Liverpool FC Forum

by **oldredeyes** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:06 pm

I agree with JBG here.
No one would suggest Valencia were long ball merchants and I don't see Liverpool playing that type of game in the future.
But during the past few years under GH we sent so many passes sideways and backwards during a game I was tearing my hair out in frustration.
The balance has to be right.
Nobody will count the number of passes as long as they are mainly 'forward'.
We have skilful players at Anfield who never seemed to shine under GH. Hopefully the next guy will bring in several more skilful players and transform the team.
I agree with the Arsenal comparison - they never seem to waste the opportunity to get forward quickly with lovely one touch football and people moving into space all over the pitch.
I bit of that will suit us fine.

by **redandblue** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 4:15 pm

He is a very good manager and will be good for us. Whether or not he will be great for us remains to be seen. We cannot possibly play poorer or achieve less than we did in Houllier's last two seasons in charge when we were generally awful.

The fans need to be realistic in expectations for next year. We will not win the league. We don't have the players to match Arsenal, nor indeed Chelsea. If we narrow the 30 point gap by half we will have done well.

The squad needs to be strengthened substantially and it is not clear where that money will come from. The word down here in London continues to be that Gerrard is off to Chelsea. It may be nonsense, but the story continues to run.

by **RED BEERGOGGLES** » Sat May 15, 2010 9:47 pm

RED BEERGOGGLES wrote:Are Benitez's footballing principles really what we need ? as ive been reading certain quotes he's made in the past and i cant help having reservations ,basically the gist is this' Benitez has stated more than once in the Spanish media that his philosophy is the least number of passes that lead to a goal are in his view the most pleasing ,and he has often been lambasted by the press for his less adventurous style of football. It is also true Valencia's current brand of football would be more suited to Serie A ,but i will reserve judgement until ive witnessed them when the season gets under way,there is no doubt Benitez's teams play to win and defensively they are rigid but have never been popular with the press and sports analysts ,anyone else share my views ?

It seems I had my reservations at first ,but the man completely won me over,and totally restored my faith in Liverpool Football Club ,especially after a couple of the lads had the fortune to actually meet the man in person in Jameson's Irish bar in Cologne and enjoy a pint with the fella :alien:

Jealous me..... of course I am
work commitments robbed me of the chance to be in that pub that night ,otherwise I would be as zealous in my support for the man as my mates are ,but nonetheless their stories inspired me as they spoke of a man with no hidden agendas who showed a humility and a respect for the history and traditions of this great club ,a man who was genuinely moved by the support shown to him that night albeit a little embarrassed by his overwhelming popularity amongst the supporters he describes as the greatest in the world ...

I apologise for the bumping of this thread ,but it was a necessary evil ,instead of posting the story risking it getting merged with all the other Rafa stories ,I genuinely thought this story special because it comes from the fans who drank with him that night

by **Igor Zidane** » Wed May 19, 2010 4:17 pm

Nice bump Red . It's funny reading the reservations you had mate and after 6 years people lambasting him for them very same reason's . What people tend to forget though are the countless good nights of football we've had under his tenure so far . Defensive my ringpiece .

by **RED BEERGOGGLES** » Thu May 20, 2010 3:40 pm

Igor Zidane wrote:Nice bump Red . It's funny reading the reservations you had mate and after 6 years people lambasting him for them very same reason's . What people tend to forget though are the countless good nights of football we've had under his tenure so far . Defensive my ringpiece .

Cheers Fella ... I just thought it would provide a different slant on the Benitez issues that are so often the norm on this forum ,and maybe provide an incite into how the managers undoubted popularity amongst fans was first instilled ..

I think back then I held serious doubts about the style of play utilised by the manager whilst at Valencia ,but the man's pedigree was never in question ,and after 2005 those qualities were never going to be questioned again especially by all those who stood in the Ataturk Stadium that glorious night ,and last season I felt the fans were completely justified to award him with their faith ,as Liverpool played the most exciting football I have seen for some time

Its only now in hindsight when you look back on a disastrous season steeped in controversy and conjecture, not just from the press as is customary, but from some of our own fans

that you begin to realise the alarming fall from grace we are experiencing

I hope next season we can talk about issues on the pitch rather than be forced to focus intently on our imminent demise ,I know that sounds ridiculously selfish ,but the fans need a distraction from the ensuing battle with the owners ,and next season I hope that while we fight the battle off the pitch (S.O.S) that the Lads can maybe start doing the business on the Anfield turf ...... and the manager needs to have the season of his life ,its really that important

by **Owzat** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 6:39 pm

greenred wrote:Everyone will give him their support if he arrives.Until then though he is just a spanish bloke who nobody wanted as Liverpool manager until the last week.

In some ways I hope a similar appointment is made to replace Rafa, not the favourites, usual suspects and britpack.

by **Owzat** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 6:45 pm

Igor Zidane wrote:What people tend to forget though are the countless good nights of football we've had under his tenure so far . Defensive my ringpiece .

I'm guessing there won't be more than 350, even if you include afternoons, and I'm guessing rake through the naff nights, disappointments and general (relative) lows and you'd be pushing it to get 25 genuine "fit the bill" nights

I'll give you a helping hand of sorts, we scored 0 goals or 1 goal in 178 of his 350 games in charge (50.86%) Only in 93 games (or just over 1 in 4) did we score more than two goals. We lost 79 games under Rafa, not many playing cavalier football.

'Countless' might be better used to describe the games we were in front and drew or lost trying to defend said lead, nine I think I listed not too long ago for just 09/10. That didn't include games we successfully defended narrow leads, or didn't go ahead in and still drew/lost etc

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