Should we use Babel as a striker?

[Phoenix]

Play him up front if Torres gets injured...Not many alternatives

[rafarubbish]

give him a few games till xmas if hes still a disinterested moaning wank get rid of him, id rather he played patches up front at least he trys when hes on and reckon he will be twice the player of babel at 23

[jme]

Can anyone actually say he has been given a chance to prove himself - ie a run of games? He has all the attributes to be a good striker, he does have the odd awful shot and bad first touch but he does take defenders out of position with his pace. Often 2 defenders are attracted to him which gives space for our other players. I know he acts like a five year old off the pitch but I honestly think if he had a run of ten matches upfront with Torres we would see the best of him - wishful thinking maybe but options at the moment are sparse!

[WhiskeyJar]

Babel: Time to end wait - Liverpool FC

 

Ryan Babel has revealed his ambition to join the band of players fortunate enough to have won silverware with Liverpool.

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The Dutch forward has yet to collect a winners medal since arriving at Anfield from Ajax in 2007, but he is optimistic that can change this season.

 

While eager not to make any bold predictions, the 23-year-old is confident Roy Hodgson has the talent at his disposal to ensure the Reds can challenge for honours this term, should they retain the fitness of key players.

 

"I am not a big fan of saying how far we can go, but I am sure if everybody stays fit we have a good chance to stay up (at the top) with our other rivals and opponents," Babel told Liverpoolfc.tv.

 

"Let's make sure this time we can stay fit for as long as possible and we have a strong squad.

 

"Every player will say they are fortunate if they win trophies with Liverpool, and that is the same for me.

 

"I have been here for a while now and haven't won anything yet. I think it's time to win something."

 

Next up on the agenda for Liverpool is a trip to Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon.

 

Alex McLeish's side have garnered five points from their opening three fixtures in the Barclays Premier League, and Babel is anticipating an end-to-end contest at St Andrews.

 

"I expect an open game because Birmingham are doing very well," he said. "They are a team we have to beware of - they want to attack and play good football. They are a good opponent, so I expect an open game with lots of chances.

 

"I think McLeish is a very good manager and I think he puts his players in the right positions.

 

"They have also bought new players and have an owner who wants a new structure at the club, so they are definitely a team we have to beware of.

 

"But we definitely can't afford to let points slip away. We have to make sure we stay with the other teams (at the top). It's very important."

 

Roy: Why Babel didn't leave LFC - Liverpool FC

 

Roy Hodgson admits Liverpool had more than one offer for Ryan Babel in the transfer window.

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The Dutchman was even allowed to speak to other clubs - but only on the understanding that a deal was dependent on Liverpool signing another striker.

 

Hodgson explained: "When there were offers for him we were prepared for him to go down and speak to those clubs, but we made it perfectly clear that other things would have to slot into place for us to be able to allow him to go.

 

"Those things did not slot into place.

 

"You've got to remember that for two years here he hasn't had much of a look-in.

 

"He was brought into the club with a lot of pomp and ceremony after winning the European U21 Championships and was being chased by clubs all over Europe at the time.

 

"Unfortunately he hasn't fulfilled that potential or had chance to."

 

Hodgson has been delighted with Babel's application in training over the last few weeks - and has challenged the 23-year-old to now make a go of things in L4.

 

He said: "I've got to say that I'm more than happy to work with Ryan Babel and it's up to him to convince me. No doubt if he hasn't done that by January he'll have to accept that maybe we'll be in that transfer market for a centre-forward once again, but at least he's got this period of time.

 

"He's working very hard and is very determined to take this chance he's got."

[dennis tooth]

Memo to Babel.

 

Shut the fuck up and get on with it or fuck off.

[Cantrell20]

I think, that stats (no sideways passes and tackling completion as in Lucas case) including goals and assists are the ones mostly speaking in Babel's favour. They're actually self-evident. In his debut season he was a part of our free-flowing side in the second part of the season, the most prolific in Europe back then in all competitions. Netted five goals in Champions League, scored several more in the league. Was deservedly voted young player of the year. Scored against Chelsea, Arsenal and United in a space fo 5 months. Next year we lacked his contribution, but to be fair to him Rafa rarely gave him a chance and made Riera a starter for no reason, he played well though.

 

No matter how well he played at times, like against United, Marseille or Standard Liege when he made a crucial assist, he never started the game. He didn't sweat his blood on the pitch and merited lazy stereotype, that should have vanished a long time ago. In 2008-2009, his poorest season with us, he still scored or assisted every 171 minutes spent on the pitch. And last year after several good cameos, against Lyon or Hull, he couldn't start a game since big anticlimax at White Hart Lane. Waited around half a year when was totally frozen out, but in the second part of the season was one of our better players, one of few showing any kind of skill, like against Unirea or Portsmouth.

 

I am sure he at least deserves opportunity of a few consecutive starts on the wing, I don't to have second Aquilani - a talented lad with 10% of Lucas and Kuyt respect of the manager.

[zigackly]

Ryan Babel may still be 'the next Henry'. But probably not at Liverpool

 

Roy Hodgson has followed Rafa Benítez in failing to allow his Dutch forward the opportunity to shine at Anfield.

 

Ryan Babel has only rarely been played in his best position at Liverpool. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

 

How do you prove yourself without ever being given the chance to do so? That's the question that Ryan Babel must ask himself every night. Liverpool fought off a host of clubs for the £11.5m winger-cum-forward in July 2007 after the then Ajax player's impressive showing in the European Under-21 Championship. Playing as a forward, Babel scored in a man-of-the-match display and inspired Holland to a 4-1 defeat of Serbia in the final. "He has the potential to be the next Thierry Henry," said the then Holland coach Marco van Basten.

 

Perhaps he still does, not that Liverpool fans could say with any conviction. In 84 league appearances for the club 54 have been as a substitute, and of the 30 he has started, he has been hauled off on more than 20 occasions. The former Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, religiously replaced either Harry Kewell or Albert Riera at the 70-minute mark and gave Babel the unenviable task of trying to make an "impact" in inert games or ones Liverpool were chasing. Preferred on the left by Benítez he was never an inside-out winger in the mould of Ashley Young or Leo Messi. Babel's simpler qualities make him better suited to the attacking role on the right perfected by Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United. Collecting passes on his wrong foot for Liverpool has taken him backwards in more ways than one.

 

A fleeting appearance on his stronger right-hand side as a substitute against West Ham in September last season, when he set up the winner for Fernando Torres with a delicious cross, enabled Babel to showcase his abilities as a more physical player whose pace and power could better any defender. But in the following two matches against Hull and Chelsea, Babel's backside felt the harsh and painful reality of splinters again.

 

With Roy Hodgson's appointment many Liverpool supporters thought that perhaps now would be Babel's time to shine – particularly with Torres's absence through injury at the start of the season. But his role has been persistently peripheral. At 6ft 1in tall with pace to burn and of stocky build, with a trick or two if not always deft touch, on the face of it he has all the attributes to be the Spaniard's ideal deputy. But David Ngog, signed for £1.5m from PSG as a back-up player has so far been preferred to the Dutchman with Hodgson even trying to offload Babel to West Ham for Carlton Cole in exchange.

 

So what is it about Ryan? Accusations about a lack of dedication and poor attitude have been the easy assumption given his interest in rap music (he had a No1 in Holland with this gem). But, so what? Providing he turns up for training and puts the effort in that's all that matters. As recently as this Tuesday he tweeted: "Sacrificed my day off for some shooting …" and he wasn't bagging pheasants in Formby.

 

A poor attitude could even be excused given the almighty knock his confidence must have taken. Lauded as the future of Dutch football and with the opportunity to impress at a club regularly performing well in the Champions League, he has kicked his heels on the bench while a succession of workaday wingers, cheap buys and players past their best, such as Fabio Aurelio, Andrea Dossena, Kewell, Riera and Maxi Rodríguez, have started ahead of him.

 

Hodgson's pleas for Babel to prove his worth before the 0-0 draw with Birmingham would have seemed fair had he started the player in the right-wing slot freed up for once by a rare injury to the ever-dependable Dirk Kuyt. But he was benched. And then ignored for 90 minutes as a team crying out for pace struggled to puncture the Birmingham defence. Perhaps Glen Johnson's propensity to leave his station at right-back as he marauds forward has dissuaded Hodgson from using Babel on that side and, if that is the case, it's just another mouthful of bad luck for the player to swallow along with the rest.

 

Babel is likely to start up front on his own against Steaua Bucharest at Anfield tonight albeit with what may resemble a skeleton team around him with Liverpool's trip to Manchester United on Sunday looming. In these situations it is easy to see why frustration sets in. To truly flourish he needs to have regular first-team players around him who can bring out the best in him.

 

After playing the part of an extra for three years and largely being patient, it is hard not to feel that Babel deserves the opportunity to play a more central role for once. He still has the support of many Liverpool fans and has vowed to prove himself when or if he is given the chance to. But with 4-5-1 the dominant formation in modern-day football, and Hodgson being a loyal proponent of it, it is unlikely that this will ever be the case.

 

It's a shame. Babel may be the "next Thierry Henry". But probably not at Liverpool.

[zigackly]

I don't really agree altogether with the article above; thought it might be of interest however.

[piscinin]

I don't really agree altogether with the article above; thought it might be of interest however.

 

Crap article; awful spelling; You don't spell Lenny: T-H-I-E-R-R-Y

[escapepods]

Imo Babel has to be played as a striker. His crossing and decision making isnt good enough for a winger. He has electric pace and fierce shot, so he should definitely be played up front

[Jose Jones]

He'll never be as good as Henry, that was just silly talk.

I agree with that article that Babel does have the physical gifts to be better than he's shown so far. He's got pace, a decent shot, is fairly strong and can beat players on occasions. He really needed to play a lot more to develop his understanding of the game I think.

If we had swapped him with the Hammers he would have been far better for West Ham than Carlton Cole has been, given a similar run up front though I reckon.

[Rex Banner]

I want to see him get more time anywhere on the pitch, he shows glimpses of something special but he never seems to do it consistently. If he can get a couple more starts and get his confidence up I think he can be very useful, he has a few weaknesses in his game but he has some great strengths.