Harsh reality is Rafa is no motivator

What can be said other than the players don't have much to play for in the Premiership and put in another lacklustre performance against West Ham. Fighting for fourth spot is hardly going to motivate them and since Paco left Liverpool, I've doubted Rafas ability to motivate the players also.

I almost don't want us to win the Champions League again this year because that might mean Rafa stays. At the rate we're going, finishing 30 odd points behind the ManUre or Arsenal is highly likely and completely inexcusable.

I've been optimistic for the majority of the season and wanted to stand by Rafa and all, but I've finally lost all faith in him. It would take an astonishing turn around for me to change my mind (80 odd points & the European Cup). Rafa will have to go and a new manager is needed.

We've still got the best midfield in the world

If there's one thing which was completely obvious last summer, it's that Momo Sissoko was living on borrowed time. With the sheer quality we already had in midfield and the arrival of Lucas Leiva (who is surely destined for world class status), there was little room left for Sissoko.

I know Sissoko has taken a fair amount of stick over the years for his wayward passing, but to be fair he has been a tremendous signing for us, a true destroyer with so much energy and passion and I loved watching him play when he was on form. He also played a massive part in our title charge a couple of years ago when we finished with 82 points.

Now that he is on his merry little way to Juventus, I would prefer to remember him for his fantastic contributions to LFC. Bon voyage Momo :-)

We're being gifted an easy run in the FA Cup

Of the 16 teams left in the FA Cup, only 6 of them are from the Premiership, the Championship has the lions share with 8, and League One has 2.

Liverpool & Chelsea got off lightly, I can't see how Barnsley are going to cause us too many problems (famous last words). With ManUre facing Arsenal, the big 4 will lose at least participant by the quarter final stage.

So far we've been gifted an easy run in the FA Cup (Luton, Havant, Barnsley) and I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see us in Wembley at season end, but the FA Cup lacks sufficient allure to make up for a disappointing season, hopefully we can add the Champions League too ;-)

Havant any problems with our performance

It's almost amusing reading all the media reports about how poor Liverpool were against Havant & Waterlooville, like it really matters in the grand scheme of things ? The lads were hardly going to be putting in too much effort against them, as for the Havant players, this was the greatest game of their lives and they may as well have tried their utmost (credit to them for doing just that).

But even if Liverpool tried their best, what would they have achieved by destroying Havant by a huge goal margin ? Absolutely nothing ! All we needed from this game was to progress to the next round and the lads could conserve their energy for the more important match with West Ham on Wedsnesday.

Much needed experience coming his way

Now that we've signed Skrtel, it frees up Hobbs to go out and gain some much needed experience, which is precisely what he's doing. Scunthorpe have secured his services for the remainder of the season and given that they're in a relegation battle in the Championship, it should enable Hobbs to see plenty of action. Hyypia probably won't be around much longer, so having a more experienced Hobbs back next season means we'd have plenty of cover in central defence.

Iconic New Anfield / Liverpool stadium

When I first heard that the stadium was going to be slightly downgraded, I feared it might mean a complete redesign of what was revealed last summer.

Fortunately they choose to stick with HKS who only made minor modifications to the original design, what we're left with is something more efficient and still very much unique & iconic in nature.

It's expected to be open in 3.5 years time which is quite a bit back on what was previously hoped for. The capacity is a healthy 71,000 with the Kop having 18,500. Thankfully the acoustics of the roof will still accentuate the atmosphere so nothing lost there. Here's the latest pictures :-

Andre Wisdom signs for Liverpool :-)

Crikey, we've started signing babies now, our latest youngster to sign up is but a mere 14 years old. LFC have paid an undisclosed sum with additional payments based on his progress over the years.

While there's plenty of talk on the net about how talented the highly promising boy is, I've yet to find out what position he plays! If there's anyone out there who happens to have seen him play for Bradford City youth teams, feel free to enlighten us as to what he's actually capable of ?

If only Rafa and Paco would make up

Back in September & October I posted about how Liverpools problem was one of motivation and lamented the loss of Paco. I'm a believer in Rafas rotation system when you have the right players which we do, but I'm a much bigger believer in good motivators (we've been lacking one since Paco left) and its neglecting that aspect which I felt would cost us the big trophies.

If only the 2 of them would kiss and make up, the players would have their conduit to the manager back and morale no doubt would improve as a result. Paco has left his new job with Real Sociedad due to problems with the owners, himself & Rafa still have so much in common ;-) So surely a reconciliation isn't inconceivable ?

At least Finnan will get his game again

Good news is that we should get to see the much underused Finnan back in action now that Arbeloa is out for at least 3 weeks with an abdominal injury. Considering how good Finnan usually is, I've been very surprised at how often he has been excluded so far this season.

As for Voronin, he might have started the season very well with some excellent performances but those have long since disappeared so I'm not overly concerned that he'll be unavailble for a wee while due to a minor ankle injury.

Bye bye Benitez, hello Mourinho

With our draw against Aston Villa, 2 things became crystal clear to me, one we're definitely knocked out of the title race. Secondly, the harsh reality is that we've now got a fight on our hands just to finish in the top 4 and qualify for next seasons champions league.

As for Rafa Benitez, unless we win the champions league again this year I'd be willing to bet he won't be with us next season. Hopefully the Yanks won't be with us either as if their judgement is to line up the likes of Klinsmann as a manager then I doubt their ability to come up with a decent manager who is capable of leading us to title glory. Apart from Mourinho I can't really think of anyone else who is going to improve on Rafa.

Probably the best FA Cup tie in the world

The romance of the FA Cup is alive and well, with Carlsberg in the interesting position of sponsoring both Liverpool & Havant, I can only begin to imagine the promotion possibilities ;-)

I hope we lose against Havant in next weeks FA Cup game. No seriously, this is pure David vs Goliath type stuff, we've got a bunch of non-leaguers making a trip to Anfield and playing against a squad full of internationals (well ok Rafa is bound to give a few youngsters a game).

Does anyone have anymore tagline suggestions for Carlsberg ?

Matt Hughes on trial with Liverpool

Despite being only 15 years old he has already impressed in Rochdales academy & reserve teams. The defender is extremely highly rated, possessing excellent leadership qualities & fantastic all round attitude.

One of the things I really like about Rafa is his determination to chase down top youth talent and build something akin to what Wenger has done with Arsenal. While I hope Matty Hughes trial is a success, I doubt we'll sign him for another couple of years (until he's eligible to sign professional forms).

Were they briefed to say nothing at all ?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good thing we [finally] beat Luton Town. But I really don't see it as being all that big a deal and I was more interested in the post match interviews.

Fair play to Rafa for taking things in good spirit with the stupid interviewer being overly persistent in asking him the same question several times despite Rafa clearly not willing to be drawn on the subject of Klinsmann. I thought it was funny the way he took the mickey out of the twat (reporter) by saying the TV should pay him more money for being a fantastic reporter.

As for Stevie G (ok so it was a nice hat trick) I was disappointed he didn't take the opportunity to back Rafa and I can't help but wonder if it's a case of him being resigned to the likelihood of Rafa leaving or maybe he was just briefed to focus only on the match.

Traditional management is bad for LFC

In the world of management, talking the talk rules the roost, walking the talk on the other hand is all too often overlooked. The reason being most management types genuinely can't grasp the concept of productivity or objectivity (otherwise most wouldn't get where they got in life without farcical politics).

What's this got to do with Liverpool FC you might ask ? Well Hicks has come out (no not in that way) and admitted that they tried to negotiate terms with Klinsmann as an insurance policy. How can the Yanks seriously consider giving the top anfield post to a guy with no relevant experience or track record (oh, that's right he 'sounded' like an impressive guy) ?

I find it disturbing that they would even consider entrusting the future of OUR club to Klinsmann ! Stinks of pure politics and a complete lack of understanding of football, that approach obviously works in the real business world where companies thrive on ineffiency & sycophancy but sport is an entirely different proposition where winners win by walking the talk.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Skrtel to the rescue

Agger may be the best defender we've had in many a year but sadly he's also injury prone as hell. He is just after suffering the second recurrence of his metatarsal injury which has kept him out for the last 4 months. In other words, realistically don't expect to see him back this season :-(

Looks like our new Teenage Mutant Ninja Skrtel is going to get his first team start a lot sooner than expected. Hopefully the Slovak in a half shell will unleash his Skrtel power and take the premiership by storm ;-)

Liverpool FC - Live Season Calendar

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The return of Agger has been called off

The return of Agger has been eagerly anticipated for a couple of weeks now since he started training again and I'm sure we'll get to see him soon enough (read: not soon enough). I've lost count of how many articles I've read today about the return of Agger in a reserve game tonight, having said that I can't help but chuckle now that the game has been postponed :-)

So who's this Martin Skrtel fellow ?

Apparently he's meant to be hard as f**k and full of promise, hmmm, well not if you've seen him play against Everton or Ireland (little Kevin Doyle managed to out jump him (6"4') for a headed goal). While he's been criticised for lacking pace, he's faster than Hyypia and Hyypia managed to be one of the best defenders in the world for several years !

He passed his medical today and also his transfer fee & personal terms have already been agreed. Initially I imagine Skrtel will be backup to Agger & Carragher but in the next couple of seasons we just might get to see him replace Carragher if he does get to fulfill his vaunted promise.

Will the Yanks let us have Daniel Opare ?

He's only 17 years old, but is an incredibly exciting prospect and was rated the best defender at last years under-17 World Cup with his surging runs and precise crosses from right back. The young Ghanian has made it clear that his preference would be to play in the premiership.

Unfortunately he's got a buy out clause of £1.5 million from his club Ashanti Gold and things are still up in the air regarding the extent to which Hicks & Gillet are prepared to back Rafa. Despite any differences they have with Rafa I'd like to think they're at least still prepared to bring in highly promising youngsters which Liverpool can build on in years to come.

Lack of motivation rears its ugly head

Sometimes, I wonder whether I should name and shame players for performing poorly, sadly against Luton yesterday the list would be far too long and I like to be concise in my posts. Not sure if Rafa watched the match as he applauded the efforts of the team afterwards !

With the exception of Carragher there was a distinct lack of effort from the team and as has become all too familiar this season the players seemingly lack any motivation to perform. Everyone has off days, sure that's life, but we can ill afford to have anymore rocky patches these season if we want to win any silverware. I don't have any problems with Rafas rotation policy or his tactical nous, it's his motivational skills that I'm doubting.

Triple coincidence is well timed ;-)

We've got 3 more players sidelined with 'injuries', apparently Gerrard & Arbeloa have calf injuries and Aurelio has a hamstring problem. However they're expected to be fit for the match against Middlesbrough next week.

With the pessimism surrounding LFC lately, most people would probably think that the FA Cup & Champions League are all we've got left to play for and might prefer Rafa fields our strongest side for this game.

Personally I think this match against Luton is a good opportunity to blood some of the youngsters such as Hobbs, Insua & Lucas. Should worst come to worst at least the media can't round on Rafa for rotation reasons ;-)

Fickle football fans could seal the deal

We're about to find out just how much faith the Yanks have in Rafa with the transfer window reopening and if they don't back him, I think it's fair to say the writing is well and truly on the wall.

The harsh reality is that we're falling too far behind in the title race and the prospect of Rafa not being here next season isn't inconceivable anymore. Winning the champions league might save Rafas skin but if we finish the season too far from the top again (another 20 odd points) then I think it's time to let the man go as I can't see the players having much faith in him at that stage either.

Although unpopular with most LFC fans, Mourinhos name continues to be mentioned as a possible replacement and I'm sure the Yanks are aware that if he were to bring success quickly to LFC, then the fickle fans would quickly change their negative opinion of him and them.