Liverpool FC Forum

[66-1112520797]

am chocker block with Liverpool right now, I am sick of the owners, tired of the manager and the players are p!ssing me feckin off.

I dont get 100 grand a week to be worrying about them, I am getting my life back.

off Liverpool Im takin a break

I feel the exact same and for quite a bit now

Well then f.uck off and support Man United then, their currently winning.

[crazyhorse]

You can blame luck, referees and anything else you like. We have a squad capable of winning the league but are not performing - fact.
The question to address is why this is happening, are the tactics wrong?, is the team selection bad?, are the players not putting the effort in?, or has Rafa lost the dressing room?.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then there is a doubt as to whether Rafa has a long term future at the club. He has won us the CL, and put us in the final again as well. However I dont seem to see a better standard of performance than that we were seeing even under Houlier (and he won his share of trophies as well). I am sorry, but on current form our performance this year is not good enough. I am fed up with thinking, "well it will get better" or "we will win the league in the next few years", with the money spent and quality we have we should be up there, and to be talking about a defeat to West Ham as understandable is ridiculous.

The buck has to stop somewhere, and it is with Rafa. There must have been a reason behind the Klinnsman thing and also I think that things are not right in the dressing room or the board room. I am not saying I want Rafa out, far from it but things have to improve. If we do not finish in the top four that would be unacceptable and I really would not be able to see a future for him at Anfield - he has the rest of the season to deliver in the League for me, if he does not then I think it should be goodbye. This club has stood still for too long.

[NANNY RED]

Im gutted & i know the players r lettin us down but i kinda feel sorry 4 them

Red dont feel sorry for them at all what i witnessed lat night was a diabolical gutless performance from most of our team they would have been better not turnin up.

youve got lads whod give and sell there soul to play for us im a woman and id have a sex change if they told me i could were the red shirt nah its no laughing matter something is very wrong at our club and theres highly played players need to stand up and be counted ,

I said before fans can lay the blame for a lot of things on Raffa but he doesnt coach the players to be gutless

[JohnBull]

We were going nowhere last night as soon as the team was announced. Once again the supporters were mystified when the team was announced and from the look of some of the players they felt the same way. For all intents and purposes we were playing 9 men against a fairly average 11 man side from the kick off.

West Ham were the better side on the night but I cannot think of ONE West Ham player I would have in our side. So where do you put the blame ?

We've got good players and players who are not fullfilling their potential but the most worrying thing is that our manager appears to have learnt nothing from the past 4 years.

Premiership games are not the place for an out-of-form player to regain his form. It is pointless letting Kuyt make a fool of himself game after game. It is pointless playing Kewell, who wasn't that good before his injury and who hasn't improved with age, time after time. The H&W hatrick hero cannot make even the most simple pass. We end up throwing long balls up the pitch in a "chuck it and chance it" fashion and even then last years top scorer doesn't get a look in.

We were talking last night about the players brought in, what frightened us most was that NOT ONE PLAYER has improved under Raffa's guidance but several have gone backwards. The Alonso out there last night is not the player I saw in his first season, same with Kuyt, Babel etc etc. Gerrard is even giving up the ghost.

Coming from Spain meant that Raffa was going to have to learn a completely new game because the Prem isn't going to change for him. The man appears to have learnt nothing !

Don't start quoting our wins in knock-out competitions because ANY team can win in a knock out. The only proof of the metal worth mentioning is our record over a 40 game season in the league. It's nice to crown off a winning season with a CL cup but it is just the cherry on the cake.

Haven't got a clue who should take over from Raffa but I'm becoming more and more certain that a real revolution has to take place at Anfield and the lot of them have to go, from the boardroom to the managers office. I just don't want to see us end up like the rest of the also-rans.

[Ciggy]

Red dont feel sorry for them at all what i witnessed lat night was a diabolical gutless performance from most of our team they would have been better not turnin up.

Correct and not one of them are trying to keep Rafa in a job.

[LittleHobo]

cant believe how the pro rafa crew will still not admit rafa is to blame for our poor league form this season.

what other sane man would keep playing kuyt when in this form?

and his radio interview he reckons kuyt played well and we deserved to win all times we have drawn recently and would be challenging if we converted those draws into wins

the man is deluded

we didnt convert those draws into wins because teams come to defend and we cant break them down due to our style being so predictable (down to rafa) and he selects kuyt (a man who is scared to shoot) as an attacker

[puroresu]

cant believe how the pro rafa crew will still not admit rafa is to blame for our poor league form this season.

what other sane man would keep playing kuyt when in this form?

and his radio interview he reckons kuyt played well and we deserved to win all times we have drawn recently and would be challenging if we converted those draws into wins

the man is deluded

we didnt convert those draws into wins because teams come to defend and we cant break them down due to our style being so predictable (down to rafa) and he selects kuyt (a man who is scared to shoot) as an attacker

He watches a totally different game to everyone else.  We dont create chances.  We dont cut teams open. As soon as I saw West Ham going 4-5-1 I knew we would struggle as we cant break sides down. This isnt a new thing and not happened since the Board room problems.  This has been a problem for years and Rafa fails to address the problem.  His a negative defensive manager who prefers to try and not concede for 75 mins and then try and nick it in the last 15 mins.  He has to go.

[club_Levis]

cant believe how the pro rafa crew will still not admit rafa is to blame for our poor league form this season.

what other sane man would keep playing kuyt when in this form?

and his radio interview he reckons kuyt played well and we deserved to win all times we have drawn recently and would be challenging if we converted those draws into wins

the man is deluded

we didnt convert those draws into wins because teams come to defend and we cant break them down due to our style being so predictable (down to rafa) and he selects kuyt (a man who is scared to shoot) as an attacker

He watches a totally different game to everyone else.  We dont create chances.  We dont cut teams open. As soon as I saw West Ham going 4-5-1 I knew we would struggle as we cant break sides down. This isnt a new thing and not happened since the Board room problems.  This has been a problem for years and Rafa fails to address the problem.  His a negative defensive manager who prefers to try and not concede for 75 mins and then try and nick it in the last 15 mins.  He has to go.

Go to LFC and read his reaction to the the loss...Typical Rafa's excuses. misfortune blah blah, we concentrating on Sunderland blah blah......sounding like a broken record as usual.He has had his chance and it is surprising G & H, with their limited knowledge of football, were able too see Rafa's weaknesses before most supporters here.

[Number 9]

Red dont feel sorry for them at all what i witnessed lat night was a diabolical gutless performance from most of our team they would have been better not turnin up.

Correct and not one of them are trying to keep Rafa in a job.

Thats the bit that hs me worried.When you look at the players attitude on the pitch and lack of effort it tells you that all is not good in the dressing room and the relationship between the manager and players is under strain.

The only way they can get out of this blip is by coming together and giving 110%.The team is playing with fear every game now and players confidence is at an all time low.

People are always banging on about Kuyt how bad he is but in reality Torres has been equally dissapointing of late.Hes a world class player apparently...so where are the inspiring world class performances when we need them most?

The biggest problem is player confidence is shattered and i dont think Rafa understands how they are feeling or is able to pull them out of it on his own.I would love to see someone with a passion for LFC brought in to give Rafa a hand for the rest of the season.Someone who loves the club.
I was just thinking last night about the time Houllier was ill and Phil Thompson took over,he never lost a game if i remember right.Maybe someone like Thommo beside Rafa would help inject back a bit of passion that has gone missing?

Id like to see someone brought in now and give them both to the end of the season and see how things go.
Also the squad is way way to big...its about time we sold about 6 mediocre or 'past it' players and brought in two of genuine quality!

[LittleHobo]

i would be happier if rafa came out and admitted we have no ideas, no guile, no real creativity and struggle to break down teams who try to stop us playing

at least then you would be safe in the knowledge rafa knows we need to change how we approach games and the tactics and tempo

his BS interviews where he claims we controlled the game and deserved to win just make me want him out even more because he cant see that we are woeful at the moment

[Judge]

i would be happier if rafa came out and admitted we have no ideas, no guile, no real creativity and struggle to break down teams who try to stop us playing

at least then you would be safe in the knowledge rafa knows we need to change how we approach games and the tactics and tempo

his BS interviews where he claims we controlled the game and deserved to win just make me want him out even more because he cant see that we are woeful at the moment

he did say we need quality and more of it

those were rafa's words, maybe not in that order, but in his post match interview he did that


last day of transfer window and no transfers!


i would like aaron lennon, and either berbatov or santa cruz for starters.

get rid of kuyt.

[KOPMATT]

Im so depressed its unreal 

Chin up! Things will get better before they get worse, or vice versa. Important thing is, that they will get better. Our club has caught itself a nasty infection or a virus. It's only a matter of time before some medicine is administered. First there has to be a clear diagnosis of what is wrong.

Simply calling for the manager's head, and slating the players is so short sighted it's f*cking unbelievable from some posters. There's a far bigger picture to look at here, and a lot more important issues at stake rather than b*tch about the manager. This is the stability of our who football club we're talking about here.

I can say this right now as a fact: no matter who takes over as our manager, it will take years before we see any marked improvement in our league form. Not to mention the fact that it could also potentially take a sh*t load more cash. Cash that we don't seem to have. We lose either way. People seem to think that sacking Rafa and bringing someone else in will be the cure to our illness. Will it f*ck.

Agreed to both points here Emerald!
Am depressed!
And calling for Rafa's head I think, should be ouuta the question. The players are the ones that are not performimg. The club needs a bit or a lot of stability something we've not had for about 3 months. It's all started to go tits ups around the slanging match between Benitez & the Stooges. However palyers need to pull their socks up and stand up and be counted afterall what could be more of a boost than pulling on the Liverpool shirt?
Rafa is a stubborn manager and strong willed sometimes maybe to the point of not admitting he makes mistakes but they all do. I'm just glad in more ways than not that he is stubborn, there are quite a few managers out there that would've walked given what he has had to put up with over the last few months, most would've gone straight away.
Although for all his work rate I still agree with most here that Kuyt is awful, works very very hard but the end result is awful can't really say anymore about him AWFUL!

[Ciggy]

Spot feckin on.

West Ham 1, Liverpool 0 (Echo)Jan 31 2008

by Tony Barrett at Upton Park, Liverpool Echo
   
ON A DAY when Liverpool fans were asked to back a scheme which would see them have to come up with £5,000 a man to support their club, it probably wasn't the best time for the team to produce a performance which must have left many in the away end wondering why they even bother buying a ticket.

If it's bang for your buck you're looking for then you're more likely to get a bigger return from buying shares in Northern Rock than you are from following the Reds at present.

Yesterday, 3,000 of Liverpool's most loyal fans made the trip to London's east end from Merseyside, paying a hefty £43 for a ticket alone – and all they got back was the latest instalment in their club's ongoing crisis.

If the first half promised little, the second delivered even less as Liverpool conceded a last minute penalty which Mark Noble struck home with the kind of confidence so many of Rafa Benitez's players are clearly lacking.

The fact that the Hammers were in such a position owed everything to Liverpool's chronic inability at set pieces.

This time it was one of their own – rather than one of the opposition's – which cost them a vital goal as a Fabio Aurelio corner resulted in a West Ham breakaway which ended only when Jamie Carragher scythed down Freddie Ljungberg as the former Arsenal man bore down on goal.

Referee Alan Wiley had no option but to award a penalty and this time even Pepe Reina was unable to deny West Ham from 12 yards.

In the current climate it is all too fitting that Liverpool's defeat should be self-inflicted because for the last three months the club has shot itself in the foot time and time again.

To go from title talk to crisis talk in the space of just 12 weeks is an incredible downturn and the worst thing is it seems no-one at Anfield is prepared to do anything to arrest the decline.


The only hope being clung to is that DIC will come to the club's rescue and rid it of all the negative forces which are currently dragging it deeper and deeper towards an all too predictable nadir.


But unless and until that happens, Liverpool are faced with the stark prospect of seeing a season which promised so much culminate in nothing but abject failure.


Forget Champions League qualification if their winless run in the league goes on for much longer. Their target for the season will be the booby prize that is the UEFA Cup.


Everyone at Liverpool must take responsibility for that – the absentee owners who have sent shockwaves of uncertainty rippling through the club; those who not only handed them the keys to Anfield, but also rolled out the red carpet; the manager who has failed to deliver on his promise to create a title challenging side and the players who have allowed themselves to be distracted by the ongoing circus off the pitch.


Each and every one of them can make a case for their own defence and each and every one of them can offer excuses and point fingers at one another. Make no mistake about it, this is exactly what is happening now.


An outbreak of blame culture means no-one is taking responsibility and the weakness this creates means Liverpool are in danger of imploding.


It's not about ill fortune or the fates conspiring against you, it's about failing to take control of your own destiny and giving inferior opponents an open invitation to kick you when you're down.


This is Liverpool in 2008 – a club lacking in direction, leadership and conviction.


The malaise on the pitch since November may have been masked by the ongoing farce off it. But now the mask has slipped and what is there for all to see is that this Liverpool side is far from being good enough.


You don't have to look at the league table to realise this – although seventh place in the Premiership, 17 points behind the leaders tells its own sorry story – you just have to look at the way they are performing.

The fact is there is not a single player operating in a wide position for Liverpool, either in defence or attack, who would get anywhere near Manchester United's and Arsenal's squads, never mind their teams.

The sight of Harry Kewell avoiding tackles and continuously failing to beat his man is almost as shocking as the fact that he actually gets picked at all. Not that his fall from grace seems to bother the Australian if the sight of him laughing and joking in the bowels of Upton Park just minutes after such a sickening defeat is anything to go by.

Kewell is far from being alone, though. Apart from the usual suspects there are too many who wear the Liver Bird upon their chest as if it's little more than a flag of convenience.

They don't look as if they care for the club and they certainly wouldn't shed blood for it. To some, their very presence in the current Liverpool team is an insult to those who have gone before them and, on the evidence of last night and far too many games in recent weeks, it would be impossible to disagree with that.

But then that goes for the club as a whole, because a club which is run well produces a team which plays well. It is a simple equation which served Liverpool incredibly well throughout their glory years and one which they seem to have forgotten as they stumble around from one crisis to the next.

A year ago yesterday, Liverpool beat West Ham but lost the affections of DIC.

If last night's reversal signals those fortunes are about to be reversed it might just stop Liverpool's kamikaze descent towards implosion.

[Owzat]

Im so depressed its unreal 

Chin up! Things will get better before they get worse, or vice versa. Important thing is, that they will get better. Our club has caught itself a nasty infection or a virus. It's only a matter of time before some medicine is administered. First there has to be a clear diagnosis of what is wrong.

Simply calling for the manager's head, and slating the players is so short sighted it's f*cking unbelievable from some posters. There's a far bigger picture to look at here, and a lot more important issues at stake rather than b*tch about the manager. This is the stability of our who football club we're talking about here.

I can say this right now as a fact: no matter who takes over as our manager, it will take years before we see any marked improvement in our league form. Not to mention the fact that it could also potentially take a sh*t load more cash. Cash that we don't seem to have. We lose either way. People seem to think that sacking Rafa and bringing someone else in will be the cure to our illness. Will it f*ck.

Agreed to both points here Emerald!
Am depressed!
And calling for Rafa's head I think, should be ouuta the question. The players are the ones that are not performimg. The club needs a bit or a lot of stability something we've not had for about 3 months. It's all started to go tits ups around the slanging match between Benitez & the Stooges. However palyers need to pull their socks up and stand up and be counted afterall what could be more of a boost than pulling on the Liverpool shirt?
Rafa is a stubborn manager and strong willed sometimes maybe to the point of not admitting he makes mistakes but they all do. I'm just glad in more ways than not that he is stubborn, there are quite a few managers out there that would've walked given what he has had to put up with over the last few months, most would've gone straight away.
Although for all his work rate I still agree with most here that Kuyt is awful, works very very hard but the end result is awful can't really say anymore about him AWFUL!

The result wasn't the worst, considering the mancs lost there as well. But in context it is a bad result, we've won ten games by scoring four or more goals but now failed to win (lost or drawn) EIGHTEEN games this season which is just under half.

There is a far bigger picture to look at, we'll end up stable and sat in 3rd to 5th which is what we've been for way too long. The players aren't good enough, they've shown that too often this season.

And many people slate Kuyt, he doesn't pick himself now does he............................. All points to the manager, he signs the players, picks the team and formation.

In Raffle we trust 

[Number 9]

Something drastic has to be done here to stop this rut.

I dont think our players should even be training today.It would be a good idea if the caoching staff and players took a day out.They should sit down and do a bit of talking and get whatever problems,misunderstandings and any gripes out in the open.

There are obviously problems that are being papered over and need to be addressed.Whatever is going wrong needs to be sorted now because our team can not afford to miss out on the C/L this season.
We cant afford to draw or loose any more games that we should be winning because other teams particularly Villa and Everton are getting stronger.Its as if they are growing in confidence by watching ours dwindle.

There is no way we can finish below Everton this season,it just cant happen!