With one flash tonight, you saw what Liverpool forward Ryan Babel can do on a football pitch. After Joe Cole got on the ball, the Holland international turned and ran, controlled Cole’s pass and slotted the ball in the back of the net. It was a flash of inspiration that you see on occasion from the player, but they have been all too rare in the last two seasons.
Babel is now 23, and will be 24 this December, and it has now gone way past the time of waiting for him to develop into a talented player who has realised his potential. One of the big problems for Ryan though since he has arrived at Anfield is his lack of starts. If you look back on his record during his last three seasons at Liverpool, a trend becomes very apparent. Although he has made 122 appearances for the Reds, only 53 have been starts. That’s 43% over a three year period since he joined Liverpool in the summer of 2007 for £11.5million.
Whatever people say this must have an effect on his performances for the team, and if we look back at more statistics, it tends to agree that such lack of starts have affected his productivity in matches. His most productive goal scoring was his first season at the club in 2007/08. In that season he scored 10 goals from 27 starts, and he started 57% of the matches he played in during his first season. The 2008/09 season saw him score only 4 goals from 13 starts, and he was a substitute a remarkable 21 times in the Premier League meaning he was only picked from the start for 32% of the matches he played.
This trend continued last season. He again started 13 times but he was used as a sub on less occasions. He scored 6 goals after starting 38% of the games he played in. To me this shows there is a direct correlation in relation to goals and starts. So the question becomes why has he not started more often if he tends to perform better when having more minutes on the field?
The most important factors here I believe are both consistency, and question marks over where his best position is. I think the first factor has been covered many times over the last couple of years and I have said in the past that this made be cured by greater game time. The second factor is more problematic. Babel started out as a striker at Ajax, and progressively moved towards being a winger because of his pace, in his second and third seasons in the first team at the Amsterdam club. In his breakthrough year at Ajax he scored seven goals in 13 starts as a striker, this dropped off to 4 goals in 18 starts and 7 goals in 32 starts the year before he left for the Reds.
His direct running and pace tend to fit the attributes of a winger, but he has always looked more comfortable shooting at goal, rather than crossing or dribbling from wide. Benitez never worked out Babel and Hodgson seems to believe, going solely from tonight’s match, that his future lies down the middle. He took his goal clinically in the first half and for me, he has to be given a run in the team in one of the front three positions. Don’t ask him to run out wide and cross, encourage him to cut in and shoot and bring others into play if he plays out wide, but if he is chosen more often than not in the middle then we could see the best of Ryan Babel. Roy could really kick start his career if he puts some faith in the player.
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You’re right that if he plays more we will see the best of Babel. However we will also see the worst of Babel, and we will also not see Babel at all for long periods while he goes missing.
He clearly has ability, but you don’t see really top clubs lining him up to take him off our hands do you?
I think he’s a useful guy to have in reserve, but will have to prove – on the training ground as well as the pitch – he’s better than Kuyt and/or Jovanovic to get more starts in games that matter.
you say that in one flash tonight we saw what babel can do and well it was just that one flash. The rest of the balls to him more than less came stright back at us and for all his running he created very little for himself or his teamates. Again tonight we saw that whilst babel has the skills to be a great footballer he has the brain to be a average one.
Come on Greg, the lad’s been played out of position all the time under Rafa give him a chance upfront and i’m sure he’ll shine.
Babel’s not a great dribbler or crosser of the ball but can score goals, he might have the pace to leave defenders trailing far behind him but will hardly dribble past them (Please note English fans that pushing the ball 20 Feet past a man then running after it is not considered dribbling e.g. Walcott, Lennon etc) it’s like asking Torres to play on the wing, he’s got the pace to do it but can’t dribble past defenders and put in a good cross to save his mother’s life when needed.
So I say give the lad a run of games upfront and I’m sure we won’t be disappointed e.g. his goal tonight. It also solves our “we need another top notch striker” problem! YNWA Babel well played today mate.
Do you realize with whom you are comparing? are softened by a team of the Turkish league, not a Premier League team like Manchester City, for my sell on and buy a turan for that position, and toivoten, Gervinho or huseklepp to striker
In comparison, for all their running and plaudits received, how much chances have kuyt, maxi and jovanich actually created over the last few games?? Our backup strikers have proved that they can do a job and score if chances are presented to them. However, our 1st choice wingers have not proved that they r capable of doing their primary job and creating quality goalscoring opportunities. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, we need a top class winger MUCH more than we need another striker
I agree with Jay but we still need a decent backup for Torres Huntelaar anyone?