true - from corners and set pieces we failed to score -they scored twice and both were very simple. How many corners do we waste by playing them short or failing to beat the first defender?
No doubt Kuyt works hard but that only takes you so far - that chance that fell to him after Gerrard had scored, just had to be taken. Yet in all honesty he didnt get close to scoring it. Thats not good enough. Yet for some reason Rafa keeps this guy on the field week after week.
I'm a Rafa fan but his continued insistence on using Kuyt regardless of the situation is really becoming a serious problem. It is inconceivable that a manager as experienced and proficient as Benitez is unable to see that, overall, Kuyt simply does not provide enough to justify consistent inclusion in a top team. We all know he works hard. But as you said, that can only take you so far. The problem is he gives us very little in an attacking sense. There is no real drive, aggression or positivity. I've long said that the momentum of many of our attacks stalls when Kuyt receives the ball. He is too willing to pass the ball backwards rather than forwards. You rarely see him take the ball and try to make some kind of positive run. He doesn't need to take on the entire opposition team, but I just wish we saw a bit more adventure from him. Even an early cross/long shot etc. Something which has potential to damage the opposition. You can accept players missing the target/turning the ball over if in doing so they showed positive intent.
I wouldn't be against having Kuyt as a squad player, to be used mainly in tough away games where a bit more defensive caution is needed, or as a substitute. But I'm not sure he's the best option for games at Anfield against teams who simply sit back and defend.
The strange part of it all is that when he first arrived at the club, he had this drive about him, I remember him taking a shot in a game against West Ham from about 40 yards. You just wouldn't see that today. I understand that he is not a natural winger and that he has had some very good games and chipped in with some crucial goals in the past. Part of the blame might lie with Rafa and the coaching staff for turning a striker into a defensive wingman. It is possible (and I suppose likely, given his continued appearance) that he is just following instructions. I just think that Riera has given us a real outlet and real balance down the left hand side, and we need a similar type of player down the right.