v Liege CLQ (h)

[mypost]

Match thread

There's considerable debate on the official forum, arguing whether we should rest players or not.

Now, I'm against resting players for any games, even more so in a CLQ we simply must win. There will be anarchy within the club if we don't.

[Phil!]

Would really expect to win this game bit to prove after the shockin first leg hopefully Keane get his first goal and put the game to bed early!!

[Molby Is a Legend]

Resting Players should not even come into the equation until we are 3 maybe 4 up then rest players, CL doesnt really bother me this season of Course it would be great to win it but the league must be our priority this season, That said it is important ofr us to get to at least the quarter finals for rafas Transfer Funds for next summer

[SUPERFAN]

There's considerable debate on the official forum
Rafa will Field his strongest Team,Guaranteed.....

[edcarroll02]

There is no option but to field his strongest team and make sure we get the job done. If we get up a few goals (which really doesn't seem to likey with our current form considered) then he can bring in a few of the squad players.

Anyways it gives us another chance to get out of this slump we're in at the moment, i think the middlesborough game is the worst performance we've put in at anfield for years and hopefully it will give Torres and Keane another chance to build on their partnership!

[Bren100]

We need to go out and hammer this team in the 1st half, be 2 or 3 goals up at half time, then we can "consider" resting players for the last 20mins or so.

If we dont make the CL proper, financially it would be a disaster.

The late winner at Boro will give us the belif should it go to the wire on wednesday.

[travis]

Forget resting players !!!! I want the best team out for the 90mins, i'm sitting in block 103 and I want to bounce.
What do you need to rest players at this stage for we're only 3 games in to the season.

[Yoko]

Rest? They've played three games!

[D-Red]

Resting players is NOT an option. If we rest players or take Liege lightly then we will be knocked out. They should have beaten us in the first leg and we got lucky. I realise Mascherano is unlikely to play but that aside we have to field our strongest available team.
No doubt about it.

[travis]

I expect Mascherano to be on the bench, I think he arrives back at Melwood today he should be fighting fit after playing in the Olympics.
Babel looked very tired on Saturday for some reason I don't think he'll start so it will probably be benionion on the left, he's really frustrating me now so I hope he puts in a decent performance.

[D-Red]

Yeah i think Rafa is a little worried about risking Mascherano after all the travelling, etc so close to such a big game:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/2618213/Liverpool-will-not-risk-Javier-Mascherano-for-Champions-League-clash-against-Liege---Football.html

[travis]

Could be just a little lie from Rafa to make Liege think about there tactics on Wedneday

[D-Red]

Could be just a little lie from Rafa to make Liege think about there tactics on Wedneday

Yeah, you never really know with Rafa. Probably best to put him on bench in case we need him, but not start him. So glad he's back, we miss him big time.

[windhover]

he will not rest players untill we are three up... hopefully :)

[gav003]

first game I'm getting to since i moved statesside- just coincidence i'm home on hols during the week- can't wait and trust it'll be a first 11 from Rafa.

[mypost]

Random posts from .tv:

i sa start with the kids, leave 3 important subs on the bench so they can observe th game and rest, pt them in at half time. if the kids are still struggling...perfect, the 3 will change th game.
this is a safeter option that starting n hittin at all cylinders n then takin out top players during the game.

We have a big game at Villa in the next match. Rafa should rest some of the regulars. We should enough quality to beat Liege at home.

Play the under 18s, go into the UEFA Cup, which Rafa will not take seriously so we will go out quickly, leaving us to concentrate on the league.
Gotta be the best option.

Some are even suggesting N'Gog should get the nod ahead of RK or FT upfront. :eek::mad:

[StevieGisMyIdol]

Jebus dont cry man !

[Garrett]

Hi

I think Rafa needs to start with his strongest attacking side. Once we've got a few goals ahead of them, sure then he can take a few of the players off to give them the benifit of not having to play the full 90 mins.

[Monty]

He will definitly start with a strong team for this one. He was only saying last week that it will take a little longer for the Spanish players and Gerrard to get back to their best as they were away with the National team or out with injury, so this will be used as a game to get te boys back up to speed. I expect this game to be tight enough, they're coming here full of confidence and we're not playing that great at the moment. Any sort of win will do, hope Robbie scores and gets that monkey off his back, don't want another Crouch situation....

[D-Red]

Here's Carragher speaking about this game:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N161038080825-0924.htm

[dg2]

Rafa has to start a full strength team, it would be alot easier to take off Gerrard or Torres when we are up 2 or 3 nil rather than bringing them on at 0-0 or even if we go behind. Saying that, I would expect a 2 or 3 nil win if he does start a full strength side, Torres x2 and Keane

[MutantNinjaSkrtel]

anyone know the telly situation for this one or will i have to watch online?nice 1.

[D-Red]

anyone know the telly situation for this one or will i have to watch online?nice 1.

UTV at 8pm as far as I know...

[travis]

ITV and RTE 2 8.00pm

[denashpot]

Rest? They've played three games!

lol true. thats all you hear nowadays. it will be a tough game for us the way we started the season. were not convincing at all and alonso doesnt seem to want to be there at all.

[mika27]

Hopefully he'll put out our strongest team so that they'll at least have another game under their belt. I thought there was signs against boro that we're starting to play well together but they need a few more games together

[JFsports]

I wonder will Aurelio get a start

[CrazyDaize]

saturday's match just showed how much we need finnan at the back and that the full backs rafa has bought are back up players at very best

[wickla_mucker]

i know we have to win but i still think this can be done with an almost full strength team.
Personally im hoping that the likes of el zhar gets a run (id prefer him to start instead of dirk!) and babel should certainly start!
we cannot lose this game but i dont see it being a problem..

[D-Red]

I really hope Finnan and Aurelio start. At least then we'll have some 2 players who can cross a ball on the pitch

[McGinty]

I really hope Finnan and Aurelio start. At least then we'll have some 2 players who can cross a ball on the pitch

Finnan looked pretty rusty in Oslo last week... i dont think its worth the risk bringing him in for a game this important when he's obviously not fit.

Dossena and Arbeloa for me tonight anyway, we need their attacking presence

[D-Red]

Finnan looked pretty rusty in Oslo last week... i dont think its worth the risk bringing him in for a game this important when he's obviously not fit.

Dossena and Arbeloa for me tonight anyway, we need their attacking presence

God I dunno man. has Arbeloa got an attacking presence?

He has been rubbish each game so far this season

[mrpotatohead]

Dossena and Arbeloa for me tonight anyway, we need their attacking presence

Arebeloa offers nothing going forward, but if hes fitter than Finnan (i didn't see last weeks game) than i guess we're stuck with him for tonight at least.

Obviously hope we get an early goal tonight to get us going, but overall we should have enough to win here. Liege were impressive in the first leg, and I dont expect them to leave all their hard work behind them, it wouldnt suprise me if they scored tonight.
But we will win, hoping for a 3-0, but it could be more like 2-1.

Also hoping that we come through unscathed tonight, going to the villa game on sunday, the last thing i want is Torres or Gerard picking up a knock and having to sit out that one!

[D-Red]

Arebeloa offers nothing going forward

Couldn't agree more! And he's not too bloody hot defensively either.
he really hasn't started this season well at all....

[redforever]

we nned to field the srongest 11 all the time I'd love to see us going all the way in the CL, but we have to keep PL as priority.. I do not fully agree with rotation best 11 always they all want to play we have a good squad hopefully if Riera comes in it will add a little extra special..

[redeagle]

Really hope we can pull the finger out and start playing some football. Gonna be a tough game, liege have won their last two games and are sitting top of the league and scoring freely (6 in 2 games). Like most of you I expect a win but I think its time for the team to start backing it up with good performances.

[reder]

I would love to see Finnan and Aurelio as our fullbacks and Babel and Pennant as our wide midfield players. Gerrard will play centre mid even though he didnt look 100% on Saturday along with Alonso.

If we start with a narrow line up, ala Saturday, I fear the worst. We really cant afford to miss out on CL football on so many fronts including the financial aspect. Missing out will not make much difference to the americans however, they will retrieve the loss from somewhere else in the club.

If we start with width, we could easily be up 1 within 10-15 mins as they are likely to sit back and hold tight for the first 15-20 mins. The will cause them to open up and we can kill the game and rest the like of Gerrard, Torres etc.

[D-Red]

I would love to see Finnan and Aurelio as our fullbacks and Babel and Pennant as our wide midfield players. Gerrard will play centre mid even though he didnt look 100% on Saturday along with Alonso.
If we start with width, we could easily be up 1 within 10-15 mins as they are likely to sit back and hold tight for the first 15-20 mins. The will cause them to open up and we can kill the game and rest the like of Gerrard, Torres etc.

+1 The most important thing is width tonight. We need to stretch them which we clearly didn't do in the first leg. As Reder says, the likes of Finnan, Aurelio and Babel are our best chances of width so they should start imo.

If they don't and it's all 'through the eye of a needle' stuff again then it'll be a long night.

But if we get some width and make the pitch as big as possible we'll have too much for them

[Niall]

Would love to see Finnan play tonight but his lack of games mind be a massive problem. A pity because i think Arbeloa looks so sluggish and has done for awhile now. I don't think he offers much going forward myself other than long hoofs!

[D-Red]

early team news / preview from sky:

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4055842,00.html

[Paul]

Can't believe Liege are 18/1 with Ladcrookes to win tonights match.

With the possibilty of them scoring an away i can't see myself relaxing unless we get 3 goals ahead, which means i wont be relaxing at all :(

[jaza]

Can't believe Liege are 18/1 with Ladcrookes to win tonights match.

With the possibilty of them scoring an away i can't see myself relaxing unless we get 3 goals ahead, which means i wont be relaxing at all :(

remember besiktas beat us then we brought them to anfield and broke records :D

[Daz]

Can't believe Liege are 18/1 with Ladcrookes to win tonights match.:(

If I wasn;t a Liverpool fan, and considering the game 2 weeks ago, I;d be risking 10eur on that or having a good look at the handicap odds of Liege +1

[Paul]

remember besiktas beat us then we brought them to anfield and broke records :D

You do know our home record at this stage of euro qualifying dont you?
Add to that 3 terrible performances so far this season.
Hopefully the Kop will be loud and the Belgians (All 2 of them ;)) bottle it.

[teedeepee]

Not looking forward to tonight at all. I'll be 5-a-siding during the second half so I'm really hoping that the tie is secure at half time. I really can see them scoring; they were very unlucky not to score against us in Belgium and I can't see luck deserting them again. We, on the other hand, just haven't clicked yet and I think we'll need to if we're going to get past them. If we play well we should win comfortably but it's the playing well part that has me worried.

[McGinty]

God I dunno man. has Arbeloa got an attacking presence?

He has been rubbish each game so far this season

well, imo he's our most attacking right back, but i dont think we've a right back with the right balance of attacking/defending so i reckon he's the best of a bad bunch

i'm actually nervous about tonights game...

[GaryMc]

Have not had much time to think bout this one all week as have been working round the clock.

An away goal and we are big trouble. I can see us going through 2-1

I hope Keane gets of the mark

Get El Zhar and Babel in there from the start

[The Chanter]

hmmmm, could be a nervous night if we don't start well. Hopes of adding to the squad could go out the window if they score and it finishes 1-1. That'll mean 15m of lost earnings.

I'll go for 2-0. Torres and Keane

[scourge]

If we lose this one Raffa could lose his job IMO. Hopefully the lads don't get nervy. We need to assert our authority on this early. The Belgians will have their heads up if we don't have them on the back foot from the start

[MrsStevieG]

Well as everyone know's we don't do things the easy way. Nerves will be on edge for the whole game - ahh I hate watching games like this!!! Will have to have a few drinks watching it, just to help me relax;)


Come on Liverpool!!!!!!

[mypost]

Nerves will be on edge for the whole game - ahh I hate watching games like this!!!

Jaysus, how will the nerves be for the games against the big guns in the winter?? :confused::D

Line-up:

Reina, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Alonso, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres, Keane.

Should be fine, but if it isn't, I'm sure fans won't condemn the odd boo or two at the whistle.

[Phil!]

Eh dodgy enough start:(

[sallycinnamon]

shaky start or what.I've lost all faith in Kuyt n Benayoun

[SeanDeLere]

ChristofAlmighty I thought the bad nights were behind us...

A good side will destroy us if we continue in this vein through the season.

Confidence is visibly draining away through the course of the half.

[Aido82]

very very poor so far

Lets hope it gets better, one away goal and we are flutered

Anyine notice the advert boards are displaying liverpool v boro, bet now - idiots - unibet i think

[wickla_mucker]

tough stuff so far..
midfield is struggling to make any breaks altho gerrard and alonso are passing well, it is clear as day that our 'wingers' are utter shite.
Benayoun for worst personal performance in a red shirt EVER????
absolute pants
Robbie and Torres starting to link up..
Skyrtel having a nice battle - should do that bandy haired prick!

[megager]

Width width width!!! The new zonal marking. We are far too easy to defend against. Yossi off. Babel in. Get it done Rafa. Lets bury these guys.

[MrsStevieG]

Disgraceful first half, absolute muck:mad:. Thanks be to Jaysus for Pepe (yet again) or we'd be at least 2 nil if not 3 down.
They all better get their asses in gear for the second half of this game or we are foooked.
Get Yossi off, he is just not up to it at all - between this game and the last he is terrible.

[SeanDeLere]

Kuyt.... Benayoun WHY oh WHY?

Even when the ball is spread to the wings they are running back inside again. And how can the full-backs overlap? Would you try it with those two muppets in front of you!?

Im goin to watch the wee lads out on my street playing kickabout... better than this rubbish...

[REDHEART]

terrible again.:mad:

[RedWally]

More of the same rubbish from the 1st leg. Ronnie Whelan is spot on with his analysis on RTE.

[trucker]

Kuyt is muck 6/7 decent games towards the end of last season and people were blinkerd to how shit he is, arbeloa is'nt far behind him, Rafa thinks a right side of the team with those 2 will challenge this season! I'd take the £12m now for alonso in a heartbeat, How the hell he could justify not having maschereno involved tonight is bafffling. Width whats that a Religous Holiday in june!!!!

[Yoko]

Really worried guys Benayoun is driving me off my head

[megager]

Ive no fingernails. Have a bad feeling.

[Phil!]

This is absolute crap!! Kuyt keeps comin in off the right wing he is not a right winger get himoff also get Benayoun off he is a squad player he cant play this many games in a row get Babel and El Zhar in And Alonso needs to go aswell!!

[SeanDeLere]

Ive no fingernails. Have a bad feeling.

I hear ya dude! :mad::mad::mad:

[Phil!]

At least Yossi is off hopefully Babel can do somethin useful now

[megager]

Ref is giving us every thing just now. Why are we playing so bad at the moment?

[RedWally]

At least Yossi is off hopefully Babel can do somethin useful now

Babel doing ok so far. Definite improvement over Yossi.

[Phil!]

Babel doing ok so far. Definite improvement over Yossi.

Lets be honest mate anything was an improvement!!

You know things are bad when Gerrard is playing balls like that!

I think if there is a goal it will be Kuyt...i just have a feeling...anyone will do tough!!

[Aido82]

Kuyt, Yossi, Arbeloa and alonso not at the races today

poor show, they have some cheek even accepting a wage packet this week :)

[megager]

Arbeloa doing ok. Alonso better than weekend. Other 2 awful. Again

[SeanDeLere]

We make the England team look good!

[Phil!]

Arbeloa doing ok. Alonso better than weekend. Other 2 awful. Again

Have to disagree Arbeloa is playin brutal..steve finnan was dropped for him???

[sallycinnamon]

Why Keane off n not Kyut i dont know it boggles me

[Phil!]

2nd half
2 shots on target
Both Alonso
Both the guts of 30 yards out
Thats the closest we can get against a Belgian side and we want to win the League??

[Aido82]

great chance that robbie missed also

[megager]

Did not expect this when I saw the draw. Im sick. No beer left. I didnt legislate for extra time

[wickla_mucker]

wot the hell is going on here?
creating absolutely nothing whatsoever...
thought that no-one had that bad of a second half but there is no team effort..

hmm actually babel isnt doing that well...

[Fowler's God]

Huge pressure on us now in Extra-Time

[MrsStevieG]

Can you f**king believe that absolute crap???. This has to be the worst performance from this Liverpool side in a long long time. Creating nothing and no class at all. Trying to play everything through the middle and getting nowhere.
Cannot believe Keane was taken off over Kuyt.
Even if we go on to win this (and I'm not confident that we will) its an absolute disgrace of a game we have played and we will not go far in the group stages with this RUBBISH.

[Tilly]

excuse the french but that was bollox

[MrsStevieG]

The only thing we have going for us here is that these lads are starting to look tired. We might just have the advantage on stamina.

[SeanDeLere]

Even if we do make, this is the worst of our four performances this year and Benitez is only papering over the cracks.. We got Villa (fired up by Mrs O'Neill) and Manure next and somewhere along the line a good side will give us a spanking based on this.

[Phil!]

Pure unadulterated shite!!!

[SeanDeLere]

ohhh how we miss Crouch now...

[Aido82]

rafa's little cameo on the touch line cheered me up though

the rest of this game is horse muck, cant believe we are 15 mins away from pens

[SeanDeLere]

Did the Liege manager tell Benitez that he doesnt know what he is doing?

[mypost]

Should win the penalties with Reina's record, but it's a disgrace that it's got to this point.

[Phil!]

ohhh how we miss Crouch now...

He was great at those poxy goals that you dont miss til ther gone

[sallycinnamon]

ohhh how we miss Crouch now...

Don't know about that I think that's what is wrong we have a squad full of sh!te bar 6 players Gerrard,Torres,Masherano ,Keane,Carragher,Skrtle, sorry maybe Reina n Agger fit in there aswel but bar those players the rest would struggle to get a game for the likes of Villa,Pompey,Everton or City .We are not strong enough at the moment a good few weak links

[McGinty]

gettt in!

[wickla_mucker]

of all the players....
great ball in tho
cmoooonnnnnnn

[megager]

Job not done yet. goal from a good cross.

[SeanDeLere]

I beg to differ re: Crouch. Continental sides could not handle him when he played against them. His record in Europe 2006/07 was:

8 CL starts. 6 as a sub (Total = 14 games).
7 goals in 8 starts = A goal every 1.1 games.
7 goals in 14 games overall = A goal every 2 games.

Overall, Crouch had a direct hand in a goal in 90% of the CL games he started.

[Phil!]

I think if there is a goal it will be Kuyt...i just have a feeling...anyone will do tough!!

Come on!!!!!! Wat a shout ha...:D

[megager]

Thank god for that. I gottta say Leige were fantastic. I really hope they do well in the UEFA cup. 100% record so far this season. But by joves we gotta improve

[Aido82]

very lucky

need to get out of this bad patch asap

[MrsStevieG]

Totally undeserved it has to be said. I don't think anyone can be proud of that but a wins a win i suppose. Though I will say it again, we will not go far with this sort of play thats for sure. Something needs to be done with this team quickly

[SeanDeLere]

[QUOTE I think if there is a goal it will be Kuyt...i just have a feeling...anyone will do tough!![/QUOTE]

Good call JT!

[Phil!]

[QUOTE I think if there is a goal it will be Kuyt...i just have a feeling...anyone will do tough!!

Good call JT![/QUOTE]

Thanks:D

Thank Christ we won!!!

[denashpot]

Totally undeserved it has to be said. I don't think anyone can be proud of that but a wins a win i suppose. Though I will say it again, we will not go far with this sort of play thats for sure. Something needs to be done with this team quickly

i agree. no width in the team at all. unlucky to liege! they deserved it over 2 legs imo. there fans never were great as well.

[redeagle]

Typical Liverpool under Rafa...always taking the hardest route possible.

[RedWally]

A more seasoned European team would have us buried over the 2 legs.

The circus moves onto the next town.....

[wickla_mucker]

i agree. no width in the team at all. unlucky to liege! they deserved it over 2 legs imo. there fans never were great as well.


Agree on this up to the point that el zhar came on..
hugs the right side, shows energy and a little skill
should have had a penalty

a little early to say yet but shows some promise

[The Chanter]

Well done Dirk Kuyt. Worked hard all night and came up with a good goal in the end.

Good contribution from El Zhar when he came on. I'd like to see him get more time during the season. Good cross from Babel. Excellent performance by Reina.

The first cross from the danger area produced a goal.

Not a good performance but the important thing is that the team showed the belief to finish the job before penalties. Also, SL were by no means poor opposition.

[Phil!]

Agree on this up to the point that el zhar came on..
hugs the right side, shows energy and a little skill
should have had a penalty

a little early to say yet but shows some promise

Agree on El-Zhar should have had a peno and should be given a chance against Villa

[SeanDeLere]

Hmmmmm I wonder just how close Rafa was to the sack there....:eek::eek:

Like rednose all those years ago...

[noodge74]

Phew!!

[RedMurph08]

Agree on this up to the point that el zhar came on..
hugs the right side, shows energy and a little skill
should have had a penalty

a little early to say yet but shows some promise

Agree with this, hopefully our new left winger will come in and it will leave him (Riera) El Zhar and Babel fighting for the two positions on the wings because i cannot take much more of Kuyt playing out there, ok he scored the winner but he cant pass, has no speed, cant cross, Putting it bluntly he brings nothing to us out there, we need wingers that will take on defenders, Kuyt can be back-up to FT and Keane and if a game needs shoring up he can do the donkey work on the right.

If Liverpool had a new manager in the morning ( God forbid) does anyone else think Kuyt would be in the team??

[SeanDeLere]

Phew!!

an understatement there Noodge!!!

[MrsStevieG]

Agree on this up to the point that el zhar came on..
hugs the right side, shows energy and a little skill
should have had a penalty

a little early to say yet but shows some promise

Yes I agree, El Zhar did very well. Unlucky with the peno

[Monty]

We're blessed it worked for us tonight, long may this continue....If this is our bad patch and we're still winning that can only be a good thing. I'm a bit worried about the lack of width and the lack of flare, we can have all the hard workers in the world but a player with a bit of flare can win you a game from nowhere, we need this. I'm trying not to be too pesimistic as we are at the early part of the season..

[denashpot]

Agree on El-Zhar should have had a peno and should be given a chance against Villa

true. he looked good when he came on. babel couldnt get into the game at all. this is meant to be his season according to some so lets hope he steps up and shows us what his made of. hasn't impressed me at all since he has joined. :rolleyes:

[SeanDeLere]

Yes I agree, El Zhar did very well. Unlucky with the peno

I read recently that he refused to go out on loan this season, preferring to stay and fight for a first team place. We need that kind of attitude throughout the team / squad.

[Phil!]

true. he looked good when he came on. babel couldnt get into the game at all. this is meant to be his season according to some so lets hope he steps up and shows us what his made of. hasn't impressed me at all since he has joined. :rolleyes:

Me either but if memory serves me right Henry had a crap first season then kicked off in the second and think Babel will be like him!

Would drop Benayoun and rest Kuyt(i say rest instead of dropped only cause he scored) on Saturday and start El Zhar and Babel

[James]

F*ck me my nerves are shot. I don't even have any beer in the house to take the edge off.

Its hard to sum the whole thing up other than to say that since Rafa has been in charge he has brought with him a well of luck that never seems to run dry. I can't even say roll on Sunday as I'm way too sober.

Its going to be a season of epic nerve jangling proportions if the last 14 days are anything to go by. Xanax on tap all round.

[REDHEART]

fu*k that was far too close for comfort.the football in the first half was terrible.improved slightly after that.but credit to them they made it very difficult.it kills me to watch liverpool play football like this.its really hard to take.:mad:anyways releif.

[red_shamrock]

delighted we scraped through, that's the main thing I suppose. Hopefully Rafa can get this blind spot looked at and see that Kuyt is utter muck. As pointed out earlier, he lacks pace, his touch is awful, his passing is brutal. Yeah he works hard, but donkeys work hard, pure breads win. Rafa seriously needs to sort this lot out.

[denashpot]

Me either but if memory serves me right Henry had a crap first season then kicked off in the second and think Babel will be like him!

Would drop Benayoun and rest Kuyt(i say rest instead of dropped only cause he scored) on Saturday and start El Zhar and Babel

true.. im hoping your right mate. i think he has the potential to turn into a great player. hopefully at liverpool duh! :p

[McGinty]

If this is our bad patch and we're still winning that can only be a good thing.

that is the only thing keeping my heart going after tonight...

We're playing the worst football i've sen under Rafa, and we've still got our 100% start.

Fair dues to everone at Anfield tonight aswell, still roaring just before the second half of extra time... i cant think of any other club where you'd see that kind of support. fair dues.

[James]

Me either but if memory serves me right Henry had a crap first season then kicked off in the second and think Babel will be like him!


Babel will never be half the player Henry is (was). Its not his fault but the level Henry was at in his prime was out of this world.

[carramagic]

El Zhar is certainly looking promising and offered the width in the last two games that changed the game for us. Kuyt was so bad ...... and then pops up with his 9th goal in the last 15 euro games to save us. Would agree with the sentiments earlier about hoping Riera Babel and El Zhar will fight it out for the wide positions and that Kuyt will be used as back up striker and to shore up the right hand side on occasions

[Fowler's God]

We're through major improvement needed again. 4 games so far this season and played crap in general to way we can play.

[marathonman]

Have to agree about ALzhar. Only positive thing to come out of tonight.
He so deserves a start against Villa.Great attitude.
Nobody had any idea what to do when they got the ball.Very disappointing.
Sad fact remains that we have spent over €25 million and the squad has not been strengthened with any of our summer signings.

[Malzheimer]

Another performance that lacked any imagination or creation. This team is crying out for wide players, I hope Riera/Babel/El Zhar can fill the void. As Carra said thought this Liege side were a well organised unit and I'm sure they'll go far in the UEFA cup. Well done Pepe on another top performance.

We badly need to lift our performances for two massive league games coming up. I would take 4 points a draw at Villa and sneak a one nil vs the scum, but the way we are playing at the moment I'm not overly confident.

[Fowler's God]

Gerrard out for the Villa game and will miss the WC Qualifiers for England. Having a groin op tommorrow. Will be out for 10 to 15 days so Rafa has said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7585279.stm

[Malzheimer]

Babel will never be half the player Henry is (was). Its not his fault but the level Henry was at in his prime was out of this world.

Never be half the player Henry was?? Bloody hell give the lad a chance. He's still young and developing and working hard to adapt his game to the way Rafa wants him to play. Sure Henry didn't hit his prime until his mid 20's when he joined Arsenal. I have faith in the lad to be a key player for us in years to come, great cross for the goal too, gift wrapped it for Dirk.

[Malzheimer]

Gerrard out for the Villa game and will miss the WC Qualifiers for England. Having a groin op tommorrow. Will be out for 10 to 15 days so Rafa has said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7585279.stm

This is bad news short term but good in the long. Only thing is I can see the medical and coaching staff trying to rush him back for the Mancs game. No point him being on the field in a game like that imo if he's not match fit as we will be found out. Saying that not many bright alternative options at the minute.

[James]

Never be half the player Henry was?? Bloody hell give the lad a chance. He's still young and developing and working hard to adapt his game to the way Rafa wants him to play. Sure Henry didn't hit his prime until his mid 20's when he joined Arsenal. I have faith in the lad to be a key player for us in years to come, great cross for the goal too, gift wrapped it for Dirk.

Yeah he will never be half the player Henry was and as I stated thats through no fault of his own. I think people forget just how good Henry was, its like saying 'i think he'll be like Maradonna'. Let the lad reach his own standard without having to worry about any comparisons. He has had this 'next Henry' tag on him since he joined.

[Kiltyred]

Another close call. Is Rafa trying to give us all heart attacks?

[windhover]

What a stressfull evening! Some fireworks off the pitch!

[mypost]

We won, that's all we can take from the night's events.

[warboy]

tonights game was boring i knew we were going threw but we left it mad late plus we were shy in front of goal all night ,nobody will ask question ecause were winning but if we go up againest a big club in europe ad play like that we wont last long .

p.s dirk kuyt is not a midfleid player rafa needs to keep him as a third strickers

[Malzheimer]

Yeah he will never be half the player Henry was and as I stated thats through no fault of his own. I think people forget just how good Henry was, its like saying 'i think he'll be like Maradonna'. Let the lad reach his own standard without having to worry about any comparisons. He has had this 'next Henry' tag on him since he joined.

Agree 100% with the part let him reach his own level.......But for me the skys the limit for the lad. The raw talent is there it just needs to be smoothed over.

[James]

Agree 100% with the part let him reach his own level.......But for me the skys the limit for the lad. The raw talent is there it just needs to be smoothed over.

I hope he does mate but Henry is probably my favorite non Liverpool FC player of recent times. A true genius and a model pro.

[Paul]

Can you f**king believe that absolute crap???. This has to be the worst performance from this Liverpool side in a long long time. Creating nothing and no class at all. Trying to play everything through the middle and getting nowhere.
Cannot believe Keane was taken off over Kuyt.
Even if we go on to win this (and I'm not confident that we will) its an absolute disgrace of a game we have played and we will not go far in the group stages with this RUBBISH.

You must have a very short memory ;)

[D-Red]

Lads a bit of calm needed. We had 2 Prem games, played badly and won both.
We had a Champs League Qualifier, played badly, won again.

The point is we're 1 of only 2 teams on 100% in the premiership and we're in the Group stages of the Champs league and we haven't even played well yet.

The mancs have always been good at digging out "lucky" or late winners.
Remember John o shea at anfield after we had outplayed them.
They robbed Blackburn last year, they robbed Spurs last year and in the Champions league they robbed Lyon (away leg). In fact they won so many matches in which they had been outplayed that it made me feel ill.

Well now it's our turn. Winning when you're not playing well is an artform that we needed to learn. And we have learned it now.

The performance level will come right sooner or later.

Meantime more late or even "undeserved" wins will suit me fine.

If we play rubbish against our Mancunian pals on September 13th and get an undeserved winner I'll be dancing on the roof!!!

[D-Red]

Here's the GOAL (a non-youtube link) for those of you who wanna see it again.
This commentator initially thinks it's Torres that got the goal. He should've gone to specsavers

http://www.goalcentre.com/liverpool-vs-standard-liege-live-stream-and-highlights/

[Liverpool-law]

Anyone know what the story is with Ngog, is he injured or something? God knows we needed a goal but not sure he was even on the bench.

Fair play to Kuyt, he drove me mad all night but he kept chasing it and eventually got a reward. They never do it easy.

If they play like that we'll be beaten in the next two games... but we're going to Rome!!! ;)

[Badman]

another dreadful abject performance - and dirk the donkey saves our blushes...and probably rafas job. we cant keep deluding ourselves with the 'we're playing poorly but winning..late goals...scrapping to the end ala the scum' crap. we play crap fullstop. this is how we play and will always play when you're 4 years into a job and the fullback and wide positions are worse now than when u started. kuyt is so bad its like a ricky chervais gag on The Office...he makes me want to rip my hand off just to have something to throw at him. brutal shite is too kind. rafa is doing the whole team a disservice by playing him cos everything he does is so poor and limited. finnan and warnoc played against TNS 3 years ago and theyre as good if not better than arbeloa and aurelio. the team is no better or well equipped for a sustained challenge for the prem. and these late goals will dry up sooner or later and against a tops side we'll be found out.
at least 2-3 years ago we've said the 'spine' of the team is good but needs embellishment out wide. 3 years later we're sayin the same thing...he just hasnt improved that key area one bit.
arbeloa, kuyt, aurelio and yossi are nowhere near good enough to play in a title chasing side. the other 7 are fine but...
thank go we're through but i dont see us playing any better in the future if he sticks with the current formation adn personnel.
havent a fingernail left - rafa needs to stop picking 'favourites' like arbeloa and kuyt and pick the best players fro the job or we'll suffer eventually. i remembre having this debate when houllier regarding heskey..anyone remember that

[edcarroll02]

another dreadful abject performance - and dirk the donkey saves our blushes...and probably rafas job. we cant keep deluding ourselves with the 'we're playing poorly but winning..late goals...scrapping to the end ala the scum' crap. we play crap fullstop. this is how we play and will always play when you're 4 years into a job and the fullback and wide positions are worse now than when u started. kuyt is so bad its like a ricky chervais gag on The Office...he makes me want to rip my hand off just to have something to throw at him. brutal shite is too kind. rafa is doing the whole team a disservice by playing him cos everything he does is so poor and limited. finnan and warnoc played against TNS 3 years ago and theyre as good if not better than arbeloa and aurelio. the team is no better or well equipped for a sustained challenge for the prem. and these late goals will dry up sooner or later and against a tops side we'll be found out.
at least 2-3 years ago we've said the 'spine' of the team is good but needs embellishment out wide. 3 years later we're sayin the same thing...he just hasnt improved that key area one bit.
arbeloa, kuyt, aurelio and yossi are nowhere near good enough to play in a title chasing side. the other 7 are fine but...


I don't think anyone can argue with what your saying here and i think that Benitez's biggest problem is his signings. I mean he spent all last season running around after Heinze (who would have been a great signing) and then left himself with no time to find a suitable replacement. Dossena hasn't really been here long enough but he certainly doesn't look like the answer to all of our problems out wide.
Personally i feel that most of our width issues we have come directly from Kuyt, he's never happy to stay out on the wing and constantly drifting in clogging up the centre of the park more and more. I think its time to bite the bullet on this one and leave Kuyt as our third/fourth striker. I'm nearly at a point where i'd prefer to see pennant out there and i absolutely despise that waste of space but he loves beating defenders and trying to get balls into the box!

[Raven136]

another dreadful abject performance - and dirk the donkey saves our blushes...and probably rafas job. we cant keep deluding ourselves with the 'we're playing poorly but winning..late goals...scrapping to the end ala the scum' crap. we play crap fullstop. this is how we play and will always play when you're 4 years into a job and the fullback and wide positions are worse now than when u started. kuyt is so bad its like a ricky chervais gag on The Office...he makes me want to rip my hand off just to have something to throw at him. brutal shite is too kind. rafa is doing the whole team a disservice by playing him cos everything he does is so poor and limited. finnan and warnoc played against TNS 3 years ago and theyre as good if not better than arbeloa and aurelio. the team is no better or well equipped for a sustained challenge for the prem. and these late goals will dry up sooner or later and against a tops side we'll be found out.
at least 2-3 years ago we've said the 'spine' of the team is good but needs embellishment out wide. 3 years later we're sayin the same thing...he just hasnt improved that key area one bit.
arbeloa, kuyt, aurelio and yossi are nowhere near good enough to play in a title chasing side. the other 7 are fine but...
thank go we're through but i dont see us playing any better in the future if he sticks with the current formation adn personnel.
havent a fingernail left - rafa needs to stop picking 'favourites' like arbeloa and kuyt and pick the best players fro the job or we'll suffer eventually. i remembre having this debate when houllier regarding heskey..anyone remember that


who would you pick on the wide right if not Kuyt?Stick keane or gerrard out there and have everyone moan about that.
Agree about arbeloa,was impressed with hm last season but he was terrible last night.
The formation is not the problem,its just a flat 442,just some players are not performing.
Managers get too much credit and too much blame but the players need to look at themselves from last night.Too many just let the game pass them by and Rafa cant be blamed for that.

[Badman]

i agree - at least pennant (as bad as he is) is a natural winger who'll stay out wide and give the midfielder or striker an option when in possession. everything last nite went back to front, adn at leat twice el nino adn keand were in possession, looke out wide for an option adn ended up having to play the ball back and the move broke down. i do despair at times... u can only use the 'we dont have the finances' card for so long. 20m on keane couldve been spent elsewhere, ie out wide adn keep crouch since we persist on hoofing the ball 80 yards up the park every 5 minutes

[GaryMc]

To be honest, I was more nervous watching the league games so far this season. I am not going to say I dont care about the Champs League this season, because I do. Maybe I thought it was only a matter of time before we scored.

Was a poor performance, but fair play to Liege, they are a young, hungry team and others will do well to put up as good a performance as them at Anfield this season.

Ronnie Whelan was very damming of Rafa, saying he has four years to get it right and still has not. I found myself agreeing with him on some points, esp regardings the winger situation. Kuyt and Benayoun are not wingers and if Rafa is going to play 4-4-2, we need Babel and El Zhar for a bit of width.

[kaka2001]

This is really starting to resemble the situation of Houllier in his last season

Crap preformances, some victories, dont see us beating the other top 3 and over reliant on Gerrard and Torres (or Owen as it was)

His signings look like they could cost him his job. We expected big things from Houlliers team and he signed Diouf, Cheyrou and Diao. Rafa now has no excuses about money he has had it and spent it, some great players have been brought in but why has he got the same problems as when he first took over. I know it is only early days but so far Rafa looks to have done terrible business this summer

I am predicting another painful season ahead, they way we are playing a slump is only around the corner as we cannot keep this up

[Badman]

who would you pick on the wide right if not Kuyt?Stick keane or gerrard out there and have everyone moan about that.
Agree about arbeloa,was impressed with hm last season but he was terrible last night.
The formation is not the problem,its just a flat 442,just some players are not performing.
Managers get too much credit and too much blame but the players need to look at themselves from last night.Too many just let the game pass them by and Rafa cant be blamed for that.

pennat or el zhar if in a 4-4-2 coz they're specialist wingers..not grat but quick and can cross. if it a 4-2-3-1- formation the 3 would be stevie, babel and keane. i just don think u can justify kuyt in any fromation. i agree with the players taking responsibility..absolutely spot on. but the manager has a responsibility too, adn i think playing kuyt slows and weakens the team, irrespective of the late goal last nite

[D-Red]

another dreadful abject performance - and dirk the donkey saves our blushes...and probably rafas job. we cant keep deluding ourselves with the 'we're playing poorly but winning..late goals...scrapping to the end ala the scum' crap. we play crap fullstop. this is how we play and will always play when you're 4 years into a job and the fullback and wide positions are worse now than when u started. kuyt is so bad its like a ricky chervais gag on The Office...he makes me want to rip my hand off just to have something to throw at him. brutal shite is too kind. rafa is doing the whole team a disservice by playing him cos everything he does is so poor and limited. finnan and warnoc played against TNS 3 years ago and theyre as good if not better than arbeloa and aurelio. the team is no better or well equipped for a sustained challenge for the prem. and these late goals will dry up sooner or later and against a tops side we'll be found out.
at least 2-3 years ago we've said the 'spine' of the team is good but needs embellishment out wide. 3 years later we're sayin the same thing...he just hasnt improved that key area one bit.
arbeloa, kuyt, aurelio and yossi are nowhere near good enough to play in a title chasing side. the other 7 are fine but...
thank go we're through but i dont see us playing any better in the future if he sticks with the current formation adn personnel.
havent a fingernail left - rafa needs to stop picking 'favourites' like arbeloa and kuyt and pick the best players fro the job or we'll suffer eventually. i remembre having this debate when houllier regarding heskey..anyone remember that

Jesus, if you really believe all of that then it seems to me you essentially want Rafa out.
Because Rafa will not change all of the things you mention above.

Do you want Rafa out?

[MCCARTS]

Just back from the game last night. I have to say that the Liege fans were brilliant last night , before during and after the game. They never stopped singing. I was in the Kop last night and it was rocking for the first 90mins or so... Somebody started chanting Keano Keano and was nearly booed out of the Kop. Also I never realised how much of a sweatbox the kop is, I was nearly getting carried out with the heat..

[windhover]

arbeloa, kuyt, aurelio and yossi are nowhere near good enough to play in a title chasing side

Have to agree with you Im afraid. Pathetic performance. I still think we will come good though.

[Badman]

Jesus, if you really believe all of that then it seems to me you essentially want Rafa out.
Because Rafa will not change all of the things you mention above.

Do you want Rafa out?

no, changing now wouldnt solve anything...just think we need more quality brought in, and in the areas that need it. i'm not a 'sack the coach' kinda guy, leave that to madrid and newcastle. i do thik rafa has many good qualities and we are very tough to beat since he took over, jus t think we could use the limited resources we have better by plying players in their right positions.i agree with sticking with a player ...but up to a point. sometimes i think he's too loyal

[Kiltyred]

Agree 100% with the part let him reach his own level.......But for me the skys the limit for the lad. The raw talent is there it just needs to be smoothed over.

I agree. I think he's a great player, could be an amazing player. I don't even think he was that bad last season. If Rafa had played him a bit more, he could have made more of an impact.

[mika27]

Rafa said after the game:

'I was delighted with Dirk Kuyt, his goal was a reward for all the effort he puts in for us. He is amazing.

'His work is tremendous, he keeps going right to the end and makes a tremendous contribution to our side.'

He is not amazing, he is far from amazing. His goal should not hide the fact that he had a poor game and offered little or nothing going forward. Yes he puts in a lot of work but if I was playing for Liverpool I would put in a lot of work too, does that mean I deserve to be in the team? No, cos I'm sh*t.

El Zhar deserves his chance on the right, with Kuyt as a backup striker. But I think Rafa loves him too much to drop him :confused:

[D-Red]

no, changing now wouldnt solve anything...just think we need more quality brought in, and in the areas that need it. i'm not a 'sack the coach' kinda guy, leave that to madrid and newcastle. i do thik rafa has many good qualities and we are very tough to beat since he took over, jus t think we could use the limited resources we have better by plying players in their right positions.i agree with sticking with a player ...but up to a point. sometimes i think he's too loyal

It's just that when you say Rafa has his favourites, you're right. He does. And he isn't about to change them now.
And when you say the football we play looks crap. Again fair point but again Rafa's teams have always tended to play a certain way and that's not about to change either.
If you're waiting for Rafa to change his ways you'll be waiting a long time.
So I guess we have to support Rafa and accept the style of football he tends to play (fine by me) OR you want him out, because he isn't about to change now....

[mcinerdo]

I must admit I'm losing faith in Rafa but we've had too many managers in too few years with too little to show for it.....the fault must lie elsewhere

[Bren100]

...and probably rafas job
Agreed.


Ronnie Whelan had an interesting comment about how the defence has not progressed before kick off. I certinly would not have agreed with him until I saw the same defence we put out vs TNS 3 years ago.
Then:
Reina, Finnan, Carra, Sammi and Warnock.
Now
Reina, Arbeloa, Carra, Skrtel, Arullio

Then:At their ability at the time I agree they were a stronger defence than the Now's from lastnight and we were playing TNS; hardly S.Leige!!

[mcinerdo]

Also, what worried me most last night was that, for the first time in ages, I couldn't fault the effort the team put in...it was great...non-stop work....which meant that the quality may be a bigger problem than I hoped

[D-Red]

I must admit I'm losing faith in Rafa but we've had too many managers in too few years with too little to show for it.....the fault must lie elsewhere

Rafa has been here 4 years and won 1 Champions league and runner up in another. And won the FA Cup and a European Super Cup.
He has turned us into a side that the rest of Europe actually fears and, if given time and support, has a better chance of landing the title than any other manager out there who could replace him

[mcinerdo]

Winning cups is great for glory and good for bringing in money but winning the title is the sign of a consistently great team.....we are no nearer winning it now than 4 years ago and maybe that's not all Rafa's fault. The money needed to win the title now is huge and we just don't have it...maybe we are destined to scrap for 3rd/4th place until we get a big injection of funds from the right person

[Badman]

It's just that when you say Rafa has his favourites, you're right. He does. And he isn't about to change them now.
And when you say the football we play looks crap. Again fair point but again Rafa's teams have always tended to play a certain way and that's not about to change either.
If you're waiting for Rafa to change his ways you'll be waiting a long time.
So I guess we have to support Rafa and accept the style of football he tends to play (fine by me) OR you want him out, because he isn't about to change now....

i'll always support the reds...even if they'd kevin keegan at the helm. i suppose i'm an old romantic that wistfully remembers the good ol days when we won things AND played good football to boot. but yeah, if its a choice between sexy football without winning anything, and winning trophies, i'll take the latter...otherwise i'd support arsenal i think! u must admit tho, it can be hard to watch at times...hard on the ol' ticker anyway

[Badman]

Rafa has been here 4 years and won 1 Champions league and runner up in another. And won the FA Cup and a European Super Cup.
He has turned us into a side that the rest of Europe actually fears and, if given time and support, has a better chance of landing the title than any other manager out there who could replace him

true, i cannot think of anyone who could keep us in the top 4 consisitntly who would take over this job. very few top coaches would touch the backfroom shenanignas, and even less would tolerate parry's bungling of transfers...if anything he deserves the International 'Patience of Jobe' trophy..i think i'd have headbutted parry by now

[D-Red]

u must admit tho, it can be hard to watch at times...hard on the ol' ticker anyway

Too right mate! I'm still getting over last night and the game before that (and the game before that) :D

But as long as Liverpool are winning games I'll keep smiling

[mcinerdo]

Just wait for the VHI to have a special exclusion for Liverpool supporters !

[Badman]

Just wait for the VHI to have a special exclusion for Liverpool supporters !

i can c that alrite - it will exclude heart failure, stroke, alcoholism...adn probably diabetes (i'd no beer in the house, ate most of a packet of mini mars last nite when i'd finished with the fingernails)

[Andrew]

What an awful awful performance from Liverpool last night. Credit to Liege for defending so well but where was the drive and determination from the Liverpool players. They were always second to the ball, their first touches were woeful and the passing was a disgrace at times.
Other than a few fleeting moments of actual flair in attack all they tried was long ball after long ball. Liege just soaked it all up. The only real attacking threat I think we had was El Zhar. He was sharp, quick and knows how to get around the first defender (something Babel has clearly forgotten how to do). Our attack was marked out of the game. The defense had nothing to do but were alert when required. A game to forget imo. I'm just glad we're in the group stages.

What I hope Rafa has learned from this game is that El Zhar > Kuyt on the right. I still rate Kuyt though for his sheer workrate and defensive duties. Not many forward players like that around. He made some important challenges in extra time.

[Bren100]

They were all playing to be noticed by a Bolton or Aston Villa scout Id say. Credit to them, they put it up to one of the best teams in Europe and they played well. They had a tactic and they stook to it.

[Raven136]

Agreed.


Ronnie Whelan had an interesting comment about how the defence has not progressed before kick off. I certinly would not have agreed with him until I saw the same defence we put out vs TNS 3 years ago.
Then:
Reina, Finnan, Carra, Sammi and Warnock.
Now
Reina, Arbeloa, Carra, Skrtel, Arullio

Then:At their ability at the time I agree they were a stronger defence than the Now's from lastnight and we were playing TNS; hardly S.Leige!!

wouldnt agree at all,dossena looks impressive and will be better then Warnock(if not already) and our defence has had some club records under rafa. i believe.
Anytime Whelan talks about rafa im deeply suspicious as he clearly doesnt like him.He was one of the guys who went on an on about zonal defence and when it was shown to work no credit given to the manager.
Agger and Skertl our back two for the next 8 to 10 years injury permitting,how can anyone question those signings?

[Bren100]

wouldnt agree at all,dossena looks impressive and will be better then Warnock(if not already) and our defence has had some club records under rafa. i believe.
Anytime Whelan talks about rafa im deeply suspicious as he clearly doesnt like him.He was one of the guys who went on an on about zonal defence and when it was shown to work no credit given to the manager.
Agger and Skertl our back two for the next 8 to 10 years injury permitting,how can anyone question those signings?

Dossina has proved nothing yet. Agger and Skrtel are our best partnership alright

Im glad we won the game, If not only because it will keep me busy on alternating Wednesday nights until Christmas, but a cry would have gone out for Rafa's seat to be vacated. There is no-one out there who can replace him at the moment ... that I know of anyway.

He has got most things right, but when it comes to wingers ... it really is his achilles heel.

Roll on the Draw ... would love to get Ath. Madrid!!

[Raven136]

i said he looked impressive(IMO HE HAS)warnock wsnt that good lads and its red tinited glasses that make you think he is,Decent but not great.

Just dont like listening to whelan,full of bs

[D-Red]

Agger and Skertl our back two for the next 8 to 10 years injury permitting,how can anyone question those signings?

Agger and Skrtel were 2 great signings alright.

Both top class

[michael]

I found the match frustrating primarily because I was looking for some type of progression/improvement in the team. Team didnt lack effort but Liege matched them in that department and its then you need quality do make the difference.
5 players in liverpool team dont appear to be good enough or are only good enough in fits and starts. 2 full backs, 2 wide midfielders and Keane. It will take time to gel but how much time and where will they be in the premiership by that time.
Looking at the bench it wasnt obvious who would improve the situation as the players there are unproven as yet .
El Zhar did improve matters against tiring legs, looked to have a spark of life in attack and defence.
Babbel comes on and insists on condensing the play into the middle and its only when he stays wide and delivers a good cross that we actually create a good chance and score. Only other really clear chance also came from wide when keane mishit.
On defence they were lucky, Reina with 2 saves and liege players getting in each others way with no defender in sight meant 3 clear chances for Liege.
On Kuyt there is no doubting his workrate and effort but I feel alot of it relates to recovering ball he has given away in the first place.
Going to be an interesting season!!!

[mcinerdo]

He was one of the guys who went on an on about zonal defence and when it was shown to work no credit given to the manager

Maybe I missed it but when did zonal defence prove itself ? We still look very dodgy under corners and freekicks !

[Badman]

yeah, hate listening to whelan tbh. he's almost as whiney as that midget houghton with his man u asslicking and anti rafa bullshit...the two of them and dunphy are all reading from the same tired hymn sheet compiled midway through the houllier era...not an original thought between them. they can have some valid points at times, but the hardline anti-liverpool/anti-rafa agenda is getting tiresome. at least with gilesy, despite the senility, there is a fairly neutral unbiased viewpoint....even if he does mention fabregas twenty times during every programme, even if arsenal arent playing!!

[edcarroll02]

Agger and Skrtel were 2 great signings alright.

Both top class

Great Signings:
Alonso, Torres, Skrtel, Agger, Masch, Reina,

Decent singings:
Crouch, Keane, Babel, Lucas, Aurelio, Garcia

Average (at best):
Voronin, Kuyt, Pennant, Pelegrino, Morientes, Arbeloa, Gonzales and the list goes on and on!

[D-Red]

Great Signings:
Alonso, Torres, Skrtel, Agger, Masch, Reina,

Decent singings:
Crouch, Keane, Babel, Lucas, Aurelio, Garcia

Average (at best):
Voronin, Kuyt, Pennant, Pelegrino, Morientes, Arbeloa, Gonzales and the list goes on and on!

It's a bit early to decide where to put keane and babel in that little table and also a little harsh on Kuyt to be in the same bracket as Voronin!!

Also Pelegrino, Voronin, Gonzales were all free transfers! What do you want?

[edcarroll02]

It's a bit early to decide where to put keane and babel in that little table and also a little harsh on Kuyt to be in the same bracket as Voronin!!

Also Pelegrino, Voronin, Gonzales were all free transfers! What do you want?

Thats why i left them midtable for the moment but Babel really does need to start making more of an impact on matters very soon, and i couldn't possibly put kuyt in any other group because for me he is a very poor player.

As for the free transfers i would suggest that benitez realises that you usually do get what you pay for so leave these donkeys where they belong and don't fill our squad with inept players.

[Rover 609]

If Liege had any potency up front last nite,the post mortems this morning would be seriously depressing.We would be out of the CL.
Our team is playing with a serious lack of confidence(except Pepe)but why is this?Our talismen who you expect to pick us up by the b****x and get thew team playing are not performing,not completely satisfied its because of injury or lack of fitness meself.
Its a really depressing time for LFC fans at the moment yet the results dont reflect this its,is "paradox" a word that would describe this?
Whenever i see the likes of Beneyoun,Arbeloa,kyut, and a few others on the team sheet,to be honest il always expect the worst because there just not good enough,(Rafas blind faith in arbeloa is bewildering)but there what we have and were just goin to have to deal with it.
If we continue to perform like we are then its only a matter of time before we get a battering(if the mancs hammer us God only knows what the outcome il be)the disconcerting voices are only goin to get louder and louder.Im prayin we turn this around and maybe the international break might just be a blessing in disguise,heres hopin anyway.

[D-Red]

Thats why i left them midtable for the moment but Babel really does need to start making more of an impact on matters very soon, and i couldn't possibly put kuyt in any other group because for me he is a very poor player.

As for the free transfers i would suggest that benitez realises that you usually do get what you pay for so leave these donkeys where they belong and don't fill our squad with inept players.

I've very high hopes for Babel this season, fingers crossed....

With the free transfers, you need a squad of a certain size and if we end up getting 2 mill for players that we signed on a free a year or two ago then it's good business. (e.g. the rumoured (god willing) transfer of Voronin).

We've hardly any transfer backing from the Yanks so Rafa has to generate his own funds and that's a good way of doing it

[Badman]

i think the above list proves conclusively that u get what u pay for. the big name signings ie masch, torres (and i believe that we'll be putting keane into this bracket too fairly soon) - and reina, skertl adn agger cos the money was fairly big for them cos they were eithe yoyun or unproven - have all been a success. with probably the exception of kuyt who i think was expensive at 10m. alonso up to two years ago the same applies.
but its the middle of the road signing and freebies that have failed him and most of those were in the wide positions.. kromhamp, josemi, nunez, arbeloa, gonzalez, pennant et al. granted he didnt lose money to many of them, but their presence was a weakness in the team. he has done well with selling on players for a profit too like bellamy, sissoko (masterstroke), crouch etc so i'd say he's probably 50% success rate, maybe a bit more

[D-Red]

If we continue to perform like we are then its only a matter of time before we get a battering(if the mancs hammer us God only knows what the outcome il be)the disconcerting voices are only goin to get louder and louder.Im prayin we turn this around and maybe the international break might just be a blessing in disguise,heres hopin anyway.

Don't worry man. We have played 4 games. I can't understand all the daggers being out after 4 games. Especially when we've won 3 of them!!
We were a good side last year and we'll be a better side this year.

And congrats on that "Paradox" bit by the way! :D

[mcinerdo]

Don't worry man. We have played 4 games. I can't understand all the daggers being out after 4 games. Especially when we've won 3 of them!!
We were a good side last year and we'll be a better side this year.

And congrats on that "Paradox" bit by the way! :D


The bit that depressed me most about the 'boro game and last night was the strength (or lack of ! ) of the bench..........

P.S. how do you get the quote thing in to the little box in the reply ?

[mcinerdo]

oooops ! it worked ! how did I do that !!

[D-Red]

The bit that depressed me most about the 'boro game and last night was the strength (or lack of ! ) of the bench..........

P.S. how do you get the quote thing in to the little box in the reply ?

Bench last night was:

Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Spearing, Plessis, Babel.

Excellent goalie, good Left Back, World Class Centre Back, 2 good young C. Mids., a winger with huge potential.

Not too bad at all?

Mind you the reason for both Plessis AND Spearing is debatable. I'm not certain why Ngog wasn't there.

[gerrard008]

we will never win a league under benitez,thats the cold harsh reality of the situation,i visit this site everyday,read your comments,picture most of you at home wearing red tinted glasses trying to put a positive spin on the direction rafa is bringing us.i am as loyal as any one of you,i live and breathe liverpool but there comes a time when you just have to sit up and say HEY! this guy is the wrong man for the job.even the rafa rafael chants at the holy grail(anfield) have become pretty subdued lately.dont get me wrong,he is tactically estute but he is a clown.im all for having faith in a player but what does kuyt have to do to get benched????he buys dossena when i personally think insua is ready to start his career,on the right stephen darby looks a vicious prospect but will rot in the reserves no doubt till he's confidence is shattered and he ends up a league 2 player,then we have n'gog with blistering pace to unlock defences and would give us serious options on the bench is nowhere to be seen,but i spose with nemeth on the bench .... oh wait he's nowhere to be seen either,but we have 4foot spearing sitting there for inspiration.we have the tools to be a pretty good team but with a mad man at the helm its going to be a long and arduous season.i have no problem eating humble pie and i hope this season im proved wrong but i seriously doubt i will.ynwa.

[D-Red]

oooops ! it worked ! how did I do that !!

Fair play to you!! You're up and running now mate! :D

[D-Red]

there comes a time when you just have to sit up and say HEY! this guy is the wrong man for the job.even the rafa rafael chants at the holy grail(anfield) have become pretty subdued lately.dont get me wrong,he is tactically estute but he is a clown.

Oh my God.

Rafa's a "clown" now??? wtf?

[MrsStevieG]

You must have a very short memory ;)

Yeah or maybe I'm just not as auld as you;)

[Paul]

Yeah or maybe I'm just not as auld as you;)

Yes you're correct i can remember the 4 seasons under rafa ;)

[Rover 609]

we will never win a league under benitez,thats the cold harsh reality of the situation,i visit this site everyday,read your comments,picture most of you at home wearing red tinted glasses trying to put a positive spin on the direction rafa is bringing us.i am as loyal as any one of you,i live and breathe liverpool but there comes a time when you just have to sit up and say HEY! this guy is the wrong man for the job.even the rafa rafael chants at the holy grail(anfield) have become pretty subdued lately.dont get me wrong,he is tactically estute but he is a clown.im all for having faith in a player but what does kuyt have to do to get benched????he buys dossena when i personally think insua is ready to start his career,on the right stephen darby looks a vicious prospect but will rot in the reserves no doubt till he's confidence is shattered and he ends up a league 2 player,then we have n'gog with blistering pace to unlock defences and would give us serious options on the bench is nowhere to be seen,but i spose with nemeth on the bench .... oh wait he's nowhere to be seen either,but we have 4foot spearing sitting there for inspiration.we have the tools to be a pretty good team but with a mad man at the helm its going to be a long and arduous season.i have no problem eating humble pie and i hope this season im proved wrong but i seriously doubt i will.ynwa.



Make your point but less of the "madman" and "clown" when describing the manager.
That man has been at helm of some of our clubs greatest nites ever and i take offence to you describing him with that s***e.:mad:

[MrsStevieG]

Yes you're correct i can remember the 4 seasons under rafa ;)

Wowsers!!;)

[pongolle]

Personally i feel that most of our width issues we have come directly from Kuyt, he's never happy to stay out on the wing and constantly drifting in clogging up the centre of the park more and more.
Its not just Kuyt who clogs up the center. And to be fair to him, he stays out wide more than our other "wingers". Babel and Yossi are unbelievable at staying out wide. But the real issue is the selfish nature of the rest of the team. There are lots of players there who could drop out wide, but they just wont.

Gerrard best season, in terms of a goals return, came when Rafa made him play out wide right. Or am I mistaken with this? The problem, in my eyes, is that football is a team game but Liverpool dont play like a team. If you look at the fluid attacking sides in the league, like United or Arsenal they have wide players drifting in field non stop. Look at Ronaldo or Giggs. Hleb last season for Arsenal was the same. But their players are unselfish enough to go and cover positions.

For example, United often line up with Ronaldo out wide on the right, Giggs on the left with Rooney and Tevez up top. 10 minutes in and Ronaldo is up top, Giggs is on the right, Rooney is on the left and Tevez is almost an attacking midfielder. 10 minutes later all 4 are in different positions again. This makes them harder to mark and pick up. Leading to them creating so much space with runs and passes. If Ronaldo comes in from the left then instead of clogging up the midfield, either Rooney or Tevez just automatically goes out wide to fill the gap. This pulls the backline all over the shop. The exact same applies to Arsenal. How often did you see Adebayor and Hleb change positions last season? How many times was Fabregas out wide on the left, only to be wide on the right 5 minutes later?

I dont think our players are adaptable enough to do that. Either that, or too selfish to do it. You cant have a winger just hug the touchline all night. It becomes stale and static. If Kuyt is trying to freshen the attack, make something happen and do a run infield, the someone like Keane, Gerrard or Alonso should be heading out wide right to plug the gap and also provide an option should Kuyt run into trouble or pass off to someone else. Its simple stuff. We have too many players than want to score the goal rather than make the goal. Gerrard doesnt want to cover wide out right for a portion of a build up cause he cant be the one taking the 30 yard shot then.

People talk here like we need everyone to know their position and rigidly stick to it. Do you know who easy that would be to defend against? All the great (attacking teams) teams; Arsenal, United, Madrid, Barcelona, Juve (previously) dont stick to rigid positions. Messi doesnt just hug the touchline. Henry didnt just stay in the middle. Tevez isnt always on the shoulder of the last defender. We need to show some adaptability and when someone cuts in, someone has to take the responsibility of going out wide for a bit.

We all hate Rooney and if you asked your average Liverpool fan, they would say he is a flop cause of his goals return. You ask an average United fan, and they tell you that its not his goals return that counts. Its his unselfish attitude of doing whats best for the team instead of whats best for him. I'm sure he'd love to be in the box scoring 40 a season, but he is a smart enough/responsible enough player to know that he has to pull his weight for the team, and if Giggs comes in field, he drops out wide.

Before someone comes crying into their cornflakes saying I'm a United fan - just read what I'm typing. All the above is using United as an example. The same applies to Arsenal, Barca, Madrid and other great attacking sides. I'm only using United as an example cause, well frankly cause they are the champions.

Now, this is not an attack on the team. I think this is the main issue with the club right now (as far as on field goes). People are too quick to blame the wingers, when the midfielders and strikers arent doing anything to help the situation. Its something that can easily be fixed without the need to bring in more players. Sure a natural right winger would be better than Kuyt, but he isnt the worst. All thats needed to stop the congested midfield is for players to take responsibility and fill the gaps that our wingers make when they do decide to venture infield.

[gerrard008]

Make your point but less of the "madman" and "clown" when describing the manager.
That man has been at helm of some of our clubs greatest nites ever and i take offence to you describing him with that s***e.:mad:

where do you but those red tinted glasses?:D

[D-Red]

Make your point but less of the "madman" and "clown" when describing the manager.
That man has been at helm of some of our clubs greatest nites ever and i take offence to you describing him with that s***e.:mad:

Me too.

God the negativity going around and the season has just started.

Our manager's being called a "clown", our team are getting called "crap" and suddenly it's back to the "sack the manager" and "sell, sell, sell" mentality.

For Gods sake we're joint top of league and into the group stages.

We have a top class manager and an underperforming (and still winning) but no doubt talented squad.

People just need to relax. It's a long season and Rafa deserves more than 4 games before people start getting on his back.

Some very short memories out there

[gerrard008]

Me too.

God the negativity going around and the season has just started.

Our manager's being called a "clown", our team are getting called "crap" and suddenly it's back to the "sack the manager" and "sell, sell, sell" mentality.

For Gods sake we're joint top of league and into the group stages.

We have a top class manager and an underperforming (and still winning) but no doubt talented squad.

People just need to relax. It's a long season and Rafa deserves more than 4 games before people start getting on his back.

Some very short memories out there

he is an absolute clown,ill say it again and again and again,just coz you lot are afraid to admit the truth,i will not retract my statement,we,re top of the league and into the group stages by sheer luck,but luck runs out and our clown of a manager will be found out this season.:mad:

[D-Red]

he is an absolute clown,ill say it again and again and again,just coz you lot are afraid to admit the truth,i will not retract my statement,

How does a "clown" win the champions league? How does a "clown" win the La Liga title, the FA Cup, the Uefa Cup, etc?

Rafa is one of the most successful managers around.

Real Madrid and countless other clubs would have him in a heart-beat.

And you call him a clown??? :rolleyes:

[gerrard008]

How does a "clown" win the champions league? How does a "clown" win the La Liga title, the FA Cup, the Uefa Cup, etc?

Rafa is one of the most successful managers around.

Real Madrid and countless other clubs would have him in a heart-beat.

And you call him a clown??? :rolleyes:

let them have him,what has he done lately?hey i have no problem with you living in the past,thats entirely up to you,but do you seriously think we're heading in the right direction??????? just like a new pair of shoes,but shoes get worn and dishevelled and you get a new pair,so yes now im compairing rafa to an old pair of shoes as well as a clown.

[gerrard008]

my posts are gonna sky rocket on this thread methinks hehehe

[Bren100]

he is an absolute clown,ill say it again and again and again,just coz you lot are afraid to admit the truth,i will not retract my statement,we,re top of the league and into the group stages by sheer luck,but luck runs out and our clown of a manager will be found out this season.:mad:

Your entitled to your opinion. It just doesnt mean you right.

Lets keep the comments to the thread header. There is a seperate Rafa thread going.

[pongolle]

Rafa is clearly not a clown. Whether he is the right manager to take us to the league title is something which is more debatable alright.

[gerrard008]

my comments are entwined with last nights performance,we look weak and devoid of confidence,players playing out of position,unable to cope with basic tasks,shaky nervy,link between midfield and attack crumbling with nearly every push foward,but on this site we blame the players,im sorry but sometimes our manager needs to be held accountable,did you hear his comments on kuyt afterwards,the ravings of a madman.

[gerrard008]

Of Kuyt's match-winning contribution, Benitez added: "I was delighted with Dirk Kuyt, his goal was a reward for all the effort he puts in for us. He is amazing.

"His work is tremendous, he keeps going right to the end and makes a tremendous contribution to our side."

amazing and tremendous are not words i would associate with dirk kuyt,i mean every dog has its day but come on... am i the only one who is perplexed by this,i must have been watching a different game because according to most of you rafa's word is gospel.

[edcarroll02]

my comments are entwined with last nights performance,we look weak and devoid of confidence,players playing out of position,unable to cope with basic tasks,shaky nervy,link between midfield and attack crumbling with nearly every push foward,but on this site we blame the players,im sorry but sometimes our manager needs to be held accountable,did you hear his comments on kuyt afterwards,the ravings of a madman.

Listen mate I understand where you coming from because i've been one of the biggest critics of Benitez's team selection of late and i really don't understand how kuyt is getting into the team week in week out and i can only assume its some pretty unfortunate black mail photo's he has over benitez but to judge the team on whats happened in three games is absurd!
Don't forget that this system is very new to the team again and is likely to take some time to get it right, remember last season how we went through a really bad patch only to come out and win nearly every one of our last 15 games so lets leave our judgement till we have actually seen what kind of shape our season is going to take.

[gerrard008]

ive been saying this,the change from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 will need time to adapt,with 4-5-1 you can get away with playing players out of position,but the link between midfield and attack is key with 4-4-2,we only have quality in the middle,the manger plays kuyt and babel (both strikers) on the wings,im sorry but rafa hasnt addressed these issues,that is the managers job,we have centrel defenders,central midfielders and strikers aplenty,he has 4 yrs to sort the left and right side out and he has failed miserably,but hey what do i know.

[The Chanter]

even the rafa rafael chants at the holy grail(anfield) have become pretty subdued lately :confused:

he is tactically estute but he is a clown. :mad:

im all for having faith in a player but what does kuyt have to do to get benched????:confused: prevented a number of attacks and scored the winner...probably didn't do enough to get benched.

he buys dossena when i personally think insua is ready to start his career,on the right stephen darby looks a vicious prospect but will rot in the reserves no doubt till he's confidence is shattered and he ends up a league 2 player,then we have n'gog with blistering pace to unlock defences and would give us serious options on the bench is nowhere to be seen,but i spose with nemeth on the bench .... oh wait he's nowhere to be seen either,but we have 4foot spearing sitting there for inspiration. :confused: competition for places... didn't rafa add these players to first team squad? As for shattering confidence...they're confidence would be shattered quicker if they were thrown in at the deep end and couldn't handle the step up!

we have the tools to be a pretty good team but with a mad man at the helm its going to be a long and arduous season.i have no problem eating humble pie and i hope this season im proved wrong but i seriously doubt i will.ynwa. :mad: :D WUM

[edcarroll02]

ive been saying this,the change from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 will need time to adapt,with 4-5-1 you can get away with playing players out of position,but the link between midfield and attack is key with 4-4-2,we only have quality in the middle,the manger plays kuyt and babel (both strikers) on the wings,im sorry but rafa hasnt addressed these issues,that is the managers job,we have centrel defenders,central midfielders and strikers aplenty,he has 4 yrs to sort the left and right side out and he has failed miserably,but hey what do i know.

Probably not an awful lot considering how fast your willing to jump on the managers back about this! I don't think Benitez has completely figured out how he wants the whole midfield situation to play out at the moment. At the start of the summer he thought he was going to have Barry in the squad which would have had a huge impact on the first team. Secondly I think that Benitez would ideally like to use Gerrard out on the right wing and play with Alonso and Masch in the middle with Keane in the hole behind Torres but Gerrard usually gets tempermental when he's switched out there.
I'm certain that they're working very hard behind the scenes to find the missing link and given a little faith i think they'll get it toghether.

[gerrard008]

and you point being chanter? whats the point of buying young players if they never play,whats the point of kuyt,he can prevent all he wants,as for the goal i did say every dog has its day,when was his last league goal???we both know he is a poor player,but in my first post today i did say people on this site wear red tinted glasses and try to put a positive spin on everything and chanter you epitomise my statement.

[gerrard008]

Probably not an awful lot considering how fast your willing to jump on the managers back about this! I don't think Benitez has completely figured out how he wants the whole midfield situation to play out at the moment. At the start of the summer he thought he was going to have Barry in the squad which would have had a huge impact on the first team. Secondly I think that Benitez would ideally like to use Gerrard out on the right wing and play with Alonso and Masch in the middle with Keane in the hole behind Torres but Gerrard usually gets tempermental when he's switched out there.
I'm certain that they're working very hard behind the scenes to find the missing link and given a little faith i think they'll get it toghether.

i am certainly not fast to jump on the managers back,you dont know me.but look at the points youre making,'i don't think Benitez has completely figured out how he wants the whole midfield situation to play out''At the start of the summer he THOUGHT he was going to have Barry''I think that Benitez would ideally like to use Gerrard out on the right wing' hasnt figured it out after 4 yrs????,no back up plan because he THOUGHT he had barry,and prefers to play our best player out of position,personally my faith in our manager has left me,you all can pick out little pieces of my rant if you wish,i do not care,but the fact remains we are not on the up and we will never win the league under rafael benitez.

[pongolle]

prefers to play our best player out of position
He does? I've only ever seen him play Torres up front. When does he play him out of position? ;-)

[Andrew]

He does? I've only ever seen him play Torres up front. When does he play him out of position? ;-)

No, he must mean Masch. I too hate it when Rafa puts him out on the wing. When will you learn Rafa!! When will you learn!

[mcinerdo]

Pepe Reina on the wing....that'll catch the other teams napping !

[trucker]

Last night was totally unaccetable for this club and when it comes down to it the manager picks the team and again he got it wrong! Kuyt and arbeloa would'nt get near any of the top 4 teams and Villa and Spurs for that matter, Finnan who is the best fullback at the club is left out again to suit the managers ego(which is massive by the way) Yossi is played out of position this man is not a left winger accept it Rafa all the time Babbel is gettimg splinters in his arse, while the £7m fullback we bought in the Summer to give us width and attacking capabilities according to Rafa is left on the bench! The 1 centre half we have that can play football is left out again despite Rafa saying how much we missed him last season!
In Rafas time at the club he has signed 60 players yes 60 and spent more money than the Mancs in that time but still we dont have a Decent winger or even a single player that can take a corner!!, people need to take off the blinkers here, Rafa sends out his team to not concede and hope we get a break at the other end, thats ok away to a top side but when your at home to a Belgian team(a good 1, I admit) you should play players that can stretch the oppositions defence but Rafa wont do that. After the game he heaped praise on Kuyt for all the hard work he done, what game was he watching? Kuyt was shit I lost count of the amount of times he gave the ball away, but his ego will swell even more now as it was Kuyt who got the goal. People can blame what has gone on behind the scenes at the club all they want, but would Garreth Barry have made a difference last night, not likely! One of the 1st signs of madness is to continue to do the same thing and expect a different result, if that system did'nt work in Liege why would it work last night?
The frustrating thing here is we do have the potential to be a very good side as Rafa said at the start of the summer "we have the spine we just need to improve the wide areas" its now end of August and we have'nt signed any wingers but signed 2 strikers(I know Crouch had to be replaced), if we dont improve the wide areas immediatly theres not a chance in hell we will win a thing this season!

[THEFINALWORD]

Probably not an awful lot considering how fast your willing to jump on the managers back about this! I don't think Benitez has completely figured out how he wants the whole midfield situation to play out at the moment. At the start of the summer he thought he was going to have Barry in the squad which would have had a huge impact on the first team. Secondly I think that Benitez would ideally like to use Gerrard out on the right wing and play with Alonso and Masch in the middle with Keane in the hole behind Torres but Gerrard usually gets tempermental when he's switched out there.
I'm certain that they're working very hard behind the scenes to find the missing link and given a little faith i think they'll get it toghether.

He hasn't figured out the situation in midfield!WHAT???Ferguson must be laughing his ass off at Liverpool!He knows as well as everyone that while Benitez is manager that we don't have a ghosts chance in hell of winning the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we should of won the Champions League last year but 4 his cautious approach against Chelsea!!!They were there for the taking and he bottled it!!!!!!

And don't get me started on that final we lost 2 a bunch of old men from Milan!!Bellamys pace would of destroyed them and he was left to rot on the bench!!!!!!!!!!!

I know he won us a Champions League but that was down to luck!Not the managers tactical ability!!!!!!!!And Gerrard and Hamann playing the games of their lives and Dudek making the greatest save ever during extra time!!!!!!!!!

Benitez has to go!!!!!!!!!!! We are like watching paint dry!!!!!!!!!It has went on long enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gerrard008]

here here the final word.

[Daz]

He hasn't figured out the situation in midfield!WHAT???Ferguson must be laughing his ass off at Liverpool!He knows as well as everyone that while Benitez is manager that we don't have a ghosts chance in hell of winning the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we should of won the Champions League last year but 4 his cautious approach against Chelsea!!!They were there for the taking and he bottled it!!!!!!

And don't get me started on that final we lost 2 a bunch of old men from Milan!!Bellamys pace would of destroyed them and he was left to rot on the bench!!!!!!!!!!!

I know he won us a Champions League but that was down to luck!Not the managers tactical ability!!!!!!!!And Gerrard and Hamann playing the games of their lives and Dudek making the greatest save ever during extra time!!!!!!!!!

Benitez has to go!!!!!!!!!!! We are like watching paint dry!!!!!!!!!It has went on long enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

haha what a first post. Made me laugh on a miserable afternoon in work anyway. Thanks

[Rover 609]

He hasn't figured out the situation in midfield!WHAT???Ferguson must be laughing his ass off at Liverpool!He knows as well as everyone that while Benitez is manager that we don't have a ghosts chance in hell of winning the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we should of won the Champions League last year but 4 his cautious approach against Chelsea!!!They were there for the taking and he bottled it!!!!!!

And don't get me started on that final we lost 2 a bunch of old men from Milan!!Bellamys pace would of destroyed them and he was left to rot on the bench!!!!!!!!!!!

I know he won us a Champions League but that was down to luck!Not the managers tactical ability!!!!!!!!And Gerrard and Hamann playing the games of their lives and Dudek making the greatest save ever during extra time!!!!!!!!!

Benitez has to go!!!!!!!!!!! We are like watching paint dry!!!!!!!!!It has went on long enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the patent on exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[D-Red]

haha what a first post. Made me laugh on a miserable afternoon in work anyway. Thanks

Yeah me too. That was classic! :D

[sean]

haha what a first post. Made me laugh on a miserable afternoon in work anyway. Thanks

Was thinking the same myself mate, I'm in stitches! Didn't take long for the "Rafa Out" brigade to appear did it, I thought we'd at least get into September!

The bad times are here, we've only got a 100% record in the league and we're into the Champions League group stage as top seeds. We're screwed!!!

[D-Red]

I have the patent on exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D

I wouldn't mind but he should have been trying to hide that post - Not draw attention to it

[gerrard008]

Was thinking the same myself mate, I'm in stitches! Didn't take long for the "Rafa Out" brigade to appear did it, I thought we'd at least get into September!

The bad times are here, we've only got a 100% record in the league and we're into the Champions League group stage as top seeds. We're screwed!!!

sean do you go to specsavers for your red tinted glasses?

[RastaRed]

Last night was totally unaccetable for this club and when it comes down to it the manager picks the team and again he got it wrong! Kuyt and arbeloa would'nt get near any of the top 4 teams and Villa and Spurs for that matter, Finnan who is the best fullback at the club is left out again to suit the managers ego(which is massive by the way) Yossi is played out of position this man is not a left winger accept it Rafa all the time Babbel is gettimg splinters in his arse, while the £7m fullback we bought in the Summer to give us width and attacking capabilities according to Rafa is left on the bench! The 1 centre half we have that can play football is left out again despite Rafa saying how much we missed him last season!
In Rafas time at the club he has signed 60 players yes 60 and spent more money than the Mancs in that time but still we dont have a Decent winger or even a single player that can take a corner!!, people need to take off the blinkers here, Rafa sends out his team to not concede and hope we get a break at the other end, thats ok away to a top side but when your at home to a Belgian team(a good 1, I admit) you should play players that can stretch the oppositions defence but Rafa wont do that. After the game he heaped praise on Kuyt for all the hard work he done, what game was he watching? Kuyt was shit I lost count of the amount of times he gave the ball away, but his ego will swell even more now as it was Kuyt who got the goal. People can blame what has gone on behind the scenes at the club all they want, but would Garreth Barry have made a difference last night, not likely! One of the 1st signs of madness is to continue to do the same thing and expect a different result, if that system did'nt work in Liege why would it work last night?
The frustrating thing here is we do have the potential to be a very good side as Rafa said at the start of the summer "we have the spine we just need to improve the wide areas" its now end of August and we have'nt signed any wingers but signed 2 strikers(I know Crouch had to be replaced), if we dont improve the wide areas immediatly theres not a chance in hell we will win a thing this season!

+1
120mins of absolute torture.
We cant get any worse can we? Arbeloa,Auerilo, Kuyt,Benyoun are muck of the highest order and wouldnt get near any other top side in europe.
Buy any type of left side player who can stay out there and cross the ball when he gets it and take a corner, keep babel on the right, drop alonso and play SG and masch in the middle, its simple logic but with Rafa the Baffler its not.

[D-Red]

Was thinking the same myself mate, I'm in stitches! Didn't take long for the "Rafa Out" brigade to appear did it, I thought we'd at least get into September!

The bad times are here, we've only got a 100% record in the league and we're into the Champions League group stage as top seeds. We're screwed!!!

Thank you!! A bit of sanity at last!

[THEFINALWORD]

Glad you agree Gerrard 008!!

Glad I made you laugh Daz but it hurts watchin' what's goin' on!!

Signing Robbie Keane was the final straw!!He should of went for Santa Cruz!!

Torres and Santa Cruz would of been a fantastic pairing!!

[mcinerdo]

Manager performance 1986 onwards (hope this works !)

[gerrard008]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jw2QyXGgrY&feature=related


i told you all he was a clown,just picture him with a wig and a red nose

[THEFINALWORD]

What??????????????

We beat Sunderland,Middlesboro and scraped passed Standard Liege!!!!!

Some fans just can't see the woods for the trees!!!!

Do yee actually watch the matches!!!We are awful and have no flow to our play!!!

If ou all want Benitez to stay and are happy finishing THIRD OR FOURTH every year then I don't know what world you all are living on!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daz]

Glad you agree Gerrard 008!!

Glad I made you laugh Daz but it hurts watchin' what's goin' on!!

Signing Robbie Keane was the final straw!!He should of went for Santa Cruz!!

Torres and Santa Cruz would of been a fantastic pairing!!

Look I'm probably more of an optimist than most but we're 4 games into the season, haven;t had Mascherano who is probably going to be instrumental in the formation we play (i.e. giving other midfielders much more freedom) or Babel, full points in the lge and in the champs lge draw tonight. I was reasonably sceptical of signing Keane too but I mean give the lad a feckin chance to work up an understanding with his teammates etc before writing him off.

And without wanting to get into it, the reason your first post made me laugh was basically your saying Rafa gets no credit when we win but all the blame when we lose.

[callyno3]

Keep the thread about the match