Wednesday, 30 December 2009

LIVERPOOL FC: Alberto Aquilani is a flop...after 203 minutes

CHELSEA V AS ROMA

SO, after just 203 minutes of Premier League action, Alberto Aquilani is a flop, a dud, the worst signing of the season.

Rafa Benitez may as well come out and tell the world he got it all wrong, that the Italian will be sold in January, because after just over THREE HOURS of football in England, he simply can't cut it.

Yes just two Premier League starts and three substitute appearances (two of them less than 10 minutes) is plenty long enough to pass judgment. And so, the media has spoken, the branding iron  has been heated, and Aquilani has 'flop' scorched into his forehead. Welcome to the Premier League, Alberto.

Ignore that he's looked neat and tidy in possession. Ignore that the partnership between him and Lucas looked infinitely more balanced than Lucas and Mascherano. Ignore that he can clearly pass the ball, exactly what he's been brought to the club for, and ignore the fact he is only 25, has over 100 appearances for Roma under his belt and has won 11 caps for Italy.

Because that's exactly what Oliver Holt from the Daily Mirror and Ivan Speck from the Daily Mail did after Liverpool's 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

Amongst the lowlights of an appalling piece, Holt wrote:  

"The signs last night - the ones that could be glimpsed through the driving snow anyway - were not particularly promising. Sitting deep in midfield alongside Lucas, Aquilani sprayed a couple of decent passes out wide to right and left.

"But mostly, he was anonymous. His influence was strictly limited, his contribution peripheral at best."

So he is not allowed any time to settle? To find form and fitness after so long out with injury? To adapt to the Premier League from Serie A? 

Bear in mind that even some of the biggest stars in England in recent years, players including Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo, took time to get to grips with the game here.

After claiming Aquilani's passing is not as good as Jamie Redknapp's was (?), Holt adds:

"And he also has the most difficult job of any midfielder in any team in the Premier League: trying to fit into a side ruled by Steven Gerrard."

Well it didn't hold back Xabi Alonso when he was in such fine form in his final season at Anfield did it?

Holt goes on:  

"There is immense pressure on him, of course. Liverpool fans waited for his debut for so long that by the time he finally ran out for the club, they had built him up into a cross between Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness."

So not only does Holt know a player inside out in less than three hours, he has also spoken to the millions of Liverpool fans across the globe? Did anyone make this ridiculous comparison? I've never once heard Aquilani mentioned as someone who loves a tackle (like Souness) or was a great finisher (like Kenny).

On to Speck:  

"The Roman did at least partly qualify for foot-soldier status in that he decided against wearing gloves in the blizzard. His failure to don a short-sleeve shirt, however, meant that Liverpool lost the hard men count by seven to six."

Great start. So you've made up your mind on the strength of his shirt selection? After questioning his ability to tackle, he adds:

"...he meandered off and stood in whatever place you could guarantee would be the last place to see the ball. No goal threat there."

Now he's avoiding the ball?

But fear not, Speck does thankfully offer us Liverpool fans a crumb of comfort..

"The boy can pass. At 25, he is entering his prime years and his ability to spin the ball off either foot to a team-mate is obvious. The trick is to make it count." 

Phew, not all bad then. But wait for it.. 
 
"A gorgeous 40-yard curling pass to the feet of Yossi Benyaoun (sic) was sent out at such pace that no defender had a hope of intercepting it. Had it gone even 10 yards forward and not to the far touchline, it might have added purpose to its unquestionable beauty."

Well done, Ivan, you pulled it back from the brink there, thought you were offering a positive for a moment.

And let's finish with Gary Lineker. The man who at the weekend was even doing impressions of Benitez on Match of the Day.

Gary's got the edge on even Oliver and Ivan. Why? Because he knew Aquilani was the "worst signing of the season" on December 21! That was after three substitute appearances in the Premier League, some going that.

In his Daily Mail column, the former Grampus Eight striker revealed: "He was meant to replace Alonso but spent the first three months injured and hasn't been pushed into the team by Rafa Benitez now that he is fit. It suggests the Liverpool boss is not confident about his ability to fit into the English game."

Gary is so good he knows what Rafa is thinking. And as for the worst buy of the season, where's the bullets flying at Chelsea? Yuri Zhirkov arrived at Stamford Bridge for pretty much the same fee that brought Aquilani to Anfield.

And Zhirkov is setting the world alight in west London isn't he? After struggling with injuries, he has made two Premier League appearances - LESS than Aquilani.

But why let the facts get in the way of a good story? Last of all, Aquilani has started just two Premier League games so far.

Liverpool have won both of them...

Links
Oliver Holt piece here
Ivan Speck piece here
Gary Lineker piece here

Comments (47)

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Good luck finishing sixth.
4 replies · active 793 weeks ago
Absolutely spot on, brilliant, I've seen all the articles you mention, you need to give them a link or something becacuse what they are doing is beyond pathetic.
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
well said robbo, i think he has shown plenty of glimses of his talent already, that was only his third start for the reds since his return from injury,
i think he will prove to be a great signing for liverpool.
ridiculous journalists! couldn't believe that dolt...mean holt..after reading his article just hours after the game. Aquilani will come good eventually. It's too much expecting him to be a ronaldinho or xavi after 3 starts! L'Arse were 11 pts behind..now their right in the mix. Liverpool has every chance to be up there come May.
The thing that really gets me is they all seem to think Alonso was an absolute superstar who could do no wrong. While Xabi was magnificent last season, he was in pretty lousy form for the three seasons prior. Out of five seasons at Liverpool Alonso was only brilliant in two of them. His first and last. Let's not forget that we were struggling to find someone to pay 12 million for him a couple of seasons ago. He is a magnificent passer, but only when he is given time with the ball. When defenders pressed him he folded quickly. Aquilani will, in time, offer far more in attack than long balls and the occasional goal from our own half.
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
Nice one Robbo. It's obvious given the season we've had so far that Liverpool are fair game for the press but those articles you've highlighted really do take the piss. How these men can look themselves in the mirror and call themselves journalists and feel happy with their level of work i'll never know.

Sad to know that some Liverpool 'fans' will buy into these articles and quote them as having some substance but that's the way of our support these days. Some of them are happily spoon fed such crap and these hacks know it.

It is good though that people like yourself will highlight the pure idiocy and counter a lot of the garbage that is written about this club.
Spot on. I have stopped reading most LFC stories in the press now as they are almost all ill informed, band wagon jumping, made-up pieces of shit!!
most of the media is anti lfc, i judge what I see and not what other people say
Bloody ex-footballers who should no better and jouranlist that could not find the arse with both hands! The lad will prove himself; some of his passes did go astray but there was a bloody blizzard happening and some of Stevie G's went wrong too. On the flip side some of his passes were sublime.
Big Ears Lineker is just a twat
Thank you for this article, I was beginning to wonder if I was losing my mind believing that Aquilani is actually doing really well. Pass and Move! He always supports his own pass which is just what we need, and already making a difference!
Great article Robbo!
Maybe you should add that these so-called 'journalists' have not even manage non-division team before, and yet they seemed to think that they know how to manage a premiership club.
I respect Gary as a great player, but does he know how to manage a club? With these kind of half-cooked stories, it is not giving him a strong CV to show, isn't it?
Liverpool can't match others team... no quality signing.. only depend on SG and FT... 2 out.. no quality player can replace them.. no striker and the midfield play like no where.. no understanding each other.. don't know how to pass the ball what lucas.. he is sux player.. only can't get yellow card and give free kick ... and Rafa like him a lot.. i don't see Lucas is great player ...
Shortism is what I can describe the media today and supporters also. The media spoonfeeds a frenzy of rubbish to the masses and these 3 particular articles show this in all its glory. Useless non-sensical ramblings of sensationlism that is rife in the media today.

Well in Robbo! for highlighting what many Liverpool supporters definitely know the media has it in for our club....
What - Rafa admit he's wrong? That will never happen.

Seriously, no-one can judge a player after such a short spell - let's see what he looks like next season.

The most worrying bit for me though is just how much little time he has had on the pitch out of the total minutes he could have been on.

He almost feels like an Italian Robbie Keane and I just hope Rafa is not playing games with him just to prove yet another point.

And my final bit of advice for 2009 is - stop buying and reading newspapers, kids. They're no good for your blood pressure. If they were a TV programme annoying you so much, you'd switch off the TV.

Do the same with Her Majesty's Press and bin 'em and then write to the editor and sports editor telling them why. Newspaper circulation is already in freefall and if thousands of Liverpool fans stopped buying the Mirror, it would hurt them.

Have a great 2010. Best wishes, Ian.
Can i just correct your final comment, well not really correct it just add to it. Every game Aquilani has started we have won. Debrecen, Wolves and Villa. he must be doing something right!!!
Media Pundits for papers are losers i dont listen to what they say cause they talk drivel.
My best read in ages, Spot on.......
Villa played Reo Coker to boss the midfield but failed and was taken off says it all for me well done Lucas and Aqualini
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
We expect such drivel from national Journalist, but the worst anti Liverpool comes from Jamie Kanwar and liverpoolkop
5 replies · active 793 weeks ago
Spot on there..... thanks to raise that up.... I can see that anything that concerns Liverpool inside out, the press will use microscope to make little things large... while other teams were put on a nice comfy sofa... I just hope Aquaman can show his potentials soon... and let the trios eat their words. Hope the new year will be a good one for LFC and the teams above us drops more points than us. Just don't lose hope yet. This is football, anything is possible. YNWA
1 article i can understand, 2 maybe not ,but 3. surely there must be something that they have spotted which needs to be mentioned, plus I think you have missed the point entirely. There must have been a dozen players who can pass that were available in the summer, most of them less than £20m and almost all were fit. If he is going to replace alonso he needs to be able to fit right in or your season is going nowhere.
2 replies · active 793 weeks ago
Spot on Robbie!
wow not even 3 matches played and already labeled a flop. So we should sell him eh? I recall someone called Thierry Henry who was crap on first season. I suppose Arsen was dumb to not sell him immediately eh? dumb article.
3 replies · active 793 weeks ago
played just 3 games after coming from injury and i think he has done a lot so shut the fuck off u idiot he is going to be a legend...
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago
Oliver Holt is a notorious penis. If he hasn't got a vendetta, he's got nothing, so he writes objectionable bollocks about subjects he, probably, knows little about. He's the same as the rest of us who argue down the pub, but he gets paid well for it (yes how depressing, he's cleverer than we are). As for Lineker, how can anyone who never got booked know anything about midfield play?
The Reds are coming up the hill boys, the reds are comning up the hill boys, they all mock at us, they all laugh at us, they all say are days are numbered, born to be a scouse YNWA ps apologies for my lack of musical notation
1 reply · active 793 weeks ago

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