The Dutch midfielder has completed 90 minutes just 10 times in the league this season for Liverpool. Is that enough for him?
At the end of last season, along with Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt was a key part of Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool revival.
He finished the 2010/11 campaign with 13 goals in all competitions, his best ever haul.
Over the summer Dalglish made several signings which re-shaped his squad, and their lack of success has been well-documented, with Liverpool slumped in eighth place when many fans expected a title challenge.
Kuyt began the first game of the season against Sunderland on the bench and it is where he has spent a large portion of his time throughout the miserable campaign.
He was snubbed for the FA Cup semi-final against Everton, despite proving his worth to the squad with a crucial Carling Cup Final goal, another Wembley occasion he began on the bench.
With 90 minutes completed just 10 times in the league in 2011/12, being left out of the big games is sure to hurt Kuyt.
He has featured more than not since the turn of the year, but he was on the bench for the Merseyside derby at Anfield last month, as well as the Carling Cup Final and the FA Cup semi-final.
Whether or not he features as a starter in next month’s FA Cup Final against Chelsea could influence Kuyt’s decision whether to remain at the club.
Raul Meireles, a cup final opponent, was a player who like Kuyt was left out to make way for Dalglish’s new signings at the start of the season.
Meireles felt he was being forced out, facing a season on the sidelines when he wanted to play for a manager who believed in him, and handed in a transfer request.
While the Portuguese midfielder was a relatively new arrival who had barely touched down at Anfield, Kuyt has established a strong bond with the club and its supporters, playing under a succession of different managers, and has been more patient than Meireles. Handing in a transfer request would be far more of a wrench for the Dutchman.
It is not to say that he is not suffering the same fate however and it is not a decision he has considered. Conversely with just five goals to his name this season he will also be asked questions about his own form.
It has not hit the heights of last year, but that is more than likely a confidence issue, plus the fact that Dalglish’s set up is not geared around him.
He celebrated winning his first piece of silverware in February, and may toast a second in May, but if he remains on the edges, he may decide his job at Anfield is done, and it is time to seek a new challenge abroad.
Would you blame Kuyt for wanting out- does he deserve more chances- or has he been benched at the right times?
image: © k1ngk0ng
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