The way Kuyt took his two goals...

[Fiddy]

Sorry Nic83, after your review of Voronin, I find you incapable of judging a striker.

He's incapable of judging midfielders either, looking at the way on current form he'd choose Xabi over Masher to partner Stevie...

[Harv]

Jury's still out for me. I'd go with Crouch and Torres more often than not.

Kuyt went missing for 2 months last season and that will not be forgotton quickly. He was a disgrace for long periods last season offering litle else but workrate which is (despite what the tards say) just not good enough.

He showed periods of class though too and has started this season quite well. I hope he makes me give him the nod of approval come the end of this season

you're an idiot


anyone who can label a player who works as hard as Dirk a "disgrace" is not worthy of this great club.

[Dalglish]

We've played like five games you idiot and he's been at home for 2 of those. Benched in another.
Clueless you are.

FLMAO - have you read your own thread about dropping Kuyt after 2 games?

Jesus

[DeeTheDog]

I am a big fan of Kuyt, I love players who'll run into brick walls for a team. His work rate is phenomenal and anyone giving that much for the team cannot be called a disgrace.

At times he may have been too deep last season but I'm sure that was under Benetiz's orders. It's almost cliche to say but it does take some players a season to adapt to the Premiership.

He's a Dutch international so obviously has great technique, his goal tally from Holland shows he knows where the goal is. Last night showed the many facets to his game, power, aerial ability, eye for goal and inhuman stamina.

Without the burden of being the big money striker he could be a relevation this season.

[Red_Al_77]

I'm a big fan of Kuyt and what he brings to the team, but he could be so much better. Confidence may be the key but he needs to improve his movement. Too often Crouch and Kuyt took up the same position. I am still however undecided who is the best partner for Torres.Voronin is very clever but Kuyt also brings others into the game. Crouch is just too profligate at times and should just bury the ball.

However we have 4 strikers who have all scored and all hungry for those starting slots. If we can get consistency from the left wing as well then they'll be no stopping us.

[friedk]

In the second half Kuyt played further up the pitch as an out and out striker, and they could not cope with him.

Yes he scuffed a few shots, but when he got his eye in with the first goal, the second came naturally.

I think he will be a huge goal threat this season.

[Shaggy]

I think he will be a huge goal threat this season.

I think all our strikers will be.

Let's face it - you pick Crouch, he scores. Voronin has two already and is a much bigger threat than most of us imagined. Torres has most of us creaming our pants, is a serious threat to any defence and WILL score goals, and Kuyt will improve on his 14 goals last season.

Result.

[Imy]

IF Kuyt can add REGULAR goal scoring to his portfolio then he will be quite some player. Presently he plays entire games and does not look a goal threat which is pretty poor considering he is a striker and it is HIS job to score goals.

He needs to score more goals to add to his hard work.

[homer1]

I think a few people hit the nail on the head already - it's all about confidence.

Kuyt is never going to be a silky smooth footballer or the type of player to dribble around the opposition defences but there are few who offer a better work rate and he is the epithamy of a team player.

I was praying he'd get on the scoresheet last night as he played very well but you could see he needed a goal having gone through the entire pre-season without hitting the net. The thing that impressed me most last night, in the last 20 minutes in particular was that he had a few efforts where he obviously only had one thing in his head - shooting for goal. He wasn't looking up, he instinctively knew where the goal was and he let fly - reminded me of his debut against West Ham when he came off the bench with a "shoot on sight" policy

Delighted with the team performance, albeit against a poor side but absolutely delighted Kuyt got off the mark which will stand to him in the coming weeks

[fred_plasticine]

i applaud his enthusiasm and the effort he puts in but he's very frustrating to watch. his touch lets him down more often than not and his finishing is pretty erratic to say the least.
scoring two goals against an already beaten is one thing, getting the all important first or winning goal is a completely different kettle of fish however.

[Shaggy]

i applaud his enthusiasm and the effort he puts in but he's very frustrating to watch. his touch lets him down more often than not and his finishing is pretty erratic to say the least.
scoring two goals against an already beaten is one thing, getting the all important first or winning goal is a completely different kettle of fish however.

I actually thought his touch and all round play was, in the main, pretty poor last night. He lost possession an awful lot, but his goals were richly deserved because he wasn't frightened of getting into goalscoring positions time and time again - which is what I want to see more of from him.

Dirk and Crouch seem to attract all kinds of criticism and are sometimes lambasted as a pair. Well, I'd like someone to dig up some stats on those two starting up front for us because we always win when it's Kuyt/Crouch up front. Always. No pace between them, not much mobility but they're a handful for anyone.

[dww]

That's not what skill is referred to IN FOOTBALL. Sorry. Skill in footy refers mainly to technique and trickery.

I see where you're coming from though. The way I touch my balls is also a skill but you'll never see me up top for the pool.

All the skills I mentioned were pertinent to being a footballer and more importantly the specific role Kuyt plays in our team. He has created space, scoring opportunities for other and in the last game scored himself already this season. He links our midfield and attack exceptionally well.

Kuyts technique is good in some areas and ropey in others and he isn't full of trickery. But then neither was van Nistelrooy and he was a good player, I think we can all agree.

[Joe Le Toff]

was reminiscent to that of a natural golascorer so why the hell does he not do it more often???

Because he doesnt take up goalscoring positions often enough, far too much of his work is done outside the box.
If he did get into them positions i have no doubt he would score a hatful as he is a tidy finisher most of the time.
Anyway, this isnt to have a go at Dirk, he took 2 chances extremely well and set another up so all in all a most satisfactory nights work.

[fred_plasticine]

"In the end I am happy I scored twice, but I still have to do better."
says kuyt on the official site.

[Shaggy]

"In the end I am happy I scored twice, but I still have to do better."
says kuyt on the official site.

The great thing is he knows it. He's not deluding himself as many footballers would and saying "well I scored two, aren't I great!". You could see from his reactions throughout the game that he knew he had to do better - same with Crouch when he missed those two headers. It all bodes well.