Are Liverpool Battling Rafa’s Conservatism or the Players’ Lack of Confidence?
Kevin McCarra claims the former - Rafa Benitez claims the latter. In either case, to call Liverpool ‘favourites’ for the Premier League title would be optimistic at best.
Liverpool are obviously in the title race - this early in the season it would be foolish to suggest otherwise - but the way their old problems have resurfaced this season is an indication that one or two things still need to be fixed by the magical hands of Rafa Benitez.
The problems - conservatism and lack of confidence - are related. If a coach is geared towards defending first by default, then no matter how many attacking players you have, they will play to cover their asses first and score goals later. I’d like to see Rafa come out one Friday and say that their aim for the weekend match is to score more goals than the other team.
Not ‘concede less’ but ’score more goals’. There’s a fundamental difference in approach, and while it’s not ‘bad’, it’s not going get you 90 points in the Premier League (it got them 82 though, so he is doing something right - not enough right, but something).
If a team plays conservatively and they still don’t win, morale obviously takes a hit - however, it’s not ‘just the players’, the manager has a role to play as well. To compare, Fergie talked about his ’shock’ after the Carling Cup loss for United’s third-string, but in reality he was to blame for that loss perhaps more than the the players on the pitch.
You blame the players if they don’t do what they are told. You blame the manager if he can’t tell his players to do the right thing. At this point, Rafa is as much to blame as the players.
But if you look at it another way, there’s nothing to complain about, is there? Liverpool are in the title hunt, Arsenal are due a slump sooner or later and by the time Christmas comes this title race could as close as we’ve seen for a long time.
Time for the Reds to kick things up a gear and push forward for more goals - after all, they finally have the players this season to do it.
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Rafa has saved our club!!! We are five points better than last season? still in the running for 4 competitions.
We have Everton (A), Arsenal (H), Besiktas (A), Blackburn (A) we need to take these games by the scruff of the neck. Imagine if we win does 4 games i trust Benitez we all should
I have seen all Liverpool matches thus far and I can say the main problem is lack of creative attacking. The team attack with a very primitive and easy to control way. A decent defence (like Birmingham’s) can keep all the strikers at bay. There is no good service from the wings. Babbel has not been used effeciently. The strikers miss 3-4 clear chances before they score once. When frustration hits the team it is so difficult to raise the spirit.
I can’t see Liverpool as title contenders until I see them play the smooth 4-5 passes attack that will lead to goals, the way Arsenal and Man Untd do. The stuttering attack has always been our problem. Torres can score brilliant goals but misses the easy chances.
I also agree that Rafa is not adventurous enough.
They are in desperate need of Harry Kewell
so not biased… It’s amazing that with the midfield players Liverpool have that aren’t destroying teams in the middle on the park and on the wings. Gerrard, Macherano, Alonso - they should be making the majority of teams in the league look silly. Yet they are 8 games in and for more than half the season their midfield has been for the more part in complete control and nowhere near as dangerous as their names and potential suggest. Who knows the exact reason the team is not performing? Team Chemistry? Lack of confidence? I’ll leave it to the Liverpool supporters to discuss why Newcastle is a much better club and will finish above the Scousers this season 
Batir Wardam look at the sunderland game we can have class even with sissoko on the field!
Liverpool fan you are right. That Sunderland game was the best, but remember how nervous we were in the last 20 minutes before the second goal was finally scored? It will not work out to miss 10 chances for scoring two goals.