Liverpool FC Forum

by **lakes10** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:02 am

NeGrAmArOfOrEvEr wrote:news about Rafa?

not yet but BBC and SKY have OB's on standby in Liverpool just in case since sunday.
they have spent their time doing stuff for the GE this week so far lol

by **lakes10** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:05 am

Roy Hodgson

yes or no?

by **Reg** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:17 am

Today's Telegraph

Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez must leave now or risk tainting the club’s proud history

If Rafael Benítez truly respects Liverpool Football Club he'll leave Anfield today. The players have lost the faith, the boardroom is unimpressed with the politicking and the supporters are suffering, albeit in silence.

By Henry Winter
Published: 8:00AM BST 04 May 2010

If Benítez exits quickly, accepting Juventus's generous offer, he goes with some dignity. If he stays, the inevitable long goodbye becomes indescribably messy, distressing for all concerned and demeaning to a club of Liverpool's great history. This is not a warning for Benítez, this is a fact.

He's lucky. The Kop's refusal to call for his head, in the wake of a disastrous season and four trophy-less years, speaks handsomely of their substance and loyalty. At any other major club, probably barring Arsenal, restless natives would have been chanting for the manager's removal.

Sport on television Benítez now meets Liverpool's new chairman, Martin Broughton, to discuss transfer budgets but why should the board trust him with the club's cash? His track record is too inconsistent. They give him money for a table and he comes back with a lampshade. He's got a centre-back at left-back and a holding midfielder at right-back. Liverpool's squad is an exercise in mismanagement.

Over the past six years, Benítez has been provided with £230,476,000, not forgetting a rich bequest in Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, yet his bench against Atletico Madrid last Thursday read: Diego Cavalieri, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, David Ngog, Philipp Degen, Nabil El Zhar, Daniel Ayala and Daniel Pacheco. Their entries in football's Who's Who do not run to many lines. Combined.

How embarrassing. This is Liverpool, five-times winners of the European Cup and joint record-holders of 18 League championships, the club of Shankly and Paisley, Toshack and Keegan, Dalglish and Souness, Fowler and Owen, yet with largely a bunch of unknowns on the bench. How the mighty are falling.

Benítez's cheerleaders claim his achievements at Anfield are actually remarkable given the board has restricted his budget over the past two seasons. They point to injuries and mention the more alluring wages on offer elsewhere.

Good try. Roy Hodgson prospers at Fulham on a fraction of Benítez's resources and none of the annoying scheming. Arsène Wenger spends far less than Benítez and has a far better eye for young talent.

Any inspection of Benítez's £230 million outlay must highlight successes such as Pepe Reina, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres. Not all were guaranteed to do well yet they have grown under Benítez. Even with Lucas, Kyrgiakos, Ryan Babel and Emiliano Insua on the books, Liverpool's squad are valued at around £250 million.

Yet Liverpool's board could legitimately ask Benítez his views on Hodgson's team-building skills and just who is that leading Fulham out in the Europa League final in Hamburg next week?

Why it's Danny Murphy, just the type of strong character and intelligent midfielder Liverpool crave, a popular player shown the door by Benítez in the first of his summer clear-outs/trolley dashes. Murphy or Lucas? Discuss. But not for long.

All managers sell players they shouldn't but Benítez has dropped some real clangers. How Liverpool could do with a committed left-back like Stephen Warnock, whose heart was almost broken when let go by Benítez.

Warnock, now knocking on England's door, could have spared Liverpool those awkward moments when Andrea Dossena or Insua was at left-back. Dear old Dossena. Recruited for £7 million in July 2008, he endured a hapless stay, being humiliated by Leeds United's Robert Snodgrass among others, and was offloaded for £4.3 million to Napoli 18 months later.

Dossena's fellow recruits in the class of 2008 were Cavalieri, Ngog, Robbie Keane and Albert Riera at a cost of £39 million and none proved worth it.

Quantity as much as quality has been Benítez's hallmark in the transfer market.

He has brought in 77 players, a tally that prompted Ian St John to remark wryly over the weekend that "maybe Rafa's setting up his own league''.

Whatever happened to Benítez's likely lads such as Miki Roque, Krisztian Nemeth, Astrit Ajdarevic, Antonio Barragan, Besian Idriza, Mikel San Jose Dominguez and Antonio Nunez?

The haemorrhaging of money on fees, let alone wages, is a concern. Jermaine Pennant arrived for £6.7 million and went on a free. Fernando Morientes cost £6.3 million and exited for £3 million.

Keane hardly had time to unpack his bags after his £19 million signing before being shipped out for £16 million, lacking suitability to the manager's new 4-2-3-1 system. Benítez has been given enough money. He's just not given his buying enough thought. Time to go. If anyone can fix Benítez up with flights to Turin it's Broughton.

Spending under Benítez

2004/05

In: £2m Josemi; £1.5m Nunez; £10.7m Alonso; £6m Luis Garcia; £6.3m Morientes; £1m Carson; Free Pelligrino.
Total: £27.5m.
Oot: £2.5m Murphy; £8.5m Owen; Free Babbel, Henchoz.
Total: £11m.
Net spend: £16.5m.

Won: Champions League. Premier League: 5th

2005/06

In: £240,000 Barragan; £6m Reina; £5.6m Sissoko; £7m Crouch; £150,000 Hobbs; £190,000 Idriza; £1.5m Gonzalez; £5.8m Agger; £250,000 Martin; Free Zenden, Fowler; Exchange Anderson for Welsh, Kromkamp for Josemi; Unknown Miki Roque.
Total: £26.73m.
Out: £3.5m Diouf; £2m Alou Diarra; £2m Nunez; £6.5m Baros; Free Smicer, Pellegrino; Exchange Welsh for Anderson, Josemi for Kromkamp.
Total: £14m.
Net spend: £12.73m.

Won: FA Cup. Premier League: 3rd

2006/07

In: £6m Bellamy; £2m Palletta; £6.7m Pennant; £9m Kuyt; £200,000 El Zhar; £750,000 Ajdarevic; £2.5m Arbeloa; Free Fabio Aurelio; Loan Mascherano, Padelli; Undisclosed Brouwer.
Total: £27.15m.
Out: £200,000 Whitbread; £3m Morientes; £675,000 Barragan; £2m Traoré; £500,000 Mellor; £1.75m Kromkamp; £525,000 Potter; £1.5m Warnock; Free Hamann, Diao. Undisclosed Cheyrou.
Total: £10.15m.
Net spend: £17m.

Premier League: 3rd. Champions League: losing finalists.

2007/08

In: £5m Lucas; £270,000 Jose Dominguez; £1.8m Leto; £20.2m Torres; £5m Benayoun; £11.5m Babel; £1.3m Insua; £6.5m Skrtel; £18.6m Mascherano; Free Voronin; Undisclosed Nemeth, Itandje.
Total: £70.7m.
Out: £2.7m Sinama-Pongolle; £100,000 O’Donnell; £4m Luis Garcia; £6m Cissé; £7.5m Bellamy; £3.5m Gonzalez; £1.2m Palletta; £3.5m Kirkland; £8.2m Sissoko; Free Dudek, Fowler.
Total: £36.7m.
Net spend: £34m.

Premier League: 4th

2008/09

In: £7m Dossena; £3.5m Cavalieri; £1.5m N’gog; £19m Keane; £8m Riera; Free Degen.
Total: £39m.
Out: £4m Riise; £11m Crouch; £2.25m Guthrie; £3.25m Carson; £16m Keane; Free Kewell; Undisclosed Le Tallec, Finnan, Hobbs.
Total: £36.5m.
Net spend: £2.5m.

Premier League: 2nd

2009/10

In: £17.5m Johnson; £17.1m Aquilani; £2m Kyrgiakos; £160,000 Ayala; £1.5m Maxi Rodriguez.
Total: £38.26m.
Out: £250,000 Anderson; £3m Leto; £3.5m Arbeloa; £30m Alonso; £4.4m Dossena; £1.5m Voronin; Free Pennant, Miki Roque.
Total: £42.65m.
Net spend: –£4.25m

Bought: £230.476m
Sold: £151m
Net spend: £79.476m

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:22 am

lakes10 wrote:Roy Hodgson

yes or no?

IS there not a report out today saying that he says he is happy at fulham and doesnt want to move .

by **Ben Patrick** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:23 am

It is hard to argue with any of that article.

by **lakes10** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:27 am

Ian St John "maybe Rafa's setting up his own league''.

pmsl legend

by **andy_g** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:27 am

Benny The Noon wrote:
lakes10 wrote:Roy Hodgson

yes or no?

IS there not a report out today saying that he says he is happy at fulham and doesnt want to move .

and you believe what you read in the press?

by **Ben Patrick** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:29 am

Benny The Noon wrote:
lakes10 wrote:Roy Hodgson

yes or no?

IS there not a report out today saying that he says he is happy at fulham and doesnt want to move .

He has said that, but i am pretty sure if he was offered the job at anfield he wouldnt hesitate.

by **lakes10** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:29 am

andy_g wrote:
Benny The Noon wrote:
lakes10 wrote:Roy Hodgson

yes or no?

IS there not a report out today saying that he says he is happy at fulham and doesnt want to move .

and you believe what you read in the press?

by **JohnBull** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:30 am

It's a good article and it highlights my real worry that the damage done, not just by the owners, will take years to repair.
I kept getting the feeling that Rafa's overall plan got perverted by the Board/Management business and the man's ego took priority over the clubs needs.
His purchases show little foresight and some appear to be made "for the sake of it". My missus has the same problem when she's shopping, just doesn't know when to save ther money in her purse for the time when something good turns up.
Everyone will find themselves in the position of having a bad boss but most people just get on with it that's the way of the world.
Rafa has turned this club into a second rate soap opera. If only he'd just stuck to the football things may have been OK but that would have needed 100% of his attention and a little less ego.

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:32 am

I believe it when you get the actual person they are talking about is actually talking.

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:32 am

And IMO Hodgson is not a better manager than Rafa .

by **lakes10** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:36 am

Benny The Noon wrote:And IMO Hodgson is not a better manager than Rafa .

well you could say that his team have lost less games than us this year and in a final that we did not make and he has a team that dont cost as much as ours.

is he a better manager than Rafa right now.......yes.

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:39 am

One season Lakes , lets not forget about his failures both at Blackburn and Inter and is still below us in the table . Yes he has done well this season with Fulham of that there is no doubt - is he a manager to move us forward ? Not imo

by **Reg** » Tue May 04, 2010 10:40 am

Whats worrying is that articles are appearing in the national press at all. Its massively damaging for the clubs image when we're looking for new owners. I'm not sure Broughton has another option but to let him go, selling the club is a bigger priority than stroking Rafa's :censored:

.

Liverpool FC Forum

RAFA BENITEZ LEAVES LIVERPOOL - Official Thread, includes merged threads

Who is online