I've been thinking that Gerrard needs to move to another club for a couple of years.
There are days when he's a proper footballing force, and he can pick the team up by the scruff of the neck and make them win a game, but more often than not he's just blasting nothing balls into the stands. And he gets away with it because he's untouchable at Liverpool now.
He should do what Henry did - recognise that he's doing more harm than good and look for something new to do.
That may be a correct statement, but it's not saying much given Liverpool's form this season. Lucas is so ordinary. He's never going to be a big physical presence, and yet he has very little to show in terms of footballing flair. I thought Liverpool were better than that.
What has that got to do with anything? I've been supporting Liverpool for 32 years. I probably know more about the club than a lot of scousers.(and i know several scousers that agree with every word i said, so what's your point?) Yet again instead of debating any of the points i make you come out with one line of irrelevance.
You're absolutely correct. He's no world beater,never will be and i never said he was. I just get a bit fed up with people who blame everything on Lucas when he's actually been one of our better players this season. He's always improving and obviously giving his all.
I'd much rather it were Mash and Gerrard in the middle ,with Aqualani playing behind Torres. But on current form i cant see Gerrard making much more of an impact than Lucas. Sad days indeed.
All I have to say is. Where's the love? The results will come as they always do, as a Liverpool fan you know we have our ups and downs. You're the real sunshiner if you thought the good results would last.
Being a fan is not just about blindly following your team, but also realising when the gig is up with the current set-up. Anyone backing Raffa has their head buried in the sand as it's clear as crystal that things are not as they should be.
It definitely seems that you are exonerating Rafa of any blame, which is to be fair, absurd. If it's not Rafa then who is too blame for the lack of motivation, disharmony and general apathy shown last night?
Yep, and you can't even really blame the players, because with just a couple of exceptions, they are of course all his signings. Is the current Liverpool team anywhere near as good as the Champions League winning team? IMO no way near, with one obvious exception who they will do very well to hang to. There's no long term improvement, and apparently no plan for it.
I think there's half a dozen good footballers in the squad. So many rubbish signings. Without that Champion's league win, he would have lost all fan support quite a while ago too I reckon. Certainly he wouldn't have lasted this long.
I have been thinking that Rafa should leave ever since I saw that unprofessional rant about Ferguson in a press interview where he tried to take Fergie on at his own game, which he failed miserably at.
If managers should resign because of unprofessional rants Fergie would have had to go years ago.
That wasn't Rafa's greatest moment, but hardly a reason for him to resign. The team had a little wobble after that (which was pure coincidence imo) but went on to play some fantastic stuff after that and were virtually unbeatable, putting in some of the best performances I've seen from a Liverpool team for many years.
It was just what I thought. My opinion of him dropped massively after that. He was never going to achieve anything by doing it, it was stupid. That's why "I" thought he should have left, because I didn't like him very much! I don't particularly love Fergie, but he does a brilliant job most of the time.
6 months of poor results doesn't erase 5 years of progress.
Just be patient.
Rafa is a manager that understands LFC, he understands the fans and has the passion for the club. No matter how much money you throw about, you cant buy that.
As soon as you start slipping backward the previous progress becomes irrelevant. We are going backwards, fast.
I've been very patient for a good 20 years.
I like Rafa, and i agree with everything you've said. Sadly being a nice bloke, understanding the fans and our history and being passionate doesn't mean sweet fa if your incapable of taking the club forward.
If those were the criteria for being our manager then you or i could do the job
We will not make the top 4 this season with him in charge, we will have sod all money to spend at the end of the season if thats the case, which in turn will leave us struggling to make the top 4 for a long time to come.
I'll take absolutely no pleasure at the end of the season in saying "I told you so"
If you're right then I'll be the happiest man alive. Unfortunately i think your living in la la land.
I've not felt this bad about our club since the Souness era. Lets hope i'm very wrong.
This is the first time I've ever said enough is enough and spoken out against one of our managers in over 30 years of supporting this club, and you roll out the "superfan" speech.
I'll support the guy whilst he's here, I'll support the club until i die, whatever circumstances it finds itself in. I'll continue to get unreasonably upset for an adult when we loose, and ridiculously happy when we win. My love for Liverpool FC will never change.
None of that makes any difference to the fact that i think Rafa is taking us backwards. I'm no less of a fan for having that opinion.
For now all negativity is forgotten. We've got a game to win. Let's hope this will be the start of turning this mess around. YNWA.
A post from someone who is burying their head in the sand, or doesn't want to accept the truth. Rafa has been at Liverpool since 2004, his major trophy win, which fans keep harping back to when defending him, was the Champions league....but that was a side very much with players from a Gerard Houllier's side. Since then he has had time and money to make his own stamp on the team and has come back with nothing......no cups, no league trophy’s and now in the middle of their worst season since back in the mid 90's. Rafa has had his chance, if the poster was being true about his responsibility is to publicly support my club, then he also has to realise that he cannot back a manager who has clearly lost the dressing room, lost some respect and lost the plot. Its fans like that who gives the club a laughing stock image (for example....Newcastle Fans). Rafa's public apology was an embarrassment and insulted the intelligence of the fans, if the apology was true and meant then why was it pre-written, he managed to do ok when he ranted against Fergie. Another thing is, that the fans have for so long pointed the fingers at the owners, and have taken their eye of who really is in charge (incidentally how can the owners be at fault, considering they have backed Rafa in the market) A manager lives and dies by his signing’s...the cold light of the day is that Rafa has been shocking in the market. The Robbie Keane fiasco, letting Crouch go and what is the deal with the £20 million signing of Aquilani who seems to be too weak to play 2 games in a week??</SPAN> Moving on from the soap drama that is Liverpool, anyone watching the African Nation cup.....and anyone else, like me, hating those bloody horns that they blow for the full 90 mins. Learn some bloody songs damn it.
As if football itself wasn't bad enough these days, now we'll have the most annoying supporters ever. This one will be a tough World Cup.
@Liverpool: it's always been my favorite team outside Brazil, and I completely agree with Moose and Mackie... whatever Rafa started when he got there, it's simply not working for some time now. The team needs some sort of shaking, a change, new air, whatever. It's like he's just experimenting all the time and is never really sure what he wants.
If i wanted glory I'd have stopped supporting Liverpool 20 years ago. I'll still be supporting our team if it were in League 2. Where did i ever say i want glory? Your inability to read or comprehend never fails to amaze me.
What have Arsenal got to do with anything? What glory have they had in the last few years?
Stop talking complete nonsense.
I'd like to watch a team that plays with pride in the shirt, not a bunch of uninterested overpaid players who's idea of football is to hoof the ball aimlessly over and over.
The only people i see with no pride at the moment is the majority of guys in red shirts.
So what should change?
Hopefully Benitez will wake up and realise he needs to do things differently, not just in the short term, because ultimately the buck stops with him. He has had money (not Man city or Chelsea quantities, but still enough to sustain), he has had time. The players are his players.
He keeps saying it will turn around, but by the time it does, if it does, expectations will have dropped to the point where a UEFA cup spot next season will seem like an achievment.
Being proud to support your club doesn't equal blind faith that they are the best that they can be, and being happy with whatever they do, wherever they finish. It's just as much about wanting the best for your club, even if that means change.