Paletta's problem

[Magic8Ball]

By Tim Vickery

South American football reporter

 

Gabriel Paletta celebrates scoring on his debut against Reading

Paletta scored on his debut - but it has been all downhill since then and he has played just five games

 

Gabriel Paletta's problems at Liverpool should come as no surprise - and should serve as a warning to young South Americans in similar situations.

 

Last year this column argued that the Argentine centre back's move from Banfield to Anfield was a case of too much, too soon.

 

There is a general rule when a player steps us a level, whether it be from juniors to reserves, from the reserves to the first team or from club to international football.

 

Usually he will be OK if he can reproduce the quality of performance he was producing in the lower level.

 

The problem in Paletta's case is that this does not apply. He has to learn to defend in a different way.

 

Banfield are a traditional but relatively minor Argentine club, who play in tight, cramped stadium.

 

They are not under the same pressure to attack as one of the big teams.

 

It means that back at home Paletta was defending much closer to his own goal.

 

If the ball was played behind him, it was the keeper's. A pair of holding midfielders swept up the danger in front of him.

 

However, at Liverpool the defensive line is higher up the field.

 

Gabriel Paletta struggles against Arsenal striker Julio Baptista

His feeble efforts against Arsenal have prompted speculation over a loan deal to Spanish side Gimnastic

 

In a type of football much faster than anything he has seen before he is taking up an unaccustomed position - one which all the while threatens to expose his lack of mobility.

 

It is no wonder he has had problems. He has taken a leap which represents a dangerous risk at this stage in his career.

 

There was a half way house between Banfield and top-class European football.

 

Before Liverpool came in for him, Buenos Aires giants River Plate were very keen on Paletta.

 

They were so close to signing him that he was even named in their squad for last year's Copa Libertadores.

 

Joining River would have been the perfect move.

 

While staying in his own culture he would have learnt much more about how to defend in an attacking team. Make a success of that, and the doors to Europe are open.

 

Paletta skipped a stage, and is paying the price.

 

It happens with so many South American careers and it is not hard to understand why such mistakes are made.

 

From the player's point of view, when the Europeans come knocking it is difficult to refuse, even if the move is premature.

 

Football is by its very nature an insecure profession. He might break a leg next month, and the chance may never come again.

 

And there are plenty of other forces pushing him across the Atlantic.

 

His agent may well be slobbering over a cut of the deal. Or his club might need the revenue to pay last month¿s wage bill. Or his registration could belong to an investment consortium anxious for a quick return.

 

Promising young South American players can find themselves surrounded with an excess of financial interests, and a deficiency of good career advice.

 

 

 

Interestingly I tend to agree with this, and whats more I think that we need more games for the reserves - when we buy youthful talent from abroad they need more games to adjust to our style of play - I think the lack of games affected Pongolle and Le Tallec

[alias75]

Id be tempted to loan them out to Championship teams or even bottom tier PL sides (like we have with Carson), that way they get plenty of games and get used to playing the English style. We expect these young players to come over and start performing straight away, but thats not realistic.

 

In the past i dont think we've handled our young overseas signings very well, id have liked to have seen Le Tallec and pongolle go to somewhere like Crewe when we first signed them, instead they were loaned back to France.

[Hodgson for Chelsea]

That's a very well written piece that probably has some truth in it. From the LFC perspective the only way forward is to get them cheap and early in their careers though. If he had moved to River Plate he would be known to far more scouts.

[nd]

Still early days for Paletta though. I imagine every defender has horror stories to tell.

[Magic8Ball]

Id be tempted to loan them out to Championship teams or even bottom tier PL sides (like we have with Carson), that way they get plenty of games and get used to playing the English style. We expect these young players to come over and start performing straight away, but thats not realistic.

 

In the past i dont think we've handled our young overseas signings very well, id have liked to have seen Le Tallec and pongolle go to somewhere like Crewe when we first signed them, instead they were loaned back to France.

 

We should never loan them abroad, we should preferably loan them to a lower end premiership team, or a Championship team

agreed.

 

The problem is getting them to play football - its easier for defenders but for attackers like Le Tallec the long ball day in and day out wasn't going to help - now had Le Tallec gone to Wigan I think he would have done better

[Leo No.8]

It is a good piece - Vickery writes well on the South American football scene and he called this right when Paletta signed for us.

 

However, that said I do still think Paletta will prove to be a success here; he has the basic tools for the job but is just very raw. Yes, he does lack pace but Sami Hyypia is the perfect example to prove that centre-halves need not rely on fleet of foot if their reading of the game, positioning and communication with those around them are top class.

 

I think it is important we send him out on loan soon so he can play competitive football and get used to the pace of the English game, and I think The Championship would be the ideal environment for him to do this. Endless reserve games can kill a young player because they are such drab, lifeless affairs in general.

[alias75]

Agree with that i thought we had a relationship with Crewe and they are struggling at the moment and im sure they'd welcome someone like Paletta.

 

I hope we do start loaning a few young players to English clubs, they need to understand what English football is all about. Man Utd have done it for a while with their younger players.

[Gomez]

So basically what they are saying is that he was not ready for the premiership and needs time to adjust? No sh*t?

don't see how it would be better to go to another team in order to adjust rather than adjust while he's on our payroll, in our reserves or loan out from us. Either way it takes time.

[Ronnie Whelan]

The low lying defensive line certainly makes sense when compared to how high up the field our defenders play. This is not something that can be changed instantly and will take a couple of seasons to correct.

[Leo No.8]

Agree with that i thought we had a relationship with Crewe and they are struggling at the moment and im sure they'd welcome someone like Paletta.

 

I hope we do start loaning a few young players to English clubs, they need to understand what English football is all about. Man Utd have done it for a while with their younger players.

 

Absolutely - Beckham went on loan to Preston just before making it at United, and we've had some success with sending Warnock out to Coventry who came back to us with more confidence.

 

I think basically the standard is significantly lower to they should gain confidence and hopefully stand out, but the speed of the game is still pretty high and the crowds are decent so it is helping them acclimatise.

[Eskimo]

That's a very well written piece that probably has some truth in it. From the LFC perspective the only way forward is to get them cheap and early in their careers though. If he had moved to River Plate he would be known to far more scouts.

 

Agree, its a risk but the fact is had we waited for him to develop at River he would have been out of our price range if and when he was ready to step up a level. We need to be in a position where we can afford to spend between 5-8m a season on half a dozen such players, hopefully the takeover will allow for this..

[Maldini]

He reminds me of Carra in that year he filled in at CB

[Magic8Ball]

He reminds me of Carra in that year he filled in at CB

indeed, Carra had 2 own goals that year, the difference is though Carra got lots of games in which to improve

[Whitey]

Interesting in a "told you so" kind of way.

 

Give the kid a break - he's not had games, gets thrown in for a game against Arsenal who are on fire, with little or no support, and a suspect keeper.

 

As with all imports it will take time, let's not hang the poor kid!!

[Gomez]

Interesting in a "told you so" kind of way.

 

Give the kid a break - he's not had games, gets thrown in for a game against Arsenal who are on fire, with little or no support, and a suspect keeper.

 

 

Again with the blaming Dudek. How was it Dudek's fault that Paletta was skinned out by the main stand, and then again on the touchline?

It was Paletta's inexperience, and he will learn, but blaming Dudek fool's no one.

[Whitey]

Again with the blaming Dudek. How was it Dudek's fault that Paletta was skinned out by the main stand, and then again on the touchline?

It was Paletta's inexperience, and he will learn, but blaming Dudek fool's no one.

 

Not BLAMING Dudek - but if you've ever played you'll know that having a solid/confident keeper behind you is gold. Having one lacking in confidence, practice or out of touch not so good. I was just supporting the kid.

[Bootle Buck]

He might be better off now that we have some more Argies on the way.

[Karlos]

Kind of a narrow minded article IMO.

 

Palettas problem is that he over commits himself far too soon in the tackle letting the player flash past him. Once he learns to take his time then he will be much better for us.

[Maldini]

I can understand why we signed him, he has a bit about him. He was poor the other night, I think some people are using him as a bit of a scapegoat for the defeat though, he wasn't that bad. He also set up two of our goals don't forget.

[Armin_Tamzarian]

Interesting in a "told you so" kind of way.

 

It's fair enough though. I remember reading his original article and he's been completely vindicated. Palleta shows occasional glimpses of class, he's certainly promising but he's also a long way from the required standard. It does seem as if the River Plate move would've been more beneficial to the player, although possibly not to Liverpool.

[Gomez]

Not BLAMING Dudek - but if you've ever played you'll know that having a solid/confident keeper behind you is gold. Having one lacking in confidence, practice or out of touch not so good. I was just supporting the kid.

 

I have played, quite a bit.

 

If you are a young kid like Paletta then having a keeper of the calibre and record of Jerzy behind you would fill you with nothing but confidence, however, even having a shambles like Massimo Taibi behing you wouldn't make you more likely such a pills of the challenges that could have stopped the 5th and 6th goals.

 

Those goals were Paletta's fault, other people made mistakes too, but those two goals were no fault of Dudek. I know it is nice to be able to blame our biggest home defeat in f*ck knows how long on a single player who will most likely leave soon and thus all will be rosy, but it is still incorrect, and also unfair on a great player for us

 

But then of course, you are not BLAMING Dudek, so I wonder why you brought it up when mentioning Paletta's poor performance when his mistakes had nothing to do with Dudek?

 

He is young, he made mistakes, he'll learn and improve by them. You can support the kid without slagging off other members of our squad you know.

[jimmylibel]

It's fair enough though. I remember reading his original article and he's been completely vindicated. Palleta shows occasional glimpses of class, he's certainly promising but he's also a long way from the required standard. It does seem as if the River Plate move would've been more beneficial to the player, although possibly not to Liverpool.

 

But how can you be vindicated after 6 months? Did anyone expect him to play more than he has done?

[Gomez]

But how can you be vindicated after 6 months? Did anyone expect him to play more than he has done?

 

Exactly. If after two years at Liverpool his is less suited to the premiership than he would have been after two years at River Plate, then he will be vindicated.

[Guz]

Tim Vickery has mentioned since the summer on numerous occasions about his fears/expectations for Paletta this season and probably next. It's not a criticism of the player but probably just trying to say it's a fact of life and something that should've been expected.

 

We'll see if he has 'it' about him in 12-18 months but till then need to be patient.