RAWK Goes into Meltdown 2014/2015 - The "We go again" Edition

I remember getting absolutely slaughtered by the scousers last season when I told them they were lucky to finish 2nd due to them playing their first XI consistently and with minimal injuries. I even posted the amount of minutes their first XI had played compared to other teams and the time their players are out injured but they seems not to appreciate it.

Watching their meltdown now though is so fulfilling :drool:
 
I was just pondering that they say Brendan got the job because Fenway were impressed with his 140 page dossier. PhaseofPlay could be a contender.

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dasty said:
I remember getting absolutely slaughtered by the scousers last season when I told them they were lucky to finish 2nd due to them playing their first XI consistently and with minimal injuries. I even posted the amount of minutes their first XI had played compared to other teams and the time their players are out injured but they seems not to appreciate it.

Watching their meltdown now though is so fulfilling :drool:
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Funnily enough everyone knew it was fluke and they'd be back to shite except them. They had so much luck in that season it was amazing, even Sturridge, a ok/good striker was banging in goal numbers way above his ability.

I remember reading their season predictions on RAWK, they were convinced they would finish 2nd again and United was never getting back into top 4 :lol: but to be fair they would have done much better if they didn't waste their transfer money, but then again no big players wanted to go to their club.
 
Trizy said:
Funnily enough everyone knew it was fluke and they'd be back to shite except them. They had so much luck in that season it was amazing, even Sturridge, a ok/good striker was banging in goal numbers way above his ability.

I remember reading their season predictions on RAWK, they were convinced they would finish 2nd again and United was never getting back into top 4 :lol: but to be fair they would have done much better if they didn't waste their transfer money, but then again no big players wanted to go to their club.
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I do think Sturridge is a good striker, but I agree he was probably punching above his weight. They also seemed to get a penalty is every single game last season. It was the only reason Stevie-Me got so many goals.
 
Trizy said:
Funnily enough everyone knew it was fluke and they'd be back to shite except them. They had so much luck in that season it was amazing, even Sturridge, a ok/good striker was banging in goal numbers way above his ability.

I remember reading their season predictions on RAWK, they were convinced they would finish 2nd again and United was never getting back into top 4 :lol: but to be fair they would have done much better if they didn't waste their transfer money, but then again no big players wanted to go to their club.
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More than fluke, it was Suarez's genius and others benefiting because of him as well. Sturridge, Sterling etc used to get so much space because opposition was more worried about Suarez.
After Suarez was gone though, when season started, I was going through squad list of all big teams, and there was Liverpool squad, with so many young unproven players and those who are experienced, most of them shite. Defense didn't look any good either. Basically, I thought looking at it, "no way that squad strikes fear into opposition, they won't match last season so if we do our part of getting to 75 points, we will get CL." Looks like happening.
 
I disagree slightly, it wasn't JUST Gnasher, Studge has been a big miss for them & Stevie having to play, a structural block to their MF functioning properly. Lovren, Balotelli, Markovic have been desperate though for the ££££ invested. Their problem now is hanging on to Sterling & Coutinho, Skrtel even. Defence & GK still ropey.

(that isn't quoted from RAWK, obv)
 
Mignolet has individually kept Brendan in charge for these past 2 months..... Mignolet has, unbiasedly, been playing as good as any keeper in the top 5 European league these past 3 months.
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Trizy said:
Funnily enough everyone knew it was fluke and they'd be back to shite except them. They had so much luck in that season it was amazing, even Sturridge, a ok/good striker was banging in goal numbers way above his ability.

I remember reading their season predictions on RAWK, they were convinced they would finish 2nd again and United was never getting back into top 4 :lol: but to be fair they would have done much better if they didn't waste their transfer money, but then again no big players wanted to go to their club.
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Extremely RAWKish to suggest that Liverpool were merely 'lucky' last season. That's the kind of shite they always said about United. Every season for about 2 decades.
 
Slippy was the problem for that squad and manager this season. They relied on him as captain and talisman long after his sell by date. When he's not selected they look lost without him but he's a liability when he does play. That's the mark of player who has been around too long and no longer fits the squad.
 
It was as much about Suarez as it was about momentum. They went into every game believing they'd wipe the floor with the opposition and usually did. Then Slippy happened closely followed by Crystanbul followed by Suarez leaving. Pretty much shattered all their confidence and momentum and had to start from scratch all over again.

One rawkite summed it up well. A ridiculous and over the top analogy but strangely apt all the same I thought:

Suarez leaving removed the belief that had built up last season.

Our party balloon was inflated to the max, stretched tight by months of poetry in motion and WE and more importantly THE PLAYERS 'believed' we'd win. They were charging onto the pitch, buoyant, focused and confident. The balloon was so big we couldn't quite get the knot tied off.

The way the season ended had already let a little bit of air out as Mourinho, then Pulis and finally Pellegrini got hold of the balloon and did that annoying thing and stretched the loose end to let some air come screeching out. Then the World Cup removed any remaining puff our key English contingent might've had to reinflate it.

But make no mistake, Suarez pulled the knitting needle out and jabbed it in. The new signings came in expecting to find the party still going on, only to see bits of burst balloon lying around the floor. The belief gone.

The new one is being blown up every week, but so far it's full of holes and is as flat as it was in the summer. Roy broke the lad with the most puff to get things going again and suddenly there was no SAS to help out, just an SOS so far unanswered.

It's time to start again from scratch. Newcastle away felt like capitulation. There was nobody even willing to give it a go. Tough fixtures can sometimes be exactly what is needed. The hardest part of any balloon is that first breath, getting it going. Time to forget about the whys and wherefores of our situation and get blowing again. Everyone. Fans, management and players together, cos balloons don't inflate themselves.
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Get blowing lads!
 
charleysurf said:
Extremely RAWKish to suggest that Liverpool were merely 'lucky' last season. That's the kind of shite they always said about United. Every season for about 2 decades.
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I wouldn't say it was lucky but it was definitely a perfect storm for them to achieve something. No European football, United were unsettled and in a transitional season, while Chelsea were almost the weakest they have been in some time (I say almost because I am still baffled by them buying Benayoun and I recall Meireles being in their midfield). Arsenal are Arsenal and Suarez was absolutely on fire. It all sat nicely for them to win at least one trophy.
 
Trizy said:
The one thing I honestly don't understand is their view on this season, they're acting like they were at the top for years and a sudden unexpected fall in one season. (United of 2014) but in reality they had one good season and are now back to their usual shit.

14-15 = 5th
13-14 = 2nd
12-13 = 7th
11-12 = 8th
10-11 = 6th
09-10 = 7th
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So true, I bet Rodgers wished he scraped 4th on goal difference last year as this season wouldn't be such a let down.

I remember posting at the start of the season how their perfect cocktail of having the 3rd best player in the world, getting given soft penalties whenever they were in trouble whilst Skrtel continued to wrestle people to the ground unpunished week after week, having 5-6 player's come into the best form of their life all in one season and having such momentum and believe because of these things, couldn't last.
 
That'sHernandez said:
I wouldn't say it was lucky but it was definitely a perfect storm for them to achieve something. No European football, United were unsettled and in a transitional season, while Chelsea were almost the weakest they have been in some time (I say almost because I am still baffled by them buying Benayoun and I recall Meireles being in their midfield). Arsenal are Arsenal and Suarez was absolutely on fire. It all sat nicely for them to win at least one trophy.
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True but, IMO, Chelsea should've been champions - they had very winnable games, in the run-in, which they & Mourinho screwed up. Liverpool's failure, Rodgers' naivety, Gerrard's slip etc obscured an embarrassing failure by The Special Bus; to his great fortune, Chelsea's failure barely merits a mention in the standard histories of last season.
 
akash02 said:
It was as much about Suarez as it was about momentum. They went into every game believing they'd wipe the floor with the opposition and usually did. Then Slippy happened closely followed by Crystanbul followed by Suarez leaving. Pretty much shattered all their confidence and momentum and had to start from scratch all over again.

One rawkite summed it up well. A ridiculous and over the top analogy but strangely apt all the same I thought:



Get blowing lads!
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The moon's a balloon and Scousers have been howling at it for 25 seasons without success. In that time they have bought good and bad players, tried managers, and all the while their philosophy that was behind them since Shankley just crumbled into dust. They have struggled to find their footy philosophy and their identity. This season has turned into a shambles with a host of young untried players, an old wrench, and a manager with inflated ideas of himself. If it looks chaotic then it is chaotic, and that points to the absence of systems. Buy all the players they can but they still lack that something that makes winners tick.
 
SteveJ said:
True but, IMO, Chelsea should've been champions - they had very winnable games, in the run-in, which they & Mourinho screwed up. Liverpool's failure, Rodgers' naivety, Gerrard's slip etc obscured an embarrassing failure by The Special Bus; to his great fortune, Chelsea's failure barely merits a mention in the standard histories of last season.
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I suppose that's fair. You can't help but feel their stall was set when Mourinho came to Old Trafford to get a draw while practically every other team in the league came to get a win, at least of the teams in the part of the table we were competing. Granted that was a bit before we got found out to be defensively frail and apparently tactically inept.
 
charleysurf said:
Extremely RAWKish to suggest that Liverpool were merely 'lucky' last season. That's the kind of shite they always said about United. Every season for about 2 decades.
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Finishing above their usual average of 7th for the past 5 years and looking to be going back to that area of the pitch after one good season with the same sqaud apart from Suarez isn't luck?

Here's more reason why its nothing but Suarez and luck:


finneh said:
So true, I bet Rodgers wished he scraped 4th on goal difference last year as this season wouldn't be such a let down.

I remember posting at the start of the season how their perfect cocktail of having the 3rd best player in the world, getting given soft penalties whenever they were in trouble whilst Skrtel continued to wrestle people to the ground unpunished week after week, having 5-6 player's come into the best form of their life all in one season and having such momentum and believe because of these things, couldn't last.
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akash02 said:
It was as much about Suarez as it was about momentum. They went into every game believing they'd wipe the floor with the opposition and usually did. Then Slippy happened closely followed by Crystanbul followed by Suarez leaving. Pretty much shattered all their confidence and momentum and had to start from scratch all over again.

One rawkite summed it up well. A ridiculous and over the top analogy but strangely apt all the same I thought:



Get blowing lads!
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They're gonna need a damn good blow job.
 
I love how they completely 100% blame Hodgson for Sturridge's season.
 
I wish Phase of Play could run one of his "simulations" to prove how they are going to get top four now :lol:

Also, i came across this the other day, its even funnier now in retrospect (This was before we gave them a hiding on their own turf):
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/kenny-dalglish-liverpool-vs-man-5371271.

"Since Brendan Rodgers changed Liverpool's formation late last year I have not seen a better team in England." I mean come on. Really?
 
akash02 said:
It was as much about Suarez as it was about momentum. They went into every game believing they'd wipe the floor with the opposition and usually did. Then Slippy happened closely followed by Crystanbul followed by Suarez leaving. Pretty much shattered all their confidence and momentum and had to start from scratch all over again.

One rawkite summed it up well. A ridiculous and over the top analogy but strangely apt all the same I thought:



Get blowing lads!
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I thought they blew all season.
 
Anyone else watch the game last night and think there's something really weird with the way he claps? I can't quite pinpoint why it's so odd but I think it's something to do with how close his hands are together. Christ, everything about the man annoys me!
 
iHicksy said:
Anyone else watch the game last night and think there's something really weird with the way he claps? I can't quite pinpoint why it's so odd but I think it's something to do with how close his hands are together. Christ, everything about the man annoys me!
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Yeah I've noticed that. Took me ages until i realised it's just a very....'feminine' clap
 
iHicksy said:
Anyone else watch the game last night and think there's something really weird with the way he claps? I can't quite pinpoint why it's so odd but I think it's something to do with how close his hands are together. Christ, everything about the man annoys me!
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Is it because his hands are really small?
 
Accurate.

Heaven fecking forbid we aim the criticism in the right direction.

The manager has said multiple times, unequivocally, that he has the final say on any player coming into the club and that it wouldn't work any other way. Categorically. Last season we heard very little about the committee and Ian Ayre, just as we didn't after we'd signed Sturridge and Coutinho. Now? Now it's Ian Ayre and the committed fault. It's their fault we spunked £20 million on Dejan Lovren because the manager didn't fancy Sakho or Agger. It's their fault we've filled the squad with flashy little technical players and then spent the thick end of £30 million signing another one. It's their fault that we signed Ricky Lambert and Mario Balotelli to replace Luis Suarez and compete with Daniel Sturridge. Their fault the manager has constantly slagged off his own players this season. It's their fault he's persisted with people like Johnson, Gerrard, Lambert and Balotelli in important games. Their fault we couldn't beat Basel and struggled to get four points from the mighty Ludogerets. Their fault we were outplayed twice by Beşiktaş. Their fault that in a Wembley semi-final our bright young manager was comprehensively out-tacticed by Bernard fecking Cribbins.

It's been an absolute train-wreck of a season. Every challenge the manager has faced, he's failed miserably. Every big game, he's flopped massively. We've spent the whole season whinging about 'we just need a striker' to avoid the stark realisation that without a once in a generation talent our manager is hopelessly out of his depth.
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iHicksy said:
Anyone else watch the game last night and think there's something really weird with the way he claps? I can't quite pinpoint why it's so odd but I think it's something to do with how close his hands are together. Christ, everything about the man annoys me!
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Yes, last time i noticed that technique was at my 8 year old grandsons school nativity play.
 
May have been mentioned but it amused me to see Huge Face Henderson, urging the Hull player off when he was being subbed. The obvious retort should have been, "HFH, you just wasted a full 90 minutes"
 
Nozzy said:
May have been mentioned but it amused me to see Huge Face Henderson, urging the Hull player off when he was being subbed. The obvious retort should have been, "HFH, you just wasted a full 90 minutes"
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Haven't watched the match but I heard that he is stamping the authority of his new found leadership role by hogging all the FKs?
 
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