Liverpool FC Forum

[redmikey]

[quote]  BENITEZ CONFIDENT OF ENDING TITLE WAIT
Daily Post 24 February 2006 

RAFAEL BENITEZ is confident he can end Liverpool's long wait for championship glory. 

The European Champions have not lifted the domestic crown since 1990, finishing runners-up just twice during that period in 1991 and 2002.
 
After finishing the last three seasons outside the top three, Liverpool are currently only three points behind Manchester United in the battle for second place behind champions-elect Chelsea.
 
And while Premiership success will almost certainly have to wait another season, Benitez believes he can build a squad capable of winning the title during his Anfield tenure.
 
Speaking at last night's AGM, Benitez said: "A lot has happened since the last meeting and I am pleased to talk about the progress that we have made in the last 12 months.
 
"Istanbul was a special night for all connected with the club, especially the fans.
 
"But the real aim is to win the Premier League, and everyone at the club believes we can do that.
 
"It would be foolish for me to say when that will happen exactly, but we will work hard to achieve our goal."
 
Having won the European Cup in his first season at Liverpool, Benitez insists his players can claim more silverware in the coming campaigns.
 
"This season the squad is stronger and the results have improved as a consequence," said the Spaniard.
 
"We are still in three competitions, and as I always say, my philosophy is to take each game at a time. If we follow that, then more trophies will follow.
 
"We brought four new players who we thought could do a job for the club and all four have brought quality to the squad."
 
Benitez also stated there will be a number of new arrivals at the club during the summer, along with Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez and Argentine centre-back Gabriel Paletta.
 
"We need some new players but it is not always the best thing to buy the most expensive players," he said.
 
"You need to bring in the right players you can trust to do a particular job for the team. I am not bothered about famous players, only the right players.
 
"It is important that we sign the right players and do not bring in players just for the sake of it. An example of this is Daniel Agger. We tried to sign him in August but could not, and we couldn't find anything better than him so we waited until January.
 
"We watched many right midfielders, but we were not convinced by the options available."
 
In a thinly-veiled reference to Liverpool's failed bid for Benfica winger Simao Sabrosa, Benitez added: "I am not the type of manager that will spend money that is not necessary. You cannot spend £12m on someone who you think is only worth £6m."
 
Benitez has also backed Robbie Fowler to prove his worth, despite the striker still awaiting his first goal since his return to the club from Manchester City.
 
"Robbie Fowler is a very good player and has the passion and loves the club," said the manager. "He is a good finisher, but the problem is that, like Morientes and Crouch, we do not deliver enough crosses into the box for him. But I am sure he will score a lot of goals for us." 



Rafa's word out of the daily post. it make me smile to have this much confidents in the man.
Now more than at any other time, do i feel like the club is going in the right direction, not being old enough to have reveled in the glory years i think that with this man at the helm we could dominate agian.

because he will by the right players for the club,
he will not let big name players rule the roost
he is a football addict and seems to like it here with the support he gets
the board will sort out the stadium situation soon and we can make the step up in the money leagues because we have the fan base to fill it

I see a bright future any thoughts,

[mighty mo]

IN RAFA WE TRUST   

[Sabre]

In Rafa I trust. He answers some of the topics we've been discussing lately, such as, signing up Ronaldo.

[the_red_alonso]

How much I long to hear these words:
"Liverpool are the champions of England again- for the 19th time"

[7_Kewell]

How much I long to hear these words:
"Liverpool are the champions of England again- for the 19th time"

only to be beaten by "Champoions of England for the 20th time" 


I'm impressed with Rafa's approach to transfers......he doesn't buy players for the sake of it or panic buys.  If he's not bought a right winger, it's because he doesn't want to over spend or the right players arn't available.

[priv]

"We need some new players but it is not always the best thing to buy the most expensive players," he said.

"You need to bring in the right players you can trust to do a particular job for the team. I am not bothered about famous players, only the right players.


Wise words indeed for those of us who clamor for those big signings in the summer

[bigmick]

I'm impressed with Rafa's approach to transfers......he doesn't buy players for the sake of it or panic buys.  If he's not bought a right winger, it's because he doesn't want to over spend or the right players arn't available.

So am I, however his approach is governed to some extent by the fact that we ain't exactly awash with cash so he has to make sure that who and what he does buy has the biggest chance of success. You haven't got to look too far away to see an alternative approach, and I'm talking Manure not Chelski that we couldn't afford to bear right now. Fergusons dealings in the transfer market have been Ill concieved these last couple of years IMHO and with the notable exceptions of Rooney and the excellent Hienze have been very hit and miss and mostly miss.
The hapless Evra will prove to be another Kleberson IMHO and I will be absolutely staggered if his undoubted technical ability manages to overcome the fact that he is chronically unsuited to English football. Vidic I am a little more puzzled about. To me he looks absolutely awful and sofar I can't see a single redeeming feature as he doen't even look to be technically gifted. That said, Rafa wanted him aswell so perhaps he is just taking time to settle but I must confess I doubt it.
Of Rafa's money signings, only Morientes looks to have been an absolute miss and I think it's fair to say most people in football thought it was a good signing at the time so you can't really blame the boss for that.
The time is coming though when caution and spending reluctance will have to be shelved to take us onto the next level. Sooner or later we are going to have to find a world-class striker if we are to become a world-class team for example, and though they can be discovered cheaply if you get very lucky, usually you have to pay absolute top-dollar for proven quality. Similarly a right midfielder/winger wont come cheap. Certainly on the evidence of the other night, if Simao is 12 million quids worth then we'd better get ready to splash a huge wedge if we want somebody top drawer. Here's aplan, forget Simao and buy Pennant. Save yourself 7 million squid into the bargain.

[redmikey]

he is similar to paisley imo. he is looking for player to play in his system and not the other way around, a modest man who isn't keen on the media.

IN RAFA I TRUST.

[Sabre]

The time is coming though when caution and spending reluctance will have to be shelved to take us onto the next level. Sooner or later we are going to have to find a world-class striker if we are to become a world-class team for example, and though they can be discovered cheaply if you get very lucky, usually you have to pay absolute top-dollar for proven quality

I disagree a bit.

If you have decent scouts and invest money on that, that's perfectly possible, and when I see in what kind of players was interested Rafa where he was back in Spain, Prieto, Xabi Alonso, and VIlla, I'd say he has a good eye.

Chelsea's and Madrid's model have proven being wrong.

[bigmick]

I'd say he has a good eye.

Chelsea's and Madrid's model have proven being wrong.

Sabes he's got a good eye alright, I'm no way disputing that. What I'm saying in essence is if he can find us a World-class striker for under 5 million quid then fantastic, but it's not easy. The whole of the football World is scanning the youth tournaments, Eurosport and the African nations looking for the next Henri/Shevchenko/E'to for a snip so it's so hard to find them.
Now if Shevchenko became available, we wouldn't be able to buy him anyhow as the price would be too high so like as not, the David Villa's, Darren Bents and Diego Forlans (don't laugh he's a good player IMHO) of this world is where he will look. These guys though are not exactly unknowns and won't come cheap. They were cheap once, but now they are proven they will cost big money by our standards. I think the chances of Rafa doing a Houllier and spending huge on relatively unproven talent is slim, so I expect him to buy at least one striker in the Summer who will cost in excess of 10 million quid. This is of course assuming that he finally accepts that Morientes isn't the answer.

On the question of the Chelsea and Madrid models Sabes, I'm not sure they are the same thing. Madrid were seemingly intent on building a Harlem Globetrotters like superstar team and in doing so inadvertantly sold the integral part of the team in Makeleli. That Chelsea were the team that bought him would indicate to me that despite their obsene spending powers and occasional misuse thereof, they are at least trying to build a proper football team.

[redmikey]

mick can you imagine the uproar if we went in for forlan. it would make the signing of crouch seem pittleful in the horror comments you would get on here ..

i dare you to start a thread   . by the way i think the lad has class in european football because he gets more time and i don't think old red nose gave him enough time to adapt to the epl

[bigmick]

He's a good example of a player who is an instinctive scorer losing his confidence through lack of opportunities, very much like our own Cisse. Fortunately for Forlan, and unfortunately for us and Cisse his method is based on more solid and sound principles so once he started to play regularly he rediscovered his touch and has become a very good player in my view.
Forlans method is very much one of the poacher, relying on clever movement and playing right on the cusp of being offside to get himself into scoring positions. Unusually for a player of his type he also posesses a good shot from distance and Villareal certainly got a bargain in picking him up for about 2 million quid. Sabre will know him much better than me and maybe doesn't rate him but on the occasions I have seen him these last couple of occasions I have seen him he looks a good striker.
I have discussed the method of Cisse such as it is elsewhere on numerous occasions and can't be ersed with it anymore    .