Liverpool have no one to blame but Benitez
It goes something like this:
- Manager makes stupid signings.
- Manager cant get his players to play like a team.
- Manager keeps rotating his squad until they’re so bad they can’t play at all.
- Manager gets unlucky with injuries.
- Manager lays all the blame on the opposition team.
Apart from the first and third point, this might be Arsenal and not Liverpool that we’re talking about. Having said that, Arsenal at least have the dubious honour of being in a ‘transitional’ stage - Liverpool have been in transition for over a decade, and they’re still stuck on fantasy island.
Tipped as this season’s main challengers to Chelsea (and title favourites by some over-enthusiastic pundits), Liverpool have failed to make ‘anything’ go their way. They have been very unlucky with injuries - with 3 midfielders wiped out by injuries so far - but the real problem for Liverpool isn’t
I’m not in favour of knee-jerk reactions, so sacking Benitez is not the answer. He’s a cautious coach, more Mourinho than Ferguson. You don’t expect Liverpool to come away thumping opponenets 4-0.
But the trouble with teams is that once you lose penetration - you’ve got nothing to fall back on.
Liverpool can’t break teams down, but unlike Arsenal their game off-the-ball is scrappy and shoddy, so the moment they have trouble scoring they’re effectively out of the game, and in this case the title race as well.
An attack comprised of Crouch, Kuyt, Bellamy and Fowler looks good on paper (and for my money Bellamy is still a fantastic buy if he starts playing regularly) but that’s not a title-winning attack. Kuyt will improve, but Fowler is worse than Solskjaer and Bellany and Crouch haven’t been given enough time on the pitch.
I realise that a coach can’t always change his nature - thus Liverpool under Benitez will continue to be cautious and plodding and methodical. The problem is, they lack the ruthlessness necessary to succeed in the Premiership.
Benitez will improve, but he will have to improve Liverpool massively to have any chance at the title. Till then, and till Liverpool are bought and financed, Liverpool will fight Arsenal, Tottenham, Bolton, Portsmouth, Aston Villa and possibly Everton for the 2 remaining Champions League spots.
- Are Liverpool Battling Rafa’s Conservatism or the Players’ Lack of Confidence?
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- Liverpool - perpetual transition
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- Liverpool and Benitez finding conspiracies everywhere
Discussion - 34 Responses
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Mr. Bilal wrote,
Arsenal at least have the dubious honour of being in a ‘transitional’ stage - Liverpool have been in transition for over a decade, and they’re still stuck on fantasy island.
With Wenger at Arsenal for longer than I can remember and Benetiz has not even completed three years - how can any serious gernalist can justify making such statements.
Wakil Darmani
hey terrorist…
what ever happened to ur other blogs? a flop i supposed? so u need to write something to critisize liverpool to get more hits? what a sad manc…
i can understand ur frustration of not winning anything much this past 3 seasons besides the mickey mouse cup…
3 midfielders wiped out by injury ? How about Sissoko, Alonso, Gonzalez, Viduka, Kewell and Aurelio with Pennant only just coming back ? I agree, Benitez has still to come to terms with the premiership but taking into consideration the trophies he has won and the injuries over the last few seasons(how many broken legs ?) including Cisse breaking his leg when we were due to get the revenue for his sale.
Here’s how it goes……early season….a few very unwise people slag him off…….end of season…another trophy !
With regards to the comments made by Mr Bilal, I must offer my un-wavering support to Senor Benitez. Mr Bilal obviously has no faith in him, football is all about faith. What I mean by this is that if you put Steven Gerrard on the pitch and he does not perform, as a manager there is nothing that you can do, you must have faith that he will, thats why we turn up every week, because we have faith that the boys are going to do it for us!! Without faith we would never have overcome AC Milan. I am sick of people getting on Rafa’s back. I respect Mr Bilals opinion as football is a game of opinions, but remember that class is permanent and form is temporary, and Benitez is class as are the mighty Reds!
I’v come to the conclusion that Liverfool supporters are as dumb as rock. Everytime anyone says anything against rafa or the reds they go ultra-defensive and fall back on oh we won two cups. Yea you did, thanks to utter brilliance by gerrard alone, not rafa. All season long people ramble on stats and shit, but face it, gerrard has played 3 recent games in the centre and has scored 3 more goals and playing much better than when he was on the right. Oh and another thing, united kept the same team for 7 straight and if memory serves me right they are top of the league, point proven. And Bellamy,Rooney,Sheva and Henry. Ballack,Ronaldo,Rosicky and Pennant. Some bitchin’ signings man. So in conclusion, playing players out of position, team rotation and poor signings, wonder if we should blame “senor benitez”.
Senor Benitez always comes thru at the end of a season…The Man U supporter called “b”….Have you enjoyed your 1 cup(carling cup - didn’t you use to laugh at us when we won it?)you have won in the last 2 years….let’s see who is shouting in May….you may well finish 2nd but it won’t get you a trophy. Look at senor benitez record of trophies over the last 5 years….he delivers every year and not just the mickey mouse cup.
We’ll talk again in May !!
ian - when did Liverpool sign Viduka?
Freddie - I am having a senile moment. One of my mates was talking about Viduka whilst I was typing !!! I of course meant Zenden !
There are points being made here by fans of other teams who for soem unknown reason seem to think that they know better than the LFC fans and staff on how LFC should be run!!! Why? Go and look at your own team. You can have opinions but to come out and tell LFC fans that RAFA is not good for us? Who are you to tell us that? What sort of expert advice are you qualified to offer? Have you ever managed the most successfull club in English football history? In recent time, LFC, even though we haven’t won the prem, have been more successfull in cup competitions than any other English team since 2000. Sure, we know we are not performing at the minute but we also know that we have one of the best mangers in the world and some world class players at our disposal. We are missing a couple of key elements but we are getting closer. Even the great Bill Shankley took 6 years to build a successfull team. Slur Fergie took quite a long time too and he inherited a GOOD team! Wenger took a long time too. Only Chelsea have managed to buy the title twice without actualluy going through the process of building a team over time. LFC fans don’t want that! We want to win the prem and other comps witha team thats put together by a good manager who knows waht he is doing! RAFA is that amanger. He is in the same mould as Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley…. He WILL win more trophies than any other recent manager in the long run. Of that there is no doubt!!!
Fuck being like Bill Shankly and Bob Paisly, id like to see Rafa stay more than 2 more seasons. And LFCKASH you dumbass, this sight is for football fanatic supporters to have thier say, none of us are “qualified” to comment on anything, just what we want. You want to listen to qualified opinions go listen to the rammbling stats of Andy Gray and Marting Tyler. Dumbass.
“A” - we will talk again in May…good look for the Carling cup this season !
Agreed Benitez is a good coach…..his record speeks for himself
U Liverpool fellas talkin bout trofies na
Finals of C League…some really shitty tactics to begin with…but escaped thanks to Mr Stevie G and his Passion and ability to lift the team
Same widd the case of FA cup last season….And plz donn tell me it was thanks to Mr Bnitez tactics..It was Gerrard’s moments of Brilliance taht won them that
Good to see you’ve finally got a grip of English spelling Dexter.
Personally I blame the board for allowing this great club to fester in the pit of “Also rans”For so long. For us to be out of the title race already is a joke.All this talk of us being a stronger outfit than last is an even bigger joke.I’m not laughing
Benni’s team,Benni’s tatic’s,Benni’s buy’s,Benni’s fault! End of.
If that’s the case…
Bennie’s team, tactic’s and buy’s have won the European Cup(*****),Fa cup, Super Cup, Charity Shield with Liverpool….wow he’s such a bad manager….do you want me to real off what his tactics, team and buys won in Spain ?
Wake up and smell the coffee !!
“A”, People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!!! If you actually read my post, I’m not actually stating you have to be a qualified pundit! Only an LFC fan!
Really shows how much you know about football when you say “Fuck being like Bill Shankly and Bob Paisly”!!!! Two of the best Managers English football has ever had and you make a stupid statement like that!!!!
Like “b” has said, come and talk to us again in May! The LFC spirit never dies mate! It will always battle on!
YNWA
I can’t believe that liverpool fans are satisfied with their team’s current position.I think this season is goin to be a huge failure for liverpool.and except winning the champions league,they have not really done anythig to be proud of.
Faizan….We’re not proud of The FA cup ?????????(knocking Chelsea and Man U out along the way) !!!
2 seasons and 2 major trophies !! Man U can only dream of 2 major trophies in 2 seasons at the moment !
This time last year everyone was slagging off Liverpool after they struggled in October and November and Crouch was ridiculed for Not scoring until the wigan game in December. We ended up 1 point behind Man U.
I’m not saying we are world beaters at the moment bus as Sir Rafa said - they don’t give out tropies at this stage of the season(except the charity shield which we have already won!!). We do our talking in May !! It’s just like listening to the sceptics last year - how naive you all are !!
Faizan
FA cup, Super Cup, Community Shield! Where have u been dude, obviously not watching Liverpool by the looks of it.
Ahmed
Manager makes stupid signings, that statement is completely stupid boarding on idiotic.
Manager cant get his players to play like a team, what else do you expect it takes time to form combinations.
Manager keeps rotating his squad until they’re so bad they can’t play at all. Rafa was using the same rotation policy when we won the champions league.
Manager gets unlucky with injuries, and how is this Rafa’s fault?
Manager lays all the blame on the opposition team, another stupid comment which makes u look like a fool.
The main issue with Liverpool has nothing to do with creativity. It’s finishing that is the problem.
are liverpool’s managers really to blame becuse i think its the board for istance take houllier played some of the worst football u have seen at anfield then goes to lyon and look at the football they play there and rafa’s valencia the point is as a club an as fans we live in the past time to move forwards mr moores and parry have to go they are old school and the game has changed as for rafa’s signings most have them have been his second or even 3rd choice
players the board never deliverd that rafa wanted
dani alves
david villa (b4 valencia)
gabi milito
simao
darren bent
and probably many more
while chelsea shop at harrods the board give rafa money in which he can only shop in neto pennent was rafa’s third choice and bellamy wasnt a first choice rafa even need
to sell to get kuyt u all expect rafa to work wonders with 1 hand tied behind his back we need investment rafa will deliver if he can get his to targets
rafa deserves more time
Go eat your prawn sandwiches, people only hear from united fans when they are actually top of the league, why dont you focus your time & energy on learning about your own club before slagging off your rivals.
I would be an LFC fan no matter what, can you united fans say the same? doubtful! wouldnt be surprised if you win the premiership this season, your playing well at the moment and are looking good, your not doing yourselves any favours by sniping at rival teams though, i’m starting to think you swap allegiance between Man U & chelsea the way you bang on about crap and belittle other clubs achievements. sorry to mention it but at least i can say my clubs been involved in THE two greatest cup finals ever seen, oh yes and came out of those games as champions, count the pips above the crest*****!
..moving on.
So, who should we blame for Liverpool’s “low” position in the table + their inconsistency in the Prem League, Right Now?
I know that I should wait and see the ‘glorious’ Liverpool go flyin up the table in a few months (..i’ll do that - dont worry) but..at this moment, right here - right now, 16points behind Man United (~5 games), Liverpool’s allowed Portsmouth, Villa + Bolton (Arsenal too, with a game in hand) to overtake them. Possibility that after this gameweek, they might just be clinching on to 10th.
Why leave the ‘doing great’ business till later in the season? & What if that doesn’t come?
I have said all along that it is not an ideal position - we all hoped we would be higher but we are not. We have 2 new players up front to slot in(Bellamy/Kuyt)2 wingers(Pennant, Gonzalez) and 3 defenders(Aurelio,Agger and Palletta). When Rafa took over we had a very very poor squad and he is rebuilding that on a very limited budget. I have never had so much faith in a Manager since Paisley/Fagan and I realise that it may take time. We can only really hope for a cup this season and a top 4 finish due to the start but I along with all other true red fans can see the bigger picture. We are top of the Champions league group(something we could only dream of a few years ago seems so natural now) FA cup holders, Charity shield holders. The future’s bright - The future’s Rafa. Have faith *****
The manager takes a large part of the blame. The “Blame” in this case is lying in 7th position in December with 6 months of football to go ( and every possibility of winning it), qualifying top of the group for champions league, getting into the next rounds of the FA cup and carling cup.
This is how we look at it, from a larger perspective. Not the die die die all shit and die point of view that most football know alls do.
Of cos we did not plan to still be lying in 7th spot and like I said, the manager takes part of the blame, not ALL of it. We have had our players ( our main performers) under performing during matches… so part of the blame is on the shoulders of our own players… and the players themselves know this. They know they can do better.
The manager indeed has the credentials and we support him and the team when we are on the pitch, but our support does not go blindly. We do know our boss has his weak points ( like in the premiership) but we still believe he is the best to lead us into further glory. It is no use taking pot shots at him and putting pressure or such, cos it will not work. He IS stubborn as stubborn can be but we will not trade him for what..??? … a quick fix to lying 7th placing in Nov of a season?( hell we could be 3rd come tomorro morning.)
————————-Reina————————–
———-Carra———-Hyypia————Agger——–
Finnan——————-Alonso——————–Riise
———Stevie———————–Bellamy————
—————–Kuyt————God——————–
Finnan and Riise will have to push up more and be more adventurous. Behind alonso is enough cover for him to work his magic. Carra a natural right footer and Agger a natural left will definitely give our defence much strength. in midfield stevie will run the show again and bellamy to offer pace and width… stevie will have more freedom and will link up play with two clever footballers up front… kuyt and god.
Crouchie shouldbe use as the OPTION he was bought for… on the hour should we fail to find a way thru… with pennant on the bench ready to offer us more width.
Im a Man u supporter however astonishingly enough do respect all the liverpool players and supporters alike. so before u start attacking me listen to what I have to say : I do think - and do not take this personally - besdie the fact that we all know that Rafa has been extremely successful during his time at Anfield however U can not deny that now , not last season or the one before the reason of ur sluggish start all falls on him. Your players dont seem to respect his judjment enough or have faith in him. They seem dissapointed by his opinions on how to play the game . He keeps rotating the team as if it were a cheerleading squad. He should learn to keep the same team on the pitch match after match. With time im sure they will come through. But he should know that now beacause lets face it he choses the team and the team isnt performing hence its HIS mistake .
Wigan 0 Liverpool 4 !
Wow - he’s such a bad manager !
Fantastic play by Bellamy, Kuyt and Gerrard.
Liverpool play well when Gerrard plays down the middle and Bellamy gets a start.
Oh wait, that’s what happened
“You don’t expect Liverpool to come away thumping opponenets 4-0.”
..shouldnt’ve said that, bud.
Now I wonder if it was Gerrard or Rafa who read it
Wigan 0: 4 Liverpool..
Ahmed..now you can shut your mouth!!!!
liverpool are the best team in the world when they want to play.that is why they never do that well in the premiership but do so exceptionally well in all other competitions.
Ahmed has no right to critisize Benitez like this.Liverpool for ever.
So, the season is over, Man U are the champions, and all you retarded Scousers are proved wrong. A sweet feeling after reading all that verbal vomit. Even if you do win the CL tomorrow, you’re still weak. In case anyone forgot, here’s a reminder: Man U 89 points
Livershit 68 points
Uuuuuu, you’re so strong!
Only idiots support blindly. there is a problem with the team and it is called Benitez. Jeez, i’m a Liverpool fan too but there is a problem and we must recognize it if we want it solved, not pretend it doesn’t exist.
I ‘m a MU fan and I agree . GET RID OF BENITEZ