Liverpool FC Forum

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:55 pm

Ronnie Whealan, unsung hero of the 80s.

I don't think we need ex players coming out and saying it though, I think we need a few of the current squad to come and admit we're not good enough, then maybe Benitez will listen.

by **Ciggy** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:03 pm

Im really getting feckin sick of this Im fed up with people talking about Rafa havent we got nothing else to talk about?

Same stories every day since October its boring the @rse off me now as much as the DIC rumour.

100's of people slaging him off on forums, on the radio, the on the telly, in the papers ex players, ex managers it goes on and on and on.

It really is becoming boring and repetitve no wonder the fella's under pressure.

If I was him Id feck it all off TBH.

All the focus has gone off the pitch and all the focus is now on Rafa Ive never known anything like it, even before Ged was ousted he never got this sh!t and escpecially not from ex players.

by **Dundalk** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:05 pm

It is getting a bit out of hand but he is big ans strong enough to handle it. Its up to the players now to dig us out of this hole.

They really have to step up. I think we will find out if they are behind Rafa by their performance tomorrow night.

by **nobybob** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:12 pm

peewee wrote:well smith is spot, i also watched macmahon and grobelaar on tv on Saturday night pretty much saying the same things, the older players are saying it as it is, but no doubt the pro rafa fans will claim they ex pros know nothing about football

by the "pro rafa" i presume you mean the 87% of voters who have just backed rafa in a vote on RAWK.
HMM i guess that puts you in the 13% of those that don't or are undecided, aah well your used to being in the minority with your crazy pessimistic views on everything. :talktothehand

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:13 pm

Ciggy wrote:Im really getting feckin sick of this Im fed up with people talking about Rafa havent we got nothing else to talk about?

Same stories every day since October its boring the @rse off me now as much as the DIC rumour.

100's of people slaging him off on forums, on the radio, the on the telly, in the papers ex players, ex managers it goes on and on and on.

It really is becoming boring and repetitve no wonder the fella's under pressure.

If I was him Id feck it all off TBH.

All the focus has gone off the pitch and all the focus is now on Rafa Ive never known anything like it, even before Ged was ousted he never got this sh!t and escpecially not from ex players.

Cig, Ian St John never had a good word for Houllier, every other week he was slagging Houllier off.

I do agree everything has been circulating around Benitez of late, but that's got to be expected with how we're performing.

by **NANNY RED** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:22 pm

Theres 2 people who have had good words to say though and in my opinion there the only two that count Kenny and Rushie
Rushie gave this piece

Rush backs Liverpool for Euro glory
by Toby Davis, 18 February 2008

Liverpool’s record goalscorer Ian Rush has got behind beleaguered boss Rafa Benitez and backed his former club for Champions League glory.

The Reds face Inter in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday and if they overcome the Italian champions, Rush has backed them to go all the way to the final.

Inter are currently flying high in Serie A, and cruised through Champions League qualification with five wins. But the former Liverpool striker believes they have what it takes to send the Italians crashing out.

“Liverpool have a fantastic record in Europe and I genuinely believe whoever wins out of them and Inter will get to the final,” Rush said.

"They are capable of beating anyone in the world and seem to be really up for it in Europe and that’s why no-one wants to play them.

“They have reached two finals in three seasons and beaten some big teams on the way to both Istanbul and then Athens and they could do it again.”

by **Ola Mr Benitez** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:36 pm

Ian Rush.. absolute diamond of a player.. True Liverpool legend, but hardly at the front of the queue when the brains where handed out!!

We may well win tonight, but it is like papering over the cracks. There are big problems at the club at the moment. Don't take my word for it. That is the exact phrase Carragher used recently. The buck always stops at the manager.

He buys the team, trains the team, motivates the team, picks the team and gets the plaudits when it all goes right. Liverpool look like a spent force at the moment. A big change is required to get us out of this nose dive.

I can't make any more excuses for Mr Benitez anymore.

by **Owzat** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:06 pm

Alan Hansen's column

By Alan Hansen
BBC Sport football expert (!)

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will not necessarily have to win the Champions League to keep his job but he has to ensure his side triumph in their last-16 tie with Inter Milan to alleviate the pressure he is under.

He might not get sacked even if his squad is beaten by Inter but, if they are knocked out of Europe, then that puts pressure on everybody - the owners, the manager and the players.

What you would have then is Liverpool supporters turning up en masse until the end of the season with their team having nothing to play for - and that is a frightening prospect.

Their Premier League title hopes are gone, the FA Cup went on Saturday and the Champions League is all Liverpool have to play for.

You could argue that they are still chasing fourth place in the league but that is not what Liverpool should be about. This season has been a major disappointment.

What went wrong for them against Barnsley on Saturday can be traced back to the start of the campaign.

In September they walloped Derby 6-0 then went to Portsmouth for their next game, made five changes and drew 0-0.

The Liverpool philosophy has always been to hammer home when you have an impetus and Liverpool did not do that. They have suffered ever since.

There has obviously been too much rotation in selection and there is a lot of caution when they play at Anfield too.

They have lost confidence at home in the last six to eight weeks, even though the crowd have been great, and things have gone a bit flat.

Against Barnsley, Liverpool went 1-0 up but they did not roll over the top of them and they have not looked like doing that against anyone since the start of the year.

Benitez is a cautious manager. That is an observation not a criticism because most foreign bosses, including England coach Fabio Capello, have that element about them.

But Liverpool fans have always been used to seeing their team hem in the opposition and batter them. Now the style is more cautious and I think they have suffered because of it.

I still do not think the team has gone backwards though. They are better now than they were last year and it does not matter if they finish more points behind the eventual champions this year.

While there has been an improvement, however, it has not been dramatic enough to see them challenge for the title.

It used to be that they could rely only on Steven Gerrard to deliver, now you have got Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

But they still do not have enough players of real quality to back up those two.

It has always been the case that to win championships you need to be able to replace quality with quality. Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea can all do it but Liverpool cannot. It is as simple as that.

How long can Benitez survive without delivering the title? Well, a lot of managers survive without doing that but he has to show he is getting closer.

He has got that great track record in the Champions League but obviously it is the Premier League that everyone wants to win and I think the fans have stuck with him because they can see he is going through purgatory trying to put things right.

It has still come to the stage, though, where something - a performance or a result - is needed to lift everyone and that could come on Tuesday in the first leg of their encounter with Inter.

It is a tough tie - Inter are running away with Serie A in Italy - but I would not be surprised if Liverpool reach the quarter-finals.

When they became champions of Europe in 2005, that team was well below the level you would expect from Liverpool and they beat Juventus and Chelsea to get to the final. In 2007, they beat Barcelona and Chelsea.

The atmosphere at Anfield on those four occasions exceeded anything that was there when I played and, whatever people might say, you just do not get anything like it at other grounds.

That will raise the players to a different level. We have already seen it happen and one thing is for sure, it will be one heck of a game.

Alan Hansen was talking to Chris Bevan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7250386.stm

by **Sabre** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:56 pm

It used to be that they could rely only on Steven Gerrard to deliver, now you have got Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

But they still do not have enough players of real quality to back up those two.

I don't believe this mantra. For instance Mascherano (I'll leave aside my town mate to unbias the arguement) or Reina and overall the CBs are at the same high level of the two mentioned ones, only making a less grateful work. This year we have played overall at 40% of our capabilities, but we cannot forget the excellent defensive record that both the back four and Reina were responsible in the last two years. I don't think it's a good message to send to say only Torres and Gerrard are up to the level of winning a league title.

We have very good players at the squad, we need to fix some positions with more quality, and getting right a couple of things.

by **Reg** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:04 pm

Y´know, what is blindingly obvious to Hansen, Dalglish etc.. and us, isnt to Rafa.

Hansen knows whats important, knows how to motivate a team, club and supporters. He knows what makes the engine tick.

Rafa needs a very hands on assistant, it has to be a Brit and there would be few better than Alan Hansen.

by **spion** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:20 pm

Hansen will never come out & say he dosent think Benitez's up to it but when you see him on the TV his stance is very cautious regarding The Liverpool manager. Hansen has always been a footballing man who enjoys the game being played on the grass with one of the centre backs being able to bring the ball out. In recent weeks or more so since Agger got injured Liverpool seem happier playing the long ball from the back which goes against the "pass & move" preffered. The lack of thinking that Benitez has shown seems to go against the image the manager has.

Hansen is a legend here & what he say's has a big impact on the club. More so than St John who, a legend too is remembered more by the older fans than the current crop.

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:26 pm

Owzat, I've merged your Hansen thread with this one (see above). Let's keep all discussion about former players and their views on Rafa in here.

by **Toffeehater** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:35 pm

Bammo wrote:
god_bless_john_houlding wrote:Chelsea on the other hand play their best players in every game.

This was Chelsea's lineup against Hudds:

Carlo Cudicini
Paulo Ferreira
Tal Ben-Haim
John Terry
Wayne Bridge
Steve Sidwell 75
John Mikel Obi
Frank Lampard 81
Salomon Kalou
Claudio Pizarro 85
Scott Sinclair

Substitutes :

Henrique Hilario
Michael Essien 81
Ricardo Carvalho
Nicolas Anelka 85
Andriy Shevchenko 75

--------

No Cech, Carvalho, Cole, Ballack, Drogba, Anelka in the starting lineup. They played a weakened side against a League 1 side but they won. That's why they aren't criticised for it.

They had 2 insiprational players in their team fat frank who got both their goals and terry who marshalled the defence , we only had carra to marshall our defence

by **account deleted by request** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:37 pm

Bad Bob wrote:Owzat, I've merged your Hansen thread with this one (see above). Let's keep all discussion about former players and their views on Rafa in here.

I must have missed the poll you took.......... before you took such draconian measures Bob

by **TwelthMan** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:27 pm

As far as I'm concerned any ex-player has earned their right to comment on the club. Apart from some cu.nts like michael thomas, paul ince and the like! The only reason King Kenny isn't having a go at Rafa is because he is too media savvy to do so. Deep down he must be throwing darts at Rafa's picture

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