Liverpool FC Forum

[Penguins]

You have no proof that most managers out there would do better than Rafa, as that is you subjective opinion which you somehow try to make out as fact.

This is a strange arguement. Obviously there is no cast iron "proof" because they haven't had a go at it yet. There is no "proof" that Lionel Messi woulod be better than Kuyt, but my money would be on the Argentine making up for the fact that he can't quite match Dirk's workrate.

C'mon, of course there is proof Messi is a better player.
Ask anyone with an ounce of football knowledge fgs... 

[bigmick]

I swear people are on a wind up today, that or I've walked into a parallel universe

[Emerald Red]

I'm reading that we have a good team. Who built that team? I'm also reading that we've been making the same mistakes over and over. True. But lately I've been seeing that these mistakes have become less frequent, particularly in the last few games. The steadying of the ship will take longer than just one game, but that's too long for some. Over the next several matches, it's just simply key that we don't lose, draws may have to suffice, and goaless ones are a step in the right direction as far as correcting these defense errors are concerned. The foundation of a side is the defence, get that right and the rest follows. Can another manager come in and change this straight away? No is the short answer. He too will need time to assess the mistakes and make improvements. He too will have to analyse and correct. As has been said, we have good players. They are Benitez's players; this is his team. If anyone knows how to correct the defense, it's him. Our defense hasn't exactly been known to be too shoddy in the past, bar his first season, under him. When he gets it right, it's as good as any around. I've confidence that eventually we'll recover from all of this.

[Scottbot]

Same thing there. First you can whine that Rafa spends to much on squad players, quantity over quality and all that and then when he spends big on a few players it is all Rafa's fault for not seeing how thin the squad is.   

So he missed Krancjar. Like Harry ******* Redknapp never missed anyone. Besides we had Masch and Lucas and if he was so great why wewn't manure and chelksi after him?
Why do we always have to bargain chase?
And what if Krancjar would have failed?
Rafa would be burned at the stake for taking a gamble on a player from Portsmouth who hadn't really proved himself.

Calm down lad, despite some cracking buys Rafa's record for picking up a bargain is very poor. You're telling people to stop harping on about Krancjar but Rafa hasn't really made any comparable signings where you've thought to yourself, 'Rafa, you clever bugger, what a cracking bit of business'. Yossi at £6 million looks like a great bit of business but I can't think of any other cheap as chips bargain buys. The signing of Fowler on a free was the only time we've seen Rafa really think outside of the box when it comes to transfers. A lot of people talk about transfer restrictions and the fact our biggest rivals have more money to spend than us, with that in mind we really could do with Rafa picking up a few gems at cheap prices (maybe it's a pre-requisite) or taking a gamble on a player who doesn't fit the perceived image of LFC. Give me a Jimmy Bullard, a Danny Murphy or a Niko Krancjar over our current midfield anyday. Similarly I'd be more comfortable with an Obefemi Martins, a Michael Owen or a Roman Pavylechenko over our current stable of Torres back-ups.

But wasn't Reina a bargain at only 6 million that is nothing for such a quality gk. Aurelio on a free is what I would call a bargain as well as picking up Arbeloa for 2.5 million. Even Crouch, who Rafa was critizised for, turned out to be a bit of a bargain.
Agger at 5.8 is close to a bargain.

I Agree that Reina was a bargain at just £6 million but then that price for a keeper 5 years ago would considered a fairly big fee. Aside from the big money paid for Buffon a few years ago, goalkeeper prices have generally remained within the relams of sensible spending. Aurelio was a nice little pick-up (when he's fit) for a free and Arbeloa was a solid purchase but there simply aren't enough of these players for me. Especially not when so many fans like to point out how Rafa is working under such tight conditions when compared to his rivals. We need the manager to be an expert at picking up players on the cheap but unfortunately, he isn't.