There's no criticism of rotation when Ferguson & Grant do it at Utd & Chelsea

it's cause when benitez rotates his team, they draw or lose. Thats why.

u can rotate if u know your 2nd string players are good enough. Otherwise it would be like fielding players to drop points

whoever wrote this clearly doesnt understand football

You cannot have a go at Chelsea now because that would be anti-semitic! You also cannot have a go at manchester because they are Masonic!!

Yes, Because when fergussen does it , it works. United and Chelsea have strong squads who can get the work done. Where as Liverpool don't. Arsenal doesn't have a massive squad. Do you see him rotating?

Look at the scorelines that United and Chelsea delivered - and then compare them to scorelines that are unfortunately all too common for Liverpool, and then you will know why everyone ticks Rafa off for his rotations - face it, Liverpool do not have a strong enough bench, and so the rotations end up flopping often, whereas United and Chelsea have a larger set of quality players to draw on.

Secondly, you need to know when it is appropriate to rotate. Rafa chops and changes very regularly (even when there isn't a do or die Champions League game midweek) while Fergie does not rotate for the sake of rotation - you will not see wholesale changes to the starting line up on a very regular basis

Bottom line is, if you win, no one will complain - the only reason journos pick on Rafa is because he doesn't do that as regularly as the other top 4 teams

he should have had 3 of those sitters lucky babel was there 2 show him how 2 score lol that gerrard goal was mint i couldnt stop laughing pathetic goal keeper anyway well done lads keep it up & tony ru a fan or a inside reporter please let me know

As far as I'm concerned with rotation, a manager can rotate every game or every month for all I care. As long as a team on the field gets good results it won't be mentioned.

But when a team gets poor results people will try to find reasons why. The most obvious one at Anfield is rotation. Once Rafa gets results right on the field he can rotate all he wants.

Thats what i've been saying, Rotation is done in each and every team.. But at a lesser degree than at liverpool.
And in other teams it is done quality against quality, coz their manager dispose of efficient players they have inherited from the massive amount spent by owners as compared to what Rafa has got(..don't come to tell me he has spent too much on crap, coz that will only make you narrow-minded)
someone said Arsenal don't rotate, i'll tell that person to just wait 3 weeks and see the consequence of a team without rotation..
Some may say we should have had played Torres and gerrard in everymatch, but the club is named Liverpool football club, NOt Gerrard football club, so its better to encourage them to play as a team not to based themselves on 1-2 players...Unfortunately we've got a bunch of donkeys in our club who don't deserve to be even in our reserve team, thats what made Rafa rotation even more inneficient.
We may well say, Rotation prevent consistency from building, but we just seems to forget that those players train together, the consistency was supposed to start of field, while training, not when playing at league level.
Every manager has a dream..to construct a team..we have that at liverpool, slowly we are building a great team, 2 very good defender in agger and skrtel, 2 very good midfielder in gerrard and mascherano, two very good striker in Babel and Torres, its just a matter of time before the fruit is obtaine, we can't just base ourselves on critics from results of this year, we have not been so bad, coz in those games that we drew we had plenty of chances..meaning if we had players to take those chance we could have won it, those players may well be playing end up at liverpool after the transfer window.
The question remains, will it be wrong to rotate a player if we'll have quality players for the same post?? Are we really the one who knows who should be fitter or in form to be played? Do we really need and very big squad or just two players for each post? If you have two quality players for one post, do u think one of them will be happy to remain on the bench (Lucas-alonso example)?
Is rotation really the reason that we draw in a few games..coz if we analyse few of the teams we draw, you'll noticed we are not their only victims, other teams from the top 3 has had same or even worst result against them (i'll have a topic on the forum about that in the following days with all stats)
Sincerely Whatever the purpose of rotation, Whatever disadvantage or advantage it has, I'll prefer NOT to see the same saga again at Anfield next year..well at least till the busy christmas festive period.
Best Squad week in week out, with well time and tactically efficient substitutions will be enough acdording to my thoughts.

Forget Rotation. We are talking incompetence here. I said it once and I’ll say it again, Rafa lacks the ability to manage a club the size of LFC. Rotation is only but one side of the problem. The other sides are his inability to choose and manage his staff and that includes coaches, mentors, scouts, fitness staff... etc. His inability to spend his budget wisely whether its new talent or staff. His tactics and game plans appear to be flowed most of the time and that covers rotations and players positions on the pitch. His relationship with the Owners and the media is less than amicable. His relationship with some players is starting to show signs of strain. His inability to utilise and incorporate some of the best reserves in the country into the first team is appalling.

Like you said, look at the players. SG and Masch, two excellent midfielders in their own right but totally disconnected on the pitch. Again Babel and Torres one big total mismatch and on and on it goes. I think the reason we have to have Gerrard and Torres on the pitch every game is because we don’t have anyone else. Like you said the rest are donkeys, Benitez donkeys, the ones he’s chosen and bought to be the corner stones of LFC club. Benitez is not slowly building, he is slowly destroying the best football club in the world. We are much worst this year than we were last year and the year before and we have got the results to prove it.

Benitez has been realtively shit in the Premiership and that's a fact. Top for one week in 4 seasons is a joke. Martin O'Neill, who I think is inferior to Benitez, has already got a pretty shit Villa team up close to Benitez's Liverpool side yet O'Neill is only there 18 months and has rebuilt the Villa team with far less money.

Benitez is effective in Europe for
Liverpool and that will be the story of his Anfield reign whenever he is finally sacked. He seems to be too stuck up his own arse to realise the Premier League isn't about fucking tactics; it's about going out every week and whipping the technically inept sides who use long balls as their primary way of playing.

With players like Torres, Gerrard, Mash, Carra, it shouldn't be so hard to at least fucking CHALLENGE for the league. But Benitez believes the SHITE TALK he's a tactical genius and tries to "outwit" Wigan and Birmingham instead of just sending out his superior players to whip the trash. It's only hard when you fuck things up like Rafa so often does.

But he'll survive til next year now he's buddies with Hicks.

Slowly but surly rafa is killing LFC but 4 some reason the owners and that brown nose parry cant see it but we can the sooner rafa goes the better i see in yesterdays papers that mourinho was quoted as saying the job that he would be interested in managing is liverpool? i know its only paper talk but there has 2 be something in it eh?

We play a lot of boring football under rafa in the PL 4 ever playing the ball back players not knowing what 2 do with the ball when they got it players out of position 4 exsample babel playing on the left wing when he's a right footed player! how many times did u see him moving the ball on 2 his right foot yesterday its coz he cant shoot with his left foot thats something rafa team should be doing with him in training something they cant be doing.

rafa has fucked LFC up in the PL and it will only get worse b4 it gets better we need a manager that knows how 2 play attacking football week in week out that always picks his strongest x1 week in week out as redhot said top for 1 week under rafa in 4 yrs is unacceptable theres no other reason 4 it he has 2 go at the end of the season and if some people on here thinks he needs another year coz he's building then there more daft than i thought! RAFA BENITEZ IN CHARGE= NO EPL EVER!

http://www.thisisanfield.com/columnists/2008/03/should-rafael-benitez-be-given-more-time/

Ferguson won his first title after 7 years, and you guys are moaning after just 4 years, check the article at least it shows some reasonable comments.

I dunno about u and me eddie but is it only us and a few others that want rafa out? why have u got the odd few people on here wanting rafa 2 stay at liverpool is it only us that see he will never win us the PL title is it only us that can see he is goin backwards with liverpool and not forward!

theres no good goin on about it taking fergie 7 yrs 2 win a title i dont care 2 hoots about him all i care about is LFC and whats best 4 us and that is not rafa he said himself that he's finding it hard 2 motivate his players 4 PL games isnt that enough 2 say he cant and wont win us the title he's shooting himself in the foot by saying that the sooner he goes the better we will still get the odd people on here defending him later all i can say 2 those people is why defend him?

fact one rafa, will be with us next season,so you had all better get use to it.eddie888, oneil has won fa yet. and come on get real, he wont win the prem.he will never have a cv like rafa, villa will be a mid table team, like they allways have been , except for a little run in the 80s. as far as polls go, at anfield i have been stoped by surporters. who ask me to sigh petions for rafa to stay. now thease votes get counted,why? because thease our the fans who follow them every week.that is a fact. and votes count, they want rafa to stay,and in liverpool, the fans useally get what they want, why do you think hicks, is giving him a new contract? because he loves him? no he is shit scared of the fans... i have been on both sides of this argument,so i know. but the outcome will be rafa there for at least another year, even if he signs a 4 year contract,if all goes pear shaped next season he will be out..he knows that. he is on his last chance, and most surrportes want him to have ,one more year.so on this site, its time to face facts.. stop the moaning and hope next season is diffrent, because nothink will change, many people ask me why is there this thing with l,pool fans scousers and none scousers, well this is it 75/ to 85/ are backing rafa, the fans outside l,pool are the ones not. its getting so bad at pubs, and anfield now that were fighting among areselves.thease are facts, next time any of you go to anfield next time, ask, then you will see what i tell you on here, are facts so this old news about rafa, will not do any good, cos he will be here next year, thats a FACT,,,,

1. We should not use Ferguson as a benchmark. We should be setting our own standards
2. Ferguson showed steady improvements on yearly bases. We are deteriorating on yearly bases.

There is no way we could win the CL with what we have got to offer this year. it is well and truly beyond our means. Realistically, we probably progress to the next round then this will be where Benitez's luck will run out with no CL and 6th place on the lader. What do we do then...ha?

If Benitez stays another year, we should be entitled for a discount from Benitez as his CV has changed dramaticaly in the past 2 years. Dont the say "You're as good as your last job".

I can only assume that there is an age difference creating the Rafa believers and those with more pride.
We have a generation of supporters who have never seen Liverpool win the title.
We have a generation of supporters and hangers on who believe that Istanbul was the bee all and all of Liverpool FC.
I've seen most games over a period of 40 years plus and without a shred of doubt this is the worst Liverpool side since the 50's. Without a shred of doubt Benitez is the worst manager we have ever had.
We have a generation of supporters who for some reason are prepared to accept 4th best. Gerrard echoed the words of a truly great manager when he said you get nothing for coming second - NOTHING.
If you want NOTHING for this once great club wallow in the shit that is Rafa Benitez.
Eddie and Kev J are right - until we are first again - THE BEST CLUB in the country - we are nothing. We will never get to be first in this country until Benitez is gone - bloody clueless. Why we have a poll on who should play centre mid with Stevie G is crazy - Benitez does not like him, never has and never will - now he has Mascherano you will be able to count the number of games Stevie G plays in centre mid along with the number of titles this Spanish prick will bring to the club - none.

I think it is very frustrating for those of us who have seen enough of Rafa Benitez to know he won't win the league. Yes as Rouman says he will be there next year and we all can see that now. But I already read Paul Tomkins on the official site saying we can't expect to win the title next year either so I think it's becoming a farce now. It's a 6 year plan now to win a title.

I said at the end of Houllier's 4th season it was clear as day he should go and was sickened to see him get another year to prove what was already obvious to so many people.

Likewise I think it must be obvious now to many people Benitez isn't cut out to win the Premiership. I think he has built a decent squad and good first 11, but he simply can't get the best out of them week in week out with his over emphasis on tactics and rotating players even at the start of a season when no one can be tired. He stops the team from getting good results every week as much as the opposition do and in the end it will be obvious to everyone we need a new manager.

But he won't be booted out this summer so we should all accept it. Even if we come 5th I bet Hicks won't sack him because Rafa has played POLITICS and coseyed up to Hicks to keep his job.

Foeget all the comparisons and look at where we are, Fifth in the Premiership 17 points behind the leaders. SINCE WHEN HAS THAT BEEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB ?

Yes we do have some good players criticalmind but we also have some dog arwful ones as well, hence the mess w find ourselves in.

says we are playing the worst fotball he has ever seen, well Ive been watching Liverpool for 38 years and I agree,

Rouman says that the fans going to the games are pro Rafa, (in fairness I get to see all the London and South East games, Ive only been to three home game this year ) and I would tend to agree , but I still say the fans are wrong to support Rafa and listerning to most phone ins I cannot believe the support for Rafa is really that strong.

If we saw some improvement, if we saw some young players coming through and given a chance, if we saw free flowing football, if we could see players giving 100% in every game they play, I could understand us giving Rafa the benfit of the doubt. BUT WERE NOT , WE ARE WATCHING SOME OF THE WORST FOOTBALL EVER FROM A LIVERPOOL TEAM, HOW UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES CAN ANYONE BE MUG ENOUGH TO OFFER BENITEZ A FURTHER FOUR YEAR CONTRACT ?.

BENIEZ NEEDS TO BE SACKED NOW, WHATS GOING TO CHANGE NEXT SEASON THAT WILL TRANSFORM US FROM A LOAD OF NONSENSE INTO WORLD BEATERS ? THE ANSWER IS NOTHING , NOTHING AT ALL.

ALLTHOUGH I CONCEDE THAT BENIEZ WILL MORE THAN LIKELY STILL BE IN THE JOB AT THE START OF NEXT SEASON, THAT DOESNT MEAN TO SAY I HAVE TO BE HAPPY WITH IT. TO MY MIND IT SUMS UP HOW BAD AND SAD LIVERPOOL FOOTBALLLUB HAS BECOME.

WE HAVE GONE FROM A TEAM OF WINNERS TO A TEAM THAT CONSIDERS FORTH PLACE A SUCCESS.

BILL SHANKLY AN BOB PAISLEY WOULD BE TURNING IN THERE GRAVES AT THAT THOUGHT.

Guys..you need to stop believing newspaper craps!! Benitez will not be given a four year contract at any cost before the end of next season...Business is business, the yanks would have had want him out after the december discussions, but could do nothing due to money constraint..Hicks is no fool to put the nail in his foot once again.. the four year contract, Benitez and hicks pal etc are all just rumours to sell news..i wonder how people can believe and discuss on such craps!

I am not prepared to defend Souness for obvious reasons. There is a difference between the early 90`s era and this Rafa shit - we had young lads brought in to the team - Steve Harkness, Mike Marsh, Rob Jones, Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp and Robbie Fowler. Yes I know football has really changed blah blah blah - finsihing fourth is really good and the Spanish for pregress is "shite". Keep going Eddie 888 this once great club needs all the "negativity" it can get right now - BENITEZ MUST GO

Well well base21 somehing has certainly rattled your cage today, if you cant see or fail to want to see that Liverpool are playing total shit , and your happy to have arsehole Benitez keep his job and watch Liverpool challenge for Forth spot every season then fine.

Personally I reckon you need a trip to the home for the bewildered. If you cant see how badly Liverpool are playing then you are in need of hospital treatment, the white coat brigade beckon.

SOUNESS AND HOULLIER WERE RUBBISH, BUT IT STILL DOESNT HIDE THE FACT THAT BENITEZ IS RUBBISH AS WELL.

WE ALL LOVE LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB , I HAVE ALLMOST BEEN IN TEARS THIS SEASON ,WATCHING US PLAY SO BADLY. ALL I WANT, WE ALL WANT IS TO SEE LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB SUCCESSFULL AGAIN.

UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS WRONG AT THE MOMENT, HICKS & GILLET, BENITEZ, THE SUB STANDARD PLAYERS, IS IT ANY WONDER THAT WE COMPLAIN.

WHATS NEEDED IS FOR YOU BASE 21 TO POP AROUND TO THE SULTAN OF BRUNEI'S PALACE FOR A COUPLE OF BEERS AND SOME WACKY BACKY, CONVINCE HIM TO BUY THE CLUB AND INVEST HIS ENTIRE WEALTH N THE CLUB. YOU LIVE NEARER THAN WE DO, TAKE IT FROM ME IT'S AMAZING WHAT A FEW LAGERS CAN DO.

THE WHOLE FUTURE OF THE CLUB RESTS ON YOUR SHOULDERS.

I take on board some of what you say , Benitez has bought some fairly decent players to the club, I also like the way he moves them on if ther not any good, my disatisfaction with Benitez lies in other areas.
I Ihink his motivational skills are zero, have you ever seen him intervewed, have you ever felt enthused after seeing him talk, I certainly havn't and I think that that s one of his biggest downfalls. Perhaps he needs an assistant.

Secondly whatever anyone might say a settled side is usually a winning side, I'm all for the occasional change for tactical or in cases of lost form injury or suspension, but Benitez changes things far too much. His constant tinkering has created a lack of cohesion, a cutting edge , that is usually brought about by players understandng each other whilst playing in a settled side.

Thirdly I cannot understand him playing players out of position, this is a Manager who is supposedly a Master Tactician , some of his teaM selections leave me stunned. Why play Kuyt on the wing ? or Babel on the Left when his right footed ? Why is Alonso not in the team ? yet is possibly the biggest talent at the club ?

Forthly His failure to bring youngsters into the team, I have Satanta and have watched every reserve game this season, We have a couple of very good young players Insua, Spearing,Darby, and Nemeth, what hope have they got of making it at Anfield ? They will never be given a chance.

You say that Rafa hasnt had a lot of money to spend , I disagree he has spent 160m on players since he arrived thats 40m per year so far, yet the team hasnt really proggressed has it ? better than Houlliers team granted but that wasnt difficult ? this season we are further off the pace than ever , God only knows how bad it could have been had Torres not played as well as he has.

You ask me to name the players that we should keep and the ones that should go : we should keep Reinna Finnan Arbeloa Skytel Agger Carragher Gerrard Masherano Alonso Lucas Torres Babel Bennyoun Anderson and Hobbs We should get rid of Carson Guhrie Riise Arelio Pennant Kuyt Voronin Kewell and Crouch, Sami Hypia should be offered a job on the Coaching Staff.

Even I have to concede that Benitez will probably be around next season, ( personally I dont agree , I feel he should be sacked ), if he fails to produce a Premiership Challenge then he will have to go no questions asked, as much as I don't like it Benitez will be gien another chance in the last chance saloon, the only way I can see things changing is if he stops all this constant chopping and changing of players, selects his best side and stick with it, make changes when were three nil up at home coasting to victory, and stop taking the likes of Wigan, Birmingham and Reading for granted. Then we may just may stand a hope of seeing the team progress. I would like to be proved wrong.

Kuyt and Babel are being played in a 4-3-3 sytem, not as winger.
So u want ALonso/Gerrard/Mascherano/Lucas/Babel/Benayoun to play in midfield, do you want to field 15 players on the ground or what??? When Alonso is played, people says Young players like lucas are not being given a chance, and when Lucas plays people like you are moaning why is alonso not played.
If Rafa is such a bad manager, then why should we keep the players he has brought!!
You are claiming that Benitez spent 140 millions yet, you don't seemed to notice that the players that are in the team you want to keep are worth 90 millions..meaning they are here to give the fruit in coming months, you can't just put a seed in the ground and expect it to give fruit tomorrow!!
Hobbs and anderson are good lads with talents but are they better than Agger and Benayoun..don't think so, just look at their performance at the team they are currently on loan and you'll see the reality, they still need experience...time will come for them too.
Am glad that finally you conceded whether we want it or not Rafa will still be at the club...till 2010, don't believe the craps in newspapers about his contract extension.
Try to see for yourself if we really have been playing so badly then, how we've got so many goals!! I think you will say, Torres was the keeper, he took the ball from his own half, went thru midfield among m9dfielders and defenders of opposition and scored the goal without any help, right!!