Liverpool FC Forum

[Ciggy]

From The Sunday Times May 2, 2010

Broken promises forcing me out, says RafaJonathan Northcroft, Football Correspondent

RAFAEL BENITEZ has prepared the way for an exit to Juventus by telling Liverpool fans why he feels he can no longer work at Anfield. He suggests that broken promises over the budget and alterations to the club’s power structure have made his job impossible.

“I decided to sign an extension because the squad was good and the money could be there,” Benitez said. “At the end, things changed. We’ve had a bad season and hopefully things will be different in the future, but at the moment I can’t talk about the future because I don’t know what’s going on.

“It’s not a question of money,” he added, referring to his Pounds 5m-a-year salary, which Juventus are willing to match. “I said no to massive offers. I decided to stay under some conditions which have changed.”

Benitez was speaking ahead of this afternoon’s crunch game against Chelsea, which could be his final game in charge at Anfield. Juventus are favourites but AC Milan could join the race for his services.

Similar issues six years ago were what caused Benitez to quit Valencia for Anfield. “I left Valencia because the conditions changed,” he recalled.

He has flirted with other clubs several times since joining Liverpool in 2004 but never gone so far down the road towards joining one. But his superiors at Anfield are understood to have grown tired of his continual complaints and stories linking him with other jobs.

His complaints are about transfer spending — despite paying Pounds 40m for Glen Johnson, Alberto Aquilani and Sotirios Kyrgiakos last summer — and the command chain at Anfield. When he signed his deal last year, its terms effectively made Benitez Liverpool’s biggest power-broker after the club’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, but he has seen his influence diluted by the arrivals of chief executive Christian Purslow and Martin Broughton, appointed chairman a fortnight ago.

Roy Hodgson and Martin O’Neill would be targets to succeed him.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol....976.ece

Purslow is a liar along with his sidekicks, he blatently lied about the transfer kity in the Echo and to SOS the money that was available went on contract extentions and not new players.  He said all the money went on new players when it clearly did NOT !!!!

Do you trust this man or our CEO who is a Chelsea fan? Why is a Chelsea fan running our club? You couldnt make it up whats happened to my beloved club    Im so down depressed and upset.  David Moores what have you done?

A gang of liars and deceitfull people are now running Liverpool F.C.

[boodiddy1]

Its not all bad. Its been written by Bascombe! That say's everything. Rafa is starting to manipulate the fans again. I aint falling for it this time. He bought johnson and aquillani for 38m. They weren't priorities. He's blown too much on average quality. Time's up im afraid. We need a new boss and new direction. KIng Kenny for a season to steady the juggernaught and then someone more long term.

[Ciggy]

Its not all bad. Its been written by Bascombe!

Its from The Times I never post NOTW stuff on here !!!!

If you believe that we have paid 20 million for Aqualini & 18 million to Portsmouth for Johnson think again.

This is not another Rafa debate btw our current board are liars and they can stick Woy Hodgeson and MON up their @rses they are BOTH worst managers than Rafa for starters !!!!

[leep33]

It looks like he will be gone, at least we should get some compensation from Juventus for him!! As for Purslow and Broughton i would imagine once we get new owners they will be gone.

[shawnk]

I thought this is a thread about Rafa's broken promise of fourth place.

[Thewaykokid]

I for one will be a very worried man when rafa leaves, less because of his manigerial impact and moreso on the serious squad changes that could occur, a mass exodus of players leaving Liverpool in the summer, especially Torres. Think we're in for a terrible summer 

[roberto green]

The only way we can replace rafa is replacing him with Mouriniho, forget O'neil if we get him it will be like when Steve Mcclaren got the England you just know it will end in disaster.

I wish it was down to Rafa but it isn't and all those doubters will find that out when we get someone like mon as our manager

[RedSi35]

Parry, Moores, purslow, hicks, gillete and now broughton have been peddling lies since the takeover and they have dragged this great club into the gutter.

We are now a laughing stock

[lakes10]

Bye Bye Rafa

you say its not about money but your talking balls, you took 59 players to our club and yet will still not have a top 4 team, you gave us your word that we would get into the top 4 this year and we have not, you let some of our best players go.

you spent over 250mil of the clubs assets and yet its 4 years since we won anything.

[Igor Zidane]

Well the truth is starting to come out Lynds , what rafa has been fighting against ever since the two 's took over . He's turned into an office manager rather than a football manager . No wonder we've gone backwards . Hey but those with the agaenda against him , and those that want to re-write history will not be @rsed anyway . The simple fact of the matter is , according to them Rafa has had £250 million to spend and he's failed to win us the league . It's as black and white as that , no extenuating circumstances , no backstabbing or agenda's from within the club . No it's all down to Rafa i'm afraid lynds . Well they have there way and we'll see what the future brings , wonder if the grass will be greener . Something tells me the heartache isn't over yet , but lets get our priorities right first and get rid of the one man who thought anything of the fans . Will be very interesting when the book comes out .

[laza]

Very sad time , which  I pretty sure  will look in a couple of seasons when all hype, hubris and BS falls away, even worse

[dawson99]

theres too many threads which altho start off nice all end up the same way. lets wait for the post match interview before the pros/antis kill each other'?

[SouthCoastShankly]

I there's me thinking this thread was about Rafa's promise to finish fourth...

[Paul C]

Well from the comments Rafa made about this situation being the same as at Valencia it doesn't look very promising for the Rafa fanboy

[shabelle50]

I will have mixed feelings if Benitez goes, which I think he is probably about 80 per cent certain to do now because he knows he can't turn it round without at least £50-£80 million this summer, which is why he made the statement. He's been better overall than Houllier but failed because of the buys he made in the first three seasons. If his buys overall had been like the've been since 07 we'd have won the league at least once under him by now. It's time for a change but I'm not convinced by Hodgson. He's done well at Blackburn but what about at Blackburn in the late 90s? They went down because his mistakes. He's too old as well. It it has to be Dalglish temporarily then ok. Personally I'd be happy with Roy Evans for a couple of years at least we'd be playing the football we played in the mid 90s. Much better than the tosh we've had this year under Rafa.