Brutal is an understatement

[anfield11]

Brutal is an understatement. We were absolutely sh*t and probably deserved to lose and that was against a team with Heskey and Bramble in it, not to mention Glass Goalie.

 

When I saw the line-up, I thought well, at least he's not playing a weaker team [which I expected BTW]. The way it was first posted, I expected Gerrard right up with Torres, which didn't happen.

 

So Rafa, what the feck are you thinking, one up front against this dross. Oh, steady, you were probably thinking that Kewell and Pennant would maybe get in the box!! How many times did we have more than one, two at most in the box....shocking. Finnan [who has become as slow as molasses in January] was in their area more. Hell they had more bodies in our area when they attacked. I'm even baffled why, if you play HK and JP, who have both been out for a while, you don't have Babel to come on for them. For me, one at least, would have been off before half time.

 

If Rafa [or is it the 2 Yanky Muppets], isn't prepared to sell what ever of this fringe dross we have to, to keep Masch, then I give up!! Take a look at Gerrard's stinging free kick and see who was closest to the rebound...what the hell were the other statues doing!!!

 

I get encouraged by a good performance at Man City, only to have this crap.

 

Ratings:

 

Reina - 7 - Did what he had to do. Looks more comfortable with the ball at his feet than most of our players.

 

Finnan - 5 - credit for the goal run...other than that...lead in pants. He's now second fiddle to Arbeloa.

 

Carra & Arbeloa - 7 - Nothing much wrong.

 

Aurelio - 6 - Offish game, still better than Riise

 

Pennant - 3 - Really not sure why I am marking him that high. If we can get what we paid for him....bye bye....that leaves only £10 Mil more for Masch.

 

Gerrard - 6.5 - Really didn't impose himself at all.

 

Mascherano - 7.5 - Only him and Torres of the out field players were any good.

 

Alonso - 5 - Good footballer....but is he really too slow and paranoid about getting anywhere within 30 yards of the oppo goal?

 

Kewell - 4 - Bad...slow...can't beat a man. What he's showed since back, doesn't warrant a contract extension.

 

Torres - 8 - MOTM....he nearly bailed us out again.

 

Subs

 

Rafa's mistake not having Babel on the bench.

 

The rest had no impact. Crouch...sell him, still can't head a ball. Kuyt criticize him if you like, but at least he runs his heart out, not like some of these Nancy Boys.

 

MY BLOOD IS BOILING

[The_Adder]

Brutal is an understatement. We were absolutely sh*t and probably deserved to lose and that was against a team with Heskey and Bramble in it, not to mention Glass Goalie.

 

When I saw the line-up, I thought well, at least he's not playing a weaker team [which I expected BTW]. The way it was first posted, I expected Gerrard right up with Torres, which didn't happen.

 

So Rafa, what the feck are you thinking, one up front against this dross. Oh, steady, you were probably thinking that Kewell and Pennant would maybe get in the box!! How many times did we have more than one, two at most in the box....shocking. Finnan [who has become as slow as molasses in January] was in their area more. Hell they had more bodies in our area when they attacked. I'm even baffled why, if you play HK and JP, who have both been out for a while, you don't have Babel to come on for them. For me, one at least, would have been off before half time.

 

If Rafa [or is it the 2 Yanky Muppets], isn't prepared to sell what ever of this fringe dross we have to, to keep Masch, then I give up!! Take a look at Gerrard's stinging free kick and see who was closest to the rebound...what the hell were the other statues doing!!!

 

I get encouraged by a good performance at Man City, only to have this crap.

 

Ratings:

 

Reina - 7 - Did what he had to do. Looks more comfortable with the ball at his feet than most of our players.

 

Finnan - 5 - credit for the goal run...other than that...lead in pants. He's now second fiddle to Arbeloa.

 

Carra & Arbeloa - 7 - Nothing much wrong.

 

Aurelio - 6 - Offish game, still better than Riise

 

Pennant - 3 - Really not sure why I am marking him that high. If we can get what we paid for him....bye bye....that leaves only £10 Mil more for Masch.

 

Gerrard - 6.5 - Really didn't impose himself at all.

 

Mascherano - 7.5 - Only him and Torres of the out field players were any good.

 

Alonso - 5 - Good footballer....but is he really too slow and paranoid about getting anywhere within 30 yards of the oppo goal?

 

Kewell - 4 - Bad...slow...can't beat a man. What he's showed since back, doesn't warrant a contract extension.

 

Torres - 8 - MOTM....he nearly bailed us out again.

 

Subs

 

Rafa's mistake not having Babel on the bench.

 

The rest had no impact. Crouch...sell him, still can't head a ball. Kuyt criticize him if you like, but at least he runs his heart out, not like some of these Nancy Boys.

 

MY BLOOD IS BOILING

 

 

Cant argue with any of that.

 

A front 6 containing 4 players who simply dont score left us wide open - we had Stevie and Torres who can, one did, not good enough.

[Crazy Horse]

I reckon Rafa's fecked now. Brace yourselves for Mourinho, or the chap who's got Villa up to 6th.

[Earl Hafler]

Pennant's no scapegoat, he's not the reason we lost but his selection is symptomatic of some of Rafa's decisions this season.

 

f***ing terrible result, performance.

 

At home to Wigan, there should be no reason to play the defensive line-up of two centre mids and Gerrard. One wide player who doesn't score, another who hasn't scored in ages. Mindboggling.

 

 

Fuel to the fire underneath Rafa's seat.

[Eskimo]

IMO the team Rafa picked was, on paper at least, more than capable of beating Wigan.

[Guest RedLegend]

IMO the team Rafa picked was, on paper at least, more than capable of beating Wigan.

 

That's getting to be a familiar tune though.

[Billy Dane]

IMO the team Rafa picked was, on paper at least, more than capable of beating Wigan.

 

Wouldn't disagree, which brings into question team motivation - surely the manager's job?

 

One thing about Wigan, they never stopped closing down the player on the ball which exposed the inability of too many players in our team to pass the ball accurately.

[Earl Hafler]

IMO the team Rafa picked was, on paper at least, more than capable of beating Wigan.

 

Lack of goals in the side.

 

Very little cohesion, understanding between defence and midfield, midfield and attack.

Just what exactly were we trying to do ? ( Charlie Nicholas would love that )

Kewell isn't on form, Pennant back from injury.

Xabi and Mascherano offering little in terms of support ( when Xabi first arrived, he used to get forward more ) and at times we looked scared of getting into their area.

[Mike]

I reckon Rafa's fecked now. Brace yourselves for Mourinho, or the chap who's got Villa up to 6th.

seriously, why would you want to brace yourself for mourinho? cos hes a c***?

everyone knows we'd have more chance of winning the league under him. they do really don't they.

[Leo No.8]

Playing in an attacking style with one up front is only possible if you have two sh*t hot flying wingers who play like right and left sided forwards and support the striker.

 

It was clear tonight that Kewell wasn't up to much; I have always defended Harry but he looked f*cked after about 5 minutes tonight, yet there was no Babel on the bench. Pennant doesn't get into scoring positions so what resulted was a genuine one up front with an isolated Torres which is a serious issue in a game we absolutely have to win.

 

He has been shoving Babel out on the left when we've played 4-4-2 which doesn't suit him at all, then when we want to play what equates to the 4-3-3 he played in week in week out for Ajax, not only does he not play he's not even on the bench which again I found strange indeed.

 

The team he picked clearly was good enough to beat Wigan, but because of certain players' performances and the way the game panned out it clearly wasn't working.

 

My issues tonight were in how long he took to change things (absolutely no subs before the hour mark however bad we are seems to be a rule) and leaving Babel out entirely when he has the pace that could have changed that game, which is baffling.

 

The boss has made some really, really odd decisions this year. I'd be lying if I didn;t say I wasn't a bit concerned about the way things have gone since our good start. I think Rafa needs some input from an assistant manager to be honest.

[Guest GrandpaSimpson]

Playing in an attacking style with one up front is only possible if you have two sh*t hot flying wingers who play like right and left sided forwards and support the striker.

 

It was clear tonight that Kewell wasn't up to much; I have always defended Harry but he looked f*cked after about 5 minutes tonight, yet there was no Babel on the bench. Pennant doesn't get into scoring positions so what resulted was a genuine one up front with an isolated Torres which is a serious issue in a game we absolutely have to win.

 

He has been shoving Babel out on the left when we've played 4-4-2 which doesn't suit him at all, then when we want to play what equates to the 4-3-3 he played in week in week out for Ajax, not only does he not play he's not even on the bench which again I found strange indeed.

 

The team he picked clearly was good enough to beat Wigan, but because of certain players' performances and the way the game panned out it clearly wasn't working.

 

My issues tonight were in how long he took to change things (absolutely no subs before the hour mark however bad we are seems to be a rule) and leaving Babel out entirely when he has the pace that could have changed that game, which is baffling.

 

The boss has made some really, really odd decisions this year. I'd be lying if I didn;t say I wasn't a bit concerned about the way things have gone since our good start. I think Rafa needs some input from an assistant manager to be honest.

 

Christ you know things are f***ing bad when even you're talking like this.

[Earl Hafler]

Playing in an attacking style with one up front is only possible if you have two sh*t hot flying wingers who play like right and left sided forwards and support the striker.

 

It was clear tonight that Kewell wasn't up to much; I have always defended Harry but he looked f*cked after about 5 minutes tonight, yet there was no Babel on the bench. Pennant doesn't get into scoring positions so what resulted was a genuine one up front with an isolated Torres which is a serious issue in a game we absolutely have to win.

 

He has been shoving Babel out on the left when we've played 4-4-2 which doesn't suit him at all, then when we want to play what equates to the 4-3-3 he played in week in week out for Ajax, not only does he not play he's not even on the bench which again I found strange indeed.

 

The team he picked clearly was good enough to beat Wigan, but because of certain players' performances and the way the game panned out it clearly wasn't working.

 

My issues tonight were in how long he took to change things (absolutely no subs before the hour mark however bad we are seems to be a rule) and leaving Babel out entirely when he has the pace that could have changed that game, which is baffling.

 

The boss has made some really, really odd decisions this year. I'd be lying if I didn;t say I wasn't a bit concerned about the way things have gone since our good start. I think Rafa needs some input from an assistant manager to be honest.

 

Been blindingly obvious to me but Rafa just doesn't want to do it.

 

Kewell is past it. Flashes of his past best here and there are not good enough for us now.

Pennant flatters, you think he's going to burst past someone like Barnes until he slows down, stops, tries to take it inside and then loses it. You can sight 4 or 5 games throughout his time here where he's been very good but Kevin Lisbie scored a hat-trick against us - should we sign him ?

 

If Rafa doesn't sign a few players this month we'll be fighting it out for 4th. Will the board give him the funds after more showings like that ?

[Eskimo]

Lack of goals in the side.

 

Very little cohesion, understanding between defence and midfield, midfield and attack.

Just what exactly were we trying to do ? ( Charlie Nicholas would love that )

Kewell isn't on form, Pennant back from injury.

Xabi and Mascherano offering little in terms of support ( when Xabi first arrived, he used to get forward more ) and at times we looked scared of getting into their area.

 

I wouldn't blame Xabi or Masch....the latter played well IMO. The drive should have come from Gerrard, yet for some reason he kept dropping deep despite having a free role.

[psl]

I wouldn't blame Xabi or Masch....the latter played well IMO. The drive should have come from Gerrard, yet for some reason he kept dropping deep despite having a free role.

 

To get hold of the ball probably.

[Earl Hafler]

I wouldn't blame Xabi or Masch....the latter played well IMO. The drive should have come from Gerrard, yet for some reason he kept dropping deep despite having a free role.

 

He's played like that though recently. Against the Mancs he dropped deep whilst Masch made a few forward runs.

 

 

He just isn't the best player in the world like many think he is. And he shouldn't be captain. He needs others to motivate him. He's nowhere near the leader Souness or Hughes were.

[Eskimo]

To get hold of the ball probably.

 

Why? I'm sure Xabi/Masch are more than capable of picking out a team mate. Seems like every time he's given a free role he fecks it up and gets involved in areas of the pitch that he shouldn't/isn't needed.

[Guest Themba]

Rafa out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[meepins]

Rafa out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kieran Richardson as manager.

[Guest Themba]

I was being sarcastic there. Don't you think we'd have been better equipped with the pace and dynamisn of Richardson tonight rather than Kewell who looked very tired.

[meepins]

I was being sarcastic there. Don't you think we'd have been better equipped with the pace and dynamisn of Richardson tonight rather than Kewell who looked very tired.

Stop posting.

[Crazy Horse]

seriously, why would you want to brace yourself for mourinho? cos hes a c***?

everyone knows we'd have more chance of winning the league under him. they do really don't they.

 

I think they do...but are worried about looking fickle, after calling him a c*** for years. But fickle is what football fans do best. So I for one will welcome our new Portugese overlord...

[Guest Barcamania]

IMO the team Rafa picked was, on paper at least, more than capable of beating Wigan.

Sorry, but isn't that a stupid thing to say?

Now, then everything should be done on paper!

I mean, why doesn't Wenger put a team that's "just capable of beating opposition X" or Ferguson doesn't do it? Why do they put their best 11? Do they get 3 points always? NO, it means even your best 11 doesn't guarantee a result. And it means, you should play your best 11, if possible, so that you make your chances higher.

Really s*** performance... just after ManCity game, which was... pretty bad imo

[Guest MB_talklfc]

I do honestly think Rafa's time is up come this end season, if he can't turn the team around. He really need his assistant manager.

[m4ttc]

My issues tonight were in how long he took to change things (absolutely no subs before the hour mark however bad we are seems to be a rule) and leaving Babel out entirely when he has the pace that could have changed that game, which is baffling.

 

My biggest criticism of Rafa are his substitutions. Always at 60 and 75 minutes never before unless an injury has occurred. his has always been the case. It is a joke among the fans where I sit. It is as if he is managing by statistics and how many playing minutes certain players have had and 60 and 75 are nice neat percentages to analyse in pie charts.

 

The ONLY thing I liked Maureen for was that if it wasnt working, he changed it whenever that was. I suspect that Rafa would see this an admission of his failure and he dont do that.

[John am Rhein]

I think they do...but are worried about looking fickle, after calling him a c*** for years. But fickle is what football fans do best. So I for one will welcome our new Portugese overlord...

 

I never called him a c*** in the first place. If Benitez goes, I think Mourinho would be the best replacement. But I'd rather Benitez stayed.