I've been thinking about this and I wonder if anyone has any idea what kind of manager Rafa is? I mean when I hear him talk I know that he's very professional and I know that he's intelligent. I've seen him smile and I've seen him down. What I want to know is if anyone thinks that maybe he's having trouble communicating with the players, or if they don't respect him. We're not in that locker room so we have no idea waht's being said. I also want to know if anyone thinks that maybe there is a rivalry in the club between the Spanish players and everyone else. I know that in the end they are ALL professionals and should behave accordingly, but being human first I wonder if those things come into play and may be contributing to our poor shape right now, along with all the injuries. What do you think? YNWA
I think that I detect some animosity from the fringe players (Hamann, Biscan, Traore etc.) that feel like their getting benched so Rafa can meet his quota of having every spaniard available on the field at all times. ------------------------- "When my brain exploded, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have such a better life now." -- Sharon Stone "I'm not very politically involved ... I mean, if you say you're a Democrat, that'll turn off Republicans, and that's half of your fan base." -- Lindsay Lohan "I may have smoked too much weed, but I wasn't taking drugs or anything." -- Mike Tyson on his loss to Lennox Lewis "Joy Division is the only good thing to ever come out of Manchester, and then the lead singer went and killed himself." -- Me
I think rafa has a problem right now,and needs to resolve it fast!Rafa belives to much on his spanish players,and it seems as if they have a certain control over him!Normaly a coach wouldbench a player if hes not in good form,but i dont think rafas like that!He benched kewell when he was out of form,why not bench garcia now???
That makes no sense whatsoever. Hamann starts every game, so his hardly a "fringe player", Traore has seen his career totally revitalised by Benitez and arguably has more to thank the man for than any other player in the squad and Biscan ... well. Biscan is Biscan. He was given a lot of early chances by Benitez and has played in some crucial games for us. But he's got little to complain about when he puts in performances like the one against Burnley and then finds himself out of the team in the League. I think the point you're trying to make is that Benitez plays his Spanish players a lot. Which is true. But then, what did you expect him to do? He's not brought them here to enjoy the weather. In fact, I'll go one further and make the assumption that you are specifically thinking of Garcia. Who, I agree, has got to learn the English game better and do so rapidly if he is to retain any goodwill amongst our increasingly intolerant fanbase. But Benitez clearly believes that he will be able to achieve that transition and (rightly in that context) concludes that only time on the pitch will sort the problem out. You don't have to agree with him, but you do have to acknowledge the logic.
Yeah, worrying times for Everton fans. They've only got a few weeks to come up with a new joke. Which, history tells us, is not something done with any great ease over at Jurrassic Park.
I think I wrote that in the haze that was the loss over S'hampton. Reading it now it doesn't really make any sense. It's just that every game it seems I see Garcia playing and he hasn't done anything. At first I was indifferent on him, but everything has tumbled after the Norwich game. Against Norwich he had one-minute of class (his goal) and then 89 minutes of pure crap. And lately he hasn't done anything to change this. Every time he touches the ball he gives it away. But I guess we have different meanings for "fringe player." I think that a "fringe player" is someone who isn't starting regularly. So my list of "regular players" are the ideal starting 11. Kirkland (goalkeepers don't really qualify, though) Finnan, Carragher, Hyppia, Riise, Kewell, Gerrard, Alonso, Nunez, Moro, and Baros. If everyone's healthy this is our starting line-up. I simply refer to fringe for all others. Injury has skewed these definitions however. Anyways, thanks for getting to my true meaning. ------------------------- "When my brain exploded, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have such a better life now." -- Sharon Stone "I'm not very politically involved ... I mean, if you say you're a Democrat, that'll turn off Republicans, and that's half of your fan base." -- Lindsay Lohan "I may have smoked too much weed, but I wasn't taking drugs or anything." -- Mike Tyson on his loss to Lennox Lewis "Joy Division is the only good thing to ever come out of Manchester, and then the lead singer went and killed himself." -- Me
The only thing that I think is wrong is Rafa playing Pellegrino in the back when Liverpool had a solid defensive pairing in Hyypia and Carragher. How is a pairing of Hyypia and Pellegrino going to deal with anyone with quickness at all? Pellegrino sucks badly, in my opinion, and Liverpool can't afford to "let him settle".
What everyone is overlooking is the fact that both Josemi and Finnan are hurt. That leaves us with no right backs in the squad. Carragher is the only one who can play there. The back four of Carragher, Hyppia, Pellegrino, and Traore played really well against Man United and deserved to keep a clean sheet. None of us know if David Raven is ready to play in the first team, so the manager really had no choice. He has already said that when Finnan or Josemi are back, Carragher is back to playing center-half.
Here's the Guardian's take on Rafa, one I -- and I would imagine most posters on these boards -- certainly agree with. http://football.guardian.co.uk/Fiver/0,4022,1398371,00.html I find the "three essential features" line especially encouraging, and accurate, too. YNWA