Following in the footsteps of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben would have been uppermost in the mind of Ryan Babel on his arrival at Liverpool last summer.
But the Holland international would not have wanted to stick so faithfully to the career path of his three compatriots.
Bergkamp, van Persie and Robben all had to overcome initial teething problems when acclimatising to the Premier League before their undoubted talents could shine through.
It’s a situation of which Babel is continually reminded by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as the winger negotiates his own tricky first season in English football.
Expectations were high when Babel, who was the star for European Under-21 Championship winners Holland last summer, became the then third most expensive player in the club’s history when he signed for £11.5million from Ajax in July.
The 21-year-old, however, has found it a struggle to come to terms with the physical demands in England and has yet to complete the full 90 minutes of a league game.
Indeed, Babel’s main impact this season has been as a substitute, with five of his seven goals coming from the bench.
One of those came in the 4-0 home win against Bolton Wanderers in December, with the forward hopeful of a fifth successive start – his best sequence of the season – when Liverpool visit the Reebok Stadium for the return game tomorrow afternoon.
Benitez admits it is far too soon to judge Babel on the evidence of his debut campaign.
“When I talk with Ryan, I always mention the likes of van Persie, Bergkamp and Robben, players that came from Holland, about how much time they needed to be successful here, maybe one or two years,” says the Anfield manager.
He was playing at Ajax in a specific role and now he is in a top side in England and everything is different for him. I’m really pleased with is commitment. He is practising everything, learning and trying to improve. I think he will be a very good player for us.
“It’s too soon to judge him. It’s the same with Lucas Leiva. He’s another young player and will need time. We have a reserve team with young players of quality, because we want to give them time.”
Benitez adds: “Sometimes, with some players they are so good they can’t be kept in the reserves and must go straight to the first team. We know that they will need time, but I’m really pleased with Ryan.
“I think Ryan will be really good. He has all the qualities, he has pace and ability. He’ll need to play some games in a row and show good things, which will give him more confidence.
“When you have a young player with quality, if you don’t get them into the club as soon as possible you know they’ll sign for another top side.
“You must bring them here and then give them time. We signed Daniel Agger as a young player and after his first six months people were saying they weren’t sure about him, then a year later he was one of the best players in our team.”
Babel was employed as a striker during his country’s successful under-21 run last summer, and was on the left side of a three-pronged Ajax attack before arriving at Anfield.
The Dutchman has been used primarily as an orthodox left winger by Benitez, but the Liverpool manager reckons Babel will ultimately forge his reputation further up the field.
“When Ryan was with the Dutch under-21s, he was playing as a striker,” he says. “But with Ajax he was playing a 4-3-3 on the left side. He is learning other positions, and here he is learning about 4-4-2 as that is different.
“We are always working with him and watching videos, and for him as a player it is a good experience for him.
“We know he likes to play as a second striker and is an option, but if he can learn this position it will be good for him and the future.
“Maybe in the future Ryan can be a striker for us, but now we need to use his pace and ability in wide areas.”
Liverpool have won only once at the Reebok – a 3-2 triumph in September 2002 – and never during Benitez’s tenure.
Liverpool’s game in hand will be played on Wednesday at home to West Ham United, with Newcastle United visiting three days later before the Champions League trip to Italy to face Inter Milan next Tuesday.
And Benitez admits: “We have four games in 10 days, four really important games, so we have to keep progressing.
“We have to start showing we can win games in a row and, looking at the fixtures we have and our quality, I think we can do that. We have experience in doing so and we will have to. Everton and Aston Villa are both fighting really hard for fourth.”
A Fernando Torres hat-trick earned Liverpool a 3-2 win against Middlesbrough last week, only their second Premier League triumph since Boxing Day.
And strike partner Dirk Kuyt admits: “It was very important to get the win against Middlesbrough because we still want to do something in the league and we definitely want to play in the Champions League next season.
“I was happy with the two wins we had against Inter Milan and Middlesbrough and now we have to look to get another one on Sunday against Bolton.
“We are in the middle of a run of four league games before we play Inter again and we have to try and do everything we can to make the most of those games and get ourselves into fourth position.”
But the Holland international would not have wanted to stick so faithfully to the career path of his three compatriots.
Bergkamp, van Persie and Robben all had to overcome initial teething problems when acclimatising to the Premier League before their undoubted talents could shine through.
It’s a situation of which Babel is continually reminded by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as the winger negotiates his own tricky first season in English football.
Expectations were high when Babel, who was the star for European Under-21 Championship winners Holland last summer, became the then third most expensive player in the club’s history when he signed for £11.5million from Ajax in July.
The 21-year-old, however, has found it a struggle to come to terms with the physical demands in England and has yet to complete the full 90 minutes of a league game.
Indeed, Babel’s main impact this season has been as a substitute, with five of his seven goals coming from the bench.
One of those came in the 4-0 home win against Bolton Wanderers in December, with the forward hopeful of a fifth successive start – his best sequence of the season – when Liverpool visit the Reebok Stadium for the return game tomorrow afternoon.
Benitez admits it is far too soon to judge Babel on the evidence of his debut campaign.
“When I talk with Ryan, I always mention the likes of van Persie, Bergkamp and Robben, players that came from Holland, about how much time they needed to be successful here, maybe one or two years,” says the Anfield manager.
He was playing at Ajax in a specific role and now he is in a top side in England and everything is different for him. I’m really pleased with is commitment. He is practising everything, learning and trying to improve. I think he will be a very good player for us.
“It’s too soon to judge him. It’s the same with Lucas Leiva. He’s another young player and will need time. We have a reserve team with young players of quality, because we want to give them time.”
Benitez adds: “Sometimes, with some players they are so good they can’t be kept in the reserves and must go straight to the first team. We know that they will need time, but I’m really pleased with Ryan.
“I think Ryan will be really good. He has all the qualities, he has pace and ability. He’ll need to play some games in a row and show good things, which will give him more confidence.
“When you have a young player with quality, if you don’t get them into the club as soon as possible you know they’ll sign for another top side.
“You must bring them here and then give them time. We signed Daniel Agger as a young player and after his first six months people were saying they weren’t sure about him, then a year later he was one of the best players in our team.”
Babel was employed as a striker during his country’s successful under-21 run last summer, and was on the left side of a three-pronged Ajax attack before arriving at Anfield.
The Dutchman has been used primarily as an orthodox left winger by Benitez, but the Liverpool manager reckons Babel will ultimately forge his reputation further up the field.
“When Ryan was with the Dutch under-21s, he was playing as a striker,” he says. “But with Ajax he was playing a 4-3-3 on the left side. He is learning other positions, and here he is learning about 4-4-2 as that is different.
“We are always working with him and watching videos, and for him as a player it is a good experience for him.
“We know he likes to play as a second striker and is an option, but if he can learn this position it will be good for him and the future.
“Maybe in the future Ryan can be a striker for us, but now we need to use his pace and ability in wide areas.”
Liverpool have won only once at the Reebok – a 3-2 triumph in September 2002 – and never during Benitez’s tenure.
Liverpool’s game in hand will be played on Wednesday at home to West Ham United, with Newcastle United visiting three days later before the Champions League trip to Italy to face Inter Milan next Tuesday.
And Benitez admits: “We have four games in 10 days, four really important games, so we have to keep progressing.
“We have to start showing we can win games in a row and, looking at the fixtures we have and our quality, I think we can do that. We have experience in doing so and we will have to. Everton and Aston Villa are both fighting really hard for fourth.”
A Fernando Torres hat-trick earned Liverpool a 3-2 win against Middlesbrough last week, only their second Premier League triumph since Boxing Day.
And strike partner Dirk Kuyt admits: “It was very important to get the win against Middlesbrough because we still want to do something in the league and we definitely want to play in the Champions League next season.
“I was happy with the two wins we had against Inter Milan and Middlesbrough and now we have to look to get another one on Sunday against Bolton.
“We are in the middle of a run of four league games before we play Inter again and we have to try and do everything we can to make the most of those games and get ourselves into fourth position.”
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