kazza wrote:I was wrong to say "painfully long" about Micks' posts, there was no need.
Kuyt while not a natural finisher has an excellent engine and attitude and I am sure many teams would want him and would pay close to what we paid. He is a coaches player and coaches are the ones choosing the team so what fans think may not be that important. His consistant workrate and positive attitude guarantee he will hit a purple patch at some point, afterall when you do things right you will get the rub of the green. I think he has had a bad year personally and professionally and I hope he turns it around. Maybe not "top four" teams but all others would play him as a starter.
Maybe if many others on the team had his workethic and attitude we would be champions. As long as a player gives 100 percent for the team he will always get my backing.
I have a feeling he will be here next year so whether or not we would get 2-3 million for him (which in my opinion is a ridiculous statement) is a mute point.
No probs fro me on the "painfully long" bit, some of them are there's no doubt about it.
As for Kuyt, much of what you have written I would agree with. He is a model pro and does give 100% in every single minute of every single game, and I totally agree with your point about "if other players had his work ethic" etc etc. Don't know about being Champions but we'd definately put up a better showing than we do somtimes that's for sure.
As for him being a coach's player, I know what you mean here and it's something which has cropped up many times over the years in football. The so called "unseen work" by the unitiated, the "people in the know" appreciate a players worth while the average fan doesn't. I remember Houllier saying much the same thing about Heskey. Almost always the concept crops up when a particular coach has overspent on a particular player, and if Rafa were to call kuyt that (and to be fair to the manager I don't actually think he's gone down that route) then this would be the case here as well in my view.
As for the transfer fee he would command, who knows? We're all just guessers at the end of the day and I've already called it hopelessly wrong on Kuyt once so who's to say my valuation is not way out? I hope you're right and that someone is prepared to pay "close to what we paid". We got five or six million in the end for Heskey who was another "coach's player" who never scored a goal (and I think Kuyt is better than him by a tramride) so you definately never know. The "2-3 million" thing though maybe a "ridiculous statement" in your eyes, but it is merely an opinion as you yourself keep saying about your own observations.
Whatever, wherever and however though, it's nice to actually talk about your football opinions for once rather than the other stuff we've been engaged in over the last few weeks. I don't want to best mates or anything, buit it'd suit me just fine if we stick to that from now on. I'll just keep the posts nice and lengthly so's you can just skip on past em.