Liverpool Season 2009/10

[RoosterMarty]

[Swooper16]

How many of those red balloons do you think the United supporters will throw on the pitch this weekend...?

[Bully]

the young fella that hit the ball onto the pitch was a man yoo supporter

[Bully]

not all good at anfield these days another loss this morn for champ league. God i hopes you guys win this weekend!!!

[RoosterMarty]

First time they have lost 4 in a row (in all comps) since 1987. Gerrard limped off as well but I have a feeling he will play this week. Pity it's a Sunday game.

[Bully]

yeah thought it was a while since that has happened. i know they have lost 2 in a row before but can rememeber them talking about it that year. i cant talk arsenal have been doing that recently over the past few season loosing a few in a row which stuffs our year up. im sure rafa will sort things out there.

[johntheclaret]

Great win by Liverpool tonight. Vidic sent of the the third time in a row against Pool, and Mascherano made it 10 a piece late on.

Torres' goal was awesome. Great skill and great strength for a fairly lightweight bloke.
With Chelsea's brillinat 5 - 0 drubbing of b4st4rd rovers, and Mancs losing todat, the race is wide open again. Arsenal are also 2 - 0 up at 1/2 time and looking like they will go on to win this one by 4 or 5 goals.

[Bully]

well done LFC for beating them. !!!

[johntheclaret]

Another tough week for liverpool

Gerrad, Johnson, Masherano, Aurelia all out. Fulham are a bit of a bogie side to liverpool in recent years if my memory is right. 6 losses in 7 coming up maybe?

[Bully]

not sure whats happening at liverpool but all doesnts seem to be well at anfield at the moment.

[johntheclaret]

Benitez is 7/2 for the boot before the end of November.

1st sending off was a joke. Yellow for sure but never a straight red. 2nd sending off, well.............what for? was it for holding as they were both doing that, or was it for the tackle, which Carragher clearly won the ball.

A round of applause must go to Bobby Zamora. not only did he not make anything of the tackle, but he tried to reason with the ref that it wasn't a red card. Not something you see very often in todays game. I also saw Benitez go and shake his hand at the end of the game.

I guess Carragher has been playing on borroewd time, after he shold have walked for his challenge on Owen against Man U and there was a clearer case for a card earlier in the Fulham game. Maybe the ref was making amends for his earlier mistake?

That's 6 defeats in 7 games for Pool, out of the Carling cup, a defeat to Lyon will leave them out of the Champs league, just about out of the Title race and no money for new recruits in January. So where do they go from here.

Personally, I put the blame not just on the shoulders of Hicks and Gillette, although their in house squabbling and lack of funds have had a huge impact on the club, but Benitez must share some of the blame. Like I have said before, he is a money manager who like to wheel and deal. He arses about with the "rotation" system and his purchases haven't been too hot either. But what about the players themselves. It seems to me that Liverpools glory years were down, not only to good management, but to players who would bleed for the shirt. Take out Carragher and Gerrard and I don't see much bleeding from the rest. liverpool have too many passengers in my opinion.

If you want comfirmation, just look at Chelsea and Man U. Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Giggs, Rooney, Scholes, Fletcher, Terry, Lampard, Drogba (as much as you love to hate him), Cole, Essien, and a few others. all have fire in thier bellies, and that's what makes a title winning side.

[smithy]

Benitez signed a 5 year contract recently, plus I don't think they can afford to pay out his contract even if they did sack him.
Yes he's signed some duds, but he's made some pretty good signings as well.
Benayoun, Kuyt, Reina, Alonso, Skrtel plus a fellow called Torres were good purchases IMO.
Let's also remember that he had to re-build after the mess that Houillier left.
Traore, Cheyrou, Peggy Arphexad Baros etc etc are among a host of duds thatt Rafa had to try and sell off.

Also in reference to "rotation", clearly (Can't have a story about RAFA without using that word) that is nowhere near the case as what it used to be.
He uses a more settled line up these days and was forced into several changes on the weekend because of injury.
I think he'll just be counting the sleeps until the yanks sell up and the arabs give him some dirham to spend.

[johntheclaret]

Benitez signed a 5 year contract recently, plus I don't think they can afford to pay out his contract even if they did sack him.
Yes he's signed some duds, but he's made some pretty good signings as well.
Benayoun, Kuyt, Reina, Alonso, Skrtel plus a fellow called Torres were good purchases IMO.
Let's also remember that he had to re-build after the mess that Houillier left.
Traore, Cheyrou, Peggy Arphexad Baros etc etc are among a host of duds thatt Rafa had to try and sell off.

Also in reference to "rotation", clearly (Can't have a story about RAFA without using that word) that is nowhere near the case as what it used to be.
He uses a more settled line up these days and was forced into several changes on the weekend because of injury.
I think he'll just be counting the sleeps until the yanks sell up and the arabs give him some dirham to spend.

Good points re Benitez and his 5 year contract. It wasn'y my opinion, just what is being reported in the UK press. And agree Rafa did have some crap to get rid of. Torres imo is too injury prone to make a season long impact. Fantastic player, great skills and the ability to be a real goal machine but like Michael Owen, he isn't in the side long enough.

I guess the question is, have Liverpool progressed since Rafa's appointment, and based on yesterdays performance the answer has to be no. I watched the game last night and they just don't seem to have that killer punch or the toughness that Man U and Chelsea have, and that is down to player attitude imo. Carragher must be fuming as he is the only one that seems to be carrying the baton when Gerrard is out.

Benayoun drifts in and out too often and has too many invisible games. He has the ability but seems to lack that up and at'em attitude. Kuyt fails to score too often and Alonso, I'll give you that one . I think his loss hasn't been covered this year.

[smithy]

Why is it that Benitez is always getting the sack due to lack of trophies yet nothing is ever mentioned regarding "the voyeur" receiving the boot ?

[johntheclaret]

Why is it that Benitez is always getting the sack due to lack of trophies yet nothing is ever mentioned regarding "the voyeur" receiving the boot ?

I was only quoting the press. At the end of the day, Liverpool has a huge reputation to live up to. 5 times winners of the European Cup, 18 titles and a total dominance that spanned two decades under 3 of the greatest managers in english footballing history.

No matter who manages them, they will always be compared to Shanks, Paisley and Fagin. as for the "voyuer", I have no idea who you mean.

[smithy]

Sorry John, I realise you were quoting the press.
I was asking your opinion on why you think they are always hounding Benitez about his job being under question and close to the sack as opposed to "the voyeur" --------Think Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.

Sorry, I've been watching too much Special 1 TV.

[johntheclaret]

Sorry John, I realise you were quoting the press.
I was asking your opinion on why you think they are always hounding Benitez about his job being under question and close to the sack as opposed to "the voyeur" --------Think Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.

Sorry, I've been watching too much Special 1 TV.

The Special One did win the title smithy, even though it was bought for him by Roman. Wenger has won plenty at Arsenal and his longevity gives him some immunity to the "Wenger out" brigade. But don't forget it was only the season before last that the press was asking the same question of Wenger.

Like I said, Rafa has some bloody big boots to fill and Liverpool (and the press) are living in the past. IMO they haven't been in the same league as Man U, Chelsea or Arsenal for that matter, for a long time. I know you are going to throw thier European Cup win and a 2nd place finish last year but over the last 17 years, how many serious title challenges have Pool made? Sadly they've become Everton

[JK]

Benitez signed a 5 year contract recently, plus I don't think they can afford to pay out his contract even if they did sack him.
Yes he's signed some duds, but he's made some pretty good signings as well.
Benayoun, Kuyt, Reina, Alonso, Skrtel plus a fellow called Torres were good purchases IMO.
Let's also remember that he had to re-build after the mess that Houillier left.
Traore, Cheyrou, Peggy Arphexad Baros etc etc are among a host of duds thatt Rafa had to try and sell off.

Also in reference to "rotation", clearly (Can't have a story about RAFA without using that word) that is nowhere near the case as what it used to be.
He uses a more settled line up these days and was forced into several changes on the weekend because of injury.
I think he'll just be counting the sleeps until the yanks sell up and the arabs give him some dirham to spend.

Good points re Benitez and his 5 year contract. It wasn'y my opinion, just what is being reported in the UK press. And agree Rafa did have some crap to get rid of. Torres imo is too injury prone to make a season long impact. Fantastic player, great skills and the ability to be a real goal machine but like Michael Owen, he isn't in the side long enough.

I guess the question is, have Liverpool progressed since Rafa's appointment, and based on yesterdays performance the answer has to be no. I watched the game last night and they just don't seem to have that killer punch or the toughness that Man U and Chelsea have, and that is down to player attitude imo. Carragher must be fuming as he is the only one that seems to be carrying the baton when Gerrard is out.

Benayoun drifts in and out too often and has too many invisible games. He has the ability but seems to lack that up and at'em attitude. Kuyt fails to score too often and Alonso, I'll give you that one . I think his loss hasn't been covered this year.

I reckon Smithy's last point is also a good one, and I reckon Rafa is shrewd enough to include this in part of his games ... Naturally he would want to win the title, as all managers would, but I think he also makes selections and substitutions to (potentially) help his case in the longer term.

We saw last season with Keane a reluctance to really use him when blind Freddy could see he was required, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was an unwritten memo to Moyes and the owners, over his signing (and if some stories are to be believed, the loss of David Villa's signing which was expected).

Similarly the year before he did likewise with Crouch, and now he's subbing Torres when clearly we need him to remain on the park, but in the process exposing just how clear it is that we need another quality striker.

The Yanks look likely to take a big financial hit in Champions League earnings this year when the clubs finances are at their most vulnerable, I guess the scary question is, will it get even worse before it gets better? Will the financial situation lead the owners to accept an offer on Gerrard, Torres, Mascherano??

[smithy]

Sorry John, I realise you were quoting the press.
I was asking your opinion on why you think they are always hounding Benitez about his job being under question and close to the sack as opposed to "the voyeur" --------Think Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.

Sorry, I've been watching too much Special 1 TV.

Like I said, Rafa has some bloody big boots to fill and Liverpool (and the press) are living in the past. IMO they haven't been in the same league as Man U, Chelsea or Arsenal for that matter, for a long time. I know you are going to throw thier European Cup win and a 2nd place finish last year but over the last 17 years, how many serious title challenges have Pool made? Sadly they've become Everton

I guess it doesn't help with having half the nations press being ex-Liverpool players either.
Also, I'm more worried about Liverpool becoming a Leeds than an Everton.

[JK]

I was thinking about the whole Liverpool are a 2 man team thing today, and my thoughts are as follows:

Without question Gerrard and Torres are the marquee players and head and shoulders above all others, but this season I think we've been a 5 player team:

Gerrard
Torres
Reina
Johnson
Kuyt 0.5
Benayoun 0.5

Of course Gerrard and Torres have been missing a heap, and Aquilani is yet to grace the turf at all (and still an unknown quantity in the EPL).

Outside of those players I don't think we've seen nearly enough from other players donning the read shirt.

As Smithy said elsewhere, it must be last chance saloon for Babel ... Rafa can get a little bit for him and will be needing that money.

Lucas should probably be in his final season, although I do wonder how he might fare with better performing midfield partner(s).

As much as I love Masch, he can probably go to Barca if they still want him ... It clearly affected him early in the season and other than a fair outing against the Mancs he's really been off the boil.

Agger probably really needs to make his mark this year of he could be another that will reap decent $$ which again either Rafa or the owners are likely to need.