Ryan Babel's goal

[BFG]

U21's Paaaleease, you're kidding right?

No its not the same.....but then neither is playing centrally.

Basically the position he likes to play in is the spot where he doesnt have to track back and defend......says it all.

I don't think he's lazy at all. Just a bit of a headless chicken

[Harv]

young players just need to play.

Look at ashley young when he first went to villa - he didnt look anywhere near a 9.5m signing but they stuck with him and he played pretty much every game for them and now he looks like a player.

Rafa sticks by lucas and insua even when they are having shockers but he doesnt give babel the same support. He isnt fair as a manager and although ryan hasnt helped himself at times he needs confidence and games.

Rafa doesnt like flair / individual players and unfortunately babel is one of those.

No. Rafa doesn't like lazy, dumb players. Babel is one of those.

[lickedlollipop]

this goal was fantatic, but i think the goal vs arsenal in CL was even better ;D

[Shaggy]

more centrally and with his right foot.

He cut in from the left and hit it with his right foot - that's the whole point. That's the idea.

[zimbo]

That's pretty unfair criticism of the manager IMO. Lucas and Insua play every game because of injuries to other players in their position. Had Aurelio and Aqualani been fitter they would have played less. At times they've both also shown a level of consistency and a willingness to follow instructions that Babel hasn't so deserve more game time.

The fact that Garcia and Benyoun have both been fixtures in our team also disproves your theory about Rafa not liking flair players. They just have to show a lot more in the way of game intelligence, tactical discipline and consistency to stay in his team than Babel has ever offered.

That's exactly right. It's just lazy thinking to say he doesn't like flair players. What Rafa doesn't like is players that lack a footballing brain and the inclination to adapt. It's why he shipped out the likes of Cisse, Pennant, Bellamy, Traore, Baros and (to a lesser degree) Sissoko.

It's also why he values Lucas and even sees fit to start Voronin (whose problem is that, despite possessing a footballer's brain, he seems to have the legs and feet of an inebriated toddler).

The best players, the Gerrards and Torres(es?), combine individual excellence with a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities within the team. If Babel could get close to achieving that he may yet prove he has what it takes to succeed. The evidence suggests it's unlikely though.

[el matador]

He cut in from the left and hit it with his right foot - that's the whole point. That's the idea.

he was central when he hit it and thats the point - he should be played centrally and not out left.

Its much harder to keep cutting in and hitting it with your right - why not just start centrally to begin with. That's why he looks **** from the left - because he cant keep cutting in every time he has the ball.

He has no other option because he cant go down the line and teams have worked him out.

[Guest]

fickleness? Saying a player isn't good enough is fickle? He simply isn't good enough. Its not even up for debate, he can't even run a game out FFS. He's the laziest ****er i've seen for some time. He shows glimpses of talent...but are you seriously happy watching him play like a turd for 4 games, with the odd moment of talent thrown in? Im not. I want to win. Half hearted players like Babel and Voronin dont help.

I've been supporting Liverpool for 15 years and quite frankly i'm sick of seeing the Mancs simply stroll into the lead in titles won.

You may be happy watching ordinary players swan around on the field hlaf arsed, doing a nice trick every now and then, but i'm not. So don't dare call me a **** supporter because i don't support a player who cant even be bothered half the time. Kuyt is **** too, but he runs himself into the ground for the team, and because of that i will support the guy till he leaves. Babel does nothing. He's a waster, and i cannot wait till the day he ****s off.

It's fickleness, I was right.

It's simple, either you've got this club in your blood and will love it through thick and thin, irrespective of the fact that United wins it twice as us. We've got no god given ****ing right to win football matches or championships.

I know it hurts, and believe me, I'm the kind of guy who hates losing. Babel will probably move on to pastures new but until he's still here and wearing the LFC shirt, you won't see me abusing him. I'll be supporting him. Same goes for Voronin, Dossena & al. It doesn't mean I 'settle' for mediocrity, but until we have better players and we can afford some of them, I'll just carry on.

It's better than raising your blood pressure levels to breaking point.

[Guest]

he was central when he hit it and thats the point - he should be played centrally and not out left.

Its much harder to keep cutting in and hitting it with your right - why not just start centrally to begin with. That's why he looks **** from the left - because he cant keep cutting in every time he has the ball.

He has no other option because he cant go down the line and teams have worked him out.

You've got a point there but I think Rafa wants him to be more adaptable, that's why he's being played here.

[BrianF80]

he was central when he hit it and thats the point - he should be played centrally and not out left.

Its much harder to keep cutting in and hitting it with your right - why not just start centrally to begin with. That's why he looks **** from the left - because he cant keep cutting in every time he has the ball.

He has no other option because he cant go down the line and teams have worked him out.

Because then you need skills to deal with 2 center backs.

[Scratch]

Because then you need skills to deal with 2 center backs.

From what i've seen, Babel has no problem beating the man....it's the next man which he struggles to beat...he needs to release the ball sooner!

[BG1973]

What did Lucas do that was so great? And I don't buy the fantastic save - at this level from 5 yards out it should be a goal - period!

Lets sell torres then because he doesn't always score from close range and he's the best striker in the world. Must be his fault, can't be great saves.

[Nick77]

Lets sell torres then because he doesn't always score from close range and he's the best striker in the world. Must be his fault, can't be great saves.

When has Torres not scored from 5 yards out? He's always scored from the kind of position that Lucas was in...

[BFG]

When has Torres not scored from 5 yards out? He's always scored from the kind of position that Lucas was in...

He wasn't all that far out with the chance he hit straight at the keeper and he had a better angle to aim at than Lucas.

I don't think you could be overly critical of either miss though. Torres' came at him very quickly through bodies and he hit the target and Lucas' was a very good shot and an excellent save. Both could have been goals on another day.

[Exiled_red]

He wasn't all that far out with the chance he hit straight at the keeper and he had a better angle to aim at than Lucas.

I don't think you could be overly critical of either miss though. Torres' came at him very quickly through bodies and he hit the target and Lucas' was a very good shot and an excellent save. Both could have been goals on another day.

Voronin's miss on the other hand...

[DannyMan2006]

He wasn't all that far out with the chance he hit straight at the keeper and he had a better angle to aim at than Lucas.

I don't think you could be overly critical of either miss though. Torres' came at him very quickly through bodies and he hit the target and Lucas' was a very good shot and an excellent save. Both could have been goals on another day.

They should have scored, just as Voronin should have. The misses that Lucas and Torres did was just as bad as the mistakes at the back, because they cost us a goal.

Brings it back to another point I made somewhere else, goal scoring is the hardest thing in football and it's the reason strikers get paid so much. It's also the reason we should have a top class back up to Torres. Had we splashed out in the summer we wouldn't be in such a **** position now. You get what you pay for.