Topic: Fabio Aurelio

[Linnet]

When does Aurelios contract run out?

[IndianRed]

In 2011, I think.

[Daranoza]

Signed four year contract in July/August of 2006 so it's 2010? Doubt he will be offered anything new though, to be honest.

[LFC-Dan]

Felt like we missed Insua today. 

Didnt look confident on the ball and gave it away too much. 

[Mimi]

Was he doing his best John Arne Riise impression today? Because whenever he got the ball he insisted on hoofing it up aimlessly.

Didn't the chance at the end come from his hoof?

He started off promising but was anonymous by the end.

[its cold in the stands]

Was he doing his best John Arne Riise impression today? Because whenever he got the ball he insisted on hoofing it up aimlessly.

to be fair at least he`s got an excuse - it was his first game back from injury, and the few times we did cause them any trouble down their flanks it was the left side where he and riera played.
the right side was abysmal, benyoun couldnt keep hold of it and carragher couldnt even trap a bag of cement today.
i just hope it was just `one of those days`, if this performance was a result of rafa putting a bit of pressure on the players with his anti-ferguson tirade then we`ve got no chance of winning the title.
title winners have got to take stuff like that in their stride.

[BazC]

What are we going to do- go through every player and say how shite they were?!

Aurelio's a good player when we have control of possession- he helps keep it, supports the winger well and can pick out some good passes. Today, he was faced with 2 CMs who didn't keep possession at all... there was no Agger around either, and Riera's hardly the one to give it to when you need to play a safe pass.

I'm not surprised he resorted to hoofing. I wouldn't have trusted our CM to keep possession by exchanging shorter passes with them either.

[Mimi]

I'm not surprised he resorted to hoofing. I wouldn't have trusted our CM to keep possession by exchanging shorter passes with them either.

That doesn't help anything though, Baz. It's just shooting yourself in the foot. It's not like anybody on this team stood out with their passing. The least they could have done was to resort to short, quick passing. We managed neither for long periods though there was a brief bit in the first half when we were spreading the ball around trying to find space.

[BazC]

That doesn't help anything though, Baz. It's just shooting yourself in the foot. It's not like anybody on this team stood out with their passing. The least they could have done was to resort to short, quick passing. We managed neither for long periods though there was a brief bit in the first half when we were spreading the ball around trying to find space.

Aurelio was playing it safe rather than trying the passes to Masch or Lucas because he deemed there to be a risk of them losing it- which they did do a lot today. Normally he'd look up and see Agger or Alonso legging it towards him offering themselves for a shorter pass and he'd be off down the left looking for any return... even with players around, with Alonso at least, he'd have expected him to keep possession. With Lucas and Masch, he sees Stoke players preparing for the counter in front of him and closing space down- doesn't want to try the shorter pass to Lucas or Masch because he doesn't believe they'll come out on top.

Perhaps he thought hoofing it would create a better chance than having the team try and work through Stoke- which didn't happen once in the whole match. Indeed the closest it came was when someone hoofed the ball to Torres who knocked it down for Gerrard to hit the post.

[azer]

Was he doing his best John Arne Riise impression today? Because whenever he got the ball he insisted on hoofing it up aimlessly.

Poor and slow on the ball gave the ball away nearly as much as lucas. Two of them should check their passports.

[Bangers N Masch]

Poor and slow on the ball gave the ball away nearly as much as lucas. Two of them should check their passports.

Haha, exactly my thoughts whilst watching the game. Imo they were our 2 worst players.

[bigbear]

He always takes 3 or 4 games to get back to a good level but he wasn't too bad yesterday. His distribution was below par but he did his defensive work ok.

Hopefully he can stay fit until Insua is back and then just play second fiddle to Insua's development. I don't think that is what will happen as I think Rafa will have Aurelio as his first choice but I'd like to see him used as back up and conserve his fitness.

[Hightown Phil]

Poor and slow on the ball gave the ball away nearly as much as lucas. Two of them should check their passports.

Lucas Leiva. Accurate passes 64. Bad passes 3. STOP GIVING THE BALL AWAY SO MUCH.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/2008-2009/stoke-liverpool-236829.html

[Yiannis]

Lucas Leiva. Accurate passes 64. Bad passes 3. STOP GIVING THE BALL AWAY SO MUCH.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/2008-2009/stoke-liverpool-236829.html

I'd swear he had more bad passes.Anyway he was nowhere near the standard of the Newcastle performance as everyone else too of course.

[elmo]

He's done ok me thinks.
BTW Riise was damn good against Milan the other day.

[farawayred]

He's done ok me thinks.
BTW Riise was damn good against Milan the other day.

Hmm, I wander if I watched the same game then... He tried a lot, but didn't create much, couldn't beat his man as many times as he tried. I thought that people already figured how he plays. But that's just me.

[farawayred]

He always takes 3 or 4 games to get back to a good level but he wasn't too bad yesterday. His distribution was below par but he did his defensive work ok.

Hopefully he can stay fit until Insua is back and then just play second fiddle to Insua's development. I don't think that is what will happen as I think Rafa will have Aurelio as his first choice but I'd like to see him used as back up and conserve his fitness.

Agree with your assessment on Aurelio's performance, but disagree with your take on Insua. Aurelio is far more experienced and (imo) still a much better defender. Insua is a very very exciting prospect, and indeed he needs development time. But he's been in the team for only a handful of games; too early to judge him. Yes, he has the quality, and yes, he excites me more than Aurelio. But he still makes quite a few defensive mistakes (thanks God Agger had been on high alert), and still needs to show consistency over months. I actually think that Insua/Aurelio combination will work out fine, because Aurelio is a bit injury prone, and he may not be able to play every game.

[Daranoza]

I hope he lasts, this time. Not holding my breath but it'd be nice.

[zamagiure]

Aurelio was playing fine until he got his latest injury. The game will do him good.

[hassinator]

yep more time on the pitch and with some extra passing options in defence and midfield (agger and alonso) will make him do a lot better.

i see on those eurosport match stats he had the most wayward passes but i'm wondering if they include hypia and skrtel banging it into touch rather than trying to pick out a player as a bad pass?

first game back lets see how he progresses but still our number one left back for me when match fit

[zamagiure]

yep more time on the pitch and with some extra passing options in defence and midfield (agger and alonso) will make him do a lot better.

i see on those eurosport match stats he had the most wayward passes but i'm wondering if they include hypia and skrtel banging it into touch rather than trying to pick out a player as a bad pass?

first game back lets see how he progresses but still our number one left back for me when match fit

Agree 100%

[Uhoh AureliOs]

Fabio!

[liverpool_mostar]

not fit enough after last injury.... insua is very good replacement, very good.

[Daranoza]

not fit enough after last injury.... insua is very good replacement, very good.

Not fit enough because it's his first game back, yeah. Does take two or three games to start getting your levels up to what they should be.

Insua is good for rotation, yes, until he 'comes of age' so to speak.

[Neil D]

First game back from injury and he looked a little rusty. No great surprise that. Had one great foray down the wing in the first half and pulled back a good ball but once again we failed to capitalise.

When he's had a couple of games and he's back to his usual self bossing Chelsea in three weeks time you'll see the likes of Azer disappear again.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

Quite a few stating they'd prefer Insua over Aurelio in the pre-match thread for Monday.

Fully fit Fabio vs Insua - Aurelio wins hands down on all fronts. I'd forgive those who don't watch our matches that often but fellow reds seem to forget that Aurelio is more than decent when match fit and still our best left-back.

[fowlerisgod96]

Doesnt matter if they'd prefer Insua, thats not an option. Aurelio is our best LB, but I hope Insua stays in and around the first team when he gets back.

[killer-heels]

Quite a few stating they'd prefer Insua over Aurelio in the pre-match thread for Monday.

Fully fit Fabio vs Insua - Aurelio wins hands down on all fronts. I'd forgive those who don't watch our matches that often but fellow reds seem to forget that Aurelio is more than decent when match fit and still our best left-back.

I dont know about that. Insua is quite a powerful runner when he overlaps, is hard to knock of the ball when he is running forward and his crossing was pretty accurate. Aurelio is a bit inconsistent with his crossing and doesnt drive forward as strongly as Insua does, nor is he as strong.

But at this moment in time Aurelio is better defensively than Insua, who looked a bit shaky against Preston and at times against Newcastle, but he will improve on that aspect.

[royhendo]

Aurelio's a great player and he's been there and done it at the highest level for years. Injuries is the problem, and that's it - other than that he's solid on all fronts. Fully fit I'd always pick him ahead of Insua for a key game, but that's just me.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

I dont know about that. Insua is quite a powerful runner when he overlaps, is hard to knock of the ball when he is running forward and his crossing was pretty accurate. Aurelio is a bit inconsistent with his crossing and doesnt drive forward as strongly as Insua does, nor is he as strong.

But at this moment in time Aurelio is better defensively than Insua, who looked a bit shaky against Preston and at times against Newcastle, but he will improve on that aspect.

Fully fit I'd still say Aurelio is better at crossing than Insua, but fair enough about Fabio being slight of frame. Insua is a bulldozer after all. However youthful exuberance and forward drive doesn't beat tactical nous and experience in my mind, something Fabio has shown earlier in the season when linking well with Riera. Wouldn't mind seeing how Insua does in a real pressure game alongside Hyypia without Agger there to cover with that extra mobility, but until that happens and Insua gets a protracted run in the first team, I'd still say he's not a patch on Fabio yet.

Shame it takes him a few games to get back to fitness before the inevitable breakdown that occurs when he hits his stride.

[bigbear]

Fully fit I'd still say Aurelio is better at crossing than Insua, but fair enough about Fabio being slight of frame. Insua is a bulldozer after all. However youthful exuberance and forward drive doesn't beat tactical nous and experience in my mind, something Fabio has shown earlier in the season when linking well with Riera. Wouldn't mind seeing how Insua does in a real pressure game alongside Hyypia without Agger there to cover with that extra mobility, but until that happens and Insua gets a protracted run in the first team, I'd still say he's not a patch on Fabio yet.

Shame it takes him a few games to get back to fitness before the inevitable breakdown that occurs when he hits his stride.

That's the issue with fabio. It doesn't matter how well he's playing, he'll be injured again before February is out. On the basis it takes him 3 or 4 games to get to a very good level then it stops being worth blocking off Insua to play him.

Aurelio isn't going to get much better than he is now, he's 28 or so and very very injury prone. Insua's not a mile away from him already and is going to develop and seems more durable.

That's why I'd be playing him when he's back. Aurelio (sadly) is not the long or even medium term solution for us. If he can stay fit for 4 weeks I'll be pleased and then back Insua up for the rest of the season.

[Bob Loblaw]

Is it wrong that i'm now starting to really resent the fella?

Silly question, i know it is.

Still think it was fucking amateur hour letting Insua swan off to some meaningless under-age tournament that he's already played in.

[Neil D]

Is it wrong that i'm now starting to really resent the fella?

Silly question, i know it is.

Still think it was fucking amateur hour letting Insua swan off to some meaningless under-age tournament that he's already played in.

Why on earth would you resent Aurelio given he's had such a good season? He's only missed a month or so with injury and aside from that he has been one of our most consistent performers.

Do you resent Arbeloa? Same applies for him.

[bigbear]

Why on earth would you resent Aurelio given he's had such a good season? He's only missed a month or so with injury and aside from that he has been one of our most consistent performers.

Do you resent Arbeloa? Same applies for him.

Agreed. I'm not sure how you resent him. We just need to realise that he is an injury prone player and manage the situation accordingly.

He should play about once every 2 weeks.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

Hmm not sure he should play once every 2 weeks - maybe he should be rested every 2 months / 8 games. This season he went on a pretty decent 4/5 month run without a major injury - start of the season til the end of November (for Prem only).

Sunderland    0   1   Liverpool                   16/08/2008
Liverpool     2   1   Middlesbrough      23/08/2008
Aston Villa    0   0   Liverpool                   31/08/2008
Liverpool     2   1   Man. Utd.           13/09/2008
Everton       0   2   Liverpool                   27/09/2008
Man. City     2   3   Liverpool             05/10/2008
Chelsea      0   1   Liverpool                   26/10/2008
Liverpool     1   0   Portsmouth           29/10/2008
Liverpool     3   0   W.B.A.                   08/11/2008
Bolton         0   2   Liverpool                   15/11/2008
Liverpool     0   0   Fulham                   22/11/2008


Arbeloa has played these games extra in the same time period:

Liverpool     0   0   Stoke    20/09/2008
Liverpool     3   2   Wigan    18/10/2008
Tottenham    2   1   Liverpool    01/11/2008

[royhendo]

When you get the 'made of glass' tag it's hard to shift it I guess... look at Kompany now though - apparently he was a glass man at Hamburg, but not much sign of it now...

He's due a decent run - I was gutted for him last year at PSV and I hope he can prove just how useful he can be in the run-in. We're going to have some big big games ahead (and it looks like we really need him to deal with Robben).

[bigbear]

When you get the 'made of glass' tag it's hard to shift it I guess... look at Kompany now though - apparently he was a glass man at Hamburg, but not much sign of it now...

He's due a decent run - I was gutted for him last year at PSV and I hope he can prove just how useful he can be in the run-in. We're going to have some big big games ahead (and it looks like we really need him to deal with Robben).

Kompany's much younger and has not had the prolonged niggles that Fabio has had.

I'd be thinking about Arbeloa for Robben at left back. Do the same job he did on Messi as left footed right winger cutting in.

[Uhoh AureliOs]

An assist for 'El Fab' today - he's coming back into his better form again now. Great game Fabio.

[Crackerjack Sam]

Best game to date.

[singaporered]

boss cross for the goal today