A tell yuh bout dis bredda yah...Fergie doesnt rate Rafa..

[OJ]

not a bad three..

[Sir X]

Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa all fall foul of curse of scoreless draw

Should Liverpool’s recent revival prove to be too late to haul back Manchester United in their quest to win a first title since 1990 Rafa Benitez will have cause to rue the curse of the goalless draw.



By Steve Wilson
Last Updated: 4:45PM GMT 19 Mar 2009

A near thing: Fernando Torres can't find the net for Liverpool against Stoke City at Anfield Photo: GETTY IMAGES


On five occasions this season – and three times at Anfield – Liverpool have finished a match with the scoreboard untroubled.
Had those home stalemates – against Stoke City, Fulham and West Ham – instead produced victories, last week’s dismantling of United would not just have breathed life in to a seemingly moribund title race – it would have taken them top.

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This season is shaping up to be a vintage one for nil-nil scorelines, with 33 of 289 Premier League matches ending without either team scoring.
That figure represents over 11 per cent of games, only the second time in the history of the Premier League that such a figure has been reached.
The 1998-99 season still stands as the high watermark for goalless draws, when 49 of the 380 matches finished that way, a staggering 12.9 per cent of all contested.
Last season’s total of 26 has already been well surpassed with almost a quarter of the season left to play.
Liverpool cannot be held completely responsible, and are not even the worst offenders.
Seven of Fulham’s 29 fixtures this campaign have failed to yield a goal from either side and Aston Villa, like Liverpool, have five to their name so far.
It is little surprise that two of Liverpool’s nil-nil encounters came against Martin O’Neill and Roy Hodgson’s sides.
With Arsenal also producing games in which neither goalkeeper suffered the indignity of collecting the ball from their net, it is seductive to surmise that at the root cause is the gulf between the top five and the rest of the league.
Teams travelling to Villa Park, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium do so with defence as their key objective, counting as a major success ending a match with the point on offer they effectively started with.
Liverpool’s resolute defence is rarely breached but against heavily packed midfields and defences they have, on occasion, been found wanting.
For this season to break the previous record, 17 more goalless draws are needed from the remaining 91 fixtures.
For that to happen, you imagine, Manchester City will have to come to the party. Mark Hughes’ side are the only club in the top flight yet to serve up a nil-nil result.
Nil-nil draws in 2008-09 season so far:

Fulham
7
Aston Villa
5
Liverpool
5
Wigan
5
Arsenal
4
Blackburn Rovers
4
Stoke City
4
Tottenham
4
West Ham
4
Chelsea
3
Everton
3
Middlesbrough
3
Newcastle
3
Sunderland
3
Bolton
2
Manchester United
2
Portsmouth
2
West Brom
2
Hull City
1
Manchester City
0

Season
0-0's
Games
0-0 %
1992-93
38
462
8.2pc
1993-94
43
462
9.3pc
1994-95
51
462
11.0pc
1995-96
27
380
7.1pc
1996-97
41
380
10.8pc
1997-98
33
380
8.7pc
1998-99
49
380
12.9pc
1999-00
22
380
5.8pc
2000-01
28
380
7.4pc
2001-02
34
380
8.9pc
2002-03
21
380
5.5pc
2003-04
41
380
10.8pc
2004-05
30
380
7.9pc
2005-06
32
380
8.4pc
2006-07
34
380
8.9pc
2007-08
26
380
6.8pc
2008-09
33
289
11.4pc

[Sir X]

Rafael Benitez heads for busy summer of rebuilding

The ink on his new five-year contract has barely dried, but already Rafael Benitez, ever the workaholic, is planning and plotting for the future.



By Rory Smith
Last Updated: 11:14PM GMT 19 Mar 2009

Rebuild: Rafael Benitez and Liverpool fans can expect new lease of life at Anfield Photo: GETTY IMAGES


"My priority now is to do the deals for my staff and the players who will be important for this club in the future. We want to improve everything we possibly can," he said.
His new mandate guaranteed, Benitez will not wait to swing into action. His first act will be to tie down those players whose own futures looked uncertain. Daniel Agger, most noticeably, Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa and Dirk Kuyt have just 15 months left on their contracts. All four are expected to sign in the coming weeks.

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Behind the scenes, too, the effects of Benitez's new-found power will be quickly felt. His trusted lieutenants, whose futures provided one of the many hitches to the labyrinthine negotiations, will all be offered new deals.
Those worries banished, the Spaniard will be able to turn his attention to engineering a squad of the quality and depth of Manchester United's. Benitez would, ideally, have liked to be in a position after five years on Merseyside where he could fine-tune rather than overhaul, but he is likely to face another hectic summer.
Humbling United and Real Madrid in the space of four days – what Benitez referred to as "a perfect week" – proved Liverpool's proximity to becoming the force he is trying to build. The defeat to Middlesbrough that immediately preceded those wins suggested he still lacks the depth to rest and rotate effectively, as well as highlighting Liverpool's well-documented struggles when faced with deep-lying, compact defences.
When asked last week, prior to the sacking of Old Trafford, what the difference was between his side and Sir Alex Ferguson's, Benitez replied simply: "About £100 million." Unless talks with one of two Kuwaiti families bear fruit in the form of new owners or new investors, he is unlikely to have that much to spend.
Indeed, his first task will be to shift much of the ballast at Melwood. The on-loan pair of Jermaine Pennant and Andrei Voronin will both leave, the former on a free and the latter to the Bundesliga. Sami Hyypia is likely to be allowed to end his
10-year spell when his contract expires to give him one last shot at first-team football. The likes of Philipp Degen and Charles Itandje will be moved on, while Benitez may even be forced to cash in on Andrea Dossena, Lucas and Ryan Babel.
His chief concern this summer, though, is a desperate need to inject native blood into the squad to meet Uefa's Champions League quotas. Four of Liverpool's squad next season must have been developed by the club, for which only two senior players, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, qualify. A further four must have been trained in England, roles currently filled by youth players, which Benitez is aware he must remedy.
Aaron Lennon, of Tottenham Hotspur, remains a target to infuse Liverpool with width and pace. Benitez tried to include him in the deal which took Robbie Keane back to White Hart Lane and, while Harry Redknapp refused the swap then, the Spaniard is believed to be considering revisiting it.
Glen Johnson, the Portsmouth right-back, could be available for £8 million. David Wheater, of Middlesbrough, and Chelsea's Michael Mancienne are also thought to be on Benitez's radar, while he is still an admirer of Gareth Barry at Aston Villa.
It is a key summer, for manager and club alike. Working with a new chief executive more amenable to his aims means he has no reason not to land his targets and finally establish the squad he needs. Benitez has the power and the control. There can be no more excuses.
Rafa’s Three Musts
Rafa Must:
Buy width. Despite the purchase of Albert Riera, that Liverpool have struggled to win games where they are heavy favourites is attributable to a predictability in attack. To challenge Manchester United, Benitez must remedy it.
Rafa Must:
Throw off the shackles. When Liverpool attack, they can be deadly, but it is all too rare. Benitez’s natural caution has cost his team points against domestic minnows. If he can fire them up for league games as he does in Europe, they have the talent to steamroller anyone.
Rafa Must:
Deliver the title. Liverpool have made progress under Benitez, that much is clear. But there is only one barometer of success on Merseyside. If he is to join Dalglish, Paisley and Shankly in the Anfield pantheon, he must end two decades of hurt.en

[Peter R]

Pure unadulterated conjecture!!

[Peter R]

I have to agree with you:"what's the fuss if Fergie nuh rate Rafa?"

That's akin to Jesus asking Satan for absolution...

Who gives a rats a$$ what Fergie thinks!?! Him jus a try play mind games (as ususal) again when him mek dem statements gainst DE MAN HIM FEAR DE MOST!