Rafa thread - decisions & comments etc

[keniget]

i am not making silly assumptions

lucas came on. it was 1-1. lucas had a shot and it was stopped by a hand on the line otherwise a definate goal. then we scored from the penalty and we won 2-1

it looks like it worked to me.

Firstly, yes you were making silly assumptions because otherwise your "why are you so annoyed" question makes no sense.

Secondly, people keep going back to the impact Lucas had on the game. Why? I'm not disputing the fact that he should have been brought on. I just thik the wrong man went off.

[El Jefecito]

Meh.

Everton were down to 10 men and it was inevitable that as they tired, we'd gain more of a stranglehold on the game.

I was very happy to see Lucas come on. I just think it should've been for Momo and not Gerrard.

I agree, but I think that decision was about Rafa sending a message to SG about who was boss. SG didn't stay on the right or the left. Rafa was telling hime he should play where Rafa told him too, not in the middle.

In the longer term, it may not have been a bad call.

[tomasjj]

Meh.

Everton were down to 10 men and it was inevitable that as they tired, we'd gain more of a stranglehold on the game.

I was very happy to see Lucas come on. I just think it should've been for Momo and not Gerrard.

Luckily, it doesn't matter now.

[CJ]

Firstly, yes you were making silly assumptions because otherwise your "why are you so annoyed" question makes no sense.

Secondly, people keep going back to the impact Lucas had on the game. Why? I'm not disputing the fact that he should have been brought on. I just thik the wrong man went off.

please read my post number 59

[keniget]

maybe if sissoko had gone off lucas wouldnt have got much of the ball due to the fact that gerrard almost demands the ball by his stature within the team. (a bit like Henry at Arsenal last season)

so by keeping gerrard on the substitution might not have had as much impact? why sissoko was playing is another question though.

Well, it's all down to maybes now, isn't it?

All we can say is that at the time, Momo was having a shocker of a game (again), whilst Gerrard was starting to influence proceedings a bit more.

Rafa suggested that we needed to to play with our heads more and keep possession. Well... that makes no sense given that he kept Momo on the pitch. No one has yet to provide an answer for that and until they do, I'll hold back on the whole "RAFA IS A GENIUS!!! LFC FOREVER!!!" posts.

[Fowler_God]

BTW before people come on telling me to **** off coz we won the game etc etc, i'm not having a go at Rafa for taking Stevie off. Team comes first and if thats what Rafa thought was the right move then so be it.
I'm more worried by the seemingly lack of any kind of relationship between the Manager and Captain of LFC.
Under no circumstances would Rafa have come out and said, "momo was crap today, he couldnt pass it 2 yards and dont even get me started on his shooting" ............ if he was asked he would have said "Momo did well today. He worked hard and had a good mentality"

Something is brewing and i think it began when Stevie played for England last month

[keniget]

Luckily, it doesn't matter now.

True.

I think people get a little touchy at times, especially after a win, when people question things, but I don't see why.

We lucked out today and in a way, it made victory all the more enjoyable given the opposition.

In isolation, it wouldn't be a big deal given that it was a derby and all that, but the fact of the matter is, we've been playing poorly for a while now and we keep looking for a turning point.

[El Jefecito]

That's bollox and you know it is..

Rafa gives a brief in the dressing room and Gerrard says **** it...

"Tell you what Rafa kidda, I'll play over on dat der right wing Derr Laaa Cozz I can doo that Lescott Knobhead and knock sum crazy crosses in der laa.


Whatever. :whatever:


The lad has to play whwere he is told and if he isn't happy, then tough.

We all know what happens when players take over the dressing room...

SG revealed the directions Rafa gave him. He said he was allowed to drift inside AS LONG AS he did the defensive work.

Given how he hung Finnan out to dry today, I don't think that you can say he lived up to those objectives.

Not as black and white as you would like, but no-one with half a mind would think that Rafa would ask SG to leave Finnan as exposed as he was.

[CJ]

everything we post is a maybe. mainly due to the fact that none of us can compare in terms of knowledge of the game to top managers. they way they read and spot things never ceases to amaze me. it is so much more thourough than we tend to see it.

if i cant deal in maybes then i will deal in the one fact that you dont like.

steve went off and we won. it matters not who was on or off the pitch as we won and gained the three points away in a tough derby

[rage]

sissoko was the worst performing midfielder out there. clear for everyone to see.rafa was talking about playing with the brain and not heart.how he rate sissoko's performance better that gerrards is absolutely bewildering.in the end it was more of clattenberg's decision or rather indecisions that won us the tie. rafa just got lucky

couldn't have said it better myself.

[Shanks]

rafa did get lucky.

I hate the way people say that.

What about a tactical decision FFS.


Gerrard is a good player but at the moment isn't playing on form
(Agree with KDDDD)

[Sir Bob]

The decision to take SG off was quite simply ridiculous. He was our best player today and changed the game with his lung bursting runfor our equaliser. On top of this we were playing against 10 men with 2 defensive midfielders in a game we had to win.
momo was hapless today and should have made way for Lucas.

To top the lot, Rafa then made a quite disgraceful after match comment about SG. To say SG was playing with his heart & not his head is a joke. Even if it were true that sort of criticism should be made in the dressing room not on national TV. Rafa's starting to feel the pressure in my view.

[keniget]

Like I said, in isolation, that decision, that game, that performance - they'd all be fine. However, there have been too many iffy selections, dodgy subs, awful performances of late to simply brush things under the carpet.

If the win today is enough for you, then fine. Maybe you can make yourself a DVD of the game.

[tomasjj]

It didn't take Everton 5 minutes to sort themselves - it took at least 15.

[El Jefecito]

Like I said, in isolation, that decision, that game, that performance - they'd all be fine. However, there have been too many iffy selections, dodgy subs, awful performances of late to simply brush things under the carpet.

If the win today is enough for you, then fine. Maybe you can make yourself a DVD of the game.

Surely, most of that is down to missing Alonso, Agger and Torres though?