Okay - I'd first like to qualify this by saying I like Suarez. No - I adore Suarez. He's one of those players you watch in internationals and think 'god, I'd love Liverpool to sign someone like him'. He plays the game the right way, he's smart and he's technically talented. However, I'm beginning to wince at the praise he's receiving from pundits, fans and so on. Why? It's simple - he needs to score more goals. At Ajax he had a ridiculous record - 81 in 110. His international record shows that wasn't just 'because it's the Dutch league' - he has 26 in 52 for Uruguay. Quite simply, he needs to hit the back of the net more often. We've not scored anywhere near as many goals as we should have done this season, and Suarez is our main goal threat. I know he's hit the post, I know he's been very unlucky and I know he's been an effective 'playmaker' higher up the pitch. But, at the end of the day, it's goals that win games. I think there are a few possible remedies: 1) A smile from Lady Luck - he's hit the post pretty much constantly. 2) The return of Gerrard - any striker would benefit from the service he provides. 3) The continued inclusion of Bellamy, Maxi and Kuyt in the team - smart footballers. Suarez has fantastic positional sense, as do Maxi and Kuyt, allowing them to link up well and find gaps. Bellamy's pace creates holes for Suarez, and he has the talent to find him in the box. 4) Willingness to run into the box - too often he's on the edge of the box. 5) Playing him behind Kuyt or on the left, with license to roam. 6) Providing simple finishes to simple chances - The chip shot against Sunderland was beautiful, but it hit the bar and we dropped two points. However, there are positives - his audacity, flair and desire are evident. There are some season highlights already - the outside of the foot cross (against Sunderrland again I think?), goals in the cups, destroying David Luiz... His stats (wiki): League 13 apps 4 goals 3 assists League cup 3 apps 3 goals 3 assists Total 16 apps 7 goals 6 assists These stats show on face value a goal ratio of nearly 1 in 2 (which a player of his calibre should aim for, and one he has acheived at Ajax and at international level). However, he has less than a goal every 3 games in the league, and hasn't scored since the 1st of October, against Everton. It's fair to say that he needs to find form now to achieve the 20 goal mark that we all thought he was guaranteed in August. Do we need a real out and out goalscorer to partner him? Will Carroll step in? If rumours about David Villa could ever be believed, I think Suarez would score buckets. Cheers, and I hope he proves me to be a pessimist tonight!
I agree, the critics have a go for diving and the refs i've notice are now totally against giving him anything. (and i usually see at least 2-3 dives a game so you can see thier point) leave that aside and 3 things scream at me. 1. he misses the target way too much. 2. he needs to play behind a front man not as a front man. 3. he's a joy to watch on the ball. I don't find it pessimistic to make a reational comment backed by some salient facts at all. Take a bow for haveing bothered arnd the minute a numpty comes along (and they will) and just shout the odds without anything to back them just give them what for.
As already mentioned, he is more suited to playing behind the front man and this is where we need him because he is our only spark. He will create chances and he needs someone on the end of them to finish it off. We're asking too much of him to create the chances and then to put them away. I rarely see him at the end of a chance where he has not already been involved in the build up. My guess he is probably just knackered from all the dribbling he does to get into the goal scoring position. He has been wasteful at times (granted) but more often then not, he will hit the target.
I disagree - I have not seen Luis dive once. Yes - he will exagerrate contact but he never dives. There are more blatent divers in the league - Rooney, Nani, Gerrard, even Adam and Downing have dived. Diving is when there is no contact made. Luis is always kicked by defenders and may go down easily however I have seen times when he stays on his feet even after he is kicked but the ref nevers awards the free kick.
This. But as I've said before, if I was a rival fan I would hate him for his gestures to the ref after winning a foul. One thing about Saurez is that he is good at holding off a defender when a long ball is played to him, when he backs right into them. He either gets fouled or gets the ball and does his magic with it.
you've not seen him dive..... wow.. ok... well I'll just say i have and as recently as the last match in which he played where he actually stood on someone then threw himself over. I thought at first the ref had got ti wrong but o nthe replay it looked so bad as he clealry was actually the one making the contact then by instinct throwing himself down. you've never seem him dive? And for me ok the "rule" is simulation where there is no contact it is a yellow but for me I think in my own opinion a dive is a dive and that includes where some slight contact is used to gain advantage. Sorry but i've seen him do it and the refs are watching him big time now, it will not be long before we see an ironed on stonewall pen not given. it has to happen. anyway... be that as it may luiz got away with a red card offense, ferguson got the ref from the previous week dropped so us big clubs seem to gain from the refs so i'm sure we'll more than our fair share out of suarez's "dives" ove rthe course of the year. Its just the same as the evra thing, its what he' been taught and knows culturally (and if anyone dared stay up in the uruaguay league they'd be chopped in half btw) he just needs to learn whats not acceptable. If that just means that he sees that over doing it hinders when he can really gain advantage or whether he becomes more honest is up to him. I just think we should call a spade a spade here and state clearly that whiel I for one love watching him on the ball I don't find throwing himelf down 20 times a game very productive. oh and i agree i've seen adam do the same back in his own half and did hamann was terrible for that too.
the annoying thing about it is that he is one of the best players with his back to the defender that ive seen, and I reckon hed be much better trying to turn a defender than hope for the free kick, which 90% of the time he doesnt get.
His vision and spatial awareness are so good, he seems to know exactly where everyone is and whats on before the ball is ever even played to him. he knows just where to be to get between ball and man as well. Facing oppoenets he's frightening, with his back to gaol you have no clue where he's going to play it.... he's a defenders nightmare so if he falls over and you've got a ref who's watching him i think you'd be delighted... eg john terry or hangleland tonight.... hangeland would love him 30 yards out and falling over while the ref waves play on all night... he's love it. I'm hopeing suarez just concentrates on staying up tonight.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not condoning what he does as I don't like it either but I feel the word 'dive' is misused. He does exaggerate contact but there are times when I've seen nothing given when he is brought down 'legitimately'. Is this fair? Sometimes he may feel the need to go down else the ref won't give. This isn't an excuse for his behaviour, just a possible reason as to why he does it. I agree in that it is due to cultural upbringings - in South America, it is seen as being cheeky and quite funny. Here, we see it is cheating.
'Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez averages 8.2 touches per game inside the opposition penalty area, more than any other top-flight player.'
