Players Review and Rating 2009/2010

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Pepe Reina: By December it was clear that there was only one candidate for „Liverpools Player of the Season“. The best goalkeeper in the Premier League if not in Europe, a fantastic shot-stopper with a great presence in the box. A true leader and future Captain, one of the few players who seemed to care. Bought for only £ 6 Mio, his value today is priceless. Reina signing a new contract was one of the highlights in an otherwise apocalyptic season. Season Rating : 10/10.

Glen Johnson: An expensive signing that enjoyed a fantastic start into the season and helped breaking down teams that parked the bus in front of goal. But after scoring an own goal against Arsenal, his form dipped. Then he picked up an injury and struggled to find his early-season form again. Still has to improve defensively but I expect him to be a key player for Liverpool next season. Season Rating: 7/10.

Philipp Degen: I don’t think there are too many who would disagree that he is not Liverpool class. After being out injured most of last season, he never really managed to get a run in the team this season, even after Johnson’s injury. And when playing he defensively was woeful. Season Rating: 4/10.

Jamie Carragher: Contrary to Johnson, he had a nightmare start into the season. Was written off by many, even by some of our own supporters, but proved them wrong in the second half of the season. His no-nonsense style of play, his outstanding game reading and organisation skills in the defence often are belittled but it speaks volumes about Carras quality that a worldclass manager like Capello wants him in his team – Italians have an eye for great defenders. Season Rating: 7/10.

Daniel Agger: A wonderful modern defender that also scores goals. Can not only play the ball out of defense but also switch to Left Back and do a great job. Hasn’t reached his peak yet and will even get better over the next couple of seasons. His only problem is – as with so many Liverpool players – his injury record. Season Rating: 8/10.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Great value for few money. Not the most elegant defender but experienced, big, ruthless and strong in the air – more than you could expect from a Centre Back of his price range. Never complained when not playing and when needed didn’t let anyone down and even scored some goals. Season Rating: 7/10.

Martin Skrtel: Unlucky season that started with Carragher crashing into him in the opening game at White Hart Lane. Struggled with injuries and form and fell down the pecking order after some very average performances. Wouldn’t be surprising to see him leaving with the club needing money for transfers. Season Rating: 5/10.

Emiliano Insua: A mixed season. Considering his young age, he did a good job, he definitely has a lot of potential but has to improve the defensive aspect of his game. The longer the season, the more he became the weak link that was targetted by the opponents forwards. But he collected quite a few assist points and if he learns from his mistakes, he can become an important player for Liverpool. Season Rating : 6/10.

Fabio Aurelio: Very good Left Back with a fine technique but as every season struggled with injuries and probably is not up to the physical requirements of Premier League football. With his contract running out he is expected to leave but Liverpool won’t find it easy to find a quality replacement that doesn’t cost too much. Season Rating hardly possible due to all the injuries.

Javier Mascherano: Another slow-starter into the season but eventually found his form. A leader and tireless tackler, his contribution often is overseen but he definitely is a key player in midfield. If he only would stop discussing ref decisions. Could be used to generate transfer money with Barcelona and other teams interested but I hope he’ll still wear the Liverpool shirt next year. Season Rating: 8/10.

Lucas Leiva: Everybody’s favourite scapegoat – or so it seems. Hardly getting praise when playing well but first to be criticised when things go wrong. No, he’s not Xabi Alonso but certainly was one of the better Liverpool performers and improved a lot this season. Problem is he doesn’t score enough goals and sometimes seems surplus when playing teams that only come to Anfield to defend. Season Rating : 7/10.

Steven Gerrard: Doubtless his worst season since 2002/03. A shadow of the player he was in recent campaigns and never sent out the right signals as Captain. Also plagued by injuries but when fit played with few confidence and a lot of frustration. His surging runs, dangerous shots from outside the box, the leader mentality – all went AWOL for large parts of the season. Will be interesting to see how he does at the World Cup. Season Rating : 6/10.

Alberto Aquilani: Showed glimpses of his abilities but his transfer was the start of Liverpools implosion. When needing a back up striker so urgently, Rafa splashed his transfer kitty on a player with a horrific injury record that was sidelined for a good part of the season. In most of the games he played, he looked class and also created quite a few goals plus scoring a couple himself. But the question how a fully fit Aquilani fits into the team remains unanswered so it’s no wonder there are rumours of a possible sale back to Italy. Season Rating : potentially a 8/10 but as he was injured for so long, it can’t be more than 6/10.

Albert Riera: Sidelined for most of the season but not always because of injuries. His comments about the Manager were unacceptable, another spoilt football pro who is not fit to wear Liverpools colours. A pity because he seemed a promising player last season that could have solved our problems on the Left Wing. The only question now is: how much does Liverpool get for him? Season Rating : 1/10.

Yossi Benayoun: One of Liverpools most creative players. Can play different positions and scored quite a few goals too but wasn’t consistent enough as he also suffered from injuries. Another player that could leave Anfield. And another one that will be hard to replace with so few money available. Season Rating : 7/10.

Ryan Babel: Will he ever make the breakthrough at Liverpool? After another frustrating season this seems unlikely. Had some good games but never was consistent enough and therefore not an automatic starter. Sees himself more as a Striker than a Left Winger and while he definitely is talented, he fails to understand what is tactically expected from him. One of the top candidates to leave. Season Rating: 6/10.

Dirk Kuyt: If the class of a footballer would be defined by his workrate, Dirk Kuyt would be a world beater. Thankfully it takes more than hard work and stamina. Seems to be one of the first names on the teamsheet but it’s not so easy to see why. His first touch and vision are average at best and while not a classic goalgetter I rather see him as striker than on the right wing. To be fair, he also had some very good games but overall that’s not enough to be the automatic starter he is. Season Raing: 6/10.

Nabil El Zhar: Nothing special about the boy and I doubt there is much room for improvement, he simply is not good enough. In other words: he’s surplus to requirements. Season Rating: 4/10.

Maxi Rodriguez: Bargain of the Season. It took him only a few games to adapt to the Premier League but after that, he usually was one of the best performers and brought new life to our wing play. Great technique and also robust, just a shame he couldn’t play in the Europa League. I’m really looking forward to see more of him next season. Season Rating: 8/10.

Fernando Torres: When playing he improves Liverpools attack so dramatically it’s frightening. Frightening because without Torres we’re as dangerous as a burning match in the Monsoon. I’m still convinced that with him available, we’d have won the Europa League. I expect him to stay and score many more goals for Liverpool but unfortunately he never will be fit to play a whole season so a back up striker has to be top of the transfer priority list. Season Rating: 8/10, 9/10 if he had played more games.

David Ngog: Played a lot more than expected at the start of the season. As talented as he is, he can’t fill the Torres-gap. He can’t trouble experienced defenses but still managed to score some good goals. Needs to work on his movement and on the physical side of his game but remains a prospect for the future. Season Rating : 6/10.

Other players were either sold (Voronin, Dossena) or didn’t appear in enough games (Ayala, Pacheco, Kelly etc.) to get a rating.

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3 Comments

  1. Gotta say I disagree with the Riera and Maxi ratings, but the rest seem pretty fair.

  2. Aquilani did not show class in games that he played. I was at Anfield he is seriously lacking in match fitness which is a disaster wen we paid so much for him. Really hope he is fully fit next season. We need a new star at the club.

  3. I do think the games I watched aqualini in he did show potential an was a great attacking element to our game we have missed so much, good post mate. I do really feel it’s a shame for Riera as I do belive he woul have been great for us (I’m not condoning his actions btw) but think we’ve cut our nose to spite our far with him as we could have used him at times but do fully understand why he hasn’t been used.

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