Liverpool FC Forum

[phil_cool]

One thing that never seems to get a mention is the football we play under Rafa is not very attractive these days. I think we have too many players that just aren't comfortable on the ball, and who have such a poor first touch that while we may keep a healthy possession ratio, it doesn't lend itself to attractive and flowing football. Our style has become quite direct with little subtlety or variety which I feel has been partly responsible not only for our poor run of form but also our over-reliance on Torres and Gerrard to get the goals.

[bigmick]

One thing that never seems to get a mention is the football we play under Rafa is not very attractive these days. I think we have too many players that just aren't comfortable on the ball, and who have such a poor first touch that while we may keep a healthy possession ratio, it doesn't lend itself to attractive and flowing football. Our style has become quite direct with little subtlety or variety which I feel has been partly responsible not only for our poor run of form but also our over-reliance on Torres and Gerrard to get the goals.

I think you make a fair point Phil, but I think there are mitigating circumstances for our "style" at the moment, or arguably lack thereof.

From the first fifteen minutes I've seen of Aquilani for instance, I think it's fair to say that if we can get him fit, on the pitch and acclimatised, he is going to add a fair bit to our style. Equally, Johnson adds a lot ot our fluency and potency when he plays, simply because he does all the things which Kuyt doesn't down the right. On the left, I very much feel that Riera gives us a balance which we don't get with anyone else in the squad so we've got that to look forward to as well.

Allied to all of that, we have lost matches and confidence so players just take another touch, don't quite fizz it with the same conviction, don't commit to the spaces quite so early.

My guess is that if you stick Aquilani in for Lucas, Riera down the left and johnson at right back we'll look a lot more cohesive and fluent, and once we've won a couple of matches we'll look like a good side again.

I've done something of a first here though in that I've derailed a thread about the manager by talking about things other than the manager, so I'll leave it there.

[phil_cool]

I agree we havent been helped by injuries, but even when at full strength we have an over- reliance on fast breakaway football rather than breaking teams down with the variety and subtlety of our passing. Once our saviour 'Jesus' Aquilani is fit all our problems will disappear as if by some miracle?

[bigmick]

I agree we havent been helped by injuries, but even when at full strength we have an over- reliance on fast breakaway football rather than breaking teams down with the variety and subtlety of our passing. Once our saviour 'Jesus' Aquilani is fit all our problems will disappear as if by some miracle?

No I certainly don't think they'll disappear mate, no. I think they'll be less obvious, but they won't cease to be there.

the only two teams in the Premiership currently though who move it around with real panache and open teams up are Chelsea and obviously Arsenal. Both of those two outfits have the mobility, trickery and fluency of movement to create gaps with the deftness of pass, the subtle use of space etc. I don't think we're ever going to be that kind of team simply because of the players we have at our disposal. It's very difficult to imagine a Kuyt for instance figuring in either of those teams AND THATS NOT BECAUSE I'M SLAGGING HIM OFF ITS JUST THAT HE'S NOT THAT TYPE OF PLAYER (I put that in not for you, but some people get a bit over protective if you mention Dirk), while Lucas and Masherano are hardly blessed with the deftest of touch.

Both Gerrard and Torres are players who kind of need others to stay out of their way a bit as they burst from pocket to pocket, and I just don't see us developing as that kind of team. Rafa has always favoured endeavour over elaboration anyway, so while I do expect us to be much "prettier" once players come back, we certainly won't start playing like Chelsea and Arsenal IMHO. In that sense, if it is a problem then it certainly won't be solved by Aquilani playing, no.

[Sir Roger]

I agree we havent been helped by injuries, but even when at full strength we have an over- reliance on fast breakaway football rather than breaking teams down with the variety and subtlety of our passing. Once our saviour 'Jesus' Aquilani is fit all our problems will disappear as if by some miracle?

No I certainly don't think they'll disappear mate, no. I think they'll be less obvious, but they won't cease to be there.

the only two teams in the Premiership currently though who move it around with real panache and open teams up are Chelsea and obviously Arsenal. Both of those two outfits have the mobility, trickery and fluency of movement to create gaps with the deftness of pass, the subtle use of space etc. I don't think we're ever going to be that kind of team simply because of the players we have at our disposal. It's very difficult to imagine a Kuyt for instance figuring in either of those teams AND THATS NOT BECAUSE I'M SLAGGING HIM OFF ITS JUST THAT HE'S NOT THAT TYPE OF PLAYER (I put that in not for you, but some people get a bit over protective if you mention Dirk), while Lucas and Masherano are hardly blessed with the deftest of touch.

Both Gerrard and Torres are players who kind of need others to stay out of their way a bit as they burst from pocket to pocket, and I just don't see us developing as that kind of team. Rafa has always favoured endeavour over elaboration anyway, so while I do expect us to be much "prettier" once players come back, we certainly won't start playing like Chelsea and Arsenal IMHO. In that sense, if it is a problem then it certainly won't be solved by Aquilani playing, no.

"AND THATS NOT BECAUSE I'M SLAGGING HIM OFF ITS JUST THAT HE'S NOT THAT TYPE OF PLAYER"

Haha
What type of player is he then...?

[eonerf]

SIGNINGS - 3.5/5

I would have given him a 4 if it wasn't for some of the flops that he signed. Other than that he's made some great signings such as Torres, Alonso, Reina, Agger and Masherano. Some good-decent ones such as Kuyt, Garcia, Riera, Johnson, Crouch, Auerlio, Skrtel, Sissoko, Bellamy, Arbeloa and Pennant. 

SQUAD - 3/5

Rafa's biggest problem is that he probably should of tried more to keep some of our ex-players such as Alonso, Hyypia, Crouch, Keane Bellamy, Sissoko and Pennant. While it's true that the likes of Keane, Bellamy and Pennant weren't exactly great for Liverpool, I still think that they would offer more to the squad than Voronin and Babel. I know Rafa didn't exactly want Hyypia, Alonso and Crouch to leave but I do think that those departures were probably a result of some regrettable man-management issues. Otherwise, I'd say Rafa would have had a great sqaud if things had turned out differently.

TACTICS - 4/5

His strongest area imo. Rafa might get it wrong at times but when he's got a good gameplan there have been some magical moments against the likes of Man U, Real, Barca, Juventus Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa (a bit out of place but that 5-0 victory was simply terrific!).

It's also a shame about Alonso's departure as at the 2nd half of last season Rafa came up with the terrific 4-2-3-1 formation. Hopefully Aquilani can come in fit in the formation.

SUBSTITUTIONS - 3/5

Sometimes great, sometimes poor. I don't blame for recently taken off Torres as I would do the same but there have been times in the past when he should have put on subs earlier than the 60th min mark.

He has made some terrific subs however with even Babel rising to the fore on a few occasions (most noticibly last season against Man U ).

PRIORITISATION - 3/5

I can't really complain about this a lot but I do think that in the past he has made mistakes such as not playing his strongest side against Barnsley in the FA Cup. He should try to do what he did last season in the FA Cup and play a strong team even agaisnt Championship sides.

MEDIA RELATIONS - 2/5

The media doesn't really like him for one reason or another which isn't really his fault since they're mostly apart from a few like Oliver Holt.

[made in UK]

It is a good thread and a good way to go about analysing Rafa. The timing of it being posted, could of been on a more neutral playing ground to gain a more objective discussion. In other words, say this kind of thread had been posted up straight after our CL win in 2005. I'd hazard a good guess that the analysing of Rafa then would of been full of appraisal towards our manager. Going from one extreme to the other and in this current case of uncertainty surrounding Rafa's ability it will certainly cloud any kind of objective opinions given. I will offer my opinions to the board but it should be noted that they're not going to be as objective as maybe they should be given the timing of this thread and human nature.

Signings 3-For a club the size of Liverpool I'd say Rafa's signings have been average on the whole, swaying probably more on the pendulum to good than dissapointing. Many of his earlier signings were core to our re-building process thus making them very good if not excellent signings like Reina, Garcia and Alonso. Later on he signed the likes of Kuyt, Crouch, Bellamy, Morientes (who never worked out), Sissoko, Arbeloa, Masherano and Torres. That list of players is pretty exceptional and Rafa's signing of them were very good. After the likes of Sissoko, Crouch and Bellamy were brought they became surplus to requirement pretty quickly and surprisingly. The initial siging of these players was very good but how Rafa dealt with them after that is open to critical suggestion.

Most of Rafa's key buys have been very good the only real one he blundered on was Robbie Keane and again that could be further discussed on how he handled the player once he brought him in. I expected Keane to do well here at Liverpool he is not a bad player you know but like Sissoko, Bellamy and Crouch he became surplus pretty quickly. So it could be intepreted that Rafa was wrong to sign him in the first place or he handled Keane wrong once he was signed.

After the key signings we have the current periphial players like Babel, Lucas, Dossena, N'gog, Voronin as oppossed to Pellegrino, Kromkamp, Jose and other sub-standard players of earlier days. This for me is where Rafa has dipped in the signings department, he looked for quantity and options as oppossed to quality and specialists. For instance he shelled out 11m on Babel and tried to use him as a round peg to fill a square hole in out on the wing. The same could be said of Lucas who came as an attacking box to box player from Brazil and has been moulded from that into a holding midfielder, big money has been spent on trial and error and it hasn't paid off!

In all he has spent well on the team but poorly on the squad.


Tactics 3-For the most part of his time here at Liverpool I think Rafa's had one tactic for two occassions. This tactic primarily suites European football, especially for playing at places like the camp Nou or the San sero. Infact its been an exceptional tactic for the Reds in Europe. Unfortunately though it must be hard to shake off this tactic that has served us so well in Europe and expect a more open and cavalier approach domestically. This counter-attacking/hard working unit exhibits an achilles heel in the bread and butter football world of the Prem. As a result of this I think Rafa has finally acknowledged this style of football does not help us beat teams like Hull at home. During the summer he went out and bought Glenn Johnson (who I think is a really good player) to help balance the difference between defence and attack. Unfortunately Rafa is now caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as he has tried to rectify this issue. This has left the ageing Carragher exposed an awful lot and a player who in my own opinion who has come under alot of critisims because of the other back three. Johnson maruades forward to offer more threat as Kuyt on his own offers very little infront of him. Then you have the inexperienced and positionally liable Insua at fullback, while Skertel, Agger and the Grock have been chopped and changed at various stages of the season already. This doesn't help auld Carra. Of course Rafa cannot be blamed for legitamite injuries and these have been forced upon him.

Anyway back to his tactics, I think it has taken Rafa a good few years to acknowledge that his 'European style' of football does not really work in England. It has been painful to watch over the recent years as we have huffed and puffed to beat the likes of Hull, Bolton and Stoke at home. He has moved Xabi Alonso on and brought in Aquailani and I think this is a positive step in finding the right balance between defence and attack. By all accounts the Italian has more in his locker when going forward and may help  break stubborn defences down, same with Johnson on the right.

Rafa's formations do not bother me whether we play our current 4-2-3-1 formation or the more orthadox 4-4-2 I am content with either. Obviously though it depends on the personal we use and this goes back to his signings. I think we should give him credit for at least trying to resolve our domestic problems with the signings of Johnson and Aquilani for now.

Marking system I have no problem with it has been excellent for us in years go by and has worked. It does have its flaws but so does man to man marking. Again the personel using the zonal marking system is more in question than the system itself and again this goes back to signings.

In game management would surely add substitutions in to that catergory. Yes his substitutions frustrate me I'm only speculating here but it certainly looks sometimes his substitutions are way of saying look at me, look how clever I am!. Even though this is probably not the case it can appear that way, as some of his decisons and the predictability of them are shocking. In the bigger scheme of things I don't think subsitutions should be such a focal point of discussion like they are with Liverpool supporters. In otherwords if Rafa made more seemingly logical substitutions as oppossed to perplexing ones substitutions wouldn't or shouldn't be highlighted as an area of analysis.

For Europe his tactics are 5 for the prem a 3. Considering we play the bulk of our games in a season in England as oppossed to Europe on the whole I think Rafa is about a 3 with his tactics. If he can get this current side to gel with the likes of Aqualini coming in he may improve on that particular stat.

Prioritisation 3 Because of his tactics in Europe I think it has directly asked the question of does Rafa prioritise the CL over the PL?. I firmly believed two or three years ago that he did, rotating a blo.ody good side on a Wednesday night to a team of periphial underachievers come the weekend. The team selections spoke for themselves never mind the results. As time as gone on though I think Rafa has tried to put that notion to bed, the one where he fancies the CL more than the PL. He has taken his time to culturally adjust and adapt to English ways and his stubborn persona has slowed this assimilation process down I feel.

Media relations 4 I don't know about anyone else but I couldn't really give a to$$ about his media relations. Well I could a little, but I don't think it has too much baring on our results. I like his politeness, humbleness and so on which is nice to see infact. He gave certain refs food for thought prior to Man. U matches which I think is really good. He spoke about the "fact" when talking about Fergie; which looking back on was an admirable statement to make. I believe he made those comments in the belief that he could help his team pip Man U to the title. I believe he wouldn't of said those words had he not had faith in his own players, so full credit to him there.

[killerp]

[made in UK]

Rafael Benitez: I can walk through Anfield storm

November can be grim on Merseyside. It is barely past lunchtime and darkness is falling nearly as heavily as the rain. There is a gloom around Liverpool’s academy in Kirkby that mirrors the state of the club.

The team are seventh in the Barclays Premier League after five defeats in 12 games — they lost just twice last season — and on the verge of an exit from the Champions League. The mood is downbeat.

Enter Rafael Benítez and in an instant the academy staff are bathing in a little Spanish sunshine. Beaming a huge smile, he sweeps out of the rain in a flurry of backslaps, handshakes and hugs. This is no icy analyst. He is relaxed, in casual trousers and a V-necked pullover, and at ease with his world.

The acres of critical newsprint, the hours of Rafa-bashing on the phone-ins, have not shaken his confidence. He sits in an office, with its balcony overlooking the windswept training pitches, like a man secure about his domain.
Related Links

    * Benítez: sell Torres and I quit Liverpool

    * Ferguson is finally forced to face facts

But football clubs never sit still. They are either moving forwards or sliding backwards. Which direction are Liverpool heading? Benítez is not backwards about coming forward.

“In 2004 the squad was worth, what, £100 million? Now perhaps we have one player worth that,” he says. “The whole squad? Maybe £250 million.

“The club was nearly sold for £85 million five years ago. Now the price is £500 million. We must be doing something right.

“We are much better now than we were three or four years ago in every single thing — in the commercial department, the marketing department, in football.

“The majority of the fans, especially the ones who go to the stadium, realise the team is working and improving, and is better than before. To achieve 86 points in the league last season is part of the progression. The direction of the club is right. But everyone wants to win and we are disappointed when we don’t win any game or any trophy.”

The poor start to the season has brought a maelstrom of criticism, but Benítez feels that few observers understand the full scale of the job at Anfield.

His tenure in the manager’s chair has been played out against a backdrop of behind-the-scenes turmoil. Financial problems and a lack of support from senior club officials have hampered his efforts. The irony is that the recent blip in form has come during the most stable period of his 5½-year term.

A new five-year contract, signed in February, gave the Spaniard control over the academy and the appointment of Christian Purslow as chief executive in the summer provided backup in the boardroom.

This has not always been the case. Two years ago, George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, the owners, approached Jürgen Klinsmann about the possibility of replacing Benítez. Even before that, the manager’s relationship with Rick Parry, the former chief executive, was uneasy. Parry’s conservative nature clashed with Benítez’s aggressive attitude in the transfer market and many of the top targets went unsigned.

“You prepare your list of players and have No 1 target, No 2, then the third one,” Benítez says. “If you lose the first one, normally they’ve signed for another English club. If you lose them to your rivals, it’s worse. Every year you have to work very hard to be ready and sometimes another team gets there first. It is frustrating.”

That frustration is underlined every time Gareth Barry, Florent Malouda or Nemanja Vidic turn out against Liverpool, but the loss of Aaron Ramsey to Arsenal is particularly galling.

Benítez had agreed a deal to sign the talented young midfield player from Cardiff City for a £1.5m initial fee, with a similar amount to follow, but the transaction stalled at board level before Arsenal came in with a £5m bid.

The emphasis on youthful talent is no surprise. “When I arrived we had a lot of players we needed to change,” Benítez says. “We had to replace these players year on year. The first team were bad and it was the worse for the reserves.

“So we had to buy fringe players and take a gamble. Some of these players have been good and some not good enough for us. It’s a risk you have to accept when you have not got too much money available. The problem started at the academy. We weren’t producing players.”

The production line that served up Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher had ground to a halt. Steve Heighway, the academy director, was replaced by Frank McParland and Benítez took a hands-on role.

“This is the first year of my second five years and the first time I can have some influence in the academy,” he says. “We are trying to build something and leave a legacy for the future.

“When we talk about the young players we’ve brought in, the cost for them is about £5m. Players like Gulacsi, Pacheco, Ayala, Ngog, Insúa. The value of Insúa in the marketplace now would pay for all the signing of the young players in the last five years. We had to build foundations so we can win in the future.” The shortage of young Scousers coming through the ranks aggravates the manager, however.

“I want to see the academy producing local players,” Benítez says. “We didn’t produce too many so we had to look elsewhere to be able to find the new generation of players that will be at the heart of the team and the club. We need local players.”

A shrew move was to bring back Kenny Dalglish to assist at Kirkby. The iconic former player and manager is performing a number of roles and the manager is delighted to have him involved. “He was a good signing, no?” Benítez says with a twinkle.

“He is someone who knows the club, has a very good mentality and is strong enough mentally to defend the club as an ambassador. With his role in the academy, he attracts players.”

But Benítez knows how important it is to start winning soon. Will his team bounce back and earn a Champions League place at the end of the season? “I have a lot of confidence we will finish in the top four,” he says. “But my target is the next game. It is easier for me to give confidence to the players if we get three points against Manchester City [on Saturday].”

Benítez is notorious for his long working hours and attention to detail, so how does he cope with defeat? “When you lose or draw you go home disappointed,” he says. “But you can’t get too low because it is important to me to go to Melwood, be strong and pick up the players.

“I have a lot of confidence and that gets bigger when I talk to fans. They say, ‘Keep going, keep smiling’. Can we be better? Yes. We will be better.”

And then he is ready to go. In the foyer, one of the boys’ teams are coming in from the rain. They hold back a little, nervous to approach the boss, but he beckons them over, asking the name of each.

One is from Brazil and Benítez addresses him in Portuguese and begins a conversation about the beach in Rio. The boys all laugh and the mood is lifted. It’s a knack Benítez has. Imagine how much fun everyone will have when his side start winning.

Tony Evans is the author of Far Foreign Land: Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol....462.ece

[made in UK]

Having a pop at Fergie...

One of the stunning moments of last season came in January when Rafael Benítez launched his attack on Sir Alex Ferguson.

Liverpool needed to win away to Stoke City to go top of the Barclays Premier League and before the game Benítez produced a list of things that irritated him about the Manchester United manager’s actions, focusing on the Scot’s complaints about fixtures and his perceived bullying of referees.

It became known as “Rafa’s Rant”, despite the calmness of delivery and considered preparation. Liverpool drew with Stoke and it was widely considered to be a failed attempt to take on Ferguson in mind games.

Fast forward ten months and Ferguson appears to be on the retreat in his battle with referees, and the FA has handed the United manager an unprecedented touchline ban after his post-match complaints about Alan Wiley’s fitness.


Does Benítez allow himself a wry smile of satisfaction? “No,” he said. “I thought it was the best way to put things across and that people would see something that everybody knew and maybe no one could say. I said it. I was talking about facts.

“Now the situation is different, but you still see things that you could say . . .” He stops, laughs and changes tack. “It’s better to leave it and focus on my team and try to improve our performance. That’s the best way to help my team.”

Like Ferguson, Benítez has strong views on referees. “I’ve supported them,” he said. “It is really difficult to be a referee, so I have to support them.” How? “With technology and by trying not to create too much controversy after games.”

Benítez, of course, was warned by the FA last month for a mild brush with the officials. The Liverpool manager had been asked about Phil Dowd’s performance in the match against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season.

His response was to take out his glasses and study them, implying the referee could borrow them. It was a rare blemish on Benítez’s record. “We are managers and you cannot guarantee you will not be in a situation where you have to complain,” he said.

What sort of technology would Benítez like to see used? “One thing would be television for disciplinary issues — bad tackles, aggression,” he said. “It would help referees because the players would know they are being watched and be more careful.”

One bugbear is the offside rule, which he believes has become too complex and too open to interpretation. “If we do not change this rule, we will have problems every game,” he said. “Before, if a player was offside, everybody knew. Now it depends on position, interfering with play. You could see this with the goal by Chelsea against Manchester United. You can talk about it for a month and still have different opinions. If they don’t change the rule, it will be a mess.”

Tony Evans is the author of Far Foreign Land: Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way

[made in UK]

Sell Torres and I Quit Liverpool

From The Times November 17, 2009

Rafael Benitez: sell Fernando Torres and I will quit Liverpool

Exclusive: Liverpool manager reveals he would resign rather than part with his star striker – even for a fee of £100m


Rafael Benítez reassured Liverpool supporters last night that he would never sanction the sale of Fernando Torres to pay part of the club’s debt.

Asked whether an offer of £100 million or more would tempt Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to sell their superstar striker, the Liverpool manager smiled and said: "It won’t happen. I’d quit."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Times — his first with a British national newspaper — Benítez strenuously defended his record in the transfer market, but admitted that he had taken gambles and made mistakes.

He explained why Alberto Aquilani is a bargain buy, spoke with pride about the transformation he has overseen at Liverpool and talked of his desire to leave a winning legacy at the club.

Benítez mired in state of disbelief at Anfield

The former Valencia manager believes that he has overseen huge changes since arriving at Anfield in 2004. "There is a massive difference between five years ago and now," Benítez said. "The name of the club round the world is at the same level as it was in the 1980s. It’s a fantastic achievement. Everybody talks about Liverpool in a good way. And we will get better."

More worrying for Liverpool is that while Benítez underlines his commitment at every opportunity — "I want to leave a winning legacy," he said — Real Madrid may come calling.

The second galáctico era is stalling and Manuel Pellegrini, the Real coach, may be on his way out. Real made a huge offer to Benítez at the beginning of the year — their third — and sources in Madrid say they are preparing another. For the moment, though, Benítez is concentrating on one team.

The Spaniard, 49, signed a new five-year contract in February but has been under pressure this season after a poor start. Liverpool have suffered five defeats in 12 Barclays Premier League matches and are on the verge of elimination from the Champions League. To make matters worse, Torres and Steven Gerrard have suffered groin problems and Aquilani, their big summer signing, has been sidelined through injury, only making his league debut eight days ago.

"People are worried," Benítez said. "But the team will improve. When we have key players on the pitch we are as good as anyone. We have proved this in the past."

Signing Aquilani for £17 million from Roma to replace Xabi Alonso was great business, he insisted. "We can only buy one or two big, £20 million players a year," Benítez said. "If we want to have money available, then we have to sell some players. We have to sell expensive and buy as cheaply as possible.

"Aquilani fit would be £20-30 million. We checked with doctors and they said he would be out one, maybe two months. We have lost some time, but I signed the player for five years, not five weeks. We needed to take the risk."

What will not happen, though, Benítez insisted, is the departure of Torres.

Even with the club’s debts at £245 million, he laughed off the prospect of having to sell him. "I’m confident it will never happen," he said. "If it did, I’d resign."

The relative lack of cash at the club has made risk-taking essential for Liverpool and Benítez admits to making mistakes in the market.

"When we have spent big, normally it’s been very good business," he said. "Torres, Mascherano, Reina, Alonso. Keane is a good player but we had to sell him because he was not playing at the level we knew he could play. Ryan [Babel] was signed for the future and we are waiting for his improvement. He has to be more consistent.

"With the fringe players, we needed to take a gamble on Bosmans and one, two million-pound players. Some of these players have not been good enough for us. It is a risk you have to accept when there is not too much money about."

When Aquilani arrived, Alonso, a crowd favourite, left. In a bitter parting, there were suggestions that the relationship between Benítez and Alonso — who was sold for £20 million profit — had broken down. The manager dismissed the theory.

"He put in a transfer request," Benítez said. "We had a professional and good relationship. Some people say the manager must put his arm around the player’s shoulder. I don’t know too many managers who do this. Some managers here in England don’t even see the training sessions. How can you put your arm around the shoulders of the players if you are not there?"

Benítez’s relationships with the co-owners and Rick Parry, the former chief executive, have sometimes been frosty, but the manager is quick to praise Christian Purslow, Parry’s successor. "Since Christian’s first day I know I’ve had his support, inside and outside the club," he said.

Manager and chief executive may face a difficult transfer window, with the priority being to lower the wage bill. Three or four players may head out of the Anfield exit door, with none of the cash heading back to Benítez, but there will be no civil war behind the scenes. "We are progressing," he said. "I’m happy and want to do the best for this club."

Tony Evans is the author of Far Foreign Land: Pride and Passion the Liverpool Way

[made in UK]

This first British national newspaper interview with Rafa should spark some discussion I'd imagine.

[killerp]

Well if it's true, great but it looks like one is tied to the other. So if somewhere in the future Benitez did leave looks like Torres might follow him.

At least you don't have to worry about Gerrard going anywhere

[Espionage]

Great read, good stuff said by Rafa (and I hope he does this more often).

He is a likeable guy and just needs to put himself out there a bit more as it makes a huge difference to how he is seen by the media I would think.

[Ciggy]

Feckin hate our owners, 3 players leaving in january no replacements coming in, what a disgrace feck off.

They will sell Torres aswell so they dont have to pay Rafa any compo.