Liverpool 2010/11 Season Thread

[Supergoal]

He's got to go. End of.

[hudson]

I'm at the point where I wouldn't be surprised if he went. I'm failing to see who would be a decent available replacement though.

[Supergoal]

Anyone who isn't f%$ing blind.
I keep saying it, but I still can't believe he decided to rest some first team players from the starting line up. No doubt he believed we could win against a confident Fulham side away. Did you also know that it was Degan's FIRST Premier League start for us! Also Kyrgiakos and Voronin starting. Perplexing and incomprehensible.

[Tetsuo]

Nightmare of a game, wasn't it? Timed nicely for Halloween, everything went wrong before and during the game, despite controlling the first half fairly well.

I just don't know, maybe Benitez didn't fancy us winning even with Torres on the pitch, obviously having one eye on the Lyon game as time went on, and just gambled. Clearly it all fell apart though.

I just hope this run doesn't go on much longer, it's ruined out title chances, but I can see it starting to affect the confidence of the players, and when that happens...who knows. Bring on November

[Supergoal]

You can't gamble with the league. You've got to play to win till the last minute. It looked to me like the manager gave it up and as I said before it would be scandalous if that was his intention.

[abigsmurf]

This isn't the first time he's done this.

He's just gone about it completely wrong. Put Torres on the bench then bring him on if he's needed. His job is now in question (and rightly so) and players will be demotivated for what is a vital game.

I think if he loses mid week, there's no choice but to sack him. There's a very serious chance Liverpool could fail to make it into the champions league next year now.

[Jebus]

They can't sack him though, the owners need a stable manager in there to make the club look interesting to buyers.

Moreover, who on earth would replace him?

[hudson]

Some are saying Kenny Dalglish, but I dunno. I feel he had his time.

[C']

More than that,they probably can't even afford what it would cost to terminate his contract.

They would need for Rafa to walk away.

[hudson]

Here's his explanation of why he took Torres off.

"We decided to play Fernando against United which was a difficult decision because he wasn't 100 per cent fit," the boss told his post-match press conference.

"After this game he needed four days to be ready again but he still isn't 100 per cent fit, so we had to decide if he could start today or use him for part of the second half. We decided to start with him but I have to protect the player.

"We decided to take him off just after the hour because I want to protect him and don't want to lose an important player like Fernando for one month. We had options in attack when he came off."

Personally, I would of introduced him as a sub if Vosene Voronin wasn't performing.

[mr_sockochris]

I disagree with you all. An hour of Torres is better than 20mins had he been used as a sub. If it wasn't for his goal before half time the game could have been over before he'd even got on the pitch. Had he used him as a sub and we'd lost everyone would have been moaning about him not starting!

For those who said he shouldn't have played if he wasn't fit should think back to Sunday. Should he have not played then too? He played the Utd on injections, I suspect he did the same today as as soon as he was taken off he was sat in the dugout with an ice pack on his thigh.

This season looks like a battle for 4th place now. I don't know if axeing Rafa is the right idea but getting rid of crap like Babel and Voronin wouldn't hurt. They both moan about not playing yet when they do they are utterly dreadful. Babel especially annoys me having cost alot of money, he seems to have gotten worse if anything. He doesn't even make an impact as a sub anymore

[hudson]

Point taken, mate. I guess you're right. Dark times again

[mr_sockochris]

Yup

We've the prospect of playing a few games without Stevie G or Carragher now, things probably aren't going to get better any time soon! Aquilani is gonna have to be one hell of a player

[Adrock]

Basically the game was a **** up. But so are the injuries Liverpool have at the moment too. Title winning is off the agenda this year but keeping in the top 4 is very much the priority all of the time.

I havent seen any of the game yet, but from what I've read Liverpool dominated the first half and the first Fulham goal was very unfortunate. That sounds to me like Benitez's selection fine. Esepcially regarding the amount of injuries that have occured. Aurelio is a player who was vying for man of the match last week and he was missing today.

The panic is stupid. It does no good at ANY club to change a manager during the season, apart from maybe one stuck firmly to the foot of the table. Dalglish is definitely NOT an option either. The man has been out of the loop for a very long time and many things have changed since he managed, its a completely different operation nowadays.

[abigsmurf]

If Liverpool lose mid week (pretty much sending them out of the CL), sacking Benitez would be the best move and not so much a panic. It'll pretty much mean the season is a write off which means a new manager will have time to learn the ropes and will give him two transfer windows to shape the team for the next season.