KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum They stopped playing for Rafa, they won't play....

They stopped playing for Rafa, they won't play for Roy

I made it clear early on that Roy Hodgson wasn't filling me with confidence. Not so much because of the results at the time but because of the things he says and some of his team selections, specifically the deploying of players out of position.

The signings of Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky leave a lot to be desired but in fairness to Roy, there isn't a lot of money floating around and Rafa Benitez before him also signed some average players, so I'm not going to concentrate on who he's brought in - we can all be experts with hindsight. The money wasn't there for Rafa and it's not there for Roy.

To an extent I do believe that Roy is a 'yes man'. I don't say this with malice, it's just my opinion because I will never in a million years believe that he took a look at Alberto Aquilani and then decided he wasn't good enough. He looked good enough for Juventus last night against Rafa's Inter Milan. He was spraying balls all over the place up until around the 80th minute when he was taken off. Since leaving he's said a couple of times that he was happy.

In his most recent comments he said: "I had a good relationship with the fans and I would have remained with pleasure." This lad was bombed out by Christian Purslow to get him off the wage bill. Simple as. Now if Roy agreed these things before taking the job - which I'm sure he did because he was desperate for a shot at it - then fair enough but I don't believe he will ever take on the Anfield hierarchy like Rafa did. Say what you want about Rafa but he was one of us and seeing him in that Inter Milan dugout last night just didn't feel right.

Now before I start sounding like a Rafa loyalist, I want to make it clear that even under him we played some terrible football at times and had some embarrassing results. We never sat in the bottom 3 of the Premier League though. Rafa's biggest problem was that the players stopped playing for him. Because of that, he had to go because the players have so much power. If you follow my editorials you will know that I have little time for footballers. Generally speaking I think footballers today are a bunch of big-headed, self-indulgent, unapproachable wankers. There are exceptions at Anfield, Dirky Kuyt and Jamie Carragher spring to mind.

Maybe Rafa didn't lose the dressing room. Maybe it was just a case of a bunch of overpaid unappreciative scumbags just not giving it their all. I see the exact same situation under Roy. For 2 years they just haven't turned it on. Yes promises have been broken but I'm sure there are many of you reading this in various professions where you have been promised something by your bosses but didn't get it. Regardless, you've had to continue putting in 100% effort at work without moaning and on a pittance in comparison to this shower.

I've listened to various former Liverpool players of late saying how the financial problems at the club shouldn't be a distraction for the players and that if anything, they should be putting more effort in when they know the fans deserve it. Graeme Souness said exactly that. Putting his managerial spell to one side - even though he did win the FA Cup which I can't see this lot doing - he was an awesome player for Liverpool and I'd give anything to have him in the heart of the team right now.

If players are only out for themselves and want to win medals on an individual basis rather than for the team, then they can go. This applies to everyone including the likes of Fernando Torres. You're either in it with what we have or you're not. I'd rather see a team of kids fighting relegation than listening to players talking about how the club hasn't strengthened enough to meet their approval - 'their approval', not ours, not the board's, but theirs. Stuff 'em.

During the summer I campaigned for the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as manager. That call was echoed by many of you and it's returned again because of the poor start we've had under Roy. Christian Purslow didn't give the job to Kenny because he would have had even more power than Rafa Benitez. In a recent email to me from Christian, he was talking about how much of a Liverpool fan he was. I'm not doubting that but what Liverpool fan wouldn't want to put Kenny back in the dugout? Incase is tarnishes memories? [oops]. We're fully grown adults, we can be realists. I'd rather sink with one of ours in the dugout than an outsider - no offence Roy.

The problem is, even if Christian caved in to fan pressure - and I can't see it as things stand - Kenny would be presented with the same players who wouldn't play for Rafa and who aren't playing for Roy. The thing is, I believe Kenny would take absolutely no [oops]. He knows what Liverpool Football Club is about, more so than Rafa and Ged before him. Kenny is Liverpool FC. Kenny is not an old man and he hasn't been out of the game. He should have been given the job in the first place. Instead they appointed a 'yes man' - a very nice man by the way - as a caretaker manager on a short term deal so that new owners could bring in their own man.

Some Reds say 'support Roy' and 'what happened to the Liverpool way?'. I say this. There is no Liverpool way any more. It's over, finished, dead. If you want the Liverpool way then you need Liverpool people from the top of the club to the bottom, that understand what Liverpool Football Club is all about. As for supporting Roy, I support him every time he turns out as manager of the club. I want him to do well and hope he turns it round. However, the fact is, unless those lazy, good-for-nothing tossers start putting the shifts in, he has no chance.

This editorial isn't about criticising Roy, it's not about praising Rafa, it's not about calling for the club to appoint Kenny - it's about not letting the players off the hook. You can't blame the owners, the board, Rafa and Roy for everything. We have a squad that other Premier League managers above us would love to have. They get paid absurd amounts of money to kick a bag of wind about while muppets like you and I support them.

Today's newspapers are banging on about fans wanting Kenny bringing in, but changing the manager won't make any difference if the players do not wake up to their responsibilities as professionals.

YNWA

Duncan Oldham
KopTalk Editor

I agree mate, i think the players are a bunch of over paid lazy wankers. But i do have my issues with Roy aswell, i feel asif with Roy he sets out a game plan at the start of a game, if it fails and the swing of the game changes he has no plan B and doesn't know what to change, i also truely believe he was given the job as he is just a "yes man". I would have much rather seen Kenny appointed as manager or Rafa given another season.

Just look at how bad are situation is and how poorly we are playing, we haven't been like this for nearly 60 years.

I honestly feel like everytime im at the game at the moment im attending the funeral of LFC, abit dies every match, the players we have just shouldn't be in the position we are in its madness!!

I do think things will eventually get better.. how far away and what its going to take to change it i just don't know.

Players, and I use that word very loosely.
Simple as.
See my previous rants on various threads this morning.

If these pr1cks starting thinking about what they are being paid for, rather than dreaming about which flash car/100" plasma screen/bling jewellery/tattoo to buy this week,or which tart they are going to shag next, then we might see some differences on the field, bunch of steaming sickening wamkers.
Bloody hate the majority of them with a deep and rapidly growing passion, lazy cnts.

I agree with you that the players must accept criticism and not be allowed to shirk their responsibility. But, Roy has to go. He was a stop-gap manager brought in to bring stability. Instead, he's put the bus in reverse and aimed for the nearest cliff. According to him 'we are in a relegation battle'. Now I read two fans on here last night going at each other because one said he wouldn't follow liverpool in the championship. The fact that we are even having this conversation shows how low he's brought us. We started the season debating whether we could make it back into the top four, now we're debating whether we can successfully be fourth from bottom! That's not a 'stop-gap' manager, or stability.
Yes the players have to take responsiblity, but to use your example Dunk, if I was an accountant say and my boss says ok this week I want you to be a window-cleaner, I might try my best at window-cleaning for the first couple of goes, but eventually I'd conclude that my boss hasn't a bloody clue, so what's the point in even trying. I'd be particularly [oops] off to be a window cleaner if some other patently useless donkey (Poulsen) was doing my real job.
Hodgson has had no money etc etc, but he bought merieles, who looks a decent player, as a central midfielder, yet he's playing him right side, to accommodate another purchase Poulson, who against very very stiff competition, is one of the worst players to ever wear a liverpool shirt. In every game where we have been behind, he's switched to Stevie and Meireles in midfield and we've looked infinitely better. The fault here is the Manager's!
People having a go at the players might pick out Torres for example - but again because of the manager, the guy has had a handful of shots all season, no service. Of course his body language is going to scream frustation, when he can't help the side, because he's running around up there on his own, never getting the ball, and being crucified in the press because he misses one chance in 90 minutes. People will argue Roy can only play the cards he's dealt, but he could play them this way:

Reina
Johnson Carra Agger Konchesky
Stevie Merieles
Babel Cole Jovanovic
Torres

Agreed, he had injuries to contend with yesterday, but this mess has been going on from day one of his reign, No-one can point to a single game where we played well for the 90 minutes. We've robbed any points we've got. He has brought us into a relegation because that's where his natural environment is. It's not ours Roy, so thank you and Goodnight.

At least Roy is the one to put our best XI together and he ain't doing it right
PLayers stopped playing because it got to them, they know we are totally hopeless

The team seems to do better in the 2nd half of games. And you've got to ask your self why where so slow out the traps in the 1at half of games? It's the manager, we don't press the ball giving the opposition to much of the ball. Where to deep looking to counter attack teams, at home aswell!

Players aren't responding to his style of play and it's torturing them, not getting the best out of them. At least when rafa was in charge we where creating chances and where in control of games

Exactly - I don't understand why we start to play when we are 2 down?? It happend at City, Utd and with Blackpool yesterday...why can we start the game with the same passion than when we are loosing?

Hear hear!

I disagree that they're looking at who to shag or what to buy. They were up for the Arsenal game, and we won 5 in a row in the Europa Cup. They're not happy with what they're being told to do, they can see it's not reaping dividends, and they're hoping the manager will listen to reason.

Thats a proper rant there Growler and I agree 100%