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Rafa: Aquilani Close to First Team Debut!


WhiskeyJar
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He didnt want to risk him, for many a reasons.

 

He will play when Rafa says he is ready to play....and that to me is enough.

 

When did everyone become such a great football manager is beyond me.

 

 

That is clearly not the reason though

 

But if you want to blindly support the manager in whatever horrendous decisions he continues to make that is your choice

 

This is a FF where you are entitled to your opinion and other people are entitled to theres.

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I've actually just read the quotes from Rafa regarding the Aquilani situation.

 

 

 

In my view, the game being open only strengthened the point that he should have come on. Again, this just gives an insight into Rafa's mindset.

 

Also, based on the last bit in bold, it's now clear to me that he's happy with the pairing of Lucas and Mascherano and doesn't want to break it up.

 

It really is a shocking situation, in my opinion.

 

This is exactly what I tried to address in my "Lack of judgement" thread.

 

I dont know whats most depressing, knowing Rafa is satisfied with the Mascherano-Lucas combination or the fact he has bought an injured midfielder for £20M he is afraid of playing because he does not trust him to do his job?

 

The way Rafa is talking about him you should think Aquilani was brought in from a Norwegian 3rd division team, not a seasoned Italian international.

 

He has now officially lost it.

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That is clearly not the reason though

 

But if you want to blindly support the manager in whatever horrendous decisions he continues to make that is your choice

 

This is a FF where you are entitled to your opinion and other people are entitled to theres.

 

True, doesnt give you the right though to call the manager a gutless fat fucker and come out of it on your high horse.

 

Rafa still said that Aquilani is settling in and to be fair I will trust his judgement over your opinion. If you would like to call that blind faith then thats your opinion.

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The bloke has been out for God knows how long

 

He is moving to a much more physical League.

 

It seems utterly sensible not to initially play him away from home, in a competition reffed more loosely than he is used to against 2 of the most alehouse teams around.

 

Wed we are at home, against a team he is used to, in a competition which is reffed stricter & against a team which is not going to be playing 100% as they are already thru.

 

It seems perfectly rational to me.

 

Now whether he ends up being a good buy or not, i don't know.

 

But to not throw him in at the deep end against the BS or Fat Sam's thugs.... That's just far-sighted.

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I think sometimes it would be easier for Rafa to play Aquilani for 90 minutes, have him fuck up his knee, and then be out for 18 months. Maybe people would want him to come back early then though.

 

Unless people are thick enough to believe that Rafa's not playing him because he doesn't want to win games, and wants to get the team relegated?

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He didnt want to risk him, for many a reasons.

 

He will play when Rafa says he is ready to play....and that to me is enough.

 

When did everyone become such a great football manager is beyond me.

 

I agree, he will play when he is ready to play. But then, what is the point in having him on the bench for the last 6 weeks?

 

If he is not fit, he should not be on the bench. If he is, he should be on the bench and should come on to play 10/15/20/30 mins to gain match fitness. You don't have to be a football manager to realise this.

 

I don't care if he doesn't play for the next 3 months. But, I don't want to see him on the bench - seeing a player on the bench tells me that he IS fit. If he is not fit, Rafa wouldn't have come out and said he will play when the team is winning well.

 

To say a player will only play when the team is winning well is clearly bollocks. Especially when the manager is banging on about his lack of match fitness and then NOT playing him.

 

The fact that he came out and said Aquilani will start against Fiorentina tells me that Rafa IS worried about what the media and fans are saying. Even though he keeps saying it doesn't worry him.

 

You don't have to be a football manager to see when a manager is completely clueless. There is a reason why managers get the sack at various clubs every single year.

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How anyone can say Rafa's handling of Aquilani is "purely rational" is beyond me!

 

When did football change to have a £20m player on the bench for 6 weeks and not playing?

 

I will say it again, if the lad is not fit, fair enough. Don't fucking put him on the bench then! If the manager knows fully well he is not going to come on, WHY PUT HIM ON THE BENCH?

 

How is it "purely rational" that the manager thinks a £20m Italian international, our 2nd most expensive signing, can only play when the team is "winning well"? So, he is fit when we are winning well but not fit when we are struggling to string 3 passes together?

 

Before anyone forgets, we played Birmingham AT HOME.

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Unless people are thick enough to believe that Rafa's not playing him because he doesn't want to win games, and wants to get the team relegated?

 

Rafa is more than happy with Lucas and Mascherano`s performances, thats why Aquilani is not getting any playing time.

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The most depressing sentence ever written on this website.

 

I know, I thought it was just paper talk a couple of weeks back when Rafa said we had several options in Aquilani`s position so he had a big job ahead of him to get into the team, now I know he actually meant it.

 

Scary shit indeed.

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We have to trust Rafa's judgement. He sees him training everyday so will know more than anybody how Aquilani is progressing.

 

I think everyone is just so frustrated with the season so far they want our 20mil attacking player actually playing and offering something up front and not warming the bench. It's natural. But he needs to be right, no matter how long it takes.

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Another factor to take into consideration here is Aquilani's morale. It must be through the floor now.

 

Anybody who has played football know how much of a downer it is to be stuck on the bench when you feel you could make a difference on the pitch. The only thing worse is to warm up for half an hour only to get 30 seconds.

 

If that happens to you after having been injured for so long and moving club and country, it must be devastating.

 

The people on here who have been banging on about Rafa's robotic approach to man management for years (not me, by the way) have got a perfect example to add to their list here.

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I have said many times lets just make sure the lad is fit before he plays him, even if it means January before we see him.

 

But because he has been on the bench for the last few games, you would like to think he is fit enough for at least half an hour.

 

I think because were playing crap and we are desperate for something great to make us pick up, the pressure on this lad is immense.

 

If he does not play well in the first few games, just watch the pressure mount on him and that means more on the manager.

 

I feel sorry for Aqualini.

 

I agree with that.

 

I'm just hoping that he manages to put in a good performance or even a nice range of passing. If the people leaving the ground are thinking that he looks real good then that could set him off really well and on the right foot.

 

A lot of unfair pressure will be put on the lad though. He will be seen as the human example of Rafas entire Liverpool tenure.

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Another factor to take into consideration here is Aquilani's morale. It must be through the floor now.

 

Anybody who has played football know how much of a downer it is to be stuck on the bench when you feel you could make a difference on the pitch. The only thing worse is to warm up for half an hour only to get 30 seconds.

 

If that happens to you after having been injured for so long and moving club and country, it must be devastating.

 

The people on here who have been banging on about Rafa's robotic approach to man management for years (not me, by the way) have got a perfect example to add to their list here.

 

i think he would rather take 1 extra month on the bench then half a year on the threatment table.

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Another factor to take into consideration here is Aquilani's morale. It must be through the floor now.

 

Anybody who has played football know how much of a downer it is to be stuck on the bench when you feel you could make a difference on the pitch. The only thing worse is to warm up for half an hour only to get 30 seconds.

 

If that happens to you after having been injured for so long and moving club and country, it must be devastating.

 

The people on here who have been banging on about Rafa's robotic approach to man management for years (not me, by the way) have got a perfect example to add to their list here.

 

Very good point indeed

 

I have been saying for weeks now Rafa is unintentionally doing his very best to demotivate Aquaman before he even gets started

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I have said many times lets just make sure the lad is fit before he plays him, even if it means January before we see him.

 

But because he has been on the bench for the last few games, you would like to think he is fit enough for at least half an hour.

 

I think because were playing crap and we are desperate for something great to make us pick up, the pressure on this lad is immense.

 

If he does not play well in the first few games, just watch the pressure mount on him and that means more on the manager.

 

I feel sorry for Aqualini.

 

I feel sorry for Aquaman but I know he will be class for us that is so clear to me.

 

However he would have the whole season to convince me if he didnt start well.

 

Its not Aquaman fault that the manager has lost it

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