Liverpool FC Forum

by **Number 9** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:18 pm

bigmick wrote:Sirname is Dore by the way.

"Hey I'm Big Micky DEE of the MMC,
And don't accuse me of been rotation-aree,
It's not even an option,
or a poss-ibilitee
But I might be OOTer cos
I live in En Zee.

Westside.

by **Laci** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:14 pm

I don't think we are that much better than we were last season. Dossena is a very good buy, but we have to see if he can preform like he did last season. I'm not too happy we signed Keane, I think we could have done better for less money(Pandev or maybe Gudjohnsen), but whatever, Keane is a very good player and I trust Rafa. My major concern is that RM position that just never gets solved. Kuyt and Pennant are OK, but we need better than OK if we are going to win the Prem. Having said all that, I still belive we will mount a serious challenge for the title this season, but I can't see us winning it. Third for me, maybe second.

by **account deleted by request** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:46 pm

I predicted earlier in this thread.... 2nd 5 points behind if we didn't sign a top quality winger. If we sign Riera I now think we will finish 2nd or 3rd 5+ points behind. I can't say I have ever seen him play but from what I have read about him he is at best a decent "option" rather than top class and will no doubt need time to settle etc . Added to which I was hoping for a RIGHT WINGER more than strengthening the left, as I was hoping Babel would show more this season from the left.

ps. pmsl at Mick's rap :laugh:

by **GYBS** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 3:30 pm

3rd at best but hopefully a bit closer to chavs and mancs - we just dont have the width to compete against them and will come unstuck by playing too narrow .

by **Roger Red Hat** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:03 pm

played 2 won 2 points 6

bring her home rafa, bring her home!

by **woof woof !** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:30 am

Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

by **Owzat** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:45 am

woof woof ! wrote:Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

I've always tried to word it as a "title challenge", potentially 10 points behind the mancs when they catch up fails in that description and I simply can't see Rafa turning it around. With the Champions League his speciality and that a more likely result than a title challenge, we may slip further.

Depends whether you vote with your head or your heart, the heart hasn't served well in the past. Can you seriously see much changing under Rafa? If we were going to prove title contenders we'd have done it by now, Rafa spent £40m in the summer and did he strengthen the squad or merely add more players for members on here to want sold in the summer? (those that haven't been already..................)

by **bigmick** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:06 am

bigmick wrote:I think Man Utd will win it by a whisker,(a point or so) from Chelsea, with us a couple of points back after having launched a full and authenitc title challenge. I think when push comes to shove, we'll be no more than Five points off the winners, and if you put a gun to my head I'll say three points off the top.

I was actually pretty optimistic. I was going with the notion that he'd seen the light and felt if we didn't rotate from game one, we'd go very close. I didn't account for the dimmer switch period, or the "score two goals and sit on yer erse" school of team selection. I should have seen that one coming after Crouch, but nobody could blame me for not seeing the "lets sell all our strikers bar one" school of thought rearing it's ugly head. I'll know next time.

Next season if Rafa is still here we'll be fourth.

by **bigmick** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:10 am

maguskwt wrote:I have to say that I'm very much a pro-rafa on this forum... but even I must admit that, now that we've already signed keane, and later if we manage to sign Barry, and we don't challenge for the title this season then rafa has little to no excuse. This is because both Robbie Keane and Garreth Barry can be considered as rafa's primary targets.. even if they might not be his very first choices they're by far two of his top choices... otherwise why would we be paying close to 40 millions for the duo.

Primary targets? how opinions changed as the season went on.

by **TheLad** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:18 am

woof woof ! wrote:Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

Spot on.

by **account deleted by request** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:59 am

woof woof ! wrote:Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

Perhaps THATS the reason why people feel the need for change. If you can't believe we are going to win the League before the season starts maybe its time to change the manager.

Even under Houllier I always believed "next season we will do it", now I don't believe Rafa will ever win the league, unless someone comes in and throws £100million+ at him.

Yet he came in as the manager who could win us the league without competing with the other top sides in the transfer market. £200million later I think we have laid that one to rest anyway.

I doubt we will ever have a better chance than we had this season.(at least until Fergie retires) So if he managed to throw a great chance away this season, why should anyone believe he will not throw the next one away.

I hope I am wrong, I hope if Rafa stays he does win the league, but I now believe we have a better chance with a different manager than we do with Rafa.

No need for a new five year plan. We have the nucleus of a very good team, but we also need someone who appreciates that you can't gamble with team selections and formations regularly without occasionally paying the price, and we have paid the price for Rafa's follies too many times over the past couple of seasons.

Any manager that couldn't see that Skrtel was being shredded at full back should be ashamed, and if he saw it and DID NOTHING ABOUT IT, until we were 2-0 down, equally so.

by **woof woof !** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:56 am

s@int wrote:
woof woof ! wrote:Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

Perhaps THATS the reason why people feel the need for change. If you can't believe we are going to win the League before the season starts maybe its time to change the manager.

The point I was trying to make Saint was that very few were expecting us to win the league title at the start of the season AND even fewer were calling for Rafa's head.

I honestly think that much of the present disillusionment with Rafa is because for a large part of the season with the team sitting at the top of the table and exceeding our expectations many found it hard to swallow when the wheels finally started to wobble.

Maybe if we'd spent the season trailing Man U and Chelsea by a couple of points a lot of us might not be feeling quite so disappointed with Rafa ? .

Our fully fit first eleven under Rafa are a match for anyone , it's the lack of "kwality" (

) in depth that has really cost us in this campaign.

(and yeah , I admit, Rafa has to shoulder the responsibility for that.)

by **Owzat** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:30 pm

woof woof ! wrote:I honestly think that much of the present disillusionment with Rafa is because for a large part of the season with the team sitting at the top of the table and exceeding our expectations many found it hard to swallow when the wheels finally started to wobble.

Maybe that part underlined sums up why Rafa may never win the league, the side was top for a half season and exceeding expectations. Not fulfulling expectations, or "on course", "progressing as expected" or any other term that suggested we are where we expected to be.

If Rafa were up to winning the league wouldn't being top, or thereabouts, be expected? Fifth year in and we're looking at probably finishing third or fourth in the league and maybe a Champions League final - how is that any different to the seasons 2, 3 and 4 under Rafa? Most disappointing is one of Rafa's achilles heels, results against the 'big four', hasn't hampered us this season. It's another achilles heel of not winning games we should that has cost us dearly. No good beating Man Utd and Chelsea (twice) if those points are going to be thrown away against sides in the bottom third of the table.

Rafa could get it right next season, but while he's in charge we're all going to await the inevitable. Two unbeaten starts in two seasons, facing our second consecutive fall from early leaders to back of the main pack. If we go 10 unbeaten next season, how many are going to believe we'll stay at the top and how many will be waiting for the run of draws or defeats to end our challenge?

by **Rockthekop** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 5:19 pm

woof woof ! wrote:
s@int wrote:
woof woof ! wrote:Looking back at this thread it's apparent that the majority never expected us to win the premiership this season but nevertheless haven't let that stop them (in more recent threads) from calling for the managers head because it's now apparent we're not going to win it.

Perhaps THATS the reason why people feel the need for change. If you can't believe we are going to win the League before the season starts maybe its time to change the manager.

The point I was trying to make Saint was that very few were expecting us to win the league title at the start of the season AND even fewer were calling for Rafa's head.

I honestly think that much of the present disillusionment with Rafa is because for a large part of the season with the team sitting at the top of the table and exceeding our expectations many found it hard to swallow when the wheels finally started to wobble.

Maybe if we'd spent the season trailing Man U and Chelsea by a couple of points a lot of us might not be feeling quite so disappointed with Rafa ? .

Our fully fit first eleven under Rafa are a match for anyone , it's the lack of "kwality" ( ) in depth that has really cost us in this campaign.

(and yeah , I admit, Rafa has to shoulder the responsibility for that.)

It's not just lack of quality though, it's the negative tactics, the bizarre substitutions, the constant needless tinkering, the poor man management.

There's just too many negatives against Rafa and he's not going to change.

If I thought our position was purely a quality issue and not down to Rafa's management, I would give him a new contract and a war chest tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't believe his ideas or tactics will ever lead to us to winning the title.

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