Blackburn Away. Post Match Thread

[dww]

The problem is by the time we get to the second half of the season, with this different side, we could actually find ourselves off the pace for fourth. We don't seem to be getting a run of fixtures that, with our low confidence, we can look at and think, 'here's a few games where we could string a few results together raising confidence'. I mean we have the Arse next in the league game and do you think, looking at both teams form, we will beat them with a clean sheet and thus continue this dull period before the better form? I pessimistically don't, I'm sorry to say. I see another stutter (score-draw or loss) resulting in confidence remaining the same or worse than that another dip where we have to start again.

I agree with your second para about Rafa leaving players out for this reason or that completely. I just can't see him doing it. I think it's more likely down to his stubbornness in that he believes it will come good sooner or later.

I don't see that happening - no teams are far away from us now and we have been awful. Spurs have been at their maximum and I genuinely don't think City have much more to offer. I guess it is a dangerous position to be in but I am willing to bet the league table will look very different even in mid-January. Obviously we will just have to wait and see but I'm still very confident of achieving CL qualification at the least.

I'm not sure that the big games like that against Arsenal should be put in the category that we have to get a clean sheet in the same way as games against inferior opposition. We need points for confidence in those games. I'll take them however they come. We have done well in the big games (at least comparative to our general form in the case of the Chelsea game, all respects against United and defensively against Everton).

[Exiled_red]

The problem is by the time we get to the second half of the season, with this different side, we could actually find ourselves off the pace for fourth. We don't seem to be getting a run of fixtures that, with our low confidence, we can look at and think, 'here's a few games where we could string a few results together raising confidence'. I mean we have the Arse next in the league game and do you think, looking at both teams form, we will beat them with a clean sheet and thus continue this dull period before the better form? I pessimistically don't, I'm sorry to say. I see another stutter (score-draw or loss) resulting in confidence remaining the same or worse than that another dip where we have to start again.

I agree with your second para about Rafa leaving players out for this reason or that completely. I just can't see him doing it. I think it's more likely down to his stubbornness in that he believes it will come good sooner or later.

There's a gamble in it either way: you either gamble that playing them in the short term that having a 70% fit Torres will pick you up some points now, but risk him being out for longer, or you gamble that the longer rest will allow him to regain 100% fitness and will be rewarded later in the season

[Darkon]

Just out of interest, how many games has Torres played for us and how many could he have played for us without his injuries?

He has played 10 games for us this season (in the league btw.), so that would be 5 missed. Out of the 10 games he has played I am almost certain a couple of them have been with minor injuries.

[SimonNo7]

He has played 10 games for us this season (in the league btw.), so that would be 5 missed. Out of the 10 games he has played I am almost certain a couple of them have been with minor injuries.

Cheers Darkon but what I was really after was in his whole Liverpool career. I didn't word my question quite correctly did I

[FatTony]

taakes a truly strong manager to do that.

Hmm, what type of manager takes a player to a match and sits him on the bench when he has no intention of playing him? At the end of the day that was a spectacular waste of resource.

If he wasn't going to play Aquilani (as he's obviously made of balsa wood), then at least have one of the youth sat on the bench for a bit of experience. This decision puzzles me more than the 30 second run out he had the other week, Eriksson and Walcott anyone?

[Bender]

According to Wiki:
Total Apps 96 Goals 60

[Exiled_red]

According to Wiki:
Total Apps 96 Goals 60

League Record is
67 games 48 goals

[FatTony]

The title may well be won with 80 ish points (maybe even late seventies).

See, I don't believe this in the slightest. The only person claiming this was Rafa when we lost a few games very early on, and then our supporters started to follow suit as we looked for excuses.

Chelsea and Man Utd are still on target for 90 points this season.

[SimonNo7]

According to Wiki:
Total Apps 96 Goals 60

Cheers

[SimonNo7]

Spurs 1 up against blue****e, set to move 5 points clear of us. Thankfully Fulhum beat Sunderland to keep them 4 points behind us.

[SimonNo7]

League Record is
67 games 48 goals

So if he hadn't been injured he could of played 91 games and therefore has missed over a quarter of league games he could of played. This stat alone should of told Rafa that we needed quality cover for him rather than Ngog (doing quite well this season) and the truly awful Voronin.

[SimonNo7]

Spurs now 2 up and definitely going 5 points clear of us!

[Exiled_red]

So if he hadn't been injured he could of played 91 games and therefore has missed over a quarter of league games he could of played. This stat alone should of told Rafa that we needed quality cover for him rather than Ngog (doing quite well this season) and the truly awful Voronin.

The question would be where would the money have come from? We've also supposedly had Babel and Kuyt who would have been considered options at the start of the season.

[SimonNo7]

The question would be where would the money have come from? We've also supposedly had Babel and Kuyt who would have been considered options at the start of the season.

That is true but we know, as there have been plenty of opportunities, that Rafa doesn't seem to see Babel as a first team player let alone a replacement for Torres and that Kuyt is a RM who job it is, is to run up and down a football pitch rather a lot.

God I'm starting think my posts are very anti-Rafa but yet I don't think he should be replaced, come to think of it I actually don't know what I think about our situation at all at this moment in time.

[GraciousGooner]

Rafa will never lead us to a premiership title

I think he proved last season that he can.

You'd have certain scientists turning in their graves with that 'proof'. Did Villa proove it as well?