Skillz

Saturday, 11 March 2006 Birmingham 1-0 West Brom Blackburn 2-1 Aston Villa Bolton 1-1 West Ham Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham Everton 2-0 Fulham Portsmouth 1-2 Man City Sunderland 0-1 Wigan Sunday, 12 March 2006 Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool Charlton 1-2 Middlesbrough Man Utd 3-2 Newcastle Wednesday, 15 March 2006 Liverpool 2-0 Fulham

When you think about Parry/Moores who apparantly were looking at Mourinho very closely (as i would of expected at the time) as well as Rafa and decided JM was not the man for Liverpool after watching his antics at Old Trafford it reinforces my view that they are right in touch with the fans. Mourinho just would not of fit here, his lack of dignity and respect is against all things Red and for that i am thankfull. They (RP & DM) may not be perfect but they are Reds and they were able to see the potential disaster. I just know JM is spewing he did not get the job here and he never will. In fact his future is not bright in my opinion unless he changes his ways because to be the best you need the best players. I doubt many of the top players will play for a club that is represented so poorly in the public eye. Can see top players leaving before arriving at SB due to his behaviour. Ca see him being this summer, if not next, after we slap them.

This 2 commentator system is set up for one to call the game and the other to be critical, and i mean ultra critical. last few months have heard some shockers and it is frustrating and disgraceful at times. Agenda driven to spark controversy.

I agree about Traore, thought he looked solid enough at centre half, having said that Charlton had little going forward all night. I watched it twice now (both on TV) thought Harry was very good. I am a fan and am probably biased myself but i would of given him a 7. He had 5 shots on target, 2 off, great interception at the death was important. Went a little quiet for period of the second half when we utilised Cisse a lot due to his getting the better of Spector (looked ok himself and had a good battle with Cisse). Just thought 5 was very harsh.

Surely the same applies here. Harry was in no way a 5 and to rate him as low as that shows you have biased view of his expected performance. What he have to do to get a 6, dominate and score matchwinning goals!

Our league season this year is reflecting Rafa's 1st year at Valencia, where he won due to great defensive record. Rafa has learnt to control EPL games and with the right signings he will step us up to the level he had at Valencia in their 3rd year which scored plenty, 2nd to RM whilst still winning the title. Rafa will take us to the title and winning it now will mean so much more to me because Chelsea do not have an excuse.

Well said Rafa. Summed it up perfectly. Total respect for Van Basten but why use the media to make this point. Poor management especially as the player is likely to feature regularly from now on.

Saturday, 04 March 2006 Aston Villa 2-0 Portsmouth Fulham 1-1 Arsenal Liverpool 2-0 Charlton Middlesbrough 3-1 Birmingham Newcastle 1-1 Bolton West Brom 0-3 Chelsea West Ham 1-0 Everton Sunday, 05 March 2006 Man City 3-0 Sunderland Tottenham 1-0 Blackburn Monday, 06 March 2006 Wigan 2-1 Man Utd

He isnt going anywhere. all we have heard from rafa is he is staying, probably for 10-15 years if his word is anything to go by. For me his word is worth a lot more than speculative crap in the media. End of.

1. Kewell 2. Reina 3. Gerrard

It's not favouritism. Rafa has stated more often than i care to remember what is most important to him. i quote "the right mentality" FM has frustrated me because he looks a little lightweight & not quick/sharp enough but he has the right mentality and he works hard and does NOT hide. Cisse has not shown enough when he has had opportunities and for me his mentality is wrong. Rafa would know better than me if this is right but it is too easy to say it is favouritism. On top of all that Cisse is not suited to our play at all.

Agree with that. Just what we need in my opinion. Do not think he will be a one hit wonder as he has too much to bring to the table. In particular, finishing and youthful hunger.

I am blind in 1 eye and i will say unless he recovers 100% he will need to adapt. How long this takes depends on the extent of the injury. I suspect it isnt to bad and he will recover.

Well said. About time everyone admitted it is rafa who is pulling the punches. He may be limited by the amount he has to spend but he knows how much that is before every window and spends accordingly. Anyone who wants him to spend over budget isnt listening to his comments, which have been repeated more than enough.

Well said. I believe in Parry and Moores. They delivered Rafa FFS. They will not allow our traditions to go down the tube. Very disappointed so many are after the quick fix. What they say is right, the decisions they make will determine how our future goes. I for one are prepared to wait for the right investor, someone who has LFC best interests long term at heart. So Steve Morgan can go do one.

Interviewed in article in Australia last weekend before the Manusa game and he said he is still having problems with his groin to the point he needed treatment all day to get up for the Arsenel game. He didnt go past Neville very often and appears to have lost a half yard from two weeks ago IMO. Needs a rest i think but so does SG and a few others. He's gone past plenty of defenders prior to the Manu Game though.

Wednesday, 22 February 2006 Newcastle 1-1 Charlton Saturday, 25 February 2006 Birmingham 2-1 Sunderland Blackburn 2-2 Arsenal Charlton 1-1 Aston Villa Chelsea 2-0 Portsmouth Newcastle 1-1 Everton Sunday, 26 February 2006 Bolton 2-0 Fulham Liverpool 3-0 Man City West Brom 1-2 Middlesbrough

Didi was MOM for me. As for Kewell i was not suggesting he was MOM but it was not a poor game from him. His 1st half was excellant, 2nd half i would agree was not ideal. Overall though his game was good.

Me too. Reina 7 - stuff all to do Finnan 8 - great game after dodgy start Sami 7 - solid Carra 8 - Very impressive, particularly his anticipation Riise 6.5 - Worked hard Gerrard 7 - Quiet first half but better second and some great crosses Momo 8.5 - Fantastic game Didi 9 - Legend MOM Kewell 7.5 - great 1st half, quieter and should of scored in the 2nd Crouch 8 - scored the winner with a quality header and looked good Morientes 7 - Worked hard and looks to be fitting in better lately, needs a goal. Best we have played 442 IMO as momo and didi played so well it allowed SG and HK to play as proper wingers and stay wide. Thought the quality of crosses tonight bt the whole team was far better tonight (not before time either).

Seems my post was a waste of time?

thats where we differ. Going by your definition i would agree he has been "consistent" 50-60% but i would suggest serviceable for most of the others. Hows that sound Kewell will score more if playing from the right but considering his shooting/crossing boots are still to arrive it would be a mistake to play him there. His link up and wing play will create many chances on the left. When he gets his shooting boots back on he will swap more to the right and to the centre and score more. In the mean time i believe Rafa is playing where he is most comfortable and most valuable.

What i mean is only a few bad games. There has been quite a few average games but where he has still done his job reasonably effectively, so perhaps we just have a different interpretation of "consistent". Doesnt matter really as long as he keeps getting better from here on which i am fairly confident will happen.

I would say he has been consistent in almost every game (a couple poor appearances) he has played this season, gradually improving along the way. And by consistent i mean a rating of 6 or more. What gets me is i had to defend him on here for 18 months and now i find myself having to temper some for going over the top

As an Aussie who has seen him play a lot (TV, obviously) i agree with most here that there is still much to look forward too. In my opinion Positives - Defensive side of his game is better than ever. Shirked a couple against Wigan but that has been rare this year and his tracking back to help out the LB is far better than i have ever seen form him - Linking up play is really good, often simple intelligent passes to keep attacking moves flowing. Look forward to games where Gerrard is back in the middle as i expect HK to give him plenty of chances to run through on goal or tee him up - Heading is as good as ever. - run of consistency. I never understood what the supposed Leeds supporters used to say he was inconsistent. He was but only when injured or carrying injury. When fully fit he rarely play an average game let alone a bad one. Admittedly i did not every game but i did see a lot . This is why i was always confident Harry would return to form if he could get fit. To me it was obvious last year he was carrying injury and when they discovered his hernia during his groin op that explained a lot IMO. He has not played to many bad games for us this season which should be acknowledged. Negatives - Pace is a yard off, to be expected though and we may not see this again to next year (or ever! ) - Shooting is off but i have no doubt this is only a confidence thing and will return soon enough - poaching runs, however i suspect he is playing to instructions which means he may not be as prolific in scoring but his assists should make up for that. - Crossing is well below his leeds form and again is something i have no doubt he will pick up as his run of games continue. Having Fowler making intelligent runs is something Harry will pick up on and i expect Harry to set him up for few before long. I think what Rafa likes most of all is his intelligence (football brains ). Not many talk about that and to me it is his strongest asset and why he played so much last year even though he was nowhere near 100%. Amazed some think he gives the ball away far too much, i must watch a different game some times. The only times i see this is when he is trying too run past a defender and it doesnt come off but that is always going to happen, even Ronaldinho can run past every one every time. Anyway thats where i think he is. An important player for us at the moment, getting better and better and quite possibly back to his best next season (if not before).

1. Momo 2. Harry 3. Alonso