Dirk Kuyt: world's best 'big-game player' ?

djfitzerjnr

I was just thinking there at the amount of important goals Dirk Kuyt scores for Liverpool, and got me thinking of how he is such an important player, and how he plays so well in the big games.

Dirk Kuyt has scored 63 goals for Liverpool in all competitions in 5 season and here are the goals against the 'big sides' ; Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Everton.

League
2010-2011
Everton 1
Man United 3
Man City 1
Arsenal 1

2009-2010
Everton 1
Arsenal 1
Spurs 2
Everton 1

2008-2009
Man City 1
Spurs 1
Man City 1

2 goals against Wigan + Pompey to either pull back a late goal to draw level or get a winner

2006-2007
Everton 2
Spurs 1
Chelsea 1

and 1 other winner against Reading

Europe
20010-2011

2 winners against Sparta + Tranzbonsar

2008-2010
Chelsea 1
Chelsea 1
Arsenal 1
Inter 1

2 winners against Debrecen + Standard Liege

2006-2007
Arsenal 1
Milan 1


So that makes a total of 31 goals, by my count, out of a total of 63 that have been big, important goals. That's practically half. Well in Dirky.

It should also be noted that since Fernando Torres last scored for anybody, Dirk Kuyt has hit the net 11 times for club + country.

Tusky

Really makes the best of his abilities. If I had kids I would be pointing to him as a footballing role model, rather than someone like Ronaldo.

mike65

Villa fans crushed by this news!

I dunno if he's the best currently playing but he has a knack of popping up as they say. That said it should be noted that in several games above he has started as a centre-forward rather than on the right.

jebidiah

2008-2010
Chelsea 1
Chelsea 1
Arsenal 1
Inter 1

those goals were sooooo important! huge games

MrStuffins

If he is then he's wasted at Liverpool! He needs to get his ass to a club that will be playing big games over the next few years! Cup finals, CL etc.....

James Forde

Park is better

super_furry

MrStuffins wrote: »

If he is then he's wasted at Liverpool! He needs to get his ass to a club that will be playing big games over the next few years!

Herp der der der derp! :pac::pac::pac::pac:

It's posts like this that sum up everything wrong with this forum.

djfitzerjnr

mike65 wrote: »

Villa fans crushed by this news!

I dunno if he's the best currently playing but he has a knack of popping up as they say. That said it should be noted that in several games above he has started as a centre-forward rather than on the right.

Apologies! I do believe he has at least 1 goal against Villa as well, which would then say that more than half of his goals are against big teams

curry-muff

Not on current form but surely Fernando Torres?

Not only did he terrorise United for a while, he has only once failed to score in a major cup final, and that was last summers world cup.

Mitch Connor

curry-muff wrote: »

Not on current form but surely Fernando Torres?

Not only did he terrorise United for a while, he has only once failed to score in a major cup final, and that was last summers world cup.

1, maybe 2 games. In general, United dealt with him well.

Ji-Sung Park or Darren Fletcher from a United P.o.V, excellent big game players.

Bodhisopha

super_furry wrote: »

Herp der der der derp! :pac::pac::pac::pac:

It's posts like this that sum up everything wrong with this forum.

Don't be so hard on yourself.

Smegball

Ibra :pac:

TheTownie

I think "Liverpool's Best Big-Game Player" would be the most appropriate title for Dirk Kuyt.

The Muppet

TheTownie wrote: »

I think "Liverpool's Best Big-Game Player" would be the most appropriate title for Dirk Kuyt.

I think Liverpool FC's Best Big Game player would be more appropriate as it would remove any doubt.

Warper

You have too much time on your hands

stevoslice

The Muppet wrote: »

I think Liverpool FC's Best Big Game player would be more appropriate as it would remove any doubt.

For me, it would be a bigger loss if lucas was missing for a big game than if kuyt was out. lucas has been immense in the 'big games'.

PHB

I think he's probably the best big game player compared to his ability in small games, i.e. he is a very very good player in big games and a decent player in small games.

Iniesta is by far for me, the world's best big game player. He's the reason why Barca got to the CL final two years ago, the reason they won it and his absense is the reason they didn't get there last year imo. He is also the reason Spain are World Cup winners.

Probably the best player in the world for winning tight games. Ronaldo and Messi will win your leagues, and ensure that you rip apart the smaller/medium teams, but in the tight games between the top 3/4 in the world, Iniesta is the player I'd want above all else.

greendom

He's hardly the best at anything really, except maximising his limited skill set. You can't fault him for his commitment or drive that's for sure.

Leiva

Dirk Kuyt does not know how to stop .

He will give you everything everytime .

He aint the type of player that goes around the pitch with glamour and flash during a game , but he is dogged and determined and thats something that I prefer in a player 'vs' the type of petulance that is sometimes seen by so called "superstars"

.

eZe^

Sammy Eto'o tbh.

parker kent

Messi.

Xavi6

Kuyt is a great man to put a score anytime bet on when there's a big game involving Liverpool. Usually makes me a winner.

The Muppet

thebhoy wrote: »

For me, it would be a bigger loss if lucas was missing for a big game than if kuyt was out. lucas has been immense in the 'big games'.

Being serious, I don't think you can look past Gerrard for liverpool's best big game player he has been immense in many of them.

Warper

Messi quite easily for me. Averages over a goal a game, consistently MOTM, easily the world's best big-game player.

Pighead

Tom McNulty. The biggest of big game players. Scored Dundalks winning goal in the 1990 League Cup final. Scored the winning goal in 91 down in Turners Cross which meant Dundalk were league champions. Scored the goal that stopped Bohs winning the league in 93. Scored against Galway on the last day of the season in 95 which meant Dundalk became league champions. Big moustache, big player.

Nailz

Warper wrote: »

Messi quite easily for me. Averages over a goal a game, consistently MOTM, easily the world's best big-game player.

Not really because he kicks arse every game he plays (well, most), he's just consistently brilliant across the board, so it isn't like he makes the significant difference in big-games more so than the everyday game.

SlickRic

Kuyt's attributes just come to the fore in our big games.

his workrate and desire are paramount when we're up against better teams, because we don't have the ball as much. and his directness suits counter-attacking football to a tee.

he's not Liverpool's best big-game player, never mind the world's.

the accolade for Liverpool's still falls at Steven Gerrard's feet.

and Lucas is banging down the door of number 2 on that list instead of Kuyt at the moment IMO.

that being said, Diggler seems to get an awful lot of important goals in these games, which is pretty damn astounding.

a very underrated player; one i myself perpetually underrate, and one i'll be very sorry to see leave whenever he does, whether that's through retirement in a few years, or if he moves.

i have a feeling we won't know what we've got til' it's gone.