VIEW FROM THE STANDS: Time to leave the excuses alone

Feb 2 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

ALL excuses have been used up now – this is the message coming out of the club.

Rafa has said his piece, Carra and Gerrard have followed suit like all good, loyal soldiers should. But I wonder how concerned they are at another season of being out of the title race by Christmas?

This is Rafa’s fourth season as manager and in every one we have had at least one horrendous run of form, the important word here being ‘horrendous’.

Bad form happens to all of the other ‘big four’ teams, but what we have experienced seems so much more drastic. When will we have our period of playing poorly but still picking up three points as Man United have done on numerous occasions this season?

The past two seasons we have had these runs at the start of the season, leaving ourselves a mountain to climb by November and in all fairness our form has dramatically improved and we have had as good a second half of the season as anyone, particularly 2005-06.

This has resulted in Liverpool fans one and all believing that if we could somehow have a good start to the season and stay with the leading pack then we will have a great chance of winning the league as recent history proves we are stronger in the second half of the season... oh how wrong we all were.

For me, this is symbolic of Rafa’s reign, just when you think you have finally figured him out; he does something that leaves you in despair. I have refrained from entertaining the media’s witch hunt on Rafa’s rotation policy, largely because I believed it to be cheap column filler from journalists who have to write daily pieces.

But look at it another way, if our seasonal poor form is not to do with rotation then what is it to do with? I don’t have the answers, but then neither does Rafa. I am afraid I cannot look at today’s opposition with any objectivity or reason, we are Liverpool and they are... well let’s just they are not.

A comfortable win is desperately needed and I am sorry to say, demanded.