rafa's wise decisions

[Subby]

6 Getting rid of that little runt Owen

I think Owen was binned due to the influence he was starting to have in the dressing room, ah la houllier era, Benitez didn't like it and got rid of him and possibly danny murphy for the same reason.....just my opinion

[JohnDoe]

Playing Gerrard as a right wing back when Serginho came on for Milan in the CL final and moving Smicer to the center. That was one of the best tactical decisions in the history of the game.

[stevie_gerrard_8]

I think Owen was binned due to the influence he was starting to have in the dressing room, ah la houllier era, Benitez didn't like it and got rid of him and possibly danny murphy for the same reason.....just my opinion

I dont know whether that was the only reason, but I did remember Murphy saying Rafa changed everything and wanted to get rid of all the cliques.

[Yozza]

I think Owen was binned due to the influence he was starting to have in the dressing room, ah la houllier era, Benitez didn't like it and got rid of him and possibly danny murphy for the same reason.....just my opinion

He got rid of Danny Murphy because he was ****.

[Dhav]

I think Owen was binned due to the influence he was starting to have in the dressing room, ah la houllier era, Benitez didn't like it and got rid of him and possibly danny murphy for the same reason.....just my opinion

I dont know whether that was the only reason, but I did remember Murphy saying Rafa changed everything and wanted to get rid of all the cliques.

The Murphy thing is an interesting one. If you read Gerrard's book, one of the few criticisms he has of Rafa is that he got rid of Murphy, saying Murphy is better than a lot of midfield players still at the club. And I specifically remember Rafa's press conference when he joined, he emphasised Liverpool had a core of good English players which he wanted to keep, and he specifically mentioned Murphy (along with the usual suspects of Gerrard, Carra and Owen).

Having said that, Murphy was horribly inconsistent. He was immense in the 2003 season (when everyone else was so poor), yet he could have games where he looked like a Sunday league player. Could hit a 20 yard pass or score a cracking free kick, and equally give the ball away trying to pass the ball 5 yards. I can see why he had no role in a Rafa team. Look at him now, he's hardly prospered at lesser teams in Charlton and Spurs.

[dww]

The Murphy thing is an interesting one. If you read Gerrard's book, one of the few criticisms he has of Rafa is that he got rid of Murphy, saying Murphy is better than a lot of midfield players still at the club. And I specifically remember Rafa's press conference when he joined, he emphasised Liverpool had a core of good English players which he wanted to keep, and he specifically mentioned Murphy (along with the usual suspects of Gerrard, Carra and Owen).

Having said that, Murphy was horribly inconsistent. He was immense in the 2003 season (when everyone else was so poor), yet he could have games where he looked like a Sunday league player. Could hit a 20 yard pass or score a cracking free kick, and equally give the ball away trying to pass the ball 5 yards. I can see why he had no role in a Rafa team. Look at him now, he's hardly prospered at lesser teams in Charlton and Spurs.

He was very good at Charlton. He seemed to have a falling out with Curbs though and the move to Spurs always looked unlikely to pay off.

[Dhav]

He got rid of Danny Murphy because he was ****.

I think we certainly have moved on from those days for sure. If you consider we have Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano and now Leiva, it's certainly a big difference to the likes of Murphy and Diao.

[Yozza]

I think we certainly have moved on from those days for sure. If you consider we have Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano and now Leiva, it's certainly a big difference to the likes of Murphy and Diao.

A more reasoned response - mine has more punch though! (I was on the work phone at the time)

[Dhav]

A more reasoned response - mine has more punch though! (I was on the work phone at the time)

Yeah, Murphy was pants wasn't he?

[BallBoy]

You must've missed Rafa switching Gerrard to right-back to combat the threat of Serginho. A minor masterstroke from Benitez.

Was about to put that, if he'd have messed that one up people really would have said, is he mad?

[bazza76]

2. Finnan would have been a top player anywhere, I never doubted him for a moment. Personally, I don't give Rafa the praise for Finnan being the player that he is. The lad has played in every division in English professional football and worked his way to the top, he knows what it takes.

[paulcooper4]

He got rid of Danny Murphy because he was ****.