Gerrard: At Least There's The Europa League

TIB657M SG

europa league? forget it. better concentrate on finishing 4th and win the fa and league cup better lar. who cares if you win europa cup/league, no one cares.

But at least Liverpool will have chance to fight for UEFA Super Cup next year.

iceFatboy SG

well, every club faces a blip once in a while. i do think they will bounce back after they hit rock bottom..

zocoss SG

Wah… Haven’t even win the Europa talking about Super Cup liao… lol… But what for, that meaningless cup will only be a distraction for them in next season’s league title chase…

zocoss SG

well, every club faces a blip once in a while. i do think they will bounce back after they hit rock bottom..

Well... From the point of rock bottom, the only other way is up isn't it... lol

gary1910 SG

I already knew Pool will go not far in the future last season when they lost to Spurs 4:2 in LC match.

They played mostly 2nd string players that day, but Spurs still out played them totally when you consider that Spurs was actually quite bad & was stuck in the relegation zone at that time.

So Pool have some(not all) good players in the first team but the rest are just not top 4 standard or even mid table standard.

Such squad with such poor strength in depth will not go far in the EPL, a few injuries to some first team players like Torres or StevieG and they are fu<ked!

La Nina SG

It is happening bit by bit... The BIG CON JOB... by Rafa...

First, Before the season started, they were seen as potential winners for this year's league title... Rafa look smart and proud with his new purchased in top earner Johnson ($139k per week) and his $20m Italian stallion... None of the other top 3 have spent so much dough this season...

Then when the season gets under way, slowly and slowly... They start to slip out of the top 2, then 3 then 4 and into 8 spot... Then came the Champions League... After their 1st game, they are still good despite a poor performance... Then 2nd and 3rd games later, they are still in with a good chance according to Rafa... Then by their 4th game, Rafa said something like remember Istanbul bla bla bla... By the end of it... Rafa kind of said we believe Lyon will not turn over (not exactly his words but something like that lah)... Lyon will be professional... Then by their 5th game, Rafa came out to say we need a miracle and more bla bla bla... before the match...

And after the matches are settled, and Lyon indeed got turned over... More bla... bla... bla came... Like we did our job in Hungary only Lyon didn't do theirs for us in Italy... lol

Now, its over for them in the CL... Time for Rafa to face the facts and not give their fans anymore false hope...

Now we are hearing newer stuff like winning the Europa League, 100% top 4 spots... More of Rafa's bla... bla... bla... for the Pool fans to take... I am just glad he isn't the United manager... or I will cry watching my beloved club going down the drain bit by bit with his monthly false hope.

The management are just dumb to continue with him... And the fans have clearly taken their eyes off the real ball (Rafa) and instead focusing on the beach ball (Owners)... by looking at the owners rather than the man making the team suck... The fans, what can you say about them... They are being Con by the master distractor...

Thats why I said it's... The BIG CON JOB... by Rafa on the fans...

You said Liverpool spent more than their top 3 rivals this season. But looking at this, 4.95m isn't that much after all. Liverpool has arguably the weakest squad of the top 4 and of course, there is a need to inject better players into the team.

2009-10 Net spend: £4.95m
Players in + fee: Glen Johnson £18m, Alberto Aquilani £20m, Sotiros Kyrgiakos £2m.
Players out + fee: Paul Anderson £0.25m, Sebastian Leto £1.3m, Sami Hyypia Free, Jermaine Pennant Free, Alvaro Arbeloa £3.5m, Xabi Alonso £30m.

Benitez is not carrying out a big con job. You must be having a laugh. By telling fans to remember Istanbul and that they will definitely be in the top 4 is simply instilling optimism. Which club wants a manager who comes in and says thats it, we are out of contention. In times like this, the only thing the manager can do is to raise the morale of the camp. Find me a manager that acknowledges defeat. You will hardly find one. A defeatist will never succeed as a manager.

The management is not dumb to continue with him. They simply cant afford to sack him. A compensation of 25m pounds would kill Liverpool. They probably see the good in continuing with him. This summer, he reshaped the academy and brought in Barcelona's technical coach who groomed the likes of Messi and Iniesta. This can only bring good to the future of the club. Parry was fired because he's a clown, fucking up all of Rafa's top transfer targets. If he is that bad, Real madrid, Spain's NT would not have come knocking on his door, asking him to take them.

Despite saying all this, I agree that his decisions at times, have been baffling.

zocoss SG

Despite saying all this, I agree that his decisions at times, have been baffling.

When we talk about spending, we are talking about spending... and not how much he makes or we could end up saying things like United spent -$60 million this season or Arsenal spent -$30 million... Instead we say United spent about $20m this season and Arsenal about $11m isn't it? Otherwise it makes no sense... Cos how do you spend a minus?

I don't think its wrong to be positive but giving false hope is a totally different thing altogether... Its not that this has happen once, twice, but so many times even more recently that some of their fans are realizing it now... I am not saying he should be negative... Look at Wenger, does he go out and say so many stuff that give the fans false hope? No, he try to get the job done first and not giving out signs that they will sure win this or that... and when they do well, people will say what a great manager he is... cos expectations wasn't high in the first place...

I think it serve the players more by keeping his mouth shut and not say stuff like they will definitely be in the top 4... Cos the players don't need the extra pressure after just having been kick out of the CL. Do we see Wenger coming out to say they will be in the top 4 when almost everyone was writing them off at the start of this season? No, he just got his players ready and go for it when everyone wasn't looking at them...

Sometimes, its better to spend a little more now than lose more in the future... Pool not qualifying is already a problem from Rafa, the club will lose money there... If they don't get into the top 4 at the end of the season... more money is lost there as well... So spending a little more now could actually save them more in future who knows...

And what is this about the academy? He has been there for more than 5 years, so if anything good was to come out of it, it would have already happen... even a very little but unfortunately, nothing special have come out since he came to Pool. During these last 5.5 years, we only see lots of average players coming from Spain then go back after a short while... United and Arsenal and even West Ham have brought out more good young players in 2 yrs then Rafa have in more than 5.5 years...

Finally, your last sentence actually summarize everything that is the problem... lol.

charlize SG

With their current form, I think they will struggle even against the second tier European teams in the Europa Cup.

Medicated Oil SG

Parry was actually not a clown as Keane was wanted by Ah Ben and not Parry.

As for why Ah Ben is talking so much, he is being hounded by the press everyday and he is showing crack under this pressure.

This season will be the result of all his weakness:

He is a paper manager and dun really know his player well.

His stubbornness of utilising his pet instead of using on form players will kill him and Liverpool.

This is causing unhappiness in the dressing room especially babel who have spoken out against him this week.

He will definitely be shipped out in Jan 2010.

Ah Ben HATE players that complained. (Crouch ? Pennant ?)

Rooney9 SG

liverpool is basically a 2 men team, torres and gerrard. if they are off form or out injured, liverpool struggled.

dragg SG

with their current form even winning the europa league is beyond them.

dragg SG

Despite saying all this, I agree that his decisions at times, have been baffling.

Is Real good in choosing managers?

Ashianamarley SG

Gerrard admits Liverpool's primary short-term focus will be attempting to secure a top four finish this campaign and a return to the Champions League in 2010-11.

Rooney9 SG

priority is finishing top 4. if the europa league is in the way, just get dumped out and concentrate on finishing 4. liverpool cant afford not to play CL next season, its as simple as that. how much can you earn if you go all the way and win the europa cup? I suppose not much, just a small fraction of prize money playing in CL.

iceFatboy SG

Is Real good in choosing managers?

they are good in "firing" them if U ask me. LOL

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