Nani vs Babel

I remember having this discussion with my friend Munish (check out his blog here). We were debating about who was worse, Nani or Babel. First of its kind debate? You tell me. This debate started about 7 weeks back, at the start of the new Premier League season. For the first couple of weeks, I was able to make my point considering the performances going around, but; about four weeks into the season and I am dead beat. How? Read on….

Ryan Babel, the Dutch striker/winger started the season in the most horrific of fashions. He was given his first start in the first game of the season for Liverpool; and he made his first worthless appearance there. Too many “firsts” there, isn’t it. Well, to be truthful I have not followed Nani’s progress (or decline as my friend likes to state it) as closely as Babel, but I have seen glimpses of him. I make it clear in no uncertain terms, that being a Red for life I hate ManUtd as hell, but I do respect their attitude towards the game and their fighting spirit.

This prompted me to watch a couple of games of ManU and also Nani’s performance. The latest game I watched was the one today against Bolton at Old Trafford. Now, OT is the hunting ground for the current Champions. However, their performance never made it look like it is their home ground. I was keeping an eye out for Nani in particular, and he was disappointing to say the least. One wonders, how a manager as experienced as Sir Alex is still holding him in his squad. And, come to think of it, Nani had spoken out to the media saying that he will replace CR7 (now CR9).

Babel has not done much better either. He has not been given the opportunities Nani has been given (in terms of minutes on the field), but he has been playing 20+ minutes in almost all his substitute appearances. Add to the fact that he has 2 goals to show (although one of them was freaky), both against Hull. Ryan Babel did show flashes of brilliance with his control and speed, but these were really far and few in between the chances he has wasted.

The time’s ripe for both Nani and Babel to show where they stand. One can only hope that both of them starting paying back the trust and monetary investments made by their respective managers. I will reserve my judgement on who will make it through this season for now. But, as I understand it; for either team to win this season of the Barclay’s Premier League, these two players will be quite critical in their battle plans.