Liverpool FC Forum

[Lando_Griffin]

well i think the last few weeks can put one thing to bed, rotation does not work.

i know people will blame the past few weeks on many things, trying to shift the blame from rotation, but the fact is that if rotation worked it would be working now, but the last few weeks has shown us players disinterested, players looking unfamiliar with one another, players concerned about whether they will get picked again, players scared to express themselves, players lying and saying they are happy with the situation, we have seen ridiculous team selections, we have seen 22 million quids worth of talent sat on the bench so he is fit next april for all the big games we will have at that time (although quite what these big games will be god only knows, maybe the big games are battles for 4th spot again).

all of these faults lie at rafas door, he picks the team, he picks the tactics, he make the changes during games when its not going right (showing how wrong he got it to start with), and even then some of his substitutions are mind boggling.

i pointed out in the match thread (that others are now starting to mention) that I have to question just who was the tactical genius in the relationship, rafa or pako, because rafa looks lost without him.

just for once i want rafa to swallow his pride and say "i got it wrong", I want him to admit he tactics do no not work every game, I want him to show us this attacking football he has promised us rather than defending, I want to see exactly what we can do when the shackles are of instead of him sh*tting himself. i want to see him trying to win games rather than trying to not lose games.

i want all this sooner rather than later, before G&H go knocking on maureens door and we lose a manager who has great potential when he drops his stubborness and admit he isn't the tactical genius some of you think he is. we have so much talent in our team it's frightening, but the oppo must love it when we just try ad counterattack leading to stalemates, we should be battering these teams from the first minute to the last, unless of course we are conserving our energy for that battle for 4th spot in may

Such a weak team last night - I mean - There was no Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Finnan, Torres, Crouch, Benayoun or Aurelio.

You do talk some rot lad.

"Oooh it's rotation, it's rotation!!!" You sound like a girl!

The really funny thing about all this is - you wanted Rafa to concentrate on the league and "f*ck Europe"...

Well you got it, and now you're moaning again.

Prat.

[The Manhattan Project]

Attitude seems to be the problem rather than rotation.

We looked scared. We gave the other side far too much respect and we defended very deep giving them so much time for possession. A goal was inevitable. We should have laid siege to their goal and attacked. Our passes were sloppy and we gave away possession so easily.

I still think we'll qualify for the second round but these players and the management need to be less cautious and hesitant to attack when we are playing at our own stadium.

[Lando_Griffin]

One of the comedy pieces from a few posters on here I fail to understand is this pathetic notion that a bunch of players who train with one another every single day can then be "unfamiliar" with their teammates in a competitive game. It's quite baffling, really. I mean - do the dullards who spout this tripe not understand the entire concept of training and practice matches? How about patterns of play?

The players play football together every f*cking day, and yet some mindless bells believe they don't have chance to "gel". Righto.

I suppose the players turn up at Anfield at 2.55pm, play the game with these strangers, then f*ck off home at 5pm, only returning to the company of their teammates 5 minutes before the next match? Melwood's just a facade, full of life-size cardboard cut-outs of the players? Rafa sits on his a*se all week, contemplating how best to annoy the "long suffering" little munchkin fans.

You're a deluded bunch, really, aren't you?

[dawson99]

no lando, not deluded. u can train for millions of years but out on the pitch its a different kettle of fish.

the players have not gelled. anyone who watches can see that, but maybe in training we can find the problem.

maybe if you spent as much time looking at the game as you do swearing and belittling the members and wed get some cohesive discussions

[Lando_Griffin]

no lando, not deluded. u can train for millions of years but out on the pitch its a different kettle of fish.

the players have not gelled. anyone who watches can see that, but maybe in training we can find the problem.

maybe if you spent as much time looking at the game as you do swearing and belittling the members and wed get some cohesive discussions

Is that right?

Well maybe if people had any idea about the realities of football, this discussion would already be over. Training is where the "gelling" takes place. That's where the routines are practiced, the creases are ironed out, and the tactics drilled in.
I suppose this is all a myth? I suppose "training" is just running up and down and doing weights? I suppose the players actually train in isolation, only ever seeing their teammates when they cross the white line?

The thing that p*sses me off more than anything is that people with supposed intelligence actually ignore the glaringly obvious, simply to propagate the "rotation is the scapegoat for everything" idea.

You know? Only weak minds look for scapegoats. It's the brain's way of shifting blame, and skirting round issues you might find uncomfortable or embarrassing. Strong minds look for the actual reasons for failure, and aim to correct them.

It's a proven fact that any psychologist worth their salt will confirm.

But then - rotation is the be all and end all, isn't it? The fact that Sissoko was gash, Gerrard has been poor, Torres isn't getting any service, and that Benayoun was nowhere to be seen has absolutely NOTHING to do with it, right?

Nope - "Rotation" - the one-word, catch-all excuse for everything.

Listen here for a minute: The ONLY (and I mean ONLY) questionable selection last night was Leto, who admittedly wasn't great. The rest of them, with the mooted exception of Sissoko, were all first choice players.

A lot of people wanted to see Sissoko play, as his battling qualities are usually invaluable in European competition. Sadly, last night, he played like a man in the latter stages of Leprocy.

But then, that's down to rotation again, isn't it?

[dawson99]

yes, it is down to rotation. why, when we were winning earlier in the season did rafa decide to chop and change so much? So they would be fresh for after xmas? Well at this rate by xmas all we will need to be fresh for is the carling cup.

as souness said recently. play your best team, get the moentum going, get people playing every game and see how well it goes. then, when there is a bit of a cushion, chop and change a bit.

rafa is doing too much, he needs an assistant coach who can guide him on what is best.

rotatyion obviosuly isnt the ONLY reason, its one of many. last night we played too deep, there was no one in midfield, it was just amess like watching drunks playing ona  sunday morning. but what rafa needs to do is play his best 11 for more than 90 minutes, he needs to play them for 4 or 5 games at LEAST so that we can get something going here

[Red @ Heart]

One of the comedy pieces from a few posters on here I fail to understand is this pathetic notion that a bunch of players who train with one another every single day can then be "unfamiliar" with their teammates in a competitive game. It's quite baffling, really. I mean - do the dullards who spout this tripe not understand the entire concept of training and practice matches? How about patterns of play?

The players play football together every f*cking day, and yet some mindless bells believe they don't have chance to "gel". Righto.

I suppose the players turn up at Anfield at 2.55pm, play the game with these strangers, then f*ck off home at 5pm, only returning to the company of their teammates 5 minutes before the next match? Melwood's just a facade, full of life-size cardboard cut-outs of the players? Rafa sits on his a*se all week, contemplating how best to annoy the "long suffering" little munchkin fans.

You're a deluded bunch, really, aren't you?

what a load of shyte, Its clearly rotation, and your a bell end for thinking otherwise, how can nearly an entire nation and very good football pundits see that the rotation policy at anfield is not the way forward, but yet you and a few others seem to thinks its not rotation, but i forgot cos you say the rotation isnt to blame then surely its not,, get to f@ck,,, i stand by the fact that rotation aint working and allways will, like dawson said they may train together and such but when your out on the field of play its a different kettle of fish.

ROTATION STINKS. AND PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING AT US!!

[Avi Cohen]

Lando,

It's not a case of the team we played last night. Sure we had Carra, Sami, Finnan, Gerrard and Torres but it's not about just one game. Rotation has an unsettling influence on a team. They are not used to playing together competitively. How would you feel if you played a blinder, scored a brace and found yourself on the bench the following week watching inferior players in your place. You'd to question the manager and no one would blame you for it.

And to say that they train together is missing the point. I remember Utd players joking that Ince always scored in training and never scored in competitive matches.

And this 'don't question Rafa' scenario that goes on here has to stop. I'm supporting Liverpool, not AFC Hitler Youth.

[Red @ Heart]

AND TO FURTHER ADD TO MY PREVIOUS POST, EVERY TIME LIVERPOOL STEP ONTO THE FIELD ITS LIKE WE ARE WATCHING A BRANDNEW TEAM EVERY WEEK,,, ITS DIABOLICAL TO SA THE LEAST.

[Red @ Heart]

Attitude seems to be the problem rather than rotation.

We looked scared. We gave the other side far too much respect and we defended very deep giving them so much time for possession. A goal was inevitable. We should have laid siege to their goal and attacked. Our passes were sloppy and we gave away possession so easily.

I still think we'll qualify for the second round but these players and the management need to be less cautious and hesitant to attack when we are playing at our own stadium.

omg listen to yourself, if they have an attitude then its brought on by ROTATION, if a player plays well one week then gets dropped the next, hes surely gonna be p1ssed off, i would be, what im about to say some one mentioned a few weeeks ago,, what does a player have to do to get to play? it doesnt matter whether he plays well or not he is 75% not gonna be in the following line up,

HENCE attitude brought on by roatation.

simple as that.

[JohnBull]

One of the comedy pieces from a few posters on here I fail to understand is this pathetic notion that a bunch of players who train with one another every single day can then be "unfamiliar" with their teammates in a competitive game.
.

You're a deluded bunch, really, aren't you?

Have you ever played the game Lando ?

Training, especially nowadays, does not consist of playing matches everyday. There is a tendency to train goalkeepers on their own, midfielders on their own and strikers on their own.

It's all very well seeing the whole team lounging in the sauna in Kirkby's David Lloyd Centre but even there the divisions amongst the players are clear to see.

There is NO substitute for competitive matches and the team can run around traffic cones all day, throw their arms around each other and look the best of mates. Counts for NOTHING ! players who can make a pass and know where the team mate is without looking up, win matches. If the man next to you does not think your up to standard he'll have to look up and check if the ball's on.

Watch the teams that we are looking up to. See how easy it looks when a team is together. We have showed none of that lately .  If you were there last night, didn't you feel that we were a team of strangers ? Sure enough it was a good Marseille performance but nothing out of the ordinary.

It just seems to me that everytime the team just begins to gell, along come those needless changes and the rollercoaster starts again.

[Red @ Heart]

One of the comedy pieces from a few posters on here I fail to understand is this pathetic notion that a bunch of players who train with one another every single day can then be "unfamiliar" with their teammates in a competitive game.
.

You're a deluded bunch, really, aren't you?

Have you ever played the game Lando ?

Training, especially nowadays, does not consist of playing matches everyday. There is a tendency to train goalkeepers on their own, midfielders on their own and strikers on their own.

It's all very well seeing the whole team lounging in the sauna in Kirkby's David Lloyd Centre but even there the divisions amongst the players are clear to see.

There is NO substitute for competitive matches and the team can run around traffic cones all day, throw their arms around each other and look the best of mates. Counts for NOTHING ! players who can make a pass and know where the team mate is without looking up, win matches. If the man next to you does not think your up to standard he'll have to look up and check if the ball's on.

Watch the teams that we are looking up to. See how easy it looks when a team is together. We have showed none of that lately .  If you were there last night, didn't you feel that we were a team of strangers ? Sure enough it was a good Marseille performance but nothing out of the ordinary.

It just seems to me that everytime the team just begins to gell, along come those needless changes and the rollercoaster starts again.

AGREED, GOOD POST.

[adamnbarrett]

It is not Rafa where the blame should lie, it's with the players. I agree his team selection was probably wrong but I would still expect the team that started to win.

There are some things you don't see from the comfort of your arm chair you know. Maybe it's good you didn't go because you would have been one of the small minded people who booed at the end in an everton-newcastle style.

I've highlighted below a couple of sentences you just wrote.

As for your last quote you complete , theres a reason why i've been on here years and only amounted a few posts, I tend not to like to post about whinging and moaning, but at the moment its Justified. Whereas you have obviously just been insulting people every game to rack up the post count.

Only reason I wasnt there tonight you is that I couldnt get the day off work.

Making assumtions and attacking other people on the forum for their opinions just because you dont agree with them is childish, I never said I was correct, i stated it was my OPINION

I will NEVER boo my team, no matter how bad they play EVER, worst they got from me tonight was a shake of the head as I went to get another beer

to be fair mate. Who's the one throwing the insults here?

I only called you small minded and you probably are because all you came back with was  "you , you this, you that."

I didn't make an assumption. I just made the pint that there are things that you cannot see on the tele that you see when inside the ground. You get "the bigger picture" by seeing how deep the team falls back e.g. if the ball is in the middle of the pitch, on tv you cannot see what positions the strikers are in etc.

As for the bit in bold, maybe if you bothered posting here then you'd know that is not the case. Who's making assumptions now eh?

[Sabre]

One of the comedy pieces from a few posters on here I fail to understand is this pathetic notion that a bunch of players who train with one another every single day can then be "unfamiliar" with their teammates in a competitive game.
.

You're a deluded bunch, really, aren't you?

Have you ever played the game Lando ?

Training, especially nowadays, does not consist of playing matches everyday. There is a tendency to train goalkeepers on their own, midfielders on their own and strikers on their own.

He doesn't imply they're all the time playing matches. It's true that goalkeepers have specific training, but there are common exercises, common activities, and no less than 2 matches a week, some of which in half  of the pitch, sometimes with small goals, and sometimes whole pitch.

[Ace Ventura]

Lando i know you dont like to criticise Rafa but like you said Sissoko was gash. So why was he allowed to complete the full 90 minutes ?
I seriously would of dragged him off at half time, i know we dont want to ruin players confidence but not at the detriment of the rest of the team and the result.
When they scored last night i wasnt surprised, it had been coming, they dominated the game and Rafa's substitutions did nothing to change it.
Sissoko wasnt the only poor player and players underperforming isnt solely the managers fault, but team selection affects fluidity and familiarity thats obvious mate.
No one is saying that rotation is the only problem...there are others...but its certainly not helping at all.