Rafa Discussion Thread

[Elvoz]

Too right. Yet the muppets on Sky glossed over that in about 30 seconds - claiming "you can't argue with Sir Alex" - before moving on to the extremely tired and irrelevant debate of Gerrard's best position and the failings of Benitez. How they get away with this is a mystery.

Rooney has been continually played out of position for about 18 months now yet the pundits on Sky are still too gutless to challenge it. I find it infuriating.

rooney also hasnt turned out to be the player half these ******s were jizzing over

[blacky]

El Jef, are you putting him on ignore because you can't respond to the fact that 0 shots on target against Villa and some on target yesterday shows a more attacking formation and you don't know what to say?

Bit of a poor response by you there I think. It's a shame as of late you have been coming across as quite an expert in Rafa's tactical decisions.

It was obvious for all to see that Rafa went to Villa park with the main objective of not conceding a goal / losing the game. The secondary objective was nicking a goal. It is a tactic he has employed with success in the past. Before the Villa game I said I would take a draw there if we took 3 points from the mancs. IMO one of United, Chelsea and Arsenal will lose at Villa park this season so in hindsight a draw wasa good result for us.

[dww]

Victory at Anfield was a Benítez wet dream of a win

Beating United was a triumph for Rafa Benítez's in-game brilliance but winning the league will require more stars, and not just in the technical area
Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez directs the play at Anfield. Photograph: Michael Regan/Action Images

From the right angle Liverpool's defeat of Manchester United on Saturday might have the look of a turning point - or at least, a significant moment - for Rafa Benítez's Liverpool in the Premier League. They're joint-top of the table; they've beaten the champions for the first time in eight league games; and they did it, until Steven Gerrard's introduction on 68 minutes, without their two best players. At the final whistle Benítez was briefly beside himself with excitement. It's not hard to see why. In personnel and execution this was a Benítez wet dream of a win.

His team produced a controlled and tactically adept exhibition of what Sir Alex Ferguson called "tackling and harassing". It was a display of selfless verve from a Liverpool starting XI without any real stars, one that brought to mind Benítez's La Liga-winning, no-big-egos Valencia of 2003-4.

Benítez earned his reputation with this kind of greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts team-building. It's a specific talent; and one that remains distinct from other managerial skills such as, say, being able to assemble and get the best out of a squad of genuine superstar players.

It's also an approach that puts unusual focus on the manager. It stokes his self-regard, the sense of his own tactical cleverness, encouraging him to compete from the sidelines for the man-of-the-match champagne. At one point during a break in play at Anfield Benítez spoke urgently for more than a minute on the touchline to new signing Albert Riera.

Riera immediately began to pick the ball up in deeper positions and cause Wes Brown problems. This was real superstar management, the man in the suit practically on the field of play, his players a willing plasticine for his genius.

But does it change anything? Liverpool's problems remain. The club's fans must hope this latest one-off act of managerial wizardry will not be allowed to disguise the fact that the team are over-reliant on two players. They still need an injection of genuine quality in other positions, plus suitable backup for Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

Beating United was a triumph for Benítez's in-game brilliance and the zest of his supporting cast members. Winning the Premier League will require more stars, and not just in the technical area.

[Sarb]

It was obvious for all to see that Rafa went to Villa park with the main objective of not conceding a goal / losing the game. The secondary objective was nicking a goal. It is a tactic he has employed with success in the past. Before the Villa game I said I would take a draw there if we took 3 points from the mancs. IMO one of United, Chelsea and Arsenal will lose at Villa park this season so in hindsight a draw wasa good result for us.

I agree on part of that. I don't know if one of those will lose but we'll wait and see

El Jef said there were no different tactics between the two games and I was pointing out there was

[FatTony]

Victory at Anfield was a Benítez wet dream of a win

will not be allowed to disguise the fact that the team are over-reliant on two players.

Bitter ****.

We destroyed them in the second half with these two on the bench. Man U are over reliant on Ronaldo and the fact that most teams sit too deep against them.

We are more than a two man team. Reina, Carra, Mascher, Babel, Gerrard and Torres are the main men for me. Soon to be added are Keane, Reina (early days yet but he's settled right in) and Dossena. Kuyts dogged determination is also something we'd miss.