Mark Lawrenson: Why Alberto Aquilani absence from Liverpool FC side gets more baffling

Nov 24 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

AT the risk of repeating myself – just what does Alberto Aquilani have to do to get a go in this Liverpool team?

I’m baffled by his continued failure to step foot on the field in the Premier League when he is supposedly over his injury problems and has been training every day.

Liverpool had 12 days without a game before they welcomed Manchester City on Saturday so I would have thought that was plenty enough time to get him ready.

Yes, he’s come with an injury and has missed pre-season but what is there to lose?

He’s never going to be 100% match fit unless he actually plays in some matches.

If he comes on, struggles and has to come off after an hour, then at least it looks like a positive move form Rafael Benitez rather than being too cautious.

He often takes players off after an hour or 75 minutes anyway.

And look at Yossi Benayoun. He had been out through injury and was clearly called into action sooner than Benitez would have liked.

But even though he had to be taken off towards the end of the game, he still scored. It’s called making an impact and having players on the pitch who can make a difference.

If Aquilani isn’t seen as someone who can do that, why bother buying him?

I’m not interested in this theory that if Liverpool can stop leaking goals everything will be okay. Because if the opposition scores two and you can get three, it doesn’t matter if the defending is dodgy.

If Lucas had hit the target in the last minute, that game would have been won.

But therein lies another problem. Lucas is not a natural finisher or creative force so I’m still bemused as to why he and Javier Mascherano have to be in the same team.

It’s not as if they are stopping teams from getting beyond them and protecting the back four very well anyway.

So I feel it’s time for the two defensive midfielders to make way and see if Aquilani can inject more threat into the midfield.

And as Fernando Torres still isn’t fit, the sooner the better.

Mark Lawrenson was talking to NICK SMITH