Lots of negative stuff about Rafa

[Nicey]

lets see

we've just got the investment we need to buy the players we need

but Rafa didn't buy them all in the transfer window as 11 games in we haven't won the league.

plus he spends 20M on a player that pulls a muscle

then he allows 2 or our most important players to break thier toes.

he's got to go

FFS

you can argue that we are only now in a position to start building to challenge for the PL as we have now only just got the financial backing
so after all these years we panic and sack him after 11 games.

the team still needs strengthening and some deadwood casting out. Just cos we've had the finances for one transfer window doesn't mean we can get all the pieces in that window.

And as for just playing attractive footy - if we're not firing on all cylinders and have our best players available then grinding out results is more than acceptable. IF you just want attacking footy go and look at Newcastle's trophy room.
An away draw to Blackburn who are on form when the top 2 draw is still keeping us in the slip stream.

and all this 11 games in and we're behind blackburn - they are a good team and its where we are come may.

We have to give Rafa atleast 2 years with the backing of the new owners.

Top post, the sensible army is coming out in force

[Pacman]

lets see

we've just got the investment we need to buy the players we need

but Rafa didn't buy them all in the transfer window as 11 games in we haven't won the league.

plus he spends 20M on a player that pulls a muscle

then he allows 2 or our most important players to break thier toes.

he's got to go

FFS

you can argue that we are only now in a position to start building to challenge for the PL as we have now only just got the financial backing
so after all these years we panic and sack him after 11 games.

the team still needs strengthening and some deadwood casting out. Just cos we've had the finances for one transfer window doesn't mean we can get all the pieces in that window.

And as for just playing attractive footy - if we're not firing on all cylinders and have our best players available then grinding out results is more than acceptable. IF you just want attacking footy go and look at Newcastle's trophy room.
An away draw to Blackburn who are on form when the top 2 draw is still keeping us in the slip stream.

and all this 11 games in and we're behind blackburn - they are a good team and its where we are come may.

We have to give Rafa atleast 2 years with the backing of the new owners.

I agree matey, I agree

[captainfog]

I'm really bored with all these moaning about Rafa threads now.

ditto

[RedProf]

We're not winning any trophies this year anyway...so there isn't much to lose.

****in ell lad, I wouldn't want you alongside me in the trenches!

[Howard_lfc]

****in ell lad, I wouldn't want you alongside me in the trenches!

Tis the truth tho' Prof.

[RedProf]

How anyone can say we wont win anything this season is beyond me. Yes, I appreciate most are frustrated to **** with it all, but nobody can tell what is going to happen. Take one game at a time, see where we are come Feb/March before chucking the towel in!

[dww]

How anyone can say we wont win anything this season is beyond me. Yes, I appreciate most are frustrated to **** with it all, but nobody can tell what is going to happen. Take one game at a time, see where we are come Feb/March before chucking the towel in!

[Reece]

How anyone can say we wont win anything this season is beyond me. Yes, I appreciate most are frustrated to **** with it all, but nobody can tell what is going to happen. Take one game at a time, see where we are come Feb/March before chucking the towel in!

Who'd have thought we were gonna win the CL in 2005 the way that season had been going!!

[Jazzmaster]

I agree that it would be ridiculous to consider sacking rafa at this stage of the season. It is not, nor has it ever been, the liverpool way to get rid of a manager prematurely and given that it is only early November, it s far too soon to predict how this season is going to end. However, the very fact that this discussion is taking place shows the precarious nature of rafa current position.
In the general scheme of things, with our injuries and difficult fixtures, to be 3 points behind Manu (if we win the game in hand) would be a pretty good position to be in, objectively speaking.

However, it is clear to most observers that we are in this position more down to the conribution of individual players rather than the team playing well as a whole. Gerrard, benayoun, etc have scored at vital times during matches where we havent played particularly well and this has given us the required points to remain somewhat in contention. Unfortunately, when the goals do not come from these players, rafa benitez' style and tactics come under severe scrutiny. If we're being honest with ourselves, rafas tactics and style of late have been appallingly sub-standard. The second half of saturdays match showed that we were clearly a superior team to Mark Hughes men, but we did not begin to dominate until 20 minutes from the end. This reflects the fact that the managers intial tactics were completely wrong. Starting one striker against Blackburn says it all really, and im certain that rafa is happy with a draw. We, however, are not. With the scum and arse at a stalemate it was the pefect opportunity to gain ground and once again we failed to do so. To start without crouch was bordering on the ridiculous given his promising performance against arsenal. I feel somehat sorry for kuyt as he is not a lone-striker type player. By the time his opportunities came along he was so exhausted that he couldnt take them.

Rafa has always put forth the need for a big squad to cope with injuries suspensions etc. This year we were all told be had the strength in depth to deal with any such crisis. It is now obvious that we do not have this luxury. No cover at centre half and no goal threat from our front men has show us to be weak in key areas and has led directly to us dropping points this year. The blame for this must again lie with the manager.

The dreaded rotation discussion is now under the spotlight more than ever also. With so many injuries the system is badly shown up. If rafa rotates to protect, then why have we so many players out through injury? The fact is, injures will happen no matter what a manager does to protect them. Therefore, the manager should play his strongest available team for each match and rotation should happen only when a player is either tired, injured or suspended. The fact that is worked in spain does not automatically mean that it will work in the premiership. To date we have seen little to prove that it works at all.

Of course the returning injured players will stregthen the team and inspire confidence into their play and perhaps we will still challenge for the title. Unfortunately the word 'perhaps' is not really good enough for us anymore and we should not be in this position.

Therefore, it is clear that we should allow benitez the rest of the season to prove his merit, but failing that he must go.

[Guest]

I'm suffering from Dysthymia because of such threads.

[The Birdman]

I don't think anyone should be happy with how we played on Saturday but the point is that we had more than enough chances late on to win the game and if Kuyt could finish (worthy of another thread in itself that topic) everyone would be saying we ground out a result without playing well which apparently is the mark of Champions.
Rafa explained his seletcions afterwards and they made perfect sense to me, you could visably see Blackburn tire and we should have won end of story. We might not like the style of play away from home but a couple of years ago we couldn't buy a performance away let alone a result.
Just because you can win the league in your 1st season in Championship Manager doesn't mean it actually happens in real life

[redlancer]

I was at Anfield for the 2 visits of Valencia one in europe and one as a friendly.

They were aguably the best 2 performances off an away team at anfield and this was around the time Arsenal we cited as the best attacking team.

then the away match in Valencia - they made us look like amatures 1st 20 minutes.

That's the only difference i see now - we either haven't got the confidence or the players to go all out 1st 20 minutes to win the game.

Rafa had good wingers at Valencia and used them - not exactly out of the 10men behind the ball book?

when things arn't up to speed you can't be gung ho about tactics.

[Guest]

when things arn't up to speed you can't be gung ho about tactics.

[Woobus]

Against Arsenal United had Scholes and Neville out with Carrick just coming back from a long lay off - that's their captain, their best two CM not really contributing.

This season, Man United have missed Rooney for 6 weeks s or so, and Ronaldo was out for a quarter of their games through suspension.

They have also had Carrick out for 2 months, and Hargreaves the same and at the moment Scholes is out for 3 months. That's before we mention sick note Saha.

Finally, their captain has been out for most of the year too.

Every team has injuries coop - in fact much worse than ours.

United has been hit harder this year by injury than us??
So far we have had Carra, Agger, Aurelio, Arbeloa, Pennant, Alonso, Sissoko, Gerrard, Kewell and Torres out injured this year.
How did United play when they had Rooney and Ronaldo out?

[einar]

I agree that it would be ridiculous to consider sacking rafa at this stage of the season. It is not, nor has it ever been, the liverpool way to get rid of a manager prematurely and given that it is only early November, it s far too soon to predict how this season is going to end. 1. However, the very fact that this discussion is taking place shows the precarious nature of rafa current position.
In the general scheme of things, with our injuries and difficult fixtures, to be 3 points behind Manu (if we win the game in hand) would be a pretty good position to be in, objectively speaking.

However, it is clear to most observers that we are in this position more down to the conribution of individual players rather than the team playing well as a whole. Gerrard, benayoun, etc have scored at vital times during matches where we havent played particularly well and this has given us the required points to remain somewhat in contention. Unfortunately, when the goals do not come from these players, rafa benitez' style and tactics come under severe scrutiny. 2. If we're being honest with ourselves, rafas tactics and style of late have been appallingly sub-standard. The second half of saturdays match showed that we were clearly a superior team to Mark Hughes men, but we did not begin to dominate until 20 minutes from the end. This reflects the fact that the managers intial tactics were completely wrong. Starting one striker against Blackburn says it all really, and im certain that rafa is happy with a draw. We, however, are not. With the scum and arse at a stalemate it was the pefect opportunity to gain ground and once again we failed to do so. To start without crouch was bordering on the ridiculous given his promising performance against arsenal. I feel somehat sorry for kuyt as he is not a lone-striker type player. By the time his opportunities came along he was so exhausted that he couldnt take them.

Rafa has always put forth the need for a big squad to cope with injuries suspensions etc. 3. This year we were all told be had the strength in depth to deal with any such crisis. It is now obvious that we do not have this luxury. 4. No cover at centre half 5. and no goal threat from our front men has show us to be weak in key areas and has led directly to us dropping points this year. The blame for this must again lie with the manager.

The dreaded rotation discussion is now under the spotlight more than ever also. With so many injuries the system is badly shown up. 6. If rafa rotates to protect, then why have we so many players out through injury? The fact is, injures will happen no matter what a manager does to protect them. 7. Therefore, the manager should play his strongest available team for each match and rotation should happen only when a player is either tired, injured or suspended. The fact that is worked in spain does not automatically mean that it will work in the premiership. To date we have seen little to prove that it works at all.

Of course the returning injured players will stregthen the team and inspire confidence into their play and perhaps we will still challenge for the title. Unfortunately the word 'perhaps' is not really good enough for us anymore and we should not be in this position.

8. Therefore, it is clear that we should allow benitez the rest of the season to prove his merit, but failing that he must go.

1. I think is shows more how easily people a sucked into the media nonsense.
Rafa is just under pressure from the media and people are buying into that.
He has presented a long term plan to the board and they will judge him on how well that plan is moving along.

2. The man is nothing short of a tactical genius. And almost everyone in the game agrees. Tactics can only do so much when players are not performing to their standards. To say that Rafas tactics where wrong on Saturday is your opinion, but to say that the tactics where wrong in a game where we kept a clean sheet and had plenty of chances to win is rather harsh IMO.

3. Did Rafa tell you this?

4. I would not call Sami Hyypia no cover.

5. He did bring in Torres, and you cant fix it all in one window.

6. If someone told you rotation would take away all injuries they where lying. It should reduce them but that is all. And the broken bones where not the cause of the players playing to much.

7. You speak as if Rafa said to us in the beginning. "I rotate my players so they will never be injured"
There are many reasons to rotate. And always playing your strongest team is not a policy Rafa thinks is the best way to go.
The fact that it worked in Spain is indeed prof that it will work anywhere. Spain is one of the strongest leagues in the world and keeping players fit and fresh is good in any league.
And that Valencia won the Spanish League twice with inferior sides is proof that it does indeed work.

8. What does he have to do to "prove his merit" to you?