Liverpool FC Forum

[zarababe]

John Toshack has hit out at Rafael Benitez for his wastefulness in the transfer market during his time at Liverpool.

Ahead of this afternoon's trip to relegation-threatened Burnley, the Wales manager has attacked the under-fire Spaniard for wasting more than €300million on his squad over the previous six years.

During his eight-year spell at Anfield between 1970 and 1978, Toshack won a host of honours including three League Championships and one European Cup in addition to forging a formidable strike partnership with Kevin Keegan.

The 61-year-old believes that Liverpool's 2005 Champions League win earned Benitez a stay of execution with supporters but feels that patience is wearing thin after a transfer policy that has from which he claims only Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso can be classed as successful buys.

He said: “Benitez has maintained his reputation with the fans after winning the Champions League, but they are running out of patience.

“His transfer policy leaves a lot to be desired.

“Alonso was a success. It is the same for Reina and Torres, but that’s it.

"He must have spent more than 300million Euros on players!”

what a load of 'Tosh'

[lakes10]

John Toshack has hit out at Rafael Benitez for his wastefulness in the transfer market during his time at Liverpool.

Ahead of this afternoon's trip to relegation-threatened Burnley, the Wales manager has attacked the under-fire Spaniard for wasting more than €300million on his squad over the previous six years.

During his eight-year spell at Anfield between 1970 and 1978, Toshack won a host of honours including three League Championships and one European Cup in addition to forging a formidable strike partnership with Kevin Keegan.

The 61-year-old believes that Liverpool's 2005 Champions League win earned Benitez a stay of execution with supporters but feels that patience is wearing thin after a transfer policy that has from which he claims only Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso can be classed as successful buys.

He said: “Benitez has maintained his reputation with the fans after winning the Champions League, but they are running out of patience.

“His transfer policy leaves a lot to be desired.

“Alonso was a success. It is the same for Reina and Torres, but that’s it.

"He must have spent more than 300million Euros on players!”

what a load of 'Tosh'

hmm I think he is spot on with that.

[Greavesie]

spot on? - Agger, Riera (IMO), Aurelio (injuries aside), Arbeloa for £1.5m (loads have been saying they'd prefer him over Jonno), Masch. Its not the players IMO its how quickly he wheels and deals. Crouch, Bellamy, Keane and the like may well have been good here but we'll never know now

So it is a bit b0llocks in all fairness

[andy_g]

again it comes down to how well he has built a squad and not how well he has performed with a handful of first team signings. its been done to death so i'm not even going to go into it. however, it says a lot about the man's acumen in the transfer market as well as his skills at squad building through transfers when after a season of being within a whisker of winning the premiership we go into the next season not adequately replacing a key player and not adding any suitable back up for our one good striker. the fact that he has consistently played good players out of position and completely alienated other good players has left us with a squad that is hanging dearly onto seventh place in the league (seventh!!), and with the near future not looking too rosy at all.

right now, i'm looking at the table and feeling nothing but anger towards rafael benitez for being too stubborn and too set in his ways to do anything about improving our position.

[laza]

spot on? - Agger, Riera (IMO), Aurelio (injuries aside), Arbeloa for £1.5m (loads have been saying they'd prefer him over Jonno), Masch. Its not the players IMO its how quickly he wheels and deals. Crouch, Bellamy, Keane and the like may well have been good here but we'll never know now

So it is a bit b0llocks in all fairness

Agreed and I reckon Yossi and Garcia for what we paid for them  could be thrown into that list as well

[andy_g]

Rafael Benítez will stay, says prospective new Liverpool owner

• 'We are at a crucial stage, deal could be finalised in June'
• Huang consortium faces competitor from Middle East

Rafael Benitez will be encouraged to stay at Liverpool if Kenneth Huang's consortium makes a successful bid for the club, according to reports.


The man reportedly leading a consortium of investors attempting to buy Liverpool football club says he wants Rafael Benítez to retain his job as the club's manager if the bid is successful.

Kenneth Huang, a former Wall Street broker, is at the head of a group who want to buy the club for around £500m from current owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, according to a report today. He claims he has been given access to Liverpool's accounts and expects to finalise a deal within two months despite competition from a rival bid from an unnamed individual or consortium from the Middle East. He has also contacted Benítez to encourage the Spaniard to stay at Anfield and turn down advances from Juventus.

"Negotiations have taken place over the last few months and we are at a crucial stage," Huang said, according to The Mirror. "I really hope it turns out to be a successful bid. Right now my audit team is examining the books and my legal team is in close contact with theirs. We have a fierce competitor in the Middle East, but it could be finalised in June."

"I was first approached (to buy Liverpool) in 2008 when I was in Singapore attending a Formula One grand prix, but the asking price was $1bn (£650m). It was totally unreasonable so I turned it down. The asking price has dropped significantly and we are talking again. I want Liverpool to win the Champions League and Premier League and I think Benítez is a very good coach."

[Rockthekop]

[puroresu]

Rafael Benítez will stay, says prospective new Liverpool owner

• 'We are at a crucial stage, deal could be finalised in June'
• Huang consortium faces competitor from Middle East

Rafael Benitez will be encouraged to stay at Liverpool if Kenneth Huang's consortium makes a successful bid for the club, according to reports.


The man reportedly leading a consortium of investors attempting to buy Liverpool football club says he wants Rafael Benítez to retain his job as the club's manager if the bid is successful.

Kenneth Huang, a former Wall Street broker, is at the head of a group who want to buy the club for around £500m from current owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, according to a report today. He claims he has been given access to Liverpool's accounts and expects to finalise a deal within two months despite competition from a rival bid from an unnamed individual or consortium from the Middle East. He has also contacted Benítez to encourage the Spaniard to stay at Anfield and turn down advances from Juventus.

"Negotiations have taken place over the last few months and we are at a crucial stage," Huang said, according to The Mirror. "I really hope it turns out to be a successful bid. Right now my audit team is examining the books and my legal team is in close contact with theirs. We have a fierce competitor in the Middle East, but it could be finalised in June."

"I was first approached (to buy Liverpool) in 2008 when I was in Singapore attending a Formula One grand prix, but the asking price was $1bn (£650m). It was totally unreasonable so I turned it down. The asking price has dropped significantly and we are talking again. I want Liverpool to win the Champions League and Premier League and I think Benítez is a very good coach."

I dont think that means much.  He cant exactly say "I want to buy and sack the Manager".

Personally I hope any new owner gets rid of Rafa ASAP.

[tubby]

What's so bad about that article? If he wants to buy us then he knows he has to have a stadium built and he says he wants to see us win the European Cup and League so obviously he is aware the squad will need funds.

[zarababe]

Yeh Rafa you BETTA STAY SAN

[shabelle50]

I'd be very surprised if this guy is succesful. Sounds to me like he'll get outbid by someone like DIC. Why was Hicks quoted in the press a week ago claiming he wants £800 million if the price isn't even £500 million now? Seems to me from Broughton's statement that the Americans are now insisting on £800 million as the asking price so that £300 million of that will be solely to build the new stadium. Why else make it a condition of the sale that the new owner has to be committed to the new stadium? I doubt whether Benitez will wait until June to see if this guy succeeds in the takeover. Why would Benitez believe that another overseas owner is going to be any more sincere in pledging funds for the team after his experiences with the Yanks? My guess is that the morning after the Europa League final (if we get through on Thursday) Benitez will be on the first plane for Turin.

[tubby]

Why would Hicks include 300Mil for the stadium if he is selling the club? Broughton has said that any new owner would need to be able to fund the stadium but that doesn't mean that is included in the sale price. The stadium could consists of a seperate loan like the Emirates was. Hicks was just saying 800Mil trying to maximise his end. Im sure as soon as 4th place is definitely out of reach his price will come down.

[Joeblackisachimp]

In response to original post (with commentary):

SIGNINGS

3 = Average (Overall).

Apart from Outstanding talent like Torres/ Alonso, he has bought a lot of "average" type players who have had no impact. for example: Aquilani (20m!), Josemi, Pellegrino, Degen, Lucas, Aurelio, Kuyt, babel, mascha, keane, Johnson, and others I can't think of right now. he also has this tendancy to stock up on defenders rather than decent strikers in every transfer market.

SQUAD

2= Disapointing.

With reference to above, has not built a strong squad in 6 seasons and probably 150m spent. No cover for Torres/ gerrard, when injured shows the lack of depth.

TACTICS

2= Disapointing.

Plays two holding defenders every game in a 4-5-1 system, even at home versus weak teams like Hull, wigan etc, far too cautious, plays players out of position like Kuyt, and as a result have dropped too many points, drawn too many.

SUBSTITUTIONS
1= Poor.

Always waits till 70+ minutes, to bring on the likes of babel, which gives him no time to get into the game, usually the last 10 mins. Thus none effective.

PRIORITISATION

0= dont know what you mean by prioritisation

MEDIA RELATIONS

5= excellent. His cheeky "no pressure on me" smile in recent interviews and before Athletico madrid match said to me ..."you know what I dont care, as I've signed a contract with Juventus! " lol.

thats why we need a change. It should just be a case of what is an acceptable standard for the club. Celtic lost one match 4-0 and the manager got the boot. If Man City dont get 4th, Mancini will be given his p45. What about LFC?

Yanks have given Rafa 20m for Aquilani, total waste of money. who chose the player? 6th season and all we have is N'gog, El zahar _or woteva, and lucas to get excited about.

me?.... blame. ...Yanks 20% rafa 80% COme on they dont pick the team, formation, set up etc.

Any die hard LFC fans in here who think we are doing ok ought to go and support tranmere or the bitter blues.

remember shanks.........1st is 1st, 2nd is NOWHERE!?

sure i heard that somewhere....

[account deleted by request]

Part of an Arbeloa interview ..... ripped from TLW



What are the biggest differences between Manuel Pellegrini and Rafa Benitez?

Pellegrini gives the players more freedom, he’s not so intense and has more of a soft approach. The style is different. We play two-touch, there’s more willingness to take risks; Rafa doesn’t want you to take any risks ever. Rafa’s happy to score the first and sit back; Pellegrini is the opposite. He’s more focused on possession. They’re different concepts, and both perfectly acceptable.


But should Liverpool and Rafa let go a bit? Do they need to be freer, more creative?

Rafa was a bit more attacking last season. Liverpool follow Rafa’s instructions very closely. What Rafa wants, the team does. Rafa works hard during the week and a lot of the time the team plays on memory. That’s very good in certain situations, but there are momentsthat you need to think or yourself and do something unexpected. If the opposition works you out, you need you need another option. Sometimes, within [Benitez’s] framework, doing something unpredictable is hard. Every player knows what he wants. The 1-2-3 you work on in the week is the 1-2-3 you produce in the matches. AT times that can be a bit robotic.


Was it a relief to leave Liverpool?

I was sad to go, but as soon as I saw I had this opportunity there was no way I could turn it down – the chance to come home and to be part of an incredible project.


Are you suggesting team rotation is therefore necessary for psychological factors rather than physical reasons?

Yes, for sure. If you have a player who hasn’t played for five or six games, there’s the risk that he will switch off. He’ll not give his all, he won’t train as hard. It’s not just about making sure all the players are physically right but that they come to training thinking they have a chance of playing, that they compete – and, as a consequence of that, oblige their team-mates to compete too. You make sure people are happy and working. TO do that they have to know that there’s a place to fight for. Players want to play, especially in a World Cup year.

[lakes10]

spot on? - Agger, Riera (IMO), Aurelio (injuries aside), Arbeloa for £1.5m (loads have been saying they'd prefer him over Jonno), Masch. Its not the players IMO its how quickly he wheels and deals. Crouch, Bellamy, Keane and the like may well have been good here but we'll never know now

So it is a bit b0llocks in all fairness

Agreed and I reckon Yossi and Garcia for what we paid for them  could be thrown into that list as well

You can not put players in that list that he has sold, and heres why.

its all about how he buys and sells players, he has sold too many good players for me.
yes he did buy them but he sold them whn he should not have so its sort of a +1 for buying them and a -1 for selling them so its put that buy back to 0.

yes i will agree that there 3 other players that could just make the list.