Benitez and hyypia

[Huyton_Red]

Firstly sami, what an absolute legend for Liverpool FC that man has been

 

Dragged us back into that game last night when it looked like arsenal where going to run away with it, he has popped up with countless important goals for us and is a fantastic professional as well

 

What a f'ckin player and what a credit to Liverpool FC and if ever anyone deserved a testimonial it is him

 

Now rafa. His record in europes biggest competition beggars belief, it is getting to the point now where it is worthy of some serious, serious attention.

 

Dare I say it, but if he gets us to moscow again, and even wins it then forget the league, he goes down in history for ever. This is the biggest tournament in the world

 

Four f'ckin years, one win, one final, one 5th round and still in it this year at the semi final stage.

He has stayed in the competition longer than alex ferguson every single year he has been Liverpool manager.

 

This is truly incredible - it really is. It can no longer be dismissed as luck etc, it is simply a remarkable period of sustained success in the worlds biggest competition. Think back to the old days and how much we craved even just being in this tournament and every time we played back then in it we never, ever thought we would win it or content for it.

 

Now we expect to win it every year. Its mad, absolutely mad and deserves respect.

[RP]

He is in the history books already. Two finals in three years, winning one of them, and then at least a semi final this year. The man is a genius - possibly a flawed genius, I'll concede that, but I'll take that over that Portuguese c*** who some of our fans seem to want to bring in.

[Marvin]

And shame on those who were all but calling for his head earlier in the season

[Kahnee]

Now we expect to win it every year. Its mad, absolutely mad and deserves respect.

 

Speak for yourself. It's people's expectations that lead them to call for his head when things go askew.

 

I hope we win it every year, all I expect is for the team to do its best in all competitions.

[Huyton_Red]

He is a genuis isnt he

 

You simply cant argue with that anymore

 

We have utd and chelsea with their three or four £15 million players on the bench winning the premier league due to the depth of their squads, its the premier league where the resources really matter - playing week in week out is where the strength of your squad matters more than the strength of your first team. They can change tight games by bringing on £15-£20 million players, they can rotate with top quality replacements

 

However in the champions league it is 11 v 11, knockout football where its about what happens between two top teams.

 

The resources of a football club have a far greater impact on their ability to win the premiership than the champions league.

 

11 v 11, two legs or a final we consitently are as good as if not better than anyone in Europe, that is astonishing considering where was was before rafa joined

Edited April 9, 2008 by Huyton_Red

[Guest Prongsy]

I've been pretty much unfaltering in my praise and support for Rafa. I also believe he'll get it right in the league. He might yet go down as one of the best we've had. He's up there and has had to put up with a lot of s***, but he's here and he's ours and he went the pub. Legend.

[jimmylibel]

He is a genuis isnt he

 

You simply cant argue with that anymore

 

To be fair I don't think you could really argue against it long before last night.

[New York Red]

He is in the history books already. Two finals in three years, winning one of them, and then at least a semi final this year. The man is a genius - possibly a flawed genius, I'll concede that, but I'll take that over that Portuguese c*** who some of our fans seem to want to bring in.

 

Eusebio?

[Guest Prongsy]

He still won't get any respect, he'll still be ridiculed for a rotation system and zonal marking by people that get paid much more than us, yet know much less.

[johngibo YPC]

He still won't get any respect, he'll still be ridiculed for a rotation system and zonal marking by people that get paid much more than us, yet know much less.

 

To be fair i've heard Molby pays Ant f*** all

[Gilps]

To be fair i've heard Molby pays Ant f*** all

 

[MickeyDocs]

Rafa inherited a squad that had very few good players - (Gerrard, Hyppia, Carra, Finnan). Team morale was at an incredible low, so much so that we had lost Owen and were on the verge of losing Gerrard.

 

We now have a team with many good players (the above plus Alonso, Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Torres, Babel, Aurelio). We still lack quality in a few positions and Hyppia & Finnan are at the end of their careers. Slowly Rafa is building a team and a squad. He has proven that he can get great success in cup competitions.

 

It took Ferguson six years and a hell of a lot of money to build a championship winning side, but those six years gave him the time to rebuild his club from top to bottom. His hard work resulted in their academy producing a squad of players that have represented the bulk of their team for so long it is unreal.

 

Rafa has made us successful in one of the competitions that counts. The other one is still out of reach. The competition improves every year. This is a golden era of Premiership football, and it is extremely tough to win the league - just look at the points now required to win the league. Rafa spent well in the Summer, but so did Ferguson.

 

I think we may need to be patient for another season, but there is a sense that we are building towards something incredible and sustainable. He deserves our respect, faith and most of all our patience.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

the header was perfect - that's what PE teachers need to show young kids on how to head a ball. 20 yeards or so out, he lost his man & steered it into the top corner.

 

That goal alone was worth his new contract

[Mike]

what i don't understand is how some people can have such wildly swerving opinions and beliefs based on a victory or a defeat.

its a bit...daft.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

 

...afterall.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

what i don't understand is how some people can have such wildly swerving opinions and beliefs based on a victory or a defeat.

its a bit...daft.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

 

...afterall.

[Kahnee]

what i don't understand is how some people can have such wildly swerving opinions and beliefs based on a victory or a defeat.

its a bit...daft.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

 

...afterall.

Exactly

[sutty]

what i don't understand is how some people can have such wildly swerving opinions and beliefs based on a victory or a defeat.

its a bit...daft.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

 

...afterall.

 

Whilst this is obviously valid, I thought the point about the premier league being more influenced by the quality and depth of resources available to you is an interesting one - and that point stands to an extent.

 

I think there is a counter argument that says basically that the gap between avoiding defeat and winning is bigger in league football than knockout football and that Rafa doesn't set up positively enough in certain games. I actually think that that criticism is abit unwarranted this season though. There are very few instances when I've thought we played to not get beat at the likes of Villa or Boro, as he has done in the past.

 

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

[Rich Gobey]

what i don't understand is how some people can have such wildly swerving opinions and beliefs based on a victory or a defeat.

its a bit...daft.

 

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same

 

...afterall.

 

If you can do X, Y, Z, then bob's your uncle.

[sutty]

If you can do X, Y, Z, then bob's your uncle.

Is that Partridge?

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

Was it Sami?

 

At 3-2, they tried to play a clever ball into the box to Adabeyor who was unmarked - I touched cloth, until a stooping header got in the way of the ball and led to - if my booze haze remembers correctly - the ball upfield for #4

[Ronnie Whelan]

the header was perfect - that's what PE teachers need to show young kids on how to head a ball. 20 yeards or so out, he lost his man & steered it into the top corner.

 

That goal alone was worth his new contract

 

 

Personally I think that header was better than Cronaldos against Roma.

[Maldini]

Rafa inherited a squad that had very few good players - (Gerrard, Hyppia, Carra, Finnan). Team morale was at an incredible low, so much so that we had lost Owen and were on the verge of losing Gerrard.

 

Only two of them would have been called "very good" before Rafa came here too, Carra was a utility player who while a fan's favourite was not considered world class by any stretch of the imagination. Finnan had a shocking first season here and it was only around Halloween in Rafa'a first season that he started to look a player.

[Kuyt-fever]

Hamman ,Kewell and Owen were all very good players too.

 

I said after Istanbul that Rafa earned the right to see out his contract that night but then he went from strength to strength and is a class , class manager. We could make a top 10 European nights based on Rafas 4 years here and to think we've been to the Nou-camp , San-siro and the likes and been toe-to-toe with European greats and beaten them is testament to his skills as a manager. Some of our fans take these nights for granted.

 

Hyypia is in my top 10 players ever.

[Ginu]

I absolutely love Rafa. My only issue is his team selection when in the beginning of the season, he put out weaker teams in games we needed to win, and after failing to get the result by the middle of the second half, he'd then bring on the big guns. I think Rafa's rotation policy is great, but secure the result first, then bring on fresh legs and rest your players. Too many wasted opportunities playing Riise, Voronin and Pennant early on in the season, and not enough Crouch. The man is definitely a genius with his record in knock out competitions. I hope he sees though that his team selection in the premier league to start games gets the team in a lot of trouble when we play players that aren't going to win us games. Again, get the result, then rest the players in the 2nd half, or get better quality in the side.

[James D]

Was it Sami?

 

At 3-2, they tried to play a clever ball into the box to Adabeyor who was unmarked - I touched cloth, until a stooping header got in the way of the ball and led to - if my booze haze remembers correctly - the ball upfield for #4

 

Forgot about that, pooh juice was flowing