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Are We Guilty Of Settling For Mediocrity By Championing Kuyt?

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IN 2006, a 26-year-old Dirk Kuyt transferred to Liverpool from Feyenoord with a stunning track record.

He had won the Dutch and Eridivise golden shoes, been named Dutch footballer of the year and in just three seasons had netted 71 times in 101 league appearances for his former employers.

Unfortunately, Kuyt’s track record and unrivalled work ethic seem to be the only things that carried him through his 6 seasons with Liverpool. An unimpressive highest season league tally of 13 and a total of 83 goals throughout his time on Merseyside, winning just one trophy – the Carling Cup – reaffirm this assertion.

Kuyt loved the fans and a great many of us loved him back, not because he stepped to the plate whenever we needed to edge a win or tie a seemingly lost cause (Kuyt was no Didier Drogba, at least not at Liverpool), but simply because he gave his all in every game he played and showed a passion and desire that most Liverpool players in recent history have lacked. I’ve never seen him hang his head or stop believing until the final whistle – but is that what we really needed? Charismatic work horses who provide very little in terms of end-product.

If we are realistically looking to recapture the glory of our not too distant past, ensuring Champions League qualification every season and performing respectably in all competitions then the answer is obvious. It might sound harsh taking into account the importance of some of the goals he scored for us, his extra time goal and penalty in our Carling Cup victory being the most recent, but applauding Kuyt for anything more than his work-rate, loyalty and charisma would no doubt be applauding mediocrity.

Players should be judged on their performance in their respective roles. Settling for anything else in compensation quite frankly means we are inadvertently sabotaging ourselves. A striker should no doubt be commended for his defensive contributions among others but that should not overshadow his meagre contribution in attack. Kuyt might have worked his socks-off every game, but he simply did not score enough goals. He is a good poacher and good at holding up play. He is however not very creative, not aerially threatening and has shown very poor positioning during his Anfield stay, qualities that any marksman in a team pushing for top-tier football should possess.
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The winds of change are blowing through the Shankly Gates and to fully embrace them we must be critical of players, managers and all other staff. This is not to say that we must be impatient with them, not at all, we must give them all the support they need but ultimately we should not be afraid to throw a bit of criticism their way even if they seem to be giving it their all and be able to let them go when it’s just not working out. I will always be grateful to Dirk Kuyt for his hard work and the respect he has shown this club and its supporters but I’m honestly quite surprised he lasted up to six seasons with us.

Mistaken or not, the potential for other “Kuyt’s” among our current crop of players exists and hopefully the new management will be strong enough to make some difficult decisions. Sadly, in light of the woefulness of our last three league campaigns, results and stats are currently all that matter and until we re-attain a position where judgment can be based on something other than these, practicality and a bit of ruthlessness will be vital in the assessment of our players and staff if we really hope to make it back to the top of Europe.

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22 comments

  • chunky says:

    Well we are a mediocre team.

  • kengkinny says:

    `Charismatic workhorse who provided very little in terms of end product` ????

    How about checking out his statistics for the 2010/11 season, when Dirk started most games for LFC? He produced an end product (assist or goal) once about every 110 minutes on the pitch (in all competitions, as well as in the league), one of the very highest production rates in the entire EPL. So what is the point of this ridiculous article of yours?

    • lfcforlife says:

      The author of this article is bang on the money. Kuyt has been at Liverpool for 6 seasons and in that time what have we won? Watching him play was so frustrating, he couldn’t control the ball, he couldn’t pass and he couldn’t dribble. What’s the point of being a work horse and do nothing. What we need now are players who are creative and can get the fans excited, players who can take people on and beat them. Players who have got skill and trickery. I for one am glad Kuyt had gone he just wasn’t Liverpool quality.

    • Hemanta says:

      he is bang on point, well if you think kyut as assisted in every 110 minutes than you better count the times he failed , he was a good workhorse but that was all he could provide, has no pace , creativity, if you would tell him to make and axe out of hammer , he was the type that would scratch the hammer against the wall until the hammer would find a sharp edge

  • RedRoy says:

    kuyt was employed right side midfield at Anfield, not striker. I’m sure if he played up front for 6 years he’d have scroed a lot more goals. Still think he should have played instead of Henderson on the right last season.

  • deaththekid says:

    Kuyt is and has always been an overrated player who compensated for his numerous shortcomings( poor control/first touch, poor dribbling, poor shooting, poor crossing etc) with his work rate. He was average and I`m glad he left. Another average overrated player that need to go is lucas leiva, the guy has no assists and no goals to his name in his entire career at LFC. He also just compensate for his shortcomings( wastfulness in front of goals, inability to cross,dribble etc) by tackling a lot during matches…We dont need these kind of players. we need quality to move forward otherwise we are gonna fight with relagation teams if these average players stay in our team…

    • charlie says:

      don’t be so naive. Firstly Lucas has both goals and assists to his name. Secondly he was far and away our best player in the 2010/11 season. Thirdly he’s a defensive midfielder. I don’t remember Mascherano scoring or creating many for us – was he an average player?

      But then I suppose if you had it your way we’d just play with a goal-keeper and 10 strikers on the pitch…what a muppet.

  • steve mcauley says:

    yes!

  • Rob, Cheshire says:

    Yes. Absolutely.

  • Ahmad Albab says:

    What have all of you been smoking lately. If kuyt is mediocre then henderson, carroll n downing are pure rubbish and yet none of you mention anything about those 3. Go watch more games before shooting off your crapper mate! I bet this comment won’t get posted. What a mediocre site!

  • obi jeremiah says:

    Kuyt on matter what they say you are one of our best.I love u

  • Red says:

    Go and concentrate on CRICKET!, cause you know FA about football!.

  • Jay Mayer says:

    Kuyt is an example of what has been wrong with Liverpool since Benitez value hard work over guile and skill, now i’m not saying the your players shouldn’t work hard. But certain positions on the field should be reserved for players who can get you goals. Think about how many times kuyt missed from in the six yard box this season (arsenal @ home probably the game that really ended our top 4 hopes)outplayed them for 90mins and lost kuyt must have missed a hatrick from in and around the six yard box. Look at united they always have pace and ability on the wings. Not sorry to see him go he was sh**, others like downing, hendo and carrol were in there first season and should be given a chance. kuyt had 6 seasons and produced very little. YNWA

  • adam says:

    You seem to be forgetting he played in midfield for most of his time at LFC.

    Excellent player. not just for his work rate either.

  • mop ed says:

    The modern day Liverpool fan views getting to finals as success.
    We laughed at Man Utd and Everton fans back in the 80s who did likewise.
    Kuyt has never been good enough. He played on the right because it became apparent he was not going to cause many problems up front (which is what we bought him for).
    And the ‘work rate’ thing is something all players should have in their game.
    And he wasn’t that much of a work horse. Many times he would not be tracking back when he should have been.

  • timbo says:

    Kuyt was played as a right wingers for the majority of his liverpool career so reading his stats as a striker is just ridiculous. 83 goals from midfield however is a fantastic return. the season he scored 13 goals he also managed 14 assists making him the most productive winger in the league. he may not have had step overs galore, or ronaldo-esque flamboyance but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. Benitez seemed to think he was good enough to start every game as did Holland until recently. dalglish dropped him and we ended up 8th. anyone that thinks his contribution over the last six years was meaningless obviously didn’t watch the same football as me because i saw passion, power, point winning performances, some great goals, some even better assists, a love of Liverpool football club and its fans rarely matched, some outstanding positional play and memories that will live long. personally i think he can be proud of everything he achieved at Liverpool and we should be proud to have had him. great player, true gentleman and a sad loss. he earned his place in the anfield hall of fame and i for one wish hi. all the best! Ynwa

  • Glad Kuyt Gone says:

    Really glad and thanked god when Kuyt left. He talks a lot to the media with little to show on the field. Modus Operandi same as his mentor, Rafa Benitez, cover up their deficiencies by distracting to the media. And do you know who is the Mole inside Dutch camp Sneijder and Co. is looking for? Do the the maths.

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