Beijing 2008 OIympics: Mascherano's 2nd Gold!

Monster Masch Claims 2nd Olympic Football Gold

On August 23rd 2008, the Reds’ midfield monster, Javier Mascherano made history by becoming the first Argentinean to have won 2 Olympic football gold medals. His first gold medal was won in Athens four years ago when Argentina beat Paraguay 1-0.

Masch found his way to the gold medal when his team of Argentinean wizards hold out Nigeria for a 1-0 win in Beijing. The goal was courtesy of Angel Di Maria, scored in the 58th minute of regulation time.

Masch will join up with the Reds back at Merseyside together with Lucas who won the bronze medal after Brazil beat Belgium 3-0 in the bronze medal match.
Congratulations to both and may you help us to glory in claiming numbers 19 and 6 come May 2009

International Friendlies – Reds in Action, By Jon Wong

International Friendlies – Reds in Action

As much as I hate the idea of international friendlies, they are very much a part of the football calendar. I just have no idea why UEFA and FIFA schedule them one match into England’s Premier League season. It’s just plain disruptive. I’ll leave that for another day.

Anyway, we had some Reds in action in midweek, representing their countries for badly scheduled friendlies. Reina, Alonso and Torres starred for Spain against Agger’s Denmark, Finnan made his international return with Keane for the Republic of Ireland, Gerrard played for England and Dossena earned his 2nd cap with Italy.

Alonso scored twice in Spain’s win against Denmark 3-0. Our new number 7 bagged his 34th international goal as the Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 with Norway. Both Gerrard and Dossena’s teams drew 2-2 with the Czech Republic and Austria respectively.

Fortunately, at time of writing, there’s no report of injuries to the Reds players, so here’s hoping we beat Boro this weekend with a fully fit team. Oh! And Babbel’s back from Beijing too.

Red Olympians, By Jon Wong

Red Olympians

It seems that Lucas Leiva took the above title too literally as he saw a red card flashed at his foul on his Liverpool team mate Javier Mascherano. The club mates were engaged in the Olympic Mens’ Football Semi Final where Argentina outclassed Brazil 3-0 to deny the World Cup winners an Olympic gold yet again.

Lucas was shown a straight red card while his team mate Thiago Neves was also sent off for a tackle on Mascherano as well.

Argentina’s goals came from a Sergio Aguero brace and a late penalty from Juan Riquelme. All goals coming in the second half.

Argentina now marches into the Final against African powerhouse, Nigeria this Saturday. Mascherano has the chance to earn himself a second Olympic gold medal while Lucas may have to settle for bronze should Brazil come out tops in the bronze medal match.

Good luck to both.

Jon W's View on The Barry Transfer Saga:

The Red’s Given a Barry-go-round?

Look, I don’t know about other Reds but me…I don’t think I rate Gareth Barry as much as Rafa seems to. Now I’m not saying that Rafa’s out of his mind to suggest the American w4nk3rs fork out £18mil for him, it’s just that I don’t think he’s worth that much. I’m not English but I’m all for seeing more local players being given a chance to shine on the pitch. However, the caveat is English players plying their trade in the UK cost a bomb. Who’d blame Rafa, the fergies, the russians and the whingers for bringing in foreign talent that cost a tenth that has more heart to play than the local lads?

Bottom line is Barry, in my mind should only cost about £8mil tops.

Then there’s the whole transfer issue with Rafa and O’Neill trading barbs and Barry adding fuel to fire by lambasting his manager all over the press. Bloody embarrassing. Bert suggested that the whole thing could have been avoided if Barry would just throw in his transfer request. It would have saved everyone a lot of headache. I didn’t think so at first. I just thought that Barry didn’t do so just because he needed the insurance that if our ‘proud’ owners refused to sanction the purchase, he’d still be a Villan. Now, I am not so sure. Why?

The sod is now cup-tied! He played in Villa’s UEFA Cup qualifier. The interview with O'Neill yielded this answer:

O'Neill added after the match that it had been Barry's decision to play.

"I had a talk with him beforehand. He was in the right frame of mind and wanted to play and there was nothing that would have stopped him which was very pleasing," he said.

"He wanted to play and he knew the consequences so the decision was very much his."

I thought he wanted Champions League football? If he was still hopeful and wanted to come to us badly, he would have begged not to be played. And hand in his transfer request too. Shows me one thing; he doesn’t have the heart and passion Rafa looks for. He can stay with the Villans as long as he wants to.

We’ve certainly been given the Barry-go-round. In a chat I had with Bert this morning, I created a new word to describe him. I can’t reproduce the individual words here since the content should be family friendly. The new term is ‘Fwankwitard’. It’s a combination of 3 very ‘poetic’ words. Can you make out what they are? A mug of bevy or Coke on me this Saturday if you can guess.

Reactions: Gerrard's latest interview! By El Presidente

OK, here comes a post that no one reads according to many. While we are on the issue of Gerrard, I think many has a valid point or points. For me, many fans are reading too much into the rant by him, however, many do have an opinion on him and most of them are right. My views as follow...

1.) Gerrard & the team, it seemed that he has this command over the team whereby many of the players felt compelled to pass to him when on the pitch, many a times I have noticed that the players could not play their normal game because of that. Kewell in his early days was very keen to run at defenders but many a times I saw him pad to square it 5 yards to Gerrard rather than take on the defenders and try to put the cross in. Lucas is another, on his first start, he did ok, but he would pass to Gerrard time and again even though there's better option. Once the players have more confidence and dare to "defy" this, we would be a better team.

2.) His best position, to me his best position is on the right of either a 4 - 3 - 3 or 4 - 4 - 2 or 4 - 5 - 1, in a nut shell he should play on the right. I asked Phil Neal the same question when he was down, and Neal answered that he felt that Gerrard is isolated and wasn't as involved when playing on the right and at times looked disinterested. I disagree with that, to me that would solve a lot if not all of the problems. With him on the right, the focus would shift to the right, dragging the opposite midfielder and left back towards him, leaving space in the middle for the likes of Alonso, Mascherano, Lucas or whoever playing rooms to exploit. With that the left side would be better with the likes of Babel, Kewell, Benayoun, Pennant vying for the spot, they could easily cut in and take a shot or go wide and put the cross in. This would also, take the focal point of attack from middle to the right. Which suits us fine, it's easier to play when everyone is concentrate on the right rather than middle, making it less congested. Don't forget, with him on the right, Alonso or Lucas in the middle, the threat become more as any of them could take a pop at goal either from the right or in the middle, regardless who's playing upfront. Another thing is that playing on the right doesn't mean he has to stay there all game, he can drift in and support or switch flanks. With a powerhouse like him on the right compare to a nimble footed player, I would go for Gerrard as he could power pass the player, release an overlapping right back, and head towards the near post for headers or loiter just outside of the area for 2nd balls.

3.) His heart, there's no denying that his heart is at Liverpool, but for how long? Don't forget his best friend left because he didn't think Liverpool weren't good enough and resulting us winning number 5. Would he follow suit? Maybe but not in the next couple of years. Even if he does, many reckoned that he would not play with the same heart and desire as with when he was playing at Liverpool.

4.) His actions, many reckoned he is wrong in coming out and say things like that but read it how you want as he is a fan like us who's priviledge enough to play for the team he loves. Also, because of his quality and the number of times he had rescued us, on top of that the media keep drumming the "Gerrard, the saviour" "Gerrard the man" thing, he began to believe in that and became Stevie Me, if somehow he can keep his feet on the ground or someone can drum that into him, he would become an even better player. All we need is a manager to tell him "think you're the man? Show me you're the man on the pitch. You said you love the team? Do as I say and I assure you that you'll be the man and win things with the team". The thing is that he believed too much of the media hype and sulk when he doesn't get the central role which is more glamorous. Perhaps he gets jealous when the plaudits goes to others.

5.) His form, many commented his form dipped lately, but if you watch closely, he has matured as a player, knows when to hold back and when to make the runs. Credit to the coaching team who pointed out the benefit of that to him, letting others take charge once in a while, only if they can coax him to play on the right on permanent basis, then we'll have a world beater on our hands.

6.) Selling him, there are benefits and disadvantage in selling him, one is obviously you just don't sell your best player, but is he is the root of the problem, perhaps that is the best way, and if we get a decent offer of say 25 - 30M (don't think anyone would offer more than that), perhaps we can use it to get a couple or 3 very good players that more than able to take his place. In fact, I reckon the saga back in 2005 had a big effect on the current team. When it was evident that he would go to Chelsea for 25M (or was it 35M? And according to me sources, he was supposed to go to Barca rather than Chelsea), Rafa would've already line up players to buy with that money, not necessarily his replacements, as we had Alonso and Didi then, not to mention Momo later (but that is later), with that, Rafa would be able to concentrate on more pressing issues such as striker and that right sided player that we so needed. With the budget thrown in, we could've built a good team capable of challenging for the title as the "disrupting force" is no longer there and that the players Rafa wanted to bring in would be his type of players who'd play for the team rather than themselves. HIs dramatic U turn threw everything in the air with Rafa had less money to spend on players and the so called disturbance is still there, albeit a very good player, but you get the drift.

7.) What now? The best solution in my humble opinion would be try and coax him into playing on the right, don't forget, he is a "fragile" character too, always needing that arm around him to reassure him that he is still the man although he is on the right, if that can happen, then we would have an exciting next season to look forward too with him bombing down the right and Torres and whoever banging in the goals.

Our Set Pieces, By Julez

The quality of our corners, free kicks and crosses are very very poor. How many times have we seen our corners, free kicks and crosses fail to pass the first defender? Do we practice these fundamentals in training? Because if the evidence on the pitch is anything to go by, then we need to practice a hell of a lot more. Set plays win matches. Chelsea are superb on free kicks and corners, and Arsenal and Manchester United are not far behind. We rarely get the ball over, and when we do, we rarely attack it with any confidence and conviction. We should be doing a lot better and scoring more from these dead ball situations.

Alex Miller and Angel Vales. Remember these names as they are the main training staff who are degrading our players day by day and providing wrong statistics to the manager. It makes me wonder what they do in training. We should get rid of them first before getting rid of misfits like Kuyt, Kewell, Riise, Aurelio or Pennant. We were already crap even when Paco was here, so don't come telling me its his departure that brought us to this situation. In almost every game, we are getting countless corners and free kicks which end up going no where and wasted.

Despite the Inter win, I still maintain that the tinker man had it all wrong yet again. And had we lost, everyone would have descended on him like a ton of bricks. We played against 10 for most of the game and the 2 goals we scored were almost accidental. Its as if the brief is for every player to take as many shot as possible in the hope that one of those will hit the target. There was hardly any well constructed moves. Even the ball down the middle to Torres, which he missed, was accidental. The rest appeared hap hazardous and clueless. I don't expect us to go past the next stage with this squad.

If I were training this squad , I would have every one of them doing two sessions a day, everyday. I would have:
- Gerrard, Bennyoun, Babel, Finnan and Kewell praticing free kicks and corners time and time again until they got things right.
- Finnan, Pennant, Bennyoun and Babel practicing crosses.
- Hypia, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Torres and Couch practicing getting on the end of these corners, crosses and free kicks.
- Carragher and Riise learning how to play the ball out from defence rather than hoof the ball upfield.
- Crouch learning how to head the ball correctly.
- Babel taught how to take the man on and beat him, plus shown how to keep his shots down.
- Kuyt, well I think I'd be out on the training pitch till midnight every night showing him exactly where the goal is and how to shoot on goal, plus explain that he should be in the 6 yard box rather than over by the corner flag.
- Kewell I would show him how to break sweat and Riise would be shown how to keep the ball from hitting low flying aircrafts.

Seriously, are our training staff coaching these things correctly? Because its sure as hell doesn't look like like it. These training exercises are basic skills, yet so many of our players seem to lack them. It does make you question what they actually do in training.

Stay Of Execution For The Gaffer? by JonC

With the English League season effectively ended by Barnsley, it's no surprise the verdict on the pedigree of Rafa the Gaffer (in the English game) is looking grimmer by the day. Now with just one egg left in our basket, it's been widely reported that the only way he'll save his managerial career at Melwood and Anfield is by winning the Champions League.

I for one am not convinced that the Gaffer has the X-factor to bring our "holy grail" home. His tactical knowledge of the game is second to none, but his man management skill is a big suspect - the boys are as confused as the opponent on our play. That's where we miss Pako TREMENDOUSLY - the human touch.

The great result from this morning's game vs Inter will buy him some time before the vultures starts circling around him again. But, long term wise, I just can't see how he can bring the team forward anymore in the EPL. We're improving, but the bigger problem is, the rest are improving at a far faster rate then us and leaving us wanting.

It's disheartening to be fighting for the 4th spot with the likes of Everton, Villa, Man City and Portsmouth. We and every other football fans know that with the kind of players we have, we are MORE than capable of mounting a serious and consistent challenge for the crown. Still baffles me how some of the best talents in the game can turn out to be so average looking in our team. The only consistent thing about our season for far is our inconsistency.

In order to avoid more disillusionment and disappointment, I've decided to watch matches with no expectation what so ever. This hopefully will save me from more heartaches from watching the drab footie we're dishing out. The only thing I ask for now is for us to play some decent pass and move football that we're so famous for.

We as the fans of the club should realised that nothing is bigger than the club itself - NOT Rafa, NOT Gerrard and NOT anyone. I can't help but think that some of us are still hiding in our comfort zone - still the best team in UK, 18 titles and 5 European Cups. We're so into our own "we're still the best" mentality, we're seriously not moving forward and still slumbering and dreaming. The faster we wake up to the reality of modern football and adapt, the faster we can shake the slumbering giant tag.

Off-field shenanigans has not help our course - it made everyone jumpy. The tension made the Gaffer lost a few marbles and definitely cost us a lot of points. The boys unfortunately got caught in the crossfire. In an ideal world, as well paid pros, they, in theory should not be effected too much. In reality, the after effects are there for everyone to see. With rumours of the Yanks selling out to DIC, and Rafa's head is on the chopping block again, the mood at the camp will be of an uncertainty.

It's in time of adversities like this, that everyone should look into themselves and rise up to the challenge. No point dwelling on all the problems and wallow in despair. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I'm seriously hoping the Gaffer and team is doing this.

As for me it's not just a question of should the Gaffer go or should we stay anymore. It's about the reputation of LFC thats at stake. When push come to shove, the club will need to seek a new direction regardless of the cost and the emotional pain that we'll have to pay. Short term pain for a better long term prospect and stability is a no-brainer.

I'll be sad if and when the Rafa the Gaffer go, but will be thankful for the 05 Champ League and the 06 FA Cup that he won for us. If he stays, I sincerely hope he'll adapt to the changes in the English game better for the sake of the team. Don't just do it for the sake of rotation and different opponents, do it to make the opponents play to our tune. Till then, I'll hold on to my realist views on his current regime until i see real signs of progress and not more excuses from everyone.

-JonC-

Head to Head - Jonno "El Presidente," The Loyalist / Optimist

Rafa Stays - Give Him Time

“Football fans are a fickle bunch” - this is the ultimate understatement of all time when it comes to football and supporting the club. When things are going great, winning games, getting to a final or wining a cup or two, the team is the best in the world, the manager is a master tactician and all other accolades one can think of.

However, lose a few games and suddenly it’s the manager’s fault - he has lost the plot, doesn’t understand English football or even doesn’t respect the competition. This is especially true this season, when expectations were running high all around. This was justified as Liverpool spent big in acquiring Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Leiva, Sebastian Leto as well as other youngsters.

The media labeled Liverpool as a genuine title challenger, just like in the previous 18 seasons. When Liverpool thumped Derby 6 – 0 at home everyone sang praises of the team, the manager and went on about how great this season will be for the Reds. Liverpool was said to break the tripoly of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U and make it a truly exciting four-horse race. However, things went a little awry in October / November and the wheels seemed to fall off, all fingers pointed at Benitez, calling for his head. Should Rafa really be sacked for the display this season? The answer is no.

Why? Simply because he is in the middle of his rebuilding exercise in putting together an exciting team to genuinely challenge for top honours for years to come. He is modeling the Valencia approach where the play is tight while not allowing opponents time on the ball and how the team attacks and defends as a unit while overwhelming opponents on the pitch, leaving them in awe of what just hit them. When you are rebuilding there will be times when things don’t go your way, when players are unsure of what they are supposed to do, of who should be making the run or taking the shots.

It’s just like when zonal marking was first introduced, it was ridiculed in the media, as well as everyone with half a brain, but today it is one of the most successful methods of defending used by nearly every football team. With Zonal marking, which took two years for the players to get comfortable with, we have conceded the least goals in the league for years to come now. This is a far cry from the Roy Evans era when we were scoring for fun but could not defend to save our dear life, resulting in spectacular clashes that were high scoring yet not good for the heart.

When Rafa first came in, he had a short month to bring in his players and put his ideas across before the season started. Many would argue that the players are professionals who train together everyday who should be able to forge the understanding and adopt to the coaches’ idea. How can one expect 28 players to know where the other is going to run or what he is going to do with the ball all at high speed mind you, with a leather ball that can react very differently to the touches and strikes. If a simple thing such as baton passing in relay runs take months to develop the understanding, what about 28 players with a ball and different pitch conditions? On top of that, you have different opponents doing different thing trying to keep you out. The first season is always going to be a clearing of deadwood, bringing in players and at the same time getting his ideas across. Then the next would be bringing in his own players, getting them to play the way he wants them to and enhance this and challenge for honours. This takes five years, hence the five-year contract.

Rafa overachieved in winning the Champions League in his first season with a squad that was not his own. He was also faced with the possibility of his captain leaving. This has serious repercussions to the planning of the team. The second time around Rafa would’ve identify Gerrard’s replacement as well as other players he can bring in to enhance the squad before the skipper made the mother of all u turns in a move that delighted many supporters but throw the plan into limbo. Suddenly Rafa did not have more money to buy players and change the team around the way he wanted to.

Then he then came the third season where he was trying things, putting his ideas across with the players warming to his way of playing in controlling matches but struggle to score. The general consensus would be if we get a top class striker, we would be able to challenge. How wrong is that, when you take out a player and replace it with another, you are changing the element and the set up of the team.

Of course with the new owners coming in, many were excited that we finally had money to spend to finally bring back the glory days to Anfield. However, after a bright start, the team unexpectedly hit a low and many were calling for Rafa to be replaced. It also emerged that the owners were trying to rid of Rafa by talking to another person in view to take over. This has clearly affected the team with lots of half hearted display and inept performance being dished out, making the owner’s decision to talk to Klinsmann a right one.

Many of the pundits and fans thought that the fact that he had money to spend this season means that we should be challenging as he came out asking for money, the fact is that we spent 56.95M in buying players while bringing in 26.25M in our player sales, making the net spent this season at 30.7M, not even enough to buy Anderson & Nani who are effectively squad players for Man U. bearing in mind, in his 4 years at Liverpool, Rafa had spent a total of 149.1M in which 14 is for Djibril Cisse, a player he didn’t sign, all this while bringing in 65.43M in player sales, making his net spent 83.67M. take away the 14M for Cisse, the net spent would be much higher, at 69.67M at an average of 17.42m per season, not even enough to buy Owen Hargreaves. The total net spent for the top 4 clubs in the 4 years Rafa has been in charged are as follow (in Millions of GBP):

*Click on the picture of the stats for a bigger view*

Also, do bear in mind that the other’s teams were build much earlier than that. Cristiano Ronaldo was acquired in 2003 and Rio Ferdinand acquired in 2002, both for a combined fee of 42.2M. While Arsenge Wenger has spent the last 6 to 7 years rebuilding his young squad and let’s not talk about Chelsea. So this talk about Rafa has money to spend is wide off the mark, he has essentially only spent about 17.5M per season BUILDING his squad while Alex Ferguson spent more than that (19.8M) ADDING on to his already good squad.

Another criticism of Rafa would be the way the team plays. Many are baffled by the set up of the team that is safety first before thinking about attacking. This is actually a pretty good tactic; it allows the team to absorb the play from opposition while looking for rooms to exploit in overwhelming them. Many of the naysayers are referring to the pass & move of the older days, but the thing is that pass & move football has been dead for 16 years now, it was killed by one of our greatest players who donned the Red shirt but an inept manager by buying duds. Rafa’s tactic is to allow the opposition to play, giving them the false sense that we are weak, in the process, tiring them out and take advantage of them towards the end.

The set up is aimed at taking full advantage of the pitch and qualities of the players we have, Gerrard for his tireless running, Alonso for his game reading and switch of play and Mascherano for his shackling of players while helping out the attack. It is the new way of playing football, a more modern way .

Many also didn’t like the deployment of Dirk Kuyt, who is a tireless worker. Most see him as someone who failed to score many a times and is a bit of a passenger to the team. However, it is his running that drags players wide and open up space for others to take advantage of. How many times we see him huffing and puffing closing the opposition down, defending from the top? This is the way that we should play where we constantly pressure the opposition, with subtle pressure that put doubt in opponent’s mind, ensuring we are always on top, even without the ball.

Others would argue that we are too defensive. It is not defensive, it is controlling the game. If you’re not building from behind, how are you to win matches? Building the team from the front will not ensure you score plenty of goals, but it sure would ensure you concede. This is why, most coaches not just Rafa, build the play from the back. In controlling the game, we could really hurt them where it hurts most, but this would require patience and slow build up, incurring most fan’s wrath for not being attacking minded enough.

Another favourite topic would be his rotation system. Rafa is not the only who rotates, but yet he gets the most flak, other managers rotates just as much if not more than Rafa but manages to get away with it. The idea of rotating is to rest players and at the same time give the others the much needed match fitness and understanding with one another. Rafa wants to mould the team like a well-oiled machine. On top of that, it will also ensure the players are fresh towards the end of the season where the games are coming thick and fast. Especially if we are to get to another final, the little extra bit is often the difference between winning and losing.

This season, there’s certainly more off field saga than before and it has also affected the performance of the team. How can players be expected to ignore the talk that goes on off the pitch? The uncertainty of their futures? With the possibility of a refinancing of 350M put to the club, it will certainly put more pressure to the players and at the same time, cause them to under perform. There are many instances where the team put out by Rafa should’ve beaten the opposition comfortably and the players did not step up to the mark when given the chances. Blaming the manager is just an easy way out when it is the players who are on the pitch battling it out.

If one is to call for Rafa’s head, who would replace him? How long would it be before the team gets up to mark again? Another four years? Wouldn’t that be unfair to Rafa who is half way there? Rather than sack him, why not give him the backing he clearly deserves and see what happens next season, when he’d be on his final year of the contract. The thing is that Man U almost made that mistake in 1990 in deciding Alex Ferguson’s future. The FA Cup win saved his job and look where he is now?

Another good example to is Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, he was given the time and more importantly, the faith to build his squad, with the management interfering, not less in thinking of sacking Rafa, it would only makes matters worse and make our beloved club a laughing stock in the footballing world.

Jonno "El Presidente" Jan 2008 ©

Head to Head - Mark Lee, The Realist aka Devil's Advocate

In Rafa We Trust, Or Do We?

It has been near two long decades since the city of Liverpool has turned up in the thousands to see the league title being paraded around the streets. Gerard Houllier ignited what must have been merely a flickering ray of hope in the hearts of all Liverpool fans when he won 5 trophies in just one season. He however failed to deliver what all Liverpool fans must be longing for, the Premiership title. Under his tenure we came close at one point, finishing 2^nd, just 7 points behind eventual Champions Arsenal. Expectations were high but we went on a free fall thereafter, finishing 19 and then 30 points behind the champions. It was the opinion of all involved with Liverpool Football Club and it’s fans that the gaffer had lost the plot. His negative brand of football became a bore to watch and, we became predictable.

Enter Rafa Benitez,

Progress in the Premier League

In his first season, we finished 5^th accumulating 58 points, a whopping 37 points behind eventual winners Chelsea, which was worse than we fared the season before under Houllier when we finished 4^th with 60 points, 30 behind winners, Arsenal. Fair play, it was only his first season in charge and he had to clear up the mess left behind by Houllier.

In his second season at the helm, we were much improved and finished 3^rd with 82 points. We had closed the gap to eventual winners Chelsea, to just 9 points and finally, we looked as though we were moving in the right direction. Surely we were going to mount a serious challenge next season?

In his third season however, the adverse happened and although we still finished 3^rd, we only managed to accumulate 68 points and finished 21 points behind Manchester United. This was masked of course by the fact that once again, The Mighty Reds had progressed to yet another European Final only to fall at the last hurdle to AC Milan, whom we had vanquished just 2 seasons prior. The irony is that although we played better this time round, we lost, after having been outplayed by AC Milan back in 2005 only to prevail after outstanding heroics from individuals such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Didi Hamann and Jerzy Dudek.

This season, we find ourselves currently lying 5^th with 50 points, 14 behind current leaders Manchester United albeit with 1 game in hand. We have 16 games left in the season and it is unlikely that we will see number 19 being paraded around Liverpool this season, given the kind of football we have been playing, and the situation regarding ownership. I will patiently wait until the end of the season to see where we finish but based on current form, we may again find ourselves finishing 20 points behind the eventual winners.

Statistically speaking anyway, we haven’t made any progress in the league.

Building a team

Though Rafa has had managerial experience prior to taking the helm at Valencia, he attained little success, notably in helping Segunda Divison side CF Extramadura gain promotion to the Primera Division only for them to be relegated after just 1 season at the top. Although he did win the Primera Division in his first attempt with the club, one has to note that he inherited a team brimming with potential from Hector Cuper. In the side were established internationals like Santiago Canizares, Roberto Ayala, Ruben Baraja, David Abelda and Pablo Aimar. He also made good use of Mista who went on to become top goalscorer for Valencia with 19 goals in the 2003 – 2004 campaign, and Curro Torres who became an established international. Rafa did also achieve European success when he guided Valencia to a 2-0 victory over Marseille in 2004, but this was a team that had in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, reached not one but two Champions League finals. So the question is, do the runners-up in the Champions League have the caliber to take it “up a notch” and win Europe’s 2^nd tier competition, the UEFA Cup? I’ll let you be the judge.

After having signed for Liverpool, Benitez found himself in a very similar position, inheriting an underperforming team featuring the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia. Rafa had barely arrived when Owen was sold to Madrid but Gerrard, Carragher, Finann and Hyypia are still very much a part of his setup. He however also inherited fringe players like Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou that were simply, not up to mark.

Since becoming manager, Rafa has made 36 signings and sold 56 players (not including loan deals), with only Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger, Momo Sissoko, Luis Garcia, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant, Pepe Reina, and Alvaro Arbeloa being regulars at some point. It is a sure thing that more will come and more will go with John Arne Riise, Dirk Kuyt and Momo Sissoko being likely casualties. Is the fact that so many players have come and gone a sign that Rafa doesn’t yet know what he’s looking for? Is it a sign that he isn’t good at spotting talent? Even I can spot a superstar like Fernando Torres and my managerial experience is limited only to the Championship Manager and Football Manager series. What makes us different is that he and his team should be able to spot talent and not just the end product after years of nurturing and development. Benitez was once famously quoted for saying, “I asked for a coffee table and they gave me a lampshade” at his time in Valencia, referring to the fact that the club was not signing the players he requested for. Is he now out buying coffee tables when we need lampshades? Just like how switching managers too often will be counterproductive as it takes time to build winning team, will switching players too often result in the same? It does affect a teams harmony and balance, does it not? Should players be given time, just like managers? If we are willing to give Rafa another few years at the helm, why not players like Momo Sissoko?

Tactical Genius?

If there is one thing that most Liverpool fans agree on Rafa, is that he is a tactical genius. I mean this was the man who arguably inspired the comeback in Istanbul, or was it the fans singing away at halftime? Recognising the threat from Kaka, Rafa called on the defensive minded Dietmar Hamann in place of Steve Finnan. It worked! Hamann neutralized the threat from the Brazilian, allowing Steven Gerrard to wreak havoc in the AC Milan half. It must be said though the Steve Finnan did sustain an injury, which is the main reason he was taken off. The decision was forced upon Rafa and he only had to decide whom to bring on in his place; the hapless Josemi, Antonio Nunez, Djibril Cisse, Vladimir Smicer, Scott Carson or Didi Hamann. Then there was the selection of Harry Kewell that baffled Liverpool fans. This was the first of two European Cup finals that Kewell coincidentally recovered in time to be a part off. Some may question his methods domestically but it would seem that he has what it takes to beat Europe’s finest.

In the Premiership, Rafa seems to be struggling to find the right formula. We have yet to beat Man Utd in the league over 7 games. Not only that, we are still struggling to beat mid-table sides. This is where I raise questions over some baffling decisions that he has made. While I have nothing against rotating players, why is it Rafa seems intent on rotating tactics every time? We may moan about being a player or two away from being able to compete (isn’t this what we have been saying for some time now?), but in the likes of Sami Hyypia, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Steve Finnan, John Arne Riise, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Harry Kewell, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, we have 14 internationals, not to mention Jamie Carragher or Pepe Reina which will walk into the first teams of many clubs. Should we not be expected to at least beat the likes of Wigan, Birmingham and Reading? Instead, we almost lost to Luton Town despite fielding 9 internationals? While fans may argue that some of these players may not be all that good, surely they aren’t as poor as a vast majority of the players from mid-table sides??? Why do we need to adapt our tactics to our opposition? Why can’t we develop a solid system of play and have smaller clubs adapt to ours? As it is, our players look like strangers on the pitch and every pass made seems to take a lot of effort. How many times have we seen passes go astray, long balls played up into now man’s land, and players passing the ball in front of the opposition defence, clueless as to how to break them down? How much variation in team tactics do you see the other big sides adopt especially when playing smaller clubs? We should impose our brand of football on them and not have it the other way.

It may just be me but from what I’ve seen, our players look restricted when they are on the pitch. Being the tactician that he is, I fear Rafa looks at his players as pieces on a chessboard. I sense that the players are playing to very specific instructions and have little opportunity to fully express themselves on the pitch and therefore, impose themselves on the game.

What now?

I have been a supporter of Liverpool Football Club for the last 20 years of my life and I will continue to be one till the day of my demise. I will not however in blind faith, hope for happy days when I know something is amiss. Is it something that time will solve? Does the manger need more time? If so, how much time? Some fans suggest he be given until the end of next year but I have to ask these same fans if they honestly believe that our fortunes will change over just one season? If the trend of bringing in new players one season only to shaft them the next continues, how are the players going to be able to familiarise themselves with one another? Is he really a tactical genius or do we keep repeating it out of hope alone?

If anything, we Liverpool fans are somewhat guilty of living in the past. Sure, our past is what enriches our mighty club but we have to live in the present to secure a bright future, do we not? When problems arise, we need to address them with urgency and not hope that just because things turned out positively in the past, it will do so again. Fans today utter the words, “In Rafa we trust”. Most I’ve encountered however actually mean, “ In Rafa we hope”. To trust somebody, we need to know that the person in question can be counted on. We have both logical and emotional reasons to do so. So far, it would seem to be that many Liverpool supporters have strong emotional reason to do so, but very few I’ve encountered have logical ones. When asked what makes them think Rafa will bring us forward, they refer to Istanbul, the 2006 FA Cup Final, Athens, his record at Valencia, his tactical approach to the game but nothing on the present and nothing to justify why they call him a tactical genius. Sure there was Istanbul but what about the other 38 league games?

I do hope I am proven wrong this season. I do hope Rafa will wave his magical wand to bring our team out of its slump. I do hope he will deliver but I simply cannot blindly accept that he will without any evidence or justification.

To the more optimistic supporter, I ask you this, "What about Rafa makes you think that he is the man to bring home the elusive number 19?" "what makes you think you can trust him?"

Mark Lee, Jan 2008 ©

The Truth: We're Not Good Enough, By Jon Cheah

JonC's take on the 1st half of the season

A season that started rather brightly and brimming with hope and anticipation soon turned into another huge disappointment. We are better as a team compared to last year, BUT the other top 4 teams are getting even better than us and are leaving us in the clouds of their dust. Again, possession, draws and bluntness in front of goal do not win you matches let alone championships.

The plain truth is painful and very disappointing to see - we are not good enough and the tag line - "cup team" will again stay with us for this season. Our quest for the "Holy Grail" and no.19 is fast turning into stuff of nightmares. Questions will be ask of Rafa's tactics (some of his team selection is mind-boggling to say the least) and everyone's favorite topic - rotation. I am beginning to think all the chopping and changing to protect the players has somehow led to a lack of understanding and continuity between the team. How often have we seen stray passes, runs into no-man's-land, and lack of cohesion in our attack?

It's becoming so apparent, we cannot play against teams that pack the midfield and park their team bus in front of goal (this must be a whole chapter in itself in the tactics manual for all EPL managers). We lack the flair and creativity to unlock these teams. I'm still not seeing much of the promised return to the "pass and move" football that all of us love so much. When we did, like the buildup to Torres's goal this morning, we can easily pick defenses apart. I cannot understand and comprehend why we cannot get the 2nd goal to kill off our opponents, especially when we already know our defenses have been shaky and leaking in goals. Sometimes it's like we're too afraid to loose and not brave enough to win.

Surprisingly, we suffered the same Jekyll and Hyde symptoms of uncertainty and patchy form in Europe early on. A return to form came just in time for us to go through to the last 16. I personally was not placing UCL high on the agenda for the club, like most that grew to love the club in the 80's, the aim will always be the EPL title. Therefore, the thought of again putting all our eggs into one basket is beginning to sound stale and making me cringe in disgust.

The turmoil in the back room and the return to reality after the "feel-good" period since the take over is another source of worry and discontent to Reds all over. The initial "Snoop Dog" promise and talk is fast becoming a distant memory. Well, to be fair to the new owners, they did get "Snoop" - in the form of El Nino, but they forgot to get his fur coats, and other "bling-blings" to complete the "pimped out" process.

Another thorn in everyone's eye is the new stadium plans. I personally think, Gillet & Hicks bit off more than what they can chew when they released the spectacular new design and plan; only to change their mind after running into major cost setbacks. Fair enough, none of us wants to put the club in the red and end up having to freeze all transfer activities. But to make a u-turn and come out with all sorts of excuses with the mad processor looking Rick Parry, is making a mockery out of us, the supporters.

The sad episode with the washing of our dirty linen in public was another source of major disappointment. Rafa's outburst was wrong - make not mistake about it. The reply from the owners through RP wasn't convincing either. Thank goodness the differences has been solved, for now that is. I wouldn't be surprised if it flairs up again with the transfer talk and recent form of the team. The only positive to take from this madness was, it brought majority of the fans together in support of the gaffer - a show of people power.

Money is fast becoming a big issue with the club. The reports and details of the debt refinancing process is another major source of concern. It's beginning to look more and more likely to be secured on the coffers and assets of the club. So, there goes the "debt-free" promises so loudly applauded earlier on.

All-in-all, it's been a crazy 1st half of the season and I am certainly getting agitated and somewhat tired with all the "interesting" things thats been happening in the background and all around the club. I just hope that by the end of the season, our perseverance and patience will be rewarded with a respectable finish on the EPL table (3rd will be a rather bitter consolation) and no.6 in our trophy cabinet in Anfield. I'm still looking forward to jumping into the water fountain near M Bar when we eventually win no. 19 or no. 6. Until then all of us can only hold on to our dream of that elusive no. 19 title and the fact that we will never ever walk alone.

-Jonc-

Disaster in Istanbul by Mark Lee

The Draw - Room for optimism
Come on now lads. Tell me what each of you thought when you first saw the draw. We all knew that Marseille and Porto would not be pushovers but I don't think any of us expected to be outplayed by either of them, not after the number of quality signings we made. Not one of us could have been blamed for thinking that this team would be better and stronger than the last. We made additions to the team and to have thought that we would be playing piss poor football would have been blasphemous.

The Reality
After just 1 point from a possible 9, we are bottom of Group A and it looks almost certain that we are halfway through our campaign in this years Champions League. UEFA Cup Champions anyone? Perhaps we will look more at home in Europe's 2nd tier tournament. Marseille top the group with 7 points, Porto are 2nd with 5 points, Besiktas are 3rd with 3 points and last seasons finalists are dead last with 1. Even if we are to score maximum points from now, we will have to hope that Porto falter to either Marseille or Besiktas. European adventure well and truly over? A friend of mine had said he feared another Basel when he saw the draw and it looks like his fears have been realised.

Toothless
I'm sick of hearing how we played well despite losing. Let's be realistic now and put things into perspective. Yes, we did create chance after chance and yes, we did have the lion's share of possession but in the end what wins games? You got it, goals and unfortunately for us, they are as common as a saber tooth tiger. We signed exciting forwards in Voronin, Torres and Babel. Ok so Torres was out with an injury but I would hate to think we are only reliant on one individual to get us goals. Torres isn't going to play every game and he isn't going to be impervious to injury. We were playing one of the worst teams in Europe and we struggled to score! Our forwards were virtually non-existent and were spotted in the 18 yard box as often as Everton wins trophies. Don't get me wrong. It's great that we have so many players who are willing to work their socks off but it would be fabulous if one of them could stick the ball in the the net with some degree of regularity.

Before we had a problems with dodgy keepers who in spite of being big blokes, inexplicably had problems dealing with aerial threats. Cometh Pepe Reina who commands his airspace well despite other faults. Now it seems we have been stricken with another virus and inhibits us from scoring. Something in the water?

The Besiktas Faithful
A truly passionate bunch that never stopped singing or chanting the entire game. There were some shots of them moving about in unison and it was truly a sight to behold. Reminds me of what the Kop used to look like back in the day. The Besiktas Ultras are fans of the English game and many of them have expressed admiration for Liverpool because they believe that like us, they are the people's club. They are also a working class club who's fans show and undying devotion to the club. Did anyone hear our rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" towards the end of the match? It's not big secret that our song is famous world wide and the home fans showed some respect by applauding us when we sang it. Aside from the moment Stevie G's well placed header found the top corner, it was the only time the home fans weren't singing or chanting.

To look at it from another perspective, I couldn't help but wonder if the home fans were there to intimidate other first with the thought of supporting their teams second. I have much respect for Besiktas fans because of their passion. A few of them have also posted on RAWK showing their admiration for us but a particular scene of Pennant getting pelted by a projectile somewhat warped my perception of them. It then occurred to me that it wasn't just about supporting their team, it was about intimidating the opposition. I can't blame them really. Being one of the worst teams in Europe, they need to resort to every conceivable means that will give them an edge, and it worked.

Sami Hyypia
Poor old Hyypia, his heart is in it but his legs are shot and he knows it. You'll still see him getting forward each time he can, eager to make things right but deep inside he must know, his time is up. I found it a little harsh that they credited the goal to Sami. If anything, the ball deflected of his booth, it's not like he diverted it into goal. For a living legend that has achieved so much in his time here, it's sad to think his last memories of the club will to have put 2 goals into his own net in consecutive games. On a scale of 1-10, I don't think Sami has rated more than 5 in any of his games this season. Harsh but true. We love you Sami, we do and parting will be such sweet sorrow. We had good times but all good things come to an end. I think it's time that Rafa takes a gamble and fields players for the future like Jack Hobbs.

Rafa Benitez
He is not above criticism and it is foolish to think that he is. With our Champions League campaign looking all but over, the pressure will be on him to perform in the league. There are no more distractions now and failure to achieve anything other than a top 3 finish will be unacceptable. Next we play host to an Arsenal side in devastating form, as opposed to our indifferent one. If Besiktas could put 2 past us, how many do you reckon we'll concede on Monday morning?

It may be a little too soon to say this but this could be the game that defines our season. Arsenal will be 9 points clear of us should they win and in todays competition, 9 points is a mountain, especially given the inconsistent form we have been in.


I can imagine our rivals reinventing our song. "We won it 5 times... In Istanbul we won it 5 times" No wait, "You lost it this time... In Istanbul you lost it this time".
__________________________________________________________
"Let us all hope that the shadow of this defeat does come to haunt us when we meet Arsenal this Sunday"- MyRAWK Admin

and for all those out there..............there is DEC 16!

Barclay’s Premier League Post Match Comments & Rants: Hyypia 1 v Liverpool 2, By Jon Wong

I am more than glad to type up this piece. I am absolutely ecstatic at the derby win and more so with each goal coming from a penalty with sendings off thrown into the fray. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t join the lads and lasses at MBar last night as I am sure the place would have gone mad at the final whistle. I had to settle high-fiving my son and throwing punches in the air at home.

After last season’s 0-3 heartbreak in the same fixture, it was about time the ref threw some shite decisions the other way of Stanley Park. It made up for the 2 goals they scored, resulting from fouls which the ref didn’t give in favour of us last season. However, Rafa thinks the ref had a good game. On Sky Sports, he was reported as calling the blueshites “a small club” again and called Lescott a diver. Rafa, you’re the gaffa; so whatever you say!

Having said all that, I didn’t think it was a particularly excellent performance from us but glimpses of a title-winning team did rear its head in the game. Even Gerard had an ok game but I thought he played much better in the 2nd half until he was subbed. At that point, it was 1-1. I thought to myself, WTF???!!! Gerrard was providing us with the drive and penetration that used to be his hallmark before he went for England duty against Estonia and Israel and Rafa is pulling him out? WTF?? Even Captain Marvel himself was flabbergasted upon seeing his number 8 on the board. I was already slagging Rafa off by then.

The difference in performance I felt this game and those forgettable ones preceding this was that more players showed up and played their part. Rafa was always the man. I guess it’s easy for me to say this now as we won the game but many of us were being less than objective about Rafa when we were playing like schoolboys; I am guilty as charged. Just shows how winning actually changes things. A bit fickle on our part but I guess it’s just part of the game isn’t it? I swear I’ll not question Rafa again. Well, not until we lose again or start dropping points against the likes of Chelski, Manure and Gooners.

Till then, I’m gonna enjoy bragging about our win with an ex-colleague and my MD who are life-long blueshite fans.

Well in, lads and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Walk on,
JonW

Our winning highlights....Viva Liverpool FC!


Kuyt Goals Vs Everton -

UCL Post Match Comments & Rants: Liverpool 0 v Marseille 1, By Jon Wong

I jumped from my bed at 3.30 am. Damn! Woke up late for the match. My alarm didn’t go off. The 2nd half should have kicked off….hmm……1-0 to Liverpool? To my surprise, the 1st was still going on but had 10 minutes to play. 0-0 was the score and I thought, maybe Marseille are not pushovers after all despite languishing in 17th place in the French league.

Liverpool 0 Marseille 1 - Valbuena

Marseille looked confident, passing the ball like we should be doing at Anfield. They looked more like a top 4 league side than we were. Heck I thought even Derby looked better than us. I didn’t like the fact that Crouch started alongside Torres. WTF? Are we playing away? The onus should be on us to twat them at home.

The 2nd half was so painful to watch. I had expected Kuyt to replace Crouch at about 60 mins but instead only came on in the 75th, way too late. Where the hell was Gerrard in all of this? He’s performance has been disappointing since he came back from England duty. One could argue that he was exerted in the England games and played with a damaged toe. It could have been that his head was with the silly manc kid who ran out in front of his Bentley. Come on, Stevie-lad….you’re a professional. Get your head straight.

Throughout the 2nd half, Marseille looked like Liverpool and Liverpool looked like Shrewsbury. Slick passing was the order of the night but not for Liverpool though. We just couldn’t string passes together and kept giving away possession. It was this deadly habit, which gifted Marseille the goal they so richly deserve albeit they should have won 0-2 if not for the offside flag that ruled out Marseille’s 1st half goal by Karim Ziani.

We hardly threatened the Marseille goal. I couldn’t recall a decent attempt at goal until we had already conceded and Benayoun who had rescued us in the last 2 games headed wide and Torres hit the post amidst a scramble in front of goal in added time.

Why were there 5 changes made to the team and why Kuyt didn’t start I wouldn’t know. I’m not Rafa. It is fair to say that the players let Rafa down but it can also be argued that Rafa did not play his best 11. I know, I know. We’ve all been down this road before. If we win, Rafa is the world’s best tactician, but we lost therefore we question him. Sack Rafa for Pete’s sake. I feel despite my reluctance to accept rotation, it has worked before. This time round, I think the players have let Rafa and Reds all over the world down. It is epitomized in the performances of Stevie Gerrard recently.


One could give a rat’s behind about the Champions’ League this season as we chase after No. 19 but the performances in the CL and league are hardly motivating and teams are beginning to think to themselves we can pick Liverpool apart. Maybe rival managers are beginning to figure Rafa out, maybe Rafa’s losing it, maybe the players are on the take, maybe the refs are on the take, maybe the players don’t give a crap.

Whatever it may be, the rot had better stop now. Otherwise, we're gonna be finding ourselves scrapping for a Champions’ League spot again and maybe, just maybe, win the League Cup. And that is a very optimistic view on my part already.

Come on you Reds. We are Liverpool Football Club. Not the Mickey Mouse Club.