letter stolen but bang on imo
Dear Rafa,
I want to start by stating that regardless of what happens in the future you will be remembered as one of the best managers our club has ever had. A Champions League and FA Cup success, another Champions League final and continued progression in the Premier League, indeed your record in Europe is nothing short of phenomenal, 2 final and 3 semi-finals in 4 season. You have overhauled the squad since your arrival and undoubtedly improved the strength and depth of the playing staff and added genuine world class players to our team like Torres, Mascherano, Reina, Alonso and other very good players such as Skrtel, Agger, Babel and Arbeloa. It is clear that homegrown players such as Gerrard and Carragher have also developed under your management and you appear to have always fully understood the importance of having a Scouse heart to our team and your rapport and relationship with the fans has always been strong. Even at times when signings have not worked out as expected you have shown the necessary ruthless streak to move them on out of the club quickly e.g. Morientes, Bellamy, Gonzalez, Josemi to name just four.
Against all of this I am now slowly coming to the view that your overly cautious approach is holding back the team from showing their full potential and will eventually I fear leave us short in the battle for the title. The game on Saturday is a good example; I fully accept that Stoke away is a tough game and all teams have struggled when visiting the Brittania, indeed Utd only sneaked a 1-0 victory near the end but this was when they had Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo all on the pitch. Your decision to not start with either Keane or Torres was a strange one in my opinion but to only bring Torres on with 30 minutes to go was an even stranger one. Why have Keane on the bench if in a game we want to win and are not doing so he does not get brought on? I fully appreciate RK has not been the success we hoped for but in his defence he has rarely played in "his" position, behind the front man; playing as the furthest forward has never been his game and never will be. We have struggled all season in such games and appear to have still not come up with a solution. We rigidly stick with 4 defenders on the pitch and nearly always 2 holding midfielders, which instantly means we have 6 players on the pitch who are not a genuine goal threat. We rarely play with 2 out and out forwards, rather SG behind Torres/Keane/Kuyt. Whilst this worked well last season with Torres and SG in outstanding form, the injuries to Torres this season should I think have prompted a change in tactics rather than trying to fit players into roles that do not suit them.
Deep down I remain a fan of yours and hope 100% that you can prove me wrong but I just fear the cautious approach in a number of games will come back to haunt us, 1 victory and 1 defeat is better than 2 draws!!
Dear Rafa,
I want to start by stating that regardless of what happens in the future you will be remembered as one of the best managers our club has ever had. A Champions League and FA Cup success, another Champions League final and continued progression in the Premier League, indeed your record in Europe is nothing short of phenomenal, 2 final and 3 semi-finals in 4 season. You have overhauled the squad since your arrival and undoubtedly improved the strength and depth of the playing staff and added genuine world class players to our team like Torres, Mascherano, Reina, Alonso and other very good players such as Skrtel, Agger, Babel and Arbeloa. It is clear that homegrown players such as Gerrard and Carragher have also developed under your management and you appear to have always fully understood the importance of having a Scouse heart to our team and your rapport and relationship with the fans has always been strong. Even at times when signings have not worked out as expected you have shown the necessary ruthless streak to move them on out of the club quickly e.g. Morientes, Bellamy, Gonzalez, Josemi to name just four.
Against all of this I am now slowly coming to the view that your overly cautious approach is holding back the team from showing their full potential and will eventually I fear leave us short in the battle for the title. The game on Saturday is a good example; I fully accept that Stoke away is a tough game and all teams have struggled when visiting the Brittania, indeed Utd only sneaked a 1-0 victory near the end but this was when they had Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo all on the pitch. Your decision to not start with either Keane or Torres was a strange one in my opinion but to only bring Torres on with 30 minutes to go was an even stranger one. Why have Keane on the bench if in a game we want to win and are not doing so he does not get brought on? I fully appreciate RK has not been the success we hoped for but in his defence he has rarely played in "his" position, behind the front man; playing as the furthest forward has never been his game and never will be. We have struggled all season in such games and appear to have still not come up with a solution. We rigidly stick with 4 defenders on the pitch and nearly always 2 holding midfielders, which instantly means we have 6 players on the pitch who are not a genuine goal threat. We rarely play with 2 out and out forwards, rather SG behind Torres/Keane/Kuyt. Whilst this worked well last season with Torres and SG in outstanding form, the injuries to Torres this season should I think have prompted a change in tactics rather than trying to fit players into roles that do not suit them.
Deep down I remain a fan of yours and hope 100% that you can prove me wrong but I just fear the cautious approach in a number of games will come back to haunt us, 1 victory and 1 defeat is better than 2 draws!!
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