I hope you're proud of yourselves

[Shaggy]

Say what you want about his style of football, but I was pretty happy when we were beating some of Europe's top teams home and away in the Champions League, we had an excellent record recently against the Mancs (including a 4-1 win in their own back yard), and could beat Chelsea at home (and did so away on one occasion), and hadn't lost a derby game since 2006.

We had a midfield of Alonso and Mascherano (now playing for two of Europe's other elite teams).

We had Torres and Gerrard ripping teams apart.

Rafa wasn't perfect, but he came the closest to winning the league of any recent Liverpool manager, and had he been backed properly over the last two seasons he may well have completed the task at hand.

Compare that to now. You say red-tinted glasses, I say the grass isn't always greener.

But then I'm just blind eh.

No arguments.

You have to laugh really.

We were the number 1 ranked team in Europe - regularly conquering Europe's elite. Yet the whingers would always say "Not arsed about the CL, we want the title".

How ridiculous does that look now. Look where we were before Benitez, and look where we are after Benitez. Enough said.

[Bulld0g]

That's my point exactly. Theres plenty wont have a word said against him. I was quite happy winning those games too, it's what i've been used to over the years. It doesn't tsake away the fact we were and still are boring as a team.

[Kronenburg1892]

One of the best displays of modern football I have ever seen, is when Valencia tore us apart at Anfield. That's what could have been imo.

[dww]

Ok, so feelings were obviously running high this afternoon, so some of the unnecessary insults that were being thrown about in this thread are perhaps a little more understandable, but it really doesn't help anything for us to be casting about recriminations re. something that is now dead and gone, especially ones that are not entirely accurate. Some fans wanted him out, some were pretty ambivalent, and some wanted him to stay, but all of them had reasonable grounds at the time for their positions. In no way though was he hounded out by our fans, no way.



Although I saw more positives in Rafa than you did, I think you're totally right Scully; just because Roy is awful that does not mean there were not problems under Rafa. The two things are really not connected. Its like saying the tories are ****, so that means new labour were great. We were underperforming under Rafa, now we're not performing at all, so yes, we probably would have been a bit better off if he had stayed, but he didn't, and we really need to start looking forwards rather than backwards.

It's a fair argument but I think the record Rafa had at Valencia of turning a disappointing season round to win the league the next puts him pretty close to the top of the list of managers who you would want to have in the situation we had. The only reason I can accept that perhaps Rafa had to go was that his relationship with Purslow and the board had deteriorated. That was a real problem and would have continued to be one, possibly even been exacerbated given the new ownership situation.

In terms of looking forward I agree. Even if Reece and I were in charge and tried to get Rafa back I think that we would find he would want to stay at Inter for at least a year and we can't just drift.

I think we have to look at a long term top to bottom plan. Rafa appeared to be trying to generate one and we should involve the likes of McParland who were part of that and try to make use of the foundations we have. I can't honestly see Roy having anything to contribute in the long term and at the minute he is doing bugger all short term.

[Red11]

I agree wholeheartedly with Lecter. We suck pure & simple right now and no amount of polishing will change that fact. Rafa was unfathomable in some things he did, but he never let LFC be anything other than feared (or at the least make other managers worry like hell).

But he was never the BOSS as Fergie is. That undermined him & also gave gob****es like Riera et al, the power to say what the liked and break the edifice of LFC in a way that would never have happened under Shanks or even the King.

So i don't rate Rafa purely as a tactician, or just go by his win/loss ratio, but that he was a manager that should have been the BOSS and allowed to get on with it. H&G are at fault 100% for that. He would undoubtedly prosper under NESV now and would have been able to pull rank on any player if he felt it necessary. That' waht all previous LFC managers have done & what they should always be able to do

[Mattshark]

Hodgson isn't the man for the job that's plain to see, but for all you blind Rafa fans, open your eyes. I've never been so bored in all my years of watching Liverpool than i was watching the crap boring negative football we played under him.

Do any of you honestly believe we were going to win the league under him. We came close when we overachieved but werent good enough. I remember saying to a friend, i couldn't believe we were top of the league at Christmas because we were woeful. Granted, the second half of the season was a lot better and we played attacking football, but what happened the following season, his last ? we went back to boring negative football.

The sooner you take off the red tinted glasses the better. The last time we had an attacking side was under Evans. Houllier, Benitez and now Hodgson were\are all boring negative managers of ours. I really can't understand they way most of you view him. It's like he's some sort of god

If it wasn't for the fiasco off the pitch with the yanks a lot of you would have seen the bigger picture, the ****e football and mediocre signings. I wanted Benitez out because i was sick and tired paying good money to watch ****e football and i have no regrets that he's no longer our manager

The football we played under Rafa was along the same lines as we played under Shanks, Paisley and Fagan. Control, passing and if need grind the opposition down and at times we could completely destroy teams.

The mediocre signings comment is just plain ignorant of our situation and of the top class players that we did bring in.

There is good reason why Evans was less successful than either Houllier or Rafa.

[the rev leeroy brown]

lets not start a whole new rafa was this or that thread . . . . . . .again!!

he's gone and IMO we would be in just as much **** if he was still here but he isnt - roy is. unfortunate as that may be though.

[Shaggy]

he's gone and IMO we would be in just as much **** if he was still here but he isnt - roy is. unfortunate as that may be though.

No we would not. Sorry but that's pure dog****. Where's the evidence for that? At what point during his six years with us were we ever in this position, eh?

[Rich]

No we would not. Sorry but that's pure dog****. Where's the evidence for that? At what point during his six years with us were we ever in this position, eh?

Some proper wallies on here.

[RedReet]

Say what you want about his style of football, but I was pretty happy when we were beating some of Europe's top teams home and away in the Champions League, we had an excellent record recently against the Mancs (including a 4-1 win in their own back yard), and could beat Chelsea at home (and did so away on one occasion), and hadn't lost a derby game since 2006.

We had a midfield of Alonso and Mascherano (now playing for two of Europe's other elite teams).

We had Torres and Gerrard ripping teams apart.

Rafa wasn't perfect, but he came the closest to winning the league of any recent Liverpool manager, and had he been backed properly over the last two seasons he may well have completed the task at hand.

Compare that to now. You say red-tinted glasses, I say the grass isn't always greener.

But then I'm just blind eh.

Did we not also nearly break a club record for consecutive goals scored under Rafa and finish top scorers in 08/09. Hardly negative football.

He also made Anfield a fortress again, now it’s a ****ing playground.


We had some bad games under Rafa, especially last year, but people have short memories. Once we changed from Sky’s favourite 442 to 4231 we started scoring goals for fun. For year and a half we played some amazing football scoring goals freely, but Sky didn’t like this foreign man coming in and playing two ‘defensive midfielders’ at home with his zonal marking, and despite the stats proving otherwise they brainwashed people into believing that we were a negative team and 442 was the way forward. It worked a treat.

[Bulld0g]

The football we played under Rafa was along the same lines as we played under Shanks, Paisley and Fagan. Control, passing and if need grind the opposition down and at times we could completely destroy teams.

The mediocre signings comment is just plain ignorant of our situation and of the top class players that we did bring in.

There is good reason why Evans was less successful than either Houllier or Rafa.

Now that is laughable, comparing the football under Benitez to that of Shanks Paisley and Fagan, i dont believe you really believe that yoiurself.

I never said every signing was mediocre. We have lack of strength and quality in our squad because of the poor signings he made. We haven't got a strong side never mind squad.

I never said Evans was a better manager, i said he was the last one to play attacking football. Theres always someone harping on about Benitez and what a great manager he was, let it go, he's gone and as i said i for one am glad.

[Arn]

We scored most goals in the PL 08-09 even that Torres and Gerrard missed many games. They played together 22 times that season.

We had a team that played as a TEAM back then. No two man team, it was a TEAM without any key player. If we missed Gerrard then we replaced him without any problem, Torres missing, no problem.

It was a team built to play as a team and not built around a key player.

[McDermotX]

Did we not also nearly break a club record for consecutive goals scored under Rafa and finish top scorers in 08/09. Hardly negative football.

He also made Anfield a fortress again, now it’s a ****ing playground.

Aint that the feckin truth..................we all sense it, we knew it was going to happen, so when teams like Blackpool come to Anfield and feel that they can get something.....they're not wrong.

[Reece]

I never said Evans was a better manager, i said he was the last one to play attacking football. Theres always someone harping on about Benitez and what a great manager he was, let it go, he's gone and as i said i for one am glad.

I wish people would stop telling me to let it go. I think we made a huge error getting rid of him, so no I won't let it go.

There's also someone always harping on about how crap Benitez he was, and how everything is his fault etc.

[Lecter]

We have lack of strength and quality in our squad because of the poor signings he made. We haven't got a strong side never mind squad.
.

Absolute crap

We are not where we are because of Rafa

We are where we are because of Roy

If anything Roy has weakened the team further

Not one of his signings have been a success so far

Not one

Konchesky is cack and so is Poulsen

Cole has been abysmal (and frankly I did say on this site I felt we would be disappointed by him)

Meireles has done nothing yet to suggest that hes going to be a worldbeater (although I have more optimism in him than anybody else)

Thats before you even start discussing the tactics which are frankly ****ing insane