Topic: Ryan Babel motivated at Liverpool (not frustrated)

[bigbear]

the bottom line for me is, I'm not really looking for him to start, or to turn around his liverpool career but I would have expect 'some' respite after a wonder goal. babel isn't the reason we draw the game, the reason was PISS POOR finishing and fucking SHITE defending.

but if he did get a start on Monday and bagged again - who knows ?

I think he's on his way and hasn't got a great deal of football brain, but there is clearly talent there as the goal showed on Wednesday and if that can be harnessed with confidence.

[Stan.]

but if he did get a start on Monday and bagged again - who knows ?

I think he's on his way and hasn't got a great deal of football brain, but there is clearly talent there as the goal showed on Wednesday and if that can be harnessed with confidence.

You say that, but he's scored some nice goals for us since he's been here which have demonstrated craft and guile.

Perhaps he's not got great 'football intelligence' from a creative point of view, but the guy himself will tell you, he's not that type of player.  Yet apart from the very odd occasion, that is how he's been used by Rafa.  Like I said a minute ago, give him a go upfront for a bit. To me thats the position his attributes appear to suit.

[spider-neil]

You say that, but he's scored some nice goals for us since he's been here which have demonstrated craft and guile.

Perhaps he's not got great 'football intelligence' from a creative point of view, but the guy himself will tell you, he's not that type of player.  Yet apart from the very odd occasion, that is how he's been used by Rafa.  Like I said a minute ago, give him a go upfront for a bit. To me thats the position his attributes appear to suit.

babel is at his best when he has little time to think about what he is doing, like his back heel goal, or his flick to kuyt (where he continues his run into the box to slot home kuyt's return ball). the one time babel really used guile was the derby goal where he sold two defenders and then scored, that was quality. I think the babl ship has sailed though, it will take a miracle for babel to save his liverpool career (or at least some consistancy). even so, what a fucking goal, it gets better every time you watch it. for someone with THAT in his locker he doesn't shoot often enough, sure some will go into row z but all you need is ONE to go in...unless of course you have our defenders in which case you'll need TWO to go in.

[Promised to never post on RAWK again]

Probably right I suppose, Pandev coming in, right?

Nope. Pandev will probably end up at Inter. And Babel will probably end up in the Bundesliga or back at Ajax.

[rafabenihill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M24a2MMiOMg&feature=related

what a waste... he could have been our Adriano

[felix.]

babel is at his best when he has little time to think about what he is doing

spot on. like i've said before, if babel had the confidence to play to his instincts we'd see a different footballer.

[lord_anshul]

70th minute subs of babel's pace and shot aren't brought on to pass the ball about a bit...

if he wants to grow beyond that i mean

[redman1909]

Babel's late show against Lyon summed up his Liverpool career, moments of sheer brilliance drowned by moments of mediocrity and downright poor play. People say he hasn't been giving a fair crack of the whip, but is it a case of liverpool fans always getting behind their own and supporting  a lad even when he hasn't produced after so long............ or a case of liverpool fans being disillusioned?? I feel sometimes we're just covering up the cracks with support when we should be just accepting that, maybe, he's just not good enough? Hard to say after the goal against Lyon but maybe its true!!!

[Legendary]

I think most people acknowledge that Babel hasn't had a good career here and has been given chances BUT

i think the only manager that would be able to unlock his obvious potential is our Rafa. maybe that Lyon goal was a turning point, you could see how emotional it was, how much it meant for him to score like that. With all our injuries, perhaps this could be Babel's year to finally prove himself.

maybe wishful thinking though

[Adeemo]

The single thing that infuriates me about Babel is when he cuts inside from the left and shoots. It seems like every single time he pulls it wide of the near post as he's trying to cut across the ball a ridiculous amount. The chance he had after his goal on Wednesday summed it up perfectly, he could have just bent it towards the far corner knowing that if he hits the target it would take a wonder save(like the 1 from Lucas) to keep it out. Instead he shows that he's not learned and tries to put all kinds of unnecessary swerve and dip on it and once more drags it pathetically wide of the near post. And to anyone who believes his goal was an example of him getting that technique right, it wasn't. For his goal he'd got himself central and put his laces directly through the ball to devastating effect, showing what he can do when he keeps his shooting simple.

Having said all that I hope he starts on Monday, hopefully wide right with Kuyt up front with Ngog.

[Lustig]

Babel is the most frustrating player we have outside of Voronin. He clearly has bags of talent but is not consistent at all. I mean I've seen glimpses of pure genius in him. Some of the times when he has been introduced in the middle of the second half against United (two years ago) and Chelsea in the CL (two seasons ago) he was a class above everybody else on the pitch. And then he gets a start and looks so shit that you even wonder is this the same guy you watched just couple of days ago.... really frustrating. He's also doing fuck. all with the chances he gets to start and especially in cup competitions like the Carling Cup. He seems to think that he's way too good to play with some of the reserves too. Extremely bothering to watch.

[Promised to never post on RAWK again]

To be honest, I am just hoping that Martin Jol is still a big fan of Babel.

[LFCfan4Life]

I really couldn't abide hearing Voronin's name on the team sheet on Monday night.

except voronin plays in the hole and babel never will

FFS surprises me how people can talk about other players being shite or not having a footballing brian but do not understand the fundamentals of the system we play

If torres doesnt start the babel or my preference drop kuyt

[liverbnz]

except voronin plays in the hole and babel never will

FFS surprises me how people can talk about other players being shite or not having a footballing brian but do not understand the fundamentals of the system we play

If torres doesnt start the babel or my preference drop kuyt

I think he was inferring that Kuyt could play in the hole with Babel on the right.

[blacksun]

I think he was inferring that Kuyt could play in the hole with Babel on the right.

Or Benny in the hole and Babel on the left, which is more likely as Benny is at his best behind Torres

[seab0106]

To be honest, I am just hoping that Martin Jol is still a big fan of Babel.

He'll do well somewhere else

[RyanBabelsFish]

To be honest, I am just hoping that Martin Jol is still a big fan of Babel.

I think he probably has much of his reputation in the Eredivisie intact. However, whoever we sell him to is sure to take advantage of the fact they'll know we want to sell. So I'm not confident we'll get as much as we should.

[Madagascherano]

Or Benny in the hole and Babel on the left, which is more likely as Benny is at his best behind Torres

I think Rafa's more likely to play Kuyt in the hole and Yossi on the right. Something I never quite understood.

[zamagiure]

Or Benny in the hole and Babel on the left, which is more likely as Benny is at his best behind Torres

Which should have happened against Fulham and Lyon.

[Promised to never post on RAWK again]

I think he probably has much of his reputation in the Eredivisie intact. However, whoever we sell him to is sure to take advantage of the fact they'll know we want to sell. So I'm not confident we'll get as much as we should.

To be honest, if we deal with Ajax, we could still get a very good deal. They have used all the money from the Babel transfer (€17 million) to buy Miralem Sulejmani as his replacement. Unfortunately for them, despite being a huge talent, Sulejmani is not best suited for their 4-3-3 formation, mostly because he doesn't have the lightening pace. On the other hand, I have the feeling that Sulejmani would fit perfectly in our 4-2-3-1 formation, being the (very) technical left footed attacking player he is.

[lfc_bhoy]

Which should have happened against Fulham and Lyon.

We need width in order for Torres, and whoever plays behind him, to be effective.  In some games Kuyt can prove to be ineffective outwide, depending on fullback support as well as the midfields performance.  Benayoun does, quite often, switch positions with Kuyt, and come inside, so he is playing in the middle as well as on the right.  Really the combination of the two is much better then either one of them, playing in the middle on their own.  Kuyt is a better finisher, makes clever runs, and works hard.  Benayoun is clever, looks for killer passes, runs at defenders, and also makes clever runs.

[BobbyDavro]

only problem i see with him is that he looses the ball. if onbly he starts passing more often, he can be a real gem

losenotloose.com

[LFCfan4Life]

Or Benny in the hole and Babel on the left

we will never see the best of him on the left

[Spanish Al]

we will never see the best of him on the left

Is correct. Although cutting in and taking a smash with his right foot could bring a lot of goals! I think he does well on the right handside, but he will never get in ahead of Kuyt. Kuyt on the left, maybe?

[lord_anshul]

we will never see the best of him on the left

his right footed crosses are pretty decent. and with that amazing pace, he can be a quality winger with an eye for goal. not bad i'd say

[Alf]

If Voronin being ahead of you in the pecking order doesn't motivate you then nothing will.

[Spanish Al]

If Voronin being ahead of you in the pecking order doesn't motivate you then nothing will.

That wouldn't motivate me. After all the sub appearances and lack of starts, there's injuries and suspensions and still he can't get a game but the likes of Vornin can. That would be very discouraging.

[bigbear]

except voronin plays in the hole and babel never will

FFS surprises me how people can talk about other players being shite or not having a footballing brian but do not understand the fundamentals of the system we play

If torres doesnt start the babel or my preference drop kuyt

Thanks for the lesson on our system, very informative. Would it be possible for Yossi or Kuyt to play in the hole and Babel play wide on either side. I'm not sure but I guess you would be able to tell me.

[LFCfan4Life]

Is correct. Although cutting in and taking a smash with his right foot could bring a lot of goals!

which is what he tries to do 9 times out of 10 but it woks out about 1 in 10 so he gets called shite etc

on the right he is much more involved in general play

and once his confidence is up and he has more experience he could try from the left again but atm its just wrong to stick him out there for 90 mins

[Spanish Al]

which is what he tries to do 9 times out of 10 but it woks out about 1 in 10 so he gets called shite etc

on the right he is much more involved in general play

and once his confidence is up and he has more experience he could try from the left again but atm its just wrong to stick him out there for 90 mins

I agree. I thought I was the only Babel fan on here!

[Juan Loco]

Be nice if he keeps on making an impact off the bench until the first opportunity the club has to offload him.

Frankly I'd rather he didn't get played and a youngster given a spot in the squad instead, but that wont happen. I'd rather someone who could still be at the club in 12 months time getting a game though.

[redjed1]

Does anyone else think that if Babel got his head straight, stopped thinking he was a superstar  / rap DJ / music mixer / twittering on the coach taking them to the game, and got himself 100% focussed on what he needs to do in the game - he'd be the player he should be?

[Spanish Al]

Does anyone else think that if Babel got his head straight, stopped thinking he was a superstar  / rap DJ / music mixer / twittering on the coach taking them to the game, and got himself 100% focussed on what he needs to do in the game - he'd be the player he should be?

He doesn't think he's a superstar. And will people fuck off and bringing his other hobbies in life which include rapping and 'tweeting' into the fucking argument!? It's irrelavant.

[redjed1]

He doesn't think he's a superstar. And will people fuck off and bringing his other hobbies in life which include rapping and 'tweeting' into the fucking argument!? It's irrelavant.

There must be something thats stopping him consistently showing the obvious talent that he has.
The word "focus" comes to mind.
If not, maybe he's not the talent we thought?

[GBF]

2nd good game in a row...keep it up Ryan!

[Liverbird88]

Thought he looked bright when he came on, it will be great if he can keep improving. Plus am sure he is trying to impress for the world cup.

[GBF]

Thought he looked bright when he came on, it will be great if he can keep improving. Plus am sure he is trying to impress for the world cup.

i think everyone would be happy if he is just playing better because of the world cup...its a win win situation

[jammy dodger]

He will be flogged. Rafa obviously doesn't rate him and he isn't gonna sit around for many more years. We'll be luckly to get 6 million for him. I think he is a worthwhile player, he just doesn't have the focus or work ethic that Rafa requires. Some players are like this, though, and you need them to help you shine. You rarely saw Ronaldinho track back, but hey, if you have skills like ol' donkeylips, then you get some leeway on these sorts of things.

[U13]

Thought he should have started tonight, don't understand the decision to start Riera after such a long lay off

[Wesley Pipes]

Still wish he was quicker with his brain, there was a moment there where he had beaten a couple of people and had a guy hanging off him but he just dwelled on the pass for longer than you would want.

Not a team player but our side needs more individual brilliance when things aren't falling our way.