Alberto Aquilani

[hamstrung]

 

Alberto's 1st time passes will come off with the Kid up top much more than Dirk to be fair

 

 

It won't make a blind bit of difference if half of them carry on going to the opposition.

[silverlining]

What do you mean?

 

He's usually the one spouting off fucking crackpot ideas that he thinks should be incorporated at Liverpool FC.

 

ie he should be the next manager

 

Now you're musing, in all apparent seriousness, that we could improve our short-passing game by - and please do correct me if I'm missing some salient detail here - "playing a bit more 5-a-side"

[Bob]

In Aquilani's defence regards him always playing the ball first time, if we had something even approaching decent movement off the ball when we have it then it would compliment his game really well.

 

As it is, we're one of the most static teams I've ever seen when we have the ball. When there is a run, our boys are often almost running backwards, looking behind constantly, rather than making the run and just waiting for the ball to feet. This makes us slow and ponderous and predictable.

Bizarrely, we seem to move better when we don't have the ball!!

 

our team badly needs several hours of five a side footy a week. There's no "instict" to our passing and movement. it's all very staid and robotic. Some fluid and fast paced five a side could help with that I reckon.

 

first time i've agreed with you in a couple of weeks Tom, but that is absolutely spot on. I think the lack of pace in our team highlights the problem even more, because when the pass does finally arrive, generally they've waited for it and cant then win the foot race against pacey defenders.

 

There were two passes in particular from Aquilani last night that were'nt quite on the money, but even if they had of been perfect, we wouldnt have ended up with the ball, as it was Kuyt or Riera chasing them.

 

The Degan chance summed up Kuyt's problems. Great harrying (which Torres is also very good at) and if it had been Torres, Degan wouldnt even have had the chance to bottle the shot, and Torres would have driven through on goal. Kuyt knew he couldnt and so had to look for the pass.

[silverlining]

strange to see the criticism of Lucas last night, i genuinely thought he was our best player over the 90 minutes. Maybe i'm just nuts.

 

 

Our best player?

 

Seriously.

 

Oh Jesus. Jesus fucking Christ on a bike.

[Guest LFD]

Yep , we need to stick Gerrard back with Mascherano and Aquilani behind Torres. I think teams may be working out the whole Gerrard/Torres axis, so Gerrard bombing on from deeper may give teams something else to worry about.

 

Totally agree.

 

I think this is why we at times get better results when Torres / Gerrard don't play, as when they are on the field all our play goes through them and as they are both central, teams can play narrow, with lots of numbers and nulfiy their threat more easy.

 

Putting Gerrard deeper gives them another threat to think about.

[ngogswilly]

strange to see the criticism of Lucas last night, i genuinely thought he was our best player over the 90 minutes. Maybe i'm just nuts.

 

There were a few misplaced passes but to me the worst of those were both due to the player he passed to changing his direction as the pass was about to be made.

 

I thought his defensive work was excellent and bearing in mind that we were poor for most of the game, only really playing well as a unit after the 70 minute mark, the majority of what he did well was necessay closing down, harrying, tackling and playing it simple.

 

Yeah its something I find myself doing. I often pick on the poor things he does and totally neglect the hard work and general good play he puts in over the course of 90 mins.

 

He pissed me off last night with the misplaced passes but in general he had another very solid game. Played well and kept us moving along nicely.

 

I'd like to think Gerrard will take his place though and Aquilani will slot in behind Torres, but somehow i can't see it happening.

[Tom R]

He's usually the one spouting off fucking crackpot ideas that he thinks should be incorporated at Liverpool FC.

 

ie he should be the next manager

 

Now you're musing, in all apparent seriousness, that we could improve our short-passing game by - and please do correct me if I'm missing some salient detail here - "playing a bit more 5-a-side"

 

So you think our movement is brilliant do you??

 

Not being funny, but when "the liverpool way" of playing football (pass and move) was created, it was created under bill Shankly using, almost exclusively, five a side training in training!

It was just about the only football they played in traning. Same under Sir Bob. We didn't do too badly back then I seem to recall.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that 5 a side football doesn't improve movement and awareness of your colleagues around you?

 

I'm not saying it's some kind of fucking cure-all solution, but there's no doubt whatsoever that it could have benefits.

 

But you just crack on.

[silverlining]

So you think are movement is brilliant do you??

 

not being funny, but when "the liverpool way" of playing football (pass and move) it was created, under bill Shankly using, almost exclusively, five a side training in training!

It was just about the only football they played in traning. same under Paisly. We didn't do too badly back then I seem to recall.

 

Are you seriously suggesting that 5 a side football doesn't improve movement and awareness of your colleagues around you?

 

I'm not saying it's some kind of fucking cure-all solution, but there's no doubt whatsoever that it could have benefits.

 

But you just crack on.

 

Our movement isn't brilliant because we have possibly the slowest squad in the Premiership:

 

Kuyt, Lucas, Aquilani, Riera, Kuyt, Maxi, Benayoun...no pace anywhere.

 

This, allied with two Central Midfield players who aren't very good at passing forwards, means we are often static.

 

The old "Boot Room" philosophy of just playing 5-a-side worked then. But football has changed a bit since then. We were one of the last to properly catch up.

[Whelan]

Do we not play any five a side at all now?

 

It looks like we do if I am taking our pre match warm up as a guide!

[Tom R]

Our movement isn't brilliant because we have possibly the slowest squad in the Premiership:

 

Kuyt, Lucas, Aquilani, Riera, Kuyt, Maxi, Benayoun...no pace anywhere.

 

This, allied with two Central Midfield players who aren't very good at passing forwards, means we are often static.

 

The old "Boot Room" philosophy of just playing 5-a-side worked then. But football has changed a bit since then. We were one of the last to properly catch up.

 

Almost all of the above is rubbish.

 

Movement and pace are completely seperate things!!

 

For a start, the best way possible to actually overcome a lack of pace is by having good movement! Let the ball do the running, not the player.

 

Good movement is often more pertinent in defence than it is in attack as well. Look at players like Hyypia. Slower than most attackers, but always a step ahead due to his high quality movement off the ball.

 

As for the game having changed. It hasn't changed one jot. the players are fitter and faster, but that's about it. It hasn't removed the importance of movement and knowing where your team mates are!

 

It isn't all about just running really, really fast you know. Sadly, that's almost exactly what it appears to be turning in to.

[El Rojo]

Our movement isn't brilliant because we have possibly the slowest squad in the Premiership:

 

Kuyt, Lucas, Aquilani, Riera, Kuyt, Maxi, Benayoun...no pace anywhere.

 

This, allied with two Central Midfield players who aren't very good at passing forwards, means we are often static.

 

The old "Boot Room" philosophy of just playing 5-a-side worked then. But football has changed a bit since then. We were one of the last to properly catch up.

 

Dirk Kuyt, Dirk Kuyt,

So good they named him twice,

Dirk Kuyt, Dirk Kuyt,

Dutch legend with blond highlights.

[silverlining]

Almost all of the above is rubbish.

 

Movement and pace are completely seperate things!!

 

For a start, the best way possible to actually overcome a lack of pace is by having good movement! Let the ball do the running, not the player.

 

Good movement is often more pertinent in defence than it is in attack as well. Look at players like Hyypia. Slower than most attackers, but always a step ahead due to his high quality movement off the ball.

 

As for the game having changed. It hasn't changed one jot. the players are fitter and faster, but that's about it. It hasn't removed the importance of movement and knowing where your team mates are!

 

It isn't all about just running really, really fast you know. Sadly, that's almost exactly what it appears to be turning in to.

 

Every team needs some pace in the midfield and attack, otherwise it is FUCKED.

 

This is true now, was true 20 years ago, and will ALWAYS be true.

 

Pace by itself is useless, agreed.

 

But there needs to be someone who can run quickly *somewhere* in the team, and that goes for defence, midfield AND attack.

[Bob]

Yeah its something I find myself doing. I often pick on the poor things he does and totally neglect the hard work and general good play he puts in over the course of 90 mins.

 

He pissed me off last night with the misplaced passes but in general he had another very solid game. Played well and kept us moving along nicely.

 

I'd like to think Gerrard will take his place though and Aquilani will slot in behind Torres, but somehow i can't see it happening.

 

dont get me wrong, i still dont think lucas is first choice material, and agree that if Aquilani can show more of the same and grow from that performance, i'd put stevie in with masch and bolster the creativity and drive from midfield we we severely lack.

 

thats a good point i've made actually, lack of forward drive is the biggest issue in our midfield. Up front we need pace, we need better movement, we need more creativity out wide and behind, but if we had a centre mid willing to break ranks, driving forward, making defenders think and worry, making the lives of the defensive midfielders tougher, making them have to give away the soft 'yellow card' challenges that masch and lucas pick up so often for just the same reason.

 

The more i think about it, the more Gerrard needs to slot back into centre mid, and if aquilani can play that roll off torres, or even benayoun doing it if he can't, i think it is what we need to look at.

[Tom R]

Every team needs some pace in the midfield and attack, otherwise it is FUCKED.

 

This is true now, was true 20 years ago, and will ALWAYS be true.

 

Pace by itself is useless, agreed.

 

But there needs to be someone who can run quickly *somewhere* in the team, and that goes for defence, midfield AND attack.

 

Spot on.

We do have no pace. There's no arguing that.

 

All i'm saying is if that is the case, which is patently is, then you really need to look at ways to counter it. Good movement is one of those ways, and five a side is one of the ways to develop that.

 

i don't really see how this is even up for debate to be honest mate.

[silverlining]

Spot on.

We do have no pace. There's no arguing that.

 

All i'm saying is if that is the case, which is patently is, then you really need to look at ways to counter it. Good movement is one of those ways, and five a side is one of the ways to develop that.

 

i don't really see how this is even up for debate to be honest mate.

 

Here's my idea:

 

BUY SOME FUCKING PLAYERS WHO HAVE PACE AND ARE ALSO GOOD.

 

I hope Benitez reads my posts regularly.

[Tom R]

Here's my idea:

 

BUY SOME FUCKING PLAYERS WHO HAVE PACE AND ARE ALSO GOOD.

 

I hope Benitez reads my posts regularly.

 

I like that idea too.

 

In the mean time though, we can't do that, so we need to be more intelligent in our play, not just faster.

[Bob]

Our best player?

 

Seriously.

 

Oh Jesus. Jesus fucking Christ on a bike.

 

Yes.

 

Seriously.

 

On a bike, on a fucking skidoo, or on in line skates with little fucking LEDs on them, i couldnt give a fuck, you patronising fucking bore. Kiss my arse.

[zico]

Showed signs of briliance last night, and he'll get better when he plays with a forward who can threaten the space behind the defense such as Torres....

[jackofdk]

Aquilani was shit yesterday in my opinion. Had one good touch before a Spurs-player tackled the ball to Kuyt for the first goal. Apart from that he was as wasteful in possession as Luis Garcia on a bad day.

 

I was hoping Maxi or Pacheco would replace him early in the second half.

[silverlining]

Yes.

 

Seriously.

 

On a bike, on a fucking skidoo, or on in line skates with little fucking LEDs on them, i couldnt give a fuck, you patronising fucking bore. Kiss my arse.

 

 

I don't mean to be patronising, and if I have made you feel patronised, I apologise profusely.

 

*pats head*

 

There there.

[zigackly]

Any creative player is going to take time to find his feet with a new team, particularly in a new country, which is why it's criminal that Aquilani is getting so little playing time; he needs every second he can get on the pitch to get used to the movement and capabilities of his team-mates.

 

Aquilani is clearly skilled on the ball and possesses vision and good passing skills, but a lot isn't coming off for him at the moment because he's still miles off the pace, so he looks completely lost on the pitch at times, almost running around the edges of the action but not quite ever joining in. Last night was the first time he's really started to make any contribuition for me, and it removed a big worry, as it does look now as if there is the possibility he can find a place in our team.

 

From what I've seen of him so far he appears completely unsuited to playing central or defensive midfield though, as he has no inclination at all to tackle or track back, so if he is going to reach his potential with us he has to be playing in an advanced midfield position with players behind him who take the responsibility for screening the defence and building the attack.

 

The concern here is that yet again Rafa has bought a player who does not fit into our system and the only way to use him may be to break up the Gerrard-Torres axis, which will be as good or as bad a thing as the player Aquilani develops into for us. Gerrard at some point will need to drop deeper on the pitch as he gets older anyway, and his game is certainly more suited to playing a deeper role than Aquilani's, but the question is whether Aquilani can do the job which Gerrard has been doing as well as Stevie can.

 

Only time will tell. One thing is that he's certainly not "shit". But he has a long way to go to be great ...

[silverlining]

Any creative player is going to take time to find his feet with a new team, particularly in a new country, which is why it's criminal that Aquilani is getting so little playing time; he needs every second he can get on the pitch to get used to the movement and capabilities of his team-mates.

 

Aquilani is clearly skilled on the ball and possesses vision and good passing skills, but a lot isn't coming off for him at the moment because he's still miles off the pace, so he looks completely lost on the pitch at times, almost running around the edges of the action but not quite ever joining in. Last night was the first time he's really started to make any contribuition for me, and it removed a big worry, as it does look now as if there is the possibility he can find a place in our team.

 

From what I've seen of him so far he appears completely unsuited to playing central or defensive midfield though, as he has no inclination at all to tackle or track back, so if he is going to reach his potential with us he has to be playing in an advanced midfield position with players behind him who take the responsibility for screening the defence and building the attack.

 

The concern here is that yet again Rafa has bought a player who does not fit into our system and the only way to use him may be to break up the Gerrard-Torres axis, which will be as good or as bad a thing as the player Aquilani develops into for us. Gerrard at some point will need to drop deeper on the pitch as he gets older anyway, and his game is certainly more suited to playing a deeper role than Aquilani's, but the question is whether Aquilani can do the job which Gerrard has been doing as well as Stevie can.

 

Only time will tell. One thing is that he's certainly not "shit". But he has a long way to go to be great ...

 

The Midfield Morientes?

 

I agree that his role in the team seems ill-defined.

 

I certainly don't see how he can "replace" Gerrard, because he simply hasn't got the explosiveness to burst into the box and score the goals we would need.

 

He's a 5 a season man. Tops.

[Bob]

I don't mean to be patronising, and if I have made you feel patronised, I apologise profusely.

 

*pats head*

 

There there.

 

Short sentences. Check.

 

Three sepateate lines. Check.

 

Genuine attempt at humour, but only amusing himself. Check.

 

 

Yes, definately a silverlining post. Nice one.

[silverlining]

Short sentences. Check.

 

Three sepateate lines. Check.

 

Genuine attempt at humour, but only amusing himself. Check.

 

 

Yes, definately a silverlining post. Nice one.

 

 

You forgot "pedantic correction of spelling"

 

"definitely"

 

"separate"

[Whelan]

We don't have to change the system, we may have to adapt it a touch, play more 433 and 4231, although in all fairness it doesn't matter what formation you play, all systems rely on the players if they are good enough any system will work.

 

Aquilani showed glimpses last night of what he can bring, an ability to spot a pass in the last third (somewhere we are poor), do something different and unexpected, be it a backheel or a flick, and link the play.

 

He has all the attributes it would seem, it just depends upon whether he has the mental toughness to want it.