Lucas leiva was young and had no epl experience when he came.All these so called british talent henderson,downing and adam had plenty of experience.Besides,we didn't pay silly money like we did for downing and adam.

My point is don't compare apple and oranges.People like to bring up lucas at the slightest bit.

This post has been edited by Rotuham: May 14 2012, 08:35 PM

we should look forward, but at the moment which top class manager would wanna manage liverpool other than Rafa? no top class manager would wanna manage liverpool now because they know they will be constantly in pressure to bring to club back to top four so they would rather manage club that has been in a stable league position.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news...kenny-challenge

On another note, according to OptaJoe, this:

"132 - Liverpool allowed the opposition fewer shots on target than any other PL club in 2011-12 (via @OptaJoe) #LFCLive"

Rubbish, Lucas came to us at 19 and it was not until a couple years back that people began to change their minds about him. He's now 25 years old.

i heart roberto martinez is being mooted take over at the helm. any thoughts?

Rafa's tactic in Istanbul..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=...n&v=4WDdM-jrgAY

Know your mistakes and learn from it...

The master tactician!!!

Didn't know 19 is old already

Lucas stepped up when mascherano left.He struggled with the pace of EPL and had the disadvantage of being compared against a world class midfield trio of alonso,mascherano and gerrard.

The criticism of him were justified but not the harsh abuse like ''he sucks'' ''he's shit''.
Besides lucas only played when one of mascherano or alonso couldn't play.Remember the 4-1 at OT.He played only because alonso's wife was delivering.

Just a rumor. Not sure where it originated from maybe because he's a Catalan and the football minds at Anfield are mostly led by Catalan coaches.

Rafa Benitez, one of the greatest managers ever to grace the club.

It's a cardinal sin FSG is not rehiring him back really.


IRWT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The difference between 21 and 19 is not huge at all. They are still young players who needs time to adapt and discover their true purpose on the pitch. The criticism was unjust - he was booed on the pitch and there's no Liverpool player more hated than Lucas back then.

Henderson is going through the very same thing. "His passes are sideways, he doesnt tackle, he doesnt score enough goals". People are quick to judge because they only see what they want to see.

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Added on May 14, 2012, 8:54 pmThat's brilliant! I've never seen that video. Thanks for sharing that.

This post has been edited by hfi: May 14 2012, 08:54 PM

As expected but the highlighted bit in bold...

Skrtel named LFC Player of Season[U]

Martin Skrtel was today crowned the Standard Chartered Liverpool FC Player of the Season for 2011-12.



The Slovakian clinched the award after fans voted for their star man of the campaign on this website.

Skrtel tallied an incredible 44 per cent of the 66,937 votes cast.

Luis Suarez was the runner-up with 33 per cent, while Daniel Agger clinched third after collecting four per cent.

2011-12 was Skrtel's most consistent season in a Liverpool jersey, with the 27-year-old cementing his place amongst the finest central defenders in Europe.

Our No.37 made a total of 45 appearances and helped himself to four goals, including a crucial equaliser in the Carling Cup final triumph over Cardiff City at Wembley in February.

Upon being presented with the award at Melwood, Skrtel told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It's a great feeling. It's my first big award at Liverpool and I'm very happy about it.

"I think it was my best season since I came to Liverpool and I'm happy with my performances. I hope I will carry on in this way.

"I scored more goals than in past seasons, and I also think the way I played was better than in past years.

"Thank you very much to everybody who voted for me. I will try to do my best next season as well and we'll see how I go on."

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news...layer-of-season

Doesn't sound like a player who wants out.

Average physique? That's very kind of you.

You're completely missing my point here. Why do people bring up Lucas' case all the time? Because it's the classic case where the fans don't know any better. All I'm saying is, if we left the club to be managed by the fans, Lucas would have been sold for free 3 seasons ago.

You pointed out that the number of people who don't mind Kenny leaving outnumbered the rest but truth is, it doesn't mean a single thing.

This post has been edited by led_zep_freak: May 14 2012, 09:06 PM

Rafa is a legend. Either way, the decision is in the hands of the owners. YNWA

Now is it?

If Kenny leaves, although my heart says Benitez but my head says otherwise. Yes, no doubt Rafa will guide us to top 4 and get us back to one of Europe's elite. We will be tight again and teams will find it tough to break us down.

But will we win the Premier League eventually? I don't know. Rafa was given 6 years at the club but it was only in that half season that we looked like challenging for the title. Days where we struggled to create chances (As opposed to our woes this season, where we've created a whole load of chances but not scored) against the likes of Stokes shouldn't be forgotten.

Sure, you may argue that Rafa wasn't given the funds or the power to sign the players he wanted. However, with the current predicament I doubt FSG would be likely to spludge. Moreover, if he's going to report to a Director of Football, can they work together?

This post has been edited by led_zep_freak: May 14 2012, 09:16 PM

Well we don't really have a DOF currently. But i can see there may be problems if there was one and Rafa's the manager. But its been awhile since his last job so he may have changed a bit or maybe even discover new methods. Slim chance but a chance nevertheless. Just think how players like Carroll can benefit from the hands on training of Rafa Benitez.

When people say we should look forward and not backwards that's simply not true with Rafa Benitez. He's a forward thinking manager and he's not restrained by football cliches. Unless you want the ultra extreme forward thinking managers like Jurgen Klopp, not that i think he would leave Dortmund for a club like ours - Rafa is as modern as it gets. People can argue all they want about his rotations or zone marking or lack of goals or even his ego - but his team was up there as one of European elites.

We were simply a force to be reckon with.

Well, apart from the negatives;

Skrtel won the award. 44%

Suarez is runner up 33%

then Agger with 4%.

That adds up 81%. The other 19 shared amongst other players?

now having 2 defenders up the list. Hmm.

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Added on May 14, 2012, 9:44 pmhttps://twitter.com/#!/Suarez_Stat/status/202022450991603712/photo/1

This post has been edited by hyperyouth_firepower: May 14 2012, 09:44 PM

I for one think that Stuart Downing would be the one benefit the most. Speaking of Carroll though, do you think he would make it into Rafa's team? He favours his 5-4-1 formation and rarely plays 2 upfront. There's a good chance that Suarez will be shifted to the right.

Well I know what you're saying about Rafa. I was a staunch supporter of Rafa, still am. But even so, I'm still unsure if he's able to crack the Premier League code.

Having that said, IMO it's highly unlikely that Rafa will be called for the job. He doesn't fit FSG's profile as they are looking for a young manager. How about... Cruyff for DOF and Guardiola for manager? If only things were that simple.

Well Cruyff as DOF is promising. He did had a fallout with Ajax's boardroom, didn't he?

the second when the mancs knew their not champ20ns. sry, just have to post this. lol

Fergie: City '100 years' behind us

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Added on May 14, 2012, 10:17 pmRemember Torres and Gerard combo?
Suarez can play behind Carroll.
(Gerrard can't play behind striker nowadays. He's getting slow as his age is catching up).

Can Carroll hold the ball in front? We'll see.

This post has been edited by ALeUNe: May 14 2012, 10:17 PM