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For a lot of fans last nights disgraceful loss to Reading was the last straw when it came to Rafa and his position as manager for the club we all love, while some still have faith he will be able to turn it around. Personally I find myself in the first camp and there are a lot of reasons for this and I like to think I have come to the conclusion based on some balanced analysis of the current situation. I will try and point out a few reasons as to why I dont think there are a way back for Rafa from our current situation. Tactics/set up: What exactly is our current tactics and set up? For me it looks like we are supposed to go out there, keep it tight, dont give away much space, try to keep the ball as this helps us control the game and if we can control the game we will most likely get a few chances on the back of this. Sometimes we stand high in the pitch, but we see this more and more seldom, probably because it means we will give away more space if the opponent can break through one of our defensive lines and still control the ball, so we usually sit back at least 3/4 of most games without really going for it. Players: The less said the better it is I guess, but Rafa`s recruitment of players can be summed up by his interview when we signed Maxi this week. "We were looking for players with character and a good mentality," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv. "He has played for Argentina and Atletico Madrid and is a player with personality. "He can play in three positions - on the right, left or as a second striker - and is someone with a very positive mentality, which is what we are looking for. Maybe its just me, but personally I could not care less about these attributes. The day our manager comes out and tell us that we have signed a player, with pace, skill and ability, someone who can create things on his own and that he will fit really good into the set up we are trying to get woking because his skills and abilties are complementary to the players close to him in our system is the day I know we will be going forward and not even more backwards. I also question if Rafa actually know how to work together with strong personalities, because frankly nothing he has done so far either with us or Valencia points in that direction. But I will touch upon this in my next point. Rafa`s personality: It is pretty clear to me by now that Rafa is a control freak and if you cross him or makes a mistake he thinks is crucial to his own ambitouns then you are out, even if it does not necessarily mean it will be the best solution for the team/club. We have enough examples from our own club so I will not use any examples from Valencia here. I can mention, Pako, Riise, Bellamy, Cisse, Alonso, Crouch etc as examples and it shows a pattern which gives me concerns and I dont think it will ever change. Rafa has now got full control, he is surrounded by yes men in his staff and he is surrounded by yes men amongst the players, because thats the only type of players he signs. No wonder things have gone tits up, who are going to challenge his ideas, who are going to help him find his way back from being lost in his own ideas and the belief he cant do anything wrong? Man management: Rafa is supposed to distance himself from the players, but when we look at the kind of players he actually is signing, is this a wise approach. I would say no, if he had signed more of those players he do not sign because they dont take everything that is told them as gospel and they actually have some own ideas about how the game should be played then such an approach might be fine, because these kind of players usually dont need an arm around the shoulder, they will have such belief in their own abilities that they will be able to cope with a manger who distances himself from the squad. The sheep Rafa is signing on the other hand, for them its different, since they dont really have much ability in the first place, they need a manager who will convince them they are the best players in the world, a manager who makes them believe in themselves and a manager who tells them they are fuckin great. With Rafa though this will never happen, so what we end up with is shite players thinking they are shite ebcause no one gives them the positive fedback they need and their own abilities certainly will never make them think they are great. Summary: We have a manager who thinks hard work and control will win you enough games to win the league, but for this to be possible we have to sign som players wih pace, skill and ability for the attacking positions, the poblem is that many of these players carry a baggage as well, a baggage Rafa has shown he is not able to handle so we will not sign them. We do not really have a basic attacking gameplan to fall back on if this hard work/control/pressure method with average players does not work either and we only have two or three players in the sqaud being able to create anything on their own so we are bound to get trouble. A lot of managers have adopted the same ideas as Rafa, but they have also implented an attacking gameplan and most them also trust flair players to do a job so what was woking so good for Rafa a few seasons ago now seems to have catched up with him and it neds to be developed further. All in all I`m not sure Rafa`s ideas and methods ever will be good enough to win us the league the way things are going so personally I think he neess to go now. It started pomising, but its gone downhill in symmetry with how much control Rafa has got and how he has been able to build his own squad the last couple of seasons. What we see infront of us now is all Rafa`s work and I cant see how he can work his way out of this.