Saturday Fourball

Got out yesterday, despite the fairly terrible weather, to play 18 holes. Tees off at 8.40 and had to to contend with rain for the first 7 holes. But by the time we hit off on 8 it had dried up and remained rain free for the rest of our round.

Myself (16) and Ian (6) V Ronan (8) and Adrian (2). With not alot of golf played lately the odds were very much stacked against us. We had a great start when I stitched my second to about 8 feet, and while I missed the birdie put, the par with a shot was good enough to win the hole. With the second halved in pars, we won the third thanks to a birdie from Ian. We went on to loose the 4th and half the rest of the front nine leaving us 1 up at the turn - and also winning the first fiver.

We lost the tenth only to win the 11th and regain our narrow lead. Ronan had done well to get a par on the 11th after finding a bit of trouble off the tee. I'd had reasonably decent tee shot and had left my second just short of the front of the green. I went for a bump and run with my 8 iron but didn't quite hit it hard enough. I'd left myself a nasty 12 footer with a good bit of left to right in it. Ronan looked on in horror as in it rolled. With a shot it was good enough for the win.

It went back and forth until the lads took the lead on the 16th. After being up for most of the round we were now looking like we could be bet. On the 17th a par for Ian halved the hole and brought us to the 18th still alive.

All four of us hit, probably, our best drives of the day. All four were is great positions for their second. I was up first and pitched on. Over hit it slightly and it ran about 15 feet passed the hole. Not too bad considering I had a shot on this hole too. Ronan hit his in and it went short and right - but not much. He finished in the first cut about 10 feet from the pin. Ian hit his in and left it about 6 feet right of the hole. Great shot under pressure. Considering that Adrian was 1 under so far to think that we were still alive on the 18th green was a good achievement. He hit his in - came down about a foot from the pin but didn't check and ran about 20 feet passed.
I rolled my put up and narrowly missed the birdie but had hit it a little too hard. Ran about 5 feet passed. Ronan's put scrapped the edge of the cup but didn't drop - gimme par. Adrian's put was right on line but stopped about a foot short. Another gimme par. We had two puts to win the hole and level the match. Ian was up first. Hw didn't dwell on it too long. He decided on his line and hit it. In it rolled. I had the pressure free put and in it rolled too. Match halved.

Great result for us and very enjoyable day on the course.

Golfing Again

Got out for a few holes at the weekend. I really enjoyed playing. I've only managed to get out a few times since last September with the house move, weather and spending time with Cillian.

Only managed to get 9 in as the weather when we were heading out was pretty atrocious. Because it was so bad we started on the 10th but by the time we'd got to the 11th it had eased up a fair bit.

Didn't go too bad. Bogied the 10th, 11th. Doubled the 12th after knocking first ball out of bounds. Got another bogie on the 13th, parred the 14th, doubled the 15th, parred the 16th and 17th and finished with a bogie on the 18th. 8 over for the 9 holes so net level par.

Playing again next Saturday morning so am going to try and hit the range a couple of time before then.

Going Alright Again.....

After my last post I really didn't know what to think about Rafa. I would be known for my unrelenting loyalty to Liverpool regardless of whether it might actually be the case. I was one of the people who though Diouf was alright, I thought that Cisse would come good. I still think that if Kewell gets enough games under his belt he might actually get back to the player he was for Leeds. So for me to be doubting Rafa, even slightly, I wasn't sure where I was.

But this evening I think we're back on track. I put this down mainly to the fact that he hasn't changed the team much. The core has stayed. I still think he changes it too much overall, but he left Gerrard and Torres in the team. And we have reaped the rewards. We're 2 up against Inter, and have 4 league wins on the trot in the bag.

Long may it continue.

What to do???

Where has it all gone wrong? Has it gone wrong? I simply don't know what side of the line I stand on.

Rafa's arrival was heralded as the start of the return to the old days. Now I'm not saying that we should be winning title after title by now but we should be competing a hell of a lot more. Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are them teams we need to be challenging - not Everton, Man City & Villa. But that's where we find ourselves.
It's hard know who to blame - Rafa, the new owners or the players themselves. The new owners obviously have an affect on the team. There loose comments can not have done much for morale at the club - but they have stumped up the cash for the players Rafa wanted. They have just sanctioned the £18m signing of Mascherano. But I do think the sooner they go the better. It' a pity Moores didn't have the cash to move the club along. There was a good chairman.

The players have to stand up and start to perform like we know they can. They've made a start - let's see if they can continue it.

I'm starting to loose faith with Rafa. I have a lot of faith in him but it is starting to diminish. While I admire him for sticking to his beliefs that squad rotation is the way to go he has to be able to see that Liverpool's best runs all occur when the team stays the same for as long as possible. I know keeping so many top players happy is tough but playing them for the sake of it is wrong. For me, the back 5 should remain the same. Pick your best 5 and let them play.
Trying to keep the 4 central midfielders happy is, in my opinion, Rafa's biggest problem. Obviously Gerrard is first name on every teamsheet. Changing the team to suit the others has cost us valuable points this season. I think Alonso should play. Mascherano and Alonso are of a similar type but I think Alonso uses the ball better. He can also put in a tackle as good as the Argie. Lucas is a talented player but ahead of the other three - I think not.

As long as Torres starts we will never do too bad up top but again I think he needs to decide who partners him and let them at it. The wingers, I suppose, are the most interchangeable but how can a player remain in good form if he plays well one week and then is dropped for the next game.

Rafa has to sort it out. Managing a top team is not easy - but if Liverpool don't improve dramatically by the end of the season then it most likely something he won't have to worry about.