Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Mark Lawrenson: Albert Riera Appears Miles Better Than In His Manchester City Days

I remember watching Albert Riera playing for Manchester City a couple from times.

Back then I wouldn’t have paid you air miles for him.

But I also watched him in La Liga for Espanyol last year and he seemed to have improved a great deal. And he clearly benefited from playing every week, so if Rafael Benitez really sees him as the solution to his left-sided problem then he must give him a run of games.

If he doesn’t, then play Ryan Babel on the left and give him a run of games. Either way, he needs to stick with who he feels is best in a certain position and go with that because bringing players in for a spell then leaving them out just won’t work.

Who he prefers in that slot is his decision, but sticking Robbie Keane out there certainly isn’t the answer. The reason why Liverpool are desperate for width is because they need to stretch defences and create more space for the strikers to work in.

Then they will get the ball where they want it rather than having to go looking for it in deeper and wider areas.

Either way, it’s time for Liverpool to take more chances in league games. At the back, it’s not as if the defence and goalkeeper are useless and need protecting, they’re probably the best in the top flight.

So I’m hoping to see more draws converted into wins before it costs them like it did last season.

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