Toni

personally i think it is a bad man management by rafa leaving keane out of the squad if he s not injured.

yes in fact our right wing doesnt need improving.

it is up to babel. but playing him today and the leave him out of the side for the next three is not going to do your form any good. it is difficult for a player to start a match and play brilliantly after a long period sitting on the bench. i just hope for babel' sake that he does nt try too hard to catch rafa s eye and must stick to the basics first, then as the game wears on, and he is passing and controlling the ball well, attempt the darting run on the opposing defender.

Nobody can deny this. Kuyt is perhaps one of those few players in our current side which will fail to start for the other big three. In big games, his graft, work-rate and determination is useful, but at anfield when we need to impose the game, grab the match by the scruff of the neck, create waves of consequent attacks, he is entirely hopeless. I also agree with alawee that form is temproary and class is permanent. Keane s confidence has been severly dented this sesason, mainly because of his mistakes and form, but nothing remotely can suggest that Rafa has or is helping him gain his confidence back. On page 2/3 of this thread Ian Rush (who i daresay knows something about a striker confidence) suggests how we may bring the keane of spurs back to life. It might be useful to put an arm around our 20 mill signing, in an attempt to gain his confidence back same argument goes for babel. a young player who may have a hell of a future ahead of him, who last year scored 10 goals for the club and reassured many with his performances, been reduced to 10 mins cameos and the odd start every now and then, when the team is faltering to create chances and this at the expense of whom????

we feel, we think, we assume etc. All i m saying is that at least at anfiled in normal league games, why do we always have to play with three central midfileders and a working horse in kuyt? Why not give a chance to a huge prospect instead? We will continue to feel, think and assume unless he gets his fair share of starts. I am of the opinion that he will come good and you are not but we wont know unless he begins to start games regularly. It s not like he will be clogging the path of a better right winger. feck we dont even have a proper right winger. The gerrad and torres partnership with masch and alonso sitting behind inmho is best siuted for the big away games. At anfield i would like to see a less cautious approach. Inmho IF him and keane come good we will win the premiership. if not inmho we just dont have what it takes.

BTW what on earth is "abour"? Seriously though, inmho, we need an injection of pace and creativity in the side to clinch the title. We can t rely solely on two players (gerrard + torres) to score create and produce almost everything for the rest of the season. Me thinks that Babel and Keane are the most eligible candidates to step up and realise their true worth... if given that proper fair chance.

--------------Cavallieri----------------- Arby--------Carra-------Skretl-------Auerlio Babel-------Gerrard------Masch------Rieira ------------------Keane--------------------- ------------------Torres--------------------

There you go redjersey At a time when players are being traded like Panini stickers, his appeal is not just as a one-club stalwart but as a footballer who has made the very best of himself. “Perhaps the man on the street, with the money that’s in the game, they see players like myself, Gary Neville, and see that it means more to us than players who earned a lot more money and weren’t as good as us,” he said. Split loyalties had already caused problems, like the time he was on a bus with the Liverpool reserve team and cheered the announcement on radio of an Everton goal.

Montse is better... “People have been so warm to us and we really feel we have found the right place to bring our children up and enjoy life,” she said. “My friends and family are here and we love the club and the area. We made the decision to move to Liverpool over a weekend and we really feel that this is where we belong now.” link Rafa and his missus really love LFC

music to my ears

hope they both play and pray that both have cracking performances. Just the kind of game where they will have the opportunity to turn their season. Keane needs another chance alongside Torres vs Everton. he must be aching to play to show us fans what he can really do to the bluehite.

I expect Rafa to ring minor changes in the form of babel, masch, cavalieri on sunday, but to advocate to play vs everton, with kids, thereby increasing the possibility, that they will beat us and eliminate us out of the FA CUP after they manged t sneak and steal a point vs us at home... you are simply overboard.

evans, ferdinand returning by end of the month. rooney and evra by first week of feb.

Both players on top form who would you prefer in your starting line-up? Who carries the most raw talent? Who is the most experienced? Has Babel ever been match fit this season? Hasnt he mainly featured in 10 mins cameos and scoring 2 goals in the premiership? dont you think he s a wild card a frustrated ballon, most probably waiting to burst in our favour? wont you be pleased if rafa tries to increase his confidence? dont you agree that he s the only player who atm can seriously improve our right wing and would be in favour of rafa playing this wild card bursting ballon from the start at least at anfield?

I just wish that at least at home, on our turf, we stick with the most obvious and simple formation: arb---skretl--carra--aurelio babel--gerrard-alonso-riera ----------keane------------ ----------torres----------- why complicate matters? that formation has enough ammunition to wither any team playing like stoke did vs us.

For those advocating to play el zhar before babel, they seem to have very short memories. Babel scored 10 goals for us last season two of which vs chelsea and arsenal. this season he scored the winner vs manure. he is an international established player. no one in our side has his pace, strength. he also has a blistering shot. his potential is there for all to see. el zhar simply does not have his potential. babel needs to learn, how he must his attributes positevely for the teama and that will come with gamers. he offers a huge attacking threat. this season he had never the opportunity to be match fit. he was mainly involved in 10 mins cameos from which i believe albeit never being on his form managed to score 2 goals. Keane considered a legend at spurs, also came here as a 20mill player signing and hasnt happened for him for a number of different reasons which i am in no mood to try to analyze. all i know that for the last couple of years he ha sproved to be a terrific player and a player simply does not turn s*** overnight. They both have the quality and certainly are the two players who if on top form make our team more complete. if they have the natural ability and not playing well they must have another type of problem which basically is lack of confidence. inmho the title hinges on rafa s ability to somehow resurrect these players confidence back. then we will be able to offer a more attacking threat when need arises. At least a certain ian rush agrees with me: And the former Welsh international feels that the only way Keane will begin to settle in properly is when Benitez gives him a run in the side and makes him feel wanted and comfortable. Rush adds: "If he is going to get back to the level we all know he can reach then Rafa Benitez is going to have to take Keane to one side and tell him he will be in his starting line up for the next four or five games."link

ok we need them to perform now. if we have players who will perform 'much' or provide a much better threat than babel or keane i may have agreed with you, but to play other players who will fail to provide a much better attacking threat will just result in more draws and frustration to score goals, whilst destroying more the confidence of two player who on form can resolve many of our teams defecciencies. 2 players we spent considerable amounts of money on. 2 players who we know can perform much better as they constantly do for their national sides. we have 16 cup finals, yet you choose to leave two of your potential match - winners consequently on the bench

cetrainly starting with both of them them esp. in home games, in an attempt and hoping to ressurect their confidence.

Exactly. we have 4 potential winners. they have the potential. they are terribly lacking ib confidence. with reference to babel inmho he has surely not been given enough minutes on the pitch. and keane has arrived at a new club and clearly started on the wrong foot. so what should we do? clearly not bench them and play any other player who we all know do not have the potential to be that match winner.

why not? many of you want to stick with kuyt on the right, play masch and gerrard and torres up front. i am arguing the exact opposite.

I posted these posts in other threads but feel that this whole anti-keane bashing needs a thread of its own. My argument is this. maure scrape and win games simply cos going forward they have plenty more options and threat. our central midfield and even the defence is second to none. manure by offering more threat with their attacks during a match relievs some pressure off their defence. This results in them playing with more confidence whilst usurping the confidence of the opposing team. Our biggest defeciencies are creativity in the final third and more pace especially down the right. Who are the best candidates in our team to address these defecienes? Clearly KEANE and BABEL. still think that torres/keane partnership has not as yet been given enough number of minutes on the pitch to deliver a good/bad judgement. ditto to the babel on the right possibility. Keane and Babel MUST come good for the second part of the season if we want to win the title. if they come good we will win the premiership. if not there s a big defeciency in the team and our chances tp win the premiership plummet remarkably. the team clearly needs more creativity in the final third and pace down the right flank. KEANE = CREATIVITY (in the final third, like he did numerous times for spurs) and BABEL = PACE (and more opportunities for the forwards from the right) after all this is the reason why we have these palyers in the squad and why we spent so much money on them i hope rafa gives this wild card a real proper chance and then come May... Keane at Spurs is a million miles better than kuyt at Liverpool. Keane at Spurs couldnt just vanish into thin air in a few months. Keane at Liverpool needs some confidence back to equal keane at spurs. so between keane at liverpool and kuyt at liverpool i would still choose keane at liverpool mainly cos one has the potential to come good, the other dare i say playing beyond his expectations which still is not nearly good enough. same goes for babel. babel has the potential. kuyt doesnt it. guve them a both a proper run in. kuyt on the right and winning the title is never gonna happen. more 0-0 draws will continue to flow.

Keane at Spurs is a million miles better than kuyt at Liverpool. Keane at Spurs couldnt just vanish into thin air in a few months. Keane at Liverpool needs some confidence back to equal keane at spurs. so between keane at liverpool and kuyt at liverpool i would still choose keane at liverpool mainly cos one has the potential to come good, the other dare i say playing beyond his expectations which still is not nearly good enough. same goes for babel. babel has the potential. kuyt doesnt it. guve them a both a proper run in. kuyt on the right and winning the title is never gonna happen. more 0-0 draws will continue to flow.

still think that torres/keane partnership has not as yet been given enough number of minutes on the pitch to deliver a good/bad judgement. ditto to the babel on the right possibility. Keane and Babel MUST come good for the second part of the season if we want to win the title. if they come good we will win the premiership. if not there s a big defeciency in the team and our chances tp win the premiership plummet remarkably. the team clearly needs more creativity in the final third and pace down the right flank. KEANE = CREATIVITY (in the final third, like he did numerous times for spurs) and BABEL = PACE (and more opportunities for the forwards from the right) after all this is the reason why we have these palyers in the squad and why we spent so much money on them i hope rafa gives this wild card a real proper chance and then come May...

one may have all the good reasons to start wit a certain formation, but if it results to be largely ineffective during the course of a match, one must positively address the situation. the vast majority identifies the midfield as the major problem. gerrad should have been dropped back at some point in the match, to rectiy this problem. i agreed with rafa on the introduction of babel and torres, but should he have risked playing with two strikers, two wings at some point in an attempt to break stoke down rather than fearing stoke nicking the winner? INMHO if we are fighting for the title we need bolder more positive decisions to be taken.

1. Hyppia 2. Gerrard (hit two posts) 3. Riera