Rafa thread - decisions & comments etc

[El Jefecito]

Heskey was playing ****e but houiller always backed him. Fowler had a bad game and he would be out
Houiller didnt like Fowler always being the centre of attention and the local hero type figure.
Houiller came out a few times in public to say something coded about Robbie.

Im not saying this is the same thing, but it has the same feel to it.

Momo?

I can see why you feel that way.

[El Jefecito]

Well if he's fed up with SG then don't start him and certainly don't criticise him in public. It was shocking man management in my view

Don't disagree. I think he's trying really hard to fit the 'free spirit' SG into a 'rigid, authoritarian, team structure'. He seems to be getting frustrated at his inability to do so and SGs ability to adapt.

[AFII]

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.

Rafa hasn't had it that easy the last years. First his father passes away and then he had a bust up with Pako, a very close friend.

I would be surprised if that wouldn't notice in some strange comments.

[CJ]

So, you admit that Rafa doesn't always get it right, yes?

Well, in this instance, I don't think Rafa got it right. The fact that we got a win is great, but I don't think his tactical brilliance was the main contributing factor. Far from it. That's my opinion. Some allow you to express it, others seem to immediately go for the pitchforks and torches and shout you down for not being supportive enough or some ****.

As for your point about confidence, I'm not quite sure I follow, so you can elaborate on that if you wish.

where have i ever said rafa gets it right? erm i dont think i have. now who is making silly assumptions.

if we had been playing at the top of our game there would not be anyone that bothered who was subbed during the game. as when we play full of confidence then we look really good. it looks easy. but when we are a bit lets say rocky then its a big issue that gerrard came off. i think it was a strange decision but on balance it worked. and i have given a reason why i think it worked. and you have not been able to actually comment on it and say why that isnt true

[Fowler_God]

Momo?

I can see why you feel that way.

Yep Momo.
I'm not for one minute saying he should slag Momo of in public, but he should not be doing it to his captain either.

Its come out that alot of players lost some respect for Ged for the way he handled the Fowler affair. Redknapp, Owen, Murphy to mention a few.

Rafa is a calculated man, and he wont have said that comment without thinking of what he is saying. Its a move by Rafa to either send a message to Stevie or maybe to force his hand over something else.

This is just the beginning of this.
Why cant we ever have a easy season??? Pako leaves, Rafa has pop at captain

[Sir Bob]

Agree that Momo should have been the one to make way though, I was as baffled as you when he took SG off, but, sorry, SG was not our best player today, far from it, even if he did make that great run. What else did he do?

As for Rafa's comments, ask yourself, why would Rafa make such comments about SG? If it might seem to me that SG needed to be put in his place, then why so?

If it came down to a spat between Rafa and SG, who would you support?
I know who I would support.

The great run SG made changed the game totally. Not only did we equalise they went down to 10 men. That was down to SG. Until then we were going nowhere, we never looked like scoring and they were comfortable. That run alone made SG our best player today.

As for Rafa's comments maybe he was justified but thats not the point. You don't air your dirty washing in public. no manager in any profession should criticise someone in public.

If Rafa was unhappy with SG, then sub him, bollock in in private and drop him for the next game but don't criticise him in public.

[CJ]

saying he is passionate isnt bollocking him. it was just for this game and at that point we needed something different.

although stevies run was good i am not sure he would have scored.

[disco]

15 pints and a rugby final later and I had a **** that made more sense than this thread

[Shanks]

As for Rafa's comments maybe he was justified.
(HE WAS)

If Rafa was unhappy with SG, then sub him
(HE DID)

What is your point?

[keniget]

if we had been playing at the top of our game there would not be anyone that bothered who was subbed during the game. as when we play full of confidence then we look really good. it looks easy. but when we are a bit lets say rocky then its a big issue that gerrard came off. i think it was a strange decision but on balance it worked. and i have given a reason why i think it worked. and you have not been able to actually comment on it and say why that isnt true

Umm, I don't really see what point you're trying to convey with this confidence thing. It's simply stating the obvious. Of course things are easier when the team is confident. It's like saying, "If we were winning every game 5-0 playing like the Brazil of old, nobody would be complaining... ".

That's all well and good, but we're not playing with confidence and we're not winning every game 5-0. It's Rafa's job to get that confidence back and I don't think subbing off one of your best players and leaving one of your poorer ones on is the way to do that. Not in such a crucial game anyways.

Rafa apparently wanted us to "keep possession" and "play with our heads". Those are two things that Momo Sissoko has never been able to do with any real consistency. So once again I ask you, explain that justification.

[The_weatherman]

Lucas played well, Liverpool certainly didn't play worse when he came on. Gerrard didn't look pissed, we won, Gerrard got subbed. I think it's not a problem, it's OK for Gerrard/the media to see that Liverpool can cope without captain fantastic. I think some are reading too much into this - Gerrard is not unsubbable!

[Sir Bob]

What is your point?

My point was that Rafa shouldn't have openly criticised SG in public.

[CJ]

Umm, I don't really see what point you're trying to convey with this confidence thing. It's simply stating the obvious. Of course things are easier when the team is confident. It's like saying, "If we were winning every game 5-0 playing like the Brazil of old, nobody would be complaining... ".

That's all well and good, but we're not playing with confidence and we're not winning every game 5-0. It's Rafa's job to get that confidence back and I don't think subbing off one of your best players and leaving one of your poorer ones on is the way to do that. Not in such a crucial game anyways.

Rafa apparently wanted us to "keep possession" and "play with our heads". Those are two things that Momo Sissoko has never been able to do with any real consistency. So once again I ask you, explain that justification.

so i will repeat my explanation for you. though you will no doubt once again ignore it. if you take off momo ( i dont know why he was playing to be honest) then you leave on Stevie with Lucas. how much of the ball would lucas get? not as much as gerrards presence almost demands the ball (like henry at arsenal last season) and i am not saying gerrard demands the ball. so if lucas gets less of the ball what really changes. well not alot in the final third of the pitch as gerrard would still be there with lucas operating further back. yes he would do a better job than momo did but doing a better job back there might not have had as much impact as replacing gerrard.

now yes there are maybes but as i am not a fortune teller and cant see in the future i have thought of reasons why.

[keniget]

... and if he felt he simply had to criticise him, he should have come up with something better than that. I mean, honestly...

[CJ]

he didnt criticize him!