Originally Posted by PC Plod View Post
Cannot be arsed structuring an argument, but here are a few points that speak for themselves:
* -GH took us arguably closer than Rafa in the league but never had the Chavski factor to contend with
When Ged took over we were in worse shape than when Rafa took over.
Bull****. In the seasons before Ged took over we finished 3rd in 97/98 (65 points- 13 off 1st) & 4th in 96/97 (68 points). That season we has the same points as the 2nd place Barcodes & were 7 off 1st. 98/99 was his joint management with Evans so I am holding neither manager responsible for that. THe 2 years before Rafa joined we finished 02/03 in 5th with 64 points (29 points off the leaders) and 4th in 03/04 with 60 points (some 30 points off the leaders).
* Rafa has spent £40m net, so £85m is very misleading. In that same time, Scum & the Chavs has spent £20m+ on single players.
Selling plays is part and parcel of football and to put that into the arguement is silly at best. If Rafa sell Gerrard for 35 Million this summer and buys Eto for 40M£ are you going to say he's doing well because he only spent 5m£ last summer? The fact is 3 years on we don't have a quality winger or striker.
I cannot include sales because they are "part and parcel of football" yet you can include purchases because I suppose they are not. Show some consistency you dullard.
Our strikers are not the best in league but this season they have scored the 2nd most league goals of the top 4 & cost significantly less than the Scum or Chavs own. Rafa just could not afford the winger he wanted (Alves). THat sort of player does not come cheap.
* In that time he has takens us from struggling to qualify for the CL in GH's last 2 seasons to qualifying for it comfortably in Rafa's last 2
That wasn't what he was hired for, not by a long shot.
No, he was hired with the long term objective of getting us back to compete for the PL. He is still working on that.
* In the same time he has revolutionised the squad completely & instilled a different playing philosophy.
Yes a negative style which folds away from home quiker than Superman on laundry day.
We were fine last year. This year we missed 2 of our most creative players in Kewell & Lil Luis & the rest of the others have has dreadful form due to 2 really really long seasons & little summer break.
* Records for home wins & clean sheets have been equalled or surpassed.
This is a very positive point but at what cost?? Our away form is brutal at best.
I have agreed with you on this, see below. Please answer my points.
* He has raised the profile of the club so that we are respected and talked about in his homelands & elsewhere in Europe.
* You mention how Chavski were weakened when we played them, but you, like so many others who use the same argument, forget that we were missing Finn, Garcia & Kewell. They are equally as important players for us as the ones Chelsea were missing.
Are really saying, missing Kewell Finnan and Garcia was the same as what Chelsea were missing???
Yes, as I said for us. Man for man there is no contest, but in terms of the realtive importance to the respective squads they are. You will no doubt whine about that no, but then Rafa hasn't had £400m to spend has he? Which is my point really.
* We have every chance of finishing above the Gooners for 2 seasons in a row despite all but throwing the last 2 games. How long is it since that has happened?
Arsenal have been very average for 2 years now. 68 points is a big drop
We bedded in lots of players who unsettled our form at the beginning of the season & all but threw away the last 3 games.
Why have the Gooners been average then? Is it because the league is much much harder to win nowadays? Surely Wenger, who you seem to hold in scuh high esteem should have sorted it out by now being such a great manager and all?
* Fergiscum took 8 years to win Scum the League when it was a lot less competive than it is now. Also, the transition from Scottish football is less significant than that from Spanish.
I could go on.
It is undeniable that our away form needs significant improvement, but it was fine last year & the margin between victory & defeat has often been slight. Given the game-changing players we require I am certain that this- and our record against the other big 3- will improve significantly.
If we win the Champions league for the second time in three seasons, Rafa will go down as one of the great managers of all time in the competition and of LFC's history, there is no other manager in football I would rather have as our coach because I dont believe that any other manager would have achieved the same success as Rafa has had here with the same resources.
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