{Profile Posted 16/08/12}
Date of Birth: - 15.08.1988
Height: - 5ft 10-™-™
Position: - Left / Right Wing
Nationality: - Morroco
Current Club: - Just about to sign for Liverpool
Estimated Market Value: - £3 million
Linked with: - Just about to sign for Liverpool
Club Statistics
Almere City FC
2007/2008 season -“ 29 matches, 3 goals and 2 assists.
De Graafschap Doetinchem
2008/2009 season -“ 17 matches, 2 goals and no assists.
2009/2010 season -“ 5 matches, 5 goals and 2 assists.
TOTAL -“ 22 matches, 7 goals and 2 assists.
Heerenveen
2009/2010 season -“ 26 matches, 2 goals and 4 assists.
2010/2011 season -“ 31 matches, 9 goals and 13 assists.
2011/2012 season -“ 27 matches, 10 goals and 7 assists.
2012/2013 season - 2 matches, no goals and no assists.
TOTAL -“ 86 matches, 21 goals and 24 assists.
(Although other websites report 68 matches, and 20 goals. When I have more time I will get to the bottom of the problem. But for now, the stats are not too important. He has a very good goal and assists record.)
International Statistics
Netherlands U20
2008/2009 season-“ 1 match, no goals and no assists.
Morocco
2010/2011 season -“ 5 matches, 1 goal and 1 assist.
2012 season -“ 2 matches, no goals and no assists.
TOTAL -“ 7 matches, 1 goal and 1 assists.
General Comments:
Hey all. What a shock!! Out of the blue or what. We all have never, very heard of this player. As soon as I heard I started this profile. I have done it as quickly as possible, but still tried to keep it as fair and as full but balanced as possible. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have seen the player a lot when over in Holland, then please drop me some comments about him as a player.
Anyway the player. He seems a very skilful player, with lots of tricks and flicks. The only problem with this is sometimes he can try to do too much. He will beat 3 players, but then instead of passing, he will try to beat that 4th player. Sometimes it will work, but mostly it wont. So he needs to keep going with those fantastic skills, but make sure that he doesnt try too much. But as I was saying, he is a fantastically skilful player, who is also a good dribbler, and has fantastic close control. His body build is also superb for those long dazzling runs past opposition players. However, he shouldnt over complicate his game.
He is also an experienced player now. He has played in both top Dutch flight leagues, as well as at Dutch youth level, and as a full Moroccan international. He is also only very young, at 24, but already racked up a couple of hundred games, and international and European experience. This means that he should be able to call on this experience in his new league, which should help him to adapt quickly and well.
Finally, going forward, apart from the players trickery, he also isnt a selfish player. Yes there are times, as I mentioned, when he should pass, but there are also times when you want him just to keep going himself, as his run/dribble is going so well, but he decides to pass, which means he doesnt go for all the glory. You need this in a player if they are going to fit into Rodgers Tika Taka style. You cannot have 10 players passing it around, then one ball hog. Therefore, Assaidi should complement the style nicely. To conclude his plus points also, he looks a decent player with two feet. His stronger foot is his right foot, but his left isnt terrible. He can use it for passing and shooting; hes not a player who cannot use their weak foot.
However, the player does have negatives to his play. As I have brushed upon, he can sometimes try one too many tricks or flicks, and he can waste all that hard work and energy he has just spent. It can also be frustrating for teammates, when he has put them in a good position, but then he throws it all away. Furthermore to that, his finishing only seems decent, not great, despite a very impressive scoring record. He can seem to scuff, or rush his shots, so instead of a fantastic finish, the ball just goes rolling into the opponent keepers hands. It is also very annoying, because he could have been on a great run, but then throws it all away. It is definitely something that he needs to improve upon. His composure just seems to be lacking there sometimes.
He doesnt seem to be a winger either, despite everybody reporting this. When you watch him, he always seems to be running at the opposition down the middle of the pitch, and not really the wing. The suits Liverpools style more, but it does throw into doubt his wingers abilities, e.g. crossing. However, his should not need to be doing much crossing if Andy Carroll heads back up North. He seems more of a player who wants to play in the hole, rather than someone who wants to get chalk on their boots. We will have to wait and find out I guess, if he is a good wing player. However, he should be able to play on the wing, so it shows that he is a versatile player that he can play in a number of attacking positions.
Finally, on the negatives of the player, and something that I will brush more upon later, is the strength of the player. As all flair players seem to be, he doesnt seem to be that strong. He seems to get pushed of the ball and bullied about a bit. As I will explain in more detail later, I fear this could become a problem when playing for Liverpool in England. However, it is something he can work on, e.g. more gym work, but something he needs to be careful about. If he does genuinely go down because he is fouled then fair enough, but if hes weak and going down all the time, then he may earn an unfair reputation as a diver. Overall though, he is a well-rounded player with a few, but minor weaknesses, but plenty of good, but not spectacular (part from skills and dribbling) good parts to his game.
Would Assaidi cut it in the Premiership?
Well, for the fee that is being talked about, at only £3 million, almost nothing can go wrong with the player. If he does fail, then we wont be saddled with a player on high wages either and hes still only young so will have a good sell on value. However, by watching the player, he looks like a more matured and better all-round player to Kevin Mirallas. He seems to be able to control how many skills he does, e.g. not to go over the top. He also seems to have a good vision of the game, e.g. where players are etc. Moreover, he reads the game well, knows where teammates are; which is key in the Premiership, and to be able to play tika taka football. But anyway, I do actually think he could make it as a great player for Liverpool. He has a good maturity about him, has good skills and also a good vision when on the pitch, He also seems to work hard, and is highly rated, and quite an experienced player now. My only fear is that he tries too many tricks etc., and it doesnt work for him, which could affect his confidence etc. Also, as that sort of flair player, he isnt the strongest, so in the Prem he might also be too weak. But if he can get stronger, keeps his game simple and keeps working hard, then he could be a real gem of a player for Liverpool.
Summary of Assaidi:
Strengths: Quick feet, dribbling, two footed, experience, pace, can beat players from standing start, not a selfish player.
Weaknesses: Lightweight, too many tricks, waste good opportunities, strength
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