Chris Bascombe

[TheBajan]

Good post but why would you play a world class central midfielder on the right to accomodate Sissoko? Why would you put a top class centre back on the right full back position? Positions both players hate?

 

Would Fergie play Ferdinand at full back? Would he play Scholes right midfield?

 

He is the benchmark.

 

Scholes moved out to the left to accommodate Veron and Keane.

[Moschops II]

Firstly, I am against Mourinho getting the job, even though I think he'd so it well. That said, if he came, I'd have to get on with it.

 

Secondly, like it or not, we are shit on the pitch - and not just because of the current owners. I am not prepared to pretend that we're not just because it doesn't sound very nice.

 

Finally, I'm not copping out at all with my comments about keeping Rafa in the absence of an alternative. I genuinely have no idea. Rijkaard, maybe? But I've barely given it a thought. I knew I wanted Gerard to go at the end of his last season without having a clue who should replace him, too. That does not negate my point.

 

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the people who are saying we must focus on the ownership issue alone are underestimating the seriousness of what's happening on the pitch. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but equally I refuse to pretend things aren't dire - because they are.

 

But how many people are saying we're playing well at the moment, or that they're totally happpy with Rafa's decision-making? I think that'll be a "none" or as near as damnit.

 

I do think it's a cop-out to say that in an ideal world you'd like Rafa to leave but you have no idea about alternatives. The point of sacking a manager isn't to punish him for being shite –*it's to find someone better. Otherwise, we may as well say fuck it, and bring in, oh I don't know, Jurgen Klinsmann.

 

If people are concentrating on the ownership issue it's because it's far more pressing and far more damaging in the long-term to the club. It doesn't explain or excuse our performances on the pitch, but there again I don't think many people (anyone in fact?) have said that it does.

 

Unless I'm reading you wrong (which on a groggy Sunday morning I may well be), what you seem to be suggesting is that we'll be likelier to succeed with Tom Hicks in place and an unnamed new manager in charge than we are the moment. If so, the first part of that equation is bollocks, and the second one's meaningless.

[Captain]

I still think we have a core of players here that will play for the manager, Reina, Hyppia, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Mascherano, Alonso, Lucas, Torres, Kuyt, Babel, Pennant. Maybe Rafa needs to identify those that aren't 100% committed and make some tough decisions.

 

It seems he already has. For instance, Riise has suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth. I think Kewell might be facing the same axe.

[Thants]

You answered your own post here, the argument was is Gerrard a world class central midfield player and you said name me a better "all round midfielder" thats not the same thing. Central midfield is a specialist position, someone like Fabregas plays that position better than Gerrard ever has, you have to get the balance right between being able to dictate the pace of the play, bring others into the game, choose the right times to support the forwards etc..

 

I think Gerrard plays his best football when he has license to drift, his strengths are all about making those bursting runs, his delivery from wide right is excellent, and hes always a goal threat, in my opinion thats best utilised in a freer role starting on the right.

 

I think its a very British thing that players label themselves as central midfielders or centre backs and thats it, someone like Gerrard could play 3 or 4 positions equally well but he has it in his mind that hes a central midfielder and tends to sulk if he isnt played there.

 

We should be concerned about whats best for the TEAM not whats best for Steven Gerrards ego, the truth is if Stevie is playing well fully motivated hes going to be a huge influence on this team wherever he plays.

 

Bang on.

[Guest The Chimp]

Yes thats what worries me the most the level of team performance in the last few months has been so poor, its only because we have a few top individuals that we can get away with it. The question is whose to blame for that?

 

Rafa picks the players and formation but once they play its their responsibility, its not Rafa's fault that we pass it so poorly, or the movement off the ball is so poor, this is stuff you learn when you first play football you don't need to be told to pass it to a team mate and move into good positions.

 

Its clear some of the players aren't busting a gut for the manager which is disappointing especially as it seems like a couple of local lads are leading the way. Ask yourself one question if Mourinho took over tomorrow do you have any doubts that certain players would all of a sudden find an extra 10-15%? That tells you that some players aren't giving everything they have which is sad to accept. .

 

More eloquent and analytical than my post Alias - that's my thoughts precisely. I also expect Rafa would be someone within the managerial community who is highly regarded. If I was a new manager coming in and was led to believe certain players had undermined the previous manager/formed cliques, they're be first out the door for fear of player power/dressing room unrest.

[MLB]

If Gerrard and Carragher are saying these things it's not because they're the only ones thinking it and the rest are "loyal foot soldiers" or some other such bollocks. Besides, I would get rid of the manager before either of those two any day of the week. For me, even if we do finish fourth this season we should be looking at bringing in a new manager because we are clearly drifting now and the situation seems very much as it was in the last days of Houllier.

[spider-neil]

I don't think gerrard is captain material but if carra is saying these things then he isn't captain material either. I'll tell you who is captain material, sami, utterly superb who has been consistantly our best defender for years and years and no matter what happens on or off the pitch he is STILL superb. liverpool's best defender without a shadow of a doubt in my mind.

[G Richards]

I am really disappointed by Bascombe's article. It whiffed of the sub-editor's pen/agenda, and if so, then Bascombe is less culpable. But as it stands, I think the piece is bad for two main reasons:

 

1. We desperately need some togetherness to get that 4th spot.

 

Whether Rafa is right long term or whether we get new owners sharpish are huge issues, but the fact remains that our best chance of making something of the poor situation we now find ourselves in is to come together and work hard. Bascombe's piece undermines that.

 

2. The piece strengthens Hicks' hand. To say that the fans were protesting against Rafa is bang out of order.

 

These are troubling times, but I'm desperately hoping Rafa keeps his head above water and guides us to fourth. (Please don't jump all over the fourth thing. I'm not settling for that as a red - I want the title like anyone else - but from today's vantage point fourth spot would represent a good salvage job on a wreck of a season).

[Dirk]

I am really disappointed by Bascombe's article. It whiffed of the sub-editor's pen/agenda, and if so, then Bascombe is less culpable. But as it stands, I think the piece is bad for two main reasons:

 

1. We desperately need some togetherness to get that 4th spot.

 

Whether Rafa is right long term or whether we get new owners sharpish are concurrent issues, but the fact remains that our best chance of making something of the poor situation we now find ourselves in is to come together and work hard. Bascombe's piece undermines that.

 

2. The piece strengthens Hicks' hand. To say that the fans were protesting against Rafa is bang out of order.

 

These are troubling times, but I'm desperately hoping Rafa keeps his head above water and guides us to fourth. (Please don't jump all over the fourth thing. I'm not settling for that as a red - I want the title like anyone else - but from today's vantage point fourth spot would represent a good salvage job on a wreck of a season).

 

Spot on. Carra and Gerrard will be retired in a few years but the club will remain but we're supposed to strengthen Hicks' hand because those two erroneously believe it will increase their chances of winning the league? Fuck that shit.

[Alias75]

If Gerrard and Carragher are saying these things it's not because they're the only ones thinking it and the rest are "loyal foot soldiers" or some other such bollocks. Besides, I would get rid of the manager before either of those two any day of the week. For me, even if we do finish fourth this season we should be looking at bringing in a new manager because we are clearly drifting now and the situation seems very much as it was in the last days of Houllier.

 

Not sure about that you have to remember that Stevie and Carragher are in the minority in the squad in that they weren't signed by Rafa, i still think the majority of the players want to play for Rafa but obviously Stevie and Carra being local lads have a lot of influence. I also think its quite telling that it seems to be the English players (Stevie, Carra, Crouch) that seem to have the biggest problem with Rafa.

 

As for choosing these 2 players over a manager im not so sure, i think its easier to replace those 2 players than get a top manager in. Carragher is showing signs that he may be on the way down anyway, certainly his form this season has been poor, and while Stevie is obviously a great player lets say we get 30-35 million for him, that can buy you 2 world class players and it also gets rid of someone that looks like they have an unhealthy influence on the squad at the moment.

 

the way Rafa does things relies on having 16-17 players that are pretty much all equal, they all have their role in the team, if 2 or 3 are not putting in the effort it has a knock on effect, if you looked at the Valenica team he managed there were no real superstars and it was full of good pros.

[Dirk]

Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher play for Liverpool Football Club not Rafael Benitez. Refusing to do your job properly is a sackable offence in any other walk of life. If this is true, by Bascombe, I've lost all respect for the pair of them. My love for LFC is bigger than my respect or lack of it of any given player.

[Zippy]

Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher play for Liverpool Football Club not Rafael Benitez. Refusing to do your job properly is a sackable offence in any other walk of life. If this is true, by Bascombe, I've lost all respect for the pair of them. My love for LFC is bigger than my respect or lack of it of any given player.

 

They haven't refused to do their job properly though have they? Carragher won the MOTM and Gerrard scored another goal.

 

I didn't like Bascombes match report one bit, it seemed as if it had been written by someone else or modified by someone else. It just didn't seem his style to write in that way. In fact the suggestion that the protest somehow was aimed at Rafa directly contradicted what he said in the other piece where he said that DIC are aware the Kop is still firmly behind Rafa.

[RedPower]

That's an absolute shithouse of an article by Bascombe - and it was by Bascombe, don't be giving us any of this 'editor/sub-editor rewriting bollocks'.

 

The funny thing is that Carragher isn't all that good in terms of being a footballer; he's got good defensive skills but is limited in terms of football ability. And as for his 'dazzling' run, do me a favour Bascombe, all the jizz you're drinking from Murdoch's cock is addling your judgement.

[Dirk]

They haven't refused to do their job properly though have they? Carragher won the MOTM and Gerrard scored another goal.

 

I didn't like Bascombes match report one bit, it seemed as if it had been written by someone else or modified by someone else. It just didn't seem his style to write in that way. In fact the suggestion that the protest somehow was aimed at Rafa directly contradicted what he said in the other piece where he said that DIC are aware the Kop is still firmly behind Rafa.

 

What's the other piece you speak of? I'd not seen it.

[RedPower]

They haven't refused to do their job properly though have they? Carragher won the MOTM and Gerrard scored another goal.

 

I didn't like Bascombes match report one bit, it seemed as if it had been written by someone else or modified by someone else. It just didn't seem his style to write in that way. In fact the suggestion that the protest somehow was aimed at Rafa directly contradicted what he said in the other piece where he said that DIC are aware the Kop is still firmly behind Rafa.

 

I've just watched the Setanta coverage off tape and awarding MOTM to Carragher is one of the most laughable decisions I've seen so far this season.

[Spy Bee]

Whether is is Bascombe or the editor that implied that the demonstration was anti-Rafa it's a right shit trick and severely damages Bascombe's credibility in my eyes.

[Captain]

Carra wasn't MOTM, Mascherano was. Javier was head and shoulders above anyone else.

[Dirk]

Carra wasn't MOTM, Mascherano was. Javier was head and shoulders above anyone else.

 

Agreed. You should have seen the amount of ground he was covering off the ball at times, he was immense, nobody came close to him yesterday.

[rondeco]

I'd be very interested to hear Dave U's views on the article. He might be able to offer an actual reason for it.

[Mr T]

Agreed. You should have seen the amount of ground he was covering off the ball at times, he was immense, nobody came close to him yesterday.

 

One of the few players to show any real fight for the shirt.

[Dirk]

One of the few players to show any real fight for the shirt.

 

My Uncle commented to me during the game that he was the only one showing any real fight for the shirt. I agreed.

[RedKnight]

*sighs*

[elvis]

My Uncle commented to me during the game that he was the only one showing any real fight for the shirt. I agreed.

 

like i said , captain material

Fuck i sound like Rashid.

[Trucker Paddy]

If the clear out of players is true, why the hell did we not sell crouch and risse in January when we might have got a decent fee there contracts are up in 17 months so we'll be lucky to get 50% of there value e.g owen to madrid. What way is the club been run on every level? Rick parry after Mcmanaman left said any player with less than 2 years left on his contract will be sold then we had the Owen fiasco and Gerrard nearly going now crouch and Risse(dont get me wrong i'll be glad to see the back of risse as he's shit, but we turned down a £6m bid for him in the summer we'll be lucky to get half that next summer), Crouich will also go on the cheap, if Darren Bent was worth £16m so was crouch.How the fuck has Parry still got a job, how much money has he cost the club in the years hes been there.

[Spy Bee]

Carra wasn't MOTM, Mascherano was. Javier was head and shoulders above anyone else.

 

No, he can't have been. We were playing a poor team and we don't need Mascherano for those type of matches.