Ryan Babel's goal

[DannyMan2006]

i thought he scored a wonder goal then went back to type.

would have been tempted to drop kuyt yersterday and play babel he would of had a lot of joy against ridgewell

Babel should have come on at half time for Kuyt IMO. It became very obvious where Birminghams problems were and Johnson had a field day, as did Gerrard when he drifted to the right. Babel and Johnson on the right for 45 minutes would have seen us winning that game IMO.

[DannyMan2006]

He scored a great goal but aside from that the rest of his performance in that game was poor

He made things happen though.

If you want 100% commitment, great at tracking back and a player who will run himself into the ground then play Kuyt. But when you want a player who can make things happen and drift past people we need Babel.

Yesterday we needed Babel, not Kuyt. If you don't rate Babel then fine. But it was clear what type of player we needed yesterday, and in the future for games like yesterday.

If Rafa isn't going to start him in games like Birmingham then he may as well sell him and buy a player of that type that he will start.

[the rev leeroy brown]

Babel looked absolutely determined against Lyon. Came on and did the business, looked aggressive and confident.

So you would think Rafa would see the opportunity to boost his confidence and give him a start against Birmingham, a chance to keep going? But no, he gets left out again and any progress he made last week is gone again

I felt sorry for Ryan last night. When he starts looking like a proper player and meaning business, poor man-management by Rafa lets him down again. No doubt he will go back into his shell again now

unfortunately i beleive yesterday was a wasted opportunity for rafa to fully unlease babel. full of confidence but again overlooked for a player who has played only a handfull of minutes so far this season and is no where near fit in riera.

Babel should have come on at half time for Kuyt IMO. It became very obvious where Birminghams problems were and Johnson had a field day, as did Gerrard when he drifted to the right. Babel and Johnson on the right for 45 minutes would have seen us winning that game IMO.

after hi9s really good performance against lyon where he looked lively and the most likely to win us the game he should have played last night and i agree, would prob have helped us win the match.

[red g]

unfortunately i beleive yesterday was a wasted opportunity for rafa to fully unlease babel. full of confidence but again overlooked for a player who has played only a handfull of minutes so far this season and is no where near fit in riera.



after hi9s really good performance against lyon where he looked lively and the most likely to win us the game he should have played last night and i agree, would prob have helped us win the match.

????
after his wonder goal he looked rubbish!!

[red g]

He made things happen though.

If you want 100% commitment, great at tracking back and a player who will run himself into the ground then play Kuyt. But when you want a player who can make things happen and drift past people we need Babel.

Yesterday we needed Babel, not Kuyt. If you don't rate Babel then fine. But it was clear what type of player we needed yesterday, and in the future for games like yesterday.

If Rafa isn't going to start him in games like Birmingham then he may as well sell him and buy a player of that type that he will start.

[the rev leeroy brown]

????
after his wonder goal he looked rubbish!!

what game were you watching??? after his goal he looked really up for it. took players on, lifted his head to try and find a pass and wasnt afraid to take on a shot......something the rest of the team were not doing. babel was very effective against lyon.

[Exiled_red]

He made things happen though.

If you want 100% commitment, great at tracking back and a player who will run himself into the ground then play Kuyt. But when you want a player who can make things happen and drift past people we need Babel.

Yesterday we needed Babel, not Kuyt. If you don't rate Babel then fine. But it was clear what type of player we needed yesterday, and in the future for games like yesterday.

If Rafa isn't going to start him in games like Birmingham then he may as well sell him and buy a player of that type that he will start.

I've said previously that I don't rate Babel and he really frustrates me, but at the moment (due to injuries) I'd have him in the team for two reasons; firstly he is capable of moments of brilliance, secondly he has pace which worries defenders. Both of which we lack. When we have a fully fit squad however it's a different matter

[DannyMan2006]

I've said previously that I don't rate Babel and he really frustrates me, but at the moment (due to injuries) I'd have him in the team for two reasons; firstly he is capable of moments of brilliance, secondly he has pace which worries defenders. Both of which we lack. When we have a fully fit squad however it's a different matter

He wouldn't get into my first XI either. But there are certain games where we highlight weaknesses in the opposition and if we react to them by changing our team we can win the game.

It became fairly obvious early on that Liam Ridgewell was hopeless at left back and that McFadden was abysmal at covering in front of him. McFadden ended up getting a yellow card and was teetering on the edge of getting sent off before Mcleish eventually saw sense and hauled him off for Vignal.

We should have put a player who can attack them with Johnson at RM and that someone was Babel. It was a glaring opportunity passed up by Rafa.

[Harv]

Yeah that's why I think he's not very objective on the matter.

Ive been objective. Kewell suffered through injury hell, LFC medicos ****ed him over, and he was never the same.

Babel on the other hand is fit as a fiddle, has had no serious injuries....he has no excuses for being ****, other than that he is **** of course.

[red g]

He wouldn't get into my first XI either. But there are certain games where we highlight weaknesses in the opposition and if we react to them by changing our team we can win the game.

It became fairly obvious early on that Liam Ridgewell was hopeless at left back and that McFadden was abysmal at covering in front of him. McFadden ended up getting a yellow card and was teetering on the edge of getting sent off before Mcleish eventually saw sense and hauled him off for Vignal.

We should have put a player who can attack them with Johnson at RM and that someone was Babel. It was a glaring opportunity passed up by Rafa.

he shouldnt be used in games where keeping posession is key. Last night he vould have lost the ball 100 times and it would still come to us within 30seconds.

[DannyMan2006]

he shouldnt be used in games where keeping posession is key. Last night he vould have lost the ball 100 times and it would still come to us within 30seconds.

Keeping possession is not the issue. Babel loses it because he trys to take people on. As long as he does this in the final third then that is an acceptable risk, whether we are playing Baldock Town or Barcelona.

What Babel did lack (and may still do so, I haven't seen enough in recent times to make a judgement) was the ability to provide cover for the full back by tracking back and getting stuck in. When the team does not have the ball he needs to take up better positions and show more willingness to get the ball back.

That said, Babels biggest strength is his dribbling. Last night I saw Glen Johnson dribble in the right areas. He would get past a player and would end up in a very good situation. Sometimes Babel drifts past a player for no reason. There is no point in risking losing the ball if you are not going to end up in a much better position. Best of keeping possession and then waiting for a better moment.

[barnes10]

ngog is a better bet than babel because he can control the ball. babel has a first touch like heskey.

babel will only do real well when we play a 442 with two forward pressing strikers.

i agree with paco that we shouldnt have bought him. i still fail to see where rafa thought he'd play well and regularly. only answer could be as a winger but clearly he's not good enough there.

[Marky]

I personally thought it was a travesty Babel didn't start last night.
**** sake after that goal surely Rafa would have been wise enough to start
him in the next match.

[reds123]

Rafa prefered Riera yesterday after Babel scored a wonder goal vs Lyon Mind you it is only Gerrard, torres and johnson (perhaps Aquiliani) who can score like that at Liverpool. As a result Riera got injured!

It was injustice towards Babel. What must he do to begin a game? Score a hatrick in the last 5 minutes? If I were Babel I'll be gutted and not surprisingly he is looking for a new club. We always say that Babel doesn't know how to defend! (the Benitez mentality)Did ever Giggs and Ronaldo know how? Does Messi know? I'm not saying that Babel is good as Messi but give the lad a chance to develop his talent!!!

[Exiled_red]

Rafa prefered Riera yesterday after Babel scored a wonder goal vs Lyon Mind you it is only Gerrard, torres and johnson (perhaps Aquiliani) who can score like that at Liverpool. As a result Riera got injured!

It was injustice towards Babel. What must he do to begin a game? Score a hatrick in the last 5 minutes? If I were Babel I'll be gutted and not surprisingly he is looking for a new club. We always say that Babel doesn't know how to defend! (the Benitez mentality)Did ever Giggs and Ronaldo know how? Does Messi know? I'm not saying that Babel is good as Messi but give the lad a chance to develop his talent!!!

Giggs actually does know how to defend, Ronaldo was played further forward (in a striker rather than a winger role) because he can't defend, similarly Messi tends to play as the wide player in an attacking 433. All these player play to a system, maybe their positions have been adapted a little to fit the system. Our system relies on the wide players having some defensive responsibility.

I've not critisised Babel for his defensive abilities he is an attacking player first and foremost but he either can't play or can't learn the role Rafa wants him to, that's part of the reason why he doesn't get a game. the other part of it is he is far too inconsistent. The Lyon game was a classic example, he scored a great goal but the rest of his performance was very poor, ok so he had a short period of time, but he didn't excel in it if he had maybe he'd have earned a place from the start