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View from the Kop

Why we are not in a position to carry this man’s burden

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A while back I posted an article asking which player deserved Roy’s greater favour; Ryan Babel or David Ngog. The overwhelming response was that Babel shows far more world-class potential and should therefore be used to fill any void created by injury or formation. But was the Dutchman’s performance on Thursday night the lowest point of a tumbling reputation?

Wasteful in possession and seemingly bereft of ideas throughout, the former Ajax man even had the audacity to saunter around off the ball. On one occasion that epitomised his whole performance he could easily have retrieved a wayward pass but instead chose to let it run out of play . Even when Babel was repositioned into his apparently ‘preferred position’ of supporting striker he was reluctant to make runs and spurned our best chance of the game. This is the type of player we do not need right now, lacking in grit and determination, and the team is not in the position to carry the Babel burden.

In contrast Ngog was assured in possession and held the ball up well. He was willing to scrap for it when surrounded by Napoli players intent on quashing our main attacking threat and he produced probably the most attractive moment of the game with a sharp turn and snap shot that needed a desperate block from the last Azzurri defender. Admittedly the Frenchman has wilted somewhat when put under the pressure of the lone striker role in the past. On this showing, however, he is beginning to mature into the player that Benitez believed he could be. A typical Liverpool side would have a more proven second striker but these are atypical times and Ngog is giving glimpses that suggest his full potential will soon be realised in a red shirt.

His was not the only encouraging effort; Martin Kelly really looks like he can pressure Johnson’s status as right back, bombing forward well and demonstrating maturity in defence; Spearing was solid and composed in the San Paulo pressure cooker; some creative passes from Shelvey showed why he has been touted as one for the future; and Jovanovic was aggressive in possession and behind the majority of our more incisive play. This was obviously not vintage Liverpool, far from it, and the opponents were pretty mediocre. Yet it was still a welcome relief from the increasingly depressing and turbulent times of late and, Ryan Babel aside, did display some promise.

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19 comments

  • samuel charles says:

    sell babel;

    Id take a loss on him to be fair, id take a bid of around 9.5 mill and get rid, he is crap.

  • Jay Wright says:

    N’gog had a good game?? Really?? I know that Kelly is a Scouser and everybody wants him to be a success also, but let’s stop kidding ourselves that he is a top prospect at right-back – he is quite clearly a centre-back, and is just being played out of position to find his feet in a less pressurised position

    From our last few games, out of Babel, N’gog, Cole & Maxi, only one of them has even come close to scoring or getting into scoring positions, yet he is the only one facing any sort of criticism (as usual).

    Pace is mandatory so Jovanovich & Babel either side of Torres – we’ve tried and tested all these other combinations consistently in spite of their continued failures, it’s now time to finally give a continued run out to the logical options…

    • Rusty says:

      I don’t know what has been keeping Babel and Ngog off the pitch the last 2 months. Certainly not the performances on the pitch. Cole, Maxi, Jovanovic owe Hodgson a big thank you for the relentless and unshaking faith he shows despite their consistently embarrassing performances. I hope their national team coaches are watching these awful performances.

  • Bill says:

    Play Pacheco alongside Ngog, that lad is a scrapper as are most of the second string.

  • Xtrema says:

    I’m in total agreement with you Jay. Ngog and Babel were lazy idle ba@@@@@s on Thursday night. They have been like that all season so far. If they dont perform, get shut of them in January, they dont deserve wages.

  • ken08 says:

    Babel just a burden now !!!Ngog seemed to just saunter around and he didnt seem interested at times
    he defo does`nt scrap and get back for me anyway,funny tho we would have walloped them with Nando,so why couldn`t he play first half like Carragher?? unless the rumours are true and he wont play for Hodgson,who knows??

  • Tony says:

    Ngog seems to only have two speeds – Sat on the bench and half-arsed jog. He may be our top scorer this season, but he’s still a long way off from being good enough.

    Babel was poor on Thursday, I’ll admit, but once he was shoved back into the centre, his game improved, if only slightly. We can’t do anything with him until January, so I’d suggest Roy play him in the centre from now on, when he gives him chances, of course.

  • Zahid says:

    I think he should be sold, but maybe if he is given consistant games 1 after another he may get some confidence and show the class we first saw in his first season. Since that season Rafa nor Roy has given him more than 1 game on the trot to prove himself. Let him start more games hes way better than Lucas, Poulsen, Maxi, Ngog and Jovanovich. Not every player can show their talent after 1 game, dont get me wrong hes had his chances but right now we don’t have no one else and cant buy anyone until January so give him a chance, maybe if Rijkaard comes in he might get his chance upfront or more first team action……YNWA

  • neil says:

    even if he had an awesome game the next game he would be awful, no consistency and always feeling sorry for himself, hopefully birmingham take a fancy again, wel be lucky to get 4mil and from his performances over the last year he is barely worth that.

    saying that, given a run of 10-15 games im sure there will be some good ones but not quite good enough

    ngog has talent and more to come i reckon! hes apparently a great trainer and you can see he has bulked up over the summer

  • neil says:

    also, give napoli some credit, they are the ones disappointed at the result, a team playing at home against a team pretty much bottom of the league who cant string2 passes together, i would have settled for a draw, i certainly didnt expect us to win. yes 2 years ago we would have stuffed them 4-0 but its not 2008 its 2010 and we are awful!

  • Paul says:

    Ngog is useless

    pacheco will never play regular for this team, get shut

    babel needs a kick up the backside

  • Roy says:

    Babel bleats and twitters he’s on the bench again, and what happens when he gets his chance? he plays like he does’nt deserve it. Got to go in Jan. Ngog? should be better by now, 21 is’nt he? good players at 21 are first team regulars. Verdict, got to go! We need four strikers to chose from and cover injury. YNWA.

  • the voice says:

    ROY HODGSON = CRAP MANAGER
    SAMMY LEE = CRAP ASSISTANT MANAGER
    POULSEN = CRAP PLAYER
    KONCHESKY = CRAP PLAYER
    SOTOS = CRAP PLAYER
    BABEL = CRAP PLAYER
    NGOG = CRAP PLAYER
    MAXI = CRAP PLAYER
    LUCAS = AVERAGE PLAYER
    KUYT =AVERAGE PLAYER
    AURELIO = ALWAYS INJURED PLAYER
    THATS 9 PLAYERS THAT ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO WEAR THE SHIRT AND ARE FIRST TEAM OR SQUAD PLAYERS, IF THIS IS THE BEST THAT THE CLUB CAN DO THEN GOD HELP US , WE NEED TO GET RID OF ALL OF THE ABOVE AND MAYBE THEN WE CAN THINK ABOUT REBUILDING ,
    ALSO IF ANYONE ELSE COMES ON HERE AND SAYS GLEN JOHNSON SHOULD PLAY AT RIGHT BACK THEN I’LL FIND YOU AND CHOP YOU FINGERS OFF SO YOU CAN’T DO IT AGAIN , HE IS NOT A RIGHT BACK HE IS A WINGER
    YNWA

    • Rusty says:

      Kuyt has 75 appearances for the Netherlands. Look up their FIFA ranking. Glen Johnson’s performances are sub-par regardless of position look up the FIFA ranking of the team he plays for.

  • dee says:

    It’s just ur opinion n I disagree. @ jay wright, could’nt ahve said it better.

  • Jay Wright says:

    Rusty – check the trophy cabinet. Kuyt has been awarded a key role in a couple of highly ranked teams and helped them win NOTHING.

    He’s just as much of a passanger as Traore was…

  • David says:

    Ryan Babbel is NOT a left winger and I don’t know why people think he is. He is dominantly right footed and his feet are not quick enough to turn defenders onto his right foot on the left wing. His touch is too poor to play upfront. The only position he can play is right wing and even then as shown on thursday he is rubbish and doesn’t care about how good a footballer he is. He just wants his weekly wages and complain about liverpool on twitter he is a joke of a footballer

  • chunky says:

    Babel is simply taking the pee out of Liverpool .
    He is more a rapper than a football player and it really is time that a stop was called on him. I would go further than a cropping of the asking price. I would personally give him away . How long must we go on and on saying “he will come good” when we know that he despises LFC in truth and will continue to take the mick!
    Get rid!!!

  • aaa says:

    oh no…. more blindly supported arguments for crap babel.

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