C’mon Rafa – do one

Rafa, Rafa, Rafa. Where did it all go wrong?

If I knew the answer to that I could make millions, but here are a couple of pointers.

1. Zonal marking – should’ve been binned ages ago. The players have never been comfortable with it. I mean, how do you mark a space? Where does a zone start and finish? It’s clear that the team is conceding far too many soft goals, especially this season. Can you imagine Alan Hansen trying to mark an area? He made a name for himself as calmness personified. A Scottish Bobby Moore. He was always a step ahead of the rest, nipping in to nick the ball away from the striker. An amazing reader of the game. The system has turned Jamie Carragher into a nervous wreck.

2. Ryan Babel – joined amid much hype but has not developed and if anything, he’s going backwards. What was the point of signing one of Holland’s hottest properties and sticking him on the bench week in, week out? If Arsenal had signed him, Arsene Wenger would have turned him into a world-beater by now.