Same old story as stubborn Rafa infuriates again

WAS I the only one who thought of Rafa when Fabregas equalised against Barca? I was, wasn’t I?

Certainly there was nothing about the actual football that even vaguely resembled LFC 2010. No, my mind wandered off to ponder what is possibly the stupidest concept in sport: “Controlling the game”.

Okay, if you’re 4-0 up at Burnley after 20 minutes we’ll let that one slide, but for everyone else this infuriating yet still intoxicating pastime will never lose its penchant for shock. How on earth did Barcelona not win that match?

I suppose there has to be some admiration for the utter obstinacy of those who think they can pack midfield, reduce the opposition to slim pickings and fatuously claim they have mastered Fate. Naming no names...

Even when our team does score early, away day spinelessness continues to seep through. I’m losing count of the times we’ve turned a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit this season. It’s never against the run of play, either.

In fairness we weren’t allowed to do much about it in Portugal. I’ve had my annual bleat about a referee being in the opponents’ pocket from the get-go, but I’m sorely tempted to contravene that moral code and whine anew.

Perhaps Babel would have continued running straight into the right back and losing possession for the remaining 60, but we’d like to have seen that for ourselves without a truly awful official deciding Ryan was wasting everyone’s time staying out there a moment longer.

Violent conduct? Ever get the feeling the English language has lost all meaning? Benfica are decent and they might have beaten 11 anyway. That’s not to say what followed was acceptable, and was it coincidence that two penalties were awarded at the same end fireworks exploded perilously close to one official?

Insua was the weak link again and whilst there is a shortage of candidates for the left back berth tomorrow I’d suggest we could leave that position unfilled and still thrive.

Then we heard some bizarre utterances from the current manager and Martin O’Neill, who is (allegedly) of the opinion that he will be the next one. It would explain the puzzling collapse at Chelsea.

Teams managed by supreme pragmatists like Houllier, Benitez and the Villa boss simply never get thrashed like that, it goes against their entire belief system.

And what was with that press conference? “I’ve enjoyed it immensely,” indeed.

Past tense insinuation notwithstanding, it would be amusing to see him arrive just for the reaction of those Reds who absolutely despise him.

I’m not sure I could take another five years of this kind of football and he gives us little we don’t already get from Benitez, whose own comments continue to bewilder.

The line he’s now taking on Aquilani? Well, you have to admire the barefaced audacity if nothing else. The heavy hints about shirking are fooling nobody. This is widely accepted as the biggest transfer screw-up of the season, by anybody anywhere, and if he’s trying to steer fans towards a stereotypical shortage of Italian resolve that really is scraping the barrel bottom.

Torres by contrast took all the blows Benfica could offer, yet perversely it was Babel who overreacted. Rafa gave tiredness as one of the reasons Fernando was replaced at Birmingham, N’gog’s movement being the other. Again, few were fooled.

It was one of the craziest things I’ve seen in years. Keep it tight and boring for 60 minutes, take off Europe’s best striker – then go all out for a winner.

We’ve seen so many examples of this baffling ‘logic’ from the manager, but it still came as a shock and the heckles were entirely justified.

One late winner and maybe all would be forgotten and forgiven, but the expression on Gerrard’s face suggested otherwise. Brum are tricky opposition but a point was of little use.

I received texts from friends who referred to Rafa’s lack of courage in singularly scatological tones. It actually took some nerve to make that substitution, but it smacked of a childish glee in perversity more than actually getting the job done.

We’ve conceded 10 equalisers this season, and further goals at times when we’d managed to get back into a match. Complete focus on shutting out the opposition has failed.

It would seem Rafa has repeated the Houllier mistake of slipping from pragmatism – whatever works, keep it – to obsession and persistence with your own method, no matter how much harm is being inflicted.

A change in nature seems beyond him now.