Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[Frankiestine]

Originally Posted by (o)(o) Tuner

Liverpool has been a disappointment this season. Everything didn't seems to work right after the departure of Xabi Alonso. But that's all an excuse, nobody is indispensable.

I guess other then Pepe Reina who has been the only consistent player this season, the rest has actually fell short of their potential.

Hate to say this but thou Ronaldo was the key player for scums last few season but his departure did not disrupt their performance too much all because they have been consistent thou not a single player stood out this season..

[Snow-Wolf]

I do agree with bro Turner that no one player is indispensible in a team of eleven footballers. However, in the case of Alonso, we lost a player who could pull the strings from midfield and spray passes to set up attacks or counter attacks from almost anywhere on the pitch.

When he left, Rafa decided to play Lucas in there and then we went into a system of having two holding midfielders with Mascherano as well, but neither player is able to create from midfield. Mind you I don't mind Mascherano because of his tackling ability and being able to break up or spoil the oppsing team form playing. However, Lucas is not the same. He is but a headless chicken running all over the park and adding little to our overall team play.

That being the case, why oh why doesn't Rafa play Gerrard back in central midfield and drop Lucas to the bench [Gerrerd is in view the only other player we've got right now who can do this job]. Instead, he sticks Gerrard up front with Torres but what good is Gerrard up there if there isn't anyone behind to create and pass the ball to him and Torres so that they can have a goal scoring opportunity??? In short, let Gerrard be the playmaker and pull the strings from deep in midfield!!!

Also, Alonso left us because Rafa was trying to sign Barry to replace him. Having watched quite a number of Man City matches this season, how Rafa thought that Barry is a more complete and better player than Alonso is an absolute amazement to me!!!!

All I can say is that it seems to me that Rafa has lost the plot this season. A decent team of footballers do not turn into a team of bad footballers just after one season. In as much as one player doesn't make a football club, especially our beloved Liverpool, one manager also doesn't make a football club either. I believe that the current woes on the pitch can be averted if Rafa just plays his best eleven players and in thier proper positions and forget about his rotation policy. He would do well also not to show blind favourtism to players like Lucas and Kuyt, who in my view are not good enough to play in midfield and right wing respectively.

No disrespect to Kuyt, whom I actually do like beacuse he is hardworking. However, he is not effective on the right. Let him play upfront with Torres (which is his natural position anyway) to knock about the opposite defenders and use his industry to harrass their backline. Actually, come to think of it, when a couple of seasons ago Gerrard was tasked with the right wing job, he actually scored 21 goals, not to mention countless other assists!!! Kuyt is not this type of a creative player like Gerrard. He is a poacher moulded in the ways of the old style centre forward calculated at creating havoc and mayhem for the opposing backline and force mistakes. In any event, I certainly think having Kuyt upfront is better than playing Ngog there.

Btw, I havn't forgotten about the miraculous 3-3 comeback win in Istanbul the first season Rafa came in. Nonetheless, I believe the time has come for the club and Rafa to go their separate ways. Perhaps bringing in a new manager can freshen up the team so that the players can build up the necessary confidence to achieve better results on the pitch. I for one, do not believe that Rafa is the only manager in the world capable of managing Liverpool Football Club!!!!

[bochapsing]

Originally Posted by (o)(o) Tuner

Nobody wants to lose, everybody wants to win. But when you don't, you have to be a good loser. You can't blame anybody else but the players themselves. Rafa did well last season and received many warm welcome and support from fans, bosses and players. Simply becos everybody BELIEVE in him, and the BELIEVE is very important.

Look at Arsene Wenger. Why is he so successful in AFC?

i believe in continuity in management.. keep changing management may bring short term success, but u need a stable management team to build up the academy, scout team etc.. and to be successful in long run..

look at real madrid, manager comes and goes... so even with the unlimited budget, they have not been as successful in recent years.. their most successful period is them sticking with del bosquet as manager for the few years (thou oso with the help of unlimited budget)...

but even wenger has not been very succeesul in recent years, he has been giving reasons like "we spend little money... we are having a young team..." but the fact is he had won almost nothing in recent years.. EPL nowadays are not as easy as few years ago liao...

btw guus hiddink is reported off the payroll of abramovic, tat mean he's available... but i dun think he'll be interested in managing a team own by the 2 jokers..

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

I guess other then Pepe Reina who has been the only consistent player this season, the rest has actually fell short of their potential.

Hate to say this but thou Ronaldo was the key player for scums last few season but his departure did not disrupt their performance too much all because they have been consistent thou not a single player stood out this season..

ya man... reina is the only player who is keeping up his good form from last season...

without ronaldo, man utd is missing a "match winner"... tat's y they r losing or drawing many games comparing to last season...

actually this season is the best chance to challenge for the epl title, considering the big teams lost some key players... arsenal (adebayor) man utd (ronaldo, tevez)..

but......

[owen10]

I was wondering what do bros think abt Acquilani's performance so far???

have caught him in bit parts n full performance in d 2 Reading games. so far i dun thk his performance justify the 20m price tag paid. nowhere near. as a commentator said, d Italian is havin difficulty adjusting to the fast pace n physical aspects of the English game. Often he's too slow on the ball n often robbed by opponents. he doesnt react quick enuff when pressured by opponents n often misplaced his passes.

ok to be fair, lets give him a few more games to acclimatise. if he still struggles after 10 full games, Rafa ought to seriously consider if Acqui shd be sold next season. i hope bros here pardon me for my harshness but i think as a pro, n some1 who come with a heavy price tag he must pull up his socks!

[rahl]

Originally Posted by owen10

I was wondering what do bros think abt Acquilani's performance so far???

Frankly, I thought he did well, given he is short of match fitness.

And let's not bring up the price tag all the time. The real point is, does he add value to our midfield and attack? I would like to see a midfield with Mascher and AA and see how that works.

PS. Talk about being pressured, Yossi can lose the ball and you can also harry Alonso into a mistake or back pass (granted, the lad seems to know how to win red cards for us!).

So pls, in this difficult time, some perspective and support.

PPS. I do think Lucas has been poor in the last few games and needs a rest.

PPPS. My team for Stoke:

Reina
Carragher Agger Skrtel Aurelio
Kuyt Mascherano Plessis/Spearing Maxi
Aquilani Ngog

(Where our goals going to come from?? Time for Riera for be fit)

[bochapsing]

Originally Posted by Snow-Wolf

Also, Alonso left us because Rafa was trying to sign Barry to replace him. !

dun understand why people blame rafa for trying to sign barry which resulted in alonso leaving us...

alonso was not playing well in the season before that, wat's wrong with a manager trying to sign another player to replace the under-performed player.. and if rafa sticked to alonso and his form din improve, then he'll be criticsed for favouritism again...

Originally Posted by rahl

Frankly, I thought he did well, given he is short of match fitness.

And let's not bring up the price tag all the time. The real point is, does he add value to our midfield and attack? I would like to see a midfield with Mascher and AA and see how that works.

PPPS. My team for Stoke:

Reina
Carragher Agger Skrtel Aurelio
Kuyt Mascherano Plessis/Spearing Maxi
Aquilani Ngog

(Where our goals going to come from?? Time for Riera for be fit)

i felt Aquilani did well in the last few game too... give him some time to adjust to the epl...

Rafa line-up:
Reina
Carrager, Skrtl, Agger, Insua
Kuyt, MAcherano, Lucas, Aurelio
Aquilani
Ngog

My preferred line-up:
Reina (hope he's fit, Cavalieri looked nervous and dun look comfortable in coming forward to claim the high balls)
Darby / Degen, CArragher, Agger, Aurelio
Macherano, Aquilani
Maxi, Pacheco (give tat boy a game), Riera (he's back in squad, but dun think is fit to start)
Kuyt
...

dun think we'll ever see babel again... so even riera is back, we're short handed in our left side too.. another option is to play insua in LB and Aurelio in LM... but i think it's time to give lucas and insua a rest...

[sex crusader]

The sight of Lucas make me sick! I often see a headless chicken running all over the field.'In Rafa we trust'.... Skertel plays so well and i wonder why he is on the bench most of the time.Agger is just an overrated defender in my opinion.'In Rafa can we trust'...

[Frankiestine]

Seems like these "one of those days" matches are becoming very very common...another disappointing result..

[Cum_Luver]

just cannot hold on to a lead or increase it.
concede a last minute goal and another draw.
very disappointed.

Match Stats shown 0 corner kick for us and 10 corner kicks for Stoke.

[see see only]

Originally Posted by Cum_Luver

just cannot hold on to a lead or increase it.
concede a last minute goal and another draw.
very disappointed.

Match Stats shown 0 corner kick for us and 10 corner kicks for Stoke.

When is the match stoke vs liverpool huh ?

Just now me watched the live game ...... Stoke vs "Blackpool" game, "Blackpool" played like shit ...... kana left right centre from Stoke city ... it is so lucky they still manage a draw

Though "blackpool" star players never oso dont need to play like shit meh ...


KNNBCCB i think blackpool can played better

[hawksbay]

Originally Posted by Snow-Wolf

I do agree with bro Turner that no one player is indispensible in a team of eleven footballers. However, in the case of Alonso, we lost a player who could pull the strings from midfield and spray passes to set up attacks or counter attacks from almost anywhere on the pitch.

When he left, Rafa decided to play Lucas in there and then we went into a system of having two holding midfielders with Mascherano as well, but neither player is able to create from midfield. Mind you I don't mind Mascherano because of his tackling ability and being able to break up or spoil the oppsing team form playing. However, Lucas is not the same. He is but a headless chicken running all over the park and adding little to our overall team play.

That being the case, why oh why doesn't Rafa play Gerrard back in central midfield and drop Lucas to the bench [Gerrerd is in view the only other player we've got right now who can do this job]. Instead, he sticks Gerrard up front with Torres but what good is Gerrard up there if there isn't anyone behind to create and pass the ball to him and Torres so that they can have a goal scoring opportunity??? In short, let Gerrard be the playmaker and pull the strings from deep in midfield!!!

Also, Alonso left us because Rafa was trying to sign Barry to replace him. Having watched quite a number of Man City matches this season, how Rafa thought that Barry is a more complete and better player than Alonso is an absolute amazement to me!!!!

All I can say is that it seems to me that Rafa has lost the plot this season. A decent team of footballers do not turn into a team of bad footballers just after one season. In as much as one player doesn't make a football club, especially our beloved Liverpool, one manager also doesn't make a football club either. I believe that the current woes on the pitch can be averted if Rafa just plays his best eleven players and in thier proper positions and forget about his rotation policy. He would do well also not to show blind favourtism to players like Lucas and Kuyt, who in my view are not good enough to play in midfield and right wing respectively.

No disrespect to Kuyt, whom I actually do like beacuse he is hardworking. However, he is not effective on the right. Let him play upfront with Torres (which is his natural position anyway) to knock about the opposite defenders and use his industry to harrass their backline. Actually, come to think of it, when a couple of seasons ago Gerrard was tasked with the right wing job, he actually scored 21 goals, not to mention countless other assists!!! Kuyt is not this type of a creative player like Gerrard. He is a poacher moulded in the ways of the old style centre forward calculated at creating havoc and mayhem for the opposing backline and force mistakes. In any event, I certainly think having Kuyt upfront is better than playing Ngog there.

Btw, I havn't forgotten about the miraculous 3-3 comeback win in Istanbul the first season Rafa came in. Nonetheless, I believe the time has come for the club and Rafa to go their separate ways. Perhaps bringing in a new manager can freshen up the team so that the players can build up the necessary confidence to achieve better results on the pitch. I for one, do not believe that Rafa is the only manager in the world capable of managing Liverpool Football Club!!!!

well i think alonso s depature as been underestimated,alot of the players r deavasted that they did not win the league last season n also shocked by xabi leaving pool,this as affected the whole team,sg is the best attacking midfielder in the bpl but he can t do wat alonso can in the middle of the park,sg can t control the game like xabi does n this has hit us n sg hard,all we did last season was talk abt ft n sg but we fail to realise that alonso was the key to our run last season.
alonso kept the team together with short n long passes n always providing an outlet whenever needed which was crucial to the team,i think rafa made a mistake by using alonso as a bait.big mistake i might add but changing the manager to freshen things up is not gonna help us, we shd jus stick out with the spainard like wat the scums did when they fininsed 2nd 1 seaon n finished 7th the following season,we r at our lowest point ever in rafa s reign,i still believe he is the man to bring us our 19th tittle.we reds fans got to jus stick this one out.there is a saying when things go badly even the stray dogs will bark at u.its not fair that ppl r on a witch hunt,ppl like ronnie whelan who only manage swindon town n not won a thing as a manager.

[kopties]

I have this niggling feeling. The season before GH Left us (or rather sacked) he was here with the team. I remembered q'ing for hours just to take picture with the 3 cups. And Last season (year 2009) RB brought the team down to sillypore again and this season we are like shit. Maybe our sillypore is a jinx to pool.

[Xgenre]

Originally Posted by kopties

Maybe our sillypore is a jinx to pool.

Basket, you got nothing better to say?

Everyone's looking for someone or something to blame for our team's performance this season. Why do we have to blame ourselves? A lot of us can't afford the time or money to visit Anfield. Even if we visit Anfield, I doubt we can see the whole squad in action too. I really hope they don't take another 8 years to come visit us.

Seriously, I don't think our performance is hampered by spending pre-season in Singapore. A lot of other teams spent pre-season out of England too and it didn't affect their performances.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by hawksbay

well i think alonso s depature as been underestimated,

Of course bro the Alonso factor has had an impact but it is up to the manager to find a direct replacement or another midfielder who brings a different strength to the team (faster than Alonso, scores more goals etc). See Becks, Ince leaving Scum.

That's the problem and we haven't done that. I have always defended Lucas but he can't plug the hole in the middle.

Coming to Stoke, it was an ugly game and I fear our remaining games will be like that - grind out results with little attacking play - for fuck's sake, surely AA and Maxi now (and Riera) deserve more playing time.

Spurs will be defining for us. If we can beat them, we can build some confidence.

In the long run, what's gonna happen? Torres and Stevie look too injury prone as an attacking pair and Rafa's aim surely now must be to build a team around an alternative with decent backups.

Sigh.

[Xgenre]

Guys, yesterday was a better performance than that morning at Reading. I know the result isn't what we wanted but trust me, we showed more desire and conviction than at Reading. Granted that we are still toothless upfront but look at how hard we tried to gain control of central midfield. Tackles flying everywhere, the pace of the match was terrific for the entire 90 minutes. It was a great way to introduce the BPL to Maxi.

If Man City wins, we will be 7 points behind with 17 matches to go. Still recoverable if we stand behind our team. A lot of us might think Rafa should go. I was reading Soccernet's article on Mourinho. The report says he will only come to Liverpool if the Yankies sold away their shares and a rich investor comes in with a huge transfer budget for him. Ridiculous! If we can get rid of the Yankies and get a huge transfer kitty, then Rafa won't be in such a position! We would have gotten better players right now.

If we are going to sack Rafa and then replace him with someone else and not to give the new manager money to spend, what's the point of sacking Rafa then? The new manager will be as crippled in player purchases as Rafa is. Diffferent guy, same situation.

I felt sorry for Rafa watching last night's match. As the camera zooms in on his face before the match, you can see him trying to maintain a dignified look despite all the job speculation.

1.Here is a guy who declined a high pay package and a great transfer kitty at Real Madrid to stay with us. Somemore he came from Real Madrid.
2.Here is a guy who describes Liverpool as his city. Who has never shown the middle finger to Liverpool fans.
3.Here is a guy working with stupid Americans who wanted to replace him with Klinsman (an inexperienced manager) and denied him a reasonable transfer budget.
4.Here is a guy whose transfer targets are screwed up by Rick Parry. (Get Barry then Keane, says Rafa) but (Rick got Keane and no Barry).

I just wish we can show him half the loyalty he showed us. The problems at Anfield aren't Rafa's doing alone. I don't even think we can put 50% of the blame on him. He's the fall guy in a stupid system (think Parry, Gillet and Hicks). I do wish someone will pick on this and report it in the press. If anything, I blame David Moore for selling to the Americans. If it's a straight off commercial decision, no one can fault him. But David Moore told us that he will screen through prospective buyers to find an owner befitting our club. That's why Thaksin and the Arabs are out. David, you screwed up BIG TIME!