Oussama Assaidi – Where did it all go wrong?

It was the 17th of August 2012, and as the breaking news scrolls horizontally across the Sky Sports News screen, the question on everyone’s lips is “who is he?”

Liverpool FC confirmed the capture of a Moroccan winger called Oussama Assaidi from Dutch side SC Heerenveen. He arrived in a deal worth £2.4 million, and signed on until 2016.

A few fans were worried. Kenny Dalglish had not long been sacked; and we were still getting our heads around the appointment of a manager who many thought wasn’t qualified to take the job. The signings of Joe Allen, Fabio Borini had made some fans feel that Rodgers didn’t know any players except the ones he had previously worked with. Assaidi changed this opinion, but left a massive shroud of concern over the quality of incoming signings. For all we knew, he could’ve been the new Nabil El-Zhar who it took forever to offload!

Rodgers tried to ease fans pessimism by labeling him as “an exciting player…that will excite the crowd.” Perhaps this might’ve added a bit of pressure onto the new signing.

The full details from Rodgers: “We’re delighted with the signing; he’s a young player who has done very well, in particular in the last couple of seasons, in Holland.

“He fits our style perfectly, he’s an exciting player who is very good in one versus one situations and I think he’s a player that will excite the crowd.

“We’re not expecting too much too early, he needs time to adapt but we’re delighted he’s chosen to come here over a number of other clubs.

“As I said, I’ll look forward to helping his development and I hope he’ll become a very good part of this club.”

While writing this article, I’m sitting here thinking there really isn’t much evidence to go from when describing his career. He actually only featured 12 times in all competitions. He is a bit of an enigma. At one point, I recall many people asking, “Where is Assaidi? Where has he gone?”

His disappearance from the first team squad even led to a rumour that I read somewhere. It said he was fasting (starved of food) relating to some sort of Muslim tradition, and therefore was unfit to play!

It was never really confirmed, as injuries to fringe players sometimes do go un-noticed, but I believe he had some sort of knee injury which kept him out for a while. He also went away with Morocco during the winter period for The African Nations Cup. Perhaps this decision put him slightly out of favour with Brendan Rodgers, as there has always been a bit of history with players choosing countries over their clubs, and the managers not being too pleased with the decisions.

When he did feature, he was a mixed bag. He has produced decent performances in the Europa league games, particularly against Young Boys and Anzhi.

He also impressed in the Carling Cup win over West Brom which saw Nuri Sahin run the show on the night. His strengths are his dribbling ability, where he can twist and turn; dummy and feint; often leaving defenders tangled up. The result is the ability to deliver a cross which is usually decent enough, most notably in this pre-season he has put some decent balls into the box. The Europa league, Carling Cup and friendlies against average sides seems to be around about his level though. He failed to make an impact in the Premier League; barely featuring for the first eleven.

His games in the lesser competitions left a lot of fans impressed with his ability and wondering why he never made it in the Premier League. I think the difference is the speed and strength required at the top level. In his own words, he simply doesn’t have enough power.

So where did it all go wrong? I think only Brendan Rodgers knows for sure. I personally think he lacks mental and physical strength and a winning mentality. He made some substitute appearances in the Premier League when we needed to get a result. The fans were looking to him to make a difference and add something to the team. He needed to change the game. Perhaps it’s harsh from Rodgers to put the pressure on him, but we need players who can cope with this.

The look on his face as he prepared to come on was sheepish and terrified. He then barely touched the ball and didn’t contribute anything. Natural control and dribbling ability simply isn’t enough. He has never said a bad word about the club, never complained, and has been a professional throughout his stay here, so I wish him all the best on his move to Stoke City. I don’t think anyone will ever know for sure the real reason Rodgers brought him here and then didn’t play him, but from the outside it certainly looks like it was a mentality issue and not ability. The strangest thing about him is that no one can say that he’s rubbish, which is normally clear as day with our departing players.