In two weeks our pre season begins with 5 games against poor opposition, this is the time of the year when Krisztian Nemeth and Co have a chance to impress Rafa after a difficult season in the reserves.
Last season saw competitive minutes given to Jay Spearing, Nabil El Zhar, Steven Darby and Martin Kelly. This year should be no different with the likes of Nemeth, Pacheco and Dominguez eager to impress the gaffer.
Friendlies against St Gallen and Rapid Vienna will take place before our Spaniards return from holiday after the Confederations Cup.
And for Nemeth more than anyone this is a huge opportunity to show what he`s made of under Rafa`s management.
The Hungarian forward was loaned out to Blackpool at the start of the year to gain some vital experience, this loan however, only lasted a month as Rafa planned to bring the youngster back and harness his talent in the remaining games of the season.
Nemeth`s first and only game for Blackpool ended badly, with a broken cheekbone, and our number 29 didn`t play again till the Liverpool Senior Cup final where he scored the only goal of the game to clinch the trophy.
Last pre season, Nemeth featured in a 0-0 draw with Villarreal, where he came closest for Liverpool with a shot just over the crossbar. He also played a vital role 3 days later against Rangers where he had a fierce shot parried with Yossi tapping in the rebound. Nemeth also was brought down in the area after a great piece of work, and Xabi Alonso scored the resulting penalty. Except featuring as a substitute against Valerenga and Lazio, these where his only games playing for Rafa Benitez.
For those of you who haven`t seen him play, he has skill in abundance, a fantastic touch, great pace, brilliant vision and that striker`s instinct that sees him find the back of the net regularly, and he`s well known for his trademark back heels.
The striker already has the hopes of his nation resting on his shoulders; after defeat against Sweden in World Cup qualifier, the national sports newspaper headlined with a picture of Nemeth, the paper then went on to beg the coach to play him. The Hungarian coach, Erwin Koeman, has begun to integrate Nemeth into the squad as he has more goals than games to his name in youth categories for the national side.
Benitez is aware of Nemeth`s talent, shown when he was questioned about our lack of forwards after the sale of Robbie Keane, he named Nemeth along with his Spanish strike partner Dani Pacheco as quality youngsters that can step up to the plate, but neither where to make their first competitive start.
It`s becoming less and less likely that we will bring in another striker, meaning that this could be a big season for Nemeth, beginning with these pre season friendlies, games against the teams of less quality means that minutes are almost guaranteed for Nemeth, but our 5th and 7th friendlies are against quality opposition in Espanyol and Atletico Madrid and are a chance for the Hungarian to really show what he`s made of.
Nemeth partnering David Ngog in our attack could become a familiar sight in our Carling Cup and early round FA cup games, with this brilliant prospect receiving rave reviews from all that have seen him play.
I for one will be keeping a close eye on the youngster over the up and coming pre season period as it`s not a case of if he will make the step up, it`s a case of when. At 20 years old this is a fantastic chance for Nemeth to prove himself prior to one of Liverpool`s most important seasons; his talent could become extremely useful in landing number 8 in both the FA and Carling Cup and most importantly Number 19 in the league.
Last season saw competitive minutes given to Jay Spearing, Nabil El Zhar, Steven Darby and Martin Kelly. This year should be no different with the likes of Nemeth, Pacheco and Dominguez eager to impress the gaffer.
Friendlies against St Gallen and Rapid Vienna will take place before our Spaniards return from holiday after the Confederations Cup.
And for Nemeth more than anyone this is a huge opportunity to show what he`s made of under Rafa`s management.
The Hungarian forward was loaned out to Blackpool at the start of the year to gain some vital experience, this loan however, only lasted a month as Rafa planned to bring the youngster back and harness his talent in the remaining games of the season.
Nemeth`s first and only game for Blackpool ended badly, with a broken cheekbone, and our number 29 didn`t play again till the Liverpool Senior Cup final where he scored the only goal of the game to clinch the trophy.
Last pre season, Nemeth featured in a 0-0 draw with Villarreal, where he came closest for Liverpool with a shot just over the crossbar. He also played a vital role 3 days later against Rangers where he had a fierce shot parried with Yossi tapping in the rebound. Nemeth also was brought down in the area after a great piece of work, and Xabi Alonso scored the resulting penalty. Except featuring as a substitute against Valerenga and Lazio, these where his only games playing for Rafa Benitez.
For those of you who haven`t seen him play, he has skill in abundance, a fantastic touch, great pace, brilliant vision and that striker`s instinct that sees him find the back of the net regularly, and he`s well known for his trademark back heels.
The striker already has the hopes of his nation resting on his shoulders; after defeat against Sweden in World Cup qualifier, the national sports newspaper headlined with a picture of Nemeth, the paper then went on to beg the coach to play him. The Hungarian coach, Erwin Koeman, has begun to integrate Nemeth into the squad as he has more goals than games to his name in youth categories for the national side.
Benitez is aware of Nemeth`s talent, shown when he was questioned about our lack of forwards after the sale of Robbie Keane, he named Nemeth along with his Spanish strike partner Dani Pacheco as quality youngsters that can step up to the plate, but neither where to make their first competitive start.
It`s becoming less and less likely that we will bring in another striker, meaning that this could be a big season for Nemeth, beginning with these pre season friendlies, games against the teams of less quality means that minutes are almost guaranteed for Nemeth, but our 5th and 7th friendlies are against quality opposition in Espanyol and Atletico Madrid and are a chance for the Hungarian to really show what he`s made of.
Nemeth partnering David Ngog in our attack could become a familiar sight in our Carling Cup and early round FA cup games, with this brilliant prospect receiving rave reviews from all that have seen him play.
I for one will be keeping a close eye on the youngster over the up and coming pre season period as it`s not a case of if he will make the step up, it`s a case of when. At 20 years old this is a fantastic chance for Nemeth to prove himself prior to one of Liverpool`s most important seasons; his talent could become extremely useful in landing number 8 in both the FA and Carling Cup and most importantly Number 19 in the league.
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