, covered a lot of ground. I'm not sure what you were expecting from him yesterday? Especially when you have David Ngog playing ahead of you.

I think hes better than he played yesterday. I wanted a goal from him because he had the chances. I want him to be outstanding because unfortunately its Rafas fault he has more to prove than Kuyt or Lucas. The £20 million price tag has seen many many supporters judge him unfairly in my opinion and I want him to be outstanding so he can shove their words down their throats.Some might say Im asking too much but I dont think I am. I genuinly believe he is a class player and cant wait for him to show it

Dude is that not a bit of a contradiction? You don't want others to judge him unfairly but concede that you're doing it yourself?

Liverpool FC Forum

ALBERTO AQUILANI - Official Thread

Who is online