adayinthelife

I don't know if I'm the only one who has noticed, but the whole squad looks unfit to me. Players low on confidence and/or motivation usually look as though they are a yard or two off the pace, which suggests the problems are more mental than physical.

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Here is the damning footage of the cheat in all his glory against Celtic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h213GJo76sQ&NR=1 Here is the previous footage of when he was harmlessly hit with a flare on his shoulder, after which he goes down in installments and ends up holding his head when he reaches the ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNP_WBaTOw...ted&search= An excuse of a man, who is best described as a little bitch.

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A couple of our players past and present make an appearance. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXtGuBtQVLk

I agree it's a case of Benitez opting for safety first and the chances of scoring is small, but if we kept two men in their half then the opposition would keep at least 3 or even 4 players back. Just a simple case of taking the initiative, which Benitez seems less prepared to do than when he was manager at Valencia. The other problem with bringing everybody back is that when the ball gets cleared it inevitably comes straight back. It's not like we have a plan to counter attack with pace and numbers if the ball drops to one of our players, which is a missed opportunity as we have enough pace to do it.

The manager should trust his players, but I get the impression Benitez is worse than me when it comes to trusting people, and Pako(one of the few he did trust) jumping ship can't have helped either.

I think it's more a case of him underestimating his second choice, as he is desperate for his best team to be in top condition for what he sees as the most important games. Villa and Chelsea saw Benitez pick the exact same team, and but for injuries against Porto probably would have seen us play the same 11 again.

It's easier when we are drawn in a handy group.

He would never play for them again...

We have needed two top quality wingers for a good few years and nothing has changed...

He played half decent against villa and chelsea, but apart from a few moments of brilliance, I didn't think he was that good. It could be that I expect more now that he has finally been given the role he wants, but not having the pace of Torres up front means he is restricted in the balls he can play.

We are still unbeaten, despite our best player nowhere near the top of his game. We can only get better.

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Nowadays players should be stronger and fitter so they have no excuse, except when the manager tells them they need a rest... In our team the only player who really plays as though it's his last game is Kuyt, other than that the rest of them should have no problem playing two games a week. There is no incentive to play well, as you are likely to be rested for the next game if you do well, so why bother putting in the extra effort?

Benitez played Alonso in a poxy reserve game in midweek after he was sent off for Spain, as he said he needed match fitness, while at the same time Torres played and scored for Spain. Torres is on the bench and Alonso starts and gets injured...