Terrence on Sat, 16th Feb 2008 11:47 pm 

RAFA BENITEZ IS RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES AND HE SHOULD BE SACK NOW! IDIOT MANAGERWITH A STUPID ROTATION POLICY! SACK BENITEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

Redneck on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 2:08 am 

you have absolutely no idea what your on about have you?

The rotation policy makes sense, and it makes even more sense when it’s an FA Cup game, and yet again, it makes EVEN MORE sense when we’re playing Inter Milan in 3 days time.

Dave on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 2:22 am 

it all boils down to the players on the pitch!

The team which was fielded should beat most of the teams in the premiership, with the exception of maybe the keeper (but even he has to be tested somehow) would you be happy throwin him in against Chelsea or Barnsley be sensible.

Everybody with anysense would agree to rest Torres who is returning from and injury and Gerrard who will be needed against Inter!

I personally would not have chosen a much different team. & I think if you were honest with yourself your would expect that team to win as well!

Yogi on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 1:42 pm 

All this sack Benitez is getting us nowhere and has the press pissing themselves laughing. Should we have won yesterday yes, the fact we didn’t means the players used, mainly internationals, let us and the manager down. However it isn’t the 1st time that has happened Luton away, Havant and Waterlooville (no disrespect) scored 2!. So as the manager signed a lot of these players we have to ask questions, up until this season I thought Rafa had done well in the transfer market, however the lack of a goal threat outside of Torres is worrying in the extreme. Voronin is not Liverpool standard, Kuyt just isn’t playing well, maybe his father’s death has affected him more than we expected, and Crouch is on a collision course with Rafa cause he expects to play as he’s an England player. Whilst some of you may agree with Crouch I couldn’t give a toss about England and if he doesn’t like being 3rd or 4th choice striker he should remember when those English morons were booing him or why he is actually in the England squad, I’m sure Joe Bloggs would have a good chance if he had Liverpool as his club. However whilst I back Rafa, I can’t be the only one who thinks that he won’t be manager next season.

Gil on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 2:45 pm 

Yogi, I am agreeing most of your points about the players should also share the blame. I also believe that the manager can’t just be free from criticism! He picked the players week in, week out, deals with them on the daily regular-basis yet the team failed most of the time when it was needed to show the meaning of team cohesion. I am not jumping into the bandwagon and blame Rafa’s rotation policy, but most of the time I was baffled by his team’s selection and his stubbornness to play under performing players on the pitch. These culprits of our deep forms will surely cost him his job in the future! wondering sometimes whether Rafa does actually know his best eleven..
IMO, until he’s willing to be less stubborn and swallow his pride and starting to apply some shift in his approach, our current problem on the pitch will never improve. I know it is easier said than done but if someone like Capello or even Schuster can change the whole thing in a season i.e. winning the title, regardless the financial back up from the board, Benitez should have been able to do the same given the fact he’s a manager at the caliber..

rouman on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 3:29 pm 

rafa is his own worst enemey, roatation only works when the, team is doing well.and the players are playing ,kuyt is second rate yet all he can see is a work horse. i have backed rafa since day one, but i am starting to loose my confidence, in him. i was never a fan of cisse, but even he was better than kuyt, so was bellamy, who i also thought was crap. he has to get some help either sammy lee, or phil thompson. or even john aldridge. he needs that understanding, that all l,pool managers have had. plus noone can argue that his rotation has worked, he has had a few years now and it, has not worked nor will it…

Rum Lee on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 3:37 pm 

The lost of Pako,Benitez right man is the problem.His the mastermind and they been working
together for quite sometime.Juz look at Ferguson
when he lost Carlos to Madrid.Utd seems to lose their inspiration and Ferguson seems unable to find the answer.

John on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 6:57 pm 

He believes in his policy, the team deserved to win but we didnt. He is a class manager operating on a budget well below the other three. He inherited a team that had only Gerrard & Owen as players that could be in a top four team.Now, Reina, Carragher, Agger, Alonso, Gerrard, Mascherano ( For Now ), Torres would be in Top 4 Teams. Lucas & Babel look good aswell as Skrtel. The talent in the youths set-up is amazing & remember he has to do this on a budget so much less than Man U & Chelski. Arsene has over 10 years there devloping his youths, fabulous football but what have they won of late?? Stand behind the team, stand behind Rafa

Gil on Sun, 17th Feb 2008 9:11 pm 

To say he’s a manager operating on a low budget is undermining Arsene Wenger’s talent on spotting potential youngsters, let alone AW’s ability to develop them and take the best out of the players, as well as producing the most attractive football style in Europe nowadays.
I support Rafa but I don’t mystify him, and I think some fans need to smell the coffee and remove the rose tinted glasses as the glory days of Istanbul and FA cup fever have long gone. I am not dismissing these achievements, in fact, Rafa is still one of the best in Europe regardless awful performances in the league.
Granted no team can’t always win in every competition each year, Rafa, nevertheless, IMO, has failed to produce some level of consistency and created that winning mentality during his reign at our club.
I didn’t expect the team to win the holy grail this season or even next season, however, if things are not progressing in a manner that fans have expected i.e. producing quality football (whatever that means), creating the winning mentality and consistency, i think things need to be reassessed at the end of the season.