Liverpool FC Forum

[Fowler_E7]

Given our lack of right sided midfield options im suprised he hasnt seen more action this season, Henderson and Kuyt have both been very average and Downing looks lost playing on the right hand side. I would say that Maxi is one of the few players who has a good understanding with Suarez and seems to link well with him when they play together.

The downside is he is very lightweight and can go missing from games, but i would say it would be worth giving him a few games on the right. What does everyone think?

[ethanr]

Torres and Suarez are too different I think.  Torres and maxi had time together at AM as well.

I thought Maxi was really bad yesterday.  I would love for him to show some form resembling that of the end of last season, but I just don't see it happening.

However, I do think it was a smart decision to start him yesterday he just underperformed.

[aCe']

Should he get more game time ? Absolutely. His off the ball movement and positioning in the final third are top class. When we're on top (possession wise) against weaker opposition, he's probably our best bet to linkup with Suarez to break opposition backlines. Hes solid technically and puts in a decent shift tracking back, but most importantly he scores when he gets opportunities.

Hes probably a better left wide player than a right one mainly because of the way he drift inwards and plays the diagonal through balls behind defenders .

Regardless, I think hes been underused b Kenny so far. Downing hasnt been great yet seems to maintain his spot in the side and sometimes (especially when Carroll is not on the pitch) we could do with the movement of Maxi to help our fluidity rather than the workrate of Kuyt or the crossing of Downing.

[red till i die!!]

yes,but not if it means he starts every game.
its players like maxi that we need to replace for better quality.he is anonymous in most games and has very little impact.
i do think that he should get a few more run outs as a sub though.

[redtrader74]

Should he get more game time ? Absolutely. His off the ball movement and positioning in the final third are top class. When we're on top (possession wise) against weaker opposition, he's probably our best bet to linkup with Suarez to break opposition backlines. Hes solid technically and puts in a decent shift tracking back, but most importantly he scores when he gets opportunities.

Hes probably a better left wide player than a right one mainly because of the way he drift inwards and plays the diagonal through balls behind defenders .

Regardless, I think hes been underused b Kenny so far. Downing hasnt been great yet seems to maintain his spot in the side and sometimes (especially when Carroll is not on the pitch) we could do with the movement of Maxi to help our fluidity rather than the workrate of Kuyt or the crossing of Downing.

What he said 

Maxi is the only player in the team who really is on the same wavelength as Suarez. It's no coincidence that his most prolific period at Liverpool was in the second half of last season when Luis turned up.

[SouthCoastShankly]

I like Maxi, but based on the performance against Stoke there is no justification to start him more. Whilst I agree that Henderson has been poor in terms of expectations his sub appearances against Man Utd and this week against Stoke are starting to show that he can have an impact and is beginning to repay the manager.

I would start Henderson over Maxi and Kuyt all season. He has far more to offer in the long run.

[mart]

I think maxi has been underused this season. He didnt do much against stoke, but he deserves more chances. We could at the very least use him as a sub when Downing is not performing.

[parchpea]

He finished last year like a house on fire but looks like Dalglish has decided to go with his own recruits ahead of Maxi. Trouble is with a player like Maxi is we just dont what we are going to get from one game to the next and weve a few of the same ilk. He could roll up and be sensational but most days you would hardly know he was on the field. What we need to is start judging players on consistency rather than getting over excited after one or two good games and stop making excuses if they dont perform. At this level these lads should be coming in to any team with any system and doing a job for us.

[JC_81]

Should he get more game time ? Absolutely. His off the ball movement and positioning in the final third are top class. When we're on top (possession wise) against weaker opposition, he's probably our best bet to linkup with Suarez to break opposition backlines. Hes solid technically and puts in a decent shift tracking back, but most importantly he scores when he gets opportunities.

Hes probably a better left wide player than a right one mainly because of the way he drift inwards and plays the diagonal through balls behind defenders .

Regardless, I think hes been underused b Kenny so far. Downing hasnt been great yet seems to maintain his spot in the side and sometimes (especially when Carroll is not on the pitch) we could do with the movement of Maxi to help our fluidity rather than the workrate of Kuyt or the crossing of Downing.

I agree with some of this.

There is less need for an out and out wide player like Downing when we aren't playing Carroll.  Downing started well but his form has dipped significantly.  How many goals have we scored from Downing crossing to be headed in?  None I don't think.  How many goals has Downing scored?  None.

If he doesn't start producing soon I'd give Maxi a few starts.

[Redman in wales]

Correct John - 9 starts (all in the league), 1 sub appearance (in Carling Cup)

0 goals, 0 assists

(just comparing him to his former villa team mate, Ashley Young has has scored 2 and had 5 assists in 8 starts)


Maxi scored 10 goals in 24 starts last season.


Yes Downing's in a new team, learning to play with new people (as is Young) and sometimes that takes a bit of time, but we need results, and if the team would perform better and get better results with Maxi instead of Downing, I'd drop Downing for a few games.

[aCe']

Im still not sure what Kennys problem with Maxi is, but its disappointing that he gets as little playing time as he does. The game against Swansea is exactly the sort of game he should have been played (or at least brought on) in and we didnt even consider bringing him on.

[red till i die!!]

its the same situation with aqualani and merieles,he just didnt rate them and froze them out.
granted we should be using more of the squad especially since the regular midfielders have been so poor but is maxi really the answer?.
weve been down this road before with maxi and its a dead end everytime.imo playing maxi is just flogging a dead horse again and we need much much better players than him if we are going to rise above average.

[Penguins]

Im still not sure what Kennys problem with Maxi is, but its disappointing that he gets as little playing time as he does. The game against Swansea is exactly the sort of game he should have been played (or at least brought on) in and we didnt even consider bringing him on.

1.Not his own player
2. Not part of his british revolution
3. Stubborn as ****

It is clear he is taking his big buys and picking them no matter where it leads him and the team.

[ethanr]

I'd rather have Bellamy in over Maxi any day of the week.  That's not to say I agree with Hendo's crazy amount of game time...

[only me]

I'd rather have Bellamy in over Maxi any day of the week.  That's not to say I agree with Hendo's crazy amount of game time...

Agreed.
Maxi good days are behind him we should have sold him long ago. Was an excellent player at the days but never returned to top form after his injury.