There's an interesting post on "Some People Are On The Pitch", which shows a graphical representation (marking some notable events) of the title chase between Liverpool & Man Utd this season. Click here to view the post.
Looking at the graph you'll notice a wee period where Liverpool nearly flatline. Out of curiosity I decided to have a quick look back over that period. What transpired was a run of 7 league games, whereby we got 10 out of a possible 21 points (our worst period of the season).
This isn't one of those anti-Rafa rants, I just thought it an interesting coincidence, that Rafa's rant against Fergie, immediately preceeded that period. Hopefully next season the graph will look blip free for Liverpool.
12 comments:
If my memory is correct you didn't exactly approve of his rant at the time even though you said it was factual. Seems like a bit of a sly dig at Rafa ;-)
Yes that period after the Newcastle game ruined our season. I think it was a combined problem of Rafa opening his big mouth, Steven Gerrard's assault charge and Torres missing about 6 matches in a row with injury.
We were sitting pretty on top of the table and it completely fell apart and Manure went from strength to strength. At least we showed character to bounce back and give those assholes a big fright towards the end. If Only Tottenham could have beaten them and Wigan held on for a draw the race would still be open for the last weekend of the season.
I hope Rafa learns from it and keeps his focus on the team, instead of Fungusface. It was painful to listen to old whiskey nose crap on about Liverpool just after they claimed the title on Saturday.
@Marcus - yeah it was a bit tongue in cheek. For the most part though, I think Rafa is great, but no one is perfect.
@Scott D - if anything this season has proven the lads can cope in Torres absence :-)
I still say the "rant" was planed as a way of delecting attention away from Stevie's arrest
I didn't see it as a rant and would encourage Rafa to continue supporting our great club in every way he wants. I think he noticed our players getting nervous and then Stevie got himself in a compromising situation that needed to be defused for the benefit of the team. Fergie has gooten away with his bull... for far too long and it is time somebody stands up to him and the FA notices we will not sit quietly any longer!
Exactly and worked. Stevie's arrest was dirty tricks by a manc fan. The timing was suspicious after we hit sublime form against Newcastle. So Rant or Not the form dip still would have happened.
Maybe Rafa knows far more about this incident than we do and it prompted a direct assault on "Sir" Alex
It wasn't the smartest thing Rafa has ever done and in some way I feel all the press generated did have a slightly negative impact on the players. I'm not blaming Rafa for the patchy period, cos there was a combination of factors involved (Keano, Stevie G, El Toro).
In fact it was so smart you mortals fail to see the strategy.
Adverse publicity would have affected Gerrard far more than necessary. That bar incident was kept to a minimum of fuss thanks to Rafa shielding those media wolves from the gates.
Mancs had a dip of form due to teams having the confidence to attack after our 4-1 OT win and refs were striving to be seen as impartial. If the rant hadnt happened Sir Whiskeynose would have got away with more bullying.
Keane was a parry sanctioned buy. Nobody except the media said alonso would be sold. Aston Villas form this season has justified rafas interest in barry. Could have made a difference between 1st and 2nd
I dont know all the ins and outs of the Keane fiasco BUT the fact remains LFC clicked after he was sold. His form at spurs hasnt been anything to write home about apart from the few customary penalties so thank god we got our cash back and signing Tevez may be an option we didnt have before.
Rafa is not perfect but he has more strategy in his little finger than any of us "bloggers" here!
@Dummy - true there's multiple factors to consider, like I said it was a bit tongue in cheek of me (but I do believe Rafa played a big part for a variety of reasons)
@Dumber - I think Rafa is a tactical genius and rate him very highly. He does have his faults (much like the rest of us), no big deal.
But with all due respect, I think you're giving him too much credit for his rant, yet I admire your slant on things. That's just my opinion and I really don't mean any offence at all.
i totally agree. I wrote something on the same lines for my newspaper's website at that time :)
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/more-than-words/419647/
@Idle Wild - nice one ;-)
Take note , papers say that Alonso will definitely be sold. If he is still playing with us next season never believe a word of their tosh ever again!
That includes opinions about our rivals and negativity about Rafa. The Premier League is so media orientated that the media think they have more "power" than they actually do.
Post a Comment