Liverpool Fan Hits Back In Defence Of Rafa

Hammersfan I think someone like myself whose seen us win NINE League Titles has a fair idea of what's required to win the damn thing no?

I KNOW that winning at places like Birmingham, Sunderland and Fulham is needed to win the league. Look at our record last year - 2 defeats only and we DID win at Sunderland AND Fulham but we STILL didn't win it. I DO think it's a bit much to expect us to win EVERYWHERE when A:) half our squad/ backup (like Hyppia, Arbeloa and Alonso) has gone and been replaced by either dross or injuries and B:) our players are going down like they're on the Somme and have been all season. (We've missed Aquilani, Gerrard, Skrtel, Agger, Carragher, Johnson, Torres, Riera, Benayoun, Babel, Aurelio AND Mascherano through various injuries/absences ALL season which is more than a FULL team) and I doubt our first choice back four has played together at all; So the losses and disasters come as little surprise - Unlike Chelsea we CAN'T buy a whole new team per injury crisis.

And to the idiot who follows the media mantras about Rafa' not buying well or not nurturing young players in comparism to Taggart at Old Trafford and the Mad Professor at the Emirates. Really? I don't hear you mentioning the fact that Nani's A:) had no effect at United since being bought AND had a go at Fergie in the press recently resulting in him being dropped from the team. And what of other youngsters we've heard of in recent years at Old Trafford? People like Macheda, Pugh, Even Ben Foster has started complaining and agitating for a move, what of the likes of Cathcart, Bellion, even Anderson's gone backwards this season - WHERE is United's NEW crop of 'fledglings' ala Beckham, Giggs, Scholes etc then? The last REAL player United brought from their youth system was probably John O'Shea and you have to go ALL the way back to 2001 for him.

As to Arsenal; Well, let's see; what of Wenger's much publicised 'English' drain from Arsenal - Good young ENGLISH players like Hoyte, Bentley, Taylor and even Ashley Cole ALL gone in favour of foreign imports - SURELY as a West Ham fan you have something to say there? - ESPECIALLY since those same foreign imports block the progress of Arsenal's vaunted 'youngsters' who then get sold on for a profit as Hoyte did? I'll bet now that the likes of Carlos Vela and Aaron Ramsey much vaunted as they are have a HECK of a job getting in Arsenal's team over the next few seasons and even get loaned out; That's happened with Arsenal ever since they moved stadiums and won't change.

Liverpool? Well since Gerrard and Carragher came through our academy along with David Thompson in the late 90's; We've brought through Stephen Warnock, Neil Mellor who have since played in the Premiership elsewhere (and still do in Warnock's case) and more recently players like Emiliano Insua, Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly and Nathan Ecclestone and now David N'gog have ALL had a chance in our first team and come through from our Academy or reserves; They may not all be GREAT players but they ARE from our Academy/Reserve sides; all of them - Unlike Babel which the fool I'm replying to forgets TWO things about;

1:) He was BOUGHT in 2007 for ELEVEN million.

2:) He's had PLENTY of chances including nearly the whole of the 2007/2008 and a lot of 2008/2009 seasons but like many young players; He suddenly seems to think he's 'made it', stops working hard/loses his 'spark' and talks more in the media than on the pitch. THAT is why Rafa's not picking him regularly - He has PLENTY of talent but just can't be arsed to use it Except where he has a point to prove ala Lyon - IF LFC need to play as they do against United in EVERY game, then Babel NEEDS to play like he did in Lyon EVERY game before a manager like Rafa' picks him regularly. Can he improve enough? We shall see......................

Oh yes, and regarding arguments about Rafa' buying players/improving them - Well firstly, it's a BIT hard to pick and choose GOOD players (who cost LOTS of cash) when you're told to A:) sell off your backup squad to afford them or B:) BANNED from buying your primary targets due to lack of funds - BOTH of which has happened to Rafa' in the not to distant past in the transfer market.

Yes, he's bought the likes of Voronin, Riera, Benayoun (whose a brilliant player now anyway), Skrtel, Crouch and Sissoko amongst others but that's mainly because he was denied the funds to buy his REAL targets which included players like Silva, Villa, Vidic, Simao, Tevez and Barry (who Rafa himself said was meant to play ALONGSIDE Alonso - NOT instead of him) When you look thus at his REAL targets instead of what he got (second and sometimes third choice in the case of Kyrgiakos) I think his eye for talent is obvious.

And it's an eye for talent that becomes even CLEARER when you look at the players he DID get and either developed or groomed into stars - His 'big' buys/best players if you will (and even some slightly below that level show how well he can spot talent); Players like Reina, Alonso, Torres, Crouch (who he developed into a record England goalscorer for the national team - our national sides ONLY reliable source of goals other than Rooney),Garcia, Kuyt, Agger, Pongolle (bought by his predecessor but developed by him), Your own former hammer Mascherano, Finnan, Sissoko, Gerrard himself (whose become FAR deadlier going forward), Carragher (whose he's developed from Houllier's fullback into a centre back) and more recently Agger, Skrtel and it looks like N'gog (whose improving by the game and in our last three Home games has set up 1 goal and scored twice).

Now, the above are ALL players he's either bought big, bought unknown/little known, brought from our reserves OR inherited and in all cases in which he has improved beyond all recognition until they can command fees like the 30 million recieved for Alonso or the 36 million spoken of for Masch'. In short all of whom, he's helped turn into if not World Class stars then certainly top-class/International level ones.

You don't believe me about Rafa's improvements to his players? Then think back to 2007 and England's doomed Euro 2008 campaign - Remember the clamour for Carragher (a jobbing centre back and traitor according to certain areas of the press - a 'coward' according to others for the twin crimes of putting his family first after being f*cked around by the England manager {and I use that term loosely for Steve Mcdonut} once to often AND the unforgivable sin of (shock, gasp) MISSING a penalty at the World Cup - Boo!!! Can't have that can we? I know, He's Liverpool, let's crucify him - Only Jamie wouldn't have it and quit England that summer - he was the wrong side of 30 anyway (funny, but I don't seem to remember Paul Scholes getting that level of abuse on HIS retirement from England in 2004 and he's refused at LEAST 3 times to come back).

Anyway - we could of done with Carragher's nous, determination and defensive ability v Croatia that awful night in November 2007 no? We might even (heaven forbid for we'd prob' STILL have Mcuseless at the helm) have qualified for Euro 2008 and all would be forgiven but think of this - The shouting and clamour was for Jamie to play as a CENTRE-BACK; Do you REALLY think that would of occurred say 8 years ago or so when he played FULL-BACK under Houllier? Don't make me laugh - of course not. And just WHO transformed him into this international level centre back - None other than Benitez that's who (and before anyone says he's no good - he got us to the CL final that season with his defending so he can't be THAT bad can he?).

Finally, please take the case of one Stephen Gerrard - formerly a (VERY) indisciplined) central midfielder who charged all over the place like Roadrunner in attempts to 'command' games under Houllier - He has under Benitez developed into one of the foremost scoring forces (and one half of one of THE truly deadly partnerships with Torres) in the English Premier League and thus Europe; He knows when, where and HOW to attack now and regularly breaks the 15/18 goal a season barrier (even 20 odd sometimes) whereas back as that undisciplined midfielder he rarely got even 10 a season;

Most importantly of all, he's one of the VERY few English players who knows HOW to play in 'the hole' where continental sides do so much damage and in view of that and the way he can drift all over the pitch and do such massive damage is also well on the way to forming a similar telepathy with the nation's other great Scouse footballer - Wayne Rooney under the direction of one of the few managers I see as Rafa's superior in Don Fabio Capello - England Manager who using Rooney and Gerrard as a template (and to a lesser extent Lampard and Crouch) has turned England into a scoring force reborn. But just WHO taught Gerrard to play like this in the first place as he showed LITTLE sign of it back in 2004 when Benitez came did he? Yep, that's right, Rafa' again.

So far from being unable to improve players - I think in Gerrard's case, the England team owe Mr Benitez a debt of thanks for helping modernise our attack in the way he has 'updated' Gerrard's abilities and just think IF Mcawful had been just a LITTLE more tactful with Carragher (i.e. NOT saying he'll play at centre back and then shoving him out to full-back/midfield/anywhere but full-back at every chance) then maybe, just maybe we'd have qualified for Euro 2008 and Mcabysmal MIGHT just have kept his jo.............

Actually, no DON'T think of that, it's to awful a thought to contemplate - Croatia did us the biggest favour imaginable by knocking us out at Wembley 2 years back as they took our complacency and old-fashioned arrogance with them forever. Anyway, I think Carragher coming back COULD of stopped that elimination happening as Rafa's turned him into an excellent centre half and he certainly wasn't that when Rafa' came here - far from it actually.

As to LFC's more recent acquisitions; Who knows but should Aquilani fulfil his potential AND Babel wake up and work to fulfil his - we may even add 2 more names to that list before long? We shall see - yes Rafa's had his failures (like Bellamy, Morientes, Kromkamp, Kewell, Gonzalez and Nunez to name but 5) but then what manager doesn't? I could name equally large lists of failures for Alec Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and whichever manager is at Chelsea this particular month if you like. But because it's Liverpool - people seem to notice far more no?

I think looking at the above though - the players he's bought, inherited etc AND improved out of all recognition AND the players he WANTED to buy but couldn't - having to settle for second/third best etc Along with all he's done for Liverpool in the league, FA Cup and Europe in his time here whilst hamstrung (having to sell to buy OR to constantly trim his squad/accept second best and NEVER coming close to Chelsea/Man U style funding) then it's clear that Rafa's not so much a manager as a miracle worker and to accuse him of 'lacking an eye for talent'/'being unable to develop young players'/wasting money under the CONDITIONS he's worked under (i.e. by ignoring said conditions) is not just wrong and stupid, but also pathetic.

Rafa's a World Class Manager,and IF Liverpool DO ever get the same type of funding that certain teams enjoy during his tenure then this blog (which seems to enjoy criticising him) will lose one of the reasons for it's existence as he'll clear up EVERYTHING in the trophy stakes for years...............