How good is Dirk (Paco style)?

[hamstrung]

Nah

[coop]

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has defended Dirk Kuyt, insisting the striker cannot be criticised because "his work rate is fantastic".

 

Kuyt could easily have had a second-half hat-trick in Saturday's goalless draw at Blackburn and his current malaise was summed up two minutes from time when he blazed over from six yards with just goalkeeper Brad Friedel to beat.

 

The 27-year-old scored 14 times after his £9million transfer from Feyenoord in August last year but has struggled this season.

 

And although his work-rate remains among the best in the Premier League, his touch appears to have deserted him.

 

He has three goals in 13 matches this campaign but two of those were penalties in the Merseyside derby victory and the Dutchman is patently struggling.

 

However, with record signing Fernando Torres expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks with a torn adductor and Peter Crouch out of favour, Benitez has little option but to persist with Kuyt.

 

"When you miss chances and you have two or three, it means you are there. If you are not there, you cannot miss the chance," said the Spaniard.

 

"I will not criticise Kuyt because he plays a lot of games and over 90 minutes his work rate is fantastic.

 

"He is creating chances. When you have a player who can create three or four chances for himself, normally sometimes he will score so I think I must be pleased and positive with Kuyt.

 

"We need to profit from the work he is doing up front and it will be easier for him to score if his team-mates can score the first goal."

[Unrighteous]

6 - Nice guy, good attitude, good link up play but just not clinical enough.

 

This is basically what I think. I would, however, venture that he'd score more goals if he played more centrally.

[joey54]

5 from me....At the moment he needs about 10 shots on goal to score one [and I`m not including pens] not the strike rate of a top hitman.......I would suggest that Crouch has a better shot to goal ratio

[Red Nick]

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has defended Dirk Kuyt, insisting the striker cannot be criticised because "his work rate is fantastic".

 

Kuyt could easily have had a second-half hat-trick in Saturday's goalless draw at Blackburn and his current malaise was summed up two minutes from time when he blazed over from six yards with just goalkeeper Brad Friedel to beat.

 

The 27-year-old scored 14 times after his £9million transfer from Feyenoord in August last year but has struggled this season.

 

And although his work-rate remains among the best in the Premier League, his touch appears to have deserted him.

 

He has three goals in 13 matches this campaign but two of those were penalties in the Merseyside derby victory and the Dutchman is patently struggling.

 

However, with record signing Fernando Torres expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks with a torn adductor and Peter Crouch out of favour, Benitez has little option but to persist with Kuyt.

 

"When you miss chances and you have two or three, it means you are there. If you are not there, you cannot miss the chance," said the Spaniard.

 

"I will not criticise Kuyt because he plays a lot of games and over 90 minutes his work rate is fantastic.

 

"He is creating chances. When you have a player who can create three or four chances for himself, normally sometimes he will score so I think I must be pleased and positive with Kuyt.

 

"We need to profit from the work he is doing up front and it will be easier for him to score if his team-mates can score the first goal."

 

God help us if thats what he really thinks

[rebel23]

"he has no choice but to persist with Kuyt"

 

this is the problem for me because he does have a choice, play Crouch, Babel or anyone else but Kuyt needs a break, maybe if it was Crouch who looked languid I would say the opposite

 

I am not suggesting Crouch is the answer but at this stage he deserves to start in my book

 

anyone can see we looked better when Crouch came on yesterday and in Turkey, if he pesists with Kuyt/Voronin and then giving Crouch just 10 mins I reckon we'll end up with more draws and losses

[derykw]

God help us if thats what he really thinks

 

He obviously does think that as he keeps picking him.

[DJLJ]

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has defended Dirk Kuyt, insisting the striker cannot be criticised because "his work rate is fantastic".

 

Kuyt could easily have had a second-half hat-trick in Saturday's goalless draw at Blackburn and his current malaise was summed up two minutes from time when he blazed over from six yards with just goalkeeper Brad Friedel to beat.

 

The 27-year-old scored 14 times after his £9million transfer from Feyenoord in August last year but has struggled this season.

 

And although his work-rate remains among the best in the Premier League, his touch appears to have deserted him.

 

He has three goals in 13 matches this campaign but two of those were penalties in the Merseyside derby victory and the Dutchman is patently struggling.

 

However, with record signing Fernando Torres expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks with a torn adductor and Peter Crouch out of favour, Benitez has little option but to persist with Kuyt.

 

"When you miss chances and you have two or three, it means you are there. If you are not there, you cannot miss the chance," said the Spaniard.

 

"I will not criticise Kuyt because he plays a lot of games and over 90 minutes his work rate is fantastic.

 

"He is creating chances. When you have a player who can create three or four chances for himself, normally sometimes he will score so I think I must be pleased and positive with Kuyt.

 

"We need to profit from the work he is doing up front and it will be easier for him to score if his team-mates can score the first goal."

 

Sorry Benitez, but he can be critisised, and should not be left blameless, just because his workrate is fantastic.

[RedKnight]

He has to be given a rest for his own sake.

[stringvest]

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has defended Dirk Kuyt, insisting the striker cannot be criticised because "his work rate is fantastic".

 

Kuyt could easily have had a second-half hat-trick in Saturday's goalless draw at Blackburn and his current malaise was summed up two minutes from time when he blazed over from six yards with just goalkeeper Brad Friedel to beat.

 

The 27-year-old scored 14 times after his £9million transfer from Feyenoord in August last year but has struggled this season.

 

And although his work-rate remains among the best in the Premier League, his touch appears to have deserted him.

 

He has three goals in 13 matches this campaign but two of those were penalties in the Merseyside derby victory and the Dutchman is patently struggling.

 

However, with record signing Fernando Torres expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks with a torn adductor and Peter Crouch out of favour, Benitez has little option but to persist with Kuyt.

 

"When you miss chances and you have two or three, it means you are there. If you are not there, you cannot miss the chance," said the Spaniard.

 

"I will not criticise Kuyt because he plays a lot of games and over 90 minutes his work rate is fantastic.

 

"He is creating chances. When you have a player who can create three or four chances for himself, normally sometimes he will score so I think I must be pleased and positive with Kuyt.

 

"We need to profit from the work he is doing up front and it will be easier for him to score if his team-mates can score the first goal."

 

What Benitez should do (and maybe he already has) is sell Kuyt for about £5million, buy Robbie Savage (~£1million), play him upfront, where he'll run around terrorising defenders a la Kuyt, though with better ball control. Hey presto, a £4million profit, and we won't even have to get the team photo doctored.

[coop]

Players such as Meijer and Dundee had a fantastic work rate but were shite, it doesnt mean they should have been in the team.

 

I will defend Rafa on most things but to say that Kuyt should not be without criticism because he runs around a lot is bollcks.

[stringvest]

Of course he's talking bollocks. But he's allowed to, just as we're allowed to comment on it.

[Paco]

I think we could have our very own Diego Forlan. First impressions of Kuyt in last years world cup were that he wasn't as good as record suggested. I've given him a season and a bit and I think he's got worse. He's one dimensional, he works hard.

[Red Nick]

I think we could have our very own Diego Forlan. First impressions of Kuyt in last years world cup were that he wasn't as good as record suggested. I've given him a season and a bit and I think he's got worse. He's one dimensional, he works hard.

 

And there you have it PACO STYLE

[Stu Monty]

Football fans suck.

 

 

Real hard.

[Guest armchair red]

Dirk is awaful

I rate him 3/10

 

Anyone can run all day and try hard. My handicaped dog could run and chase a lost cause all game.

As for the faces he pulls after he misses, i just want to punch him.

Id rather have a half fit fowler than a fully fit diggler. He really is dog shit.

 

Rafas taking the edge off the team with tatical mumbo jumbo, the players are scared to do anything thats not in there game plan.

 

God help us, we aint going to win the League ever with Rafa in charge. As much as I like the man who burries his head in the sand, his gota go.

Harrys the man....bring him to a big club and were be laughing

[Cardie]

Good job Crouch didn't, and hasn't, missed sitters really.......

[stringvest]

Good job Crouch didn't, and hasn't, missed sitters really.......

 

I'm sure there are plenty of people wound like coiled springs at the moment just waiting for Crouch to fall down, Cardie. There certainly have been in the past.

[Cardie]

His free header hardly covered him in glory on Saturday.

[Zippy]

Good job Crouch didn't, and hasn't, missed sitters really.......

 

Crouch isn't top class either but he gives the team much more than Kuyt particularly in a lone striker role.

[moxter]

I think none of the strikers are right to play up front on their own except Torres. That's because you need to be both quick and good in the air - because you're going to have to create your own chances a lot of the time, from long balls or defence-splitting passes. Kuyt is certainly the most unsuitable LONE striker. But I'd rather have him in my first XI than either o the other two.

 

Personally I think we HAVE to persist with two strikers with Torres out - although it'd be good to see Babel get more of a chance - or even Kewell as a second striker. Kuyt has played too many games and does need a rest; in the biggest games I'd alwas play him though.

[Owen]

Football fans suck.

 

 

Real hard.

 

Aye.

 

Y'all should listen to Monty, sometimes he makes good sense.

[spider-neil]

rafa is going to stand behind dirk despite his drought just like he did with crouch when he went on that 19 game run.

I guess he feels dirk will find his shooting boots sooner rather than later and expects the rest of the team to pick up the slack until that happens.

 

from a personal point of view I'm indifferent to the whole kuyt/crouch conundrum as there is no clear difference between the two like there is with torres so I'm not bothered who starts and who sits on the bench.

 

the thing that bugs me is the combined cost of the two is 17 mil, rafa was hellbent on shipping out cisse, baros and pongolle when it can be argued he could have kept at least two of the three and spent that wedge of cash on a quality winger because frankly there is not a large enough gap in quality between cisse/pongolle/kuyt/crouch to warrent spending such a large sum of money.

[Zippy]

rafa is going to stand behind dirk despite his drought just like he did with crouch when he went on that 19 game run.

I guess he feels dirk will find his shooting boots sooner rather than later and expects the rest of the team to pick up the slack until that happens.

 

from a personal point of view I'm indifferent to the whole kuyt/crouch conundrum as there is no clear difference between the two like there is with torres so I'm not bothered who starts and who sits on the bench.

 

the thing that bugs me is the combined cost of the two is 17 mil, rafa was hellbent on shipping out cisse, baros and pongolle when it can be argued he could have kept at least two of the three and spent that wedge of cash on a quality winger because frankly there is not a large enough gap in quality between cisse/pongolle/kuyt/crouch to warrent spending such a large sum of money.

 

The major difference is that Crouch was playing much better than Dirk currently is when he had that drought.

[spider-neil]

The major difference is that Crouch was playing much better than Dirk currently is when he had that drought.

 

10 bucks says kuyt scores more league goals than crouch by the end of the season