Has Rafa formulated a masterplan?

Last night got me thinking. with the busy Christmas period fast approaching and with us in such fine goalscoring form one player that has caught the eye with his ability to get his name on the scoresheet (other than Torres ) is Ryan babel. now torres has started alot of games recently which has been fantastic his ability on the ball is truly breathtaking, the way he seems to just glide past defenders with the ball is amazing. but I was just wondering whether Rafa has made a tactical decision which hardly anyone has seen but is a master plan.

With harry kewell coming back from injury and showing some fantastic wing play we have seen Ryan babel used as more of a super sub type player, this at first seemed a little harsh as babel has been trying to get used to a new type of football but then his goals began to flow and they are still going, the result of Rafa starting harry in recent games then bringing him off for babel has been that from the start we have alot more width and someone to cause defenders problems from that wide left hand side, then when he comes off we get an added goal threat, injection of pace and some added creativity and skill and he is seeming to be able to score by using his pace power and creativity to get past and hound defenders and beat the goalkeeper. this is a complete masterstroke and it could go even deeper than it seems.

As kewell gets closer and closer to 90 minutes of football and we get deeper into the busy period of alot of games thick and fast torres is bound to get tired after a while having played so many games in a row, now at first I thought maybe babel wont get many games upfront this season maybe just in the cups but when I saw him coming on for torres last night I thought this is his chance to prove what he can do upfront and that is exactly what he did, all it took was a perfectly weighted ball over the top and he was gone, the defender had no chance of catching him so tried to grab him to pull him back so he could catch up but rather than doing what alot of other players (outside of LFC) tend to do nowadays which is go to ground and try and get a free kick he shrugged off the defender and put the ball past the goalkeeper expertly before slotting the ball away calmly.

Now to the main point of this topic, could it just be that when torres gets tired and requires a rest for maybe 1 or 2 games in a row Rafa is thinking of putting babel into the side to play a similar role, he certainly has the pace and power to have a similar effect and defenders seem to know less about babel so they don't know what to expect.

does anyone else think this would be a good idea?

ya,that is the point...
but i think rafa will put voronin + kuyt to replace it...
but i hope that he aware that this pair is not a great idea...
they are frustrated to score...
well,i think it maybe is a chance for kuyt+ crouch....
somehow....babel can replace with either one of them...
voronin...i think he is not so good for the team...

use him or kuyt to trade another stirker coulb be a good idea...
like...
defoe(no place for him at totthenham)....

Where has the sense of humour gone in this place... jeeez.

i guess rafa hasnt then

Last night got me thinking. with the busy Christmas period fast approaching and with us in such fine goalscoring form one player that has caught the eye with his ability to get his name on the scoresheet (other than Torres ) is Ryan babel. now torres has started alot of games recently which has been fantastic his ability on the ball is truly breathtaking, the way he seems to just glide past defenders with the ball is amazing. but I was just wondering whether Rafa has made a tactical decision which hardly anyone has seen but is a master plan.

With harry kewell coming back from injury and showing some fantastic wing play we have seen Ryan babel used as more of a super sub type player, this at first seemed a little harsh as babel has been trying to get used to a new type of football but then his goals began to flow and they are still going, the result of Rafa starting harry in recent games then bringing him off for babel has been that from the start we have alot more width and someone to cause defenders problems from that wide left hand side, then when he comes off we get an added goal threat, injection of pace and some added creativity and skill and he is seeming to be able to score by using his pace power and creativity to get past and hound defenders and beat the goalkeeper. this is a complete masterstroke and it could go even deeper than it seems.

As kewell gets closer and closer to 90 minutes of football and we get deeper into the busy period of alot of games thick and fast torres is bound to get tired after a while having played so many games in a row, now at first I thought maybe babel wont get many games upfront this season maybe just in the cups but when I saw him coming on for torres last night I thought this is his chance to prove what he can do upfront and that is exactly what he did, all it took was a perfectly weighted ball over the top and he was gone, the defender had no chance of catching him so tried to grab him to pull him back so he could catch up but rather than doing what alot of other players (outside of LFC) tend to do nowadays which is go to ground and try and get a free kick he shrugged off the defender and put the ball past the goalkeeper expertly before slotting the ball away calmly.

Now to the main point of this topic, could it just be that when torres gets tired and requires a rest for maybe 1 or 2 games in a row Rafa is thinking of putting babel into the side to play a similar role, he certainly has the pace and power to have a similar effect and defenders seem to know less about babel so they don't know what to expect.

does anyone else think this would be a good idea?

Interesting and thoughtful post, but I think from your point of view the evidence for what you are suggesting is clear. Ryan is not just a super sub he is an adaptable player very much like Arbeloa but of course attacking not defending. As for Rafa's masterplan, well if you ever get the chance to view a spanish documentary floating around on the internet, you will see is masterplan on his Computer. Every player is monitored for fitness and position while playing. This data is input into special computer software which then calculates a players fitness, if his positioning is correct and how much work he is actually doing on the pitch down to the kiloJewl. Rafa then takes this data and calculates who will play and where and what will happen, this data is then compared to the systems and tactics of the last number of games that the opposition has played, and what they were doing and how they achieved it. Now if you think Im talking bollox here you are more than welcome to prove me wrong, but I have seen the software and the computer and have listened to what Rafa has been saying. Now this system is not perfect but it works more times than it fails, but football can be a weird game and although Rafa tries to be the perfectionist, the software cannot take into account the emotional states of players and this is what lets it down and lets the team down when we lose. So in essence its a masterplan alright but with more twists and turns than you seem to think, reason being noone knows till kick off exactly what Liverpool are gonna do.

What ever plans Rafa has....it ain't working......He must stop this Anti-Football style......as the only one of "the-big-four" we are playing lots of long ball, it showes that the manager is not up to Wenger og Fergis Class when it comes to the prem!

I've never said it before but now I'm in favour of Rafa' leaving...

What ever plans Rafa has....it ain't working......He must stop this Anti-Football style......as the only one of "the-big-four" we are playing lots of long ball, it showes that the manager is not up to Wenger og Fergis Class when it comes to the prem!

I've never said it before but now I'm in favour of Rafa' leaving...

Get a grip matey !!  Bet you wont be saying that when we got CL number 6 in the trophy cabinet.  Give Rafa time and he will deliver its not even Christmas yet and you've written him off  :
In Rafa We Trust

Get a grip matey !!  Bet you wont be saying that when we got CL number 6 in the trophy cabinet.  Give Rafa time and he will deliver its not even Christmas yet and you've written him off  :
In Rafa We Trust

Seconded! Christ almighty! Look at how many years Wenger and Ferguson have been in the Prem! I think they've had a distinct head start! And Wenger still hasn't won the CL, I might add! :

id like to see rafa here for a VERY long time, fergie and wnger have been in the job long enough. managers get moved on far too quikly these days, we are making progress and rafa is the guy doing it and the man for the job.

I know your frustrated but where does this leave us? New manager approaching the new year/christmas holiday. Yeah real good for us isnt it?

id like to see rafa here for a VERY long time, fergie and wnger have been in the job long enough. managers get moved on far too quikly these days, we are making progress and rafa is the guy doing it and the man for the job.

Yes I would also hope to see Rafa here for a long long time to come. But before he could do that he needs to keep winning. Remember what Whiskey face said not too long ago, they just need to keep winning and the rewards will automatically be there, of course he refers to popularity (fanbase) and financially.

Similarly, the Yanks must see the whole business in the same light and start to invest big in players and to bring us more success. Gone were the days where LFC used to churn out quality players from the academy but time do not allow us to do that in the modern game where big clubs tend to buy success and we need to act in the same manner if we do not want to fall too far behind. Football is big business nowadays and if the club wants to reap the rewards it has to first invest in quality players to bring us the success and the financial rewards will take its natural course. We are loosing our worldwide fan base fast or that it is not building up fast enough and it has an effect on the financial side of things in the very near future.

instant success is a dream in the prem neither ferguson or wenger acheived it so stick with rafa. now back to the actual topic, babel should start with crouch against chelsea on wednesday. with terry ruled out for 6 weeks with 3 broken bones in his foot it is the perfect time to use babel. his pace, power and that powerful shot will cause problems for tal ben haim and it is the perfect time to let babel run riot on the defence.