Rafa's pre-match criticism of Drogba

[Craig_H]

To be fair to Drogba, which is not something I care to do that regularly, I didn't see much in his play last night that was untoward. Maybe he was just concentrating all his efforts on making Rafa eat his words? Maybe he thought he wouldn't get away with it given that the ref was no mug? Maybe he realised that it just makes him look like a bit of a dick? Who knows?

And for Joe Cole to take the moral high ground in any debate about diving would be like Patrick Kielty berating Vernon Kay for lacking sincerity.

I think to suggest that there wasnt any of that going on in Drogba's mind is ludicrous.

[Pacman]

Why cant you differentiate between disagreeing with some of his decisions, and 'beating' him?

What have i said about money that's a 'dig' at him?

Is he ever wrong about anything, ever?

Some of his decisions?

You disagree with eveything he does.

You never give him and credit when things go well yet you are the first to jump on his back when things don't go well.

[saveferris]

I have to say Drogba is probably more effective when he stays on his feet but don't tell him that

I was a little worried when rafa said it, especially as we dont know what his motives were, but as you say Drogba is far more effective if he stays on his feet but he needs to be in the mood for it, clearly he was yesterday.

[zimbo]

Yep, except the aim wasn't to piss Drogba off - if it was aimed at the referee and officials to make them aware of Drogba's diving and from that perspective worked a treat.

But it'd be naive of him to think that it wouldn't piss Drogba off though. You could see in his post-match interview how much he'd enjoyed sticking it back to Rafa.

[Craig_H]

Some of his decisions?

You disagree with eveything he does.

You never give him and credit when things go well yet you are the first to jump on his back when things don't go well.

That's utter nonsense. You're completely selective to which of my posts to take notice of.

I gave him credit for the 1st leg tactics and performance, and i've given him credit plenty of times. I've given him credit for the majority of his work in the transfer market and i've given him credit for improving the depth of the squad on countless occasions. If you want to base your posts on what i've actually said, we can talk. Otherwise, dont bother. Isnt it lunch time?

[Maxiedge]

I remember when we played Bayern Munich in the 1981 semi final. Attractively permed midfield general Paul Breitner came out after the first leg at Anfield and said that our play lacked intelligence and that they would have a comfortable victory in the second leg.

Paisley stuck the cuttings up on the dressing room wall and said afterwards that there was no need for a team-talk once the players had read what old springy-bonce had been piping out. Cue a memorable 1-1 draw with a heavily depleted team, and Sammy Lee marking bombhead out of the game.

All I'm saying is that anything that can give you even the slightest incentive to raise your game is likely to be seized upon. Whether it has any effect in reality is impossible to judge. But perhaps it's best not to take the chance, for fear it may come back to bite you on the arse.

I think Rafa would have been wiser to stroke Drogba's ego beforehand, saying what a good player he was, with perhaps the slightest hint of the kind of knowing sarcasm he generally excels at. In hindsight, of course. Which is always the most comfortable place to view these things.

Very well said. That's the persona that will win us the league. Leave the personal attacks for Fergiescum.

[Pacman]

That's utter nonsense. You're completely selective to which of my posts to take notice of.

I gave him credit for the 1st leg tactics and performance, and i've given him credit plenty of times. I've given him credit for the majority of his work in the transfer market and i've given him credit for improving the depth of the squad on countless occasions. If you want to base your posts on what i've actually said, we can talk. Otherwise, dont bother. Isnt it lunch time?

Very good Syd.

A personal insult. I called you a name earlier and you dio the same. The difference being I wont go crying to a mod.

I think you should read the posts of several people in other threads. This isn't just me that thinks this it's a whole host of people. As soon as we have a poor result you are on his back straight away. It's getting boring and tiresome.

[Craig_H]

Very good Syd.

A personal insult. I called you a name earlier and you dio the same. The difference being I wont go crying to a mod.

I think you should read the posts of several people in other threads. This isn't just me that thinks this it's a whole host of people. As soon as we have a poor result you are on his back straight away. It's getting boring and tiresome.

Personal insult??? Kinell, it IS lunchtime, how's that a personal insult?

And why are you ignoring the rest of the post?

If i bore you, put me on ignore.

[Pacman]

Personal insult??? Kinell, it IS lunchtime, how's that a personal insult?

And why are you ignoring the rest of the post?

If i bore you, put me on ignore.

Have you ever noticed that it only seems to be YOU that gets into these discussions. You have about 5 or 6 little arguments going on at the minute on this forum why do you think that is?

[wiw]

I remember when we played Bayern Munich in the 1981 semi final. Attractively permed midfield general Paul Breitner came out after the first leg at Anfield and said that our play lacked intelligence and that they would have a comfortable victory in the second leg.

Paisley stuck the cuttings up on the dressing room wall and said afterwards that there was no need for a team-talk once the players had read what old springy-bonce had been piping out. Cue a memorable 1-1 draw with a heavily depleted team, and Sammy Lee marking bombhead out of the game.

All I'm saying is that anything that can give you even the slightest incentive to raise your game is likely to be seized upon. Whether it has any effect in reality is impossible to judge. But perhaps it's best not to take the chance, for fear it may come back to bite you on the arse.

I think Rafa would have been wiser to stroke Drogba's ego beforehand, saying what a good player he was, with perhaps the slightest hint of the kind of knowing sarcasm he generally excels at. In hindsight, of course. Which is always the most comfortable place to view these things.

Agree completely but had the luck not gone against us I really believe we would be going to Moscow now, and i'm sure Rafa felt the same, hence the comments. It stopped him diving, yes, but Rafa was aiming it more towards the ref as others have said

[Craig_H]

Pacman
This message is hidden because Pacman is on your ignore list.

[Johnny]

Have you ever noticed that it only seems to be YOU that gets into these discussions. You have about 5 or 6 little arguments going on at the minute on this forum why do you think that is?

It`s funny cause it`s true.

[zimbo]

Agree completely but had the luck not gone against us I really believe we would be going to Moscow now, and i'm sure Rafa felt the same, hence the comments. It stopped him diving, yes, but Rafa was aiming it more towards the ref as others have said

Ultimately it was a game that could have gone either way, with very little between the two teams. We didn't get many breaks over the two legs, particularly in terms of untimely injuries and borderline decisions going against us.
But given that the teams were so evenly matched, I still don't think it's wise to give arguably their most influential player, their biggest goal threat, a greater incentive than he would already have.

[wiw]

Ultimately it was a game that could have gone either way, with very little between the two teams. We didn't get many breaks over the two legs, particularly in terms of untimely injuries and borderline decisions going against us.
But given that the teams were so evenly matched, I still don't think it's wise to give arguably their most influential player, their biggest goal threat, a greater incentive than he would already have.

Agree One of those things really, Rafa's confidence wasn't misplaced imo. Bring on next season

[Nic83]

Of course it had an affect. You don't need a degree in psychology to work that one out. Put yourself in Drogba's situation. it made him more determined than ever and someone in that mindset of course has a better chance of doing better things, which is what happened.