Liverpool FC Forum

[112-1077774096]

We used many a midfield combo, many a striker combo, numerous players were used in that period.

It's not my theory to disprove so I have no need to drag up the comparitive stat's, you're welcome to.

well you are the one questioning my comment so i guess we can just accept I am right or you would disprove it, just like wih my job eh?



i love the way you backpedal when you know you are wrong and if you think you are right you back up what you say with stats etc

It's not my theory to disprove, as I've said I don't subscribe to the view that we would have challenged but for rotation.

I know we used various midfield/attacking combo's in that period, that I know.

I don't know the comparitive stat's because it's not for me to prove that rotation/"Rafa style" doesn't work and inhibit consistency, and hence our ability to challenge for the title.

Even if you were to provide the stat's, it would form merely one dimension in analysing a period in which we were consistent.

TBH, I don't know about you or your job, but I know vice-presidents don't do 'Peewee behaviour', that much I can deduce.

yeah he spent 150million but we couldnt afford torres until now

Correct.

then make the call.

oh yeah i forgot, its not up to you to prove or disprove anything   


you won't make the call because you know you are wrong, you won't look at the stats because you know you are wrong


come on  make the call, i look forward to chatting on the phone with you on tuesday   

[NANNY RED]

lol i didnt know how to jib the other two off the photie

[NANNY RED]

crackin match on the telly the mancs are 1-1

[LFC2007]

[NANNY RED]

  Mancs gettin beat 2-1

[Toffeehater]

Great result looking at the team we put out i was expecting a thumping , the lads did well . CROUCH played the best game he has had this season fo lfc and he looked good , rafa should revert back to 4-4-2 and put crouch and torres upfront against them in mid week

Special praise to plessis did well in his debut , real encouraging stuff .

[Yari7]

It doesn't mean you should do it in every game though, because as we've discovered over the last four years, not in one match, it simply doesn't work.

Our longest winning stretch in the EPL two seasons ago would suggest otherwise.

Are you refering to the 10 match consecutive winning stretch and the 9 match consecutive winning stretch that we had in the 2005/06 season in the premiership.

[Toffeehater]

The last time we played arsenal like this they knocked us out of 2 competitions the fA and the carling cup

Now we have the chance , we have already knocked them outta the title race and now we should knock them outta the champions league


Arsenal fans talking ab hw much progress they have made this season well TBH , they have made none . They could not beat a reserve liverpool team with a stronger side . They have done well to adapt without henry but thats it

[Yari7]

The last time we played arsenal like this they knocked us out of 2 competitions the fA and the carling cup

Now we have the chance , we have already knocked them outta the title race and now we should knock them outta the champions league

I think you have spoken too soon. Thankfully, Arsenal are back int he title race after the Mancs drew 2-2 at Boro.

[JoeTerp]

This might not be considered sensible rotation but I might want to go with:
                                    Reina
     Finnan         Arbeloa                San Jose       Insua
                       Alonso              Plessis
       Pennant                Lucas               Yossi
                                   Nemeth
Subs: Itandje, Carra, Riise, Spearing, Crouch

If Arsense plays the kids as well, this squad should be able to rescue a point, if not, then hopefully they can run them knackered, or kick them to death.  I am very worried that our lead for 4th will fall to only 2 points with Everton playing Derby this weekend, but you HAVE to play for the trophies, because at the end of the day, those are the tangible things that can be counted, and we looked VERY tired and worn from the first leg, and not conceeding with be the top priority at Anfield because that ensures victory.

yes, there will be a good amount of players who played on wednesday who will be fit for tomorrow, but that means little if playing them twice would rule them unfit for the home tie. And players like Insua and Nemeth have certainly earned their call-ups.

Thank god u are not the manager 

If rafa plays that squad , i'll cut off my di.ck adn eat it
Why would you play san jose , insua plesis and nemeth in such a high profile game when they all cept insua have zero experience at premier league footie?

i think they are good players with alot of potential

IF rafa is going to play a weakened side and rest the big guns i would rather see nemeth insua in the team then the likes of voronin and riise

i think its a good shout

the team I picked was fairly close to Rafa's. I bet I was the only one who picked Plessis        

[JBG]

Fair play to Joe, he really has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the reserves.

[redtrader74]

Wow 8 changes and for the most part, especially the first half, we managed to look fluid and cohesive, i thought that was impossible? Just goes to show the myth that it can ONLY be achieved by playing lots of games together, and the training sessions all week amount to nothing is in fact bollox.

What a strange thing to say, that playing with cohesion can ONLY be achieved by playing lots of games together. Of course that's not the case and I'm not sure anybody ever said it was.

The point surely is that if you want to play consistently well, if you want cohesive and rhythmic performances consistently, then I and many like me believe you need to select the team in a consistent fashion as well. Make eight changes every game and every now and then you'll play well. It doesn't mean you should do it in every game though, because as we've discovered over the last four years, not in one match, it simply doesn't work.

If you are going to draw such adamant conclusions from one game, you might just as well say lets rest Torres and Gerrard every single week because we play better without them     

No, we're on the right path now, and we mustn't be diverted by one good performance with a multitude of changes to the team. A return to Rafa style at this stage or indeed at any stage would be a disaster.

I think you and I both know of many more than than one occasion over the last 4 years where we have made a lot of changes and managed to play well, and you'll agree that we have looked average and dis-jointed on occassion over the past few weeks where there have been very few changes, the point being, cohesiveness etc.etc. is not confined to picking the same team each week.

I know you're not a fan of Rafa style, so does that mean you'd like him to keep the same side for Tuesday as Saturdays? Or will you bemoan the fact tht he reverts to his previous selection, which will mean 16 changes in 3 games ? I think you'll find we are the middle of the most obvious form of Rafa style, and are in agreement with it. 

[bigmick]

I know you're not a fan of Rafa style, so does that mean you'd like him to keep the same side for Tuesday as Saturdays? Or will you bemoan the fact tht he reverts to his previous selection, which will mean [B]16 changes in 3 games[B] 

It's a fair question red and I haven't changed my mind on that one since before the weekend game. As Rafa style has already ensured that we were out of the title race months ago, and as it looks like we are going to get fourth without too many problems, and as Torres in particular looks absolutely kn@ckered, I fully supported the changes to the team on saturday. If ever there was a time for resting and rotating it was then.

I would though bring the big guns back for Tuesday as it represents our only chance of winning a trophy. You knew that of course      but i don't blame you for asking anyway.

Incidently I agree as you know that we haven't displayed the fluency I either hoped for nor predicted even with a settled team, I've been saying as much for the last few weeks. We have though managed to win many matches while not playing so well, and have looked almost habitual in our ability to overcome the odds. I'm still convinced it is the right way to go, and in the spirit of your question, I wonder whether you would like to return to more previously seen levels of rotation at the start of next season, or whether perhaps you'd like to give this "new" methodology a try?

[redtrader74]

I know you're not a fan of Rafa style, so does that mean you'd like him to keep the same side for Tuesday as Saturdays? Or will you bemoan the fact tht he reverts to his previous selection, which will mean [B]16 changes in 3 games[B] 

It's a fair question red and I haven't changed my mind on that one since before the weekend game. As Rafa style has already ensured that we were out of the title race months ago, and as it looks like we are going to get fourth without too many problems, and as Torres in particular looks absolutely kn@ckered, I fully supported the changes to the team on saturday. If ever there was a time for resting and rotating it was then.

I would though bring the big guns back for Tuesday as it represents our only chance of winning a trophy. You knew that of course      but i don't blame you for asking anyway.

Incidently I agree as you know that we haven't displayed the fluency I either hoped for nor predicted even with a settled team, I've been saying as much for the last few weeks. We have though managed to win many matches while not playing so well, and have looked almost habitual in our ability to overcome the odds. I'm still convinced it is the right way to go, and in the spirit of your question, I wonder whether you would like to return to more previously seen levels of rotation at the start of next season, or whether perhaps you'd like to give this "new" methodology a try?

Cards on the table, i'd always prefer players playing in their best/most comfortable positions, (my biggest gripe with Rafa, and something which should be recognised separately from rotation) that is paramount for me. Rotating 3-4 per game has never bothered me, a well drilled and settled squad should always cope with a few changes, regardless of who they are, and as always i will support my Club!, because not for a minute will i believe Rafa sends out a team that he doesn't think will win, or will make changes for the sake of it, or doesn't care about the league, common jibes at the manager.

IMO he can continue to make changes, maybe when we have injuries he cut the changes down, but as i remember it, at the start of this season he played much the same team in the league, and changes were generally made in the CL, and then Carling Cup, something which everyone seems to agree with, until ofcourse the numbers are flashed up over a period. Again you continue to perpetuate an urban myth that rotation has put us in the position where we cannot challenge for the league, an unproven and baseless claim.

[LFC2007]

It's interesting that our upturn in form is put down to keeping a more settled side. From my point of view, we played a string of winnable league games - in two of which we were far from convincing, playing European matches in between with the same system and similar personnel - in comparison to previous seasons where we've rotated a lot more and with the same positive outcome. It's actually quite reminiscent of the same period last season, playing well in Europe, doing well in the easier league games and not quite functioning in the tougher ones. It's also no surprise that the positions in which we rotated more were on the wings and at full back, which isn't dissimilar to this season.

It remains that, if we had the level of quality we require in these positions and to a lesser extent up top, a natural consequence would be a more settled side - assuming they played to their potential. It's the fact that the players in these positions haven't been up to it, and can't play to a consistent level because they're not good enough anyway, that we rotate the team more often. Whether we sticked with one or the other is irrelevent as you won't get much of an improvement either way in my view, e.g. I don't buy that keeping Babel in the team has somehow benefitted our fluencey and cohesion. Players who aren't up to it may put in one good performance, then a shocking performance, then an average performance, then a shocking performance. Babel springs to my mind here immediately, as does Riise, as does Aurelio to a lesser extent. They're rotated partly through indecision, because of their inability to play consistently decent - let alone good or excellent. Granted in certain instances keeping one of these players in the aforementioned positions in the team on a more consistent basis may aid their consistency levels, Kuyt on the right for example but (IMO) that's primarily because he had been lacking in confidence quite severely - but is now thriving on being valued. The fact still remains that within this 11 game period where our form has improved - Kuyt has still put in a few below par performances, and has been below the consistency level we require. My view is that (over the course of the season) Rafa has felt that if we don't have the players in these positions up to the required level, keeping them fresher is the best way to maximise their output, i.e. enabling them to work hard by preserving their freshness, because if their ability is limited this strategy makes sense.