mypost

Lyon and Fulham spring to mind. He is the latest to speak out against Rafa. One or two you could call rebels, but there's a lot more than that, and they can't all be wrong.

I have been a bitter critic of his reign, but always from a professional point of view. He wasn't the right man to take us forward as a club, but Rafa the man always was courteous and generous to people and charities during his time in Liverpool. The donations he made will be welcomed and appreciated by those who received them for years to come. I hope that in the past 6 years, he's also dispelled to some extent the negative image of Madridistas, the world over. They're not all Franco sympathisers, but just tolerant and hospitable people like everyone else.

I hope for your own sake, that you don't say the above in front of people who have been victims of it.

Owen, Cisse, Crouch, Bellamy, Pennant, Keane, Ayestaran, Babel, Alonso, Riera, El Zhar, Benayoun..... Some of the list of people who have been shunned/sold by RB over the years which continues to grow. Some of them spoke out, others will follow over the coming months. And who are we blaming? Chris Bascombe. :whatever:

Getting offended about it is not been pc. I love and advocate free speech all the time, but I find the r*** subject uncomfortable and the word offensive if used in a Liverpool-related context, while if I am debating the subject in everyday life, I use an alternative word to describe the same thing. In tv terms, it counts as an offensive word, unless discussing the real thing. What Souness said can't be condoned and RTE were right to issue an apology.

And that's the opposition we face most weeks.

We can either have 4-2-3-1 or another forward to play another formation. No forward is going to volunteer to sit on the bench every week, while Torres hogs the 1 upfront to himself. Crouch didn't, Keane didn't, Babel didn't. If he does, he will complain about it privately and publically, and that is lethal for general squad morale. The 1 upfront is Torres bar injury/suspension/cup games. No one else will get a look in. That severely limits options in the transfer market too, not just upfront, but in other areas as well. The formation is completely dependent on a handful of players, hence why we are dubbed a 2-man team. That is a terrible indictment of our use of transfer funds and the market, and the results have been seen on the pitch. It used to work, it doesn't work anymore, and it must be changed now.

The Bold word confirms what I've said all along. We need A player who can make a formation work, but this is a team sport, and we need a formation that works for the 10 outfield players, not 1. Germany found to their cost the effect of the system against Spain. The system is fundamentally there to frustrate. When Spain scored, the Germans had to create. They couldn't do so, and are out of the WC because of it. Injuries have a lot to do with it, as when the player on which the system is dependent is injured, then the system is useless, and you have to try something else. Last season, the coach was not prepared to try something else no matter what, and we know the result of it. As earlier said by Red Phoenix, without that one player in it, the whole formation is fucked, and the consequences for us are there for everyone to see. To play 60 games with 1 formation dependent on 1 player with no flexibility is wrong, and doomed to failure. Yes it worked 2 seasons ago, but the reality is, it won no silverware, and last season, the opposition knew how to play against it. That means we have to try something else this year, or it'll be another year wasted.

He will score goals fair enough, but he'll only play about half the games, due to injuries of one sort or another, and cup ties. It's not just his show though, it's a team game, and for him to get the chances to score, the team has to create chances for him. Last year's team had to play 4-2-3-1, and sometimes we didn't get a shot on target, never mind score. An individual can fit into a formation, that doesn't mean everyone else can. And the team's interests must be put ahead of one player. 4-4-2 has 2 full-centre backs, 2 centre midfielders, 2 wingers, and 2 forwards. It's a team formation and is much more promising trying to break sides down, than relying on one player to get 3 points all the time. It was found out by opposition last season, and we need something different for this one. We've had great strike partnerships down through the years. At the moment, we have Torres and well, Torres. That can't continue.

They regularly win games by 3 or 4 goals. Chelsea scored 7 or 8 in certain games last season. In contrast, we got what we got playing 4-2-3-1. It helped to put us out of the FA Cup to minnows at home, it put us out of the CL after 5 games, it dumped us out of the UEFA Cup at home on away goals, it got us 7th place in the League championship, cost the boss his job, and has put the futures of many of those players in limbo. Still keen on 4-2-3-1? I'm not.

Well if winning teams use it, clearly they weren't talking about us. We've put up with it for at least 2 seasons now, and all it won was a record points total since 1992. I detest the system, it's cautious, leaves you vulnerable, and is completely useless when you have to create chances and chase games. Even the winning teams get caught out with it eventually. It's not my favourite system, but at least a 4-4-2 provides balance of 2 players in each position. A 4-2-3-1 relies on one player to make it work. If not, it fails. For us, it's a system for trips to mancland, chelsea and the arse. The rest of the time, we need to win games, and select an attacking formation. I hope we'll see a better formation this season.

Forward. Without a doubt. I'm hoping that out with the last coach goes the insane 4-2-3-1 madness. We need 2 men upfront almost every week. Don't care how it's done, just as long as it is. It will get rid of the sterile stuff we've had to endure for the last few years, and allow SG to move back to centre midfield, his specialist position. Then we might make some headway in this league.

Some of it had to do with his press conferences. In most cases, he said nothing but the usual spiel. When he said something noteworthy, he usually put his foot in it, e.g. the 4th place promise, the G&H row. Mourinho wound everyone up with his conferences with his comments, but the press in general loved it. Rafa gave them little in comparison. Give the monkey a banana every day and he'll be happy, give the monkey nothing, and he'll go looking for bananas. Rafa never quite grasped that side of journalism.

These days, that's a nice complaint to have. Most people at home games live within reasonable distance of the stadium, so a Sunday afternoon ko should not put them out too much, even if they have work the next day. If fans had to travel the length of the country for a 9-10pm ko on a Sunday night in mid-winter, as in Spain, France, or Italy, then the Sunday ko is an issue. Otherwise, there should be minimal impact on their lives.

We play Sunday at 3.00, and the difference of one day isn't that oppressive. We had 3 home games at 3pm on Saturday last season. I hate playing at 12.45. It's time for lunch then, not football.

The French league has the League Cup, which Marseille won this year, providing the springboard for Deschamps to bring home the league for the first time in 17 years. Yes of course, the League Cup is important for this club. Our record in it alone demands we take it seriously. It was Houllier's first trophy, it was Benitez's first final, and Evans only trophy here. It has provided wonderful memories and successes down through the years for us. Sadly, the people that matter, ie not the fans, dismiss the cup as a reserve team kickabout that serves no purpose. Every trophy is worth fighting for, as success breeds success. The more trophies you compete in, the more you stand the chance of winning silverware. It's not only the best chance we have of winning something next season, it could be the only chance of qualifying for Europe if the league season runs aground. I'd love to claim the three sided cup back next season, if the press devalue it by comparing it to other competitions, fuck them. We won it, that's all I care about.

He didn't have 40 million Euro to play with it every summer at Fulham, or other clubs recently, yet he spent what he had wisely. He didn't blow his sales re-investment on 3 players, that had to cost 20 million and had to play in a set formation, in order to be considered. In his job interview, he said that he can get more out of the players we already have, and he has to do that here at the moment to get anywhere. He's shown he can do it elsewhere, so there's no reason to suggest he won't do it here. As regards his trophy record, he took 7 points off us from the last 4 league games with an average Fulham side, and got them to a UEFA Cup final, 2 years after beating the drop. He may not have won many prizes lately, but then again, neither have we in recent years.

The German league is regularly scoffed at by the British press, but it's the model way to run a league, and the clubs run themselves perfectly. Every club is run by it's fanbase, no club has debt, never mind the telephone number debt figures in the EPL, there are just 34 games in the season, and a 2 month winter break*. Games are not moved to insane ko times at 10 day's notice, every club gets it's fair share of tv exposure, while a flawless transportation network carries fans across the country to see their team play on a Saturday afternoon. The fan comes first in Germany, whereas in England, the fan's needs come last. There is little sign or desire in the EPL, of the current model changing. *Just a 4 week winter break in the past season, less again when training camps are considered.

I like big games out of the way as well.....if they're away first. I prefer to keep the glamour home ones towards the end, and the manc and toffee games have fitted perfectly for us this season. The trips are gone by mid-October, the home ones saved until later in the season. Recently, we've had the mancs at home early, way too early for my liking. We'll have a huge amount of Sunday games, as the forfeit for last season's placing, but we'll go into them that weekend knowing exactly what we have to do to keep pace with our rivals . As regards Birmingham, we shouldn't be worrying about playing them home or away, we're due some luck against them after the past few years.

Tough start maybe, but in general it's a good fixture list. Home first, mancs and toffees away early which gets those trips out of the way early, City away early. Newly promoted side home in October, away to them on 26 December, we finish the year and start the new one with home games. manc home game in the last quarter of the season too. First and last game are home to the North London teams too. Only downer is the last game away at Villa. Other than that, I'm fairly happy with the list. I think with the impetus of a new coach, and players looking to impress, we'll beat Arsenal on Day 1, but there were just 3 Saturday home games at 3pm last season, and there'll be a similiar amount this season, part of the punishment for where we've finished in the league.

An artcle with no quotes, means it's crap. Torres will be staying here, unless the bank says he can't. If Chelsea admired him so much, where were they in 2007 when we were the only club in the running to buy him? Laughing at him, that's where they were. Well, we had the last laugh then, and we'll have the last laugh now.

Speculation has and will envelope the whole club during the close season. Every day, something different is written about us, to contradict what was said the day before. We've just had a month of it about the coaching position, as it has been settled, there'll be another 6 weeks of it now about players. We do need a mass clearout granted, but I think G&T will stay at least one more season. Steve has had it all before, while Torres had to live with mediocrity and CL-less seasons at Atletico for years. It didn't make him leave there then, and it shouldn't make him leave now. If we're no better off in 12 months though, they may review their situations.

Welcome to our club Roy, and the best of luck in cleaning up the rubble left behind by the last coach. I can now look forward to mundane games against Wigan, Portsmouth, Reading, Barnsley, etc, without worrying just how much embarrassment we'll have to endure this week.