Re: Liverpool Thread
Alright, done is done, let's get on with it shall we?
1. Macherano's 'extended' ban or whatever is simply taking the piss. He should serve the regular ban. Think Eboue when he was sent off recently against United, protested just as long and just hard, no extension. Consistency inded.
2. Your spine is still one of the best in football, and when they come to play, they rarely lose (see CL). However there seems to be a problem with motivation some days. Gerrard's brilliant but inconsisent.
3. Rafa can't seem to get it right over a 38 game league. But he's been brilliant in cup competitons. It's almost down to personal preference which you value more, but the question has to be could anyone else really do better in both? I don't believe that they could. Chelsea and United have stronger squads, that's not going to change, so realistic expectations are probably on cups no?
Good post, time to get on with it.
1. Mascherano deserved the booking, time to get on with it. But he's going to get an extended ban, we all know it. Mash was stupid, but I still fucking love him. He is the best defensive midfielder in the world, and a fantastic distributor. And only 23! Gotta sort his temper though.
2. I agree. People can say all they want about Rafa's transfer record, but every season, he has bought at least one BIG player, who has fitted into his spine. Just looking at it
Reina
Agger
Skrtel
Mash
Alonso
Gerrard
Torres
And they're all 23-26. Rafa himself said, that he has built a great spine. His job is to find good players around this now.
I don't even think it's about motivation. It's about the mentality. We've won the CL, so every time we go, we are expected to win. Even with Chelsea. We have outplayed them in the last 2-3 occassions we have met. Our team is just too scared to face United. We don't think we can beat them, so we never show up. And Gerrard AND Alonso are so inconsistent. Alonso, on his day, can outplay Zidane, yet he just seems to go under the shadow of Gerrard and Mash. He is approaching his prime now. No doubting his talent, or ability, but he rarely turns up. When Alonso turns it on, he can take apart any defense in the world.
3. You are right, we can't seem to get it right over 38 games. And one of the main reasons is the squad. At Valencia, Rafa inherited a great, underachieving squad. It had 3-4 world class players in Aimar, Vicente, Ayala and Albelda, but it was surrounded by some really good players in Angulo, Mista, Carew, Baraja. What he inherited, IMO, was a average squad. He has managed to make a spine now, but the squad is still very weak, and that's why we are struggling. Rotation, or not, you have to use your squad over 38 games, and ours just isn't good enough. That's what United have, a brilliant squad. We have crappy Kuyt, Riise, Kewell etc. I do believe that this is what Rafa will fix in the summer. He has to get rid of a lot of players, that are just past it, or not good enough, and bring in more quality. ATM, our squad isn't good enough to win the league. We are progressing for sure. We lost 12 games last season, only 4 this season. We have drawn too many, so our next aim should be to convert draws to wins. Then we can be even closer next season (though I don't expect us to win next season either). And Rafa has come, and revamped the whole youth system. We know that's what helped Ferguson sustain his dominance, when a whole group of youngsters came through. Rafa is trying the same thing. And if you do watch some of them, they do look very promising. Rafa has managed to get top youngsters from Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are very highly rated there. Whether they make it, depends, but our youth teams are much better than what they were under Ged.
It's always funny to see a retarded nob cheese like you peed off. So what if I support Manchester United? What are you going to do? The irony here is that half of my friends in Derby are Liverpool supporters. I think only one of them has actually been to Anfield to see his beloved team play. In fact, one of my best friend's dad started supporting Liverpool during their era of dominance in the 70s and 80s. My uncle in Pakistan supports Liverpool. Should I tell him to support Khan Research Laboratories instead? Anyway, I've chosen my club and I'll stick with them. Maybe in a few decades we'll get relegated or something, or we'll become a mid-table club but I will still be supporting them. At the end of the day, you should mind your own business. It is not your problem that someone is a Man Utd supporter or a Liverpool supporter.
