El Zhar

[Shanks]

Looking forward to seeing more of him.

Seems pretty quick and not afraid to take people on.

Did ok when he came on, not quite the finished article but should do ok.




Journalist:

Let's talk a little bit about Nabil El Zhar.
He's a player you've used in the last three games that perhaps some fans won't know too much about...

RAFA..

Maybe people don't know too much about him because he is in the reserve team.
He is a player with quality, he has ability with skill and pace.
He has game intelligence and is an international for Morocco. He can be a good player for us.
He needs experience and will need time but he is the kind of player that can change games.

Journalist:

Ryan Babel was doing that for you last season and it seems like El Zhar could do it this time around.
He came on against 'Boro' on Saturday and it was his pacy run that led to the first goal...

RAFA.

Yes, clearly the position and movement of Nabil was good for the team.
We needed to play wide and keep the ball and he was running and dribbling, so I think he gave us everything that we needed at that moment.

Journalist:

Do you think it's possible he could make it into the starting XI from the off?

RAFA.

Normally he will be with the first-team and we will see.
If he continues to play well then we will see.
I like the competition for places because it is good for the team.

[Bari]

He's gonna be the next Hagi!

[Marky]

Early days but the young cub looks a goodin.

Always shows for the ball, not easily knocked off it either. Has a bit of pace and is fairly tricky.

[Craig_H]

Liked the look of his cameo tonight, he upped the tempo and should've had a peno.

Players who worry and commit defenders - we dont have enough. He is one.

[Bari]

And he ticks the Right box with Rafa and defending. Always tracking back and full of running.

[MrMichael]

He's definitely improved considerably from where he was at this time last year. Looks tro have bulked up a bit and his cameos have been impressive so far, adds a bit of vitality to our play late on. Not sure how ready he is to start yet, but with our other options out wide currently he's got to be in line for a place sooner or later.

[Mattshark]

Really impressed with El Zhar tonight, looked really aggressive, was skilful, should have had a pen and looked like he could turn out to be a good player.

[slimbimjim]

Yeah he was a bit **** last year hey. Good to see that the Rafa touch has rubbed off.

Soon we will have more players coming through with Rafa's mentality and tactical plan imprinted. The new Liverpool way.

PS. What nationality is El Zhar?

[MrMichael]

PS. What nationality is El Zhar?

Moroccan, though he was born in France, started 5 times for the full Moroccan national side so far according to wiki

[Icon]

Yeah he was a bit **** last year hey. Good to see that the Rafa touch has rubbed off.

Soon we will have more players coming through with Rafa's mentality and tactical plan imprinted. The new Liverpool way.

PS. What nationality is El Zhar?

I actually thought the flashes we saw of him last season looked promising.
Glad to see he's getting some real time in now.

[Rashid]

His sheer determination and urgency leave me enthused....good player IMO but is he much better than Pennant?

[JohnDoe]

He's surprised me with his improvement. He's quite a good player and is probably our most natural "winger". Still small and I'm not sure how he'd cope in this league, but he should definitely be given the chance. He could save us some money.

[Reece]

I was impressed with him when he came on last night. At least he was beating people with the ball, even if it often ended up not producing an end product. Hopefully we will see more of him as the season goes on and we'll learn if he can force his way into the first team or not.

[Rich]

Deserves a starting position in the team to see if he can further improve; although not at Villa.

[dww]

His sheer determination and urgency leave me enthused....good player IMO but is he much better than Pennant?

Probably not yet but he is better suited to our game and more capable of usefully cutting in as well as going wide. I think he is a better option than Pennant as he is developing and is already less predictable.

I like Pennant but he hasn't consistently shown his best form for us and that is what is needed at a top team. As an option from the bench his lack of game intelligence is sometimes shown up. I'll wish Pennant well when he leaves but I think it is time for him to go now.