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Like Him Or Not, This Man’s Importance Cannot Be Denied

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WITH rumours abound day in, day out, that a certain Dirk Kuyt is on his way out in the summer I think it’s important that he gets a little mention for his contribution over the last 6 seasons he spent with us.

I mean, I am as aware as anybody that his popularity has waned in the past 18 months and that his games-to-goals ration has never been spectacular you can’t deny that he has been a great servant during his time with the club.

He has certainly never been everybody’s cup of tea but the man is a legend (I never said ‘Liverpool legend, incidentally) for his stamina-levels alone. But when you look more closely at his contributions over the years, it’s hard to deny his importance to the club.

After a fairly prolific spell in his native land, he joined the Reds in the wake of the FA and European Super Cup success of the 2006 season and a lot was expected of him immediately, what with the reputation he’d made in Holland for himself. But, 6 seasons in the Red shirt of LFC and he has yet to reach the total he managed in 3 seasons at his former club. This season aside, though, he has been totally consistent in front of goal, even if his final tallies haven’t been amazing, scoring 14, 11, 15, 11, 15 and then 5 up to this point in the current season.

With 71 goals in over 270 games for the club some would say he’s had a poor return but his consistency in front of goal and, more importantly, in big games cannot be denied. Whenever a goal was needed against top opposition or in an important match Dirk was always first in line to put his body on the line for his team.

And while may not have had his best season in a Red shirt he has had his most impressive season for his country, managing to bag himself a total of 7 goals in 11 appearances this season. His importance to both his club and country cannot be understated in the past 6 years and, don’t forget, the guy has played in Champions League and World Cup finals and you don’t get a chance to win those competitions by being a shoddy player.
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It wouldn’t be hard to think back over his years here and remember a great Dirk moment, or a game in which he’s run more kilometres than both teams combined and while he had his off moments and bad spells, he’s never given any less than 110%. My favourite memory of Dirk was the strength he showed following his father’s death when he made no excuses for himself and went on to play just short of 50 games for the Reds that season, scoring many important goals on the way.

He was never most people’s cup of tea, but should the press have the right of it and Dirk moves on in the summer I, for one, will be sad to see him go. If we’d had a few more players over the years with Dirk’s attitude and massive cajones then we might not have been without Champions League football for the past two seasons.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

3 comments

  • Bruce says:

    Fair play. He’s scored in all our cup finals since he signed for us(!) hope he makes it a hat-trick before summer

  • RedRoy says:

    Kuyt signed as a striker, played most of his games right midfield, so it’s fair to say that it has inhibited his goal tally. If the rest took on board his work ethic (and work rate) we would’nt be in the mess we’re in now.

  • Redsforlife says:

    Some years ago,I didnt like him because he running like a headless chick but since Benitez put him on the Right Wing,he has been doing marvellously well and his work rate has been the best in the team for the past 4 years.He has been excellent on the Rt wing while attacking and also has been defending very well.I still can not understand why King(?) Kenny has not been playing him enough this season.In Liverpool’s starting XI,he is among the very few who should be starting all the time.He has always had an impact in big games.Kenny has been very wrong in giving him only few games this season.He has been constantly playing an underperforming Henderson and this has cost us a lot this season.We are having the worst season ever.My Gf who does not know anything about football advised me to change team because she says she always hears me saying that my team has lost.This says a lot.

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