Own up..

[Flight]

Come on. Seriously - Zenden in central MF over Stevie and Xabi ? Agger over Sami ?

 

 

 

Rafa is truly a genius. Best manager in the world, no Carlsberg about it.

 

When saw it I genuinely though, well I wouldn't have gone with it but I bet Rafa has got it right again.

[Sion]

I was unsure TBH, I did think we'd go in down at HT though then bring Gerrard etc on...

[Guest snez1]

Thought we'd easily be beaten. In fairness to Maureen and Chelsea, we did look a lot sharper than them though and Bolo and Momo ran the show first half. Pleasent that our squad is strong these days that Rafa can be without Stevie, Xabi, God, Sami, Bellamy and still beat Chelsea though even if they werebnn't in top shape.

[Cooldude]

Didn't think it was a bad side at all after seeing Chelsea went with two strikers, thought we could possibly get outran in the midfield if Chelsea played that 4-3-3 (4-5-1 whatever), but we ended up battering them in the midfield instead.

 

Was worried about Agger suddenly being given a game against quailty strikers after being out for god knows how long, but that just shows how much I know about the game (f*** all) and how much Rafa knows

Edited August 13, 2006 by Cooldude

[KD07]

Only hit me a bit later. Coming on the Moaner's earlier claims, countering it with such class by his selection, and pulling it off at the end.

 

I would take my hat off to him again, but he's already got most articles of my clothing that cheeky tubby Spaniard

[floyd the barber]

didnt worry me to be honest..

 

firstly, hypia generally hasnt had the best of times against drogba.....so agger comes in, someone who has a bit more pace and is stronger on the ball, drgoba didnt get a sniff..

 

finnan and riise full bks, reliable...no probs there.

 

Zenden and sissoko...well zenden was there to pick up the pieces and play it simple with sissoko racing around breaking up all of chelseas plays...

also garcia sat in deep, didnt look like he did a whole lot....but it broke down many chelsea attacks as many times they ended up 2 against 3 in center mid.

 

Pennant and gonzales on the wings to stretch out the chelsea midfield..

 

and crouch alone up front to hold the ball up and wait for pace on the wings as an outlet..

 

so , no.......i didnt think WTF when i saw the line up...

[Nebraska Red]

I had to check my vision as I saw Carra leading them out. I never saw any thing pre game and was stunned at the "weakened" line up.

 

After 20 minutes, I was no longer stunned.

[Romario]

Hands up big time.

I think Zenden was brilliant today. Best I've ever seen him play.

[lawrie]

OK I'll admit it, I thought we'd be f***** within the first 20 minutes. Rafa's a genius

[KD07]

He's only s**** on the wing.

[gkmacca]

We've been outwitted in the past few years, and that's hurt. Rafa outwits other managers. You can tell how much he unnerves Mourinho. I thought he'd written the match off today when I first saw that line-up, but how disciplined and clever we were! It was thrilling to watch. The man is really something special.

[hideNseek]

Thought we'd get well t****** with that team.

[Eiler99]

Zenden is excellent in the middle. Great squad player to have. In the first half him and Momo made Lapard, Ballack and Essien look like school boys.

 

Good game by Agger. Made it easy and looked comfortable which is impressive considering it's his first game this season and he's playing against one of the best teams in Europe.

[Ombudsam]

I thought it was a rubbish team. I was wrong.

[Mike]

nope, just laughed.

long since given up on second guessing rafa.

surprised any liverpool fans still think they know better.

[Nerik]

I was worried about lack of creativity with no Gerrard and Alonso starting. I was confident Agger could do well. I think this game proved that Chelsea lose out a lot when Makelele is out and that like England they will have the same problem if they play Ballack and Lampard in CM (same as Sven not dropping Lampard or Gerrard).

[John Barnes Testicles]

this is where I get to say "told you so!" to everyone slagging off Zenden after the match the other day. He's not the best on the wing - that's why he is fourth choice out there. In the middle, he has taken Didi's spot as a second choice central mid - and didn't he do well!

 

Must admit I was a bit surprised at the selection - but my first thought was that it would be a huge slap in the face for Moron-yo if we pulled it off!

[CarraLegend]

Come on. Seriously - Zenden in central MF over Stevie and Xabi ? Agger over Sami ?

Rafa is truly a genius. Best manager in the world, no Carlsberg about it.

 

When saw it I genuinely though, well I wouldn't have gone with it but I bet Rafa has got it right again.

 

Nope, I learnt the lesson against Betis away last season.

 

He's the best manager in the World and when he picks the team he thinks its the one best equipped to win on that day. That'll do me.

[Ombudsam]

I didn't think Beni was an idiot or anything. I just thought he didn't care that much if we won or lost and picked a team which reflected that.

[Ronnie Whelan]

surprised any liverpool fans still think they know better.

 

And there are still some who do.

 

The purchases this close season give us numerous potential lineups and make it really difficult for the oppostion to choose a line-up until they get our team sheet.

[Guest FrankH]

My first thought was Andy Gray will go on and on about how disappointed Gerrard will be at not playing etc etc

 

I love when our "best 11" plays (do we even have one) - I love watching the likes of Alonso, Gerrard and now Bellamy, Pennant etc but if Rafa doesnt pick I apreciate he knows a lot more than I do. Thats why I'll never doubt his selections before a game... Ill wait til after with my rose tinted glasses!!

[Guest Cameron]

I thought we'd get pasted. Glad I was wrong.

[AndyM]

My initial reaction was that we were starting with a weakened side so we'd probably only win 2-1.

 

This prediction was looking good round about the time we went 2-1 up and was proven to be correct just after the ref blew the final whistle, confirming we'd won 2-1.

[Gunga Din]

My initial reaction was that we were starting with a weakened side so we'd probably only win 2-1.

 

This prediction was looking good round about the time we went 2-1 up and was proven to be correct just after the ref blew the final whistle, confirming we'd won 2-1.

well predicted

[Hugh]

Not worried by Rafa's selections anymore. Dropping half the first team against Real Betis away last season and winning comfortably saw to that.