Rafa - No Way Back?

[Tee]

Rafa will be back.

[Dalglish]

This. So very much this.

Indeed

[red g]

love the bloke.

not his football although we did have many highspots during his tenure.

[Mattshark]

I cant see a way back anytime soon, but not for the reasons you point to.

I did, at one point, think he may have lost the dressing room, but as i mentioned last night, the same lack of motivation and drive exists now - so unless Roy too has lost the dressing room 2 months in, i dont think it's that.

As i said yesterday, i think it's the boardroom ****e which has transmitted itself down into the players, in the form of no morale, no positivity and no enjoyment anymore.

If we got new owners who know what's required and how to back a manager properly, i would love to see Rafa back and i think it could happen - but it possibly wouldnt be for at least 2 or 3 (or more years). Aside from the huge obstacle we have in trying to find good owners, Internazionale arent likely to just happily rip up his contract at the whim of LFC.

[Dalglish]

love the bloke.

not his football although we did have many highspots during his tenure.

Rafa got us to be the number 1 ranked side in Europe FFS! Real, Chelsea, Inter, Milan, Barca - all *hated* getting drawn against us.

Compare that to now.....

[Fredo]

Of course he was at least partly to blame.

Being partly to blame and being made a scapegoat (and sacked) for all the ills of the club is something else though, don't you think? It would have been vindicated if we'd took off and improved from there on.

[Icon]

My mates, brother in-laws, cousin that works as a cook at Melwood said Rafa was there today...

[Historyrepeatsitself]

Rafa got us to be the number 1 ranked side in Europe FFS! Real, Chelsea, Inter, Milan, Barca - all *hated* getting drawn against us.

Compare that to now.....

This

[dom9]

Being partly to blame and being made a scapegoat (and sacked) for all the ills of the club is something else though, don't you think? It would have been vindicated if we'd took off and improved from there on.

I'm not disputing that.

I am disputing your original statement:

I'm convinced it's got nothing to do with the manager.

[Craig_H]

My mates, brother in-laws, cousin that works as a cook at Melwood said Rafa was there today...

Dont mess with our heads like that.

[Ben_Itez]

My mates, brother in-laws, cousin that works as a cook at Melwood said Rafa was there today...

[Fredo]

I'm not disputing that.

I am disputing your original statement:

My statement has to be taken in context.

How could you 'partly blame' a manager? Either he is responsible for everything which is the main cause for our slump or he's not. But 'partly to blame'? How?

As someone else has said, we were the best team in Europe for 3 years and even at our worst last season, we were a whisker away from getting into another final. Why would you nit pick flaws in a managers' job when on the whole he was seen to be doing an excellent job?

We know nothing about the fact that he's lost the dressing room or other 'rumours' we've heard last season and players coming out this season telling us that the atmosphere is more positive doesn't show anything either. This all smacks of a PR exercise.

No manager is flawless. His job must be analysed as a whole over his whole tenure.

[fred_plasticine]

there shouldn't be a way back for rafa.
i agree that he was handicapped by the lack of trunsfer funds.
but his judgement in transfers was at least dubious. too many mistakes, especially for a club with little to spend anyway.
what's worse, he failed to get the best out of what he had at his disposal.

all that i could excuse. and yes, i also believe that the 'what if had money to spend on top drawer players' is a legitimate question.

but over the six years the former dignified man turned into moaner full of cheap excuses.
in my eyes his antics and his very public washing of dirty linen helped to deepen the negativity that surrounds us.
and it filtered down to the players and affected them. and he let it happen. on purpose or not, i don't know.
he was very much part of the problem. and has a bit of a track record of walking away when things don't go his way.

i understand that he's held in high regard given his euro heroics and the fa cup.
but for every right there were wrongs. for every high there were bitter lows. let's not forget that.
houllier was fantastic and turned sour. rafa was every bit the same in that respect.

[BigChief]

Rafa got us to be the number 1 ranked side in Europe FFS! Real, Chelsea, Inter, Milan, Barca - all *hated* getting drawn against us.

Compare that to now.....

Conversely, manure fans ran widespread KRAP campaigns (Keep Rafa At Pool) so we would never win number 19. And they kept it going for as long as possible because they were right.

Onwards and upwards. Roy won't win us number 19 either but he won't cost us a bomb NOT winning it.

[Tee]

If Rafa was backed properly when we most needed it we would already have won No.19, and probably No.20.