Liverpool FC Forum

[murphy0151]

I wouldnt swap Rafa's type of managment for any other type of managment.  It makes sense to swap and change for the simple fact that the team where facing dosnt know who where going to play.  I luv it.  Even if we do play the same team week in week out its no guarantee that we will win anyway.   If you look at most top teams that have a fully fit squad.  They all chop and change week in and out depending on the competition.  Its a fact, its not just Rafa that does it. Its the way top teams battle for silverware these days.

Be patience, I say.  Look at my singnature old chaps.

[Emerald Red]

It's understandable that Mick's post has an air of downplaying, and iterates a sense of due caution to how we should all put things into perspective over the course of the season. Though I do sense a note of doubt in the tone of that post. It's understandable. Considering we havn't won the league in 17 years, the memory of being champions has been dimmed through time. We've almost forgotten, those of us who are old enough to vaquely remember.

Why is this season any different, though? The hope we all have never dims like our memory, but maybe for some, who are old enough to remember, we've gotten used to the idea of hope turning to dispair season after season when it comes to challenging for the title.

Downplaying is sensible. But the question you have to ask now in this season of any is that if we do win the title, will it come as a surprise? For me I think no. Because now in this team of any of recent years, I strongely do sense that this team is the one that is truely capable of lifting number 19. I honestly can't remember a stronger side than this since we last won it. That and the fact that we've actually made a good start and look the real deal for a change. If we don't win the title under Rafa this season, or the next, then I fear it will be another 17 years or more before we win it again. That's how high my hopes are, but I know for certain it's coming. It has to.

[ivor_the_injun]

Last season, Man U's injuries from the year before cleared up,  Scholes was back to near his very best, Ronaldo hit world class form, Rooney started producing on a more regular basis, and the timing was exactly right for them to take the title. Let's not forget, the talk early last season was about how unbalanced their central midfield was, and how they were missing Horseface. And they won the title in spite of an injury crisis at the back towards the end. Their attacking play was so good that it didn't make any difference to results.

For us, it's currently all clicking, and we've got Gerrard and Carragher to come back, followed by Aurelio and Kewell. If we're still ticking along nicely by the time everyone's back in contention for the first team, the time could be right for us this season.

All it takes is a key injury at the wrong time, a run of poor performances, or a couple of draws or losses to derail a promising season. We haven't challenged in recent years because we haven't been in contention by the time these things starting happening to Man U and Chelsea. If we can keep it going to Christmas, this could be a very interesting season...

[scouser 'til I die]

In any competition, in any league, in any sport, to win anything, it boils down to one thing. Luck. Without it you cannot win a thing. So far this season, luck has been in our favour. We haven't had really big opposition, excluding Chelsea, which we should have one in the first place anyway, which means the team have time to gel and morale and fitness and injuries etc etc can be in our favour for when the big matches do arrive: Everton, Man U, Arsenal etc.

We have been lucky with our injuries so far. Gerrard's hair line broken toe could have been much worse and one can only think what consequences that could have caused. If it was worse it could have run into the important matches and we all need a player who can win games by the scruff off their neck, especially in those tight games. Gerrard's that player. As for Carragher we all know what a big loss he is and will be for the upcoming matches. Lets hope luck is on our side again for Hyypia and Agger to gel and become a solid spine at the back.

I could go on about luck in our favour because of Man U's bad start and our head start on them, our team morale being tops and our forwards finally netting the ball at the giving opportunity etc etc Man U are an example of how bad luck can crunch title hopes. Injuries to key players have forced their side to lose vital points and dint another title winning year.

Basically we can only hope that this luck will continue with results and with players, because without it we won't win a thing. But i have a strong feeling this year is our year. Maybe it's our confidence out on the pitch during each game, maybe it's our bargain basement players: Arbeloa, Voronin, Leto making great starts to their Liverpool careers, or generally the strength and depth our team has, but i just know it's our year, i just know it

[Keris]

The way the game is being played today (with its pace and frequency) i would think a successful team needs more than 15 players, its one thing to have a big squad and another to have a big squad but is ready to play at the lift of the 4th referee's assistant digital board.

What I'm saying is that Liverpool have a big squad and the manager is oblige to give each player a go in the squad, but more importantly Rafa must be dead certain that each member of the squad is good enough to play for the team on any match day.

Rotation (i believe) is not only about resting players, but also about giving other players a run-in and making them 'match' ready any given week.

P.S; Lets not get into tactics (because I'm not any good at it). Certain tactics for certain type of players against certain teams. I was read Carbone (Valencia's left back) asking Renieri which formation of defence they should be playing because Rafa had the valencia defence playing 3 different set of formation for different opponents. 

[RedBlood]

I think you are under estimating Rafa's intelligence.

i agree

and fu,ck me why start threads like this

its like people cant wait for something to moan about

[The_Rock]

For us, it's currently all clicking, and we've got Gerrard and Carragher to come back, followed by Aurelio and Kewell.

A fully fit kewell and an on-form pennant/yossi will rule the flanks.

No team will be able to cope with us.....especially with Gerrard coming in from centre and Torres headlining the attack (with our fox in the box....Kuyt).

Can't wait for kewell to come back.

[RedBlood]

yeah kewell and auerilo are two classy players that will benifit from the new players rafa has brought in

[The_Rock]

We have been lucky with our injuries so far. Gerrard's hair line broken toe could have been much worse and one can only think what consequences that could have caused.

Does gerrard eventually have to operate on his hair-line fracture ? Or does it heal with rest ?

Wouldn't want Gerrard to play with pain for the rest of the season.

[Effes]

Can't wait for kewell to come back.

Dont hold your breath.
I forget we have him sometimes.

[bigmick]

I am also confused with Micks point on not believing the sqauds as strong as some think, and yet thought it was strong enough to win the Prem last Year and believe its stronger now??

Well it certainly seems like I'm in the minority of one but fair enough it's not the first time. There are many good quality posts telling me I'm talking b0ll0cks but this was a bit I felt needed a reply, in Redtraders excellent post.

Just to clarify, I don't think the squad's improved quite as much as some think. The reason is that I felt the squad was very good already. I've long said that without the silliness a the start of last season we were plenty good enough to have launched a serious title challenge. Now the starting line-ups in the first two games, one of which we bossed Chelsea off the park contained ten players who were here last season. Torres is clearly a huge addition, not just to the squad but to the team, but the core group of players who could match anybody was already there. The impression I get from some posters is that we were a mile off last season, while suddently we are unrecogniseable. I think we were potentially very close last season (although we didn't actually go through with the challenge), and we'll be very close this season.

Now the "back up" players have improved for certain. Lucas would be better than Zenden for instance. My hunch is though, that if we decide to randomly stick him in away to Arsenal then we encounter similar problems to the ones we encountered there last season.

As for the poster who asked "why start a thread like this FFS" it's a fair question I guess. I was merely trying to make the point that so far in the league we have selected sensibly, and I was hoping we would continue to do so and not get carried away with tinkering. I've never ever said we should play the same team in every single game, though that one alwauys crops up. Similarly, I was one of the earliest and staunchest advocates of zonal marking, even taking the time to debate the (at the time) much misunderstood technicalities, but like the "you can't play the same team in every game", this one always crops up as well.

One poster indicated that he felt that some within the debate were softening their stance somewhat. I'm not, I maintain my stance that no team will win the English Premiership by rotating personel, formations and positions to anything like the same extent we did last season. I think Rafa thinks that too, but we'll see.

[bigmick]

As a little add on and once again to clarify, some people seem to be of the impression that I am anti-Rafa. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think he has done a brilliant job under significant financial restraints, bought good value and top class players with barely a failutre, and transformed the club completely after Houllier. My one gripe, is that he tried unsuccessfully to import a selection system from abroad and stuck to his guns for far too long. This was in the face of absolutely conclusive evidence that not only were the players he was rotating/resting/picking out of a hat not good enough to actually bring into the team, but that the players he was leaving out to allow for his dogma were patently capable of matching any team in Europe when actually allowed to play together.

Rafa has done a much better job than his bare record suggests. We should by now have won the World Club Championship and gone very very close to winning the Premiership. This season we will, because he won't feck around with the team as much.

[The_Rock]

My take....can't be ar$ed about rotation as long as we are winning....

[Sabre]

As a little add on and once again to clarify, some people seem to be of the impression that I am anti-Rafa. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think he has done a brilliant job under significant financial restraints, bought good value and top class players with barely a failutre, and transformed the club completely after Houllier. My one gripe, is that he tried unsuccessfully to import a selection system from abroad and stuck to his guns for far too long. This was in the face of absolutely conclusive evidence that not only were the players he was rotating/resting/picking out of a hat not good enough to actually bring into the team, but that the players he was leaving out to allow for his dogma were patently capable of matching any team in Europe when actually allowed to play together.

Rafa has done a much better job than his bare record suggests. We should by now have won the World Club Championship and gone very very close to winning the Premiership. This season we will, because he won't feck around with the team as much.

I didn't expect no other thing from you than being honest with what you believe, and I didn't expect you'd change your mind because 3 or 4 games. You're obstinate like Rafa, and that's a good thing sometimes, because if it was because "he was alone" Rafa would have dropped his rotation policy a long ago.

I'm obstinate too. Not only in rotation but other notions. I always think every time I listen the record of "won't make it into the premiership pace and rythm" that it's all bóllocks. And an odd failure like the one of Morientes, won't change my mind, as I think football is football everywhere and quality players are quality players. Reina, Torres, Alonso, and WTF Arbeloa has proven to me that I must keep being stubborn about that notion.

So, please, don't stop making such threads, because this healthy football debate is what it made me be hooked to this site. As long as criticism and "moanings" are well explained, then I love it to read it.

BTW, I don't think you don't have a point in some cases. I just think that rotation is not that bad, and behind bad matches we made last season there were other reasons other than the rotation. I thought it back then (in minority), and I think it now  (in majority, as long as we win.)

P.S. The only bóllocks bit in your post is that you had to justify yourself that you are not anti Rafa. FFS, you have his pic in the signature and you've been around for a while, you're well known for anyone that has ársed to read you properly.

[Igor Zidane]

Agreed Sabre, top post. I would just like to add ,that the anti-rotationalists from yesteryear who are now pro-rotationalists will once again change there minds once we lose a couple of games . Bl@@dy fickle fans. I say stick to your guns whichever camp your in , because debate is always healthy.