Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Unlucky Liverpool FC

After beating Drebecen and Everton in away games, we could only 'manage' to hold Blackburn to a 0-0 draw at their turf. The last fixture was a disappointing game for Liverpool fans because clearly we could have won that game if only lady luck had decided to throw even a wee bit of the Mona Lisa smile towards us. Because in reality, she has shunned us since the start of this season.

There was so many positives from that game that I have decided to focus on. While some fans keep on harping about "Rafa this and Rafa that", I would like to see it as another clean sheet against a formidable opponent (check Blackburn's home record) after the many problems in our back four that have been haunting us since the start of the season look to have finally been overcome. We seem to be back to our best in keeping clean sheets which has been our strength since Rafa took over.

While some fans continue to moan about our midfield, and how Rafa is still to blame for Alonso departure (yeah..right) and how it has cost us the shot at the title, I would like to focus on how Lucas has been transformed into a so much better player from last season. I admit I used to be quite pissed off at Lucas last season and was occasionally guilty of giving the stick to Rafa for keeping his faith on Lucas, but now I happily accept the humble pie. That's why Rafa is the manager of the greatest club on earth.

Of course Lucas was never ready to carry the responsibilities Rafa put on his shoulders (people tend to compare him to a 30M player), but when we needed him to do the job with Aquilani sidelined for much longer than it was thought at first, Lucas has delivered. We don't see him giving away stupid freekicks in dangerous areas anymore. He looks to have much more confidence in him now and outshining half-fit players like Gerrard everytime, doesn't give away the ball that easily and most importantly, and marshalls the midfield when we go forward. He has more composure nowadays and doesn't 'only give sideway passes' as fans used to complain but tries to execute the telling and penetrating passes and gets closer to the opposition goal areas than before. And yes, he is not the finished article yet and needs to continue to learn the trade, especially his shots at goal, but we can see how he has played the man-of-match role in so many games in lots of fans' eyes. And the best thing is he is still young and had never complained about the sticks he has had to endure during his dark-days both from fans and the media and looks to be thankful with the faith Rafa has given him and in keeping his head down to continue to improve on his game. Classy lad I would say. Let's hope he goes on and improves further for years to come.

As for Aquilani, we will at last see him start against Fiorentina tomorrow and I really can't wait to see him play. I have read lots of comments from fans in Italy on how good he is and, as Rafa has said, a fully fit Aquilani is worth much much more than the 20M we paid for him. This is a perfect game for him to start, unlike the previous ones when he was not match-fit and when the stakes were high, not to mention the condition of the pitch not favouring a player that has just come back from injuries like him. I trust Rafa because he knows the actual condition of the player after seeing him in training everyday. I won't make the mistake of expecting Aquilani to immediately play like Maradona or score 6 goals in this game, all from 30 yards away, because a player in his condition will take some time to fit into the jigsaw puzzle. But this game will somewhat prepare him for the cruncher against Arsenal this weekend and that game is one hell of an important game for us.

Another positive so far this season is our young striker who had to endure, just like Lucas has had to, the responsibility of headspearing our attack in the absence on Torres. It is a pity that N'gog had to be thrown into the games in this fashion but with Rafa's hand tied at the back due to lack of quality options upfront, we shouldn't be asking for so many miracles although N'gog has shown enough class to become a great player. His touches are sublime and his ability to hold the ball upfront is remarkable for such a young player. His positioning and his finishing is definitely better than Kuyt's or Voronin's and hence understandably Rafa, given the circumstances, prefers him over the others. N'gog should be applauded for having to do what he had to do so far, mostly for facing the expectations of the fans in brave fashion after what Fowler and Owen (the prick) had done for us at similar age in the past.

It is December and being 12 points off the pace from leaders Chelsea and only 4 points off third place Arsenal is not such a bad thing, given the circumstances. Circumstances in which Lady Luck has not been so kind to us. We have been unlucky to have had the american owners taking over our club in such pitiful manner. I would take the 20M Moores would had thrown to us every season over the lies and promises made by the dreadful cowboys. We have been very very unlucky with the unseen-before injuries, up to 12 players at one time, that we have had so far this season because I always believe had our team been fully fit since day one, our position in the CL and the league would have been better. We have been unlucky that Rafa could not buy players of his choice and favourable covers for our first team players and had to throw in young guns when they got injured. We have been unlucky that we had to play unfit and half-fit players. We have been unlucky that so much pressure has been put on the club by fans (blame Rafa here for creating the expectations amongst us by taking the 2nd spot last season) and the unfriendly media not to mention the beachball and the referees. And the list goes on and on...

So, it is quite mindboggling that some fans choose to go after Rafa's head as if he purposely hexed the team to mediocracy when the writings on the wall is so obvious of his achievements so far at our club. He has shown what we are capable of last season against the odds in which so many other teams spent more money than us. And I believe when all our injured players are fit again, we will again go on our winning ways and the realistic top 4 position at the end of the season is not that far-fetched. I have argued with some fans when they said we should be winning the title this season and not aiming for top 4 and when I asked why we MUST win it this season, most of them hit the wall in their arguments. Granted that not all LFC 'fans' on the net are actually LFC fans (I believe there are many fans of the opposition clubs having a laugh at our expense and probably some are planted as CyberTroopers by certain quarters to achieve their agenda), it saddens me to see some fellow fans continue to read and believe the lies spewed by the media and choose not to listen to blatant arguments, some based on statistics. And in doing so, for some reasons only they know, they go against the traditional view of Liverpool fans being the most knowledgible fans in the world.

We are still in the running for two cups that I hope we lift this season no matter what they say about how unimportant those cups are. And I feel we will at last have a streak of unbeaten run and hopefully when all the injured players are back, we will again strike fear in our opponents when we score goals for fun. It was not such a long time ago that we saw what we are capable of.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the spin but we are not buying your story especially the excuses you offer on behalf of Senor Benitez.

Khan said...

You are welcome. Now, what is your story? SkySport spin? Or Souness'? Or maybe Jamie Redknap's? Don't tell me it is Shebby Singh's...

Anonymous said...

Are you the official mouthpiece of Rafa Benitez?..or is it Liverpool?

Anonymous said...

Fans of MU, Chelsea and Arsenal are happy for Rafa to continue managing Liverpool for another 20 years. They know that Liverpool under Rafa will not be able to win the premiership with his team selection especially his constant preference for underperforming players (you know who they are), and his bizarre team strategy.

Anonymous said...

The score now is 1-1.

There goes Rafa's obsession with clean sheet. In so many games, we were just relying on a 1-0 lead, we stopped playing football after taking the lead, allowing our opponents to take the initiative.

Anonymous said...

Sorry we lost 2-1, the 2nd goal conceded in the 92th min.

I guess it had to happen when we were just hoping to scrape through with a 1-0 win.

Benitez will as usual try to con us again by saying that we were unlucky to concede in the stoppage time. He may for example point to the 58% possession we had in the game, thus giving the false impression that we controlled the game. Having possession is nothing if we do not create chances.

Over to you to spin some positives from this game.

Anonymous said...

I believe Benitez has set two more "firsts".

Firstly, the number of points (7) Liverpool accumulated is their lowest in the group stage in UCL.

Secondly, this is the first time Liverpool have lost 2 consecutive home matches in UCL.

I'm relief that we are out of UCL, otherwise more records might be broken by Benitez.

gary said...

wow, you got a fan la cikgu!

hahahahha

Khan said...

Anon:

1. I am not anyone's mouthpiece. I just write what I see and what I feel.
2. I can't be ar**d with what fans of MU, Chelsea or Arsenal feel like. I dont know what's in their mind, maybe you do. I dont go and read their opinions. My friends who are those teams' supporters never tell me this. If the ones you mentioned know so much about the future, like oracles, I bet they are all multi- billionnaires by now
3. I am disappointed that we lost last night of course. But again, the opponents had something to play for, while we did not. We were already out before that game if you know. That result is not important, but the game for all the players was, while for the certain players, crucial for match-fitness.
4. Show me where and when Rafa 'con'ned us? 58% of possession in a game is NOT FALSE impression of game control.
5. Rafa's firsts in the CL this season as you put it will always be there for all of us. You can concentrate on the negatives while I will always look at the positives, herein would be his records for us in the CL during the seasons he was at the helm. I will always salute him for giving me one of the best moments in my life in 2005, and the fact that he ensured we qualified everytime.

My honest questions to you would be how long have you been supporting LFC? Who do you think should take over as the manager if Rafa is sacked (which of course won't happen soon)? How is this manager going to be better than Rafa in terms of players bought, games won etc? How many years do you think this new manager needs to build his team? Where is the money going to come from? I have a lot more questions maybe your expert opinion could give answers to.

But I guess you will not answer them as always.

Anonymous said...

Rafa's time is up! Zzzzzzzzzzz boring and predictable tactics. Defenders are having easy time playing against Liverpool.It is not about luck my friend, it is about determination, motivation and inspiration to win matches. A good manager will be able to push the players to produce results. I think Rafa has lost the plot. He seems to be confused and do not know what else to do.Just listen to his excuses, he is taking us for a ride. I'm not against Rafa or his credibility but I think the time is up for him to pack his bags before more and more Liverpool fans call for his head. I'll never forget his past achievements inc. Champs League 2005. But we cannot go on bragging on our past results. See what happened to us for the last 3 decades. Only faith kept me as Liverpool fan. Win, draw or lose, it is always Liverpool. But I can't tolerate the poor display and results because of just one stubborn man called Rafa! You asked for some good managers around the world, yes there are many who would welcome the challenge. Of course I won't suggest K.Rajagopal or Serbie Singh. I would welcome Hiddink, Martin O'Neil, Jose Mourinho, Daglish (if he ever wnated) and Capello (after world cup). Liverpool is a very unique club. It can adopt any new managers as long as they have fresh ideas. The hot seat does not belong to "RAFA" only. If he produces nothing by the end of the season, I bet he had to go my friend. Just my 2 cents worth of opinion.
"YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE"

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more with Anon 2.50pm.

More and more Liverpool fans are speaking out against Benitez. Why? Simply because they are fed up with the way Liverpool have been playing under Rafa. Lack of creativity, overly cautious, too defensive-minded, Rafa's preference for mediocre players, etc.

Fans are also pissed off listening to excuses offered by Rafa. It is an insult to their intelligence.

Khan said...

Anon 2.50AM

Answer these questions honesty:

1. Would Rafa have used the 'boring and predictable' tactics if we have all our players available?
2. Have we not been unlucky this season with all the injuries -- 14 players altogether?
3. When we won the CL and got to No. 2 last season, what were your feelings? Do you think at those times Rafa motivated and inspired our players suffieciently?
4. Do you seriously think Rafa has lost the plot, someone who is wanted by Real MAdrid?
5. Your words show that you are against Rafa and his credibility, wanting him to pack his bags, so why deny it?
6. Tell me where and when Rafa has been stubborn? Because he did not play the players in positions according to your wishes? Try applying for the job then.
7. Do you honestly think all those managers would come to LFC when they know who the owners are?
8. Do you seriously not see what Rafa has achieved so far since he came onboard? Against so many odds in the form of funds, having to sell to buy, owners, the media, referees?
9. Do you honestly believe that Rafa should be producing miracles upon miracles to win the title when other teams, at least 4 of them, have spent and are spending more money on players (including wages)?
10. If Rafa were managing Chelsea or the Mancs, do you think he will win the title? Or would have by now?
11. I have lots more, but last question: What rights do we have to win the title every season?

Have faith. Don't knee-jerk because of our positions so far. Given all the circumstances, would top 4 placing reasonable or not?

Khan said...

..sorry if I sound like a prick...

Khan said...

Anon 12.42AM

To quote you: "More and more Liverpool fans are speaking out against Benitez."

Sorry, that is false impression given by the media, if you asked me. Don't let them "insult your intelligence".

One recent example - Rafa did not play Aquilani, media screamed sack Rafa for buying a crock! Martin ONeil, the media 'angel' buys Stuart Downing with a broken leg, who only makes his debut last weekend. Hear anything like Sack ONeil? There are a gazillions more examples if you open your heart and look for them.

Do you see or hear of any rally or demonstrations from our fans asking for 'Rafa Out'? So, I won't fall into the delusional trap created by certain quarters? We are proud of our legacy as the most knowledgible supporters, and YNWA does mean something.

Anonymous said...

Dear Khan,
I'm anon 2.50p.m. Let me answer all your questions.
1. If teams like Manu can come with a "unestablished" defensive line up and keep a clean slate, why do you think our more experienced defenders keep on conceding last minute goals? You know why? It's tactics man. With proper tactics, we should be able to withstand any kind of onslaught. Our back four is open to attacks because our players can even hold the ball for 1 minute. look at Arsenal or Chelsea and compare how they hold possession and pass the ball around. If just one player performs badly, I can except but if the whole team struggles, then it has to be the manager, man. Injuries and lack of funds should never be used as an excuse. Shankly and Paisley used to bring on players from 4th division and made them superstars. How does Rafa manage his players? Just complain complain and complain! He failed to identify the right kind of players to suit Liverpool style (even rookies).
2. What unlucky? All the other teams like Manu, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real madrid and Barca do face injury problems with key players. Just look at their performances; attractive football and never say die attitude. Who ever wears the 'RED'jersey must be able to perform! If they don't, then, the manager has to look at himself and ask what kind of players has he chosen. His poor choice of line up and mangled tactics are the reason behind our poor performances, not injuries.
3. When we won CL 2005, it is a well known fact that most of the players were from Houllier's legacy. It was just a fluke but as a fan I welcome that sort of flukes. We should have been the champions last season if not for Rafa's blunders. His defensive apporaches and stubbronly sticking to Lucas cost use many matches, thus allowed the scums to overtake us. Rafa shot his own foot!

Anonymous said...

Continue..
4. Yes, I do think Rafa has lost the plot. Real Madrid likes quick fixes. Just look at how many managers they sack in a decade. Rafa would have got the sack in just 2 seasons if it was Real Madrid. Rafa knows that and thats why he refused their offer. No other team in the world would give him this much of a chance. I has definetly lost the plot.
5. I want him to pack his bag not because I'm anti Rafa or he is lacking credibility. I still respect him as a good manager but his ideas and inspiration have dried up. He needs new challenges and Liverpool needs fresh ideas. That's all no malice here.
6. Ha..ha.. this question sounds pricky la Joe. You should know, we are all 'fanatic' fans of Liverpool and with FAM preliminary coaching cert, guarantee cannot apply for the job la, bro. He has been stubborn especially when we need to make crucial substitutions. Look at who came in against Blackburn, El Zhar. Why save Aquilani and Torres for the dead rubber Fiorentina match? Why don't bring them on? No he will never do that. Always saves Torres just to let him play for Spain and get injured. He is damn stubborn when he refuses to stick to the same line up most of the time, citing various dumbfounded reasons.

Anonymous said...

Continue....
7. Believe me they would come. Liverpool still commands high respect around the globe. Fcuk the Yanks.. All those managers I mentioned will definetely accept the challenge.
8.Well my friend, like what I have said earlier, Rafa did achieve "a little" success just like Houllier with his 5 trophies. But his minimal successes aren't enough for a giant club like Liverpool. Unless or until he comes up with some fresh ideas to crawl towards the top 4, he will have to go and give others a chance, man.
9.Rafa need not produce miracles man, the miracles will happen he is able to inspire the players better. It is not about wages or new players, a great manager should be able to produce results with any available resources he has. He should not use lack of fund as an excuse. He has to work his miracle with all the players in his disposal. NO MORE EXCUSES!
10. It is simple. If he uses the same tactics and style of play just like what he is doing at Liverpool, then definitely he will not win anything with Chelsea or Mancs.
11. Ah.. your last but not least question sounds funny. What right do scums and chelskis have to win the title every season? I believe we have all the rights just like the others to win the league year in and out. But if we don't win the league with a single manager for the last 5 years, then, logically, we should move on. Let Rafa pack his bags and allow a new manager take over.

Yes my friend, I do have faith and I don't get knee jerks unnecessarily. This time my heart aches looking at our current display and standing. Just too poor. And only contention is: Replace the manager and you will see great results coming in. Well, just my 2 cents worth of opinion. YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

Anonymous said...

Well said, anon, in response to Khan. The last 3 responses say it all.

Nothing personal, we are not against Rafa personally, but professionally we should move on and replace our current manager for he has failed and continue to fail in managing our beloved club.

Rafa should just shut up and pack his bag for some other club.

Well, what say you Khan??

Anonymous said...

How many times do we hear the same remark from Rafa this season, "This match will kick start our season". I pity Rafa as after every match he would say:
1. We were unlucky.
2. The referee is biased.
3. Our important players were injured.
4. The yanks didn't provide enough funds.
5. The players performed under par.
6. The media is against pool. etc.

How many times we saw that he blundered the team line up with players still available?

Forget about Robbie Keane's fiasco but why sell Crouch in the first place?

Who prompted Alonso to leave? Is Gareth Barry worth it?
Why blame Rick Parry? Although we all know he is useless moron.
As a manager, Rafa is accountable for the performance of the team.

Why do you think the former coach who was Rafa's close friend to resign?

There is only one word my friend: STUBBORN.

Well, let's get on with what we have now. No point arguing over spoilt milk. Too late to quarrel about Rafa, the damaged has already been done. Nasi sudah jadi bubur. So, let us make do with bubur aje la..

The most important thing now is to beat Arsenal with or without Rafa ingenious tactics and climb the ladder. With most top teams losing points, it is great chance for us gain some advantage. Let's beat the Gunners first and then we can continue about Rafa. Liverpool is more important than any individuals including you, me and Rafa. So, let's stay united for the sake of our beloved club and enjoy the match tonight.
YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

Khan said...

Anon 2.50PM

1. Are we watching the same football league here? You are exaggerating too much already. Did the Mancs has had to rotate the defence as much as us because of injuries since day 1 of the season? With so many untried players including the last minute inclusion of a 1.5M player and 20 year old rookies, isn’t it understandable the defence is shaky? Did you not praise the best job done by our defence last season? So Rafa’s tactics defensively was wrong last season too? Or the years before? Check out who has won the golden gloves because of our defensive prowess. Come on, you can do better than just making sweeping statement without taking into consideration all the circumstances. When Rafa was building and establishing our defence, we shouted out that he played defensively and should attack more. When we do attack more and leak goals at the back, we complain he should concentrate on the defence. He has yet to hit the balance he has been looking for, all because we lacked the funds needed. This fact you can never ever deny. A Proton Saga will never win the F1 race even with Michael Schumacher behind the wheel.

2. Their injury problems were never as bad as our disaster this season. Find out which players Rafa has missed out because of Parry’s incompetence and because of the lack of funds. I am surprised you can even say our poor performance this season is due to Rafa’s tactics and not injuries problem we have had. Really. I have coached football for 20 years now and I know what injuries to the players can do to a team, believe me. Rafa’s choice of players sometimes is mindboggling, but we have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, while Rafa chosed whom he believed was right to him based on the knowledge he has of players abilities and what they have displayed in training. Does it mean he is an incompetent manager and we can do much better than him? This is not the Fantasy League my friend. If there were no injuries this season, and if we did not have to sell to buy players, our performances wouldn’t be like this now. This you can never deny too.

3. The CL we won in 2005 was a fluke? I am doubting now whether you watched the second half. Houlier legacy or not, it was won by Rafa, because he mattered then. If we were to take over as manager from Houlier, do you think we would have won it too? We almost became champions last season BECAUSE of Rafa. That’s fact. We were 2 goals short. If we have won 2 drawn games, one goal each, we would have been champions, that’s how close we were. Now, ask yourself if Torres were available in two extra games that we drew last season, don’t you think he could have scored that 2 goals? That’s all in the past now and Rafa’s tactics was spot on. Don’t forget to take into account the penalty given to the Mancs that secured them the one win that kick-started their season. and the special treatment and extra time given to them by the refs.

4. That is why Rafa is at the best club in the world now, and he knows it. If the fans during the Shankly’s era were like you lots, then he would have been sacked too and we will not be what we are now because of his legacy.

- cont

Khan said...

5. Sorry, you sound like anti-Rafa and that’s why you want him to pack his bag. Stop denying it. You want him out although he has taken us a few strides forward amidst all the circumstances. You know LFC was never ever destined to be a great club but we achieved our greatness against all odds. You want quick fix to our problems whilst knowing it will never be overcome in a year or two. You are attacking Rafa out of frustration because we ‘should’ be champions because of our history, looking for scapegoats along the way in the form of the Lucases and the Kuyts. Study a little bit more of our history, my friend, and learn how we have always been fighting against the currents in achieving our greatness. Stop your fantasy that when Rafa leaves, all will be well and we will be champions instantly. Todays football is all about money, lots and lots of money to compete. Never deny money equals success in football. It has been proven. Some teams have lots of money, breaking records in buying players, but the manager is a dud hence they still falter. Rafa is the best thing to have happened to us for the past 20 years. Give him the money and see how he will perform. Either that, or be patient as he builts his team slowly, because surely he will take us toward the glory days again. We were almost there last season. If his plans to include Johnson and Barry while keeping Alonso had materialised, you know what we could have been. Our situation is at best 6th placing in the league based on money spent in a club, but Rafa defied that odds and ensured 4th placing each time. If he goes, there is a chance we will be mediocre in the middle of the table.

- cont

Khan said...

6. Don’t you think he wished he, like us, had players like Messi to bring on? The owners gives him peanuts hence…you know the rest. We don’t have cover for our injuries because he had had to sell to buy. We can’t even afford free transfers because of the high wages demanded by good players. Most of our money when players were sold went towards paying the debt incurred by the friggin cowboys. Wait until we need to sell off Mascha to pay for the debts next summer, then you will see what kind of problems we have at the club. And it is not Rafa.

7. Well, I believe the good managers might not come, and if they do come, it will be another 5 years of rebuilding again. Because the problems in much much deeper than only Rafa. I wish it was that simple. Sack Rafa, and all will be well. And I still believe top 4 this season will be achieved, and we are not that far off the pace for top spot.

9. Again, you baffle me. Your words: “a great manager should be able to produce results with any available resources he has”. Then give Ferrari a Proton engine and tell them those words.

10. Here I disagree with you because I believe if Rafa were to manage Chelsea, he will win the league each time.

11. “What right do scums and chelskis have to win the title every season?” Because they spend the most money. They have one player on the bench (happy to be warming the bench because his wages is rocket-high) who is worth 4 of our players on the pitch. They have the FA behind them. They have the refs giving them 7 minutes extra time to score goals. They have the refs giving them dubious penalties and freekicks when their players dive. The have the media on propaganda rampage for them. And the list go on and on…So, the question is not funny at all. So you ask us to move on. Sack Rafa and you think everything will be rosy? Since when have we enjoyed what they have enjoyed in terms of funds, media, FA, Refs, etc?

I don’t deny our team is poor now. But what I see is a spanner in our machinery. Show me how “Replace the manager and you will see great results coming in.” Or is it not known to you? You just EXPECT it.

YNWA has a deep meaning, bro.

Khan said...

Anon 1.36PM

My response is as above. I really don’t see what the “last 3 responses say it all” as you put it. I will never ever ask Rafa to “shut up and pack his bag for some other club”. He doesn’t deserve that kind of abuse. I will support him until I believe, without any reasonable doubt, that he is the cause of our problems.

You say we should move on. Care to explain move on to what? Change managers? And then what? Will the new manager be able to buy another Torres to partner our Toress, whom I believe will leave the club with some other players if Rafa leaves? Will he be able to buy players to strengthen our squad? What would he change so that our fortunes will also change? What guarantee is there that he will not offload all of Rafa’s players and buy his own, which usually is the case? How long will he take to rebuild his team? Where is the money going to come from?

The players have faith in Rafa. If a former great player like Rush believes in him, who are we to question him? Hell, even Wenger understands the circumstances at Liverpool. And most importantly, the majority fans in Liverpool continue to support Rafa. A tradition that needs to continue because, as I said, if Shankly who did not win anything for 6 years were sacked because some fans wanted it, then we would have seen none of the proud legacy we have now. We will be languishing in mediocre in the middle of the table, season in season out.

Khan said...

Anon 2.09PM

So, which of these is not true?

1. We were unlucky.
2. The referee is biased.
3. Our important players were injured.
4. The yanks didn't provide enough funds.
5. The players performed under par.
6. The media is against pool. etc.

When did we blunder the team line as you said. Care to explain?

Robbie Keane was not Rafa’s first choice, you know it. Crouch wanted to leave. But we got Torres didn’t we? So, no complaints there. But I am sure if Rafa had the funds, he would have kept Crouch. Alonso wanted to leave. Barry would have worked, I believe. Why not blame Parry? Of course Rafa is accountable, but sack him while knowing the circumstances, that’s knee-jerk la.

Rafa has only had full control of the transfer and the youth development, but even then he did not get what was promised. There are 7-8 good players in the youth team who are good enough to play in the first team one day. Rafa is taking us forward in this sense.

Rafa is STUBBORN in your eyes, full stop. He is not doing what YOU want hence you use the word. Your expectations are too high la my friend. Not a bad thing, but please base it on reality. Berpijak lah di bumi yang nyata. You expected us to win it this season because we got so close last season. You continue to whack Lucas based on last season even though he has done such a good job for us when he was forced to ‘compete’ with the performances of a 30M player like Alonso. Nothing much has changed from last year, except players got injured since the first day of the season and some 20 year old players who were forced to play have improved tremendously (N’gog’s goal per minute played is much much better than Keane’s or Crouch’s). The nasi has not turned into bubur yet la macha, have faith in your team.

Anonymous said...

Khan, you still dont get it do you?..

We expect Liverpool to be challenging for the title. However the kind of performance Liverpool have dished out thus far does not reflect the status of Liverpool as a serious challenger.

Yes, challenging for the title. Winning it is another matter. Of course it will be sweeter if LIverpool can win it.

We are not saying that Liverpool must win it this season although expectation is high after last season's second place.

But look at Liverpool's performance this season? Do we look like a team that is supposed to be challenging? Hardly.

Pathetic, that's how we sum up our play.
Seriously, we dont look like even half the team that is supposed to be challenging. Boring, defensive-minded, no penetration, inability to string passes, frailty in defence, poor team selection, bad subtitution etc etc.

Rafa shouldn't shirk from his responsibility and pass the buck of Liverpool's failures on others, eg the owners, the injuries, the senior palyers.

In the eyes of Rafa, the manger is blameless.

Zed said...

Are Rafalogists still in denial mode?

Lets face it, against Arsenal, we were decent in the first half but very poor in the second half.

I wonder what excuses will Rafalogists come out with in defence of their "great" manager? Gerard's denied penalty? Johnson's own goal? Arshavin for scoring? or the post for not stopping the ball from going in?

Anonymous said...

if you're not doing the job for Liverpool Football Club, you should be forced to seek alternative employment. Liverpool Football Club are not succeeding, Rafael Benitez has had lots of money, lots of chances, made lots of mistakes and doesn't accept that he's made them. He's very fortunate that he's at such a badly run and chaotic football club as anywhere else he would have been shown the door by now

Anonymous said...

Souness is right we are in meltdown. To be at half way in the season and to have lost and drawn more games than we've won is disgusting. I have completely lost faith in that team, even with Torres & Gerrard in the starting line up we look weak. Benitez has been living on past glory now for 3 - 4 seasons and he's finally been found out. His biggest failing which has put us in this position is his terrible ability to buy decent players. He simply cant spot a player. Get rid of him now before he wastes any more money. The biggest disaster that can happen to us now, forget trophies, not qualifying for the champions league, it will break our club. He must go, our future depends on it

Khan said...

Zed

Well, I do not know whether I am a Rafalogist as you put it, because clearly I am against those who think that sacking Rafa is the answer to all the problems. And I have stated that so many times, but if your comment is targeted at me being a Rafalogist because of how I state my opinion, then so be it. Anyway, care to explain the denial mode you mentioned?

All Liverpool fans are disappointed with the result, but you still think Rafa is totally at fault. Look at the big picture. Look at what Rafa has done so far. Against Arsenal last night, then do tell me what were Rafa’s faults.

Still, in my books, scoring an own goal like Johnson’s is bad luck. And yes, we should have got a penalty.

Anonymous said...

Dear Khan,

If you had listened to the post match comments by Fabregas, then you'll know what real motivation means. Wenger lambasted the team by saying that they don't have any rights to wear the Arsenal jersey with the kind of first half performance. The whole team responded. But look at our team, they went to sleep after the break. You call Torres unfit so he wasn't performing? Common la.. if he can miss that kind of open goal sitter, it is called "lackadaisical" attitude. No reaction of frustration at all. If Rafa cannot inspire the team, I believe he is no good to lead Liverpool. Now, what? Wait for another game to kick start our season? Ha..ha..ha.. just look at how much damage Rafa and his entourage did to LFC. We are the laughing stock of the whole world. Rafa has to go before he is forced to go! So, Mr Khan, stop arguing over a manager who has lost the plot and give alternative views on how and what should LFC do to overcome this slump.

Anonymous said...

Now what you say Khan?
Unlucky? Yes we (the fans) are the unlucky ones because:
1. To have a pair of clowns as our owners.
2. A joker as the manager.
3. A bunch of headless chickens as our players.

Khan said...

Anon 7.27AM

Yes, you are right. Rafa has had a lot of money to spend. Hence our line-up yesterday comprised players worth 20M each. Off with Rafa’s head!

Khan said...

Anon 7.47AM

If you listen to Souness and his likes at SlySport, then I feel sorry for you. If it were so disgusting… So we lost yesterday, so we at last are now almost close to having all our players fit, so some players are still not to their best ability as we know them, you go and lose faith in the team. Just pray that we don’t turn into another Leeds next summer…

Khan said...

Anon 5.08PM

Looks like you are enjoying yourself, happy with your Ha ha ha to see us failing, just to prove your points. Good for you man. I don’t even know whether you are a supporter of LFC, seriously. How about Torres missing that sitter because he is still rusty after the injuries?

We are a laughing stock BECAUSE of people like you who call yourselves fans of the greatest club in the world and type YNWA without any sense. When you should be behind the team, you slag off the players and the manager and would rather listen to the ‘experts’ like Souness and J. Redknapp and SlySport and ignore blatant proofs that go against you idea of a quick-fix solution which you find in Football Fantasy.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5.13 PM

Allow me to add another one:

4. a bunch of Rafalogists@Rafa lovers who absolve him of blame for Liverpool's shortcomings

Khan said...

Well, Anon 5.13PM, convince me then why Rafa is totally to blame for our performances this season, or even last night, and we will surely win the title next season at least. For goodness sake, did you not see the players we played on the pitch last night and what who we had on the bench?

Anonymous said...

Khan,

Managers are judged based on results, not the media. You shouldn't try to put the spin on the media.

Be honest to yourself. Results don't lie. Accept the fact that Benitez is a failure as the manager of LFC.

Khan said...

I put a spin on the media when it is clearly they are the ones spinning?

The team fails Anon 8.49PM. And in our case, it is not Rafa's failure. So when our team fails, you can do two things. Find out why we fail or knee-jerk. After finding out why our team fails, you decide whether to blame the manager totally or accept the facts in our case. Then you decide whether to get behind the team or to pour more gasoline on the fire.