You also fail, again, to pick up on the ‘compact’ remark as a defence tactic when the opposition have the ball – and the fact that Gerrard is meant to burst forward at different times of the game. When you are at the ground you notice these things!

Also, the really big problem with ‘he should play and he shouldn’t’ is that how do you know it will work? Hindsight and speculation is a wonderful thing but it doesn’t necessarily mean the results will change does it?

Truth is, Babel is being groomed into the English game gradually. At the moment he gives the ball away more than Kewell and is sometimes pushed off the ball too easily – that is why he is being brought in gradually. Riise is having a shocker this season – then again, Aurelio isn’t the same player as last year either, so it’s 50-50 on that. Benayoun has been quietly effective and has scored some important goals.

The other thing to note is that if the manager goes now – so will several of the players. Cue another several years of rebuilding. Rafa needs at least another 2 players who can win matches and after one summer that he has been able to spend on a level with Utd and Chelski – he needs more time.

If you were a fan you would understand where I am coming from – but as you aren’t it’s easy to just look at the results and not realise the extent of the work that Rafa has put into the club.

Interesting you mention motivation…. thats apparently why the ignorant owners sounded out Klinsmann as they thought he could motivate the players without them having to spend any more money. Absolute idiocy of the highest order – the guy is untested at club level and there would have been riots in this city had he been appointed.

Continuity and stability – Fergie had it (won nothing for 7 seasons), Wenger has been backed (after two seasons finishing BEHIND Liverpool), Rafa needs it!

I have no personal feelings toward Rafa, I don’t either like him or dislike him. What I see is a team with a lot of talent and is clearly underachieving, and when that’s the case, it has to go on the manager for not motivating his players and not putting his players in the best position to win. When he consistently sticks with Kuyt instead of Crouch up front and Kewell and Benayoun on the wings instead of starting Babel and Riise at left back, that’s on the manager. Liverpool are a much better team than their place in the table indicates, and someone has to be accountable for that. Would you rather get rid of all the players or get rid of the manager?

Presuming you do know about these facts – then you should be able to see Gerrard ‘roaming’ at different times in the game is part of the plan, as is the wingers swapping flanks etc.

Surely you do your research before you slag a team off.

Also consider the fact that when you draw or lose you analyse why. If you play bad it is easy to analyse, if you play well and lose it feels like an injustice – and it is times like these that you look beyond the actual scoreline.

It is obvious you dislike Rafa, but I think your personal dislike of him is clouding your vision. He needs more time – just as Ferguson and Wenger have had. And he also needs money to spend on quality players.

I have watched ‘pool since the 70’s and the key thing is always stability and continuity. That is what we need now, another manager will take years again to rebuild. Rafa has overhauled the youth system too – but this will take a few years to produce top players (like Arsenal – who also let many go in the initial stages).

This is what I mean when I say look beyond the results. In England the manager does a lot more than just coach the team. Rafa has done a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes – which would all be undone were a new manager to come in.

Interesting that you fail to even comment about Valencia.

I know a fair bit as I used to watch Valencia after they impressed at Anfield when Gerard Houllier was manager. I was impressed by their fluency and movement and exactly the opposite of what you said – the fact that players were passing and moving – not unlike the Liverpool of old.

I also know Rafa has said recently that Gerrard is a key player but that he has to judge when to burst forward. When you see Gerrard roaming in games – this usually comes with dialogue between him and the bench (you don’t always see this on TV!!). When he does ‘roam’ you will see other players adjust their positioning slightly.

If you look back at Valencia – Aimar used to play in the midfield and get forward too!

I guess you are only interested in results – you have made that clear but you do have to look at the bigger picture. The Villa result was a fluke and Villa know they got out of Liverpool with a fortuatous point. Villa played poorly all over the pitch except defence. Liverpool played well apart from converting chances.

Between the other top 3 – as I said, we have beaten them all – just not in the premiership every time. We’ve beaten Arsenal twice, Chelski 3 times, Man Utd once since Rafa arrived. Not ideal but the games are often close and settled on one isolated chance or incident (not that you would be interested as you only consider the results).

I will also say that since November since the owners started meddling and leaking press stories about Rafa, this has affected the team. It is still affecting the club – it has to stop. The owners for all their initial promise are showing their complete and utter ignorance of the English game. By approaching an inexperienced club manager they have made themselves a laughing stock.

Ask anyone round these parts (yes, Liverpool) and you will know Rafa has the support of the fans on the terraces – not the internet or phone ins.

The suggestion that Gerrard does what he wants is correct, and that’s NOT what Benitez wants him to do. Benitez’s system really doesn’t allow for a midfield player to have a free role; it’s all about discipline and staying in your position, not freelancing anywhere you want to go.

When Villa beat Chelsea the first time, that was a full-strength lineup for the Blues and my hat was off to Villa. This most recent draw was against a much-weakaened Chelsea side; go back and look at the lineups from that game and you’ll see what I mean.

Look, “bossing” a game doesn’t mean anything, it’s the goals on the scoreboard that matter. That’s why the possession % stat is useless, it’s a false indicator of who’s in control of the game.

Your record against the other teams in the “Big Four” is crap, you’re right about that. What that tells me is you can beat the minnows of the Premiership and the teams not quite at your level simply because you have more overall talent on the roster than those lesser teams, which is something I’ve said all along. It also tells me you don’t have a manager who’s as tactically skillful in the Premiership to get the job done. Rafa is great in Europe, but poor in the Premiership.

The author has his own agenda which is fair enough. Some of the ‘fans’ here have theirs.

There is a suggestion that Gerrard ‘does what he wants’ – now correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t that what Rafa wants him to do. And don’t let the other poster forget, he scored 23 goals from the ‘wing’ (or for the more observant – the ‘free roaming role’) two seasons ago!

If Liverpool were fortunate to get a well worked equalising goal – what was Villa’s second? Well worked or a fluke? No argument!

So because Villa beat chelski and drew with them, then Chelski were understrength? Liverpool dominated the game – Villa were lucky from a badly defended set piece and a fluke. Other than that, Liverpool bossed it. The issue is in the penalty box – chances are not being converted at present.

In Michael’s world, the players are not playing for the manager so he obviously has some inside information or a unique gift that other pundits in the media have not spotted. Didn’t Torres, Mascherano, Agger, Alonso, Pennant, Benyoun, Babel etc all join Liverpool BECAUSE of Rafa ….. check the records mate!

Sure our record against the other big 3 is crap, but what does that tell you. We have beaten all of them at some point though – in the CL and FA cup, we’re just not at that same level of consistency yet.

Re: Funding, the first summer Rafa was allowed to buy big and he bought quality in Torres and Babel. The owners won’t sanction any more spending so his hands are tied, but you can see the difference in the players he bought last summer – they were a notch above the transfer level we have been at for years. He needs more backing!

Remember Valencia as a previous poster said!

I’m guessing Michael is a Chelski/Everton fan. Bitter and loving it that Liverpool are not at the races at the moment.