Having a moan

[red g]

Quite. I do personally favour Gerrard in centre midfield. I think he's a very rare once in a generation player and I think he's better in his own position. That's just my view. I do however see the logic of playing Sissoko and Alonso in the centre and Gerrard right when the midfield two are playing well, and when we STILL havent got a good right midfielder.

Not saying its what I'd do, but I see the logic and there's a sense to it.

But Zenden?

I think the problem is that whenever someone managing LFC acts like a pillock and does something nobody else in football would sensibly contemplate, the tendency is for many to proclaim him a genius and a revolutionary.

It happened with Ged too. He'd turn footballing logic on its head and everyone would say how clever he was.

We've seen a lot of that with Rafa too, from his transfer negotiations over the past two seasons, to decisions like yesterday.

A bad decision is a bad decision, and for my money, Rafa is making a string of them at the moment.

Yesterday's team selection has rocked my faith in him. Not destroyed it but its took a substantial blow. It's hard to believe that anyone who chooses a crap left midfielder in the spine of a side instead of one of the best central midfielders in Europe knows what he is doing.

Some decisions are just beyond the pale.

I'm not saying he should go either by the way before the all or nothing brigade jump on me. But he needs to stop this "too clever by half" idiocy. Because it IS idiocy.

I'm also tired of people putting the argument that Gerrard isn't very good and so doesn't deserve to be central midfield. That's bollocks. He's outstanding and has carried this mediocrity of a football team for about four seasons.

My bigger fear is that I reckon something bigger is amiss at Anfield at the moment. The problems we have are beyond Gerrard's position. The side surrenders shockingly easily in games where you'd expect pride to be on the line. I suspect behind the scenes that team relationships are problematic. This is not a side standing together and fighting for each other and that worries me far more than the idiotic team selection we had yesterday.

Though if decisions like that shake MY faith in the manager's judgement, you have to wonder how many of the players saw the team sheet yesterday and went

its a great point.....not just on our players. Wenger must have been pisssing himself when he found out Zenden was in the centre.

[desertscouser]

Quite. I do personally favour Gerrard in centre midfield. I think he's a very rare once in a generation player and I think he's better in his own position. That's just my view. I do however see the logic of playing Sissoko and Alonso in the centre and Gerrard right when the midfield two are playing well, and when we STILL havent got a good right midfielder.

Not saying its what I'd do, but I see the logic and there's a sense to it.

But Zenden?

I think the problem is that whenever someone managing LFC acts like a pillock and does something nobody else in football would sensibly contemplate, the tendency is for many to proclaim him a genius and a revolutionary.

It happened with Ged too. He'd turn footballing logic on its head and everyone would say how clever he was.

We've seen a lot of that with Rafa too, from his transfer negotiations over the past two seasons, to decisions like yesterday.

A bad decision is a bad decision, and for my money, Rafa is making a string of them at the moment.

Yesterday's team selection has rocked my faith in him. Not destroyed it but its took a substantial blow. It's hard to believe that anyone who chooses a crap left midfielder in the spine of a side instead of one of the best central midfielders in Europe knows what he is doing.

Some decisions are just beyond the pale.

I'm not saying he should go either by the way before the all or nothing brigade jump on me. But he needs to stop this "too clever by half" idiocy. Because it IS idiocy.

I'm also tired of people putting the argument that Gerrard isn't very good and so doesn't deserve to be central midfield. That's bollocks. He's outstanding and has carried this mediocrity of a football team for about four seasons.

My bigger fear is that I reckon something bigger is amiss at Anfield at the moment. The problems we have are beyond Gerrard's position. The side surrenders shockingly easily in games where you'd expect pride to be on the line. I suspect behind the scenes that team relationships are problematic. This is not a side standing together and fighting for each other and that worries me far more than the idiotic team selection we had yesterday.

Though if decisions like that shake MY faith in the manager's judgement, you have to wonder how many of the players saw the team sheet yesterday and went

Top post Alun.

I don't care who the manager is but when your team gets HAMMERED by all your main rivals by Christmas and we've been swept aside in the title race after the first 2 -3 months of the league then questions have to be asked of him.

I haven't lost all faith in Rafa as he's worked wonders for us before but the league really is our bread and butter and if he keeps making the same stupid mistakes and we embarrass ourselves over and over again then he's clearly not the man for the job. Maybe the premiership is one step too far for him. I hope not but at the moment he looks way out of his depth.

Boro will be an interesting one on Saturday. If we can't beat a team as poor as them, managed by a novice without a coaching badge then it will be a real low point for me.

[alunevans]

Top post Alun.

I don't care who the manager is but when your team gets HAMMERED by all your main rivals by Christmas and we've been swept aside in the title race after the first 2 -3 months of the league then questions have to be asked of him.

I haven't lost all faith in Rafa as he's worked wonders for us before but the league really is our bread and butter and if he keeps making the same stupid mistakes and we embarrass ourselves over and over again then he's clearly not the man for the job. Maybe the premiership is one step too far for him. I hope not but at the moment he looks way out of his depth.

Boro will be an interesting one on Saturday. If we can't beat a team as poor as them, managed by a novice without a coaching badge then it will be a real low point for me.

I think its far too early to dismiss Rafa as being out of his depth. He did extremely well last season.

But I can't really get over yesterday's team selection. Like I say, I don't think its the only problem. There seems to be a 'spirit' problem at the club at the moment.

And I think that any LFC manager who fails to make the top four at the end of the season is automatically in a position where he needs to justify his existence in the job rather than take it for granted. That just comes with the territory.

Middlesboro will be a tough game I fear. Which says it all.

Ultimately, too many players don't give a ****, and too many players are powder puff.

My text to my Dad on seeing the team was "that midfield is weak as piss".

This successive away capitulation showed that much of the team is weak as piss, either mentally, or physically, or both.