Rafa may have the club at heart...

[Baz1969]

I'm going to be lambasted for this but for me Rafa is only a better version than Houllier. The football isn't much better, despite IMO with a much better squad. Its just an opnion but give Rafa another 5 years and £100m or so and he'll still not win the league, he'll probably win 2/3 trophies though. Quite probably including big ears again but not the league. He's too cautious in the premiership, not enough emphasis on taking the game to our opponents and simply going out and twatting them. Unlike Europe, the premiership isn't a chess game.

 

Spot on mate.

[hamstrung]

Ooooh look. Baz1969 is here to cheer everyone up.

[kopitegaz]

I like you. Come sit with me on the patient people's bench.

 

Sponsored by the Rational People's Front (able to see all sensible & constructive points and hopefully comment in a likewise manner).

[kopitegaz]

Ooooh look. Baz1969 is here to cheer everyone up.

 

Well to be fair, he's had to come indoors as its too cold out there to be sucking off tramps.

[James H]

CL success was a magnificent achievement. Benitez won in 2005 with broadly Ged's team. Dont take my word, ask Gerrard, Carragher and Hyppia.

 

In 2007 Benitez's team lost to an older Milan side they should have beaten.

 

The CL is basically a cup competition. In the PL, we have gone backwards.

 

 

Regardless of your other points, we wouldn't have won the CL without Luis Garcia. A player Houllier wouldn't have touched with a bargepole.

[Mr T]

Rafa has made a couple of bad mistakes this season. His biggest fault is that he is far too trusting of average players 'doing a job'. It's possible at the back of the team but not at the top end of the pitch.

 

Having said that this season is written off for me. You can't go out and play football with this instability hanging around the club. Rafa has my support but he does need to alter some of his methods.

[spider-neil]

not that I want rafa out but I think he should take a long look at what the chopping and changing in the league has actually achieved, as we don't look any fresher I guess he could argue there have hardly been any injuries this season. I think rafa would be far better served picking from a msaller pool but with more qualiity and taking a gamble they don't get injuried.

 

another point I'd like to add if there aren't enough players on the team want to score goals sure 'want' to score but they aren't hunting for goals instead walking a fine line between defensive and attacking duties.

 

lastly rafa needs to purchase at least ONE player who can go past players at pace be it for the fullback position or wide midfield our attack is far too predictable and pounderous and whilst we control games we don't hurt teams as we've seen countless times this season unless you get behind teams they can defend everything in front of them all day long.

[King Emlyn]

To be fair, when everyone says it took Fergusson 7 years, yes it did, but he was very very close to winning it quite a few times before he actually did so i think, Benitez has been nowhere near so i don't think that that is a particularly strong argument. That said it's very hard to critisize him at the moment because of everything that is going on. I've just watched his post match interview this morning, does anybody else think he looks ill? If you are mate get out now, this shit aint worth making your health suffer for.

[dave u]

He has been looking rough lately, but last night he just looked like he was full of cold so I wouldn't read too much into that.

[Lofts]

I like you. Come sit with me on the patient people's bench.

 

i'll join you

[Guest kopkid]

Thats rubbish mate, any team in which Dirk Kuyt can play 90 minutes will never mount a title challenge.

If it wasn't for Hicks and Gillet bein gobshites all the heat would be on Rafa right now, fortunately for him it's not but it should be.

 

Sanity at last - because we have unpopular owners Rafa getting away with murder.

 

Didnt these terrible owners give Rafa over £50m this summer and another £7m for Skrtel

 

The truth is Rafa spent over £140m (excluding Mascherano) and we are shite at the moment.

 

There is no longer at top 4 - just a top 3 (excluding us) with several teams now competing for 4th.

 

Since Rafa has been buying players we have steadily gone backwards - not just in position but quality of football. Torres apart do you really rate any of our other strikers to be in a Champion winning team

 

Babel is still raw and one for future - if he stays but no real improvement.

 

With the way Hicks has decieved us he should go - thats a given but if you are really honest the whole of the managment should also go

 

I include Parry, Rafa and all the backroom staff both first team and academy

 

Apart from vast sums wasted on poor players buy Rafa - who has come through from the academy since Gerrard.

 

Aurelio was complete shite last night yet all critism is for Kewell (who was crap but Rafa persists with him) .

 

Skrtel looked lost and more worrying slow when he came on.

 

Substitutions on 64-67minutes as usual with decision made by Rafa probably before the match and Crouch at 80 mins - brilliant

 

To the lot of the please go and lets start from scratch - cannt be worse than the crap we being served up of late.

 

At this rate could finish outside top 6

[hamstrung]

 

1. Didnt these terrible owners give Rafa over £50m this summer and another £7m for Skrtel

 

2. Since Rafa has been buying players we have steadily gone backwards - not just in position but quality of football. Torres apart do you really rate any of our other strikers to be in a Champion winning team

 

3. Skrtel looked lost and more worrying slow when he came on.

 

 

1. No

 

2. Nonesense

 

3. You;re off your head.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

I'm gonna be quite brutal about Rafa.

 

Lets face it, we're not gonna win the league with him in charge. Even if he was given £500m in the summer.

 

Here's the reasons why:

 

1. He's stubborn e.g. Kuyt

2. Too negative

3. Waits too late to make substitutions

4. Stupid fucking rotation policy/ridiculous team formations

 

If any of you can't see that, you're fucking blind.

[havarantagain]

I think Raffa simple has to play his strongest side in a formation that the players fully understand, At least to steady the ship. a change in luck wouldn't go a miss either. Last night saw Villa who were very poor score two fluky goals to get something out of a game they did not deserve. Too often we see constant changes to systems and players that disrupt understanding on the pitch, our biggest failing this season. I would also like the boss to have the courage to change players who just are not at the races as last night, Kewell, Kuyt and Benihill sooner rather than later allowing more time for the substitutes to affect the game.

[JMARKH]

The home / away thing leads me to believe we are very, very close to mounting a title challenge. It's a case of blending the two. Like Arsenal last year, we might look like we're years behind but we're not.

 

Everyone could see Arsenal where a work in progress but we are not, we are a shambles and have no continuity because of his constant rotatation and to carry on picking Kuyt is a disgrace, Rafa is his own worst enemy and atleast we won't have to put up with Rafael Benethus jabs when he is hopefully sacked.

[danielo]

Poor Rafa didn't look too healthy yesterday. I hope that all this pressure isn't affecting his health, both mentally and physically.

[Sangria]

How some cannot see the instability of the pitch is not harming our performances is beyond me. Rafa has his faults and I will not list them as most sensible ones here are well aware of them.

It must be one shite atmosphere to try and play under, I know they earn shit loads of money and should be able to put it behind them but they are human beings after all. Never mind what it is like for Rafa, a nightmare.

 

I can see no one better out there and that is the bottom line for me.

[TG3]

There are some fucking brilliant managers on here...

 

We've got enough going on with these two cunts we are running our club in to the ground to be worrying about each decision Rafa makes. I am as frustrated as anyone about the under par performances on the pitch but we are supposed to be uniting against the common enemy (and I don't mean the Judean Peoples Front or the Romans).

 

Once we've forced these twats out of our club then we can start looking at whether Rafa will bring us the elusive 19th.

[robslappa]

How some cannot see the instability of the pitch is not harming our performances is beyond me. Rafa has his faults and I will not list them as most sensible ones here are well aware of them.

It must be one shite atmosphere to try and play under, I know they earn shit loads of money and should be able to put it behind them but they are human beings after all. Never mind what it is like for Rafa, a nightmare.

 

I can see no one better out there and that is the bottom line for me.

 

Stan, I think using what's going on behind the scenes in an excuse. I just can't imagine when the players are on the pitch that they're thinking about refinancing, Rafa's position, Parry's ties etc. When Kuyt and Gerrard blazed chances over the bar, they weren't thinking about DIC or any takeover.

[Liverweb]

Stan, I think using what's going on behind the scenes in an excuse. I just can't imagine when the players are on the pitch that they're thinking about refinancing, Rafa's position, Parry's ties etc. When Kuyt and Gerrard blazed chances over the bar, they weren't thinking about DIC or any takeover.

 

I don't think it's an excuse but reality

 

Since it all blew up and we're talking potential new manager or not etc the players slowly start to feel like - is he staying? is he an idiot who I don't want to play for. What's going on all around me. What if a new boss comes in will he hate me will he like me

 

It's like when you change a manager everyone ups their game for a short while to convince the new man that actually they are good.

 

Rafa looked awful last night in the interview after the game. To me he looked shot - now if thats a cold fair enough but to me it looked a guy shot that has had it. What can he do to strengthen the side.

 

Yes getting back to some basics but you have to have the players belief at times as well to do that.

 

So much of this just reminds me of the final GH days when the players weren't with him anymore.

[Kopite]

To be fair, when everyone says it took Fergusson 7 years, yes it did, but he was very very close to winning it quite a few times before he actually did so i think,

 

The closest he got was second-place finishes in 1988 and 1992. In 1988 they trailed Kenny's red machine by 9 points (and we eased off when the title was won) so it wasn't really close.

 

The only other time was in 1992 when Leeds pipped them. So in 7 seasons he was only ever close once.

[Kurt]

Stan, I think using what's going on behind the scenes in an excuse. I just can't imagine when the players are on the pitch that they're thinking about refinancing, Rafa's position, Parry's ties etc. When Kuyt and Gerrard blazed chances over the bar, they weren't thinking about DIC or any takeover.

 

But they are affected by whats going on around them, cos at the moment its all a mess. Off course they dont run around thinking about refinances and debts. But the whole mess is clearly affecting preparation and the state of mind of players.

 

Fucking hell, it affects all of us so of course it affect the players and staff as well. The only chance we have of winning the FA Cup or the CL is that all this stuff is resolved, one way or another. Cos the clima around the club at the moment is not one designed for success.

[Best Believe It]

Rafa looked awful last night in the interview after the game. To me he looked shot - now if thats a cold fair enough but to me it looked a guy shot that has had it.

 

Maybe that was because he has the flu.

[TheDrowningMan]

To be fair, when everyone says it took Fergusson 7 years, yes it did, but he was very very close to winning it quite a few times before he actually did so i think,

 

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson CBE

 

86-87 11th

87-88 2nd (nine poins off of the top)

88-89 11th

89-90 13th (FA Cup Winners)

90-91 6th

91-92 2nd

 

and then the period of dominance began.

 

We're competing in a far harder era, against opposition who're either more stable and settled, much more cash rich or in Man Utd's case BOTH.

 

Rafa, as a European & FA Cup winner deserves one more season after this, particularly with the way this one has been shot to shit by The Cowboys. He doesn't deserve two less than Houllier.

 

Problem is, an increasing minority of our fanbase is very, very much like Newcastle's nowadays. The longer you go without winning what you want in this era, the more things are blown out of proportion, the more reason is cast aside and - ultimately - the longer you go without that elusive prize. As ever in the English league, you either offer sufficient patience or you give enough money to see if enough of the shit you buy sticks ala Mourinho.

[kopitegaz]

Everyone could see Arsenal where a work in progress but we are not, we are a shambles and have no continuity because of his constant rotatation and to carry on picking Kuyt is a disgrace, Rafa is his own worst enemy and atleast we won't have to put up with Rafael Benethus jabs when he is hopefully sacked.

 

Firstly, why are you worried about Rafael Benethus comments from blueshite nomarks anyway? and secondly, nice to see you kicking a man while he's down.

 

Do please carry on.