Liverpool FC Forum

by **66-1120597113** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:19 pm

Well here we are 3rd in the league,out of the Champions League and incase anyone needs reminded facing Chelsea in the semis of the FA cup!
Overall i feel this season has been great for us and im so happy with the manager,his long term plans,his tact and grace in interveiws and most of all his patience in every aspect of his job!!
Raffa kept faith in Kewell when 90% of fans if all be honest(myself included) wanted him out!Looking back i cant believe that some felt Kewell was here for the money and an easy ride,lacked passion and drive!! The lads came back is playing well and hopefully next season,if injury free,will come on leaps and bounds and be an asset to the club..as he was at Leeds!The signs are there and heres hoping we see the best of Harry Kewell!!I feel we will!!
There have been times over the season when we have all been perplexed at some of Raffas tactics and decisions!The bottom line is he has to try things out on the field to see if his ideas will come together..we need to be patient and let him work on things,on the field is the only time he can see what players are capable of and what systems work!Please bare in mind that he has not been here that long and is still finding his feet!
Last year we won the C/L and i felt total dissapointment that we have went out but be honest...winning it 2 years in a row was always a dream!We are not that good yet.simple as!!
I feel the club is going the right way and am excited at some of the signings Raffa has made!Take 2 for example in Alonso and Sissoko!
Sissoko at times shows maturity above his age and a cool head that you could struggle to find in any other team!Yes at times he may seem a bit clumsy,or dirty some might say!This will change with experience theres no doubt!I reckon we will see the rise of a class act in his roll in athe next few seasons.Some have said he will never be as good as Viera was,i think they will eat their words.watch this space!!

As for Alonso....well what can we say??
In my opinion after Carra he has been our player of the season so far!!What a huge talent and one that i feel should rightfully walk into any team in the prem!! We should be grateful that he is ours!!
Just look at the man last week when Stevie got sent off!! Emmense is the only word i can think to describe a heroic performance from a class player that can only get better!

Thinking back again to last year and winning the C/L and comparing the way our team is now in all competitions,in a funny way id rather be here than in Istanbul in a funny sort of way! The team is working more as a unit in general and our defencive record is one to be proud of! CVarragher has again set the standard and shown the world what a great player he is,for us a world class talent! For anyone else...just Jamie Carragher !! Why do they not come knocking on our door for one of the best C/Bs in the world???Because Carra shows passion but its only for LFC and only ever will be!! We should be proud of him in the fast changing world of football where players get courted and tempted with money...drop their morals and basically become football whores! Carra plays for LFC because hes a defender and does not want them to conceed goals..not for money or to be famous!!

In short its been a great season for us in terms of building for the future!Raffa is getting there and we are growing in stature,slowly getting better!There is no masterplan or quick theory,but what we have is a determined manager that wants the best for us and in time he will deliver!!

Just a few thoughts !!

LFC :buttrock

by **Sabre** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:39 pm

Spot on

I agree the whole post, overall good season, I thought we were going to be between the best 8 of Europe, but being between the 16 better is nothing to cry about.

I remember that when we had the first great winning streak, there was a thread to predict which teams we were going to spank (is this correct?) and this bonus has reached with the awesome 0-7 victory against Brum, and a tryumphant 5-1 against Fulham.

But the most important point of the ideas you've shared, is that which emphasyses that we have a growing trajectory, and that this progress will bring us to high football peaks.

Winning the CL the first season was real lucky, because it's obvious to me that when we had some moments of doubt in this season, that credit helped in order some gloom & doom supporters to shut up. Still some gloom & doom supporters did criticise Rafa a lot, but the majority of supporters didn't. Without that credit, we might have had (feck I must check those verbs construction again) more destructive criticism.

I predict a really good third season for us, and thinking about winning the EPL isn't a "Don Quijote"-esque task any more, I think it's perfectly possible.

by **Igor Zidane** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:41 pm

Great post barry, agreed with 99% of what you said. I'll only disagree about alonso being one of the players of the season ,but that's just nit picking.

by **ericthered** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:48 pm

Sabre wrote:I agree the whole post, overall good season,

by **GOAT** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:50 pm

ericthered wrote:
Sabre wrote:I agree the whole post, overall good season,

by **Igor Zidane** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:56 pm

i smell a manc,phwoooooeeeee

by **stoney** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:57 pm

Yeh hes a manc alrite

by **GOAT** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:01 pm

ericthered wrote:
Sabre wrote:I agree the whole post, overall good season,

you f.uckin piece of manc shiiitttttt... crawwlll back into your hoooole you benderrrrrr

by **48-1119859832** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 10:05 pm

Barry,

I agree with most of what you have stated and I think you'll be hard pressed to find a supporter who isn't satisfied with this season and the progress we have been making in such a small amount of time. Some of Rafa's decisions whilst he's been here have been controversial, mind baffling and somewhat strange but 99% of the time he gets it spot on so you can't grumble too much.

As for most supporters being against Kewell well I too will put myself into the bracket of wanting to see the back of Kewell, not because I thought he was leeching off Liverpool, simply for the fact that he was a sick note and was too much of a valuable tool in our tool box to sit there on our treatment table. It's very fustrating when a player everyone has such a high regard for & saw have a good start to the new stage of his career suddenly fall from grace. But it's good that he finally showing on a more consistant level the Kewell that made him such a highly regarded player whilst he was at Leeds.

You say that Rafa is still finding his feet here, I'd disagree with that, I think he's found his feet and they are firmly inbedded into the Anfield Doug-out. He knows what players he needs and knows what formation to use and when to make changes, he's cracked the away day blues that ruined our Premiership campaign last season and has made us a force to be reckoned with at Anfield. We've only lost once there all season in the League, which compared to a few seasons ago is a remarkable achievement by any stretch of the immagination.

I agree it was disappointing to go out of the Champions League & especially considering we did so well in the Qualifying stages of the competition e.g group stages against Betis & Chelsea. But it just wasn't to be this season but I bet big ears will soon be placed for the sixth time on our trophy cabinet under the managerial reigns of Benitez, call it a gut feeling or a sudden tremble in the water if you like.

Rafa has signed some exceptional young talent, young talent that I hadn't really paid much attention to e.g Xabi Alonso, Sissoko and others. It's really good to see exciting young talent start producing right away and settling down quick, in Alonso and Sissoko we have found ourselves two real talents for the present as well as the future. I hope we can hold onto both of them. Sissoko doesn't do silky skills and produce moments of spectacular magic, then again he doesn't need to. He has the ability at his age and his inexperience in English football to boss the park. Sure he's gets a few yellows and leaves a few marks on the opposition players legs but he breaks up opposition attacks, uses his physical ability to gain the ball in the centre of the park and has the ability to chop a player down with ease.

What makes Sissoko such a good player is that he plays his role well and isn't afraid to back out of a challenge which for a player from La Liga seems almost surreal. And as for Alonso...well not much you can say about him except some him in a few phrases such as "Brilliant" - "World Class" :laugh:

And I agree with what you say about the team working as a unit, which is a great thing! The whole team looks solid and I can't wait until next season, hopefully a few new players will come in and make us even stronger.

In Rafa We Trust :bowdown

by **66-1120597113** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:30 pm

Its a damn shame that all the Lfc threads go to the dogs!!!

More gen chat??

whats ur fav curry???

by **Ciggy** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:50 pm

Whos that eric :angry:

Sorry to ruin the topic Barry just had enough of people spoiling things.

by **neil** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:03 am

BarryBelfast wrote:Emmense is the only word i can think

thats where you threw me.Anyhow , yeah I was full of 'fook it we're euro champs ,lets jump over all comers with the confidence that brings' at the start of the season. Initially I've got to admit, I hoped that a period of domestic & european dominance would ensue(bit greedy) but realistically this season has been very good. Lets please beat Chelsea in the semi's.

Back to serious issues, I make me own curry, fenelgreek cardamons small chillies etc no feckin 'bout, burn ya feckin tonsils off.

by **Ciggy** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:07 am

neil wrote:thats where you threw me.Anyhow , yeah I was full of 'fook it we're euro champs ,lets jump over all comers with the confidence that brings' at the start of the season. Initially I've got to admit, I hoped that a period of domestic & european dominance would ensue(bit greedy) but realistically this season has been very good. Lets please beat Chelsea in the semi's.

Neil why have you got a blue font?

by **GOAT** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:08 am

Decent season, but to me it wont be a good one without FA cup success or 2nd place, 3rd and no trophies isnt good

by **65-1140560321** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:13 am

this topic is a joke.

Saying we have had a good season is laughable!

Champions league.......Out!
League Title...............Out!
Second Place.............Out!
Fa Cup.....................Tough Tie, possibly...Out!

I quote Bill Shankly..." first is first, second is NOWHERE! "

To me it doesnt matter if we finish second, third, or fourth, as they are all "losers" places.

When you are aiming for 4th spot, and not the league, is a joke in terms of LFC's standards.

We have been out of the league race for some time, not good enough.

Got knocked out, by a talentless lowley Benfica team, and squandering many chances, was an embarrassment. Surrendered the crown without scoring GOAL in two legs.

Anyone which thinks all this is acceptable needs shooting, and should read up on Shanks, and what LFC is all about.

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