Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by rahl

I do criticise Rafa for this one ... He will need to learn how to change things in the middle of a game and unlock defences in away games where the home team put ten men behind the ball.

Where the City game was concerned, I beg to differ ... IMHO, the 4-5-1 formation is safe & potent, especially suitable of away games like these - so, I'm absolving Rafa of the blame.
What really irked me was the lack of sharpness & urgency in almost every single player on the park ... Gerrard had no life, Carra was making unforced errors, what could we then expect from the rest of the support players??
Seriously wonder if it was due to fatique or lethargy ... the team basically couldn't string any worthy passes together - how to even wanna break down any attempts of stubborn resistance??

[Cummon]

I always wonder were most of our current players born & breed to play champion league games ? We have been doing so well in CL & with their minds on the semi against Chelski,they just couldn't push themselves to a higher gear against Man City,haizz.......

[rahl]

Originally Posted by _AXL_

bro rahl and bro canthaveenuf, borrowing bro klkool's words, cool down. i m sorry if i played any part in the argument by replying and thus keeping this discussion about cisse alive. but i sincerely believe, in my most humble opinion, we have the most knowledgeable and most loyal football fans here in sbf, if not sg. other fans r definitely envious of this thread cos theirs will never be as thought provoking as this one. let's show them that, eh?

Nothing to do with you bro, and no need to hit the panic button when you see an argument. This is an open forum for discussion and that's what the argument is, no more, no less.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by KingEros

Where the City game was concerned, I beg to differ ... IMHO, the 4-5-1 formation is safe & potent, especially suitable of away games like these - so, I'm absolving Rafa of the blame.
What really irked me was the lack of sharpness & urgency in almost every single player on the park ... Gerrard had no life, Carra was making unforced errors, what could we then expect from the rest of the support players??
Seriously wonder if it was due to fatique or lethargy ... the team basically couldn't string any worthy passes together - how to even wanna break down any attempts of stubborn resistance??

I think it was the weather did it to the players.

No, I don't blame Rafa for starting 4-5-1 away, just as I don't fault Psycho for playing deep at home to get past the 40 point mark. But I don't think Rafa adapted well once he saw how the game was going. Put winger on one flank, take out the other winger, put in a second striker - to no effect.

I don't think the poor passing was due to lethargy - it happens when the opposition plays deep to deny space and time and break up attacks. We did that a lot ourselves under Houllier, when every other forward pass from the opposition would end up with our defence or midfield.

[Frankiestine]

Originally Posted by LSB_Fan

Another drab draw... Pennant looked lifeless... Pool was strolling all over the park with no direction. Sigh... looks like 3rd still not secured...

i practically fell asleep midway thru the game...anther lost opportunity to increase the lead over Arsenal...

[Exciter101]

I think the challenge now for them is to play as consistent as possible for the remaining games.
Too many games in short period of time....Fatigue sinks in very fast.
Once that happens, concentration is affected...

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

i practically fell asleep midway thru the game... another lost opportunity to increase the lead over Arsenal...

It's like God up there (the other one, not Fowler) is letting us know a fantastic weekend like last week will never be followed back-to-back by another similar one.

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by rahl

I don't think the poor passing was due to lethargy ...

Originally Posted by Exciter101

Too many games in short period of time... Fatigue sinks in very fast.

I mentioned "fatigue or lethargy", but I'm also more inclined to think it was lethargy ... after all, Stevie G & Carra were both rested for the mid-week PSV game!!
IMHO, all these weeks, the most glaring shortcoming of this current team is the lack of a "20-league-goals-a-season" & "one-chance-one goal" type of prolific scorer.
Well, there's 2 more league games this week ... let's hope we see marked improvements in these 2 home games.

[KingEros]

RAFA DISAPPOINTED WITH DRAW
Paul Eaton 14 April 2007

Rafael Benitez has admitted he was disappointed with Liverpool's 0-0 draw at Manchester City - but insisted his players aren't being distracted by thoughts of the Champions League semi-final with Chelsea.
The Reds had to settle for a point from a dour encounter at the City of Manchester Stadium, but it could have been a different story had Jermaine Pennant or Jamie Carragher made the most of decent first half chances.

"I'm disappointed with the result," said Benitez. "We started the game well, we were moving the ball around and going forward and we had a number of clear chances.

"We dominated the possession in that first half but we needed to score a goal.

"Towards the end of the game we were under more pressure from long throws and free kicks but I don't think they made any clear opportunities.

"We were talking before the game about the need to win this match. Now we have one point more but one game less to play. If we'd won today and then won our next match we could have been talking about Champions League qualification.

"I don't think the Chelsea game had anything to do with it today. We know people will be talking about those matches and if we'd started as we finished the game today then maybe you could say we were thinking about the semi-final. But, as I said, we started well and just needed to score."

In Rafa, we trust ... well, at least I definitely do.
From another perspective, we are a hard side to crack under Rafa ... so, it's gonna be rare to come out from league games without any points from now on. But, to pocket all 3 points most if not all of the time, we need to score in every game ... I'm sure rafa more knows that.

[Cummon]

by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo


LIVERPOOL hope to tie up the spine of Rafa Benitez’s side on new long-term contracts by the end of next week.

Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have all made progress in negotiations – overseen by Foster Gillett and Rick Parry – over the last few days to renew their terms at the club.

And the Reds hope to conclude talks sooner rather than later as the new owners take their first significant steps to protecting the key elements of Benitez’s squad.

It’s no secret Reina, Gerrard and Carragher will happily renew deals, but there is increasing confidence Alonso will join them, fending off keen interest

Little Luis,Johnny Rocket & Finnan are missing from that list ......

[Cummon]

Originally Posted by KingEros

IMHO, all these weeks, the most glaring shortcoming of this current team is the lack of a "20-league-goals-a-season" & "one-chance-one goal" type of prolific scorer.

Yes,goal scorer,not necessarily striker. Imagine if we have a 20 goals per season winger ( not Stevie ) like the one who plays for the scums,hate to say that he really makes the difference this season.

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by KingEros

IMHO, all these weeks, the most glaring shortcoming of this current team is the lack of a "20-league-goals-a-season" & "one-chance-one goal" type of prolific scorer.

Originally Posted by Cummon

Yes,goal scorer,not necessarily striker. Imagine if we have a 20 goals per season winger ( not Stevie ) like the one who plays for the scums,hate to say that he really makes the difference this season.

Uncle ... noticed I said "20-league-goals-a-season" type of prolific scorer:
1) which means that winger playing for Manure is not there yet too (he's currently still only on 16 league goals, 20 overall)
2) our Crouch is as good overall, having scored 18 goals this season so far (but 9 from the league)

[KingEros]

This thing cheered me up after the painful futile game in manchester this weekend:

"We were good friends until Liverpool started winning, then he started changing his mind.
He has very good relationships with managers of teams that normally he beats."
- Rafa, taking a swipe at his Chelsea counterpart

[Cummon]

Originally Posted by KingEros

noticed I said 20-league-goals-a-season" type of prolific scorer

Yes I did,what I wanted to point out was the difference he made : Our strikers have scored 29 league goals between them ( Kuyt 10,Crouch 9,Bellamy 7,God 3) while those from the scums have managed 28 ( Rooney 12,
Saha 8,Solskjaer 7,Larsson 1).

which means that winger playing for Manure is not there yet too (he's currently still only on 16 league goals, 20 overall)

Ya he is not there yet but there are still 5 league games to play

[Cummon]

From The Sunday TimesApril 15, 2007

Grand master Benitez has right moves
The Liverpool manager believes he has the edge over his Chelsea rival - and recent results seem to prove him rightJonathan Northcroft
IGOR BISCAN, Djimi Traore, Antonio Nunez. Rafael Benitez is known to love chess; in 2005 he defeated Chelsea using pawns. Now he faces Jose Mourinho in a Champions League semi-final again and history makes the Kop crow. “If you’re going to win trophies, you have to beat the top teams. And Chelsea, too,” said a posting on a Liverpool message board.

The confidence is not necessarily backed up by figures, yet there is a feeling Benitez has Mourinho’s number. Since arriving at their clubs in 2004 the pair have gone head to head 13 times and Mourinho has won six, but he has enjoyed the greater resources and began with the better players. Over time, through squad-building and shrewd tactics, Benitez has chipped away at those advantages and shifted the power balance. Of the sides’ past four meetings, Liverpool won three. Benitez’s total of victories against The Special One is four - twice that of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger combined - and he defeated Mourinho in two of their three biggest contests to date: last year’s FA Cup semi-final and that Champions League semi-final in 2005. “We were good friends until we started winning, then he started changing his mind,” Benitez said. “It’s the same with managers of the top sides. He has good relationships with managers of the teams he beats.”

Were Benitez not so mild-mannered such a remark would be incendiary, for it disparages Ferguson as well as the Chelsea manager. Benitez normally avoids stirring the pot, but he has found it useful in his contests against Chelsea. Before the 2005 semi-final he began a campaign of getting under Mourinho’s skin when his then assistant, Paco Herrera, sent a message to the Chelsea manager through a mutual friend: “Let him know they are better than us. They’ve proved themselves in the league and if they played five matches they would win four. But also tell him they are going to win 1-0 in the first game but we’ll win 2-0 at Anfield.” Mourinho sent a reply — that Liverpool would win 1-0 at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea would triumph 2-0 at Anfield. It was supposed to be cheeky, but the Benitez camp believed a flaw in Mourinho’s approach had been exposed — he would be content to play safe at home, believing the tie could be won in the second leg. Benitez, who sent out a cautious side at Stamford Bridge, was happy to accommodate him. Bringing the semi-final down to one match at home suited Liverpool too.

Before the second leg, Benitez used the newspapers as his chessboard. “We were playing on Chelsea’s overconfidence by saying in the media, ‘We are not the favourites, they are the favourites’,” he recalled. He also used psychology with his players. Steven Gerrard wrote in his autobiography: A touch of arrogance accompanied Chelsea and Benitez played brilliantly on it. ‘Chelsea’s players think they are in the final’, he told us. ‘Chelsea think they have beaten you. Now show them how wrong they are’.
Expect Benitez to try something similar in 2007. He will be happy to just play Mourinho at football, Champions League football, that is, where his win percentages are far superior to those of Mourinho — and Ferguson and Wenger, for that matter. In Europe, Benitez is the master at chiselling out the right score, especially away, where he sets up Liverpool in such opposition-smothering fashion.
Chelsea have not only not beaten Liverpool in four Champions League contests, they haven’t scored, although Mourinho would retort that nor have Liverpool. On the subject of Luis Garcia’s “ghost goal” in the 2005 semi-final second leg, Gerrard wrote: “Chelsea moaned about it. Mourinho still does. I laugh. Chelsea’s complaints are ridiculous. If it wasn’t a goal Petr Cech would have been red-carded for bringing down Milan Baros. What would Chelsea have made of that? Down to 10 men, facing a penalty. Liverpool could have won 4-0. Chelsea got off lightly. They should keep quiet.”

There is no chance of silence from Mourinho or those at Stamford Bridge on April 25.

Rafa’s proud record In 13 matches against Jose Mourinho, Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez has enjoyed four victories - three in the past year