The Weakest Link 621

I think you should look at what I said. Most sides will be aided by luck when winning competitions, particularly cups. and even the title winners Chelsea enjoyed a touch of it by winning both at a time when all their main rivals were going through a period of rebuilding the squads. My comments about Raffa was just to counter the automatic response that the CL win somehow showed him to be a tactical genius when we all know that without a lot of good fortune he would have been criicised for being ill prepared. The side did well to get to where they did with what they had, no doubt about that, but what it proves about the managers qualities for winning the league title is debatable.

I have no fixation with the CL final and I was as amazed and excited by the result as anyone. I mention it only because of what it was supposed to prove about the manager. Seems it should make him immune from questions about his choices and tactics in the league or his ability to win it?

I do, and remember posting that Pool showed the best form of the season so far against Spurs recently. but I admit that I don't get over excited about home wins against ordinary sides. They are expected from a good side with a fine home record over the years. The point of my questions have nothing to do with Pool getting good results at home or to them having a reasonable season. It relates to them being Prem titles winners again. This was the expectation and confident objective of the manager, captain and players just a couple of months back. Benitez didn't say I am a slow learner and will need one more season. He said he now had the players he needed to win it. So what's gone wrong?

Raffa now makes the same excuses others use. "We started with 4 difficult away games" Dear God! This is what we expect from sides with relegation problems not from title contenders. Didn't Arsenal have a few of these when they were unbeaten winners, or Chelsea when they lost just one?

The fact is that over most of the past seasons of the last decade no team wins the title having lost more than 5 games. Pool have already lost 3 and it was a touch lucky not to be 4. This is the standard Raffa boasted his team had reached. To now question his results is simply judging him by the standards he himself set, but if any Pool fan does so it will be jumped on as a sign of unfaithfulness. Seems loyalty should always be blind? Why?.....because he did win us the CL didn't he?

Meanwhile. 1away point....one away goal, a defense with good new players but showing signs of loss of confidence, and a side more frantic than controlled. A manager who seems incapable of getting a side on the pitch away from home ready to impose itself on the opponents from the off. A man who sees bringing Crouch on and moving SG to the middle is the most likely way to save a match late on, but not the best way to win it from the start?

There are plenty more difficult away games to come Raffa old chum.

LC