Bamaga man wrote:Firstly Bob Rafa brought in most the players who gave us sub-par performances, Zenden, Gonzalez, Kuyt IMO, Momo and even Xabi at times. Quite frankly the whole team was sub par,but the players I mentioned were Rafas buys in the first place.
So as right as you are that the players should shoulder the blame, shouldnt he Rafa shoulder the blame for buying and using these players when they dont perform ?
Okay, mate, there's two different parts to what you've just said and I'll address each in turn. Do I think Rafa should shoulder the blame for buying these underperforming players? This statement implies that these were bad buys--a claim I would categorically deny for Alonso, Sissoko, Kuyt and Zenden. I'm not going to get into the whole Alonso debate again but even his most committed critics will surely admit he's been an excellent buy for the team. The same is true with Sissoko, who was immense for us last season and a big reason for why we performed so well (he was also one of the few players doing the business out of the blocks this season). Kuyt is a player I know you don't rate but he's brought a fair amount to the team this season, even if his goal scoring is not where we want it to be--he's hardly a bad buy. As for Zenden, he came on a free as cover for two positions that needed cover. He's past his best, to be certain, but--like Robbie--he's brought experience, stability and the occasional moment of quality to the side so I wouldn't call him a bad buy either. Gonzales...you can have that one.
Personally, I think Rafa's done reasonably well given the funds at his disposal--with some truly inspired buys mingled with a few duds, just like you'll find with other top managers (consider Ronaldo v. Kleberson, Drogba v. Bhoularouz, Fabregas v. Reyes...)It's your second question--should Rafa shoulder the blame for using players that are underperforming?--that gets to the heart of the issue. Some will say--you and Peewee for instance--that Rafa's faith in these sub-par squad players cost us a lot of points. To a certain extent that's true. I've already said that Rafa's sweeping rotations--the ones where he changes 4-5 players from match to match--have done more harm than good. The big problem is that it doesn't allow the team to gel as a unit and play a more intuitive, flowing game.
Nonetheless, I still contend that our squad players--and that includes the likes of Sissoko, Zenden, Bellamy, Fowler, Aurelio, Arbeloa and even Gonzales--have enough in their locker to give the lesser lights of the league a game. Yes, perhaps the opposition would see the teamsheet full of second-stringers and will think they have a shot but that should only serve to open the game up and give our lads the space to play. Take a look at this starting 11 and tell me there's not enough quality to beat a good proportion of the league there:
Dudek
Arbeloa Hyypia Palletta Aurelio
Garcia Zenden Sissoko Gonzales
Bellamy Fowler
That, to me, has the chance to be at least a mid-table side and, of course, there's always going to be a strong spine of first-teamers in the mix to make the side even better.
So, I think it's reasonable for Rafa to expect that some of these squad players have the ability to step into the team and still keep the results ticking over (Hyypia is the perfect example of a player that does that). To me, the fact that many of them didn't perform was frustrating. Rather than lay all of the blame at Rafa's feet for playing them, I blame some of these lads for not making the most of the chances they were given.
For the record and to be absolutely clear: I rate Rafa very highly as a manager. I believe he is the one to take us forward and win us the title and I think losing him would be a massive blow to the club, both in the short term and in the long term. I DO NOT, however, think he's infallible. He has firm ideas and a commited plan for every game but sometimes they just don't come off or address what's needed on the day. So, yes, it is right to criticize him when he gets it wrong. In the interests of balance, however, I think the players need to shoulder the blame sometimes for not executing the gameplan. Take last week's final for instance. Some have said that Rafa got it all wrong for not playing Crouch and/or Bellamy. Ergo, Rafa's tactics cost us the cup. Another perspective is that the tactics worked a treat and the players failed to deliver when the chances came their way. Consider Pennant's poor square ball to Gerrard, Kuyt's blocked shot in the box, Riise's, Alonso's and Gerrard's errant shots from distance and, most costly, Gerrard's scuffed shot when clear through on goal. Had we taken any one of those chances (or not made the 2 defensive mistakes we did) it would have been an entirely different match. So, by all means criticize Rafa for his part in this loss (or any loss this season), but don't forget that the players failed to do their bit as well.
ive ever heard, and it would make me think much less of him if it did happen. but it wont.
