Liverpool FC Forum

[bigmick]

I've said it many times Lynds, someone else will come in and profit. They'll play their best team mostly, they'll attack against the lesser teams mostly, and they'll concern themselves much less with options and possibilities. They'll probably go very close to winning the league too. They ought to, they've got the best goalkeeper in the league, the best player in the league, and the best striker in the league.

[Kash_Mountain]

Just a few questions:

Just thinking out load.  If Rafa was sacked or decided to go in the next few weeks, obviously Sammy Lee would be in charge for a short time but what about the long term- would this be Mourinho?

Have Liverpool FC performed liked they have in previous seasons and the likes of Mwanck Utd and Cheaski performed below par- is this why we are up there?  (ie have we made good ground / progress since winning the CL?

Have we over relied on Gerrard and Torres?

Why can't the other players besides the two mentioned above and Carra, Mascher, Alonso) pull their weight?

Do the players still have the determination to win the EPL or are they now so demoralised by the methods used by Rafa and the antics going on with Parry, and H&G?

Why has LFC been playing so defensively?

[Reg]

QUESTION: Why does our team fall apart just because gerrad is subbed? Rafa wanted to rest him a bit for sunday and we concede a goal. Its not rafa´s fault lads, we´re just not mentally strong enough.

Get rid of the pussies like Lucas who never was good enough, put a rocket up Masher´s a.ss and remind Carra he´s just lost his last chance to win the league.

Its pathetic because we played pathetic.

[Reg]

.......... and Kash mountain you can put that Liver Bird/Phoenix back in its box because you wont be needing it this season !

[Kash_Mountain]

.......... and Kash mountain you can put that Liver Bird/Phoenix back in its box because you wont be needing it this season !

[Alex G.]

Why has LFC been playing so defensively?

I´m still thinking that the problem is not the rotations but the game style, too direct and defensive.

I see all the people here talking about the "strange substitutions" made by rafa yesterday but:

¿How many chances we created with the big weapons on the pitch? One, two, maybe three...?

Is the same problem of the last seasons, we lose the title drawing against deep defences, drawing with small clubs.

WE DON´T KNOW TO PLAY AGAINST DEEP DEFENCES, WE PLAY FOR THE COUNTER ATTACK LIKE THE SMALL CLUBS.

[Owzat]

QUESTION: Why does our team fall apart just because gerrad is subbed? Rafa wanted to rest him a bit for sunday and we concede a goal. Its not rafa´s fault lads, we´re just not mentally strong enough.

Read that carefully to yourself, note that Keane came on for Gerrard in the 84th minute and tell me how less than ten minutes rest is going to make any difference when the game was (as proven) far from won?

We bossed the game, but did we actually create that many clear cut chances? We're not creating as many as the mancs, Arsenal and Chelsea do, and we're not tucking them away efficiently to compensate for the lower volume.

It is Rafa's fault, if the players aren't up to it he shouldn't be playing them. He's not getting the best out of the players, he's unable to make effective changes to the way the game is going and then blames the opposition. I just read his latest moan about a game (this one) and if he thinks that the opposition are going to let us win then he's daft. They played a certain way and negate us too easily, they win the tactical battle with XI players costing a fraction of our's. We're letting too many teams happy to settle for a draw get that draw way too easily. Onus is on us to win, they'd even accept defeat except we ain't good enough to achieve it regularly.

[mkingdom]

Embarrassing collapse over the last few weeks.

Predictable after Rafa's scripted bizarre rant, that was always going to bite us on the .

The team selection was one you might find acceptable had we been playing in an early round of the Carling cup, but christ, we were in title hunt for the first time in years, and when that is the case you start with your strongest 11 (like we did in the first half of the season) and then worry about who is fit or tired when the game is won.

It is equally shitty that we have been linked with no-one this window.  Wouldn't it be normal for a team contending the title to strengthen in january to help with the final push?

Smacks of a club in turmoil, and a manger with other things on his mind apart from the football.

So we're back to the normal gloating from Manure fans, and no doubt Fergie is pi$$ing himself laughing from behind his bottle.

Just depressing...oh but its OK, as we only have Chelsea at home next, so we could be out the top 4 by Sunday night.

       

[puroresu]

QUESTION: Why does our team fall apart just because gerrad is subbed? Rafa wanted to rest him a bit for sunday and we concede a goal. Its not rafa´s fault lads, we´re just not mentally strong enough.

Get rid of the pussies like Lucas who never was good enough, put a rocket up Masher´s a.ss and remind Carra he´s just lost his last chance to win the league.

Its pathetic because we played pathetic.

The side didnt fall aprt when Gerrad went off.  They scored when Gerrard was on the pitch.  The sub was planned before the Penalty and I have no problem with that.  The problem I have with Rafa is once Wigan scored he still took Gerrard off.  We needed to get a winner and Gerrad should of stayed on the pitch.  We dont have many matchwinners and if anyone was going to score a winner or create a goal it would be Gerrard.

[Alex G.]

Gerrard was quiet all the game, and it´s natural I guess, cause the Wigan was marking him and Torres tightly.

Just a piece of information: When Liverpool scored, Mascherano gave the last pass to Benayoun. Where was Mascherano? He was close to the Wigan box, he had lost his position after the corner and he went forward to put pressure on the Wigan´s keeper.

[ConnO'var]

REDS SLIP UP AGAIN
Benitez questions Wigan's tactics
Taken from Soccernet
January 29, 2009

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insisted only a "crazy" second half against Wigan prevented his side from rejoining Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, but also produced a thinly veiled attack on Steve Bruce's tactics.

Liverpool have now drawn seven of their last ten league games and have dropped to third in the table behind Chelsea with Aston Villa within touching distance too. The bookies share the doubts over their title credentials as they have slipped to 8/1 to lift the trophy for the first time since 1990.

With many questioning Benitez's ability to last the course following his infamous rant at Sir Alex Ferguson - they have not won a match in any competition since then - his latest comments will have done little to suggest otherwise.

Benitez bizarrely chose to replace inspriational skipper Steven Gerrard, who specialises in crucial last-ditch goals, moments after Wigan grabbed their late leveller and the Latics could have gone on to win the game with new signing Hugo Rodallega smashing the bar with a superb curling free-kick.

Benitez, who must pick his side up for a crucial meeting with Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday, said: "I am disappointed with a number of things but no, the Wigan approach I will not talk about them.

"It has happened in the last three games. They have something in common I don't like. I know why but I cannot say anything.

"The players were okay. They were working very hard in the first half but the second half changed because it was crazy.

"I was talking with my players about what to do on the pitch but there are things that you cannot control.

"When you are top of the table you know that every single game is really important so when you lose two points you have to be disappointed. But we have an important game on Sunday and if we play like we played in the first half we can beat anyone.

"All the games will be important until the end of the season. It depends on the other teams too but we have to try to play well and try to win.

"We were much better in the first half. We had control of the game. We didn't kill the game. The second half was a crazy game and when it is a crazy game you cannot control things."

***********************

Strange comments by the manager. Unless he was misquoted (as the press is often known to), he appears to be blaming all and sundry instead of focusing within himself and the players. For me, there's a faint odour of "houllier-ities" in the air.

Come off it Rafa..... stay out of the press and concentrate on the coming games. The initial press conference documenting Fergie's many failings and whinges didn't work.... quite the opposite in fact. Get your head down and rekindle our challenge for the premiership.

[jedwards]

:O
Benitez has lost the plot, and this is typical of Liverpool second half of the seasons, where this starts to chop and changes needlessly in order to just to up the team!

Bad second half performance, too many miss placed passes, and too many back passes which gets you no where, our players were lacking believe and spirit.
Benitez's substitutions were terrible and pointless, He just handed the completely to Wigan, who managed to take full control of the game, and they were unlucky not to win it.

Benitez takes full blame for this entire shambles, and he is the main reason for dropping too many easy points like hot cake in a very important time of the season.

Stop talking sh*te. As soon as I read your first line I stopped reading. If you were a follower of this club over the past 5 years, you'd have realized that this is NOT typical of us in the last half of the season. The last half of the season has usually been our strong point.

What your beloved Banitez has acheived over the last three seasons? FOURTH PLACE just about.

You the one talking , It has taken you five years to realize that your manager is a like you, and now you have doubt about him of winning the league, I have already said before it is beyond him even if he spent £300 Million on players.
I understand now that it is very difficult to grasp it, especially for people like you ignorant

[Madmax]

Absolutely disappointed with the result. Was so pi$$ed off that didnt bother comming here.. fecking we just cant hold onto a 1-0 lead can we??!!!   unlike mannure feckin its really me off.. lucas man what a d.ick... Personally i think we have blown our chances. Every match we play now i get nervous thinking feck knows whats going to happen. So0 many draws...........

[heimdall]

I notice that nobody actually offered an explanation to my question of how rafa is a tactical genius, not that anyone ever has answered that one.

Rafa is the most overrated manager in the world, he has little grasp of tactics or certainly how to change them mid game, feck all knowledge of how to motivate, fecking useless at transfers and makes a pr1ck of himself in almost every press conference.

In short he needs to pick up his Sombrero and feck off, and if any players want to join him they are more than welcome too!! 

Rafa picks the players(both in terms of transfer and team sheet) and instructs them, so if they all play sh1t then it is of course down to him, stop making damned excuses for him!!

[dawson99]

I notice that nobosy actually offered an explanation to my question of how rafa is a tactical genius, not htat anyone has ever answered that one.

Rafa is the most overrated manager in the world, he has little grasp of tactics, feck all knowledge of how to motivate, fecking useless at transfers and makes a pr1ck of himself in almost every press conference.

in short he needs to pick up his Sombrero and feck off, and if any players want to join him they are more than welcome too!! 

Rafa picks the players(both interms of transfer and team sheet) and instructs them, so if they all play sh1t then it is of course down to him, stop making damned excuses for him!!

Look at the CL final where he brought on Didi to see a master tactitcian (ok, some said he should have always started it)

Rafa is football, he eats sleeps and drinks it. Slag off his decisions if you like, but to say he has no good tactics is naive.

As for thje sombrero talk, thought you were better than that mate