Rafa's Last Season?

[-V-]

V, how many games do you think Babel and Lucas will get next season? Might play here or there but they aren't going to perform at a consistently high level to win the Premiership....still learning their stuff to be honest.

I totally disagree with you on that. Last season was their settling and learning season. Babel will be our regular left winger this season and similarly Lucas has came on alot and i expect him to be a regular for us. 60 games to play, he will get plenty of action. I like Lucas more and more everytime i see him, he has really put an emphasis on attack lately

[Leyton388]

If the club get rid of Rafa next season who the **** will they get in to do a better job with 1 hand tied behind their backs. I wonder if the MON brigade will be off again. Ifwe get rid of rafa you can kiss goodbye to torres, gerrard, Mash, and the rest of them. It will be suicide for the owners to bin rafa off when they have debts to pay. We need champions league football to service our debts and no way are they going to get rid of a manager who delivers this.

[Reece]

Babel played the majority of games once we switched to 4-3-3 towards the end of the season didn't he?

[kris90210]

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/...topic=225239.0

A warning. This is a long, but exellent reading about why Rafa must stay for years.

Probably the best post Ive ever read on football

[El Jefecito]

I see the lunatics have taken over the asylum again.

[El Jefecito]

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/...topic=225239.0

A warning. This is a long, but exellent reading about why Rafa must stay for years.

Damn, I'll have to schedule a weeks vacation to read that.

BTW There was an interview with Piet Hamburg (sp?) on the offal a while back where he described a development program for young players. The program was about 4-5 phases the last of which was physical development.

Does anyone remember seeing this, it was the same interview where he mentioned, LFC setting up a school, so that kids could be attached to the club full time. Have a link to it?

[kris90210]

If we don't get a quality winger this summer I'm not even going to bother starting up my Sky Sports subscription again

Pathetic.

[El Jefecito]

V, how many games do you think Babel and Lucas will get next season? Might play here or there but they aren't going to perform at a consistently high level to win the Premiership....still learning their stuff to be honest.

Reina, Degen/Arbeloa, Carra, Agger, Dossena, Kuyt, Mascherano, Gerrard, Barry, Keane, Torres

That's going to be our main 11 probably, and for me the right wing and the left wing will be problems again, just like the past 5 seasons odd

THE WIDTH WILL COME FROM THE WING BACKS!

[El Jefecito]

I totally disagree with you on that. Last season was their settling and learning season. Babel will be our regular left winger this season and similarly Lucas has came on alot and i expect him to be a regular for us. 60 games to play, he will get plenty of action. I like Lucas more and more everytime i see him, he has really put an emphasis on attack lately

Both Lucas and Babel had issues to deal with last season as Rafa decided that their longer term development was more important than getting the best out of them in the short-term.

For example, Lucas has never been a DM, he has always been an attacking CM, yet Rafa realized that to get the best out of him in the long term (especially in the context of 4231), improving his closing-down, tackling, positioning and tracking back by playing him out of position for a year or so would pay dividends in the future.

Of course a lot of the fans saw Lucas playing in this unfamiliar role and assumed that he was just a decentish DM. But as you say -V- Lucas has been told by Rafa that he can play more of his natural (attacking) game and he has looked like an entirely different player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYqKzNlxclw

That is the Lucas we have signed.

Lucas will be undroppable in a year or so and in 5 years or so he will be the heart beat of the team.

[Elvoz]

Probably the best post Ive ever read on football

click on my name and then all posts pal

you,ve lived a sheltered life aye

[lucas]

For the first time in many years i am very very very excited about our first 11!!

We will do very well in the league this season, i am certain of it. Rafa will make us challenge. We have a strong first 11 now and some very exciting prospects coming through the youth ranks now.

..............Reina
Carra Skrtle Agger Dossena
Gerrard Mascher Lucas(ALONSO) Babel
...........Keane Torres

Absolutely fantastic line-up. Can't wait. Agger is back!!! Watch out for Lucas too, he will shine this season. He came on well at the end of last season and he has dominated the pre-season games with little support. Once he is back from the Olympics he will push on and get better and better. Also Alonso now has a point to prove and im confident he will be out to show everyone he's still got it.

Can't ****ing wait. The deadwood is clearing, this is Rafa's team to challenge.

Agree that we have a good first 11. Hopefully Agger can get back to the form he was in the season before last. Don't know about Dossena yet, but Rafa rarely buys a bad defender. Lucas has looked good in pre-season, pity about the ****in' Olympics. Babel has an important season ahead of him. He could have helped himself if he had chosen not to go to the ****in' Olympics. I think Alonso will get back to his best this season. He knows he is close to be shown the door so has got a point to prove. Besides he looked good whenever he played for Spain in Euro 08.

I'm very excited about Torres & Keane. They have the potential to get us 60+ goals this season.

[Sarb]

Right. So if we get Gareth Barry where will Lucas and Babel play. I doubt either of them will get in ahead of Kuyt. Gerrard, Mascherano and Barry will play in the middle. Keane, Kuyt and Torres as a possible front 3.

That's my point. I don't see how Barry fits in our system to be honest. For the life of me I can't see it. And if we go with a midfield three of that there will be a lot of pressure on Gerrard to provide the creativity again

[Sarb]

I totally disagree with you on that. Last season was their settling and learning season. Babel will be our regular left winger this season and similarly Lucas has came on alot and i expect him to be a regular for us. 60 games to play, he will get plenty of action. I like Lucas more and more everytime i see him, he has really put an emphasis on attack lately

If Babel will be a regular, would you say Kuyt will not be a regular then? If we get Barry then it will be Barry, Mascher and Gerrard. Torres, Keane and Babel up front or Kuyt? So where does Lucas fit in then?

Point I'm trying to make is that £18m on Barry is a waste of money as we dont need him

[kris90210]

click on my name and then all posts pal

you,ve lived a sheltered life aye

[-V-]

Kuyt will get more bench time this season now that Keane has arrived. Sarb its all about having a strong squad. Very rarely will you see the same 11 game after game. Its reasonable to expect 2 changes each game if you have a squad which is talented enough to play different systems. We have Versatile players.

Saying that i do not expect us to sign Barry now that it seems Alonso is staying