For those who hate players hyping up our league chances...

[doctor_mac]

...here's Reina saying we haven't a fucking hope.

[size=14pt]Pepe Reina admits title is 'not realistic' for Liverpool[/size]


[size=11pt]The Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed the depth of frustration among the club's players, saying winning the Premier League title was "not a realistic objective" and bemoaning the lack of match-winners in the squad.

Liverpool, who face promoted Burnley today for the first time in the league for 33 years, have lost two of their four games this season and lie seventh behind Arsenal on goal difference. Critics have pointed to the loss of their key midfielder Xabi Alonso as the reason for their stuttering start, along with the fact that his replacement, Alberto Aquilani, was signed while injured and has not been able to play.

With Rafael Benítez able to spend only £1.5m of the £10m-plus that was the difference between the prices of Alonso and Aquilani, there has again been apparent tension between the manager and the club's American owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

"Teams like Manchester United have lots of players who can tip the balance; we haven't got the individuals," Reina says in an interview with the Guardian today. "There are games that get congested and we haven't got the vision other sides boast. Chelsea have Didier Drogba, who can bring down any ball – a useful option we haven't got."

The Spanish goalkeeper also appeared to endorse the view that Liverpool are a two-man team with an overdependency on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. "That is a problem," Reina admits. "We have to hope that they don't get injured because they're fundamental."

Whereas last season Benítez was adamant that Liverpool were the best side in the league despite losing out on the title by four points, Reina now perceives an inferiority complex in terms of spending power and called on the owners to release more funds.

"There isn't frustration, there's resignation," Reina said. "The buying power of clubs is very different. You can't sign players if you don't have the money, and if there is no money, that's it. As a player, there's nothing you can do. We know what's in the squad; we can't do anything about it. All we can do is roll up our sleeves, work hard and try to win matches.

"It would be good if the owners made an effort economically, if they pushed. It would be lovely if we could find ourselves in an economic position where we can bring players in and build a squad that can compete with other sides. But it's up to the owners to try to bring players in, not us."

Reina felt that Liverpool's title chances were not completely blown but accepted that they faced a tall challenge. "Can we win the league? I think so but there are other teams that are very capable of winning it – Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Manchester City. We can't set ourselves objectives. We all want to win the league but right now it's not a realistic objective."

Benítez, who can look forward to Wednesday's home match with the Hungarian champions, Debrecen, in the Champions League, a competition Liverpool have always done well in, is hoping his players will improve their performances now that some of the international pressure has been lifted in qualifying for the World Cup. Reina, Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Torres, Albert Riera, Lucas and Dirk Kuyt are already on their way to South Africa.

"Now that the English and Spanish players have qualified this week it should make things easier for us," Benítez said yesterday. "At least mentally they do not need to worry any more about their qualification. They need to go to internationals now and enjoy the situation, and that will be another plus point for us because there are no distractions with regard to qualifying or not now. They are there."

Benítez, who hopes to have the full-back Fabio Aurélio in his squad for the first time this season after a knee operation, suggested Aquilani was making good progress. "Aquilani has improved, he has progressed in the way that we expected and maybe in two or three weeks we will see him training," Benítez said. "The last scan he had was very good.[/size]

 

[mark1975]

I'm glad he's had a pop at the owners, it's about time one of the players did.

 

[rage]

great. our players are now 'resigned' with a clearly emerging mentality of we can't win it because we haven't got the players when in reality we have improved in one position from last year and hope to have someone comparable in another if he ever gets and stays fit.

i hope we're working on creating that under siege type mentality that managers like mourinho are renowned for. if we can we can use this to our advantage, if not forget it.

 

[MomoWASright]

Where does he say we have no chance?

 

[TheBunnyman]

That is a really annoying interview. How about a bit of belief and defiance? And who are all Man Utd's matchwinners btw? They've just lost Ronaldo and Tevez and replaced them with inferior players. I don't think we're favourites for the league, but I do think we've got a chance - and for one of our own players to say it's 'not a realistic objective' is just fucking pathetic.

 

[keniget]

So is that why the team have been playing like cunts since the start of the season?

Frustration with the transfer window?

He's not said anything that hasn't been repeated on here a million times - that we need more match winners, that we rely on Gerrard and Torres etc. - but I don't know, you kinda like to pretend that the players are immune from thinking in the same way the fans do. I don't really want to hear at the start of the season that they are all resigned to the fact that the squad is lacking.

 

[Rafiagra]

[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=35776.msg942110#msg942110 date=1252741624]
I'm glad he's had a pop at the owners, it's about time one of the players did.
[/quote]

Me too. Pepe is class - probably the one player with a proper set of balls in our squad

 

[gkmacca]

It was only a couple of weeks ago he was saying we could win it. I wish players would learn to shut up. They must realise that now Rafa will be asked to comment on such quotes.

 

[Molbystwin]

It's not a situation to be glad about in any way is it. Pepe having a pop at our owners and confirming that the players were feeling resigned to their ineptitude is one thing but to suggest that it is "unrealistic" to win is frankly defeatist, however much deep down you may agree with him.

There is nothing positive in that interview at all, It was a stupid thing to say even if it may be true and It leaves the manager in a position of having to fend of more questions likely to cause friction with the owners.

Pepe should have kept his own counsel and left having a pop at the owners to the fans.

 

[Bazza The Kopite]

[quote author=rage link=topic=35776.msg942111#msg942111 date=1252742144]
great. our players are now 'resigned' with a clearly emerging mentality of we can't win it because we haven't got the players when in reality we have improved in one position from last year and hope to have someone comparable in another if he ever gets and stays fit.

i hope we're working on creating that under siege type mentality that managers like mourinho are renowned for. if we can we can use this to our advantage, if not forget it.
[/quote]

Still doesn't hide the fact we have a load of poop sitting on the bench every game. Spurs, Arsenal, City, Chelsea and United all have players on the bench who can come on and change a game!

 

[Judge Jules]

[quote author=Molbystwin link=topic=35776.msg942164#msg942164 date=1252748872]
It's not a situation to be glad about in any way is it. Pepe having a pop at our owners and confirming that the players were feeling resigned to their ineptitude is one thing but to suggest that it is "unrealistic" to win is frankly defeatist, however much deep down you may agree with him.

There is nothing positive in that interview at all, It was a stupid thing to say even if it may be true and It leaves the manager in a position of having to fend of more questions likely to cause friction with the owners.

Pepe should have kept his own counsel and left having a pop at the owners to the fans.
[/quote]

If Pepe's been correctly quoted or translated (which I wouldn't necessarily assume), agree 100%.

 

[Molbystwin]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=35776.msg942168#msg942168 date=1252749384]
[quote author=Molbystwin link=topic=35776.msg942164#msg942164 date=1252748872]
It's not a situation to be glad about in any way is it. Pepe having a pop at our owners and confirming that the players were feeling resigned to their ineptitude is one thing but to suggest that it is "unrealistic" to win is frankly defeatist, however much deep down you may agree with him.

There is nothing positive in that interview at all, It was a stupid thing to say even if it may be true and It leaves the manager in a position of having to fend of more questions likely to cause friction with the owners.

Pepe should have kept his own counsel and left having a pop at the owners to the fans.
[/quote]

If Pepe's been correctly quoted or translated (which I wouldn't necessarily assume), agree 100%.
[/quote]

with me or with pepe Jules??


Ahh fuck it ....lets stuff Burnley and get on with satdy

 

[Judge Jules]

With you, mate. Fair question!

You're right about the rest too, of course. Let's frikkin marmalise them.

 

[Molbystwin]

I just dug out the full interview in the Guardian, there is the full interview with sid lowe, to be fair the journo hasn't twisted his words at all, although he did allow himself to interpret Pepe a bit but then Pepe does in fact state at the end the possibility of finishing in the europa cup!!!

Anyway.... who cares...

time to Burgerize Burnley.

 

[Rosco]

Thanks for the link Molby.

Very helpful

 

[iseered]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/12/pepe-reina-liverpool-premier-league


Winning the league is not realistic right now, claims Pepe Reina

Liverpool's goalkeeper wants only to concentrate on the club's next game rather than the end of the season


It was the most short-lived title challenge in history. In eight days, Liverpool lost as many league games as they had in the previous season, their title chances gone in the blink of an eye. Beaten at White Hart Lane, a home defeat to Aston Villa, and they could forget it. A Guardian poll captured the mood by asking if it was all over; almost half of those who voted said that it was. It wasn't even September.

Small wonder Pepe Reina rolls his eyes. Sold by Barcelona after just 30 first-team appearances, he knows about snap judgments but as summary trials go this verdict takes some beating. Over? No, he says, Liverpool's season won't even have started until they face Burnley this afternoon. More importantly, those who have sentenced them have focused on the wrong evidence. Rafael Benítez's side may not win the Premier League – in fact, Reina describes the title as an "unrealistic" objective – but it will not be because they lost to Tottenham Hotspur and Villa.

Those results are a red herring. Last season, Liverpool became the first side to lose just two games and not win the league. Their failings must be sought elsewhere: if Reina talks of "resignation" it is not over early defeat on the pitch but defeat off it. "Everyone has a right to say whatever they want," he concedes. "But judgments should be made at the end, not now.

"It's difficult to take and of course it creates anxiety because it's not normal to have lost twice already. It's hard to come off the back of two defeats and trail to Bolton, a side who aren't exactly virtuosos with the ball. But we're experienced enough to keep our heads, we turned that game round, and what's really not normal isn't the two defeats already this season – what's really not normal is that it was only two defeats in the whole of last season.

"Our opponents weren't poor teams – Villa and Tottenham will be near the top at the end – and what cost us last season weren't the defeats but the draws, struggling at home against teams that closed up. This season the champions will have fewer points, there are more strong teams, and if we can win five or six and lose two or three of the 10 we drew, we'll actually be much better placed."

There is logic in the argument. Liverpool have already won 4-0 against Stoke City, who cost them four points thanks to two goalless draws last campaign. Never mind five or six wins and two or three defeats, four wins and six defeats across those 10 would leave Liverpool better off than last season.

The difficulty, claim Liverpool's critics, is winning those five or six; that there is little evidence of Benítez having found the solution. Xabi Alonso has gone, his replacement, Alberto Aquilani, is not fit and Liverpool's only other major signing was Glen Johnson, a full-back. Some believe the problem is Benítez himself; one player intimated that the relentlessness of a coach who pulled Jamie Carragher aside to criticise his marking as the players celebrated reaching the 2005 European Cup final is tiring the squad.

Put that to Reina, though, and the response is swift. "Rafa is very demanding but the player that grows tired of having demands made upon him no longer deserves to play for Liverpool. We're there to win things. And by signing Johnson, Rafa was looking for a Dani Alves figure, someone to add depth to our attacks, who can overlap and go beyond defences – someone to unlock those games when we couldn't find a way through."

As for Alonso, there's a sigh. "Whenever you lose, the best players are the ones who aren't playing," Reina says. "I admire Xabi and he achieved a huge amount here but he's gone and I don't want to talk about him any more. To be able to play for Real Madrid is a unique opportunity and his decision is perfectly justified. It's rare for a player to be at the same club for 10 or 12 years, especially a foreigner. It's hard for a Spaniard to say no to Madrid or Barcelona."

A Spaniard like Reina, for example? "I hope to be here for the long haul. Liverpool is special. When things go well, it's a phenomenal club and when things go badly it's not as bad as others."

Trouble is, that's the point. There's no disguising that things are going badly. For all the bullishness about Liverpool's short-term start, when Reina speaks there is a sneaking pessimism about their long-term future. Early defeats are not the cause, something deeper is. As the Spaniard analyses the draws that cost his side dear, one theme keeps returning: what Liverpool lacked. A season later they still lack them.

"Teams like Manchester United have lots of players who can tip the balance; we haven't got the individuals," he says. "There are games that get congested and we haven't got the vision other sides boast. Chelsea have Didier Drogba who can bring down any ball."

Johnson's arrival is a palliative but Liverpool have still not bought the creativity they require. The dependency on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres remains acute. "That is a problem," Reina admits. "We have to hope that they don't get injured because they're fundamental."

It is, in short, all about the money. The nagging feeling remains that Benítez's side have not progressed. And with the manager able to spend just £1.5m of the £10m profit he made on selling Alonso and buying Aquilani, the tension and frustration surely grows.

"There isn't frustration, there's resignation," Reina says. "The buying power of clubs is very different. You can't sign players if you don't have money and if there is no money, that's it. As a player, there's nothing you can do. We know what's in the squad; we can't do anything about it. All we can do is roll up our sleeves, work hard and try to win matches.

"It would be good if the owners made an effort economically, if they pushed. It would be lovely if we could find ourselves in an economic position where we can bring players in and build a squad that can compete with other sides. But it's up to the owners to try to bring players in, not us. It would be nice if we had enough money to build a squad that can compete with Chelsea, for example.

"Can we win the league? I think so but there are other teams that are very capable of winning it – Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Manchester City. We can't set ourselves objectives. We all want to win the league but right now it's not a realistic objective. Right now, all we can do is beat Burnley and keep winning. Then we'll have time to see if the objective is the league, the Champions League slots or a Uefa Cup [Europa League] place."

 

[gkmacca]

Maybe it's because these players are part of that generation that finds it unbearable to keep any thoughts to themselves. If they're not texting or on the phone they're getting banalities tattooed on their bodies. Maybe that's why they can't just avoid talking to the press in a vomit of verbiage every other day. But they should shut up and play and leave the talking to the management.

 

[Rafiagra]

[quote author=gkmacca link=topic=35776.msg942225#msg942225 date=1252755069]
Maybe it's because these players are part of that generation that finds it unbearable to keep any thoughts to themselves. If they're not texting or on the phone they're getting banalities tattooed on their bodies. Maybe that's why they can't just avoid talking to the press in a vomit of verbiage every other day. But they should shut up and play and leave the talking to the management.
[/quote]

Too right

 

[FoxForceFive]

does he not say we can win it but realistically we wont cos we've not enough strength in depth?

It's true, but not want you want players saying in public.

 

[keniget]

If this is how many of the squad feel, could we end up seeing more players follow Alonso out of the club?

 

[Stulikesdrums]

If the Amercians are selling off whatever they can for cash, then I Wouldn't be surprised if we see some established first team players leave the club. Normally I try to stay optimistic but the club is on its arse right now and it is depressing me.

 

[TheBunnyman]

Having read the full interview, I take back what I said earlier. Sid Lowe speaks Spanish, and I get the feeling this was a long, one-to-one interview, rather than a press conference (where players are more on their guard) and that Pepe was just being honest. I also suspect there's a slight mistranslation in the crucial last paragraph. In that context, it looks like his point was that there's no point thinking about winning the league *right now* because we've got six points from four games and what we need to do is put a run of wins together. That's fair enough - it's just the Guardian that's made it look like a defeatist line.

 

[Squiggles]

[quote author=keniget link=topic=35776.msg942246#msg942246 date=1252759110]
If this is how many of the squad feel, could we end up seeing more players follow Alonso out of the club?
[/quote]

Depends how fertile they are.

 

[cochyn]

[quote author=FoxForceFive link=topic=35776.msg942232#msg942232 date=1252756823]
does he not say we can win it but realistically we wont cos we've not enough strength in depth?

It's true, but not want you want players saying in public.
[/quote]

i think what he says is ok, maybe not in public fine, but the players should concentrate on winning the next game each week. forget the further targets, just the next game and no more!!

 

[Roger REDerer]

Pepe is simply being objective unlike many of you blind optimists.

Not once did he say or give the impression that he's gonna throw in the towel.

On the contrary, he's trying to deflect all focus on challenging for the title into winning the next game. Get back to basics. Sometimes when our minds are so far away and our egos so inflated, it takes someone calm and wise with a bit of perspective to bring our arses back down to earth.

That person in this case may perhaps turn out to be Pepe.

 

[Molbystwin]

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=35776.msg942200#msg942200 date=1252751278]
Thanks for the link Molby.

Very helpful
[/quote]

wasnt hard to find you Yank loving rafa hater you... 😉

 

[Molbystwin]

Having watched us yesterday we seemed to be looking pretty damn good again and I found it quite amusing reading the papers this morning how the press almost squirmed in light of Pepe's interview.

The unrealistic Liverpool, playing like challengers.

Maybe having all the negatives already announced for them from inside our own camp has done us a weird favour.

Unrealistic not being impossible of course.

Some of Yossis play and Gerrards sheer verve were genuinely thrilling to watch, I noted also the press describing Chelsea's start as perfect, unusual given the scrappy way they got the points yesterday. Arsenal playing well yet collapsing is nothing new nor Spurs flattering to decieve either. United were clinical yesterday, by far their best performance.

I'm not saying I enjoyed reading what Pepe said, I don't think the comments were particularly well placed, but after such a good performance maybe they have done us a favour in a perverse kind of way, because having already talked ourselves down the press were left reaching for what to write.....Oh how about Liverpool absolutely stuffed the team in front of them.

As for mentioning delusional Liverpool hopes.... thats sooo old.

Lets see if we can keep the fuckers shut up for a while until we build up some more momentum, let them swoon over Chelsea and their "perfect" start... champions elect dontya know...or rave about bad boy Adebayor (man citys next disaster will be enormous you can just smell it!)

Lets let them ignore Liverpool, we CANT possibly wn it, said so ourselves even... anyway what with England about to romp to the final under Jesus Capello....

thanks Pepe your interview worked a treat, the only talking left we can do is on the pitch now.

As it should be.

 

[Ryan]

Why is Oncy not here posting in big CAPITAL LETTERS ahouting at Pepe for not being a "fucking believer"?!

Ha!

 

[Mersey86]

[quote author=gkmacca link=topic=35776.msg942225#msg942225 date=1252755069]
Maybe it's because these players are part of that generation that finds it unbearable to keep any thoughts to themselves. If they're not texting or on the phone they're getting banalities tattooed on their bodies. Maybe that's why they can't just avoid talking to the press in a vomit of verbiage every other day. But they should shut up and play and leave the talking to the management.
[/quote]
And of course the fans get to spout masses of vomit on a hitherto unparalleled scale thanks to the internet. Its the society we live in - and the results of 24*7 and the prominence of the Premier League in British life.
Bunnyman maybe gives a fairer perspective on the seemingly negative interview. I like Pepe a lot and I think at least we can see here that he has a big desire to win things with Liverpool.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Wow so some of us are real fans afterall even if we don't believe we can win the league this year.