Dirk Kuyt - from Katwijk to the Kop will he flop or not?

Interviewed by Sky Sports News, two days before completing his transfer from Feyenoord to Liverpool, Dirk Kuyt remained coy about his destination. However, when probed by the interviewer Kuyt found it difficult to conceal his emotions flashing wry smiles and cheeky grins to the camera in response to leading questions. Without saying so the blonde forward implied that his destination was Liverpool but he did utter the words 'Only one club is my dream club.'

Few people in Britain would have guessed that this enthusiasm was indicative of Kuyt's overall personality; when he is playing this is evident as tireless but clever running, powerful movement with the ball, intelligent vision and a dogged determination to track back when needed. It is little wonder that Kuyt was worshipped by the faithful at Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium, especially when his impressive statistics are taken into consideration. He notched 71 times in 101 appearances for the Rotterdam club and produced an equally impressive amount of assists.

It's easy to get carried away when praising the Dutchman as doubts remain over his capacity to transfer anything like that output to a league that is regarded as a sterner test of a player's skill. People will quickly point to the failings of Mateja Kezman who had an equally as impressive scoring record. Yet the same people often fail to acknowledge that Kezman lacks the all round ability and game intelligence that Kuyt possesses. It is also correct to point out that a player failing to make the grade at any one club is insufficient evidence to make future generalisations about all players that arrive from a similar destination. Kezman is not Kuyt, PSV is not Feyenoord, one is Dutch the other is Serbian, you get the pictu.....

It would be equally as ridiculous to say that Kuyt is going to be a hit because Van Nistelrooy scored as frequently in the Dutch league as it would to say that he is going to bomb because Kezman failed to make the transition across the North Sea.

To state the obvious, once again, it will take games before pundits can begin to make anything like a rational judgement about his impact on the Premier League. Nevertheless, if his debut is anything to go by he seems to be making the correct strides towards an impressive Anfield career.

Brought on as a second-half substitute for Peter Crouch, Kuyt impressed during a 40 minute period, assisting in a Craig Bellamy goal that was overruled for a marginal offside, as well as creating a few decent chances for himself; he shot wide from 25 yards with virtually his second touch of the ball. Moments later he rose heading the ball wide of Roy Carroll's opposite post. Carroll produced another save late on pushing a shot around his right hand post for a corner.

Kuyt's work ethic was also evident as he gelled quickly with his new team mates, finding passes and making runs that usually come about after a prolonged period of working with a team. Nevertheless, as the saying goes strikers are judged by how many goals they score and he will have to wait till he scores his first goal for Liverpool. One thing is for certain, if Dirk Kuyt fails to make the grade in England it won't be for a lack of effort as the Katwijker has a massive heart. Upon the blowing of the final whistle he went to each corner of the ground to applaud his new supporters as he arrived on his journey from Katwijk to the Kop.