CityofLiverpool

Dear Supporters I no more support Rafael Benitez, however, I only keep this statement within us because it should not be made public. Please read. I no more support Rafael Benitez, because... 1- The Babel saga: I would cut my balls if Ryan Babel wouldn't be a star in any top club. I can imagine Babel doing great at clubs like Arsenal, City, etc.. In fact Babel should sue Rafa for wasting his life on that god damned bench and making him look like a players who's not in it with his heart. No, you are being mislead by Rafa, because over the years I remember very well how Babel has impressed, scoring wonderful goals against huge opposition, and then the next game he's back warming bench seats. What does this do to a player thriving for success at Liverpool? It fucking disgusts the shit out of him which is quite evident when he actually does play now. It hasn't been a matter of 1 or 2 games, we're talking about years. End Result: Ryan Babel is now a player who looks unfit to wear the shirt, and instead spends his time on Twitter. Reason for this, you judge. 2- Dirk Kuyt: I don't know how to start this but seriously, I swear to Jesus Christ, I've been saying from the first day that this fella joined, whom I also was following with Feyenoord, that he's one of the best S T R I K E R S in the world. He has an eye for the goal, his shooting/finishing is top class. Never mind his work rate, that's just a bonus, and it’s not surprisingly that we saw it the most. It's because Rafa has limited his skills for years on that right wing. The reason he's been good overall is because he's a hard worker and he wants to do well, but every time he's used up front he impresses twice as much, let alone the important goals he scores. Next game, he's back on the wing. End Result: Kuyt is now in his 30s, probably 1 or 2 years left in him. He's been subject to constant criticism which he doesn't reserve and he's made to look like one of the most limited players in the world skill-wise. (First touch, crossing, etc..) 3- Lucas Leiva: What? give him more years? Enough is enough at some point. This is LFC. Do the players forget what badge their chests bears sometimes? Lucas Leiva would not be a Liverpool player in 100 years. The only contributions I remember of him after all this time, is when he caused P. Neville to get sent off and when he scored against Havant & Waterlooville. (Oh the tragedies we've been through). Up to this day, it's very obvious that Lucas has not learned about the physicality of this league. He is also slow, brainless, and a nobody. But not only has Rafa made him a Liverpool player, he has made him a regular, for the whole season, even when Aquilani is fit. End Result: Disgrace of a player. (One of rafa's favorite players alongside Aurelio, etc..) 4- Alberto Aquilani: IF Maxi flops, I really wouldnt blame him. If Kyrgiakos and Degen flop, I wouldn't blame them. They have been brought to the club for almost nothing yet they try the hardest. Look at Kyrgiakos go, he's immense at the back, but even if he wasn't, would it be his fault? No. But when you do have money, say about, 20m quid, and you get Alberto Aquilani, then you're only making Roma's day. Or maybe even decade. We're signing him for 5 years not 1 game is the excuse? Well 1 season is almost gone by with the Little Prince not having played for months, sometimes even when he's fit. When commentators go crazy on the telly saying "why is a 20m signing on the bench", you'd think "pfff, what do they know about our club". Well no god damnit, the player did cost 20m and that sort of money cannot be spent for 'experimenting' when you're dying to get that top 4 spot. In a match like Wolves v Liverpool, when creativity is what we're begging for and the creative 20m Italian playmaker cannot make a contribution in Rafa's eyes, but Lucas can.. then Jesus Christ. End Result: Rafa will never be blamed or admit that he flopped around 30m quid in transfers (Aqua and Keane), something not many managers can get away with when you have NO FUNDS. 5- Wolves: What we saw today vs Wolves was not only the worst performance.. well I don't even know if it was the worst performance because we've had so many throughout the years, and mostly this season, but when a team like Wolves who are obviously on that pitch screaming "PLEASE DONT RAPE US" and we just sit back and do nothing... when we cant take proper throw ins, corner kicks, put a few passes together... When the first half ends 0-0 and what is needed in the game is very clear and we don't have a manager who can fucking tell the lads to have a go (something I bet Mick McCarthy did), then what do we have? I wonder sometimes if Rafa allows Sammy Lee to talk during half time, because if Sammy talked instead of Rafa, we'd at least see an improvement of 1% in the 2nd half. Wolves could’ve won this match if they tried a bit harder like Reading did, but they didn't want to risk it. It wasn't a cup match and 0-0 is a perfect result for them from such a game. Some managers just throw in subs in the last minute, just because theyre superstitious and they think it's their last resort. They pray for a miracle, a super-sub, anything.. especially when their team looks like a fucking corpse. Rafa is stubborn and he has his ways. Well its not for no reason that we lie in 6th and have horrible teams around us in the table. We saw how shit Spurs were, how inconsistent Villa are, even City.. Even Birmingham are close to us. It's not for no reason we're out of all competitions. Yes, the Liverpool way is to stick by your manager through thick and thin because its in the best interest of the club. But it is not the Liverpool Way to be fucking blind about things because that would only lead to shit getting worse without even noticing it. I'd respect a manager who promises his fans immediate success after the 100th crisis over the seasons, not a manager who abuses his fan's trust and loyalty with sentences like "the fans aren't stupid, they understand, they'll back me, muahaha". Face it, any other manager for a top club like us would be sacked now and he's lucky we don't have the finances to sack him. Yet instead of thanks the Lord for this, he keeps going on about his arrogance with a slight sense of hesitation. To conclude, I would like to say that YES I STILL BACK RAFA because the club needs this backing. I would even sing his name if necessary in the stands and would appreciate him saluting us back. I would love to see him again singing along with the pre-match anthem. BUT ONLY because we should realize we can't afford to sack him and because the club cannot afford anymore media shitstirring, and ultimately because the club would self-destruct if we eventually aren't able to afford anyone better. This team might still go on and get 4th place, but I wouldn't accept anyone giving the credit to Rafa anymore. I say he and his negative tactics are the reason we're not there already. I know his red cheeks are too tempting not to love when we're doing good, but the players are the ones who are fighting for it, despite probably not being shown enough charisma and motivation by Rafa. YNWA. PS: I will not proof-read, so forgive me for typos and such, but I'm too gutted, and disgusted, and sorry for the long post.

Yet another month of pain, sorrow, disappointment and grief is upon us all. We will wake up every single day until February the 1st 5pm and expect to see a positive headline concerning our transfer targets, yet all we will see is players going from club to club, LFC targets choosing to go to smaller clubs simply because they are left with no choice. Even players like Heskey, Crouch, etc.. who some don't even necessarily want to return, will be reluctant to return. We will sign 15-16 year old players and claim they are a good prospect for the future while we watch Arsenal and the likes pull off last minute super transfers who will go on and score 4 goals past us at Anfield. PLEASE POST SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO GET THROUGH THIS NIGHTMARE. My suggestion: do not read papers/websites until window closes.

The whole point is he CANT change anything, not even Allah can.

Lol, joke all you want, but I'm 24, and I feel like a part of my life is destroyed, I've experienced many ups and downs with Liverpool the past 2 decades, but I've never felt like this, it feels like there's no way out. It's a motherfucking nightmare.

Enough with the threads about Rafa. It's so clear this is not about Rafa, whether he's good or not, who cares? Not only can we not get rid of him, but even if we do, we cant afford a new manager, and even if we do, the new manager won't have a budget for new players, and if he does, it means someone bought the club.. so it's all going to come to the same thing. It's not about luck anymore, or turning it around, the pattern is fucked. We beat Wigan then we kick the ball right and left vs Portsmouth while Tottenham, Villa, City are all living a dream at the moment, in a season where everyone is dropping points, and it's pretty clear one of them will make it. So.. 1- No new manager 2- No one to buy the club 3- No CL next year 4- No new signings 5- No improvement of results.. Those are AT LEAST short-term certainties so KNOWING this, what do u think will happen? Will players want to leave? is this the end of us? Seriously.

Help is needed on the official site for making a mosaic tomorrow to show our friendship to the Viola fans. The last time a memorable mosaic was made from us was the the Juventus fans because of the 39 fans. The official site claims that for over 30 years we have been allies with Fiorentina, but everyone knows they befriend us BECAUSE of the 39 fans we supposedly "killed". They hate Juventus and adore us for our shameful actions back in 1985. They say "your story for us is a legend", they wear shirts with the backs printed "-39". Yes, minus thirty nine. This is NOT The Liverpool Way. Supporting them tomorrow and even building a mosaic for them is a shame to football and humanity. email akraotl@aol.com right now, the address where you're supposed to write suggestions about the mosaic, but I think its where you should voice your concern about the shame this club has been going into in the last couple of years. Don't let it get worse. This is Liverpool Football Club. Get your emails in NOW.

Same goes to RVN, we don't need desperate signings imo

Normal service resumed. Never mind the double save or stupid comments suggesting Everton deserved something from this game, because I think how we managed to get three points from this game is the exact definition of the term ‘mission accomplished’. Reina might have pulled a miracle save around the 70th minute when we were 1-0 up, but take that out of the game and you’ll see a typical Benitez tactics application, and a mediocre Everton side. In fact, I think the way we played was out of necessity due to our current squad depth. We played well in the first quarter of the game, and if it wasn’t for that big deflection of a goal from Mascherano, another one was ready to go in any minute as the lads were up for it. When Masch did score – and kissed the Liverbird which was very pleasing to see – it could have seemed as if our performance suddenly dropped relatively quickly, but I don’t believe that is what happened. There is no point in persistent attacking when you know you don’t really have the firepower able to score another, and with Everton’s side not fully equipped either, it was a better option to sit back and cancel out their attempts for a while, especially with a solid Agger back in the mix. Credit to David Ngog again though, not many 20 year olds would be able to do more than that, alone up front in a big derby game as this. I also do agree with Aquilani’s not taking part again, but only this time. Bring on an Italian in a Meseyside derby when he’s just recovered from injury, as his first start, and you wouldn’t be able blame him if he flops the rest of the season. To be fair, it wasn’t that big of a derby game, 1 yellow card the whole game, and not a single conflict between any two players. But who cares, a tight and furious derby might have been the least thing we need right now. Three points is what we needed most, and a convincing three points is what we got. It’s been yet another ridiculous week as far as paper headlines go. ‘Rafa gets desperate’ and such, when the man only said he wants to stay at Liverpool and fight for this club. I’m not a big fan of his transfer policies and his team selection/substitutions at times but I will only be too critical of him when the situation at the club is normal, when the injury reports are at their minimal, and the team is still not doing well, which is quite possible with the current squad, but for now, making it into Europe’s elite for next season remains priority and luckily for Rafa, Spurs, Villa, and City all dropped 2 points, when we won a game that should be healthy for our confidence level. One final point, and one that really bothers me all the time, is that DIRK KUIJT IS A GREAT ATTACKER. Why this bothers me? Because he’s going to retire from football until Rafa realizes this simple fact. The sole reason we brought this chap from The Netherlands was that he was a prolific goalscorer for Feijenoord. And incidentally everytime he is used as an attacker, he manages to score a goal or provide an assist even if 5 minutes are left to full time, yet he is consistently used as a winger and made to look like one of the most limited players in the world, which in return brings stupid criticism. His winning character however still pushes him to work hard in defense and offense and often shows us his shots at goal from distance – his specialty - that are often more accurate than that of his teammates. I seriously hope Rafa learns from today, because Torres and Kuyt upfront is more than we need, especially with Ngog improving. Benayoun is perfect, but look for a decent right winger Rafa, we don’t need Patrick Vieira, but we do need balance and belief.

...

There are hundreds of better options than the ones that are always used I believe.

No one did mate. I also never thought I'd also follow a Stoke City game because they're so close to us in the table. In fact I didn't think the day would come when we'd say we're 9 points off relegation, and almost out of the Champions League... in 2009... Unless we all adopt a Tomkins attitude and say "We're on top of the league, your computers has a virus, format it and check the league again"

Tomkins.. for me, anything written which is NOT close to realistic, is horrible. Tomkins is horrible, fucking Alice in Wonderland.

Well, the football was RAPED out of this. I also wrote right after the game, just posted it today. I was going nuts really, 27 minutes into the first half, when in reality on 5 minutes of football had been played.

Color purposes Johnny mate :p It's like changing your tone while speaking so the listener wouldn't fall asleep :D Good comment tho.

One of the most disgusting first halves of football I've witnessed in my entire life. Probably not entirely down to the lacklustre performances of both sides, but I thought those injuries or moments that stopped the game, simply raped the life out of this supposed main event. We really started well and it really looked like the goal was a sniff away, so what could happen now? Next scene on the telly - Agger barely able to stand his ground followed by a scene right out of one of the Halloween movies, taken off with a bloody face. Took the sting right out of it all, and I'm pretty gutted about it, it’s the last thing we needed. Then right when you think the game MIGHT go back on, BANG, both Gerrard and Babel are down. That's where I thought Stevie's probably going to tell Babel to sod off. It looked like one of those moments when Stevie's seen a rare open space and took his position and Babel blocks him off with an unnecessary dribble. Thank God it was the City player who actually put in a tackle on Babel, or so it appeared on the replay. Two subs consumed, therefore Aquilani's chances of getting some game goes to virtually zero. We only do subs after the 80th minute when we have three available. The injury problems are something we're getting used to now, part of the Liverpool Way, a joke being made here and there. Commentators saying Yossi is coming off early to make the plane to Belgrade for a 'special' placenta treatment, then having a laugh about Rafa's notes saying its either the Christmas shopping list or the new injury list. Seriously, get a hold of yourself mate, focus on the game and try not to make ridiculous mistakes like "Benitez to Kuyt" when Gerrard passes to ball to Kuyt. And what's this placenta thing anyway? Early morning headlines, 3 players back from injury after a "special treatment" in Mariana's office or whoever… Jesus Christ. Ngog was impressive at times, and quite the opposite at other times, but I wouldn't blame him at all today. He did quite well for a youngster who hasn't played much for us and was operating as an out and out striker, and he did create the goal did he not? Nonetheless, the squad lacks a huge amount of quality. Lucas somewhat summed up what I'm saying when the difference between taking 1 point and 3 points was down to him at the death. I bet not many were surprised he missed it. The lad's been doing okay the last few games, in the sense that he's been passing around balls, staying calm, maintaining focus, but it's Lucas Leiva, it's not Kaka (probably the worst and best of white Brazilian players). Crippled from head to toe, we still managed to NOT lose vs. the impressive team from the city of Manchester. The only explanation I could formulate while seeing the game, was that it doesn't matter which team comes to Anfield, but rather the approach these teams take, which I find to be quite common. I think most of the Premier League’s teams come to Anfield now with one single thought in head. "We don't need to attack, we can wait for them to attack. What are the odds they will score from these attacks with a downsized squad and a handicapped mentality. They won't. It will wear them down, and then we will try to put in a few silly attacks, if we manage to score from one, we'll win". Man United is probably the only team who wouldn't afford such a loser mentality, so they usually have a go, and the better team usually wins. We do. Debrecen. To care or not to care.

With January only a month and a half away, we're linked with about 10 more players than we would normally be when we were in a better financial situation, isnt it? If you're a FM10 fan, and you tried to play with Liverpool, you'd find yourself with a 2m transfer budget, which only gets u to think "How are we linked with the likes of van der Vaart?" Elia? Eduardo? Kjaer? What's going on.. Apparently Mascherano's agent has already agreed personal terms with Barcelona and the transfer fee is meant to be around 30m. I don't know what to make of that. I could easily say it's bollocks, but it's not the first time this rumor has come around, and knowing Rafa's preference of Lucas, it could well be that our future midfield will be based around the partnership of Lucas and Aquilani with Gerrard available to take that role if necessary. If 30m is really offered for Javier, then I think he will go. I'm a huge fan of him, but right now it only seems like the right decision to sell the chap and use that money.. or half of it to invest in an attacking option, and maybe some for another back-up defender? And the rest of the money surely to cover the 'debts'. Finally some good news, Stevie's back against City, meaning we do have some hope of scoring a goal considering Voronin will be our main forward option with Ngog out as the curse continues. I personally want to an established new name come in January, even if we have to sell some stock to get it, because we need it. Right now, even an Eduardo sounds like a savior unfortunately, but we have to make do.

Reading this first thing in the morning signals that I will be having a bad day.

if we can get VDV, then so be it, but yeah.. pls not carlton cole, that would be another anelka at his shit phases

YNWA Vladi

Is it possible to get more thoughts on this please? am I the only one who thinks the players cant be bothered?

Benitez admitted Lee Carsley's challenge on David Ngog probably should not have been a penalty. "Maybe it wasn't a penalty but we deserved to score more goals," he said. "We have had a lot of situations against us this year - and now one for us in a game where we played well and deserved more. I was asking David afterwards and he said maybe it wasn't a penalty." SHAME

I want rafa to stay for one more season.

both I'd say, whats up with the physios? Riera recovering from injury only to be able to play one half, then yossi injured, whats next?

Good point mate. I'll be involved more often.

I was reading an article before the match which pointed out how easy criticizing someone can be. I'm sure everyone knows who I'm talking about, and funnily for once I agreed with most of the article but I also thought beating Birmingham at home, one of the Premier League's current most awful sides, should be an easy task as well, especially with our backs against the wall. Needless to say, the article was based on the defending of Mr. Benitez, showing the results of a thorough research/investigation which of course indicates that he is up there with the likes of Shankly, Paisley, and Dalglish, and that even Shankly's winning ratio was 53% at one stage. I think this is the most ridiculous comparison a human being has ever made. What can you do when you buy an enthusiastic Robbie Keane for around 22 million and then he wants to leave? The manager can't do anything about it can he.. Well I thought it was Keane's dream to play for Liverpool, and I thought its within the manager's duties to keep players happy and make the right choice regarding who's to come and who's to go. Suddenly Keane's gone with a loss of around 10 million, and we're left with a young David Ngog, because I won't be counting Voronin, and we struggle to beat Birmingham at home when we really need it. Incidentally, I was at Anfield in 2007 for Liverpool v Birmingham and much to our shock Rafa decided it would be best if Torres stays on the bench, and guess who replaced him. Andriy Voronin. Guess the full time result. 0-0. How can a sane manager not have improved on this situation in 2 years time. Do we really have to be diving around to get penalties and read headlines in the mornings that say "Penalty saves stuttering Reds" ?(not that I care about newspaper headlines). Another question, has Rafa become a victim to those headlines? Did he bring on Aquilani to save himself from comments such as "If you don't bring on your 20 million buy at this point, when are you ever going to bring him on?" Because in my opinion, the Benitez I know wouldn't have put Aquilani on yesterday, especially not to replace Lucas, as the latter was once again one of the most committed on the pitch, putting through vital interceptions when we were chasing the game, and I thought he was fired up and at that later stage, part of the monster that knew what is needed from the game. But on came a cold Aquilani, trying to adapt to the hundred degree atmosphere for the first time ever. To be fair, the chain of evens that's been going against us has been unbelievable. All the injuries, all the problems, the bad luck, the funny beach ball moments, and seeing Yossi and Riera both coming off with both sustaining seemingly long-term injuries just puts the icing on the cake. Maybe this is what I meant when I said that the titanic just hit the iceberg. I wish we could go 2-3 weeks back and not concede that equalizer against Lyon at Anfield, but that's not how things work unfortunately. We have to face the FACTS, which put us there amongst the likes of Sunderland and Stoke City in the table, and those that show us we have lost the discipline and the determination. The difference between both matches in 2007 and now, is that 2 years ago it was highly unlikely that Mikael Forssel or whoever played up front for Birmingham would even get a shot on target. If we weren't able to score, then it was going to finish scoreless. Has our back line gotten weaker? I dont think so, I think it looks even more solid now (on paper). You wouldn't need more than Carra, Skrtel and Agger. Johnson has been immense so far, and I don't even want to consider the idea of a "solid Arbeloa" would've been better because Glen keeps going forward a lot. We wanted someone who went forward a lot and we got England's best. It's simply lack of concentration and belief. To allow Jerome to score 1 of his "4 goals a season" goals against us in that way means that we're on to something. Probably some kind of a relaxant the lads are swallowing before the games. I'm not sure if it's good or bad news that we have to wait 11 days for the next main event at Anfield, a fixture we couldn't overcome last season under better conditions. It's useless to say we have to beat Manchester City because it's simply a must win game now, that and all the remaining games we have, not for Rafa to keep his job but for us to be playing the Champions League next year. And still I wonder why Mascherano had to run half the pitch length to take that corner kick. No one else could be bothered perhaps. Walk on.