Rafa interview in FourFourTwo

[JohnnyH]

Ha ha. People still replying. jesus...

[Skidfingers McGonical]

 

How would it help him?

 

I'm sure privately he has analysed every single decision he's ever made. He has almost OCD levels of meticulousness. But I fail to see how going public with any of his findings/admissions would help anyone.

 

Am I being levelled here?

 

I just think it would help his image and gain a better understanding from people, and admit that he is human, and rebuild some professional relationships.

[manwiththestick]

MF does it best.

[Liverpool lad]

I lent Pierre's copy and the Rafa pages were stuck together, prick

[Skidfingers McGonical]

MF does it best.

 

I'll be back there soon, I actually miss it.

 

Well I miss my name being in gold more.

[mypost]

Barry was a left footer who would have added great balance. Rafa wanted to keep Alonso and play Barry on the left. Yes Alonso is good but he's only ever had one good season. How many assists does he get? I don't think he's suited to this league. He's not box-to-box like Barry.

 

These were actually serious opinions that people once held. Seriously.

 

Alonso was missed when he was injured, and the team collapsed when he was gone.

 

Meanwhile Barry handed his opposition their goal this week in the CL, and has been pretty anonymous in the past three years. Some people still wanted him here.

 

As for Rafa, two more careers were wrecked because of his manmanagement "skills", (arguably 3 if you include Keane) and he never knows when he is wrong. Quelle surprise.

[Guest San Don]

Barry was and is shit. And he's fucking S - L - O - W.

 

Still, that ship sailed long ago. Thank god.

[AussieRed]

I do think that the Mascherano-Alonso partnership was too defensive to win the league on a consistent basis, as good as it was in Europe. We really needed more rounded midfielders in the middle, which is why I prefer Adam to either of them at the moment, even if he is an inferior central midfielder overall to Mascherano and Alonso.

 

Agree with this. Neither could offer anything in the final third. Then if you remove one the other becomes exposed. They would work if you had Real Madrid's attackers but against park the bus teams, they limited our options.

 

Having said that, Barry was certainly not the answer.

 

If you think back on past premier league winners, all have had a midfielder that could operate in the final third. Scholes, Essien, Ballack, Keane, Viera all could operate in the final third comfortably. Alonso almost never entered the oppositions box and Masch just didn't have the technical ability.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Agree with this. Neither could offer anything in the final third. Then if you remove one the other becomes exposed. They would work if you had Real Madrid's attackers but against park the bus teams, they limited our options.

 

Having said that, Barry was certainly not the answer.

 

If you think back on past premier league winners, all have had a midfielder that could operate in the final third. Scholes, Essien, Ballack, Keane, Viera all could operate in the final third comfortably. Alonso almost never entered the oppositions box and Masch just didn't have the technical ability.

 

It was the way we were set up. Gerrard and Torres did the attacking, it was a lack of quality from wide that was the problem, not the two best defensive midfielders in the world. Not Alonso, who could control the tempo of the game, nor Mascherano who'd break up attacks (turning defence into attack).

 

The spine of the team was amazing. Probably the best in the world. To put the blame on those players is fairly ridiculous, in my opinion.

[AussieRed]

It was the way we were set up. Gerrard and Torres did the attacking, it was a lack of quality from wide that was the problem, not the two best defensive midfielders in the world. Not Alonso, who could control the tempo of the game, nor Mascherano who'd break up attacks (turning defence into attack).

 

The spine of the team was amazing. Probably the best in the world. To put the blame on those players is fairly ridiculous, in my opinion.

 

Not blaming, they are what they are. The fact is, neither is comfortable in the final third. This means against teams that park the bus it is tougher to break them down.

 

Rafa tended to enjoy specialists. I'm glad that Kenny is getting back to the "Liverpool way" of having 11 footballers on the park. A player like Masch would not get into one of Liverpool's title winning teams because of his lack of ability on the ball and limited passing ability. Players like Souness and McMahon were beast defensively but still had the talent to contribute significantly to our attack.

 

Even a player like Molby ( a better passer than Xabi IMHO) eventually fell down Kenny's pecking order for more well rounded players like McMahon and Whelan.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

A player like Masch would not get into one of Liverpool's title winning teams because of his lack of ability on the ball and limited passing ability.

 

You've officially fallen below the standard required for me to argue with.

[billypilgrimnz]

Rafa tended to enjoy specialists.

 

Kuyt, Cisse, Gerrard, Degen etc on the wings disagrees.

[Scottish Steve]

What? Like the 4-1 win at old Trafford? Could you tell he wasn't playing that day? Thing about Alonso is that it was a classic catch 22 situation. Rafa doesn't try and punt him, he doesn't play out of skin in that final year.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

What? Like the 4-1 win at old Trafford? Could you tell he wasn't playing that day? Thing about Alonso is that it was a classic catch 22 situation. Rafa doesn't try and punt him, he doesn't play out of skin in that final year.

 

Can that little gem be used against any player?

[dennis tooth]

It was never a problem with Xabi and Javier, Arsenall won the league with Petit and Viera. And why are people trying to make out Viera was some Scholes clone? He was a DM for christ sake, whos first instinct after winning the ball was to lay it off to Pires or Overmars long before he got near the box.

[Plewggs]

What? Like the 4-1 win at old Trafford? Could you tell he wasn't playing that day? Thing about Alonso is that it was a classic catch 22 situation. Rafa doesn't try and punt him, he doesn't play out of skin in that final year.

 

 

 

The Mancs didn’t park the bus that day, which made life easier for Alonso.

 

Isn’t that the point made by other posters?

[Hermes]

 

A player like Masch would not get into one of Liverpool's title winning teams because of his lack of ability on the ball and limited passing ability.

 

Sammy Lee did and he made Mascherano look like Zidane.

[Juan Galonso]

The Mancs didn’t park the bus that day, which made life easier for Alonso.

 

Isn’t that the point made by other posters?

 

Alonso didn't play that day mate.

[King Emlyn]

Alonso famously didn't play that day

[mypost]

Rafa tended to enjoy specialists. I'm glad that Kenny is getting back to the "Liverpool way" of having 11 footballers on the park.

 

He did enjoy specialists. When he couldn't buy the players he wanted, he blamed the board, the owners, his assistants etc for what he couldn't do. When he could get what he wanted, he had no money, and had to sign makeweights instead. Every player bought had to have a specific purpose and had to fit his formation, which in turn had to fit Torres. It may have looked simple, but ended up a complicated mess, and we finished up 80 players down the line and back down among the also-rans in the table. The recovery operation on the field is ongoing.

[sh#t waffle]

He literally didn't play that day.

[Sugar Ape]

He wasn't even in the Western hemisphere that day.

[Hermes]

 

Rafa admitted he made mistakes in that long interview with the BBC a few months ago.

 

He didn't admit to all of them though, the interview only lasted 6 hours.

[RobbieOR]

Does anyone know if Alonso played against the mancs in 09? Anyone?

[Captain]

He didn't admit to all of them though, the interview only lasted 6 hours.

 

That still makes it 6 hours more than you've spent admitting your mistakes on here.