I was quite excited about Liverpool signing Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid last January. I felt it was a very good piece of business by Rafa Benitez to bring an experienced Argentinean international to the club in a bargain deal, especially with the Reds crying out for some creative presence in midfield. Rafa started Maxi in 14 Premier League matches between January and the end of the season, and although he didn’t set the world alight with his performances, there was enough there to show us that he could be a very useful member of the team. Although not the quickest winger, Maxi is always a creative threat from out wide and can also chip in with a few goals, something that has been missing from the Reds midfield for a good deal of time.
Fast forward six months though, and Maxi has found himself starting the season on the bench with little game time from Roy Hodgson so far. One of the major reasons for Maxi’s long run in the team at the end of last season was due to the fact that Fernando Torres was injured. It meant that especially at home against the smaller teams, Dirk Kuyt was moved to become a central striker leaving a space open for Rodriguez on the wing. The fitness of Torres and the continued faith of Roy in playing Kuyt on the right side has led to Maxi playing significantly less so far in the first few matches of the season.
It is still early days of course in the campaign and Maxi will get his chance in the team, but it is apparent from an early stage that Roy doesn’t consider the Argentine a first team regular at this time. One of the major reasons for his departure from Atletico Madrid was his lack of game time, and he wanted games to get a place in Diego Maradona’s World Cup squad. The move to Anfield from that point of view was very successful, as he started four of the five matches in the World Cup for Argentina. Playing on the right side of a three man midfield, Maradona gave the 29 year old a lot of faith keeping out many other talented players.
On his return to Liverpool in August though, things were not as positive. There were rumours in the Spanish press about a move back to his old club Espanyol; no such move materialised but the fact he has only started once against Trabzonspor in the home leg of the Europa League tie, shows he has a lot to prove to Roy Hodgson. He does have a great opportunity to make a case for himself in the next couple of weeks though. The lack of width and creativity in Liverpool’s team is partly due to the fact the team has no natural wingers in the starting eleven. With both Dirk Kuyt and Milan Jovanovic, converted strikers whose natural inclination is to come in field, they are effectively playing as wide forwards but don’t really have the knack of putting in great crosses and stretching play out wide.
Rodriguez may not have the speed but he does have greater experience in wide positions. Crossing, interchanging with fullbacks and cutting in to have a shot at goal come far more naturally to him than either Jovanovic and Kuyt, and it might be an idea to perhaps replace Jova with Maxi in some games to see if it can make a difference. Jovanovic is still settling into life in the Premier League and it may take him months to get used to the league; Rodriguez can be utilised to either play left side or on the right, swapping Kuyt to the other wing. The Dutch international played for Holland on the left side during the World Cup and was pretty effective in the position; what harm could there be by playing these two for a game or so to see if the ploy works?
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An excellent piece, I genuinely rate Maxi but as you say I can’t see him playing too often. Another point that is worth considering is that all his fellow Argentinians have also left the club now, so this may become an issue with him settling in.
Maxi hasn’t played because he has had a persistent viral infection that has interrupted his training.
Research is the key to good journalism.
hes a very inteligent player. But putting hom on the left when he is a natural right winger is not a good idea. Plus he has been injured so maybe that has played a part in the fact he hasnt been used much so far!
There are still Spanish players at the club, so he shouldn’t have a problem settling in. He’s a very handy player, he should be starting more often than so far this season, but Hodge said he was ill last week.
it was a ridiculous situation to see him waltz off of Atletico’s bench straight into our starting line-up, and in half a season manage to rack up more starts than both Riera & Babel and almost as much starts as Benayoun got in the whole season.
As far as I’m concerned, he has a lot to prove and would be way down in the pecking order
I rate Maxi and thought towards the end of his games he was starting to adjust to the prem. His
Good cover for Kuyt and if Roy moves Kuyt up alongside Torres in a 4-4-2 Maxi could probably play on the right. Not sure where i’d play Cole though as he seems to be a bit of a luxury player from what I have seen so far.
Hobbes, care to back that up with evidence? not doubting you as such, but evidence is key to good research!
We need to get more of our players who are strikers to play in the striker position. Otherwise, if and when torres is injured, it is tough for these players to adjust to the position. Babel and Kuyt have to be played in the striker’s role more often, with torres at times, and without torres at time. Got to develop, Babel, Ngog and Kuyt to be strikers with torres. Then we can have 4 good strikers. Jovanovic and Cole are two other possible options. The problem is this will make us thin on the left, and the work rate on the right will be affected.
i rate maxi a lot.for me he should be a starter him and not jovanovic.jovanovic has great pace but still hasnt got himself in the premier league style.maxi got a lot of games last season and has better technique and creativity than jovanovic.in my opinion the best squad would be this:
Reina
Johnson Carragher Agger Konchesky
Poulsen Gerrard
Maxi Cole Kuyt
Torres
Subs:Jones,Skrtel,Aurelio,Meireles,Babel,Jovanovic,Ngog.i also rate meireles a lot but i think he is more of a center midfielder than defensive midfielder.he reminds me a lot of xabi though.in this squad,if you want more creativity,you put him in poulsen’s place.babel should also get chances this season.YNWA
Kuyt is an average monkey who is over hyped.I don’t rate him and have no idea why a coach would trade of on speed and guile for such a bow legged duracell bunny muppet.We really are in trouble again if Gerrard and Torres get injured. We will be slow and laborious going forward with no natural wingers or decent goal scorers.
As hobbes says he has had an infection and needs to get back to full fitness. err and how many games have we played? there’s a long season to go before you need to start making such shortsighted statements.
He should play ahead of Kuyt or Jovanavich. He’s a better player than either of them – on the right or the left.
Hodgson seems to be a manager like Benitez who likes the workhorses from the training ground rather than the more talented players.
Maxi right wing, Babel left wing I think would be better for our team than Kuyt and Jova.
maxi, better 1st touch and cleverer. 1st choice on the right of a three behind torres for me.
—raul-poulson–
maxi-gerrard-cole
—–torres——
this is fluid.
meireles will play centre mid with gerrard meireles playing the alonzo role with the same dogged determination as masch if not better. this is the man that will help secure our place in the top 4
“Kuyt is an average monkey who is over hyped.I don’t rate him and have no idea why a coach would trade of on speed and guile for such a bow legged duracell bunny muppet.”
Here we go again. Just because you can’t appreciate his value to a team that doesn’t mean others can’t.
Johan Cruyff described Dirk Kuyt as “worth his weight in gold”.
Wesley Sneijder said “I’d love him to come here [to Inter Milan]. With him it’s like you’re playing with 12 men, as he knows how to do everything – protect the ball, run and score.”
Roy Hodgson fought tooth and nail to keep him.
He scored one goal and made three key assists (two match-winners in the QF and SF) in helping the Netherlands to the World Cup Final. He started all seven games.
Legends, teammates, managers, they all see his qualities. I think they know more about football than you do.
The real answer to the right side of our team is to play Ryan Babel on the wing, though he wants to play up front and i would give him chances there, I can see clearly he is a right winger waiting to happen. Not left as Rafa forced him to play, out of all the top buys in Rafas reigh he got the fewest chances in his natural position and has earned a mixed reputation, but as anyone who thinks for themselves can see he has more ability than Kuyt and more pace and thrust than Maxi. YNWA
maxi lacks pace but is skillful and good in possession. he played in central midfield with mascherano during the world cup so i think he should be playing there. he’s not the kind of player that can run down the wings and put in crosses but he’s got great passing and vision so i think it would suit both him and the team if he plays in central midfield.
Hmmmmm… Seems like two villages are missing their idiots!! Or is it just the one acting like two?
Maxi is a valuable member of our squad, we have looked better when he has come on as sub. maybe short of pace to get up and down the wings though, cental mid may be better for him now, maybe in a five man midfield?. I notice Denver Dan and Isreal Levy have made a massive contribution to this debate, thank’s for that lads.
Maxi is a valuable member of our squad, we have looked better when he has come on as sub. maybe short of pace to get up and down the wings though, cental mid may be better for him now, maybe in a five man midfield?. I notice Denver Dan and Isreal Levy have made a massive contribution to this debate, thank’s for that lads.