Rafael Benitez - End Of Season Report

Well, it's been a long hard season, of that there can be no doubt. A lot of speculation surrounding Rafa and the future of our Club. So many topics on the forum lately, all to do with money, or the lack of it. The Great Big Rafa Debate has just become a haven for the 'net-spend', 'sell to buy', 'sack Rafa', 'Rafa is the Messiah', 'bad luck' and 'injury' comments, ganging up on people and name calling in general. Correct me if i'm wrong, shouldn't the topic be just about his ability as a football manager?. There are those that see no fallibility in him, those that see nothing in him and those who can step back and assess him objectively. Well this topic is purely your chance to give your assessment on Rafael Benitez the football manager. Not Rafa the husband, not Rafa the father, not Rafa the great man either. I know we've had the End Of Season Assessment topic but i feel that that assessment was a culmination of various aspects that affected our season.


Here it goes then. On the back of an excellent season we went into the summer with renewed hope. I think that it's fair to say we were expecting to win the League after the ' 86 point season'. Then came a summer of turmoil. I think that Rafa knew what was coming with regards to Alonso, how Rafa manoeuvred was pivotal to our ambitions for the forthcoming season. What happened with Alonso?, we'll never know, but it's known that Rafa distanced himself from Xabi after the birth of Xabi's first child, when he chose to miss the Inter milan game. Was it the Barrygate scandal?. Or is it just Rafa's distant and cold demeanour?. More on this later. Back to the Alonso deal.

It was well known that we had Real Madrid at our mercy, they had so many pieces to the jigsaw, a list of superstars as long as Inspector Gadget's arm, yet they all meant nothing without a player who could bring them all together seamlessly. We could have had Wesley Sneijder, Klaas jan Huntelaar or Rafael Van der Vaart, either of 2 very good midfielders or a back up striker for Torres, even Negredo was mooted. Rafa chose to ignore this opportunity and instead settled for 'Il Principino', an already injured midfielder with an injury record akin to Darren Anderton! I'm not saying Aquilani is a mistake, i think he's going to become a great player for us. What i am saying is though, with only an initial payment of 5 million Euros, why didn't Rafa take a chance on one of the Madrid players as well?.

Then there's Glen Johnson. He's been a revelation in attack, but in defence?, please, he has been a liability at times. The only game that springs to mind when i try to remember a solid defensive performance from him is the win against United at home. £18 million pounds for a right back is over the odds, and i know that Portsmouth owed us money from the Crouch deal, but as soon as Chelsea stepped into the fray it became an E=Bay auction. We lost Arbeloa, i accept that, we had Degen, Darby and Kelly here though. I think that we needed to prioritise the left wing berth and the back up striker role, we didn't. In hindsight, the signings of Kyrgiakos and Rodriguez proved to be good buys, so i can't fault Rafa there. Kyrgiakos shored up the defence and brought much needed stability to the back four. Maxi gave us something we had been missing for most of the early part of the campaign, a winger that can actually control the ball and utilise it properly.


One thing that Rafa never fails to do, is to completely baffle fans with what can be quite outrageous team selections, tactical decisions and substitutions that defy belief. I won't go into minute detail, but his decisions to play full backs on the wings and in central midfield, central midfielders in defence, strikers on the wing, wingers up front etc. have had me seething at times this season. Our feeble exits from the Champions League, our meek surrender to a relegation threatened Championship side in the FA Cup, our defeat to the Arsenal reserves in the Carling Cup and our limp performance in the League just highlighted that Rafa got it wrong on many fronts this season. I'd like to say that the Torres substitution at Birmingham summed up Rafa for me this season. His inability to deviate from a tactical plan that clearly isn't working is a sign of a man that is becoming lost amid his relentless pursuit of what he perceives to be, total football. What i have seen this season is total sh*te and a spectacular collapse of a formation that was working so well the season before.

The system employs 2 central midfielders, one destroys and one creates. Well that's how it worked last season, it doesn't work this season because Lucas cannot create. I can honestly say that Lucas is one of the worst midfielders i have ever seen play for Liverpool, the fact that he has been one of the most consistent performers just proves how dire a season we have had. Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and Hamaan would make it into the top 30 Liverpool midfielders of all time, would Lucas?. Rafa has persisted with Lucas all season, his refusal to try something different has been detrimental to say the least. His persistence with Insua when sides were blatantly exploiting the right wing was painful to watch. It was only the injury to Insua that forced his hand to try Agger there, and guess what?, it paid off. David NGog is not of the required ability to play the lone striker role, yet Rafa persisted with him while chance after chance was squandered. Dirk Kuyt, as much as i admire his hard working attitude and commitment, i'm sure i'm not the only fan here who thinks that we've seen the best of him, am i?.

Then we have Yossi Benayoun, one of the few creative players we have in the squad, yet Rafa preferred to play him out wide and use him as an impact substitute. Where Lucas failed this season, Yossi could have excelled, why didn't Rafa try something different, surely he could see that Lucas doesn't fit into the system, or could he?. Rafa is so blinkered in his view of how his side should play football, it's all well and good when you have the personnel to implement the tactics, and when you don't?, then most people would alter the tactics/formation slightly, not Rafa though. Everything has to be meticulous and pre-planned, no spontaneity whatsoever, no freedom, no license to thrill. Arbeloa recently commented on Rafa's footballing philosophy, he said that all players have to follow the tactics religously and must never deviate from the plan, he didn't criticise Rafa, he just passed comment.

 This is where Rafa has fallen down this season. A team of robots, devoid of ideas, their natural instinct and creativity becoming suppressed due to the intense nature of Rafa's philosophy. Any freedom of thought is nullified, deviation from the plan will have serious repercussions. Is Rafa starting to lose the plot?. Ask yourself these questions. Would you have persevered with Lucas this season when he blatantly didn't fit into the system and offered us F**k all in attack?. Would you have ignored the possibility of dropping Lucas and trying Yossi in the middle, one of the few creative players at the Club?. When the Torres and Gerrard partnership was struck by injury, would you have dismissed the idea of dropping Gerrard back in the middle and playing Yossi or Pacheco in the hole?. Would you have kept picking Insua, week in week out, when you were constantly watching him get raped by no more than average wingers at best?. Would you have kept picking Kuyt all season, even after watching him miscontrol the ball, time and time again and break down counter attacks with his usual dilly-dally bollocks?. Would you have persevered with NGog, a young striker who was so obviously out of his depth in the lone striker role? Would you have kept one of our most promising young prospects ( Pacheco ) on the bench, game after game, while watching senior first team members produce dire display after dire display?. Would you?

I'm guessing the answers to most of those questions would have been no.  I'm fully aware that we've had terrible injury woes this season, the point i'm trying to make is that Rafa had the chance to change tactics, change personnel, change formation, change games that were slipping away, he didn't. When things weren't working he didn't attempt to change things. When youngsters were chomping at the bit to prove their worth, Rafa ignored them, instead he chose to persist with players he knew had nothing more to offer. And to those that say they are to young to be exposed to the rigours of Premier League football, try telling that to Rooney, Milner, Walcott, Ramsey etc. To be honest i thought that Rafa would be forced to blood the youngsters this season, especially with the substandard performances we kept churning out, it wasn't to be.


And my final insight into Rafa the football manager, his man-management skills, or more to the point, lack of them. Much has been made of this problem this season, or is it a problem?, some people think not, i think it is. I keep coming back to Pako Ayesteran, 11 years as Rafa's confidant, the one man Rafa could trust with anything, but more importantly, the link between Rafa and his players. When Pako left, is it no coincidence that player stories started crawling out of the woodwork about how distant and aloof Rafa was with regards to communicating with his playing staff?. I'm not going to go into detail about what players they were, we all know who they are and were.


Let's say the squad consists of 25 players, each one of those players is different, and they will each respond differently to any given situation. Some players need an arm around their shoulder, some need constant encouragement, some need a firm hand and some need to feel wanted. That is life, and as a manager you have to deal with these situations, but that's the trouble, Pako used to deal with these issues, not Rafa. How Sammy Lee deals with players, i don't know. As for Pellegrino?, i don't really know what his purpose is, i really don't. I know it's a pain in the arse when grown men need to be consoled and mollycoddled, but that's life. If that is what it takes to get the best out of some players, then that is what you have to do. If they need a kick up the arse?, you kick them up the arse. If they need encouragement, you F***ing encourage them! You do whatever needs to be done to maximise that player's potential. And if, after professing that you have signed players that you feel have the right mentality to succeed and they fail to show this mentality, then you have to make changes.

There's an old saying that goes like this, "You can only F**k with the cock you've got". So Rafa, if funds are not forthcoming this summer, then you have to go back to the drawing board and reassess the squad, the formation, the tactics, the psychology, the philosophy and the mentality. Try something new, refresh your ideas, remove yourself from the commotion and look at new ways of adapting to your surroundings. Just try something different.

P.S. This post has taken me a good while to type and it's time for bed for me, work in the morning. So there may be a couple of spelling mistakes, and i may have missed a couple of points out or other stuff. I will edit the rest tomorrow if i can. YNWA.

Just read it and great read.

So to answer the point you're raising mate, my assessment of Rafa this season is he failed as did the club on the whole.

For me it did start with the transfers, it was inevitable Xabi was leaving us so Rafa should of ensured we had a ready made replacement for him. He'd obviously selected Aquilani as the replacement long before we signed him, judging by the quickness of Xabi leaving and Alberto arriving.

Arbeloa for Johnson is not one I've succumb to yet. Arbeloa was always one of me favourite players because you knew you'd get a solid, defensive performance out of him. Johnson always has me on tender hooks when he plays. Yes he may be better going forward than his Spanish predecessor but for me a right back is there to defend.

Sotis, I didn't see the point of in all honesty, I'd rather Kelly or Ayala given the fourth choice centre half place and he (Sotis) showed little to convince me. Bolton and Lyon away he was a disaster. Then we played Stoke, on me birthday as it happens, and after that he was a revelation. Sured up the back and Carra seemed quite confident beside him and his form picked up along with the Greeks.

Maxi, was another who took a while to get going. In the Derby he didn't touch the ball, but towards the end his form picked up and it was a welcome sight to see him on the right over Kuyt.

But overall, I don't think these signings really made us a better squad. Probably weakened if anything.

Rafa's other major failure this year was his refusal to change things as you've clearly stated. Plan B didn't seem to exist this season and it cost us dearly. When plan A worked, it worked a treat. When it didn't, we struggled because there wasn't a back up plan. If teams worked out how to stop the 4-2-3-1 from working, then was no change to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 or a gung ho 1-1-8.

It was rigid. Both the formation and our play. Freedom certainly didn't enter in the minds of too many players this year and that has to come from the tactics Rafa asks them to play to. When players were, on the rare occasion, allowed to express themselves we usually reaped the awards. Hopefully he's seen this and next year will allow the players to go out there freely rather than stuck in little squares.

The youngsters weren't really given a go but that doesn't surprise me really. Rafa has given few youngsters the chance to break through on a sustained basis. But as his youth set up grows stronger, maybe more and more will be given a go. This season though, we did see Insua given the left back position as his (probably due to the fact that Aurelio was injured for the majority of it - again) and I'll be honest, I was happy to see Rafa stick with the Argentine.

It was obvious he was struggling at times. But it'd of knocked him even more to get dropped out the side entirely. This way, he'll come back stronger for it with any luck. And as I'm quite happy to say, he was our left back when we had 7 clean sheets in 9 games. Once we have a really settled defensive line, I think we'll see Insua shine again. That's what happened during our most watertight patch last season, the back stayed the same.

Speaking of which, that's one thing I think Rafa has done well with this year. He hasn't pissed about, chopping and changing players every other week. He's kept on picking what he believes to be his best XI whenever he could. Obviously the left wing is a problem and injuries forced his hand with some changes, but by and large we had a settled seven or eight players week in week out. Unlike a few years back where the only one guaranteed a place where Pepe, Carra and Stevie.

Changing things too late when it didn't work or not changing it at all frustrated me but I was happy to see consistency in his starting selections. That was an old stick people beat him with that has gone quiet all of a sudden and I'd like to bring it up as a well done. Keeping a settled side is the way forward.

Another thing I think he done well, more with the regular first teamers than the young lads, was give them a go if they'd done well. I remember Babel having two stormers on the spin as a sub, so he was given a run out as a starter - fu**ed it right up - but at least Rafa gave him that chance. That's another thing I like to see, making players earn the right into his sides. I think that's what he's tried to do with Aquilani. His first couple of sub appearances were awful, then as he got better he started starting a few more games. He earned his place in the side like it used to be with this club.

Competitions, well I won't go into detail about them. They were a shambles, lets leave it there.

But again, I think Rafa's off the field antics this year have been a success compared to previous years. Very few, if any, public spats with the owners, other club's managers/players and officials. I know he got into a few but I think he's toned it down a good deal this year. I never like to see our manager or players getting involved with other club's affairs or the officials or publicly bringing up the off-the-field problems - those I'd rather be kept in house.

So this year was a disaster for Liverpool Football Club and Rafa Benitez, but there were some things we can take heart from. And maybe, build on them in the future.

If we're not given any money to spend in the summer, which looks likely, I'd rather just see Rafa get on with it. Use the players, he's bought, and find a way of getting them to play to the level we know they can. Ensure we have a plan B, even if that's a youngster from the reserves just make sure we have one. Keep on picking a settled side and let them get used to each other's play. Keep the mouth closed about other clubs, let them talk about us all they want - it just means they're scared when talking about Liverpool. We fear nobody  so should talk about nobody.

And this time next year when we're assessing Rafa Benitez the football manager 2010/11, we can also assess Rafa Benitez the manager of the year and the man who has guided us to our 19th League title.

I'll have a good geg at this tomorrow lads. Nice one.

Well, it's been a long hard season, of that there can be no doubt. A lot of speculation surrounding Rafa and the future of our Club. So many topics on the forum lately, all to do with money, or the lack of it. The Great Big Rafa Debate has just become a haven for the 'net-spend', 'sell to buy', 'sack Rafa', 'Rafa is the Messiah', 'bad luck' and 'injury' comments, ganging up on people and name calling in general. Correct me if i'm wrong, shouldn't the topic be just about his ability as a football manager?. There are those that see no fallibility in him, those that see nothing in him and those who can step back and assess him objectively. Well this topic is purely your chance to give your assessment on Rafael Benitez the football manager. Not Rafa the husband, not Rafa the father, not Rafa the great man either. I know we've had the End Of Season Assessment topic but i feel that that assessment was a culmination of various aspects that affected our season.


Here it goes then. On the back of an excellent season we went into the summer with renewed hope. I think that it's fair to say we were expecting to win the League after the ' 86 point season'. Then came a summer of turmoil. I think that Rafa knew what was coming with regards to Alonso, how Rafa manoeuvred was pivotal to our ambitions for the forthcoming season. What happened with Alonso?, we'll never know, but it's known that Rafa distanced himself from Xabi after the birth of Xabi's first child, when he chose to miss the Inter milan game. Was it the Barrygate scandal?. Or is it just Rafa's distant and cold demeanour?. More on this later. Back to the Alonso deal.

It was well known that we had Real Madrid at our mercy, they had so many pieces to the jigsaw, a list of superstars as long as Inspector Gadget's arm, yet they all meant nothing without a player who could bring them all together seamlessly. We could have had Wesley Sneijder, Klaas jan Huntelaar or Rafael Van der Vaart, either of 2 very good midfielders or a back up striker for Torres, even Negredo was mooted. Rafa chose to ignore this opportunity and instead settled for 'Il Principino', an already injured midfielder with an injury record akin to Darren Anderton! I'm not saying Aquilani is a mistake, i think he's going to become a great player for us. What i am saying is though, with only an initial payment of 5 million Euros, why didn't Rafa take a chance on one of the Madrid players as well?.

Then there's Glen Johnson. He's been a revelation in attack, but in defence?, please, he has been a liability at times. The only game that springs to mind when i try to remember a solid defensive performance from him is the win against United at home. £18 million pounds for a right back is over the odds, and i know that Portsmouth owed us money from the Crouch deal, but as soon as Chelsea stepped into the fray it became an E=Bay auction. We lost Arbeloa, i accept that, we had Degen, Darby and Kelly here though. I think that we needed to prioritise the left wing berth and the back up striker role, we didn't. In hindsight, the signings of Kyrgiakos and Rodriguez proved to be good buys, so i can't fault Rafa there. Kyrgiakos shored up the defence and brought much needed stability to the back four. Maxi gave us something we had been missing for most of the early part of the campaign, a winger that can actually control the ball and utilise it properly.


One thing that Rafa never fails to do, is to completely baffle fans with what can be quite outrageous team selections, tactical decisions and substitutions that defy belief. I won't go into minute detail, but his decisions to play full backs on the wings and in central midfield, central midfielders in defence, strikers on the wing, wingers up front etc. have had me seething at times this season. Our feeble exits from the Champions League, our meek surrender to a relegation threatened Championship side in the FA Cup, our defeat to the Arsenal reserves in the Carling Cup and our limp performance in the League just highlighted that Rafa got it wrong on many fronts this season. I'd like to say that the Torres substitution at Birmingham summed up Rafa for me this season. His inability to deviate from a tactical plan that clearly isn't working is a sign of a man that is becoming lost amid his relentless pursuit of what he perceives to be, total football. What i have seen this season is total sh*te and a spectacular collapse of a formation that was working so well the season before.

The system employs 2 central midfielders, one destroys and one creates. Well that's how it worked last season, it doesn't work this season because Lucas cannot create. I can honestly say that Lucas is one of the worst midfielders i have ever seen play for Liverpool, the fact that he has been one of the most consistent performers just proves how dire a season we have had. Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and Hamaan would make it into the top 30 Liverpool midfielders of all time, would Lucas?. Rafa has persisted with Lucas all season, his refusal to try something different has been detrimental to say the least. His persistence with Insua when sides were blatantly exploiting the right wing was painful to watch. It was only the injury to Insua that forced his hand to try Agger there, and guess what?, it paid off. David NGog is not of the required ability to play the lone striker role, yet Rafa persisted with him while chance after chance was squandered. Dirk Kuyt, as much as i admire his hard working attitude and commitment, i'm sure i'm not the only fan here who thinks that we've seen the best of him, am i?.

Then we have Yossi Benayoun, one of the few creative players we have in the squad, yet Rafa preferred to play him out wide and use him as an impact substitute. Where Lucas failed this season, Yossi could have excelled, why didn't Rafa try something different, surely he could see that Lucas doesn't fit into the system, or could he?. Rafa is so blinkered in his view of how his side should play football, it's all well and good when you have the personnel to implement the tactics, and when you don't?, then most people would alter the tactics/formation slightly, not Rafa though. Everything has to be meticulous and pre-planned, no spontaneity whatsoever, no freedom, no license to thrill. Arbeloa recently commented on Rafa's footballing philosophy, he said that all players have to follow the tactics religously and must never deviate from the plan, he didn't criticise Rafa, he just passed comment.

 This is where Rafa has fallen down this season. A team of robots, devoid of ideas, their natural instinct and creativity becoming suppressed due to the intense nature of Rafa's philosophy. Any freedom of thought is nullified, deviation from the plan will have serious repercussions. Is Rafa starting to lose the plot?. Ask yourself these questions. Would you have persevered with Lucas this season when he blatantly didn't fit into the system and offered us F**k all in attack?. Would you have ignored the possibility of dropping Lucas and trying Yossi in the middle, one of the few creative players at the Club?. When the Torres and Gerrard partnership was struck by injury, would you have dismissed the idea of dropping Gerrard back in the middle and playing Yossi or Pacheco in the hole?. Would you have kept picking Insua, week in week out, when you were constantly watching him get raped by no more than average wingers at best?. Would you have kept picking Kuyt all season, even after watching him miscontrol the ball, time and time again and break down counter attacks with his usual dilly-dally bollocks?. Would you have persevered with NGog, a young striker who was so obviously out of his depth in the lone striker role? Would you have kept one of our most promising young prospects ( Pacheco ) on the bench, game after game, while watching senior first team members produce dire display after dire display?. Would you?

I'm guessing the answers to most of those questions would have been no.  I'm fully aware that we've had terrible injury woes this season, the point i'm trying to make is that Rafa had the chance to change tactics, change personnel, change formation, change games that were slipping away, he didn't. When things weren't working he didn't attempt to change things. When youngsters were chomping at the bit to prove their worth, Rafa ignored them, instead he chose to persist with players he knew had nothing more to offer. And to those that say they are to young to be exposed to the rigours of Premier League football, try telling that to Rooney, Milner, Walcott, Ramsey etc. To be honest i thought that Rafa would be forced to blood the youngsters this season, especially with the substandard performances we kept churning out, it wasn't to be.


And my final insight into Rafa the football manager, his man-management skills, or more to the point, lack of them. Much has been made of this problem this season, or is it a problem?, some people think not, i think it is. I keep coming back to Pako Ayesteran, 11 years as Rafa's confidant, the one man Rafa could trust with anything, but more importantly, the link between Rafa and his players. When Pako left, is it no coincidence that player stories started crawling out of the woodwork about how distant and aloof Rafa was with regards to communicating with his playing staff?. I'm not going to go into detail about what players they were, we all know who they are and were.


Let's say the squad consists of 25 players, each one of those players is different, and they will each respond differently to any given situation. Some players need an arm around their shoulder, some need constant encouragement, some need a firm hand and some need to feel wanted. That is life, and as a manager you have to deal with these situations, but that's the trouble, Pako used to deal with these issues, not Rafa. How Sammy Lee deals with players, i don't know. As for Pellegrino?, i don't really know what his purpose is, i really don't. I know it's a pain in the arse when grown men need to be consoled and mollycoddled, but that's life. If that is what it takes to get the best out of some players, then that is what you have to do. If they need a kick up the arse?, you kick them up the arse. If they need encouragement, you F***ing encourage them! You do whatever needs to be done to maximise that player's potential. And if, after professing that you have signed players that you feel have the right mentality to succeed and they fail to show this mentality, then you have to make changes.

There's an old saying that goes like this, "You can only F**k with the cock you've got". So Rafa, if funds are not forthcoming this summer, then you have to go back to the drawing board and reassess the squad, the formation, the tactics, the psychology, the philosophy and the mentality. Try something new, refresh your ideas, remove yourself from the commotion and look at new ways of adapting to your surroundings. Just try something different.

P.S. This post has taken me a good while to type and it's time for bed for me, work in the morning. So there may be a couple of spelling mistakes, and i may have missed a couple of points out or other stuff. I will edit the rest tomorrow if i can. YNWA.

An absolute monster of a post Hardcore, really, really good. There's nothing i can add and certainly nothing that i would disagree with. Nice one.

Summer 09 came about with an optimism that this year was going to be our year on the back of our best ever points tally in the premier league that seen us  just miss out on winning it by a cats whisker. Then the reports about Alonso and Arbeloa cam abound and left us all on tenter hooks.

Arebaloa was moved on to Madrid and Glen Johnson was bought as his replacement so we lost a solid defending consistent right back who was not that bad at going forwards either for a more maurading attacking right back who's prone to a defensive lapse or two for a whopping 17.5 million pounds. In hindsight a cheaper alternative would have been a better option and the remaining money could have been spent better else where, however if certain reports are to believed and we come to the fact that Portsmouth owed us 10 million and given their financial plight it looked like we may never get it. Still we should have took Johnson for the 10 million they owed us and not a penny more, this is where I think Rafa got it wrong over the transfer.

Alonso was moved on to Madrid and Alberto Aquilani was brought in so we lost the best passer of a ball ever to grace the pitch at Anfield since Jan Molby and replaced him a crocked Italian who missed the majority of the season but has shown in his brief appearances that he does possess quality. Now we could have possibly got Van Der Vart, Sneijder, Higuain from Real Madrid in exchange for Alonso but again was it a real possibility looking at how Aquilani's deal was structured ?. If it was never a real possibility and the 5 million down payment on Aquilani looks a good bit of business on Rafa's part considering his potential, however if taking players in exchange for Alonso was a possibility then in hindsight it looks like Rafa got this terribly wrong.

Hyppia moved on to pastures new and Soto was brought in so we lost the best defender to grace Anfield since Hansen and replaced him with a no nonsense defender in Soto, now I'm not going to be critical of Rafa for this one as I really believe had Hyppia had the foresight to see our defensive injury crisis at the start of teh season he would have stayed as he just wanted game time and given Skrtel's Agger's and Carras form the previous season its easy to see why Rafa could not guarantee him that and also add to the fact that Soto has not been a bad buy for 1.5 million and brought a stability to the back 4 when we were leaking goals for fun, so a good buy in my opinion by Rafa.

Pre-season now the Alarm Bells started ringing for me in pre-season as I noticed a distinct lack of ability from our central midfielders to get their foot on the ball, get their head up and pick out a probing forward pass, during that time I also picked up they lacked the ability to control dominate and orchestrate the midfield and the fluidity of our play that had made us so successful in the previous season had jumped into Xabi's suitcase and fu**ed off to Madrid.

This is for me where Rafa got it wrong it was evident to myself and a few others the Lucas Mascherano pairing was never going to work and Gerrard should have been dropped back into central midfield with Yossi playing off Nando had that been the case I'm confident we'd have got a top 4 finish this season.

Then we come to his persistence with playing out of form, sh*t out of luck players.

Insua on the back of a good campaign the previous season started as our first choice left back due to the injury to Aurelio and was looking vulnerable from the get go. It seemed the opposition were picking him out as a an area to exploit and doing so with great effect the lads confidence looked shot to pieces. Rafa had several ways to address this whether that had been switching Johnson to the left and playing Degen on the right to putting Agger on the left where we eventually seen him finish the season or even giving Dossena a go there he couldnt have been any worse than Insua at times the lad was getting roasted, again an error on Rafa's part in my opinion.

Kuyt again on the back of an excellent previous season looked like little boy lost at times, his touch was woeful his passing sh*te and the ability to beat his man non existent and for all his hard work and industry for me that wasn't enough to cover for the poor form he was in, Rafa could have rectified this straight away by playing Babel on the right, lets be honest Babel although not every ones cup of tea could not have been any worse than Kuyt at times this season, Babel has pace to burn  and for me playing on the right would only help him as it allows him to go past his man and whip his cross in on his strongest foot with no need to cut inside to get off his weaker foot. Rafa again got this wrong for me.

Lucas on the back of a decent previous season deputising in a team that was picking up points for fun and full of confidence he done well, however I feel this season has shown his limits as to how far he could take us a regular starter in our central midfield, he lacks vision composure game intelligence and a decent range of passing to be a creative central midfielder. For me Rafa got this wrong as had he dropped Gerrard centrally and we were playing expansive attacking football the confidence of players like Kuyt and Insua may have risen and so may have their game.

No plan B Rafa for me got this massively wrong sticking to a formation that was built around the strength and understanding of two players when both players were ruled out, Sorry Rafa Voronin is no Gerrard and NGog is no Torres, there should always be a contingency plan for when things are not going your way and adopting a more orthodox 4-4-2 in times of crisis may have been better for the players who did not possess the ability to perform to the levels of certain players in our standard formation.

Dossena gone I think Rafa could have held onto Doss until this summer, I'm sure he could have helped out, whether that had been on the left wing or playing at Left back during Insua's terrible form and as the money was not re-invested back into the squad with hindsight maybe we should have held on to him.

Voronin gone (Massive Thumbs UP) he was sh*te to be honest.

Maxi excellent signing for a freebie and brought with him game intelligence and  excellent link up play and looks like he could be a boss player can't wait to see a full season from him, major plus on that score.

Many of the factors I've raised had Rafa done things differently who knows maybe we'd have got top 4, maybe we'd have to to the semi's of the Champions League, maybe we'd have a good run in the F.A and league cup, however I have a feeling that his stubbornness and persistence to his own beliefs cost us more than just points this season.

End of season report

MUST DO BETTER

MUST GET NEW OWNERS

Great post, Hardcore. Agree entirely with your opinions about the many mistakes Benitez made last season.  The two disasters that happened last season were as you pointed out - the loss of Alonso and also Paco, who seemed to have the confidence of the players.

Let's see the manager changes his tactics next season, if he's still here.

Hardcore, top post, many thanks for summing it all up so objectively. There is no doubt that Rafa lost his touch this season, possibly because he became embroiled in events off the pitch, and also, I wonder if there is anyone now among his staff that is willing to point out to him where things might be going wrong. He has surrounded himself with too many 'yes men' I believe, and in those circumstances it is very easy to lose your objective focus. Substitutions were at times bizarre, and even confused the players sometimes, which does not lead to a good team spirit.

Your point about Paka is very valid I think.

That was a hardcore post, hardcore. Definitely you assessed Rafa's season very objectively from a very unbiased and neutral point of view. There is nothing I would disagree with. Great post.

Top posts hardcore, dunlop and Redblood only thing I disagree with is the criticism of Johnson, he gives us a completely different option something Arbeloa didn't other than that have to say they are excellant posts and well written.

Top post!

Without going over things too much, personally we looked low on confidence from the first game of the season which baffles me considering the way we ended the previous season.

Will never understand Rafa's team and sub selections but the point about him "stifling" players is a major worry for. Seemed the shackles were loosened from Feb to May 2009 when we played some great football and it felt like we could take on and beat anyone in Europe (which in Madrid and United we did) and the team is that different afterall.

Just read it and great read.

So to answer the point you're raising mate, my assessment of Rafa this season is he failed as did the club on the whole.

For me it did start with the transfers, it was inevitable Xabi was leaving us so Rafa should of ensured we had a ready made replacement for him. He'd obviously selected Aquilani as the replacement long before we signed him, judging by the quickness of Xabi leaving and Alberto arriving.

Arbeloa for Johnson is not one I've succumb to yet. Arbeloa was always one of me favourite players because you knew you'd get a solid, defensive performance out of him. Johnson always has me on tender hooks when he plays. Yes he may be better going forward than his Spanish predecessor but for me a right back is there to defend.

Sotis, I didn't see the point of in all honesty, I'd rather Kelly or Ayala given the fourth choice centre half place and he (Sotis) showed little to convince me. Bolton and Lyon away he was a disaster. Then we played Stoke, on me birthday as it happens, and after that he was a revelation. Sured up the back and Carra seemed quite confident beside him and his form picked up along with the Greeks.

Maxi, was another who took a while to get going. In the Derby he didn't touch the ball, but towards the end his form picked up and it was a welcome sight to see him on the right over Kuyt.

But overall, I don't think these signings really made us a better squad. Probably weakened if anything.

Rafa's other major failure this year was his refusal to change things as you've clearly stated. Plan B didn't seem to exist this season and it cost us dearly. When plan A worked, it worked a treat. When it didn't, we struggled because there wasn't a back up plan. If teams worked out how to stop the 4-2-3-1 from working, then was no change to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 or a gung ho 1-1-8.

It was rigid. Both the formation and our play. Freedom certainly didn't enter in the minds of too many players this year and that has to come from the tactics Rafa asks them to play to. When players were, on the rare occasion, allowed to express themselves we usually reaped the awards. Hopefully he's seen this and next year will allow the players to go out there freely rather than stuck in little squares.

The youngsters weren't really given a go but that doesn't surprise me really. Rafa has given few youngsters the chance to break through on a sustained basis. But as his youth set up grows stronger, maybe more and more will be given a go. This season though, we did see Insua given the left back position as his (probably due to the fact that Aurelio was injured for the majority of it - again) and I'll be honest, I was happy to see Rafa stick with the Argentine.

It was obvious he was struggling at times. But it'd of knocked him even more to get dropped out the side entirely. This way, he'll come back stronger for it with any luck. And as I'm quite happy to say, he was our left back when we had 7 clean sheets in 9 games. Once we have a really settled defensive line, I think we'll see Insua shine again. That's what happened during our most watertight patch last season, the back stayed the same.

Speaking of which, that's one thing I think Rafa has done well with this year. He hasn't pissed about, chopping and changing players every other week. He's kept on picking what he believes to be his best XI whenever he could. Obviously the left wing is a problem and injuries forced his hand with some changes, but by and large we had a settled seven or eight players week in week out. Unlike a few years back where the only one guaranteed a place where Pepe, Carra and Stevie.

Changing things too late when it didn't work or not changing it at all frustrated me but I was happy to see consistency in his starting selections. That was an old stick people beat him with that has gone quiet all of a sudden and I'd like to bring it up as a well done. Keeping a settled side is the way forward.

Another thing I think he done well, more with the regular first teamers than the young lads, was give them a go if they'd done well. I remember Babel having two stormers on the spin as a sub, so he was given a run out as a starter - fu**ed it right up - but at least Rafa gave him that chance. That's another thing I like to see, making players earn the right into his sides. I think that's what he's tried to do with Aquilani. His first couple of sub appearances were awful, then as he got better he started starting a few more games. He earned his place in the side like it used to be with this club.

Competitions, well I won't go into detail about them. They were a shambles, lets leave it there.

But again, I think Rafa's off the field antics this year have been a success compared to previous years. Very few, if any, public spats with the owners, other club's managers/players and officials. I know he got into a few but I think he's toned it down a good deal this year. I never like to see our manager or players getting involved with other club's affairs or the officials or publicly bringing up the off-the-field problems - those I'd rather be kept in house.

So this year was a disaster for Liverpool Football Club and Rafa Benitez, but there were some things we can take heart from. And maybe, build on them in the future.

If we're not given any money to spend in the summer, which looks likely, I'd rather just see Rafa get on with it. Use the players, he's bought, and find a way of getting them to play to the level we know they can. Ensure we have a plan B, even if that's a youngster from the reserves just make sure we have one. Keep on picking a settled side and let them get used to each other's play. Keep the mouth closed about other clubs, let them talk about us all they want - it just means they're scared when talking about Liverpool. We fear nobody  so should talk about nobody.

And this time next year when we're assessing Rafa Benitez the football manager 2010/11, we can also assess Rafa Benitez the manager of the year and the man who has guided us to our 19th League title.

Top post,well in DLS.

HardCore  DLS  and RedLFCB.

All great posts especially the Opener to the topic.

Many reasons in there why I sadly lost faith in Rafa this season.

Top posts hardcore, dunlop and Redblood only thing I disagree with is the criticism of Johnson, he gives us a completely different option something Arbeloa didn't other than that have to say they are excellant posts and well written.

I just knew you'd pop in to the thread if Johnson was criticised mate 

I like Johnson, i really do.

Is he a better defender than Arbeloa? I know he isn't.

Is he a better all rounder than Arbeloa? Yes, he is.

Was 18 million pounds too much for a right back? Yes it was. Way too much.

Who would i prefer at right back? Arbeloa, everytime mate.

Just my opinion though.

Hardcore, top post, many thanks for summing it all up so objectively. There is no doubt that Rafa lost his touch this season, possibly because he became embroiled in events off the pitch, and also, I wonder if there is anyone now among his staff that is willing to point out to him where things might be going wrong. He has surrounded himself with too many 'yes men' I believe, and in those circumstances it is very easy to lose your objective focus. Substitutions were at times bizarre, and even confused the players sometimes, which does not lead to a good team spirit.

Your point about Paka is very valid I think.

I like your point about selecting Yes men. It is well documented that Pako was the only staff member that would openly criticise Rafa, he was more than just a fitness coach, he was a father figure to the players and would often advise Rafa on any failings he could see in Rafa's methodology. If he was just a fitness coach then i don't think they'd have tried to enforce the 'gardening leave' injunction on him. A host of big clubs, United and Chelsea included, were after his services. 11 years is a long time to work together, and they both built up a great friendship and working relationship together. It must have been a massive blow to Rafa, although we don't know the ins and outs of the split, would it be madness to think that Rafa's stubborness could possibly have scuppered any chance of a reunion?.

Great post, Hardcore. Agree entirely with your opinions about the many mistakes Benitez made last season.  The two disasters that happened last season were as you pointed out - the loss of Alonso and also Paco, who seemed to have the confidence of the players.

Let's see the manager changes his tactics next season, if he's still here.

Pako left at the back end of 2007 mate. I was just passing comment on how his loss has affected us over a period of time. Rafa is so embroiled in the analytical and statistical side of management that he distances himself from the emotional and human aspects of management.

Pako left at the back end of 2007 mate. I was just passing comment on how his loss has affected us over a period of time. Rafa is so embroiled in the analytical and statistical side of management that he distances himself from the emotional and human aspects of management.

I think that's why Sammy was brought back in all honesty mate.

Sammy, for me, is the link between the players and management. Whereas Pelligrino is probably more a Rafa-esque coach.

I think that's why Sammy was brought back in all honesty mate.

Sammy, for me, is the link between the players and management. Whereas Pelligrino is probably more a Rafa-esque coach.

I know where you're coming from mate, and Sammy is a legend at the Club. The point i'm making is this, do you think Sammy would have a go at Rafa like Pako used to?. I just feel that Pako kept Rafa in line, whether Sammy and Pellegrino do it, i can't really comment on it. I doubt they have as much influence on Rafa as Pako undoubtedly did. This is of course, just an observation. Sometimes when i look at Pellegrino during games, i'm half expecting Rafa to put his fist up his arse so he can speak.

I know where you're coming from mate, and Sammy is a legend at the Club. The point i'm making is this, do you think Sammy would have a go at Rafa like Pako used to?. I just feel that Pako kept Rafa in line, whether Sammy and Pellegrino do it, i can't really comment on it. I doubt they have as much influence on Rafa as Pako undoubtedly did. This is of course, just an observation. Sometimes when i look at Pellegrino during games, i'm half expecting Rafa to put his fist up his arse so he can speak.

Pelligrino might, but I just can't see Sammy sitting there going "yes sir, no sir, three up front not an option sir".

I remember Sammy under Roy and Gerard and the emotion that drained out of him when we scored, wouldn't allow him to believe we were doing something right if he felt it was wrong. He used to be first off that bench, knocking others out the way and almost decapitating himself in the process just to celebrate.

I can't see him being a yes man. He loves the club as much as anybody at that club and would be the last person to accept wrong doings. He'd put the love of his club above anything. So if he felt something was going wrong, I'd imagine he'd say it.

The Sammy Lee I perceive would say it anyway.

I'll probably get crucified for what I am about to say, your assessment of Lucas and Kuyt was for me, wrong, I've watched Lucas give us solid displays all season and it was only toward the end of season that he started to lose energy then some of his displays were low key, he's young and there's a lot more to come from Lucas.

As for Kuyt he started the season OK and soon got into his stride but as the others started to struggle so did Kuyt. There came a point where I wanted the season to stop around December time just so we could get to where we are now and start again, it felt that bad. Point the finger all you want but in the end we are in it together and we stand or fall with the team, I know Rafa made some decisions in some games that seemed odd at the time, but he had to try something, we were struggling we had no confidence and I believe he did what he could to shake the team out of it's lethargy, in the end he succeeded to a point where we got some confidence and spirit to take us to a European Semi-final.

If you want to point a finger point it at our last two summer transfer windows, we came out of the first spending nothing and the second making a profit, so over the last two summers Rafa made a profit of 1-5  mill for the clubs debt and any new players we have had are because Rafa tried to bring new blood to the club, it's the only way we can move on, unfortunately the wheeling and dealing left us with one player that would not be ready until December although when he was bought Rafa was under the impression that Aquilani would be ready at the end of September, a big difference.

Rafa also bought Johnson at a much inflated price owing to Chelsea trying to hijack the deal, we all now know what happened next so because of moneys owed by Portsmouth we ended up with Johnson and although he hasn't set the kop alight yet I have every confidence that in time he will be a very good full back for us, it takes time sometimes for a player to find his feet.

Two summers before this one, after some abject displays by Alonso Rafa wanted to buy Barry, it never materialised(not Rafa's fault), when Madrid came knocking last summer it gave Alonso a reason to go, not that he used that as an excuse but once Madrid came knocking he wanted to go and their was no talking him around.

A lot that could go wrong went wrong this season and before we kicked a ball we had injuries to Agger, Skrtel and Aurilio and others too as I seem to remember, we had lost Hyppia a player that looking back with hindsight was a big loss, at the time it looked as if we would cope without Sammy otherwise he would not have left, then their came the first game at Spurs and everything that could go wrong went wrong, two injury's to both our centre half's and denied a blatant pen(sign of things to come) which would have given us the draw. Last season was the hardest I can remember but hardest of all on the players and manager, the players will want to right a wrong along with Rafa when next season opens for business.

Well, it's been a long hard season, of that there can be no doubt. A lot of speculation surrounding Rafa and the future of our Club. So many topics on the forum lately, all to do with money, or the lack of it. The Great Big Rafa Debate has just become a haven for the 'net-spend', 'sell to buy', 'sack Rafa', 'Rafa is the Messiah', 'bad luck' and 'injury' comments, ganging up on people and name calling in general. Correct me if I'm wrong, shouldn't the topic be just about his ability as a football manager?. There are those that see no fallibility in him, those that see nothing in him and those who can step back and assess him objectively. Well this topic is purely your chance to give your assessment on Rafael Benitez the football manager. Not Rafa the husband, not Rafa the father, not Rafa the great man either. I know we've had the End Of Season Assessment topic but I feel that that assessment was a culmination of various aspects that affected our season.


Here it goes then. On the back of an excellent season we went into the summer with renewed hope. I think that it's fair to say we were expecting to win the League after the ' 86 point season'. Then came a summer of turmoil. I think that Rafa knew what was coming with regards to Alonso, how Rafa manoeuvred was pivotal to our ambitions for the forthcoming season. What happened with Alonso?, we'll never know, but it's known that Rafa distanced himself from Xabi after the birth of Xabi's first child, when he chose to miss the Inter milan game. Was it the Barrygate scandal?. Or is it just Rafa's distant and cold demeanour?. More on this later. Back to the Alonso deal.

It was well known that we had Real Madrid at our mercy, they had so many pieces to the jigsaw, a list of superstars as long as Inspector Gadget's arm, yet they all meant nothing without a player who could bring them all together seamlessly. We could have had Wesley Sneijder, Klaas jan Huntelaar or Rafael Van der Vaart, either of 2 very good midfielders or a back up striker for Torres, even Negredo was mooted. Rafa chose to ignore this opportunity and instead settled for 'Il Principino', an already injured midfielder with an injury record akin to Darren Anderton! I'm not saying Aquilani is a mistake, I think he's going to become a great player for us. What I am saying is though, with only an initial payment of 5 million Euros, why didn't Rafa take a chance on one of the Madrid players as well?.

Then there's Glen Johnson. He's been a revelation in attack, but in defence?, please, he has been a liability at times. The only game that springs to mind when I try to remember a solid defensive performance from him is the win against United at home. £18 million pounds for a right back is over the odds, and I know that Portsmouth owed us money from the Crouch deal, but as soon as Chelsea stepped into the fray it became an E=Bay auction. We lost Arbeloa, I accept that, we had Degen, Darby and Kelly here though. I think that we needed to prioritise the left wing berth and the back up striker role, we didn't. In hindsight, the signings of Kyrgiakos and Rodriguez proved to be good buys, so I can't fault Rafa there. Kyrgiakos shored up the defence and brought much needed stability to the back four. Maxi gave us something we had been missing for most of the early part of the campaign, a winger that can actually control the ball and utilise it properly.


One thing that Rafa never fails to do, is to completely baffle fans with what can be quite outrageous team selections, tactical decisions and substitutions that defy belief. I won't go into minute detail, but his decisions to play full backs on the wings and in central midfield, central midfielders in defence, strikers on the wing, wingers up front etc. have had me seething at times this season. Our feeble exits from the Champions League, our meek surrender to a relegation threatened Championship side in the FA Cup, our defeat to the Arsenal reserves in the Carling Cup and our limp performance in the League just highlighted that Rafa got it wrong on many fronts this season. I'd like to say that the Torres substitution at Birmingham summed up Rafa for me this season. His inability to deviate from a tactical plan that clearly isn't working is a sign of a man that is becoming lost amid his relentless pursuit of what he perceives to be, total football. What I have seen this season is total sh*te and a spectacular collapse of a formation that was working so well the season before.

The system employs 2 central midfielders, one destroys and one creates. Well that's how it worked last season, it doesn't work this season because Lucas cannot create. I can honestly say that Lucas is one of the worst midfielders I have ever seen play for Liverpool, the fact that he has been one of the most consistent performers just proves how dire a season we have had. Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and Hamaan would make it into the top 30 Liverpool midfielders of all time, would Lucas?. Rafa has persisted with Lucas all season, his refusal to try something different has been detrimental to say the least. His persistence with Insua when sides were blatantly exploiting the right wing was painful to watch. It was only the injury to Insua that forced his hand to try Agger there, and guess what?, it paid off. David NGog is not of the required ability to play the lone striker role, yet Rafa persisted with him while chance after chance was squandered. Dirk Kuyt, as much as I admire his hard working attitude and commitment, I'm sure I'm not the only fan here who thinks that we've seen the best of him, am I?.

Then we have Yossi Benayoun, one of the few creative players we have in the squad, yet Rafa preferred to play him out wide and use him as an impact substitute. Where Lucas failed this season, Yossi could have excelled, why didn't Rafa try something different, surely he could see that Lucas doesn't fit into the system, or could he?. Rafa is so blinkered in his view of how his side should play football, it's all well and good when you have the personnel to implement the tactics, and when you don't?, then most people would alter the tactics/formation slightly, not Rafa though. Everything has to be meticulous and pre-planned, no spontaneity whatsoever, no freedom, no license to thrill. Arbeloa recently commented on Rafa's footballing philosophy, he said that all players have to follow the tactics religously and must never deviate from the plan, he didn't criticise Rafa, he just passed comment.

 This is where Rafa has fallen down this season. A team of robots, devoid of ideas, their natural instinct and creativity becoming suppressed due to the intense nature of Rafa's philosophy. Any freedom of thought is nullified, deviation from the plan will have serious repercussions. Is Rafa starting to lose the plot?. Ask yourself these questions. Would you have persevered with Lucas this season when he blatantly didn't fit into the system and offered us f**k all in attack?. Would you have ignored the possibility of dropping Lucas and trying Yossi in the middle, one of the few creative players at the Club?. When the Torres and Gerrard partnership was struck by injury, would you have dismissed the idea of dropping Gerrard back in the middle and playing Yossi or Pacheco in the hole?. Would you have kept picking Insua, week in week out, when you were constantly watching him get raped by no more than average wingers at best?. Would you have kept picking Kuyt all season, even after watching him miscontrol the ball, time and time again and break down counter attacks with his usual dilly-dally bollocks?. Would you have persevered with NGog, a young striker who was so obviously out of his depth in the lone striker role? Would you have kept one of our most promising young prospects ( Pacheco ) on the bench, game after game, while watching senior first team members produce dire display after dire display?. Would you?

I'm guessing the answers to most of those questions would have been no.  I'm fully aware that we've had terrible injury woes this season, the point I'm trying to make is that Rafa had the chance to change tactics, change personnel, change formation, change games that were slipping away, he didn't. When things weren't working he didn't attempt to change things. When youngsters were chomping at the bit to prove their worth, Rafa ignored them, instead he chose to persist with players he knew had nothing more to offer. And to those that say they are to young to be exposed to the rigours of Premier League football, try telling that to Rooney, Milner, Walcott, Ramsey etc. To be honest I thought that Rafa would be forced to blood the youngsters this season, especially with the substandard performances we kept churning out, it wasn't to be.


And my final insight into Rafa the football manager, his man-management skills, or more to the point, lack of them. Much has been made of this problem this season, or is it a problem?, some people think not, I think it is. I keep coming back to Pako Ayesteran, 11 years as Rafa's confidant, the one man Rafa could trust with anything, but more importantly, the link between Rafa and his players. When Pako left, is it no coincidence that player stories started crawling out of the woodwork about how distant and aloof Rafa was with regards to communicating with his playing staff?. I'm not going to go into detail about what players they were, we all know who they are and were.


Let's say the squad consists of 25 players, each one of those players is different, and they will each respond differently to any given situation. Some players need an arm around their shoulder, some need constant encouragement, some need a firm hand and some need to feel wanted. That is life, and as a manager you have to deal with these situations, but that's the trouble, Pako used to deal with these issues, not Rafa. How Sammy Lee deals with players, I don't know. As for Pellegrino?, I don't really know what his purpose is, I really don't. I know it's a pain in the arse when grown men need to be consoled and mollycoddled, but that's life. If that is what it takes to get the best out of some players, then that is what you have to do. If they need a kick up the arse?, you kick them up the arse. If they need encouragement, you f**king encourage them! You do whatever needs to be done to maximise that player's potential. And if, after professing that you have signed players that you feel have the right mentality to succeed and they fail to show this mentality, then you have to make changes.

There's an old saying that goes like this, "You can only f**k with the cock you've got". So Rafa, if funds are not forthcoming this summer, then you have to go back to the drawing board and reassess the squad, the formation, the tactics, the psychology, the philosophy and the mentality. Try something new, refresh your ideas, remove yourself from the commotion and look at new ways of adapting to your surroundings. Just try something different.

P.S. This post has taken me a good while to type and it's time for bed for me, work in the morning. So there may be a couple of spelling mistakes, and I may have missed a couple of points out or other stuff. I will edit the rest tomorrow if I can. YNWA.

To be honest, that's much or less what that Angel of Doom of yours have been spouting, just put in a mildy more constructive post.

To be honest, that's much or less what that Angel of Doom of yours have been spouting, just put in a mildy more constructive post.

No its not.

To be honest, that's much or less what that Angel of Doom of yours have been spouting, just put in a mildy more constructive post.

Please elaborate kind sir, i am intrigued. I have given an honest assessment on Rafa's failings this season. I am behind Rafa all the way, not that i need to explain myself to you, but i will, seeing as you are new to the forum. It is possible to support Rafael Benitez and still be critical of his flaws. There is a middle ground here, unfortunately it's not as clean cut as saying Rafa is Jesus or Rafa is sh*te. I will always give Rafa credit when it is due, and i will also criticise Rafa when i think he has done wrong. And i have no doubt that i will praise him again and i will also criticise him again too.

It's the ' You're either with Rafa or against Rafa ' culture that has been manifesting itself lately that is really pissing me off. Ask anyone on here sir, i am behind Rafa all the way, that doesn't mean that i believe he shits diamonds though! I hope that clears it up for you?.

And as for Angel of Doom, i am assuming that you are referring to Angelic Rayment?. And he is not mine, are you implying that he is my sex gimp, that i have him in a cage with a pool ball in his mouth?. He is a member of this forum, his opinions, whether you like them or not, are just that, opinions that is. Let's hear your opinion on why we had such a great season then please?.