Sack Him..... or don't

[Joe Le Toff]

to be fair mate, voronins transfer was agreed before we got invested in. He never had a ****in bean at the time and a seasoned international whoi is not that old on a free transfer was a gamble anyone in his boat would have at least seriously thought about.

we have lost **** all on him and early on it looked like he might turn out to be a decent player for us before the wheels fell off.

Spot on assessment there mate

[StevieG08]

The gob****es on the pitch who havent got the balls to impose themselves on a game?

Our squad has the ability to match anybody in our league. What they havent proved is that they have the mental ability to sustain form week in/week out or win games even when playing ****e.

**** knows whats going on at the top with owners etc but one things for sure, IF rafa is still here in the summer there will be some high profile casualties from our squad. Rafa has proved time and again he is ruthless with players and sentiment doesnt come into it with him.

If they carry on letting him, themselves, us and the club down they WILL get ****ed off in the summer so its up to them to pull their pampered ****in fingers out and start playing like men

Fair play again, players should play for the shirt, i just think the changing of formations and the selection of players who aren't good enough or in form has hurt us this season. We look like a team of strangers at times and the 4-3-3 formation against Reading was the game that made me 'blow a gasket' big time.

Obviously we all call things differantly but for me Rafa has over tinkered this season and it could be down to the fact our squad is now too big or the fact that Pako left. Whatever it is he needs to find a remedy and quickly, you know that i was a big supporter of Rafa but if things don't improve in the league then he will lose his job, this isn't a call for his sacking just a bit of realism on my part. Rafa is a man of great honour and i would love him to lead us to glory but it's getting hard to believe he will when i see the same tinkering with formations week in week out.

[Joe Le Toff]

There`s your problem right there.i`ve watched every game this season and seen these players perform fantastically.Then they come out next game and play worse than Luton.I can`t blame Rafa on player dips in form.
It`s been mentioned that Gerrard is not playing well.So many times yesterday he looked below par.The whole team did.Rafa was doing his nut.The team are to blame when they play like they did yesterday.They need to up their committment and workrate and play their hearts out.

My only critism of Rafa is his persistance with Kuyt(Out of position) and Voronin(Not good enough for LFC) while continually ignoring Crouch.

You're correct, basically consistency has been a major factor for us, some games this season i think some of our play has been fantastic, then the next game we cant keep the ball for 5 seconds or pass 5 yards.

[alunevans]

all i can say is half our squad must be world class in training everday! because there is "no way " rafa benitez would put them on the field, if he thought they werent good enough! i think we should leave the gaffer alone, and start booing players who are playing crap.and heres my list arbeloa,riise,voronin,kuyt,kewell. let them know how we feel,and dont say "oh we dont boo our players" because thats what they need !im sure people have thier own idea,s as to who else should be on this list !and like everything else on here, this is "my opinion" and as a fanatical liverpool fan for the last 25 years i think im entitled to "my opinion".rafa is a great manager and hes the way forward.but he can only do so much. dont let our great club stoop to the level of newcastle,man city,and all them other crappy clubs who change their managers at a drop of a hat! rafa is the man,he,ll get us there.ynwa.

Firstly, I'd never boo a player like Kuyt who works his bollocks off every game. He's a hard working, commited lad. His problem is that he's nowhere near good enough in my view. Why should I boo him for that when he works hard on the pitch.

Secondly, if I did however follow your advice I'd end up booing the same players each game, and how long would it take me to ask "why the **** does the manager keep picking them?" In fact, I'm asking it now, and it's part of the reason Rafa is getting some criticism.

[alunevans]

Booing is not the solution mate.

[tomasjj]

You make some very valid points and as a Rafa supporter the money aspect has to be taken into account.

However, we are still under performing. look at the cash we've spent in say the last 3 years compared to Pompey,EFC,Villa, Man C yet they are all on our tail. I've not got a problem with us trailing Man U & Chelsea and even Arsenal because of Wenger's brilliance but being on a par with the other clubs I've mentioned after 21 games is simply not good enough.

Rafa must improve us with the current squad as the season progresses. Failure to land a top 4 place would be unacceptable, as would even a close fight for 4th. I believe we are clearly the 4th best team but we should be atleast as far ahead of EFC, Villa etc as we are behind Utd, otherwise Rafa's position would in serious doubt and rightly so.

Those teams you mention don't have to compete in the CL and the league. So I reckon we need more hands on the deck than them to be able to compete in both these competitions - hence spending more on squadies.

There is immense pressure on Rafa currently, and not just in terms of what is happening on the pitch. I do believe this is affecting our performances, and several of the players are off form at the same time, perhaps partially because of all this crap about Rafa's position.
I do think the management of LFC could have done a lot better to lift some of this pressure on our manager AND team, as it is affecting our performances on the pitch. Yes, the players should be professional and not let this affect them, but they are human, so it is natural.

Like Red Al said a week or so ago, it is time to circle the wagons and fight, cause we are still in 3 competitions and this season has games left.

[Red_hot]

Firstly, I'd never boo a player like Kuyt who works his bollocks off every game. He's a hard working, commited lad. His problem is that he's nowhere near good enough in my view. Why should I boo him for that when he works hard on the pitch.

Secondly, if I did however follow your advice I'd end up booing the same players each game, and how long would it take me to ask "why the **** does the manager keep picking them?" In fact, I'm asking it now, and it's part of the reason Rafa is getting some criticism.

Spot on.

[tomasjj]

I dont know what happens behind the scenes mate so I dont know what crouchys attitude is like in training.

He should be getting a few more games than he has been imo, i`ll agree with you there. BUT generally, when he has played he has been utter **** so he hasnt done himself no favours mate.

Strolling through pre-season games making it clear with his body language didnt exactly endear himself to the manager, me neither. Nor has his refusal to sign a new contract

Yep.
That is the crux of it, mate.

I want us to have an able partner to Torres, but right now, none of the 3 alternatives we got are covering themselves in glory...

[alunevans]

i think, dan that the majority of fans will be patient,providing that he has the backing of the owners.
that for me is where the trust is falling down.back him or sack him ,as somebody said.
we're moving in the right direction,just not as quickly as some people want.

to be honest, it's not about the owners for me. the thing that is rattling my faith in him is that it's rare that i don't groan at a teamsheet. it's rare that i don't get baffled by a substitution. it's the infuriation of being set out tactically the way we were at home to wigan. it's the cautiousness and negativity of his mindset. it's the (in my view) pointless tinkering.

so for me, it's not the lack of backing from the owners that is the problem in terms of my faith in benitez. it's rafa himself who is undermining my faith in him.

in many ways, if i had faith in the owners then i'd be comfortable with rafa moving on. the thing that makes me want him to stay are the circumstances of a boardroom who want him out for non footballing reasons (ie over an argument where i thought rafa's case was spot on) and who would have no clue who to pick as a successor.

in an odd way, it's probably the lack of trust in the owners that is keeping some of us on board the benitez bandwagon.

[The Glove]

I think Im glad I didnt see any of our perfomrmance until goals on sunday because we seemed to look half decent on the highlights they showed.

Idve been surprised if we actually won yesterday. Middlesborough are that ****e they only ever beat the top teams. Us, Arsenal, Chelsea and United always bumble along at their place yet teams like Fulham can rock up and win about 4-0. Bizarre.

Anyway if we dont beat Luton, who've got haf a team, then everyone who works at the club needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Even I will stand infront of the mirror and try to look myself in the eye.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

****in hell, is this thread still going.

[paulcooper4]

****in hell, is this thread still going.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

Hehhe ya *******, at least I got the thread title changed.

[redblood]

Welcome back Gérard, we've been expecting you.

The interview I saw with him he said we played better in the 2nd half which was true I don't expect him to come out and say we were ****e in the first but he was specific in talking about the 2nd half perfomance.

[red g]

I think Im glad I didnt see any of our perfomrmance until goals on sunday because we seemed to look half decent on the highlights they showed.

Idve been surprised if we actually won yesterday. Middlesborough are that ****e they only ever beat the top teams. Us, Arsenal, Chelsea and United always bumble along at their place yet teams like Fulham can rock up and win about 4-0. Bizarre.

Anyway if we dont beat Luton, who've got haf a team, then everyone who works at the club needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Even I will stand infront of the mirror and try to look myself in the japs eye.