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Summary
Christ we're f**king awful.
David-LFC-Toronto
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa - What?
I am sure you will be inundated with emails today demanding the resignation of Rafa. I can understand the frustration but still believe that he is the best manager in the league and our best hope of winning a title.
It has been a bad season. No doubt about that. Who is responsible? The manager in part, the players to a much greater part, the off field comedy to an extent too. What matters now is that the club do not knee jerk and get rid of the one person that has displayed loyalty, passion and commitment throughout the most difficult period of the clubs history. I genuinely believe that had Rafa not been in charge then this seasons mediocrity would be the norm at Anfield, given the lack of resources when compared to others. It is thanks to Rafa that LFC have been able to compete to such an extent over the past 5 years.
Let him sort it out. He is already planning for next season, I am sure it will be better. Am not stupid enough to claim that we will win the league. The financial situation means that reality states a top 4 finish is an achievement to be recognised and winning would be a huge over achievement. Keep the faith. Remember that we back our managers. That is why we are different to the pretenders such as Chelski, Citeh and Spuds.
Phillip (Rafa is a God and next season is ours) Ward
Perspective?
Although I'm a big Rafa Benitez fan, as the Rafa-bashing continues unabated I understand that other people question his management style and ability; however, one thing I can never understand is people criticising Rafa Benitez the man. The reason? In December 2005 he stayed in Japan and missed his own Father's last moments and funeral for the sake of Liverpool and her fans. To quote the man at the time: "I will see my mother next week and for me it's better to continue working. I will try to be with her as soon as possible and the only thing I can do now is try to do the best for my team."
Eoghan, Dublin
Swot
*Raises hand* Miss, Miss, MISSSSSSSS, pick me pick me *shuffles about stretching arm furiously* Teacher - "Yes Joe?"
"Well Miss, I just wanted to ask Gregory Whitehead - are Liverpool still this weeks big winners?"
Joe (I've been working in a school recently hence the schoolboy roleplay) Birmingham
Very good Joe but a word of advice: Never use 'I've been working in a school' and 'roleplay' in the same sentence. Gives people the wrong idea - MC
...I'm just waiting to see how Gregory Whitehead puts a positive spin on that result for Liverpool now.
Jack (really nothing better to do with my time) Foster
Talking Tactics
With all the talk about Zonal or Man-Marking, someone forgot to tell the Liverpool defence to watch where the ball goes!
Gary 'Does the Intertoto cup still exist? Thats our best chance of Europe!' Orford, LFC
Why Are They Surprised?
I can't believe there's still Liverpool fans who get p**sed of when we lose. You lot clearly haven't been watching us this season. We're rubbish, I dont expect anything this season not a trophy, not top 4, not a golden glove award, not even a goal of season award. So save all your "f*cking sh*ts" for next season.
Dave (in saying that, Kuyt is f*cking sh*t!!) Andrews
Someone Should Keep An Eye On Morgan This Morning
Just finished watching the game and two things are clear (or as Rafa might put it; 'are facts'):
Rafa has lost the dressing room. The incontrovertible evidence is the complete lack of performance at Wigan, even after Rafa's (supposed) half time rollocking, followed by blaming the players in today's media (by taking the bizarre move of blaming them for blaming each other? Another Rafa media masterclass there!) and finished off by Gerrard tonight; Rafa's captain and representative on the pitch, serving up another display that only Phil Neville could be proud of.
Which brings me nicely on to the fact that Gerrard has clearly given up on Liverpool, certainly for this season and this manager anyway, and is now just ghosting around the pitch like Willow The Wisp, trying desperately to avoid injury before the World Cup. Maybe he's a bit old, maybe all that affray business affected him, or maybe he has noticed just how tiny his forehead actually is, but much more likely is that world football's biggest ego (with a nod to Ronaldo) has decided that even his own fecking club is beneath him.
Solutions: Rafa and Gerrard out, Mourinho in, keep Reina, Agger, Mascherano and Torres and rebuild around that spine with a manager who doesn't wet their pants at the thought of playing more than 1 striker and less than 2 defensive midfielders in any given game, and is actually capable of relating to players on a human level. Rafa's robots have run out of batteries - they need some life injected into them badly.
Hang on a minute; all of the above costs money. Oh dear.
Morgan (the referee was appalling - speaks volumes that he was still so much better than Liverpool) Goford
No Plan B
It strikes me that 'Pool have 4 world class players. Reina, Mascha, Gerrard and Torres would (could) walk into any starting line up. Ignoring the fact that I would rather take Spector or Nosworthy over Gerrard, based on his showings against Wigan and Lille. Looking at the ECL winning team of 2005, it contained one home-grown star and 10 others. Babel, Kuyt, Riera, Benny are similarly "others" and not in the same (adjusted) price and (potential) impact bracket as the Ballacks, SWPs, and Valencias. Rafa has put his eggs in one narrow spine. That is a calculated gamble. One that nearly paid off last season.
But there is no plan B, no alternative... why oh why is our first choice turning out against Lille and not against Wigan or MCity... why is Torres so isolated... why are we the only team in the league without a target man... why was I dreaming that Diao, Biscan, Sissoko or anyone else would have been available to give some extra muscle at the JJB... why is our most effective world class in-form player shunted out to right back in a vital league game... why will Maxi only pass to Gerrard... why oh why Rafa have you **ucked this up so badly? You are clearly warming up for the gig at Madrid... at least now, I am starting to hope so.
Is Stevie G's career now over or is he saving something for South Africa? He is the reason I pay 29.99 a month. Is it all over?
Jamie ("slightly perturbed LFC fan"), Helsinki
Overheard In Lille
Rafa: Sammy we are playing badly what can we do?
Sammy: Not sure Rafa, not like you would actually listen to me anyway!
Rafa: I have tried everything, I tried explaining to Lucas the importance of making close range passes sideways or backwards, I tried mixing it up by not making a substitution between the exact minutes of 62 and 67, maybe a change is in order?
Sammy: Maybe if you give the team a bit more support and try to encourage some of the players?
Rafa: Hmmmm, maybe I should put on another defender to ensure we at least earn a 0-0 draw, a great result if I say so myself.
Wait a minute, is Ryan Babel attacking? Is he actually trying to take on players and create goalscoring oppourtunies for himself and teamates? Is he attempting to get us goals and win the game? Sammy tell Riera to warm up.
Conor Keenan
Scousers: Simmer Down
It's getting a little bit tiresome, the all wailing and wallowing of Liverpool fans. I'm not writing to support Benitez, nor am I writing to castigate him. I'm writing in response to all those ridiculous comments about this being the "worst team in history", about Benitez "destroying this once proud club", and to that guy who claims this was the first season he stopped watching his club in 15 years because they are "that bad".
Let me ask you, is this team that much worse than the Liverpool team that finished 6th in '93? Is the glorious tradition Benitez destroyed a reference to the '94 season when the team finished 8th?. Was there actually much glory going around after the great work done by Souness and Evans? Unless we're suppose to believe that this glory refers to the tacky trinkets of the Houllier era. I also imagine our erstwhile Liverpudlians were much happier back when Liverpool were finishing 7th in '99, and could easily count Newcastle, Leeds, and probably West Ham as huge threats to their UEFA Cup spots. Because lets also not forget that from the start of the Premier League up until Houllier's sacking, Liverpool qualified for the Champions League a grand glorious total of 3 times. That's 3 times in some 11 seasons. Under Benitez they've made Europes premier competition every season so far.
The whole thing is just a bit much. I guess Benitez is at fault for the failings of Liverppool since the 90s and all of the 00s. It reminds be a little bit of crticisms directed at Arsene Wenger gets about England's own historical inadequacies.
Maybe it is time for Rafa to go. Maybe like Houllier, he hasn't been able to deliver on the early promise. Maybe his style too cautious, or he's a bad man-manager, not great in the transfer market, not suited to the English game, or whatever. However, can't a manager leave a team without all the ridiculous histrionics? Are fans really so incapable of reasoned and objective opinions?
Andy (This is the worst entry in the glorious history of the mailbox) E
LOL Indeed
This time last year Rafa was playing mind games with SAF. He's now playing them with Fat Sam.
LOL!
Badaa (hoping the new mailbox buzz word gets me published)
Prem: Not So Hot
After James Cartmell's mail about how super duper great the prem is just because Man Utd beat a very very average Milan side (a team Inter, who themselves aren't that great beat with 9, yes 9 men) and Arsenal beating Porto (That same team Chelsea scrapped past in the group stages, yes scrapped) at home can I just ask where does the French league rank? I mean Lille beat Liverpool last night, Lyon beat and drew with Liverpool also, Lyon just beat Real Madrid.
Before I forget what about Benfica and Sporting Lisbon destroying, yes destroying Everton (you know that team that recently beat our top 2 clubs, who are from that supposedly pathetic Portuguese league), Juventus beating Fulham. Maybe I should pretend these results never happened so we can continue to give ourselves the title of the best league ever.
One question, who decided the prem is the best league? If it was ourselves surely that makes us just a tad bit full of ourselves, we have the best league in the world, why? Because we said so so it must be true!!!! Lets just keep quiet about the fact we also have the most debt, kind of like saying I have the biggest house on the street but I cant afford to pay the electricity bill!
Richard, Croydon
Blatter Nonsense
As Sepp Blatter has yet again defended FIFA's stance on not allowing technology to be introduced at the top level in football because "If you are coaching a group of teenagers in any small town around the world, they will be playing with the same rules as the professional players they see on TV." it is worth pointing out, again, why this is an absolute nonsense of an argument. As a referee in the Amateur League in Dublin I had to make do, not only without fourth officials, substitute boards and a little marked area telling the coaches how close they could get to the pitch, but also linesmen due to a lack of willing (idiots) candidates.
This doesn't mean that FIFA or even the FAI refuse to allow linesmen at the top level of the game in order to protect "the universality of the game". They cut their cloth to measure. Football can be played by two kids in the street using a tin can for a ball without a referee. It can be played by 22 professionals in a multi million pound stadium in front of a global audience of millions. If finances allow the game to be fairer by bringing in technology, then it absolutely must be brought in. And if they can't finance it in, say, African domestic leagues, well then don't use it there.
Colin Lawton, Galway
Very Stupid, We're Afraid
Everytime I see a story about Pompey and Hmrc, for a split second I always think "if they've got no money, how can they be linked with an Eastern European player?".
How stupid am I?
Jockey B
Good Point
To Tim Stillman
who asks if United would have coped without Rooney as well as Arsenal have without Van Persie... Fair point, I dont think we would have...
But would Arsenal have coped as well as United did if they had to play with their 8th, 9th and 10th choice defenders for a month.... Didn't think so.
Dinesh
