Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[qw2op]

Rafa defends rotation policy

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has defended his policy of squad rotation, insisting that even key players need to be rested to remain fresh.

Benitez has infuriated Reds fans at times with some puzzling selections, but he believes that the fast pace of the modern game makes it impossible for players to perform at a consistently high level without the occasional break.

"We try to explain to our players why we decide to rotate," Benitez told the League Managers Association.

"It's not possible to play 60-65 games, 100 percent fit. It is impossible now with the tempo and the football.

"People talk about 20, 30, 50 years ago but it's different now. After you finish a game you might need to fly to another country to play another really, really important game, and then come back a few days later to play another important game against a tough team, with a lot of physical contact.

"It's not a big difference if you change a full back for another one if he knows what to do.

"If you have a big name (player) of course you can lose something but if the big name is tired then he's not 100 percent fit and it's better to use another member of the squad."

Benitez pointed to the success he had in Spain as an example of how the technique should benefit Liverpool in the long term.

"In my first year at Valencia we won La Liga, beating Real Madrid, Barcelona, Deportivo and Atletico Madrid," he recalled.

"In January we were eight points behind Real Madrid and we finished six or seven points ahead. Why? Because we were fresh at the end of the season.

"In the last two or three months we were really, really fresh and we were playing at another level."

Benitez accepts that achieving success in England requires a slightly different approach, and he believes he has adapted his style to suit The Premiership.

"I think you always change a little bit. Especially here, you need to learn how to approach each game," he commented.

"We are signing players for The Premiership now, more physical players.

"But the question is to find the balance between the quality and the physical approach."

Some of Benitez's foreign signings have failed to fire in The Premiership, but the Spaniard feels that the key for new arrivals is often just a case of getting to grips with the English language.

He said: "For some players, to be capable of talking with your team-mates makes a big difference.

"You can see (Fernando) Morientes now, he's scoring goals in Spain and playing really well and he had some problems here because he couldn't talk normally.

"(It was) the same with Josemi. I think it's important that they start with English lessons from the beginning."

Benitez also offered his thoughts on Peter Crouch, who took time to settle at Anfield last season but has now become a hit with the fans after finding form in front of goal.

"When we decide to sign a player normally we try to monitor the player for a period of time," he explained.

"In this case we were watching Peter for three or four months and analysing every game, every movement.

So we knew he was a good player and the only thing was to support him, because all he needed was time.

"Now the problem is everybody says he's good and we need to say 'keep on your toes because we need to see the best of you'

"Sometimes when people start talking really well about a player it's more difficult to keep a player working hard, although in this case Peter is okay."

[Dirk Kuyt]

Originally Posted by Xautism

latest news is Kuyt is injured n the Dutch rather wait to c if he can recover on wed to play for them n Benitez is fuming mad abt the decision on not sending him back to Liverpool straightaway...

No worries......I should be able to make the next game.

Dirk Kuyt

[beck7777]

Originally Posted by Dirk Kuyt

No worries......I should be able to make the next game.

Dirk Kuyt

heard u r out for the man u match as well leh...

[Dirk Kuyt]

Originally Posted by beck7777

heard u r out for the man u match as well leh...

Actually I m alrite...just some bruising on the ankle....can still play.
It's Benitez tat wants to rest me. I'm on the bench for the Blackbum match.
Me tinks he's going bonkers. The 1st XI he pencilled for this game -

Reina

Aurelio
Carragher
Paletta
Finnan

Gonzales
Zenden
Gerrard
Alonso
Pennant

Fowler

1st time we're trying out this formation.

Dirk

[Latchon]

Came across this lovely poem on the internet, who could forget our victorious night in Istanbul:


An army amassed just like centuries before,
In a city made famous by sieges of yore,
Where Constantinople and Byzantium once stood,
A new army now did descend like a flood.

An army of thousands in livery of red,
Liverbirds on their chests and a dream in their heads,
With smiles on their faces and songs in their hearts,
Of hope a new era was waiting to start.

Stood on the North Tribune I looked all around,
A sea of red swamping 3 sides of the ground,
Flags, scarves and banners that covered the crowd,
A show of red strength to make Chairman Mao proud. *

I surveyed the scene in awe and in bliss,
How could we fail on a stage such as this?
I reckoned without an AC Milan team,
With the class to make nightmares out of our dreams.

And so it transpired in a half straight from hell,
A Maldini sucker punch straight from the bell
With 2 blows from Crespo 5 minutes apart,
Milan drove a dagger through Liverpool’s heart,

We staggered and reached the refuge of half time,
Our worst fears were realised, 3-0 behind,
Ashen-faced Reds with their heads in their hands,
Slumped in despair on the steps of the stand.

An anger rose in me, but not with the team,
Where was the 12th man? Was Chelsea a dream?
We had to show pride, try to lift them somehow,
We’d come much too far to give up on them now.

Somebody somewhere had shared the same thought,
My faith was restored in our famous support.
YNWA grew in strength, as did I,
And I sang.. as if it was for the last time.

Looking back now I can’t honestly say,
That as I sang, I thought we would find a way
To come back, but I wanted the whole world to see,
We still had pride, we were still Liverpool FC.

That chorus will live on in legend and lore,
Cruyff said he had heard nothing like it before,
Maradona said it made him convert to a Red,
Luis said it spurred them to rise from the dead.

Then came the reverse of our first half ordeal,
6 minutes of mayhem that didn’t seem real
6 glorious minutes that none will forget,
When Stevie and Xabi and Vlad found the net.

Milan came again but at each turn were foiled,
Once more a siege played out on Istanbul soil,
As the seconds ticked down, the Redmen stood tall,
Though their muscles screamed ‘stop’ they ploughed on through it all.

Then came the moment God’s will became known,
The ball fell to Shevchenko with Dudek left prone,
With the goal at his mercy, our Pole somehow saved,
Someone from above must have smiled on the brave.

It was then that it suddenly all became clear,
Milan realised that this wasn’t their year,
Alongside the Reds stood an ally too great,
There was no resisting the power of fate.

So when the game entered it’s final test then,
They bore the demeanour of half-beaten men,
Defeat after so much no player deserved,
But while Milan’s men wilted the Red’s kept their nerve.

And when Andrei’s nemesis foiled him once more,
The night air was pierced by a deafening roar,
Destiny fulfilled all that was prophesised,
And I hugged all around me with tears in my eyes

The Redmen all met us, celebrations they led,
Carra The Lionheart, Gerrard The Red,
Sami The Mighty, the sturdy Hamann,
Dudek and all, heroes to a man.

And Rafa, our Moses, by his guiding hand,
He led us all back here to this Promised Land,
When the road became hard no excuse did he use,
And when all seemed lost here his genius shone through.

Emotion flowed down from the stands like a shower,
As we watched Stevie lift that old trophy of ours,
You’ll Never Walk Alone once again we did sing,
As we all heralded the return of the Kings.

Now on the bus back to Taksim I went,
My voice was in tatters, all energy spent,
Utterly drained but smiling ear to ear,
I thought back to the road that had led me to here.

As a boy I had watched all the legends parade,
As they conquered all Europe and history was made,
As the years passed, now no longer watching a screen,
I thought I’d never see what my elders had seen.

I wondered if my eyes would yet see the glory,
And whether in years to come I could tell stories,
Of great Anfield nights and of crusades abroad,
When the Mighty Reds put Europe’s best to the sword.

2004 then turned into 05,
And finally all of my hopes came to life,
It seemed fate was there with us right from the start,
It happened as if it was written in the stars.

I watched from the Kop on that December night,
The pivotal moment when dark turned to light,
4 minutes from failure, then hope was restored,
We all dared to dream, when Stevie G scored.

Echoes of the past rang as clear as a bell,
The late Kop end goal , the same scoreline as well,
My generation loved tales about way back when,
But we now had our very own St Etienne.

I was there against Juve when ghosts of the past,
20 years in the waiting confronted at last,
The Kop spelled out friendship in red and in white,
And in silence we remembered the fallen that night.

The whistle it blew and the silence gave way,
To a whirlwind of noise that blew Juve away,
I saw a red tide almost swallow them whole,
And I saw Luis Garcia’s 30 yard goal.

I saw Chelsea get their come-uppence at last,
On a night at Anfield that might not be surpassed,
The primeval force of The Kop in full cry,
For 96 minutes the noise wouldn’t die.

96 minutes for 96 souls,
They surely were watching the drama unfold,
For something divine intervened on our side,
‘Cos I can’t explain how Gudjohnsen shot wide.

The Kop danced long after the players had gone,
The glory of years passed remembered in song,
And when we were thrown out we danced on outside,
Around Shankly’s statue long into the night.

And now I had witnessed a moment so rare,
It’s drama and splendour were beyond compare,
A moment in Sport we may not see again,
A moment I’d waited so long to attain.

Istanbul was for one night, Heaven on Earth,
So special you can’t put a price on it’s worth,
I give thanks I was one of the privileged few,
I was there and I saw all of our dreams come true.

A banner I’d seen and there saw it again,
“My Eyes Have Seen The Glory” it proudly proclaimed,
Four symbolic stars were emblazoned thereon,
I could now say “me too” when the 5th one was won.

I’ve seen the Kop’s legacy upheld and enhanced,
And seen us win when no one gave us a chance,
I’ve seen us rise up and be crowned Europe’s best,
If it’s the last match I see I’d still think myself blessed.

[Jadoo]

I heard that there was a pub in Keypoint that got SYT as waitress and wearing jersey. Can anyone verify this??? I might want to head down with Bro Wukong if it is real for tonight match.

[wukong68]

Originally Posted by Jadoo

I heard that there was a pub in Keypoint that got SYT as waitress and wearing jersey. Can anyone verify this??? I might want to head down with Bro Wukong if it is real for tonight match.

Time to wear my red jersey tonite! hehe
Anyone joining??

[beck7777]

Originally Posted by wukong68

Time to wear my red jersey tonite! hehe
Anyone joining??

The main reason why the match ended draw?

Bro Wukong in his Liverpool jersey again!

[Frankiestine]

wah pianz what is simply wrong with Liverpool, nothing seems to be going right for them nowadays...matches which they would normally win hands down they are drawing..wat more the tougher teams, how to beat them and earn 3 pts??

[Jadoo]

It seems to me that Liverpool have been conceding goals in almost every match in the EPL. 9 Goals in 8 Games.

Their scoring is neither that good too, 9 Goals in 8 Games too.

I thought Rafa claimed that he will Rotate all players in the team including SG

Why is Reina not rested??

Why is Fowler not even on the bench for the last few matches?

[hawksbay]

yup we shd have got the points,but a draw is not to bad.i guess we need abit of luck.i think we are begining to to take shape n i believe that things will even out itself through the season.SO CHEER UP MY FELLOW REDS

[Asianguy]

At the rate we are going, let's hope we finish in the top 6 of the table. At least we can still hope to go europe next year. Looks like another 2-horse race but maybe Arsenal may still spring some surprise yet. Can't see Reds seriously challenging if we continue at this rate.

[Asianguy]

At the rate we are going, let's hope we finish in the top 6 of the table. At least we can still hope to go europe next year. Looks like another 2-horse race but maybe Arsenal may still spring some surprise yet. Can't see Reds seriously challenging if we continue at this rate.

[Latchon]

Early days yet....last season we were there about or worse, Rafa has got very little time to work with the boys because of all those internationals...but still I think we should always play our strongest 11 whenever possible.

[Cummon]

Gerrard pairing with Alonso in the centre of midfield doesn't seem to get
results & Pennant's crossings have not been up to expectations. Won't be
suprised if Rafa play Gerrard on the right in order to secure points.
Until we can at least bully the smaller clubs home & away,title talks will
always sound unrealistic.