Topic: Plague of the zombies

[Mother.F]

P.S.  I realise I post some variant on this theme every so often, but you know what? If you don't like it, then tough... cos I'm going to keep reminding people of it whenever I can.

It's the opposite Roy, posts like these are more necessary now than ever. Everyone knows that the media has a self serving unit-shipping agenda, and everyone knows that the people who call up programs like that to complain are mostly obtuse raving fools, and that both are best to be ignored. Yet because they shout the loudest, and because their forked tongues are made of silver, we let what they say cloud our minds and fill us with uneasiness (or worse). I truly believe those zombies are still a minority though, one that's fed by the media, who then in turn make their echoing nonsense larger by holding them up as an accurate cross section of Liverpool fans, for their own gains. That's why it's more important than ever to have voices of reason being raised just as loudly and vociferously, not in cries of false positivity of course, but in exactly what you did, objective reasoned arguments, and unabashed pride and support in a manager and team that are sitting atop the league having come through quite a storm, with the future looking very rosy.

We're all so nervous that it's easy to let the prospect of an oncoming circus tsunami make you want to hide away, but it's so important to not let these foolish people that call from the comfort of their house, or that boo at the end of a game, dictate what happens at the OUR club. I think their voices can still be rendered inconsequential, but not if all we offer in return is apathy. We need the sane people to be just as outspoken, because, c'mon, sack Rafa? If you say that with anything other than irony, then you smoke crack.
Anyway, your posts are wonderful as usual.

[woof]

Hang in there, mate. I'll get me saw-off shotgun and chain saw. I love blowing up those feckin zombies

[Oingy Boingy]

Top post as usual....i think a lot of it comes down to it not sitting to well with certain parts of the media us top of the league etc, heaven forbid us actually winning it and most of them having rather red faces and eating large amounts of humble pie... still would be nice to see Rafa and the team receive a modicum of respect no matter how begrudgingly and through gritted teeth.

I had the misfortune of watching your on skysports the other night, and one of the first callers was "Rafa has to go he's had plenty of time achieved nothing and the side's not progressing they're going backwards"....Now i know Gary newbon likes to play devil's advocate and that's how the show works, but even he seemed quite taken aback by the nonsensical reasoning's and mutterings of this so called fan, i realise also that the more outlandish views you have the more likely you are to get on this type of show, but really just what is sky's agenda here when even there own man was rolling his eyes at the constant whoppers being put through to spout the same constant shite and criticisms and were the fuck are they getting them from? because every mate and fan i talk to thinks although yes we've dropped points at home we shouldn't have, we are above were they expected us to be and right were everyone else wants to be..

i suspect it's an attempt to convince the gullable cretins that actually believe this shite that Rafa has split the fans far more than is actually true ,they also seem to think that if they bang on enough about the same old myths over rotation,zonal marking etc that enough simpletons will pick up on it and take it as gospel....in some respects unfortunately it appears to be working but let them be zombies they'll probably all start supporting Chelsea next week anyway.

[shanklyboy]

It's true though isn't it.
We have emerged from the doldrums and have now got ourselves into pole position and this Raffa bloke arrives and screws it all up....... Oh wait a minute who was driving the bus that is now motoring along the premier league highway. Couldn't possibly be the little fat spanish bus driver... nah

Some should realise we are here bcause of him, not in spite of him

Good points.
People seem to think that if Rafa hadn't been brought in,whoever had replaced Houllier would certainly have made us European Champions in his first season.
In addition, the Premier League trophy would be ours by default every year since.

[bravoco]

Top post Roy.

Was I the only one that thought the title had something to do with the return of Martin Skrtel? I was picturing him and Danny Agger in central defence together...

[Manila Kop]

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something." -
  --  Saul Bellow   

Lets get back to the Liverpool Way.

Loved that R3LT.  Top post.

[Phatz]

People seem to think that if Rafa hadn't been brought in,whoever had replaced Houllier would certainly have made us European Champions in his first season.
In addition, the Premier League trophy would be ours by default every year since.

Exactly, we are in the best position we have been for a long time. Yes, I know we have had a large slice of fortune pie served up with whipped luck this season, but we are alos TOP OF THE LEAGUE because of what The Gafa  has been doing with what many would term his squad. Not his complete squad, but one that is now players he wants playing like he wants. Most of the time anyway.

[royhendo]

Your initial post Roy was very good reading and may of been suited better in a comic book or something perhaps.

it's funny bam but your post made me think of the hudsucker proxy:

"These wild speculations about my intelligence... these preposterous inventions... would be better suited... to the pages of Amazing Tales Magazine"



but that's by the by.

anyway...

Welcome to modern day football.

...just wanted to say that post was awesome.

[No666]

Can't believe people are shouting for Rafas head when we're top of the league . Madness.

People aren't. Only pond life is.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

...just wanted to say that post was awesome.

It was indeed.

It's not just the clueless part-timers that are the problem though.  We've had a new lad sitting next to us this season. Young, local, vocal - all the boxes ticked. But he's been winding me up all season.  It always plays out the same way.

He arrives bright and breezy, full of optimism, knows the words, sings the songs, gets behind the team. Each week I have to do a double take at this point just to check it is the same lad. IT is, he's just not hit his tipping point yet. If we're not at least a goal up and crusing after 15 minutes though that's when the trouble starts, that's when he starts getting on the players backs, you know the usual suspects, pie-boy (Dossena), worst Brazilian ever (Aurelio or Lucas depending on how the mood takes him), although to be fair he spreads his bile fairly wide and Gerrard gets his fair share of stick.  There is no doubting the lad's passion, his desire to see us win, how much it means to him, he just has no control over his frustration, it seems that he has to blert whatever enters his head to all and sundry.

Anyway, when we went 2-0 down to Hull he boots the seat in front and sits down for 5 minutes (everyone else is standing in our block). Fair enough, we're all hacked off, it'd be better if he was rallying behind the side like the rest of us but each to their own.  Then he gets up and starts slating all and sundry culminating in "this is a fucking disgrace!".

Well that was too much, I finally snapped and said "fucking 'ell lad your support is a fucking disgrace. Get behind your team".  Admittedly not the most diplomatic of opening gambits in the get yer education on the Kop debate but my tolerance level for moaning c*nts had been hit.  I was of course treated to a five minute nose to nose tirade where once again he ticked all the usual boxes (where are you from, this is my team, I've paid my money I'll do what the fuck I want).  The good news is that for that game at least he did stop moaning and got behind us, even during a frustrating second half which would have normally had him drop kicking the seat in front of him.

The moral of this rambling tale?  As I see it there are three
1) It's not just part-timers who don't care that are the problem.
2) Unless as a group of supporters we can channel our over-riding desire to win our 19th title into some sort of positive support for the team, especially when things are not going our way, then we are going to shoot our own title bid in the foot
3) It's not easy but you can still try and educate people on the Kop.  You won't get any thanks but to a degree it does work. 

[SP]

People aren't. Only pond life isundead are.

Edited to keep to the topic theme. Zombie tadpoles are slightly disturbing.

[Redshadow]

Kill the zombies!

[Redshadow]

1) It's not just part-timers who don't care that are the problem.
2) Unless as a group of supporters we can channel our over-riding desire to win our 19th title into some sort of positive support for the team, especially when things are not going our way, then we are going to shoot our own title bid in the foot
3) It's not easy but you can still try and educate people on the Kop.  You won't get any thanks but to a degree it does work. 

What about RTK? Or have those who are directly involved in RTK been fractioned on this booing issues???

[royhendo]

another superb post VDM

[vicgill]

It was indeed.

It's not just the clueless part-timers that are the problem though.  We've had a new lad sitting next to us this season. Young, local, vocal - all the boxes ticked. But he's been winding me up all season.  It always plays out the same way.

He arrives bright and breezy, full of optimism, knows the words, sings the songs, gets behind the team. Each week I have to do a double take at this point just to check it is the same lad. IT is, he's just not hit his tipping point yet. If we're not at least a goal up and crusing after 15 minutes though that's when the trouble starts, that's when he starts getting on the players backs, you know the usual suspects, pie-boy (Dossena), worst Brazilian ever (Aurelio or Lucas depending on how the mood takes him), although to be fair he spreads his bile fairly wide and Gerrard gets his fair share of stick.  There is no doubting the lad's passion, his desire to see us win, how much it means to him, he just has no control over his frustration, it seems that he has to blert whatever enters his head to all and sundry.

Anyway, when we went 2-0 down to Hull he boots the seat in front and sits down for 5 minutes (everyone else is standing in our block). Fair enough, we're all hacked off, it'd be better if he was rallying behind the side like the rest of us but each to their own.  Then he gets up and starts slating all and sundry culminating in "this is a fucking disgrace!".

Well that was too much, I finally snapped and said "fucking 'ell lad your support is a fucking disgrace. Get behind your team".  Admittedly not the most diplomatic of opening gambits in the get yer education on the Kop debate but my tolerance level for moaning c*nts had been hit.  I was of course treated to a five minute nose to nose tirade where once again he ticked all the usual boxes (where are you from, this is my team, I've paid my money I'll do what the fuck I want).  The good news is that for that game at least he did stop moaning and got behind us, even during a frustrating second half which would have normally had him drop kicking the seat in front of him.

The moral of this rambling tale?  As I see it there are three
1) It's not just part-timers who don't care that are the problem.
2) Unless as a group of supporters we can channel our over-riding desire to win our 19th title into some sort of positive support for the team, especially when things are not going our way, then we are going to shoot our own title bid in the foot
3) It's not easy but you can still try and educate people on the Kop.  You won't get any thanks but to a degree it does work. 

Good post Kev

Nail and head come to mind, I think it is up to us "elders" to educate our younger fans. Their enthusiasm cannot be doubted, it just needs channeling in a more positive and patient manner. I think RTK could play a big part in this.

[Upanishad]

Next season it will be...

Other teams had a bad year, a bad year, a bad year. He'll never repeat it

genius. I think you're spot on.

[minusone]

For Zombies i read Jesters Hats?

[Runehammer]

Excellent post and, as said by others, necessary, you just know that if we win the league there will some clowns saying "yeah but if Rafa wasn't so cautious he'd have won it by a distance" or somesuch.

[RAFA - 6 - 19]

if he wins we will get richard keys saying : Could lfc have had more titles under rafa if he did things differently?  Redknapp will probably say: yes i think so Richard. Gray will say: rafa is lucky. Richard will say: can someone with 3 cl finals in 5 years, winning 2 and delivering the title and an fa cup be lucky. Andy will say: yes Richard.  We will love it, other fans will say we are arrogant and live in the past, we will love it more.

Normal people will say:he inherited a shite  squad, spent 200 million and not in the way he would have liked, had awful ownership problems so winning the title 5 years on against the current opposition is nothing short of a miracle

[royhendo]

here's possibly the worst example i can remember recently from the professional media. the phrase 'tail wagging the dog' springs to mind.

By: John Dykes

Friday September 28, 2007

...Had Rafa not been so absorbed in his calculated, professional-to-the-nth-degree preparations for Saturday's game against Birmingham, he would have taken note of the groups of Norwegian, Spanish and Chinese fans arriving for their once-in-a-lifetime experience. He would have seen the Dad in the 'Gerrard' shirt excitedly teaching his son in the 'Torres' shirt the words to 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. He would also have noticed the collapse of the pre-match atmosphere when it became apparent that Torres would not be starting the game. They wanted to see the lad, fit or not, in-form or not. And you can argue that Torres' presence would have had the same galvanizing effect on Liverpool's players.

when i read that i was amazed. mcmahon's mentioned in the same post (incidentally it's titled "experts do think as we do"... possibly that thread title could do with a tweak. people holding themselves out as experts spout dread-inducing shite that 'zombies' tend to lap up)...

...with all due respect to the fella who posted it - (ducks)

[Koparoo]

And then I thought – its still alive. This conflict amongst our ranks – of how we should support the team. Of which players should play every week. Its still there and that’s the way it should be. Except now it is taken out of the ground, out of the pubs, into the papers, onto the radio, and around the world.


"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something." -
  --  Saul Bellow   

Lets get back to the Liverpool Way.

Good post - this and RoyHendo's well-thought out OP rant (oh and the sardonic "We are Shite" type threads ) are some of the reasons that I keep coming back to RAWK - despite all the doomsdayers and suicide-jockeys that can overwhelm us at times!!!

love that Saul Bellow quote! But couldn't we just interchange "fools" and "media pundits" though? They are synonyms these days, after all .


Being a fan in the year that we finally win #19 was never going to be easy - but we will get there - so hang in there.


I still think as I've said before that the biggest challenge to our title challenge this year is not the players failing to deliver... nor Rafa's selections/"rotation policy"/"zonal marking"/(insert latest daft reason here)/etc/etc - but rather our FAN'S BOTTLING IT!!!!

(There was an interesting thread that the team needed some experienced/proven "winners" - well I think perhaps the younger fans should take note of the more experienced "auld arses"). It's a long haul - but worth it.

[No666]

Can any of our artistic geniuses do a graphic/cartoon capturing the original post? Might be more effective because I don't think the zombies can read well-argued posts of more than a couple of sentences.

[shanklyboy]

.

[manifest]

.

excellent, though I had this heretical thought looking at the picture that YNWA is like the zombie theme song...I mean, they never do walk alone right? there's always thousands of em......shuffling towards anfield....

( kneels to accept lifetime ban)

[royhendo]

LOL excellent (both picture and manifest's response)



when you shuffle
through the storm
hold your entrails high...

[nocturnalvin]

Garstonite, that was an absolutely brilliant piece of literary work. Non-fiction.

[lfc245]

Just read all this for the first time. Great OP, and some good follow-ups.

Sorry if this has been suggested already (and if it is already being done) but why not put these kind of posts on other websites as well? Don't think I am eloquent enough to put things down in writing so well but many of those already posting in this thread are. People need educating and as VdM has showed above it can be done. 

[royhendo]

Just read all this for the first time. Great OP, and some good follow-ups.

Sorry if this has been suggested already (and if it is already being done) but why not put these kind of posts on other websites as well? Don't think I am eloquent enough to put things down in writing so well but many of those already posting in this thread are. People need educating and as VdM has showed above it can be done. 

Well, all I'll say is I'm not precious about copyright and, subject to the RAWK rules on these things, you can feel free to post or quote it anywhere you like mate. Cheers!

[redmeanmachine]

Roy, another wonderful post!

Normal people will say:he inherited a shite  squad, spent 200 million and not in the way he would have liked, had awful ownership problems so winning the title 5 years on against the current opposition is nothing short of a miracle

I agree with RAFA619. Besides rotation and zonal marking, another common myth that all these so-called zombies bitch about is that Rafa can only win with inherited squad. E.g. Valencia's league triumph are actually inherited from Hector Cuper squad whilst our CL win in Istanbul belongs to Gerard Houllier.

These zombies make it sound extremely simple that it's easy to win with inherited squad and hence plays down Rafa's achievement. They totally ignore the fact that when a manager takes over a new team, there are so many factors that can go against a manager e.g. new country, different culture/football ideas/philosophies etc.

And their argument is not fair at all because Rafa does not have to time to build his own squad of players. He was only at Valencia for about 3 seasons and he has to work with the players that he had at that time. To totally revamp the whole team with his own players and ideas, he would need at least 5 seasons of team building as we can witness now at Liverpool.

If that's the case, how come Ranieri who inherited Rafa's championship winning squad, but couldn't win anything at all, if it's that simple? I hope somebody could not knock some sense into these zombies heads! Really pisses me off each time I see/hear people play down  Rafa''s achievement because he inherited a good squad.

I really hope we win our #19 this season, and we can lay this popular myth to rest.

[hassinator]

Roy, another wonderful post!

I agree with RAFA619. Besides rotation and zonal marking, another common myth that all these so-called zombies bitch about is that Rafa can only win with inherited squad. E.g. Valencia's league triumph are actually inherited from Hector Cuper squad whilst our CL win in Istanbul belongs to Gerard Houllier.

These zombies make it sound extremely simple that it's easy to win with inherited squad and hence plays down Rafa's achievement. They totally ignore the fact that when a manager takes over a new team, there are so many factors that can go against a manager e.g. new country, different culture/football ideas/philosophies etc.

And their argument is not fair at all because Rafa does not have to time to build his own squad of players. He was only at Valencia for about 3 seasons and he has to work with the players that he had at that time. To totally revamp the whole team with his own players and ideas, he would need at least 5 seasons of team building as we can witness now at Liverpool.

If that's the case, how come Ranieri who inherited Rafa's championship winning squad, but couldn't win anything at all, if it's that simple? I hope somebody could not knock some sense into these zombies heads! Really pisses me off each time I see/hear people play down  Rafa''s achievement because he inherited a good squad.

I really hope we win our #19 this season, and we can lay this popular myth to rest.

the best way to lay the myths to rest of course is to win the title. 

vdm - this will also help in terms of long term education of our younger fans who have never known us to be a championship winning side.

great thread by the way and something very nice to come back to after the holidays.

[Manila Kop]

So many of them now, moaning and groaning every time a scrap of fresh meat is tossed towards them -

"...Keane back to Tottenham..."

"...Dossena going back to Italy..."

"...Juventus interested in Kuyt..."

"...(anything about Lucas)..."

Makes you want to turn the shotgun on yourself, realizing the futility of pumping shells into the groaning endless horde.

[shanklyboy]

......another common myth that all these so-called zombies bitch about is that Rafa can only win with inherited squad. E.g. Valencia's league triumph are actually inherited from Hector Cuper squad whilst our CL win in Istanbul belongs to Gerard Houllier.

These zombies make it sound extremely simple that it's easy to win with inherited squad and hence plays down Rafa's achievement. They totally ignore the fact that when a manager takes over a new team, there are so many factors that can go against a manager e.g. new country, different culture/football ideas/philosophies etc.

And their argument is not fair at all because Rafa does not have to time to build his own squad of players. He was only at Valencia for about 3 seasons and he has to work with the players that he had at that time. To totally revamp the whole team with his own players and ideas, he would need at least 5 seasons of team building as we can witness now at Liverpool.

If that's the case, how come Ranieri who inherited Rafa's championship winning squad, but couldn't win anything at all, if it's that simple? I hope somebody could not knock some sense into these zombies heads! Really pisses me off each time I see/hear people play down  Rafa''s achievement because he inherited a good squad.

I really hope we win our #19 this season, and we can lay this popular myth to rest.

Or Ferguson ,Wenger and Mourinho with their own squads?

[RAFA - 6 - 19]

how people are not happy, i don't know. We have only lost one game in the league. I think people will want Rafa sacked if we lose another!

[redmeanmachine]

how people are not happy, i don't know. We have only lost one game in the league. I think people will want Rafa sacked if we lose another!

Some people in the forum here already want Rafa to be sacked. Spouting shit like Rafa could not bring the club forward anymore.

[royhendo]

D'you know what? It's drip... drip... drip...

On the radio now - Talksport Hawksbee and Jacobs with Steve Stammers (tit of a journalist). "5 years under Benitez and Liverpool are still 100% reliant on Steven Gerrard. Gerrard on Monday night dribbled the ball from his own half and scored - he's Roy of the Rovers. Rafa had no need to make the comments about Ferguson and it's affected the team..." "Yeah I completely agree"... blah blah blah.

The guy who said "Yeah I completely agree" is a Chelsea supporter who, after the Liverpool win at Stamford Bridge, tipped us for the league largely on the basis of our ability to get results even without Gerrard and Torres."

"Moyes is a brilliant manager - two great results... how did he come up with that formation? ... blah blah blah. "Cahill is such a bright player... he's stealthy...".

Roy of the Rovers? Everton completely reliant on him? Thought not.

Meanwhile yesterday on 5 Live, Gaby Logan is reporting how Gillett wants to sell up but wants to retain a stake, but Hicks wants a complete sale, or is it the other way round? Oh it's so complicated you'd be forgiven for not knowing the way things are..."

Ehm, no Gaby. You might be hot, but you're a journalist with a plum job on national radio. It's your job to get your facts straight.

"...Rafa has played right into Ferguson's hands with these mind games hasn't he?" Guests... "Yeah, I completely agree, and then there's this contract stuff, he's playing a very dangerous game. He's claiming he wants more control but the Gareth Barry deal shows that maybe he's the last person who should be given control..." Gaby: "I think you've got a point...". Guest: "Carragher in his autobiography criticises Benitez for his inability to bring through a generation of young Carraghers and Gerrards". Gaby: "Does he?" Guest: "Yes, it's very honest you know." Gaby: "You know, I don't usually read sports biographies, but I think I might in this case...".

So Gaby, presenter of a national radio show on sport, never reads sports biographies... she gets her facts wrong on recent developments but hey, anyone could be forgiven for getting their facts wrong... i mean, it's so complex! And the guest, reporting Carra as attacking Rafa as being fact, when the truth is that his biography is far more balanced on that front... his words are taken as gospel and left unchallenged.

Drip... drip... drip...

I've a horrible feeling about this just now. We need a few wins to keep the idiots from derailing the whole thing.

[Manila Kop]

D'you know what? It's drip... drip... drip...

Don't you just want to do this to them?

[Walter Sobchak]

been meaning to contribute to this for a while. great thread
 
chris waddle providing the 'brains' for the zombies to feast on tonight on irish radio abley assisted by the spoon feeding from the presenters.

some of the old classics were trotted out for starters...rafa yet to solve liverpools problem in wide areas even though he's spent soooo much money. mentioned babel as prime example yet not a mention of riera.

for main course was liverpool cant win big games without gerrard and/or torres. forgotten about utd and chelsea then chris?

and the wafer thin mint for afters was that well, he basically thinks rafas losing it with the ferguson comments and the keane situation

had to turn off when he claimed that he has it on good authority that, wait for it now....shay given is on the verge of signing for man city!!! well fuck me chris talk about an exclusive...have you heard we landed on the moon and princess diana died?
 
staggering, absolutely staggering

[hobbes2007]

I've a horrible feeling about this just now. We need a few wins to keep the idiots from derailing the whole thing.

Agreed, I have that same feeling. It's difficult to put my finger on exactly what is wrong, but it seems to surround LFC as an entity at the moment. 

It's good to know I'm not alone in my frustration whether it be the media, fans, ownership or whatever.

[hassinator]

D'you know what? It's drip... drip... drip...

On the radio now - Talksport Hawksbee and Jacobs with Steve Stammers (tit of a journalist). "5 years under Benitez and Liverpool are still 100% reliant on Steven Gerrard. Gerrard on Monday night dribbled the ball from his own half and scored - he's Roy of the Rovers. Rafa had no need to make the comments about Ferguson and it's affected the team..." "Yeah I completely agree"... blah blah blah.

The guy who said "Yeah I completely agree" is a Chelsea supporter who, after the Liverpool win at Stamford Bridge, tipped us for the league largely on the basis of our ability to get results even without Gerrard and Torres."

"Moyes is a brilliant manager - two great results... how did he come up with that formation? ... blah blah blah. "Cahill is such a bright player... he's stealthy...".

Roy of the Rovers? Everton completely reliant on him? Thought not.

Meanwhile yesterday on 5 Live, Gaby Logan is reporting how Gillett wants to sell up but wants to retain a stake, but Hicks wants a complete sale, or is it the other way round? Oh it's so complicated you'd be forgiven for not knowing the way things are..."

Ehm, no Gaby. You might be hot, but you're a journalist with a plum job on national radio. It's your job to get your facts straight.

"...Rafa has played right into Ferguson's hands with these mind games hasn't he?" Guests... "Yeah, I completely agree, and then there's this contract stuff, he's playing a very dangerous game. He's claiming he wants more control but the Gareth Barry deal shows that maybe he's the last person who should be given control..." Gaby: "I think you've got a point...". Guest: "Carragher in his autobiography criticises Benitez for his inability to bring through a generation of young Carraghers and Gerrards". Gaby: "Does he?" Guest: "Yes, it's very honest you know." Gaby: "You know, I don't usually read sports biographies, but I think I might in this case...".

So Gaby, presenter of a national radio show on sport, never reads sports biographies... she gets her facts wrong on recent developments but hey, anyone could be forgiven for getting their facts wrong... i mean, it's so complex! And the guest, reporting Carra as attacking Rafa as being fact, when the truth is that his biography is far more balanced on that front... his words are taken as gospel and left unchallenged.

Drip... drip... drip...

I've a horrible feeling about this just now. We need a few wins to keep the idiots from derailing the whole thing.

i fucking hate gabby yorath - talentless no mark with a famous dad.  she's not even that attractive.

now kirsty gallagher... and she's a red as well.

roy all i can advise is don't listen to talk radio.  its the blind leading the blind on there and i'm lucky enough to say i only ever have to listen to it on long taxi rides and even that's enough to depress me.  you don't have to anything approaching a reasoned opinion but some robert kilroy style fuck nut will give it the same credibility as gospel and then tell us 'everyone is entitled to an opinion'

i have to disagree but then its clearly not aimed at me and thank god for that.

[royhendo]

OK Hass, say I try to blank all radio and TV coverage other than the games themselves...

I browse to the BBC site this morning and what do I see?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/robborobson/2009/01/rafas_red_missed.html

Rafa's Red Missed
Robbo Robson 27 Jan 09, 10:24 AM

Am I alone in not knowing what to make of Rafael Benitez?

The Blue Bell regulars up here insist the bloke's done pretty good bagging trophies and reaching finals... me, I can't help feeling he has one thing going for him - Steven Gerrard.

You think of the trophies Stevie G has won almost single-handedly - the Champs League, the FA Cup - Liverpool would have been on the thick end of a hiding if it wasn't for He of the Low Hairline.


In the last couple of games, Gerrard has been just as immense in taking on the Bluenoses (and the 'orrible chants from the fans). And meanwhile Benitez sits on the touchline writing out ideas in his little notebook. What's he writing in there? I bet it's not a shopping list. If his work in the transfer market is owt to go by, his missus'd never let him near Morrisons!

You can see it now - Rafa comes home and offloads the groceries and she's all "What you go and buy some more Spanish sausage for? The shelves are full of dried up, uninspiring lumps of meat - and you get more?"

"I buy custard, too!"

"Custard!!! We are having mushroom soup, coq au vin and cheese and biscuits - where you think I can fit custard into that?"

"I am sorry!"

"AND the custard was £20 a tin! Aieee! Rafa! It's like Robbie Keane all over again."

Of course Benitez'd disagree. He's not putting his name to anything until he gets more control over transfer dealings. But how can you give ultimate power to a man who pays £20m for Keane and then leaves him out of the squad? If he doesn't fit into the gaffer's plan now when the games are coming like Homer Simpson in a Ferrari - thick and fast - then when will he?

No chairman, or chief executive or chief whatever else is in the comfy chairs at Anfield, could let a man with his track record of purchases have sole control.

The current chanting by Man U fans that suggests Benitez is losing his grip on reality is going a bit far, but after the two 1-1s recently, resorting to moaning about the way the opposition played is pretty feeble stuff.

It's an age-old gripe by indulged managers. It's not our fault - they were nasty. They parked a bus in front of the goal, they got men behind the ball, they tackled us, they tried to stop us scoring! My heart bleeds.

You never hear a lower club manager whingeing 'It's not fair, they've got better players than us and they kept passing it to each other and trying to score! Wahhhhhhh!'

Any road, who goes to Anfield and takes Liverpool on (apart from Barnsley?) Fulham and Stoke have proved that it's not hard to keep them out so why play open?

Besides which Moyes had precisely no strikers at his disposal. None. Still, we'll put Phil Neville at centre-forward, play 2-3-5, and if that doesn't work we'll tie Yakubu and Shah's legs together and see if we can get one fit forward out of the two of them.

It's the equivalent of having a boxing match against a bloke with his hands manacled together and complaining 'cos he keeps on moving his head out the way.

It's nonsense! And despite the fact Rafa claims only one side was trying to win, Everton were 1-0 up at half-time, thanks to the fact that Tim Cahill was freer than a pensioner's bus pass when that corner was knocked in.

And any road, how many times have we seen Rafa's reds cling on to a narrow lead rather than force the issue and go for a second? Liverpool play their best stuff when they're behind and their worst stuff when they're in front. Eriksson's England were the same.

Liverpool's frontline should have enough wit, imagination, and class to force a win against such unambitious opponents, especially if £20m worth is creosoting his fence.

Torres, the one truly great signing of Benitez's reign, showed he has some of that, but the rest... Ryan Babel? Barney Rubble'd be a better bet... Bennayoun? Yeah he sounds like a great Scouser but he's called Yossi not Yosser... Kuyt? Works so hard you'd think he played for Moyes but he hit his late chance with all the conviction of a Pat Nevin penalty.

In fact the real fox in the box looked like Jamie Carragher after that fantasy football shimmy in the first half! (Jamie Carragher, Johann Cruyff... same initials...)

You wouldn't worry for Rafa if you felt there was an attempt by the club to pour oil on troubled waters, but the fact that it appears to be Kuwaiti oil isn't going to make Rafa's position any more secure.

In a battle against Hicks and Gillett (not the best a fan could get) the odds are stacked in Rafa's favour. But with a bottomless vat of cash to spend, should Rafa be the man to waste it - ermm, spend it?

I'm told the Kop love the man, but you get a Liverpool fan on his own, and they'll tell you different.

I watched it with a bloke called Sammy who's a top lad but a bit uppity when Liverpool are playing - he effs like a top TV comedian every time Torres goes down 'cos he thinks that's his season over - and contrary to the popular song, quite often walks alone when he heads back from the boozer.

Sammy'll tell you Benitez is a bit petulant, a poor operator in the transfer market and too negative. And if you offered to swap him with Mourinho he'd bite your hand off.

I just wonder whether Sammy's truly in the minority or not. Let us know. In the meantime I hope Rafa proves us doubters wrong. Cos we need a new name on the Premier League trophy and I think the Boro might just miss out this year.

P.S. What's the similarity between M&S and Chelsea football club? Both of them always have comfy draws. (Come on Watford, prove me wrong!)

This is something you hear more and more. People who claim to have spoken to die hard reds who cannot stand Rafa and don't have a good word to say about him. Who are these people, I wonder? I've personally never met any of them.

There's a Mancunian lad sits near me at work who has plenty to say on the subject, but what that kid knows about football you could write on the back of a postage stamp.

Older heads find it easier to recognise what he's achieving.