Babel - will he make it somewhere else?

[golfball]

babel

i think he will make it somewhere else,
i fully understand the comments about his work ethic, etc.
and i agree , sometimes he looks dis-interested, but i crapped myself
when i saw the tabloids talking about a swap for him and pavlyachenko !.
that might be the final nail in rafas coffin, to see him go to redknapp who is renowned for "putting his arm " around players and getting the best out of them, i would have given him kuyts place last year on the right, i think if given a run out there he would be a benefit to our team but he ho !.
i say good luck if he leaves,
we should get most of the fee we paid for him back .

[lickedlollipop]

straight swap for arda turan would be good.

that's exactly what i suggested couple months ago.. i think rijkaard would do a good job with babel

[Subby]

9 people ordered a cheeseburger compared to 5 that think he'll make it at the Pool

[Harv]

He's complete turd. He's not "smart" enough to play through the middle, and he's not clinical enough to be a striker. He wasn't even that great in Holland FFS

Arsene Wenger trailed him for years before we pulled the trigger......gee i wonder why he never stumped up the cash to buy him. Wenger knows his ****

I reckon he'd struggle in the A-league

[Kenneth]

I can't really work out what he's good at. There must tens of millions of Kids in the world who play the game yet Babel is one of a tiny tiny percentage of people who earn money from it and a considerably smaller percentage who are mega rich from it. Why?

Can run, has some skill and has a hard shot. Well so do a number of my mates and they're builders and computer programmers. Seriously, I have no idea what his abilities are that mean we pay him millions when there are so many with similar attributes who play the game more often and for free.

[Armchairkopite]

His attempts to head the ball are the most cringeworthy ****ing thing that I have ever witnesses on the football field.

He jumps, pulls his knees up to his belly, tucks the chin into the chest and sticks his elbows out like some sort of drugged up animal impressionist.

I dont think I've ever disliked a player so much.

If he was a Manc we would be singing his name.

[oldschool]

He won't make it anywhere, he has a terrible touch, terrible attitude, terrible decision making, passing and crossing.

If we add up all the money we have wasted on strikers turned wingers and wingers turned nothing, we could have brought a world class winger on both sides by now.

[EwarWoo]

I reckon in a slower league where he as more time to think and make decisions and he's not always surrounded and out of puff at the end of his runs and he could be a star.

I think he as plenty of talent, just he's a little slow mentally and he's never quite managed to get the fitness required in the PL when you're being constantly harried no matter how far or fast you run.

I don't think it's mentality as much as he's constantly knackered.

[EwarWoo]

If we add up all the money we have wasted on strikers turned wingers and wingers turned nothing, we could have brought a world class winger on both sides by now.

A bit harsh if you include Kewell in that, he was world class winger, just very unlucky with injury, so we have what, Babel, Kuyt and Pennant?

You could at a push add Riera depending on your view but personally I quite rate him and reckon he's a keeper as a squad player, but always does seem to have potential to be a little more.

I rate him similar to Benny when he was at this stage of his career with us, which I reckon is quite decent praise.

So brass tacks I reckon we'll get most of our money back on Babel and Kuyt and we only lost 6.7m on Pennant. Maybe 10m lost tops.

Very cheap for 2 world class wingers that.

We've basically spent stuff all on the wings really.

[Vermilion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8438149.stm

Page last updated at 22:11 GMT, Saturday, 2 January 2010

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez rules out sale of Babel

Benitez signed Babel for £11.5m in 2007 from Ajax

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has ruled out selling Dutch forward Ryan Babel in the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old Babel joined from Ajax in 2007 for an £11.5m fee, but has failed to start regularly and has been linked with a move away from Anfield.

"He (Babel) will have a chance to play," said Benitez after his side's 1-1 FA Cup draw with Reading.

"He has to work hard. He's our player and he will have his chances. At this moment we are not trying to sell him."

The Netherlands striker, who is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, has often found himself playing out of position on the left flank and has scored just nine league goals since arriving at Anfield.

In December 2008 Babel tried and failed to engineer a loan move to former club Ajax.

Benitez refused to be drawn on the possibility of Dutch pair Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rafael van der Vaart arriving from Real Madrid, only saying it would be "very, very difficult" to sign players this month.

Newspaper reports have linked the Dutch pair with loan moves to Liverpool, while speculation has also focused on the possible departures from Anfield of Andriy Voronin, Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen.

Voronin has been on holiday in Miami over the Christmas period, having been frozen out by Benitez since a disappointing appearance in the Champions League draw in Lyon.

Atletico Madrid's winger Maxi Rodriguez and Greece international full-back Vasil Torosidis have also been linked with moves to Liverpool.

Liverpool are short of cover at right-back with Glen Johnson out for up to two months with a knee injury, while 19-year-old Martin Kelly is also currently sidelined.

Asked if he was considering signing a full-back, Benitez said: "Yes, we are working hard (on transfers) and trying to do our jobs, and we'll see if we can do something.

He added: "We are looking in the market but it's not easy to find good players available because the majority of them are playing in top sides. But we are trying to find solutions if we can.

"We have some good players who people are interested in because they're not playing too many games for us, but we have to manage carefully."

[Exiled_red]

I can't see us making any major signing if Babel is staying. We will almost certainly be in a sell to buy situation again, Babel was the one most likely to bring in cash, I can't see us getting much for Voronin, Dossena and Degen, whos seem to be the 3 most likely to leave.

Also I know Johnson is out for a couple of months but I'm not sure we need to sign another full back to cover for this time, we need more creative players not more defensive ones. Options at right back include Johnson, Kelly, Darby, Degen and Carragher

[reds123]

Babel is a very good player with terrific pace! he will succeed, but first he has to play!

[Exiled_red]

If we are wanting to keep him why isn't he getting game time? Is saying he's not for sale just a ploy to try and get a good price?

[dww]

I think it will depend on what you constitute as making it and where he went.

I doubt that he will ever develop into the world class player some believed he could become when he came to us. Could he do a decent job for a team in European competitions - then yes he could. Personally I don't believe he has the intelligence or mentality to reach the gap between those standards which is what we require.

Rafa has stuck with him publicly which surprises me but presumably is indicative that Babel is doing something off the field to indicate he might come good. I suppose it is possibly just posturing by Rafa but the difference in position with regards to Voronin and Babel seem notable to me.

[little dave hedgehog]

he will only sell moderately in whatever local derivative of death row records you guys have, and then be found dead in his bath tub, after topping out at 164th in the rap charts.