Jens

No offense mate but do fuck off. :wallbutt:

But the fullbacks must also be of decent quality. Arbeloa was nowhere to be seen when Rooney was given plenty of time to produce the cross for the opening goal. Arbeloa was 40 yards adrift and that´s not fucking good enough for Liverpool.

Because we fucking need one. Finnan is a good option to have in the squad but I feel Arbeloa offers pretty much nothing at all. What qualities does he have, seriously? I know Rafa wanted Lucas Neill but had to settle for Arbeloa. He has to go in the summer, last Sunday against the Mancs was the definite proof of that. He was all over the place.

El Zhar just score for Morocco, for what it´s worth. Materazzi made a horrible tackle on Torres, the Spanish camp was very upset and the Spain players were all over him...

Carragher is a complete rock when playing at Anfield. Away from home he´s a different story...

I think we created a fair amount of chances and were in control. Of course Rooney had a golden opportunity to give them the lead but that was about all they created up until Reina made a costly mistake which made it 1-0. But we had chances for Aurelio in the box and also for Gerrard (what a screamer that would have been had it not touched Vidic´s leg). I don´t think we "freeze" when we play United, but in these games the team who makes more mistakes will lose the game.

I actually think this is a big factor. United kicked the shit out of Torres, all day long. They could never do that in Europe.

I can´t see Rafa picking Sami, Ronney and Tevez don´t offer much of an aerial threat so I reckon he´ll go for the Skrtel option. As for the left back position Aurelio is a certain. Team: Reina Arbeloa Carra Skrtel Aurelio Jefe Xabi Kuyt Gerrard Babel Torres

I don´t think Ronaldo would be as successful in a team like Liverpool where everyone must work really hard defensively, helping each other closing opponents down, covering up for one another. Ronaldo would no way score 33 goals in a team like that. So, no.

What do you think?

He reminds me a lot of Thierry Henry. But Babel has a better physique on him. Apparently there´s a lot of us who really rates the lad, though I must say credit must go to Rafa Benitez. Like a lot of people I didn´t have a clue who this boy was when he signed. He must improve on his shooting though, how hard can it be to place the ball into the far corner?

Pennant must be injured, or maybe Rafa just doesn´t care for him. He should play more IMO.

We should rest Torres and Gerrard IMO. We´re good enough to beat Reading without them. Apparently Rafa thinks otherwise but they must get a rest some time.

I´m not sure I do...

The manc of course.

What´s the opinion on this?

What´s goals got to do with us playing well? We have stuffed them at least three times since Rafa arrived (two times at Anfield and also at Old Trafford when Cisse missed that sitter)

We also should have signed Pato when we had the chance. Then again, money talks.

I recall we had a tough time against Villa at Anfield, we were losing. And we obviously had some serious problems against Evrton at Goodison.

If he wants to make it in this league that is. He was successful in Spain (to say the least) but the Premiership is a different story. The reason I think he´s struggling to get it right in the Prem is because there are a lot of teams who use a direct style of play and I don´t think it´s coincidence we we always seem to struggle against those exact teams. In Spain every team tries to play through the midfield which suited Benítez very well because he could use his best skill as a manager (pressing) to the maximum. Over here, the likes of Bolton, Everton and Aston Villa, likes to hoof the ball over the midfield area which means there´s simply no chance for him to press the opponents and rob them on the ball. And this is also why I think we´ve been so successful in Europe under Rafa. There´s no such thing as "raising our level in Europe". The teams like to play the ball through the midfield and it´s easy for Rafa to control the opponents. There´s also no coincidence we play so well against the likes of Man Utd and Arsenal in the league because they simply like to play football. If Rafa wants to make it in the league he simply must come up with a way to cope with the lesser team´s style of play. ´ Sorry for the grammar

We need bigger players.

It´s a fact that in three years we have changed the whole squad. That´s clearly not a winning concept. But it was something Rafa had to do.

Is this really the same side that defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford?

Maybe you´re right. But he´s still boss.

I watched him when his shit team played the Mancs. They couldn´t even get close to him. Not terrible, awesome. In a better surrounding and with a world class manager I still think he could have three more years in him. He´s class and he works hard. Never cheats, all about fair play which is unusual for a winger. He looks a Liverpool player to me. I want him on a three year contract.