JRC

Caught Alan Green agreeing with a(nother) Liverpool 'fan' about how ridiculous the initial selection was, Torres got Rafa out of jail etc. Turned it off. The crowd, rightly, got stick for booing when we went top in December. Now the media pundits are doing their version of the same. May they be miserable and have cause to complain even more come May.

The post I was responding too suggested that "he praises Rafa for being negative and uncreative on the pitch" which he doesn't - he praises his single-mindedness. He doesn't offer a counter-argument to what 'People say', but doesn't explicitly endorse it, just points out that Rafa doesn't care. In the second phrase he uses the 'but' to contrast the accusation of stubbornness with 'passing whims and fancies', so there's plenty of room between those 2 positions, and I think we'd all agree that the latter is not acceptable, and all good managers show a degree of the former. The question is whether the degree of stubbornness exemplified by Rafa is appropriate, and Nicholson is clearly on his side on this one. End of the day, I fail to see why anyone could get worked up that forumites should enjoy and appreciate the sentiments of this article and, imo, go on a roundabout route to find a position to object to.

Then being wrong is the problem; Nicholson answers the why question when he says - you can't run a club like Liverpool on passing whims and fancies - and I think that's true to an extent. I also think we underestimate how flexible Rafa can be - see various players released when they don't cut it; he's not so stubborn then (at times). I wasn't being sarcastic when I said your spleen was admirable, but I think it's going a bit far to object to people deriving satisfaction from a light-hearted but generally positive article at a time when they are few and far between - and which is along way from 'blind devotion'.

Except that's not what the article does. His point is that is what 'People say', and he admires that Rafa doesn't care because he knows his own mind. He doesn't explicitly offer his own opinion on how we play, but even if he did, the praise is for Rafa's single-mindedness - much like your single-mindeness to find fault and vent spleen, admirable in its own way, I suppose. "People say his sides are overly defensive and lack creativity but he clearly doesn't care. This is his way. It's how he thinks he can win the league and the Champions League and he just won't be moved from it. He's accused of being stubborn but you can't run a club like Liverpool on passing whims and fancies from wise-after-the-event-give-us-success-now phone-in callers and commentators. "

I'm one who rates him, but would say he hasn't the dynamism or pace to fill that role. He's more the solid water-carrier type - not necessarily a bad thing, but not for the Gerrard role.

It's from Football365 which, despite claiming their difference from the mainstream and sensationalist media, have otherwise ridden the 'Ridiculous Rafa' bandwagon with as much fervour as them, not least a stupid and pernicious line-by-line dissection of Rafa's explanation of selling Keane that was unadulterated tripe from word 1. Nicholson is their maverick columnist and they have, in the past, been more favourable to Rafa (Man of the Year 2005), and given Ferguson, Wenger etc stick. But they are now Sky-owned, I believe, so less independant and appear to follow a 'traditional' agenda. They (the journos) are incredibly arrogant and hyper-sensitive to criticism, even though that is their own stock-in-trade (and a favourite jibe to throw at Liverpool fans, amongst others).

Maybe he felt that, having requested control over transfer policy, he appreciated the financial element - i.e. letting RK go becasue he would not get anywhere near as much in the summer - balanced alongside the fact that he hasn't shown that he would add much on the pitch in that time.

Isn't there a stat that every time they have beaten us in the Cup, they've been knocked out in the next round? Please God...

I saw (or heard) what you did there...

Except he followed that up at the post-match conference with "What are you lot going to do now? All those Liverpool fans, especially in the local press. The way you build that side up. I bet you're all stunned tonight. We completely controlled the game" So there's never a pro-Everton voice on City, or Merseyside, or in the Post or Echo is there? And that Prentice is such an Uber-Red isn't he? And 'completely controlled the game'!? He wouldn't know 'class and dignity' if it bit his a**e

Copyright - Wigan; evidence apparently of Ridiculous Rafa cracking up - and a game we actually were winning at the time, remember

I don't know why a scapegoat is needed, but to dismiss that there are scapegoats as 'internet nonsense' is to fly in the face of the evidence here and at the match (and on the phone-ins, but they often represent such ur-fandom as not to be worthy of serious consideration). Firstly, it's not true about 'if the team plays well etc. no-one gets highlighted'. Sit by me in the Main Stand, and win, lose or draw, struggle or batter, the usual suspects get berated and abused. Kuyt's form was excellent earlier this season, and he was scoring goals, but it mattered not one jot for the loudmouth thick-ears, they just remained silent when he did somnething worthwhile, but were he to miscontrol a pass, he would get down the banks, as usual. Of course failings get highlighted, and criticized, and some players have earned credit in the bank as it were, and others can eventually 'win the fans over', but the point about scapegoating is not that it is without reason, but the disproportionate nature of the failure to acknowledge the positive reasons and propensity to highlight the bad reasons depending on the player in question, to the point where many appear to have reached a decision of extreme prejudice about how they are going to judge them, come what may - and use any opportunity to lay the team's failings at their feet.

At least Babel has the physical attributes to play the Torres role when asked - pacey, strong, control, aerial presence(ish). That his form is currently rubbish is, unfortunately, a consideration he shares with Robbie Keane, so not decisive.

Of course, with Spurs coming here on the last day of the season, you just KNOW what is going to happen, don't you? * With Spurs needing a point against the already-crowned champions to avoid relegation, Robbie Keane contrives to miss 3 open goals that look easier to score...what else could it be?

Not sure about this. I always cavil at the oft-heard complaint that 'we play 2 Holding (or Defensive) Midfielders and 1 up Front, and at home'. Not only is the Gerrard-Torres axis a positive one, but I don't see Xabi and Masch as 2 Holding. Masch does fantastic work protecting the defence, but at his best, his energy and mobility is such that he doesn't simply hold, he is active in Centre Mid as well - although he obviously offers less going forward. He's the closest to a Defensive Midfielder, but he is hardly a Makele or even a Didi patrolling 10 yards in front of the back 4 and mopping up. Not sure what I'd call Xabi - there has been a lot of talk on here about 'Deep-Lying', 'quarterback', 'playmaker' etc, but while he reads the game well enough to do a defensive shift when the opposition attacks, the fact that he comes and collects the ball as deep as he does doesn't make him a Holding player or DM. He's always about moving the ball on, and looking for the pass. That's not to say I don't think he should (or should be charged to) do more further up - as Carrick is doing; but my recollection of his appearances for Spain this Summer was that he was often found in much more attacking positions, and offering a threat, than he does with us.

That's true - and I don't think it unfair to say that Rafa was the first manager to really put that plan into effect and show the rest how to do it.

Forgot to add Cech, he now looks a liability. Punched every cross even when not under pressure; even the shot-stopping Pearce claimed he was still brilliant at looked laboured, and twice put the ball straight back in the danger zone

I was slightly concerned when Drogba came on yesterday. He's better at working as a lone striker than Anelka, could help them out defensively when we went all hands to the pump, and may have still had something to prove to Rafa - and maybe Scolari as well. We all have to admit that he can bully the best defender on his day. Then the first time the ball comes near him, Jamie just eases him off it, the shoulders go up, the outstretched palms, the outraged glare at some other blameless colleague.....yes, it was THAT Drogba out there, and I knew I could rest easy. Especially as they also had Ballack, Malouda, Kalou, Mikel, Anelka and, tbh, Lampard before he went in pretty much the same kind of form. I could well understand why most Chelsea fans calling into the phone-ins were not really blaming Riley or having a pop at us but bemoaning their own team. Say what you like about Ferguson, but he's clearly qualified to judge the overall, ongoing quality of a squad required to challenge at the top level, and his pre-season call about them plateauing looks right on the money.

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Having a player sent off these days is an advantage to the other team of course, but teams surely train for playing with 10 men, as they are all going to experience it a few times a season, and is by no means a 'gimme', as Stoke - or more correctly City - proved yesterday. I think it makes winning harder for the team with 10 men, but scarcely impacts their defensive set-up, and even consolidates it.

Yossi was good, but Dirk, poor as some of his play was, did the disciplined stuff for 75 minutes or so - stayed wide, always available for the ball(even if he didn't always control it), and most importantly, kept Cole from going forward at all. Not sure Yossi would have dome that as well.

Surprised to read one report that Benitez's substitutions were cautious, same as against the 10 of Arsenal.. Babel on for Mascherano cautious? For once we really went for them, and got our just desserts. Felt I could listen to the Radio for once on the way home. First conversation (606) - Spoony talking about Robbie Keane with a Manc guest saying how badly he was getting treated after playing so well.. turned to Talk**te where it was about 'sympathy' for Chelsea, though tbf, none of the Chelsea callers wanted any sympathy, and said the best team won anyway - so the presenter raised a different subject - 'does this win just paper over the cracks at Liverpool?'. So it was radio silence the rest of the way home again.

Rafa saoid he'd already decided to take Stevie off before Wigan scored, and in fact I would have had little problem with that - he was clearly struggling and ineffective, and we were 1-0 up and needed to control the endgame if, as it looked, we weren't going to score again ourselves. Once they scored, it was a no-brainer for me that he stayed on (2006 FA Cup etc. etc.), but Rafa doesn't work that way, and clearly got it wrong. But I think some of the other mistakes he has been accused of have been overplayed - playing/not playing Keane, subbing Torres etc. Not sure yet if Wenger is getting or going to get the same kind of stick from the Press & Pundits for 3 consecutive draws - with worse opposition (Cardiff), scoring a fortunate late equalizer after being outplayed rather than conceding one after controlling as it was for us, then benching his most potent matchwinner.

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Marcotti has excellent journalistic contacts and insight on matters like lengths of contracts, agents, transfer targets etc. He has a wide knowledge of the teams and players across Europe. His actual understanding and appreciation of the game is embarassingly weak.