You nailed the central problem SZ imo. Balance is so easily lost, just as you correctly point out happened to Houllier after the UEFA cup year. We went from catanaccio to capucino in a couple of months. I think that post madrid we didn't change much, it just all came together. Pre Madrid we mostly were turgid, and not playing at all as well as we have this season, though suddenly we are losing games. Like many have said, I think carra and skrtel head butting each other was a very significant signal of imbalance....there were several incidences of two players going for the same ball in the games this season, something I don't remember happening in the seasons prior. Of course we miss having the adult ( alonso ) to calm the pace of the team, and missing out on barry, who brings a similar ( though not as good ) simplicity to the game, fucked Rafa's plans to maintain balance.
The sad thing for me is that imo we were the best team in the world at the end of last season, and were the only team that would have beaten barca, but to see us lose that balance has left many ( and me ) in grief, and there has been understandable denial before the acceptance comes in that we have to re-build that balance all over again.
I think that masch is half the player without alonso. He has the very best skills at his position, but it is a limited skillset. It is no surprise that he sees greener pastures in barca, a team loaded with players who have the skills that he is lacking, where his brilliance could be applauded, but more importantly his limitations would be irrelevant. In the current Liverpool, unless Aquilani's addition is really successful, it is a set up for him to leave the pitch feeling like he has failed. No wonder he wants out. Stevie G might feel the same.....alonso lifted the gargantuan feelings of responsibility and let him be at his best...running around the playground. I have felt for a while that stevie is particularly prone to the psychological injury, where his tensions manifest in his body. Again, as you rightly say, the body ( the team ) is out of balance. This is not a matter of fault. It is natural for any system, organic or otherwise to move in and out of chaos and order, balance and disorder, and I believe in Rafa we have a coach who understands this pendulum better than most. It's one long lesson in humility, and though it is painful, humility is the father of intelligence. Look at the mancs and the Chelsea......no humility, no intelligence, plastic, empty victories.
I'm not worried at all about the team under Rafa, we will rise again, and soon. The real problem is the ownership,..... perhaps on pitch failure, directly caused by crippling mismanagement, might finally wake a wider group of supporters to where the real poison lies. I think that it is a miracle of management that Rafa has been able to achieve the balance on the pitch while the two parasites are constantly undermining the foundations of the building.
Ta for a good post.... though I agree with HBHR, better to stick it in the sanctuary.
