Dirka Dirka

[chrisbonnie]

The statement is perfectly true though, and it wasn't intended as a criticism of Kuyt, it was a defence of Crouch, who is scoring goals and playing well. I don't see why it's an either/or situation between the two, and Rafa will surely rotate all of his strikers as he feels fit.

 

you`re right about 1 thing, you cant drop a striker thats scoring goals

 

however, i dont think he`s playing as well as he can, he looked a little off pace today, he constantly seemed 1 step behind everyone else, but like you said, he scored, and thats what strikers get paid to do, he played better this time last year, but couldnt buy a goal, ill take a goal scoring striker over a hard working one that cant score anyday

 

but on Kuyt, if today is anything to go by, it wont be long until he scores, and then, unfortunetly for our lanky friend, i dont see his name being on the starting sheet as often as he`d like, kuyt was brilliant today, like Dave U said, he creats a buzz when he has the ball

 

it was good to see him in his natural position as well, as i know ive only seen him in a dutch shirt, and he never got to play as an out and out striker for them, i even said in a thread here that he never seems to get into the box, well, today he proved my stupid arse wrong, i was chuffed with him today, and he`s not as ugly as i thought either, not that im into that kinda thing, but you know :tease:

[theghost]

Let's get one thing straight Crouch is fuckin shite we need to play Bellemy and Kuyt as much as possible with Robbie on the bench.

 

Crouch not for me Ronnie

 

And you base this off... what? The fact that hes off to a flying start this season? How much have you seen of Kuyt?

[Strontium]

But if Rafa want's to rotate then be it on his head.Because i think that will be his downfall

I'm sure Rafa's prepared to take the risk. In fact, based on your track record, Rafa would be well advised to take heed of your suggestions, and do the exact opposite.

[Kopite]

I'm sure Rafa's prepared to take the risk. In fact, based on your track record, Rafa would be well advised to take heed of your suggestions, and do the exact opposite.

 

:D

[Stouffer]

The effort that he put in yesterday was excellent. Shame he didn't get a goal, but you can't have everything.

[Captain]

you`re right about 1 thing, you cant drop a striker thats scoring goals

But Crouch wasn't bought to score goals, was he? :whistle:

 

In general, given the same amount of playing time, I'm very confident Kuyt will outscore Crouch. That said, I'm made up Crouch is scoring at the moment as that will allow Rafa to ease Kuyt in with less pressure to get goals immediately.

 

Rafa gave some interesting comments on Kuyt after the game:

 

"I think there is always room for improvement," claimed Rafa, "but when you analyse his first day, he played 40 minutes and had three or four chances which is not bad for a striker. I didn't have to say anything to him before the game. He is an experienced player and I have confidence in him. He knows what to do. Shooting and creating chances for himself was the idea and he did that."

 

Imho this is what Crouch lacks, and it is the reason Kuyt was bought and will play a lot of games for us this season. My guess is, it will be at Crouch's expense.

 

All will be revealed.

[MLB]

Obviously Kuyt and Bellamy will be the first choice partnership for the most part, but Crouch has responded excellently to the competition and will undoubtedly start his fair share of games this season, particularly away from home.

[05 Milan]

Crouch rules. atk is an idiot. Simple, really.

[dave u]

I see no reason why Kuyt and Crouch couldn't play together occasionally. I don't see it as being one or the other. Kuyt can work the channels, and he can drop deep to collect the ball.

 

All of our strikers can form partnerships with any of the others, and that's what is so good about the blend we have. They're all different.

[Monkeywool]

Fowler still has a good part to play in the title winning season as well I believe. Don't count him out of scoring a fair few vital goals.

[Captain]

I see no reason why Kuyt and Crouch couldn't play together occasionally. I don't see it as being one or the other. Kuyt can work the channels, and he can drop deep to collect the ball.

 

All of our strikers can form partnerships with any of the others, and that's what is so good about the blend we have. They're all different.

On occasion, neither do I. But I will be very surprised if Bellamy's pace isn't used quite often this season, and that means either Crouch or Kuyt. (Not forgetting Robbie)

 

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but don't think it was a coincidence that it was Crouch who was taken off for Kuyt.

 

I will be very surprised if Kuyt and Crouch get to start many games up front.

[snez1]

I don't rate Crouch simple as that and i stand by it.I see a player when i see one and i liked the look of Kuyt.

 

Crouch has no pace is shite in the air and does not close players down.

 

Believe me at xmas Bellemy and Kuyt will be are no 1 strike force.

 

But if Rafa want's to rotate then be it on his head.Because i think that will be his downfall

 

Yeah, rotation never works. Look how he fucked it up at Valencia by rotating Aimar who was their best player. He pissed the fans off and won fuck all......only he won 2 titles. Rotation is key. Look at Chelsea, you need a squad with 2 players for every position of good quality and they all require games. We're in 4 competitions and there are plenty of games to go round.

 

Crouch has scored 8 in 12 internationals and something like 25 in his last 44 games (going off Dave's match report). He's not an out and out striker and for me thats pretty fucking good. He is the focal point of our attack and essential to the way we play and if you haven't noticed that then your blind. The good thing is now when he has an average game like yesterday he's capeable of scoring which is exactly what he was being percieved as not able to do 12 months ago. He played well (on the whole) in those first 19 games but never scored so people slagged him for not being "a goal threat". Now if he has a poorish game and scores people slag him anyway for having a bad game. It's ridiculous.

 

I wonder if Kuyt has a few bad games and doesn't score in his first 6 or 7 starts you'll still be callling him a top player and saying he has to start every week. You've probably seen him play 4 or 5 games like everyone else and made a snap judgement which is laughable. In fact i wouldn't be surprised if you we're saying he was shite after the world cup.

 

Anyway fuck it, you have your opinions and evidently they won't be changed but i'll look at it like this:

 

Rafa believes in rotation. atk doesn't.

Rafa believes in Crouch. atk doesn't.

 

I know who i believe in most.

[Dirk]

The problem is that the discussion becomes polarised and people either support Kuyt or Crouch and there's a tendency to make thinly veiled digs at the other player to support their argument. Crouchy is a fucking good player and nobody is going to tell me otherwise but Kuyt is a better player. Whether Kuyt will score more goals remains to be seen but he has more to his game but I'd never use that to beat Crouchy with because it's unfair.

 

I remember people were saying they were unsure of Kuyt after the World Cup - like there was anything to remember as it was so recently - and I was one of the few people who'd said that he's far better than what we got to see at the World Cup. Now people are saying he's the second coming, it's unfair to herald the lad as the new messiah after one forty five minute performance, though, and having such high expectations so early on could be pejorative as it could result in unnecessary pressure being placed on him. I just wish people would stop the Crouch bashing and enjoy the football, he's scoring for fun, it's all good.

[05 Milan]

On the subject of placing too high expectations on Kuyt, the offal said about his performance that he "almost bagged a hat-trick"...

[Monkeywool]

EXACTLY what has Crouch done wrong lately anyway?

 

Being a prolific scorer?

 

Setting up a few goals?

 

I can see where these things upset people....

[05 Milan]

EXACTLY what has Crouch done wrong lately anyway?

 

Being a prolific scorer?

 

Setting up a few goals?

 

I can see where these things upset people....

 

At the moment he's a bit like Ronaldo, playing poorly but still banging in the goals. The difference is Peter never hides, it would be impossible even if he wanted to (yeah yeah, I know), when you consider how many balls are lifted up to him these days.

 

I may be wrong, but I thought we looked much more shakier at the back after he went off yesterday. We just couldn't keep the ball up front. Nothing new there I suppose.

[Zippy]

Thought kuyt was excellent when he came on, especially in terms of awareness.

 

Think he will be the first choice striker along with Bellamy (By first choice I mean the players who whilst being rested at times would be most likely to start if we were in a major final).

 

As for never dropping players when they are scoring then I disagree - if Rafa feels that Kuyt is ready to give us more in terms of all round play and goals then he would have to put Kuyt in regardless of Crouch scoring goals at the moment. Whilst Crouch wouldn't like this the team comes first and Crouchy would still get opportunities in the future.

[Paul]

The problem with making comparisons between players or analysing the performances of the new boys is that so many people feel the need to give an absolutely definitive opinion when, to my mind, it's impossible to do so at this stage of the season. It then becomes embarrassing when they make ever more grandiose claims based on precious little evidence simply to support their own original daft point - which then becomes an agenda and leads to nonsense like last season's Crouch vs Cisse debacles.

 

Kuyt looked exciting for 40 mins yesterday - and that's about all I can honestly say about him, as I know nothing more. YKI/Dirk is the only forumite I'm aware of who has followed the player closely over an extended period in anticipation of his signature, which is why I don't include him in the above point.

[Zippy]

The problem with making comparisons between players or analysing the performances of the new boys is that so many people feel the need to give an absolutely definitive opinion when, to my mind, it's impossible to do so at this stage of the season. It then becomes embarrassing when they make ever more grandiose claims based on precious little evidence simply to support their own original daft point - which then becomes an agenda and leads to nonsense like last season's Crouch vs Cisse debacles.

 

Kuyt looked exciting for 40 mins yesterday - and that's about all I can honestly say about him, as I know nothing more. YKI/Dirk is the only forumite I'm aware of who has followed the player closely over an extended period in anticipation of his signature, which is why I don't include him in the above point.

 

Agree but I think a lot of people (myself included) are seeing that cameo as indicative of the player's uality based on his fee, that Rafa has chased him since he was at Valencia, that Rafa called him the complete striker, and his outstanding goals/assists record.

 

So whilst we can't give a completely accurate assessment of him, that performance combined with his credentials (including a physical style that is perfect for the Prem unlike Morientes) give us a very good idea of whats to come (Hopefully).

[Maldini]

I've been watching him for a couple of years and that was a pretty standard performance for him. I've said it since we were first linked with him 18 months back, he's gonna be a star for us. He's another of those players who contributes hugely, but also makes the players around him better because he does the right thing at the right time.

 

The most impressive thing about him is his decisiveness (is that a word?) No Morientes-esque hesitation from him, he usually knows what he wants to do before he receives the ball and that gives him time and space on the ball.

[Pushmepullyou]

I've been watching him for a couple of years and that was a pretty standard performance for him. I've said it since we were first linked with him 18 months back, he's gonna be a star for us. He's another of those players who contributes hugely, but also makes the players around him better because he does the right thing at the right time.

 

The most impressive thing about him is his decisiveness (is that a word?) No Morientes-esque hesitation from him, he usually knows what he wants to do before he receives the ball and that gives him time and space on the ball.

 

Spot on, soon as he got the ball he seemd to know what he was going to do with it and most of the time it was the right option, no dallying with possesion and always positive.

[Hoddy]

The thing that most impressed me yesterday was his decision-making. We've not just signed someone who can do the right thing, we've signed someone who knows what the right thing is. In the forty minutes or so that he was on yesterday, he didn't do the same thing twice - or at least in a row. He picked the best option at that moment in time (be it a pass or a shot).

 

I've been pretty ambivalent thus far to his signing (as after Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzalez it was like the blow-job after the shag), but after yesterday - even though I know it unwise - I can't help but get excited. He looks like a 'proper' striker, and after his nice touch of thanking the fans I realised it's going to be hard not to fall in love with the guy…

 

… and his big blonde hair

 

… and his bo-legs

 

… and his massive ass…

 

… and his forename - God bless Mr and Mrs Kuyt.

[MLB]

Possibilities, etc...

[Utreg]

i've seen some moments of the match.. i thinks he will fit in this team

[Captain]

I've been pretty ambivalent thus far to his signing (as after Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzalez it was like the blow-job after the shag), but after yesterday - even though I know it unwise - I can't help but get excited.

Best. Analogy. Ever.