Seriously.......
94 DIFFERENT LINE-UPS IN 94 GAMES. COME ON RAFA IT'S TIME TO STOP MESSING ABOUT
30 September 2006
LVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez needs to stop rotating and pick NINE layers who are guaranteed to start week in and week out.
Jose Reina, Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, John Arne Riise, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Mohamed Sissoko, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy should know that they are in for every game. For Bellamy you could read Peter Crouch, they are that close. But the rest are interchangeable because that core of nine players gives you a nice mix of experience, youth and a strong British, presence too.
Benitez has now gone 94 games since he picked the same team and his tinkering is allowing Chelsea to open a gap at the top of the Premiership.
You have to play I your best team to ensure that come I Christmas you are I still on Chelsea's I tails. With their I strength, squad and financial clout you cannot afford to give them a head start.
Liverpool are still in the hunt - but would probably be closer still if Benitez could bring some consistency to his line-up.
Why on earth would you leave Gerrard out? The same goes for Carragher. Any Liverpool fan knows that a midfield of Alonso, Sissoko and Gerrard on the right is a match for any team in the Premiership.
Advertisement
Far too much is made about the demands on wi players. Players want to play. When I was at Liverpool we used to play I 60 or 70 games a season and I there were players in that I team who played every single one.
Playing two games a week gives you a break from training. The games keep your fitness levels up and that suits the players, believe me. Sir Alex Ferguson had a spell of tinkering at Manchester United. But it w backfired and now his team selections are pretty consistent. Jose Mourinho has a Chelsea spine which remains the same. The same goes for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Chelsea start with Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Paolo Ferreira, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko whenever possible. That is the core of their team.
What I don't understand is why more Liverpool players are not actually knocking on Benitez's door and asking: 'Why aren't you picking me?' Crouch scored twice against Galatasaray yet that was his first start in four games. Who will be next to have a storming game on the Wednesday and be dropped on Saturday? It is bizarre.
Liverpool have a very good squad but the constant changing unsettles them.
Just look at those nine names listed above - they make up a formidable team which can win the title. But you can't do that by constantly chopping and changing.
There has been talk about who should be in goal after Reina's recent mistakes. The Spaniard looked shaky as Liverpool had to withstand a late comeback by Galatasaray in midweek.
But Reina deserves his place. Okay, he will never be a great, keeper coming off his line, but he kept 29 clean sheets last year and is a better bet than his deputy Jerzy Dudek.
Liverpool have Jermaine Pennant as an option on the right and he looks a very good prospect but not yet a guaranteed starter. The same goes for Danie Agger. Very good but not yet an automatic choice.
But you have to play Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard in midfield. Sissoko gives Liverpool power and strength. He is simply irreplaceable. Alonso has been indifferent this season but is still a quality player.
As for Gerrard, take him out of the line-up and Liverpool are immediately 20 per cent less effective. He is simply fantastic.
Yes, there may be occasions in the Premiership when Liverpool can afford to give Gerrard or Carragher a rest. But not at the same time.
Gerrard should play on the right for Liverpool to make up the balance of the midfield with Sissoko and Alonso.
Benitez's decision to play Gerrard on the left at Chelsea was ridiculous.
You go to your biggest title rivals needing a good result and play your best player horribly out of position.
And then to cap it all Gerrard misses a gilt-edged chance at the end of the match. That says it all.
It is time that Benitez started picking a regular starting line-up to get consistent results, otherwise another glorious chance to win the Premiership title will have gone up in smoke.
And it will be the Spaniard's fault.
Interview: JOHN CROSS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
That last line really pissed me off, it will be the Spaniard's fault will it:
Like winning the European Cup, FA CUP, Super Cup, Charity Shield all in two seasons was his fault. Like breaking numerous records, like clean sheets and minutes without conceeding was his fault. Shut up Lawrenson you tit, got a massive chip on his shoulder these days. It looked like he was trying to suck in Alan Hansen in withall his bull**** on MOTD over recent years, but i'm glad he distanced himself from the LFC criticism.
94 DIFFERENT LINE-UPS IN 94 GAMES. COME ON RAFA IT'S TIME TO STOP MESSING ABOUT
30 September 2006
LVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez needs to stop rotating and pick NINE layers who are guaranteed to start week in and week out.
Jose Reina, Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, John Arne Riise, Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Mohamed Sissoko, Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy should know that they are in for every game. For Bellamy you could read Peter Crouch, they are that close. But the rest are interchangeable because that core of nine players gives you a nice mix of experience, youth and a strong British, presence too.
Benitez has now gone 94 games since he picked the same team and his tinkering is allowing Chelsea to open a gap at the top of the Premiership.
You have to play I your best team to ensure that come I Christmas you are I still on Chelsea's I tails. With their I strength, squad and financial clout you cannot afford to give them a head start.
Liverpool are still in the hunt - but would probably be closer still if Benitez could bring some consistency to his line-up.
Why on earth would you leave Gerrard out? The same goes for Carragher. Any Liverpool fan knows that a midfield of Alonso, Sissoko and Gerrard on the right is a match for any team in the Premiership.
Advertisement
Far too much is made about the demands on wi players. Players want to play. When I was at Liverpool we used to play I 60 or 70 games a season and I there were players in that I team who played every single one.
Playing two games a week gives you a break from training. The games keep your fitness levels up and that suits the players, believe me. Sir Alex Ferguson had a spell of tinkering at Manchester United. But it w backfired and now his team selections are pretty consistent. Jose Mourinho has a Chelsea spine which remains the same. The same goes for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Chelsea start with Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, John Terry, Paolo Ferreira, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko whenever possible. That is the core of their team.
What I don't understand is why more Liverpool players are not actually knocking on Benitez's door and asking: 'Why aren't you picking me?' Crouch scored twice against Galatasaray yet that was his first start in four games. Who will be next to have a storming game on the Wednesday and be dropped on Saturday? It is bizarre.
Liverpool have a very good squad but the constant changing unsettles them.
Just look at those nine names listed above - they make up a formidable team which can win the title. But you can't do that by constantly chopping and changing.
There has been talk about who should be in goal after Reina's recent mistakes. The Spaniard looked shaky as Liverpool had to withstand a late comeback by Galatasaray in midweek.
But Reina deserves his place. Okay, he will never be a great, keeper coming off his line, but he kept 29 clean sheets last year and is a better bet than his deputy Jerzy Dudek.
Liverpool have Jermaine Pennant as an option on the right and he looks a very good prospect but not yet a guaranteed starter. The same goes for Danie Agger. Very good but not yet an automatic choice.
But you have to play Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard in midfield. Sissoko gives Liverpool power and strength. He is simply irreplaceable. Alonso has been indifferent this season but is still a quality player.
As for Gerrard, take him out of the line-up and Liverpool are immediately 20 per cent less effective. He is simply fantastic.
Yes, there may be occasions in the Premiership when Liverpool can afford to give Gerrard or Carragher a rest. But not at the same time.
Gerrard should play on the right for Liverpool to make up the balance of the midfield with Sissoko and Alonso.
Benitez's decision to play Gerrard on the left at Chelsea was ridiculous.
You go to your biggest title rivals needing a good result and play your best player horribly out of position.
And then to cap it all Gerrard misses a gilt-edged chance at the end of the match. That says it all.
It is time that Benitez started picking a regular starting line-up to get consistent results, otherwise another glorious chance to win the Premiership title will have gone up in smoke.
And it will be the Spaniard's fault.
Interview: JOHN CROSS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
That last line really pissed me off, it will be the Spaniard's fault will it:
Like winning the European Cup, FA CUP, Super Cup, Charity Shield all in two seasons was his fault. Like breaking numerous records, like clean sheets and minutes without conceeding was his fault. Shut up Lawrenson you tit, got a massive chip on his shoulder these days. It looked like he was trying to suck in Alan Hansen in withall his bull**** on MOTD over recent years, but i'm glad he distanced himself from the LFC criticism.
And I'd like to hear all these people that are bitching about squad rotation then... Especially TV pundits. 
Comment