The misinformed many seem to have picked Rafael Benitez as a target in recent weeks. Whilst the manager is not blameless in our current slump in form the players themselves have got off far too lightly, from our £17 million summer signing Glen Johnson to our so-called ‘talismanic’ captain Steven Gerrard all need to take a look in the mirror.
The ‘Rafa has lost the players’ argument isn’t a valid one, at least not in top flight football. Anyone who earns millions a year and is treated to everything all at the expense of the club should be prepared to give everything on the pitch and in training. Regardless of the managers motivational skills a bunch of over-pampered millionaires who can’t be bothered to put in the effort for 90 minutes every week need to take a long hard look at themselves whilst their manager is out taking the blame.
This isn’t to say that the manager hasn’t made mistakes this season. Some tactics have been wrong, some formations have been negative. There is no plan B when things are going wrong. Whilst this can be in part put down to Benitez’s failure to act quick enough in the face of adversity the main problem here is that the sell-to-buy system in place ever since our current owners took over that has made the gap in quality between the starting eleven and the rest of the squad considerable. The quality of the managers substitutes is often questioned, but no one can argue that it’s going to be hard to make an impact with subs when most of the quality ones have had to be sold in order to improve the first team.
This isn’t a pro-Rafa rant, not by any means. Today’s defeat at Pompey will partly rest on his shoulders, a strange line-up and even stranger subs will be a fixture on many back pages in the morning. But when you go out and get your paper flip to the celebrity section, there might be a picture of our captain Steven Gerrard. Take a long look at him, maybe driving one of his £100,000 sports cars out of Melwood and think to yourself is it really right for him to go into a sulk in the middle of recent games just because the team isn’t playing well? Should a man paid nearly £200,000 a week really shake off his duties as a leader just because he’s not happy with the performance?
These are questions that can be asked of all the players and are questions that need to be asked to get our season back on track.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com
Gerrard is playing awfull for several weeks, leave him on the bench for 1 match. I still think he’s the best player in the world but not at this moment.
And play 4-4-2
You are so right, Michael. I can truly read out the anger, which is totaly comprehensible. Oure players have to strat change the things by them self firts. And than really work as one team. Rafa has also do that, but a manager can not really do something if the players aren’t acting as one. Stevie can’t do that either. During the last weeks it used to be is Stevie and the rest but it does not work like that.
Yes, they all have to think, analyse and SEE, truly SEE the mistakes, what went wrong what must be done better.
YNWA
Amanda
It seems things cant get any worse, if players arent performing then you should definitely bench em, give em a kick up the backside and bring some of the kids in to show em up!
I’ve watched the reserves and i would live to see Eccleston, Pacheco and Ngog and co thrown into the mix! Fresh kids with energy and ambition mixed with some of the experienced players is the best combo of any great side… and why not? what have we got to loose?
“This isn’t a pro-Rafa rant, not by any means.”
……oh but it is. It is just that – a pro-Rafa rant.
Just because you refuse to call it a pro-Rafa rant, does not make it not be one. A rose by any other name and all that.
Lookit, up to a couple of weeks ago when these players weren’t playing because they were injured, it still wasn’t Rafa’s fault according to you Pro-Rafa brigadiers because of “all the injuries”. Now the full squad is almost fit and injury free, and still playing like crap, and guess what? It still isn’t Rafa’s fault. It never is Rafa’s fault with you people, is it?
I’m frankly flabbergasted that you didn’t find some way to blame the owners for this one. That seems to be the standard operating procedure.
Last week when Arsenal played a horrible first half at Anfield, what did Wenger do? Did he moan that all he can do is tell them how to play and then leave them to play up to their motivation levels? No! He got into their faces at half-time and reminded them of what it means to put on an Arsenal shirt. THAT is a manager taking control of his players’ poor performances and stamping them out. Now I ask you, where was Rafa’s half-time “none of you deserve to wear a Liverpool shirt” rant? Because the was they were playing NONE of them did deserve to put on that shirt. But it is the Manager’s job to remind them of this and to make the necessary changes in tactics and personnel (for whom he’s also responsible for buying) to bring about a change in attitude. Not turn around and start moaning about players’ poor performance.
And yes, this IS and Anti-Rafa rant. You guys need to STOP with the excuses for the guy, I mean geeeez. Enough already. We just lost to the bottom club in the league. When does it become Rafa’s responsibility and job to fix this?
Enough with the friggin’ excuses, I mean come on.
Yes I agree…the players have to carry some of the responsibility but Benitez who is now in control of transfers is to blame for selling Alonso; buying Johnson who is a poor defender for 17 million; buying Aquilani who’s a complete waste of money; buying and selling Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Craig Bellamy all good players; playing Voronin who is hopeless; insisting on playing Insua who can’t defend; not buying a class striker to partner Torres; rendering the team without convinction, cohesion and no tactical sense; buying so many mediocre players with Voronin and Degen topping the list.
I could go on but I’d bore you all to death. Two words should say it all…sack Rafa and start afresh.
U r rite!
the guy has guaranteed a top 4 finish and i believe his words, and phillip and teddy, can you put forward some better replacement for RAFA????
I’m without words right now. Angry is not even close to what i feel right now.
Blind Freddie can see that the LFC support is now almost evenly divided into the pro and anti Rafa brigades with both camps having some reasonable and valid arguments.
Is it too difficult to imagine that the squad itself is just as evenly split about their manager? If so, is it any wonder that the club is going through such a traumatic time on the field as well as off it?
There is little doubt that Benitez has been forced to face a large number of challenges but it also has to be admitted that some of them have been of his own doing.
When a club – any club, finds itself in the situation that LFC is now in there can only be one possible answer. You either clear out the anti Rafa players (and we may all be surprised as to who we could be talking about) OR the manager himself has to make way for someone else. Player power? Maybe. Is it fair? Probably not BUT – IT’S A FACT!
jibran, I’ll repeat for the hearing (and reading) impaired:
“WE JUST LOST TO THE BOTTOM CLUB IN THE LEAGUE WHOSE PLAYERS AREN’T EVEN GETTING PAID THEIR FULL WAGES!”
And yet they had more desire to win that game for their manager and their fans than our 80,000-100,000 GBP a week players had. Oh, and we didn’t even get a shot on target until nearly over 2/3rds of the way through the game.
Do the players deserve some of the blame? Absolutely. But given that a majority of them were injured up p to a couple of weeks ago and you guys were only too eager to blame injuries then,m while absolving Rafa of any blame, I think we now can safely say that it IS ultimately Rafa’s responsibility and his fault. His (poor) player purchases. His (piss-poor) tactical decisions. His (clueless) in-game substitutions. His(non-existent) man-management skills.
All. His.
Having stated the obvious, as to who should replace him, I would personally have them put King Kenny in charge for the interim basis until the end of the Season while we broach the possibility of getting either a Mourinho (who clearly doesn’t like it in Italy, but isn’t available now), a Hiddink (who may not be available regardless, due to his Chelsea connection) or a Rijkaard. ALL Superior managers to Benitez, and all proven winners.
I wouldn’t even be against keeping King Kenny on until next Season, if things were to go well for him in the second half, and if he weren’t against it. He is after all the last Liverpoool manager to ever win the League title for us.
But if you seriously still believe that Liverpool are guaranteed fourth place like Benitez says, then I have a bridge to sell you in the Antarctic.
The way we are playing, we wouldn’t even finish in the top 10.
We are 1 and We are many. How ever Devided the View.. We must Stand together in this time of Need. No finger pointing, Or Blame casting.. Just Unity and Support.. Thats what WE….. LIVERPOOL NEED..
START BACKING THE TEAM!!!
LIVERPOOL TILL I DIE!!!
Y.N.W.A