The Liverpool Thread

[Tyton]

It makes as much sense as a complete exception to the norm 5 month period of all out attacking footie being down to him.

That's the point, its not an exception to the norm. Rafa's Valencia played attacking football. Same with Napoli, in both seasons they were amongst highest scoring in the league, and Rafa was criticized for being too attacking, believe it or not.

Benitez is a pragmatist, he plays in style he thinks will work best.

 

[Mike.]

That's the point, its not an exception to the norm. Rafa's Valencia played attacking football. Same with Napoli, in both seasons they were amongst highest scoring in the league, and Rafa was criticized for being too attacking, believe it or not.

Benitez is a pragmatist, he plays in style he thinks will work best.

People are forgetting what made Benitez the manager he is

 

[Tezzz]

Correct. Torres feels like this.

Could have guessed that's how it works at Chelsea. It's slightly different up North.

 

[Tezzz]

Sure he's weeping over that pile of cash and handful of medals he picked up. I mean he was crocked either way, and it's not like he didn't get insane amounts of support from the fans and management. What would he have gained by staying at Liverpool? The only thing he would have gotten is not having to betray the club, but if you think someone with the mindset of a high level footballer is going to value loyalty over success then you're mad.

He got insane amount of support from the fans and management? Oh please do tell.

 

[Tezzz]

He probably regrets not been able to play to his lethal levels, but that would have been the case had he stayed or not. After all, it's the injuries that did/have done for him in the end

Disagree. Everyone thinks he was **** when he left because they're comparing him to his first season at Anfield. He was coming back off injury and was just finding goal form. I believe he scored twice for us in his last game. I think he only got about 10 goals that season before leaving in January but thats still a lot more than the absolute mediocre total of 1 goals at Chelsea for the of that season.

Despite this... I'm pretty sure Torres came out and admitted his regret for moving and that he felt like a king during his time at Anfield.

 

[Tezzz]

and it's not like he didn't get insane amounts of support from the fans and management.

Doesn't matter I found it. The one with the Shankly gates on.

 

[Tyton]

Could have guessed that's how it works at Chelsea. It's slightly different up North.

Yeah, up North they do it with credit cards.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

That's the point, its not an exception to the norm. Rafa's Valencia played attacking football. Same with Napoli, in both seasons they were amongst highest scoring in the league, and Rafa was criticized for being too attacking, believe it or not.

Benitez is a pragmatist, he plays in style he thinks will work best.

Au contraire my Polish friend. At Anfield, that very much was the exception to the norm.

Again, I'm exceptionally grateful for Istanbul and West Ham the following year. But the majority of his tenure was God awful to sit through. He's just about the most polarising figure among Liverpudlians. The younger end love him and won't have a bad word said against him. Which I get as he gave them their European glory and their own story's to tell after having to listen to us auld arses for years with ours. The rest either love him or hate him. There's no in-between.

And conversely to the above, he was hated at Inter for his negativity. (Quite impressive to garner that from Italians. The fact he tried to micro-control every aspect of the club like he'd done at Anfield which just doesn't fly in Italy was the final nail.). And as flair filled as the second Valencia title winning side was, let's not forget the first title winning one of his there. He won that league with a WHOPPING 51 total goals scored. With a top scorer on SEVEN. If I didn't know that as fact I wouldn't believe you could win a major European League like that. And that side contained the attacking talents of Aimer, Gonzalez, Baraja, Angulo et all. (We should of known after that what we where in for.).

He's not just pragmatic. His general MO is cautious to the extreme. You start with a point. The least you can do is finish with one. Anything else is a bonus.

People are forgetting what made Benitez the manager he is

Anyone that was bored rigid most week's at Anfield by him and his philosophy certainly will never forget that.

Its effective and get's results. And if I wanted a manager to set a side up in Europe to get a result, even now, there's nobody in World football I'd take over him. But man is it horrid to sit through the vast majority of the time. And the bottom line as a fan, you want to be entertained. Of course you want results within that. But results with no excitement is not my idea of what I want to pay hard earned money to see.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Doesn't matter I found it. The one with the Shankly gates on.

You mean the one that was in the corner the Kop/ Kemmy right through his time at ours that they screen printed the picture off as soon as he went down there? Inventive, 'traditional' supporters that they are.

This one .....

View attachment 207839

Absolutely lost without the club issued plastic flags .....

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

[video]https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolFC/videos/10153894870737573/[/video]

Just when I thought I couldn't love him anymore..

The first time he say's 'boss' in a press conference ..... telling yer la haha.

 

[Subtle]

He got insane amount of support from the fans and management? Oh please do tell.

I can see why you wouldn't realise if you didn't support Chelsea, but Torres got pretty much constant support from the fans throughout his time with us. We were disappointed sure, but no one ever gave up hope on him. Even in his last season, fans were still singing his name and saying this might be it, this might be when he turned it around for him. In terms of support from the club, no other striker could have struggled for so long and have still found himself in with a good shout at starting. The club isn't stupid, we didn't buy backup strikers for years for no reason, we did it because there was always a faith he could come good. One of the big reasons why Carlo got the sack was because it was believed he wasn't able to get the best out of Torres. It's why Roman chose to bring one of the fans' most hated managers in to fix him.

One silly banner doesn't change that, in the same way that one set of Suarez t-shirts doesn't mean your entire club and fanbase is completely delusional.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

..... One silly banner doesn't change that, in the same way that one set of Suarez t-shirts doesn't mean your entire club and fanbase is completely delusional.

God. That night at Wigan when they came out with those on ..... That was beyond cringeworthy.

I don't so much blame Kenny (he was, admittedly naively, only doing what he thought was right in backing his player against the B/S racism claims which we won't drag back up to save from angering any Utd fans) but the club for not having any semblance of PR and completely shutting everything down like Utd did from their side.

 

[Tyton]

Au contraire my Polish friend. At Anfield, that very much was the exception to the norm.

It was, but like I said, that doesn't mean Benitez is defensively minded. It just means he thought he doesn't have the squad to play differently.

And as flair filled as the second Valencia title winning side was, let's not forget the first title winning one of his there. He won that league with a WHOPPING 51 total goals scored. With a top scorer on SEVEN. If I didn't know that as fact I wouldn't believe you could win a major European League like that.

Which kind of proves my point, doesn't it? In just 3 years, with a similar squad, he used completely different tactical approach. He drilled the team starting from the back, and once that was solid, he went guns blazing. A definition of pragmatic tactics if I ever saw one.

Rafa doesn't have a "philosophy", he just picks what works. And that's exactly what makes him so good.

 

[Tezzz]

I can see why you wouldn't realise if you didn't support Chelsea, but Torres got pretty much constant support from the fans throughout his time with us. We were disappointed sure, but no one ever gave up hope on him. Even in his last season, fans were still singing his name and saying this might be it, this might be when he turned it around for him. In terms of support from the club, no other striker could have struggled for so long and have still found himself in with a good shout at starting. The club isn't stupid, we didn't buy backup strikers for years for no reason, we did it because there was always a faith he could come good. One of the big reasons why Carlo got the sack was because it was believed he wasn't able to get the best out of Torres. It's why Roman chose to bring one of the fans' most hated managers in to fix him.

One silly banner doesn't change that, in the same way that one set of Suarez t-shirts doesn't mean your entire club and fanbase is completely delusional.

Chelsea barely belt out their own teams name never mind Torres' but if you say so I believe you. After all they do like to sing a lot about ex-Liverpool players.

You're right that if any one was to get Torres playing again it would be Rafa, despite the constant boo's he got from your own fans as a Chelsea manager.

T-shirts are irrelevant but nice mention.

 

[Tezzz]

Yeah, up North they do it with credit cards.

Haha

 

[Alcaraz]

Despite this... I'm pretty sure Torres came out and admitted his regret for moving and that he felt like a king during his time at Anfield.

Of course he did, pretty easy to feel like a king when you are the best player in a squad who won very few trophies. Not quite the same when you are in a squad full of multiple League and FA Cup winners. Drogba says the same in his book. At Liverpool, Torres was the superstar. At Chelsea, for better or for worse, they are 22 superstars

 

[Tyton]

Of course he did, pretty easy to feel like a king when you are the best player in a squad who won very few trophies. Not quite the same when you are in a squad full of multiple League and FA Cup winners. Drogba says the same in his book. At Liverpool, Torres was the superstar. At Chelsea, for better or for worse, they are 22 superstars

Eh, I doubt Torres felt like a lowly peasant with his World Cup trophy and two Euro trophies. If anything, Torres thought -he- is a superstar, which made it that much worse when he was being left on a bench.

 

[will8578]

Is a difference of opinion not allowed these days? Did we all wake up in North Korea or something?

Ever heard of something called a sense of humour and a joke??

Sent from my Harrier from EE using Tapatalk

 

[Alcaraz]

Eh, I doubt Torres felt like a lowly peasant with his World Cup trophy and two Euro trophies. If anything, Torres thought -he- is a superstar, which made it that much worse when he was being left on a bench.

Exactly and that was how he was treated at Liverpool but it was never going to be the same case at Chelsea which was filled with big personalities like Lampard, Drogba, Terry, Cech, Cole etc.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

I'd try Nathanial Clyne's back pocket.

Or maybe offer him £150 K plus a week. That'll bring him out to play.