Poor old Rafa got a lot of stick from some of our fans, (and a lot of rival fans) about bad buys and dodgy signings. I have a dream that next season our first team will develop to incorporate some of the young guns and will be far more successful for it. What I see is ( and ive said it before) 4-3-3 GK: Reina (Benitez Buy) RB: Johnson (Benitez Buy) CB: Agger (Benitez Buy) CB: Skrtel (Benitez Buy) LB: Enrique (Kenny Buy) CM: Suso (Benitez Buy) CM: Lucas (Benitez Buy) CM: Shelvey (Benitez Buy) LF: Sterling (Benitez Buy) RF: Suarez (Kenny Buy) CF: Carroll (Kenny Buy) Defence: We know that defense works, and has near perfect balance, with attacking fullbacks who are not afraid to overlap and also get back and defend. Perfect CB partnership. (A hardman and someone who can carry the ball through the middle.) Midfield: A creative midfielder, (Suso) Aworkhorse (Lucas) and a box to box (Shelvey) Attack: Defences have problems enough dealing with Suarez, imagine him on the right (as is his most effective position in his Ajax days) and then with Sterling on the left.....Defences are going to open up like an oil tycoons chequebook, then we have the big man in the middle........ I got sidetracked by what I would like to see next season, but my point is this: Benitez got a lot of stick for bad signings, but this time next year, our most effective team (and effective it would be) would incorporate 8 out of eleven players that were signed by Benitez...... Im not saying kick Kenny to touch as I love the guy and think he is bringing some important things back to our football, but I also think that in the future should Kenny look to move back upstairs, we shouldnt look much further then Rafa, he loves the club and bought very well for the future. My top ten RAFA buys/signings are: Alonso Torres Lucas skrtel Agger Borrell Suso Sterling Luis Garcia Johnson. Is rafas reputation for bad signings unjust.......? Maybe it is still to early to say as many of his best buys have not reached their potential yet
Let me jus t get here first. I may be fckiing ahmmmered but Dalglish's saignings shpould hab ve been a lot better than expected. Ok, maybe we got carried away with top 4 epectatios bi ut Downing should be better and so should Adam. Not many tems come away with so many chances with so few goals, I hope next season should show a slight improvement in goals return along with the egg in the face of Kenny critics. Sorry if I have mumbled. x btw i havent managed to rd your post.
At least you have a decent excuse for being up this late, (hammerred is perfectly acceptable on a saturday night.) I have no such excuses and am sitting watching streams of american boxing....Hope the result tomorrow is kind on your head
You make some good points in your OP. The only criticism I can see is that I feel if Carroll is being played then the 2 wingers have to be dynamite with their crossing. Sterling from what I've seen has a poor cross and Suarez will cut in too much to try and score (or create from the middle), therefore leaving Carroll a lonely figure in the middle. Even the 2 wing backs aren't that great at crossing. I feel that a RW who can take his man on and whip a ball over is essential. Play Suarez in the hole. Have a combination of Downing and Sterling (a part season as he's young and still learning) on the left, with Lucas and a new playmaker in the middle (with Shelvey also getting some game time in that position). Keep the back 4 as it is. Next season Suso should be introduced in the early rounds of the Europa and perhaps the CC, in preperation for the following year. Obviously keeping some good rotation going so the likes of Henderson et al. don't get pushed out. So basically 2 players are added. A RW and a CM, then the team would be very dangerous. GK: Reina RB: Johnson CB: Agger CB: Skrtel LB: Enrique CM: Lucas CM: Shelvey/New LW: Downing/Sterling RW: New Hole: Suarez CF: Carroll
A lot of people choose to slate Rafa for his signings, but baring a couple they were all sold for more than bought. He also overhauled the infrastructure of the club and put in place the building blocks for the future. The midfield three of Gerrard,Mascherano and Alonso was as good as anything seen at Anfield in 30 years. Re the current team, i honestly believe if Carroll played in the Utd team he'd be on 20 plus goals due to there quality out wide, and area we struggle in. Sterling is obviously one for the future if he keeps improving as he has over the 18 months he's been at the club. Suarez I think would be a better option playing just behind Carroll were he can provide the creative link between the midfield and forwards. I also think when fit Kelly should slot inot right back and Glen Johson should be used on the right hand side of midfield, he's got pace, can beat a player and delivers good crosses, he also weighs in with goals. Also think we should use the CC and Europe to blood the likes of Suso,Coady,Morgan,Sterling and more. The target next season has to be getting into the top 4.
I wonder why no manager will play johnson RM/RW, when he played there for pompey he looked good, kelly is a solid RB
Because Johnson is better when attacking from deep. The same with Cole, Roberto Carlos, Cafu etc. They are all attakcing full backs but they are best when running from deep and licking up with the RM. If they are tasked with playing as the RM then they have a standing start and have to beat a man with skill - something Johnson isn't as good at. Leave him at RB and let him cause damage from there.
I think context is needed here. Red is quite correct that rafa did make many fine signings. However to allude to the fact that the team mentioned is down to rafa in no small part without mentioning the myriad bad buys that were made would be wrong. The fact is rafa had 6 years at it and roy 6 months. roy's signings are all gone bar jones and cole who will never play for us again it seems. Of course some rafa singings will be playing.... but houllier gave debut to gerrard, everyone houllier signed has gone? its called retirement. A bottom ten rafa singings list would be useful here. It would include a lot of terrible bargains and som big money flops..... keane, aquilani, jovanovic, voronin, pelligrino, morientes, pennent, degen, josemi, kronkamp just to mention a few. that is context. now next point...... we need to stop talking 11's and start talking squads. we need at least 19 senior players to even make a dent in things.... rafa was betrayed frankly by g&H and forced to sell his squad away and depend on luck, and torres and gerrard promptly got injured... this is why his bad big moeny buys came back to haunt him. our 11: despite formation... we need to be felxible there.... 8 defenders, 4 strikers, 3 keepers, 8 midfielders GK: reina, doni, jones.... this is fine if doni stays. DF: Johnson, kelly, skertl, agger, coates, enrique..... carragher and aurelio should be retired and robinson is too young so you can see we are short here. MD: Adam, Gerrard, Lucas, Spearing, Henderson, Downing, kuyt, maxi, shelvey, sterling... no way can i add suso til he makes a debut... the probelm here is STARK ST: Carroll, Suarez.... Again the problem here is quite obvious. I can see us at LEAST 2 players short of a squad in defense, midifled and attack. thats 6 players. The midfield is then still not fantastic is it? adam, maxi, kuyt.. even spearing isn't top drawer is he? I think we need to replace players and bring us up to a genuine squad of 25.... i've no issue with the likes of robinson, suso or sterling being part of that 25 just like kelly has come in and made a big contribution.
arbeloa is a good shout...... Lucas or reina as captain on the pitch. It is young, but why not play for the future, that is what we are supposed to be doing....man utd are not afraid to play their good youth and that is why ther youth have developed so well this season....... This isnt the team I would play for the FA Cup final, but I would in other games.....I believe there is better shape than when we play our others
We need a new striker too, If Carroll had cost 10million you would all have him on the bench as a spearing type player with potential, as it is the fact he cost 35 means we all feel compelled to make him part of our starting 11 when he's the one primarily causing the issues (a striker's job is to convert and capitalise on the opportunites and creativity our midfield create, something they do well)
I feel that is why we didn't get a striker in Jan. We could have overpaid for a striker that wasn't our first choice target. If we buy in the summer you have clubs willing to sell more as it is not mid season and players are likely to change. Had we bought a stop gap in Jan then would we buy a class striker in the summer? We would be overloaded up front otherwise.
"Rotational policy" was the downfall of Rafa, he was a very good manager.If he had listen a little more he ought to have won the title.
It seems to have worked well for SAF, doesn't he field a slightly different starting 11 each week? maybe one or two changes - keep players on their toes
rotation = bollocks. one stat paul tomikns actually did objectively was the level of rotations all managers did and it was clear to everyone ferguson mourinho and wneger do more rotation than rafa.... in fact rafa never rotated a defender nor gerrard or torres.... simple... if you were key you played. Now..... rafa made bad buys he ended up making too many and his good buys were sold and replaced with bad ones... simple... BUT most improtantly rafa alienated guys and treated some like dog dirt on his shoe. The real difference ebtween mourinho and rafa is how mourinhos guys wuold walk through a wall and rafa's think he's cold.
Ever stopped to ask why? Rafa only ever liked the guys that put in 110% all the time, you slacked or were below par then he couldn't be arsed with you. Kenny could learn from that TBH cus as it stands there are far too many players who take smaller teams for granted and don't have that winning mentality or drive to play harder when behind, they're coddled far too much
And look how that worked out for Chelsea after he left...they have a team who barely listen to anyone. Di Matteo basically plays all the old guard in the same formations they're used to and doesn't piss them off. He's not a managerial genius (although I think he'll become a good manager), he just plays the old players in the old systems and the players actually like not being told what to do so they're happy to play. SAF doesn't hug his players, UTD players are **** scared of him.
