Our season has indeed gone from bad to worse, with a five match run culminating in three losses, one win and one draw… and not for the first time this season. Losing 0-2 to Chelsea was acceptable earlier in the season, as was a 1-2 loss at Spurs. But 0-2 at PORTSMOUTH, the club who is last in the table? SHOCKING.
You can read my last post for my feelings on what has happened with us, as I believe it has to do with confidence rather than competence, but I think this match is where it has all come to a head. I firmly believe that what happens now that we have hit rock bottom- and this is indeed our rock bottom moment- will define the future of Rafa… and indeed our financial situation. If we can pull out a few victories, perhaps we can say “unlucky, let’s get them next year.” If we cannot get some victories, you have to wonder if blind faith in Rafa is indeed blind and a change of manager would have to be considered. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the Liverpool offices at the moment, as the conversation has to be present right now on when they pull the trigger. At some point, they have to be thoughtfully plotting the line in which a change will be made.
Let me be frank here, as well. I am a MASSIVE fan of Rafa, but his performance… yes, HIS performance… has been absolutely abysmal in 2009-2010 after what was a hugely successful 2008-2009 season. You can say what you want about the players, as they have also been abysmal, but Rafa himself must stand up and be counted for his decision making (not putting on Ngog at Portsmouth when we were down, for instance, and instead putting on Aurelio and Spearing!) and his stubborness with a lineup that has two holding midfielders. I believe it would be far too trigger-happy to sack him now, and I sincerely hope I don’t read that news in the morning, but I have to say it wouldn’t shock me. It would be foolish to do so, as there are other factors at play, but I think if at the end of February if things don’t change (for instance if we get knocked out of the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), a managerial swtich would be the best motion forward, particularly if someone like Mourinho would be available… but only if someone of that calibre is out there. Otherwise, sacking Rafa would leave us with a worse option. He is, after all, a high quality manager that has provided so many good moments for us.
I’m backing Rafa, by the way… don’t get me wrong. I am just speculating and trying to make sense out of a truly dire season that has left me utterly heartbroken and full of frustration and confusion.
My concluding thought… if Lucas never again puts on a red shirt, I will be a happy man. He was stunningly poor (as in uselsss, not a form thing) today, as usual, and I have lost patience with him. He provides NOTHING going forward, and has no desire to express himself despite clearly having the skill to do so. Our #21 is not rubbish, and I am not just jumping on the bandwagon of forum-dwellers who just want to have a pop. Honestly, Lucas can do a job there if Mascherano wasn’t around, but he IS around and they do the same thing… it’s just that Mascherano does it better. A lot better. And that’s even true given Masch’s terrible form this season! He isn’t Alonso, nor do we expect that, but what we DO expect is for him to do more than pass the ball five yards backwards or just let people glide past him in the midfield. Truly horrendous.
Ooo boy… I am frustrated. I would love to vent some more, but I do not want to go from considerate and thoughtful into a place of emotionally-charged verbal diarrhea. And I feel like I WANT to tread that line, as my sadness has grown so deep about our performances this season. I love Liverpool, always will, but that doesn’t mean I have to love where we are headed at the moment, and that is a probable mid-table finish. At the moment, if things do not change, we are probably on pace to finish in the 8th-12th position. I do not believe that is how it will finish, but it IS possible, and we DO need to change it around, and it starts at Anfield against an equally struggling Wolves side on Boxing Day. Three points in the bag? Far from it. But I must believe, and I will make a heart-driven 3-0 prediction, although my brain tells me that such a prediction is not logical whatsoever.
RAFA OUT! His team. His tactics. His Fault!