Rafa Benitez appreciation

[zimbo]

Getting back to the point, why does Rafa wear socks that my 7 year old son would be embarrassed to be seen in?
Get him out, etc.

Am I the only one who noticed Rafa's socks on this pic??
:

Apparently not.

[Lecter]

Give a little Take a little.
Seriously lads i'm tired of this bickaring(sp), i get enough at home.

That does surprise me :whatever::whatever:

[Lecter]

Brums midfield and defense were just of a better standard. Derby tried to make it narrow but had no luck and little talent.

I noticed you neglected to mention whether you buy into the Pigs in Space explanation from Rafa regarding Torres.

Would I have picked Torres against Birmingham?

Probably

Would playing Torres have made that much of a difference to the result?

Not convinced

Funnily enough I think we missed Alonso more than anyone against Birmingham because wide play was the key to beating them and we could switch the play quickly enough

Tactically I think Rafa got it more wrong against Portsmouth but not specifically for leaving out Torres. With Distin & Campbell at the back I could probably have understood leaving out Torres, but playing Crouch without playing Gerrard is just wrong imo. Crouch needs midfield runners and there wasnt any that day

Torres was superb at Reading but I think you have to look sensibly and say that wasnt Readings first choice back four, they didnt sit deep with 2 banks of 4 and defend very narrow.

If Torres is left out for ANY games that we dont end up winning its going to create the usual plethora of catcalls for Benitez's head. If he doesnt play and we win it will be just brushed over by many on here

Personally I would play Torres at Wigan (and probably for most away games) because I do agree with Rafa that there is in general more space to be exploited in those games

Our home form for the last few seasons has been good, its improvement on our travels that will determine our title challenge or not

[Guest]

Our home form for the last few seasons has been good, its improvement on our travels that will determine our title challenge or not

It's clear we've made massive strides in the right direction in our away form this season. It's playing against packed defences at Anfield which is crucial, IMO and we've not done brilliantly at home apart the demolition of Derby, which was a one off I think.

I feel that Rafa's decided to be more attacking away from home, cue the improvement but hopefully these improvements won't be overshadowed by failing to score against defensive teams. Brum was a stark warning in that sense.

[Lecter]

It's clear we've made massive strides in the right direction in our away form this season. It's playing against packed defences at Anfield which is crucial, IMO and we've not done brilliantly at home apart the demolition of Derby, which was a one off I think.

I feel that Rafa's decided to be more attacking away from home, cue the improvement but hopefully these improvements won't be overshadowed by failing to score against defensive teams. Brum was a stark warning in that sense.

Look at our record over the last few years

Home form isnt a worry

Our away form has been ****

We've had to cope with packed defences in previous seasons and done the business (without Torres) , no reason why we shouldnt continue in that vein for the vast bulk of our home games this season

Birmingham might have just been one of those games

[Guest]

Look at our record over the last few years

Home form isnt a worry

Our away form has been ****

We've had to cope with packed defences in previous seasons and done the business (without Torres) , no reason why we shouldnt continue in that vein for the vast bulk of our home games this season

Birmingham might have just been one of those games

I was meaning that hopefully we continue to show this form this season and not lose our edge by adopting a different style of football away from home.

I'm worried because I remember the Ged days, where we were tipped to kick on and started to adopt a more attacking style. We started brilliantly (were first after 7 matches) and suddenly lost the plot completely.

My point is that sometimes we lose other parts of our game by trying to eradicate what was our Achilles heel.

[sid]

That does surprise me :whatever::whatever:

Been done already mate and we all laughed.

[AFII]

Garcia was the main reason to why could break down a packed defense because he had the skill to do it. Benayoun isn't as good as him and that leaves Torres to break down the defense.

[Lecter]

Garcia was the main reason to why could break down a packed defense because he had the skill to do it. Benayoun isn't as good as him and that leaves Torres to break down the defense.

Didnt see Garcia play much last season

[Guest]

Garcia was the main reason to why could break down a packed defense because he had the skill to do it. Benayoun isn't as good as him and that leaves Torres to break down the defense.

Benayoun keeps the ball better than Luis and he sure can spot a killer ball, like Garcia did. He just needs to gain more confidence playing in a bigger club with bigger standards than he's used to. Yossi is a cracking player and time will tell. Rafa could have certainly gone for a more flashy player and the fact he didn't shows the faith he has in him.

He had him watched for ages so he's done his homework.

[AFII]

Benayoun keeps the ball better than Luis and he sure can spot a killer ball, like Garcia did. He just needs to gain more confidence playing in a bigger club with bigger standards than he's used to. Yossi is a cracking player and time will tell. Rafa could have certainly gone for a more flashy player and the fact he didn't shows the faith he has in him.

He had him watched for ages so he's done his homework.

I believe that he will get better and better and that he should start more often because we need his creativity on the pitch. I still think that Garcia is a more complete player than him but we will have to wait and see.

[Lecter]

I believe that he will get better and better and that he should start more often because we need his creativity on the pitch. I still think that Garcia is a more complete player than him but we will have to wait and see.

Garcia was the one player capable of producing something out of nothing

However he was injured for much of last season yet we still broke down some of the more stubborn defences

[CAD]

Would I have picked Torres against Birmingham?

Probably

Would playing Torres have made that much of a difference to the result?

Not convinced

Funnily enough I think we missed Alonso more than anyone against Birmingham because wide play was the key to beating them and we could switch the play quickly enough

Tactically I think Rafa got it more wrong against Portsmouth but not specifically for leaving out Torres. With Distin & Campbell at the back I could probably have understood leaving out Torres, but playing Crouch without playing Gerrard is just wrong imo. Crouch needs midfield runners and there wasnt any that day

Torres was superb at Reading but I think you have to look sensibly and say that wasnt Readings first choice back four, they didnt sit deep with 2 banks of 4 and defend very narrow.

If Torres is left out for ANY games that we dont end up winning its going to create the usual plethora of catcalls for Benitez's head. If he doesnt play and we win it will be just brushed over by many on here

Personally I would play Torres at Wigan (and probably for most away games) because I do agree with Rafa that there is in general more space to be exploited in those games

Our home form for the last few seasons has been good, its improvement on our travels that will determine our title challenge or not

"Our home form for the last few seasons has been good, its improvement on our travels that will determine our title challenge or not"

Absolutely agree with that. It's crucial. Goes without saying.

I believe that Rafa's unwillingness to play a more aggressive style away, results in too many losses and draws in the PL. Teams which Fergie (and Wenger) goes out to dominate away, we will try to hit on the brake.

On the upside a display like Scums in Milano will not be on the agenda with Rafa. It was naive and shows you just how fundamentally different the football philosophy is between Fergie and Rafa. Not that Rafa is that much of a better tactician than Fergie. Look at Istanbul. He is just way more cautious in his approach to the game. He would never field a 4-5-1 against Milan with Ronaldo and Giggs playing so wide and far up pitch that it was in effect a 4-3-2-1. Not away. Last time he played with two holding midfielders!

With the rotation without a spine and the overcautious approach to away-matches I seriously doubt that we will improve in the PL.

Did we miss Alonso? I think we missed the ability to change our format more than anything else. The Brum 4-5-1 with a compact three man midfield and two ultra defensive wingbacks could have been negotiated more cleverly. I think we need to be able to brake away from a 4-4-2 format at home.

[Skillz]

Dude, its not about accepting opinions, its about the way those opinions get expressed. And it isn;t about cliques either. Spend any time on any website and there are groups of regular posters you could describe like that... and go on any of the other major inde lfc websites and post that one of our players is a "tool" in a match thread, or anywhere, and see what the reaction from some of those regulars is. And it certainly isn't about KT, I'm one of the people you're probably referring to, and if you are, that's really really funny.

For some reason this season, there seems to have been a steady stream of new posters, who rather than explaining their slightly negative opinions, just post in a way that is very incendary and winds others up no end. And it make sthe whole forum generally unpleasant. If you read a lot of threads here, there are plenty of people who consistently post in the more critical vein, but their posts don't illicit bad responses because of the tone and reasoning they deliver it with.

Ultimately, this is a website for liverpool fans, and fans with the reputation fo being the most knowledgable and dedicated in the world, who support their team through thick and thin. Of course we criticise, but we always show respect for anyone who gives their all in a red shirt, and the club. That's what's supposed to make us the real "special ones."

Thats a great post. It has been needed for a while now IMO and should be posted on all LFC forums as well for me. This season has been almost surreal for me. Expectations have really gone through the roof and a draw is now a loss.

At the end of the day this is good because it is obvious improvements to our squad that has raised our beliefs but for some reason PERSPECTIVE went out the window for a lot of our fans in July. Sorry if thats a bit blunt but it has been a little OTT at times, even if it is a minority.

[Skillz]

Funnily enough I think we missed Alonso more than anyone

For me that is the most obvious lesson since the international break. Alonso is very important to us and does make us tick. I hope most (if not all) fans realise this.