Ben Patrick wrote:Lando_Griffin wrote:bigmick wrote:I don't think you are desperate to know Lando, but in my opinion there have been a few errors of judgement by the manager. Firstly, I think before the season started our pre season campaign didn't prepare the team correctly and I don't think we've ever really recovered. I think it was a mistake to not sign credible striker cover before the season started, and I think the hugest error which has had the most effect was thinking that Lucas and Masherano would be ample as a central midfield pairing while Aquilani recovered. I think the signing of Aquilani was misguided, and I think a perfectionist such as Rafa would be hugely disappointed that each and every time we defend a set piece we are a shambles. I don't know precisely what he has done in terms of bonding, team building, motivation and the rest but it has clearly not been a success because far too often we have lain down and died in games, showing a complete lack of fight.
Other than that, he has been bang on the money.
Striker - money.
Pre-season - what didn't you like about it? There was nothing wrong with the games, we just didn't get players back in time and we lost too many - nothing wrong with the planning.
Who would you have signed instead of Aqualani?
There wasn't a lot wrong with team spirit last season - what makes you think it's the manager's fault now? Why is it never something else? Why is it ALWAYS Rafa that's to blame?
Do you think he's a sorcerer?
Lando do you actually believe everything you write or is it just because you have been backing the manager so staunchly for so long you feel you have to justify everything ?
Preseason was a shambles, we were nowhere near prepared correctly for what was always going to be a very difficult opening fixture.
Rafa seems to look long term ignoring or maybe not ignoring but not paying enough attention to the short term.
The Atletico madrid game was the only time he let any of the players play more than a half.
Thats not enough, we looked unfit for the first few weeks of the season as Rafa seems to worry about being fit at the end of the season.
By then though we are out of the league anyway.
The Aquilani signing was probably a mistake, we are halfway through the season and have seen nothing.
Rafa knew his injury record and that he was injured when signed so it was always a gamble.
Its an even bigger gamble if your two other options are not great with distributing the ball and dictating the tempo of games like Alonso was.
Who he should of signed is blatantly obvious - the player he coveted before hand, Gareth Barry.
The players have been awful this season, thats not Rafa's fault but he hasnt helped sticking with a system that doesnt work that well without Alonso and when Torres is injured.
I like the fact that you stick by the manager but think at times you appear to defend things just because you feel like you have in the past.
Pre-season was a shambles and rafa is not entirely blameless as it's his job to prepare the players ok . The commercial dept ,Ayre organised the trip to the far east and in my honest opinion our pre-season tour and all the travelling that that entailed did not help the situation . Torres being on international duty with albert and alonso (before they left lfc) mascherano and lucas being on international duty all contibuted to our poor pre-season . As well as the usual Rafa's sh!te , poor man management ,poor tactician blah blah blah guff.
Even since last season when we were four points behind them in second, they lost Christiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and replaced them Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia at a net gain of 62 million pounds. We lost Alvarro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso, replacing them with Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani, making a net slightly worse than break even.
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