Sport Liverpool Football Club

[Sng]

Oh wait, I meant 77 minutes gone, see I just woke up. Still in just my pants as well.

[Guest]

Is anyone actually thinking were going to move forward this season? It just seems like a big ask to me. How can we change, how can we push on? I still feel we lack the quality throughout (and as we know, especially wide).

HOW are we going to change it? Wednesday was shocking too.

[ras el hanout]

We've got the quality. Our squad is awesome.

[Sng]

It's always just been a case of inconsistency from what I can tell. How many times in the league have we gone two games beating really decent opposition and then lost the next to a team like Fulham

[redbloodcell]

It's always just been a case of inconsistency from what I can tell. How many times in the league have we gone two games beating really decent opposition and then lost the next to a team like Fulham

Surely a lot of that is down to Benitez`and his rotation policy? Is he still sticking with that?

[Commander Jameson]

Surely a lot of that is down to Benitez`and his rotation policy? Is he still sticking with that?

Once we had Skrtel, we played a fairly settled formation/side until the end of the season. I often wonder why Benitez has a "rotation policy", whilst Ferguson and Wenger do not, even though their teams change as often as ours.

[redbloodcell]

Once we had Skrtel, we played a fairly settled formation/side until the end of the season. I often wonder why Benitez has a "rotation policy", whilst Ferguson and Wenger do not, even though their teams change as often as ours.

I always Rafa got that tag because of bringing in changes regardless of performances, then again I don't pay that much attention to your lot TBH so that's based on the media view more than anything.

Then again, some call it 'squad rotation' other call it 'keeping everyone happy'

I have to ask though, how fit do you think your boys are?

[DeNeo]

Surely a lot of that is down to Benitez`and his rotation policy? Is he still sticking with that?

I suppose you could kinda put some of the inconsistencies down to that, but Benitez should be able to rotate the players and have them have them perform, which didn't happen when those players were the likes of Voronin, Pennant etc. With everyone back and fit we should have a lot of quality on the bench.

Even if no one comes in or leaves:

Reina

Degen Skrtel Agger Dossena

Macherano Alonso

Keane Gerrard Babel

Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, Carra, Arbeloa, Lucas, Benayoun, Kuyt, N'gog

And that's without Hyypia, Aurelio and the good reserve players (also Finnan, Voronin and Pennant, but I really can't see them being here much longer).

The worry comes if Rafa starts to do wholesale changes. One or two a match and we'll be looking good, but that bench just doesn't show enough creativity for me.

[ras el hanout]

Surely a lot of that is down to Benitez`and his rotation policy? Is he still sticking with that?

It's down to Benitez, I'm not sure if rotating the players comes into it. For anybody else changing a couple of players shouldn't make a difference. I just don't think the players have confidence in his ability to manage in the Premiership. Why would they have? In the CL it's different. When Benitez says something will happen in the CL it normally does and so the players will be confident in him. Not so in the premiership.

People talk about the terrible squad Houllier left Benitez, that squad which won the CL. They did this by playing above themselves because the had confidence in the manager and what he was saying usually turned out right. He can't do this in the Premiership as it's quite clear he doesn't really know what he is doing. In the CL and cup competitions Benitez can get his average players to perform well, they know exactly what they have to do and they often play well. In the PL Benitez' average players usually look average or much much worse. Every team has average players and the key to success is getting these average players to perform, something which Benitez can't and that's not going to change because we bought Robbie Keane.

Jermaine Pennant is a decent footballer. Now Riise and Traore has gone we don't have bad footballers. But a lot of players, players he bought ( HE HAD TO BUY THEM BECAUSE THE MEAN AMERICANS WOULDN@T GIVE THEM MORE MONEY!) look bad, thanks to Benitez.

And again. Benitez took over an awesome Valencia and kept them awesome.

Houllier took over an awesome Lyon and kept them awesome. Perhaps it's easy to kepp and awesome team awesome. It takes somebody special to build an awesome team, that somebody special clearly isn't Benitez.

[redbloodcell]

Fair enough, but IMO your wasting Keane if you play him on the right, he has a habit of disappearing there at times. If you wanted him purely to play there then you've seriously overspent.

[ras el hanout]

I suppose you could kinda put some of the inconsistencies down to that, but Benitez should be able to rotate the players and have them have them perform, which didn't happen when those players were the likes of Voronin, Pennant etc. With everyone back and fit we should have a lot of quality on the bench.

Even if no one comes in or leaves:

Reina

Degen Skrtel Agger Dossena

Macherano Alonso

Keane Gerrard Babel

Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, Carra, Arbeloa, Lucas, Benayoun, Kuyt, N'gog

And that's without Hyypia, Aurelio and the good reserve players (also Finnan, Voronin and Pennant, but I really can't see them being here much longer).

The worry comes if Rafa starts to do wholesale changes. One or two a match and we'll be looking good, but that bench just doesn't show enough creativity for me.

You're blaming the players Rafa bought for not performing when he uses then now and again.

[DeNeo]

You're blaming the players Rafa bought for not performing when he uses then now and again.

No, I'm blaming the Americans for not giving him the money needed to replace those players

He was using them to keep the rest of the squad fresh for the end of the season, but now he should be able to use better players.

[DeNeo]

Fair enough, but IMO your wasting Keane if you play him on the right, he has a habit of disappearing there at times. If you wanted him purely to play there then you've seriously overspent.

Well, it's probably going to be more like:

Reina

Degen Skrtel Agger Dossena

Macherano Alonso

Gerrard Keane Babel

Torres

With Keane playing just behind Torres. But I think Benitez bought him so that he could play on the right if needed.

[Sng]

Is this on Sky?

[Hoodedclaw]

Setanta mate i think

[DeNeo]

Is this on Sky?

Setanta at 5:30pm

Team I reckon will be:

Reina

Arbeloa Carra Agger Dossena

Kuyt Gerrard Alonso Benayoun

Keane Torres

or in this formation:

Reina

Arbeloa Carra Agger Dossena

Gerrard Alonso

Kuyt Keane Benayoun

Torres

But if he wants Gerrard more advanced, he could put him on the right, Kuyt on the left and Plessis in the middle with Alonso.

[Reynard]

We've got the quality. Our squad is awesome.

It takes somebody special to build an awesome team, that somebody special clearly isn't Benitez.

I don't really want to get into anything with you here, but is it your belief that we have an 'awesome' squad, but not an 'awesome' team?

[ras el hanout]

I don't really want to get into anything with you here, but is it your belief that we have an 'awesome' squad, but not an 'awesome' team?

Yeah, my belief is we have an awesome squad which Rafa somehow manages to get to play at the minimum of their capabilities.

And are Setanta games not on Football First? That's fucked if it's the case.

[Reynard]

It'll be on FF, just not the featured game, as they are normally ones which haven't been televised that day.

EDIT: Team news:

Reina

Arbeloa

Hyypia

Carragher

Dossena

Kuyt

Plessis

Gerrard

Benayoun

Keane

Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, El Zhar, Aurelio, Ngog, Skrtel, Agger, Alonso.

EDIT2: Stream - for Setanta-less scum like me (God, I miss my eurovox!).

EDIT 3: Catch the last few minutes of Everton v Blackburn - decent game.

[villenium]

When you change your team and win you are a good manager resting players. When you change your squad and lose/draw you are a bad manager who can't help tinkering.

Benitez always comes across as a deeply unhappy man. I'd imagine when things don't go right this spreads through the team. I always imagine Wenger and Ferguson having the skills to pick their team up and say the right things.

[Anjin]

It'll be on FF, just not the featured game, as they are normally ones which haven't been televised that day.

EDIT: Team news:

Reina

Arbeloa

Hyypia

Carragher

Dossena

Kuyt

Plessis

Gerrard

Benayoun

Keane

Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, El Zhar, Aurelio, Ngog, Skrtel, Agger, Alonso.

EDIT2: Stream - for Setanta-less scum like me (God, I miss my eurovox!).

EDIT 3: Catch the last few minutes of Everton v Blackburn - decent game.

How does that link work? Do you have to download anything or does it just start? Sorry I've never done this streaming thing before

[Sng]

EDIT2: Stream - for Setanta-less scum like me (God, I miss my eurovox!).

Cheers!

How does that link work? Do you have to download anything or does it just start? Sorry I've never done this streaming thing before

Justin.tv streams will just stream like any other site. No additional stuff needed.

[Anjin]

Nice one! cheers

[Reynard]

And another - this one's actually broadcasting right now with some pre-match Liverpool-bashing.

Take your pick.

[Das]

Come on you red lovelies!!!

[Reynard]

The last link I posted is working best for me.

[Sng]

It's stopped working

[Reynard]

http://www.justin.tv/hippy_nufc ?

Fine for me - hasn't missed a beat.

[amc]

I may as well watch on a net stream, the setanta broadcast looks like fucking youtube!

[rjpageuk]

Why is Hyypia playing instead of Agger and Plessis instead of Alonso?

It has been a pretty poor half really with us creating absolutely nothing of note although we should have had a penalty probably.

Lets hope we see more next half.