Topic: Alberto Aquilani - good luck to the lad

[farawayred]

So much hype about a player (1) who we bought injured out of necessity to deal with certain clubs, (2) who has not been able to sort his mind and his future for two seasons, (3) who gave provisions to other clubs to take advantage of us and refuse to pay a handful of peanuts and a twinkie for his services... I just don't get it. If he is half the player some make him to be, he'd be an enormous hit. Skill he has, he would stand out in our team, but so would a number of other players. If one browses through last season's Adam's thread after we bought him, you'd see the same hype...

I hope I'm wrong, but I think that Aquilani shares some similarities with Cole - bags of talent, but not quite suitable to carry any one specific task.

[WaltonRed]

He could be our best player this season.

- Great tackling and endurance
- Great passer and good offensive awareness
- On paper he's perfect for Rodgers' system

Really hope that he stays and stays injury free. He can link up well with Suarez and Lucas, and support Downing and Sterling on the wings. Here's hoping.

Great tackling?  Where on earth do you get that from. 

[U13]

So much hype about a player (1) who we bought injured out of necessity to deal with certain clubs, (2) who has not been able to sort his mind and his future for two seasons, (3) who gave provisions to other clubs to take advantage of us and refuse to pay a handful of peanuts and a twinkie for his services... I just don't get it. If he is half the player some make him to be, he'd be an enormous hit. Skill he has, he would stand out in our team, but so would a number of other players. If one browses through last season's Adam's thread after we bought him, you'd see the same hype...

I hope I'm wrong, but I think that Aquilani shares some similarities with Cole - bags of talent, but not quite suitable to carry any one specific task.

I saw you in the Charlie Adam thread say he was the worst player on the pitch and that his passing was sloppy or way off, but he had 97% pass completion.

I think it's fair to say your opinion of him is tainted to say the least.

[farawayred]

I saw you in the Charlie Adam thread say he was the worst player on the pitch and that his passing was sloppy or way off, but he had 97% pass completion.

I think it's fair to say your opinion of him is tainted to say the least.

Not that I feel obligated to answer, but here it goes; if you don't care, don't read it.

First off, that was said after the first half of the game. I have specified after that that his short range passing was excellent, but his long range was 10 yards off (review the game and see his passes to Pacheco). But if you are judging the team  success by Aquilani's pass completion ration, and you don't seem to be alone in that, you are in for a very disappointing season... Many teams would be happy to sit back and watch us to pass the ball around while the time is ticking. It's not an easy task; even Spain looked toothless in the Euros in all games bar the final and they are the gods of the passing game. Aquilani's job (as I understand it) is not to pass the ball around, but to create situations from which we could score. Lucas would 'circulate' the ball around, Aquilani has to create the danger. Unfortunately, he does not offer anything close to what Gerrard does. DonkeWan wrote about Aquilani exploring the channels, I didn't see it that way.

[exino]

lulz

Don't want to turn this into a Gerrard debate, but you can't honestly think he'll start the majority of matches this season? It's been two seasons now that he's struggled for fitness. I love Stevie as much as anybody but if you think he'll be a regular starter for most of the season your in for something else.

["Ninja Skrtel"]

Surely us sniffing around Allen means we're looking to get rid of Aqua and probably Adam too.

Personally I really like Aquilani and hope he commits to us and knuckles down this season. I think he links up with Gerrard superbly. That game against Portsmouth where those 2 just did whatever they wanted was such a joy to behold. He always seems to think 2 or 3 passes ahead, something sorely missing from our midfield. Lucas is the only other guy in the squad with this type of tactical awareness IMO.

[DanA]

You can't honestly think he'll start the majority of matches this season? It's been two seasons now that he's struggled for fitness. I love Stevie G as much as anybody but if you think he'll be a regular starter for most of the season your in for something else.

I honestly think he'll start the majority of matches this year. Won't be Reina like numbers but I think he'll play 35+ games in all competitions.

[Carlos: Very Kickable]

Salad is the best food.

This.

[CHOPPER]

Great tackling?  Where on earth do you get that from. 

The green is strong in that one. I prefer the endurance bit meself.

He has abar as much endurance as a poundland battery.

[DG]

Yeah, he really is a classic box-to-box midfielder.

[Carlos: Very Kickable]

I dunno what to say, I watched that first half yesterday and thought Aquilani was excellent. /snip/

I thought he was good too. Aquilani passes like Suarez dribbles.He has a beautiful if occasionally scruffy range. It reminds me of futsal.

Some of huge weight of his passes were off and he was occasionally awkward in turning his body to fire off a pass but he will come good with more gametime.

He adds tempo, movement and penetration to the whole team.

[soberphobia]

Just think this is a case of wait and see. Aquilani has been a conundrum to most supporters. He always looks a good player but no-one wants him. I can't figure it out and i doubt anyone else can either. Perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye but i doubt we will know anytime soon. I will just watch and see how it unfolds.

[Jack Cactus]

Surely us sniffing around Allen means we're looking to get rid of Aqua and probably Adam too.

Personally I really like Aquilani and hope he commits to us and knuckles down this season. I think he links up with Gerrard superbly. That game against Portsmouth where those 2 just did whatever they wanted was such a joy to behold. He always seems to think 2 or 3 passes ahead, something sorely missing from our midfield. Lucas is the only other guy in the squad with this type of tactical awareness IMO.

I remember that game and Aqua was brilliant.

Struggling to remember another game when I've thought that though, even having watched him at Roma (before we bought him) and during both his loan spells. I just don't think this guy is the answer. Even if we did keep him I can't help but think that the league is going to feel new to him again, he's been away from it for two years and has only really ever had half a season playing in it. He'd need time to adjust back, whereas a player like Charlie Adam or even Joe Allen wouldn't need the same time so would surely be a more sensible option.

I'm not a massive Adam fan but I accept that he is one of our better passers and is always looking to move the ball forward at least. He has two years PL experience now and is now part of a squad looking to play a passing game. Allen has one year in the PL and also has played the Rodgers system at Swansea. Lucas is another player very suited to this new system, as will Henderson (good engine, good technique, good short passing range). Add Gerrard on top of that and I fail to see how/where Aquilani will fit in. If we're serious about signing Joe Allen and that happens then I fully expect Aquilani to move on.

[Discipline]

Surely us sniffing around Allen means we're looking to get rid of Aqua and probably Adam too.

Based on what?

We're linked to players that can hold possession and are great with spreading the ball.

Cole and Adam don't fit that. Aquilani and Allen do.

[John Zac]

I don't think we will be creating hell lot of chances like we did last season. Under Rodger's system, we will be patiently passing the ball until the opposition makes a mistakes or one of our players make space etc. In that respect, I think Aquilani did quite well in the last match. And I reckon we will be seeing the same brand of football throughout the next season.

[Sangria]

So much hype about a player (1) who we bought injured out of necessity to deal with certain clubs, (2) who has not been able to sort his mind and his future for two seasons, (3) who gave provisions to other clubs to take advantage of us and refuse to pay a handful of peanuts and a twinkie for his services... I just don't get it. If he is half the player some make him to be, he'd be an enormous hit. Skill he has, he would stand out in our team, but so would a number of other players. If one browses through last season's Adam's thread after we bought him, you'd see the same hype...

I hope I'm wrong, but I think that Aquilani shares some similarities with Cole - bags of talent, but not quite suitable to carry any one specific task.

I think his passing technique is at least on a par with the best technical passers we have at the club (Gerrard, Lucas), while defensively he's better than many of our current CMs. Note: "better than many of our current CMs". Whether or not he's the required quality, we should be looking to improve by culling the bottom end of our squad, not someone who is far from the bottom end.

And if anyone brings his wages into consideration, he has 2 years left on his contract. That's a maximum of 8m commitment. If we sign a player to replace him, we'll have to pay a transfer fee, a signing fee, agent's fee, plus wages. Try to keep all of that under 8m at the same level of quality that Aquilani has. If you can do that, I'm all ears. For comparison, we effectively replaced Aquilani with Adam last season. In doing so, we saved 4m on Aquilani's wages, but paid 7m in transfer fees, whatever on signing and agent's fees (1-1.5m is a reasonable guess), 2-3m in wages according to which stories you prefer. So we saved 4m on Aquilani, but spent 10-11.5m on Adam. Was there any money saved? Was there an upgrade in quality that justified the expenditure?

[ziggyy]

He's better than what we have at the moment and what we can buy (or more likely who'll join us at this time).

Keep him, see what he can do till at least the next window.  Short and simple.

[Sangria]

I dunno what to say, I watched that first half yesterday and thought Aquilani was excellent. Calm, in control, always available for a ball, he was he fulcrum of the team, controlling tempo and players around him, the nearest thing we have had to Alonso for years. The total domination of the side should have given you a clue as to how instrumental he was in the middle. The reason the domination wasn't turned into scores was because the front targetman was a callow youth unable to impose himself on the game. In the second half without Aquilani on the pitch all the gaps disappeared and the team looked hurried and less in control. I tut tutted, put it down to youth, gave a nod to sterling, Morgan and Suso who all had some nice moments, but overall took heart from the first half thinking this was the style Rodgers was aiming for; possession and a continental style of patient pressing before opening sides up. I came on here expecting some pleased murmurings about Aquilani's accomplished performance and instead I read comments saying how useless he was (did people not watch the same game as me?) and comparing him unfavourably with Gerrard (a completely different type of player). I'm pretty confident if people see his stats for yesterday's game they will cast a less jaundiced eye over him.

I thought he looked a bit rusty, but did the director bit of Lucas's job well enough. Got into the right positions nearly all the time, got the ball to the targets, if not quite in the perfect manner (but that can happen when you're out of practice).

[incredibleL4ever]

I don't see anything from Aquilani to suggest that he wants to be here, irrespective of the comments from his agent.

[Melbred]

I don't see anything from Aquilani to suggest that he wants to be here, irrespective of the comments from his agent.

Do you see anything to suggests he doesn't?

[scatman]

Do you see anything to suggests he doesn't?

haha

[L666KOP]

Do you see anything to suggests he doesn't?

Did you not see his passport tucked into his sock?
He really is desperate to move.
 

[Fromola]

Allen is a smart player, has good movement & keeps it simple; Very well suited to playing a short passing possession style, but Allen is not on Aquilani's level & is a different style player IMO so I don't see them being in direct competition if we do get him. Had we got Sigurdson I think Aquilani would have had direct competition for a place but not with Allen.

I don't think so. As I said in my earlier post there's three positions we'll have in midfield.

Defensive midfielder - Leon Britton at Swansea.
Deep-lying playmaker - Joe Allen at Swansea
Central Attacking midfielder - Sigurdsson at Swansea

Now Britton and Allen would be more suited to swapping roles with each other than they would with Sugurdsson.

These are our options:

Defensive midfielder - Lucas, Spearing.
Deep-lying playmaker - Aquilani, Henderson, Allen if we sign him.
Central-Attacking midfielder - Gerrard, Shelvey, Adam, Suso.

The deeper two roles are about controlled possession and more short passing to keep the ball ticking over, which Aquilani is well suited to. The attacking role is about creativity, looking for the killer balls and scoring goals from midfield. Aquilani and Gerrard could swap roles, for example, but their natural games are better suited to those positions.

If we had Aquilani, Henderson and Allen for the deeper role. Plus the fact we always play Gerrard there these days for some reason. Then something would have to give. That'd probably be Aquilani.

[What's the procedure Mr Mod?]

I don't see anything from Aquilani to suggest that he wants to be here, irrespective of the comments from his agent.

What do you want him to do to show you that he wants to be here?

[DonkeyWan]

What do you want him to do to show you that he wants to be here?

1] Liverbird tatto on forehead
2] shave head, paint red
3] develop impenetrable scouse accent that causes Carragher to blink and look confused
4] Change his name by deed poll from Alberto to 'Comingonupthehilltowinnumber19'
5] public burning of caricatures of Alex Ferguson
6] sabotage Wayne Rooney's new hair with electric curling tongs
7] Lead a dambusters style bombing raid on old trafford
8] Take off and nuke Manchester from orbit - it's the only way to be sure.
 

[redk84]

I've never got the huge hype/strong opinions people on this forum have about Aquilani.

The way i see it, as a player, i think he looks good. Has composure on the ball....he can pick out a pass and he has a sort of flair that i don't see in many of our other midfielders. none maybe. Not sure if he's strong enough in the centre to be able to take/dish out tackles with the sort of intensity you need in the premiership....but with the limited time he has had with us, its hard to form a real opinion...only a hunch.

But that brings me onto my next point....i just get the feeling he doesnt want to be here, he is not the sort of player that would give his all to our team....so fuck how good he is...regardless of who's fault it is for him feeling that way. Again, that's only a hunch. I can't know for sure what he's really thinking.

I would keep him over Joe Cole. But i wouldn't keep them both, especially with Pacheco around (who i hope is given a chance). Mainly cos i believe Aqua has something we lack in our team. Creativity and flair.

But if he goes....he goes.

Why the teenage boyband-like obsession with him has been going on for years.......well i just dont get it.

[Anywhichwayicant]

(3) who gave provisions to other clubs to take advantage of us and refuse to pay a handful of peanuts and a twinkie for his services

Can you explain this, please?


Not sure I understand what you are saying.

[lorenzo23]

I've never got the huge hype/strong opinions people on this forum have about Aquilani.

The way i see it, as a player, i think he looks good. Has composure on the ball....he can pick out a pass and he has a sort of flair that i don't see in many of our other midfielders. none maybe. Not sure if he's strong enough in the centre to be able to take/dish out tackles with the sort of intensity you need in the premiership....but with the limited time he has had with us, its hard to form a real opinion...only a hunch.

But that brings me onto my next point....i just get the feeling he doesnt want to be here, he is not the sort of player that would give his all to our team....so fuck how good he is...regardless of who's fault it is for him feeling that way. Again, that's only a hunch. I can't know for sure what he's really thinking.

I would keep him over Joe Cole. But i wouldn't keep them both, especially with Pacheco around (who i hope is given a chance). Mainly cos i believe Aqua has something we lack in our team. Creativity and flair.

But if he goes....he goes.

Why the teenage boyband-like obsession with him has been going on for years.......well i just dont get it.

You wonder why people have strong opinions about him then you tell us all about your hunch how good has this giving your all got England or brave Parker.(giving your all does not have to involve running around looking like your doing something but your not)

[Sangria]

I've never got the huge hype/strong opinions people on this forum have about Aquilani.

The way i see it, as a player, i think he looks good. Has composure on the ball....he can pick out a pass and he has a sort of flair that i don't see in many of our other midfielders. none maybe. Not sure if he's strong enough in the centre to be able to take/dish out tackles with the sort of intensity you need in the premiership....but with the limited time he has had with us, its hard to form a real opinion...only a hunch.

But that brings me onto my next point....i just get the feeling he doesnt want to be here, he is not the sort of player that would give his all to our team....so fuck how good he is...regardless of who's fault it is for him feeling that way. Again, that's only a hunch. I can't know for sure what he's really thinking.

I would keep him over Joe Cole. But i wouldn't keep them both, especially with Pacheco around (who i hope is given a chance). Mainly cos i believe Aqua has something we lack in our team. Creativity and flair.

But if he goes....he goes.

Why the teenage boyband-like obsession with him has been going on for years.......well i just dont get it.

I hate shite arguments.

1. We're saving money on Aquilani's wages. We may do that, but we're spending on wages for his replacement, plus a transfer fee and miscellaneous other fees. Where's the saving?
2. If he's any good, the other club would have signed him. And so the very fact that he's still here is reason enough to want him gone. Catch 22.
3. If a player doesn't want to be here, there is nothing we can do. Yes there bloody well is. It's called a contract. Either a player respects the contract, someone else compensates us for the contract, or we actively decide to get rid whatever the cost.

I have strong feelings about Aquilani threads, not because of the tremendous quality of Aquilani the genius footballer, but because of the tremendous shiteness of these arguments that should be self-evident to those that make them. All they have to do is follow their own logic a little bit further rather than just repeat oft-made cliches, and it should be clear. But they don't. It was the same with Lucas threads too.

[Mutton Geoff]

I have always been of the opinion that if he wanted to stay he is an asset for us , the problem bit is the does he want to stay.

[Hazell]

I hate shite arguments.

1. We're saving money on Aquilani's wages. We may do that, but we're spending on wages for his replacement, plus a transfer fee and miscellaneous other fees. Where's the saving?
2. If he's any good, the other club would have signed him. And so the very fact that he's still here is reason enough to want him gone. Catch 22.
3. If a player doesn't want to be here, there is nothing we can do. Yes there bloody well is. It's called a contract. Either a player respects the contract, someone else compensates us for the contract, or we actively decide to get rid whatever the cost.

I have strong feelings about Aquilani threads, not because of the tremendous quality of Aquilani the genius footballer, but because of the tremendous shiteness of these arguments that should be self-evident to those that make them. All they have to do is follow their own logic a little bit further rather than just repeat oft-made cliches, and it should be clear. But they don't. It was the same with Lucas threads too.

[rossipersempre]

Glad he's back. For however long, hopefully after Sept 1 this time.

Not least because with Adam circling the drain, poor Fordy must be tearing what's left of his hair out in frustration.

[decky]

I don't think so. As I said in my earlier post there's three positions we'll have in midfield.

Defensive midfielder - Leon Britton at Swansea.
Deep-lying playmaker - Joe Allen at Swansea
Central Attacking midfielder - Sigurdsson at Swansea

Now Britton and Allen would be more suited to swapping roles with each other than they would with Sugurdsson.

These are our options:

Defensive midfielder - Lucas, Spearing.
Deep-lying playmaker - Aquilani, Henderson, Allen if we sign him.
Central-Attacking midfielder - Gerrard, Shelvey, Adam, Suso.

The deeper two roles are about controlled possession and more short passing to keep the ball ticking over, which Aquilani is well suited to. The attacking role is about creativity, looking for the killer balls and scoring goals from midfield. Aquilani and Gerrard could swap roles, for example, but their natural games are better suited to those positions.

If we had Aquilani, Henderson and Allen for the deeper role. Plus the fact we always play Gerrard there these days for some reason. Then something would have to give. That'd probably be Aquilani.

Personally would send Spearing out on loan and coach Henderson to play that defensive role and the deep playmaker role when required. I'd sell Adam as well

[Sangria]

I have always been of the opinion that if he wanted to stay he is an asset for us , the problem bit is the does he want to stay.

I want him to be an asset. Whether that's a football or a financial asset, I care little, as long as it benefits the club and the manager's decisionmaking. I do not see him as a burden which we'd be best rid of at any cost.

[redk84]

Fair enough.

I just don't think he's that good a player to get too worried over. I would like to find that out for sure while he's with us so we don't regret it later...but that remains to be seen.

And with his intensity in midfield...i wasn't implying i want a brave scotty parker ingurland midfielder. I just don't want a soft shite in the centre of the park for us is all.

We'll see what happens with him i guess.

[rossipersempre]

I have always been of the opinion that if he wanted to stay he is an asset for us , the problem bit is the does he want to stay.

The "problem bit" was always those in charge treating him like a moth-eaten jumper to be dropped off down the charity shop, after we'd been shopping in Primark. See Cole 2010 and Adam 2011.

Personally though, if I was Bert, I'd be far more bitter at how both Juve and Milan have treated him, building his hopes up without any intention of fulfilling their side of the quid pro quo arrangement.

[redk84]

I hate shite arguments.

1. We're saving money on Aquilani's wages. We may do that, but we're spending on wages for his replacement, plus a transfer fee and miscellaneous other fees. Where's the saving?
2. If he's any good, the other club would have signed him. And so the very fact that he's still here is reason enough to want him gone. Catch 22.
3. If a player doesn't want to be here, there is nothing we can do. Yes there bloody well is. It's called a contract. Either a player respects the contract, someone else compensates us for the contract, or we actively decide to get rid whatever the cost.

I have strong feelings about Aquilani threads, not because of the tremendous quality of Aquilani the genius footballer, but because of the tremendous shiteness of these arguments that should be self-evident to those that make them. All they have to do is follow their own logic a little bit further rather than just repeat oft-made cliches, and it should be clear. But they don't. It was the same with Lucas threads too.

Gotta say i agree with what you said.

Caught me on that....to be honest i haven't sat and thought about Aquilani half as much as some it seems....guess i haven't seen the need to. If he ever does become a proper player for us i will make sure i do.

[DonkeyWan]

Glad he's back. For however long, hopefully after Sept 1 this time.

Not least because with Adam circling the drain, poor Fordy must be tearing what's left of his hair out in frustration.

Not wanting to bash Adam but that friendly was pretty telling; Spearing and Aquilani quickly ping-ponging the ball about, no sign of Adam. Suddenly he arrives (late) picks up the ball, does that slow turny thing he does on the ball, puts a foot on, looks up realises he has killed the momentum of the game and decides to cover it up by launching a massive ball up front to a striker who now has to pull it out of the air, bring it down and shoot, all while running at speed with a defender on his back. It was pretty awful.

[mysterio_86]

I don't see anything from Aquilani to suggest that he wants to be here, irrespective of the comments from his agent.

naked rain dance is the thing of past if thats what your waiting to see

[blert596]

Gotta say i agree with what you said.

Caught me on that....to be honest i haven't sat and thought about Aquilani half as much as some it seems....guess i haven't seen the need to. If he ever does become a proper player for us i will make sure i do.

And in the meantime just keep posting nonsense based on not having sat and thought about it.