Rafa's Rotation Making Us Dizzy Again
Say what you like about Rafa Benitez's rotation system but you could never accuse the Liverpool manager of not being single minded.
While pretty much every single Liverpool fan and every media commentator (expert?!!) is calling for Fernando Torres to start each and every league game, Benitez has stuck to his guns, tailoring his team selection for the needs of each particular game.
In fairness to him, it's not as if his philosophy has let him down since he took over the Anfield hot seat. One European Cup, one FA Cup and runners up in last season's Champions League is anything but a record of failure.
So a bit of perspective is undoubtedly needed here. One goalless draw at home to Birmingham City should not see rotation condemned as a no good continental invention which will never work in English football.
In the last three years, rotation has been employed to good effect at Anfield so we should not lose sight of that now.
But, and this is a big but, questions have to be asked about the use (or non-use) of Torres.
At the start of the season he was the main reason why many of us thought that maybe, just maybe, Liverpool might finally be ready for a title challenge.
His goals, movement, pace and ability marked him out as perhaps the most exciting Anfield arrival since John Barnes and his excellent form corresponded with the team's.
Then, all of a sudden, he is taken out of the starting eleven at Portsmouth and the team struggles. It was the same again against Birmingham on Saturday.
If he is being left out because he is lacking sharpness in training or because the helter skelter of English football is taking its toll then fair enough - only the manager can make these decisions because he is the one who sees Torres in training every day.
But if he is being saved for Europe or if he was picked for tomorrow night's game at Reading that would seem very strange to those of us who believe he was bought to improve our league form, not to help us to have a decent Carling Cup run.
The team sheet at the Madjeski should make for very interesting reading.
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Tony Barrett
I understand Rafa's 'reason' for leaving him out(no space to get behind compact defending) and there is logic there but Torres is not a one-dimensional player. He frightens the life out of defenders he runs at as well as behind, and he is capable of coming up with something spectacular and unpredictable (look at the overhead kick!).
The other concern is that Birmingham will not be the last team to come to Anfield to defend. Why give their defenses a lift before kick off by leaving out Torres AND Crouch - the two players nobody enjoys defending against?!
Rotation policies are fine and Rafa can cite two Champions League finals in three seasons as evidence that they work.
However, and it's a big however, there is no logic to resting your best players so early in the season. Torres is gagging to get out and play and his early season form shows he's fit and 'up for it.'
Let him rip at defences now rather than using him in vain to play catch-up with Arsenal or Man Utd (I've already foolishly written off Chelsea) over Christmas and New Year.
Same applies to Babel who I think has spent part of every league game on the subs bench.
At the very least, Rafa should consider playing his best players from the start and taking them off early, hopefully once the team is two goals up.
Resting players shouldn't be considered for at least ten league games into the season unless a player is clocking up three games in a week or carrying an injury.
Liverpool have dominated EVERY league game so far this season, yet six points have slipped away. Four of those points are arguably down to Torres being 'rested.'
It could be costly in what's shaping up as a close contest.
Instead of sharpening their pencils, drinking capucino and counting the minutes to home time, get one of your young lackeys to speak to the universities or hospitals and see if they can find a physiologist or sports scientist to support Rafa's early season rotation policy. Bet they can't.
I don't know whether it is good or bad when somebody else sums up your thoughts on a particular matter but I suppose it saves me writing stuff. Well said Reg.
At least now I can focus on another subject of mine - The Fans.
It seems managers and individual players come in for plenty of criticism after a poor performance but the supporters are let off the hook.
Saturday's performance by the fans was dreadful - and just as lacklustre as the team's efforts.
I doubt there are many at the game who can say they put in 100 per cent effort.
I can feel myself going on full tilt in a minute so I'll hold myself back ... but at least some blame should be on the fans - despite the tickets costing so much.
WHAT A MANAGER YOU LOT HAVE!
DROP TORRES AND GERRARD FOR A THE PREMIERSHIP GAMES AND PUT THEM IN THE LEAGUE CUP GAMES INSTEAD, HA HA 10 YEAR CONTRACT FOR RAFA !
I think that Rafa got it wrong to leave his best players out in Portsmouth and Birmingham. We didn't look threatening, and Rafa is cutting it fine to think that we can beat these sorts of teams without the core team players. Unfortunately, we have lost 4 points at this stage, but more worryingly have lost the confidence needed to be Premiership champions.
I hope Rafa's single mindedness will not ultimately cost us the Premiership. While you can say it has worked in the past due to our European success it has not delivered in the Premier League where we have consistently failed to beat mediocre teams in the past 3 seasons.
It's no for gone conclusion but we are already thinking what might have been had Torres started against Pompey and Brum. We had a great start in the first 4 games and potentially could have been 6 points ahead of Utd at this stage, as it is we are now below them. Rafa has to be more ruthless in his team selection, I would hate to look back at the end of this season and think if only are best side had played every game we might have won the league.
It would appear that there are at least 3 English words that do not translate into Spanish...Continuity, Consistency and Cohesion!
I totally understand the frustration that comes with unsatisfactory results, as well as the frustration of paying to see the Reds without their most exciting players (especially when travelling to do so); but for me the real issue is that we SHOULD be able to win these kinds of games without all the big names.
Why don't we?
Is there a motivational problem, when the players who come in know that, no matter how well they do, they're not actually fighting for a place?