Rotation? United have played the same team ONCE this season. Most United fans I have talked to, think it's impossible to predict what lineup Ferguson puts out. Bottom line, rotation is part of parcel of modern game. Every top club does it, the difference is, we don't have a good enough squad to carry us through the season. The rotation arguement is BS, as well as the 'Torres was rested' argument, when fact is, he was rested for only 2 games (less than what Ronaldo has rested), and it was after this that he got the injury. Co-incidence?
Can Rafa win the leagues? Of course he can. I have seen Valencia dominate La Liga for 2 seasons under him. That Valencia was a crushing machine, and I have never seen a team come to Anfield, and outplay us like Valencia did in the CL. Difference is, he inherited a squad full of world class players. Ayala, Aimar, Vicente, Albelda, Baraja, Canizares, as well as some very good players in Mista, Carew, Curro Torres etc.
In England, it's a different case. He inherited a squad, with only 4 players of any real quality, Hyypia, Didi, Gerrard and Owen. Also filled with crap in Traore, Biscan, Cisse, Le Talentless etc. Out of those 4, Hyypia and Didi were in their 30s, and Owen had left, leaving him with Steven Gerrard. Plus the fact, that English football was much less about tactics, but more about pace and power. He has had to come here, and completely rebuild the squad, similar to what Ferguson did. Difference is, alongside rebuilding the team, he also had to show some success on the field, due to which he had to buy stopgap players to sustain the team, while he slowly added real quality to the team.
Ferguson won full all in his first few seasons, but United did not sack him, and look what he's done! It's all ok for Wenger to walk into Arsenal, with arguably the best back 4 in the world, and with one of the best striker in Bergkamp, and win the league. Rafa inherited a mediocre team, which was ROTTING under Houllier, and has turned it into which most teams in Europe would fear.
And who says he doesn't beat the top teams? We have beaten the best in Europe. We have always beaten Arsenal at home in the league under Rafa, except this season, where our best central defender, our best forward, and our playmaker were injured. We have beaten Chelsea twice in Europe, we beat them last season at home, and we could/should have beaten them on both occassions this season. Our only problem is United, who are our bogey team. The problem is with the mentality. We have no problems facing the best in Europe, yet when we face United, we don't have the balls. We can't finish you off, even when we outplay you, or we just surrender down, like what happened on Sunday. This IS a problem, but you can't sack a manager on the basis of this.
I am sick and tired of the whole transfer debate. Rafa has worked on a limited budget. He has had to sell players to bring in players. You can say why he didn't spend 15M on a winger, but at the time, we needed BOTH a winger and a forward, within that budget. That's how it's worked. He's only made 2 big signings, and we know how those turned out. He has made a spine, a core for our team, that RARELY gets rotated. Apart from Kuyt, Paletta, Kromkamp he has done well. Every manager has poor transfers. Even the great Ferguson - Veron, Klerberson, Djemba Djemba, Forlan, dare I say, even Hargreaves.
I will say that we will not even win the league next season, simply because even if we do buy some top quality wide players (which Rafa will), it will take time for them to bed in. We just haven't been consistent enough this season, though there are some factors, like our best defender being out for the whole season (Imagine having Rio out for the whole season?), and the whole ownership fiasco. We are progressing. We have lost only 4 times, which is a great improvement over last season. Our away form has improved. We are finally playing some expansive football that top teams are associated with, and we are now properly demolishing teams, which we didn't earlier. Rafa has finally decided it's to settle upon a proper system, now that he has a spine to his team. We have turned our losses into draws, now it's to turn those draws into wins next season, where we may get closer to the top. We've had far too many draws, and our captain has been too inconsistent this season. I was expecting us to be closer to the top, but the league has got more competitive, we just don't have the squad to challenge at the moment. Rafa lost the plot for a while, when Pako left, and with the whole Klinsmann issue, but looks like we will be back on track. I hope we secure a 4th place, maybe push for 3rd. And sorry, it's not a 'Top 3' because we finished 3rd last two season, but no one mentioned a top 3 then.
Still, there's plenty to look forward to. Watch Babel and Lucas REALLY turn it on next season, watch Torres reach his true potential next season, and watch Mash become the best DMF in the world. And HOPEFULLY, watch Agger come back, and form a solid partnership with Skrtel.
We have a strong squad of 14-15 players, lacking any quality wide players. It's clear where we have to invest. An attacking full back, and a player to play where Kuyt is playing. And hopefully, a backup striker for Torres. I would expect at least a couple of players to be promoted (have I mentioned Rafa's youth system?), and complete a squad of around 20-22 players. The team will be required to gel together, but I expect Rafa's team to be completed in 2 years from now. THEN, we can do the tweaking of the squad by buying only 1-2 player every season, that Ferguson has been doing for the past several seasons.
To cut a long story, short, would I have ANYONE else takeover from Rafa? NO. I doubt there would be another manager, who could have taken the job of rebuilding like Rafa has done. We are much closer to the top, then we were 2 seasons ago, but EVERY team has improved, which makes it difficult for us. We still lack 3-4 more players to have a complete squad, to compete in all competitions. Rafa deserves at least another 2 years to build a title winning squad, and if waiting till then means, we regularly challenge for the greatest trophy in Europe, then it's fine with me
Rafa is not building a team, that will win the title for one season, and then fade away. He is rebuilding the club from the ground level, so that it can sustain itself for a long time. This is what Ferguson did, which resulted in 4-5 years with no success, but he persisted.
And apart from all this, Rafa is Liverpool class through and through. He is no cheater, no whiner. He's a class man, with a great sense of humor, and one of the greatest accents the football world has seen. He loves the club with a passion. He could walk into Barcelona or Inter Milan or Real Madrid, but he won't until he completes the job here.
Rafa is not without flaws, but his qualities far outweigh those flaws. I don't always agree with him, he makes some mistakes, but I couldn't ask for a better manager/person, to lead my club back to it's glory days. He's kwalitee, for sure, no?
Great post Peter but...
