Liverpool FC Forum

by **tubby** » Wed May 19, 2010 7:48 pm

Benny The Noon wrote:Rafael Benitez wants four more years at Liverpool

Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent

Rafael Benitez has declared his intention to stay on as Liverpool manager for another four years, adding that he has “no evidence” that Fernando Torres is seeking a move away from Anfield.

Benitez’s future has been in serious doubt for several weeks as his agent has held talks with Juventus, leading Liverpool’s board to consider a change of manager. Some tensions remain between Benitez and the Merseyside club’s hierarchy, but, having seen Juventus appoint Luigi Del Neri, the Spaniard believes he will be staying at Anfield.

“My future is with Liverpool,” Benitez told reporters in Madrid. “I have four more years of contract and I want to succeed. I have no offer [from another club]. I hope to make a competitive team.

“My critics in London say that I am not a good manager and experts with an English accent here [in Madrid] say the same. But Liverpool has had an average of 69 points in the last 12 seasons. The club made a huge mistake, which was to start winning four trophies [under his management]. Then people will ask for more. [Sir Alex] Ferguson took seven years to win the Premier League.

Benitez played down suggestions that Torres wants to join a new club following Liverpool’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Spain forward has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea, but Benitez said: “I have no evidence that Torres wants to go. Right now he is focused on recovering from his injury, winning the World Cup and then he can think about his future. He has multiplied the image of Liverpool in Asia because he makes women crazy there.”

The Spaniard also defended his style of management after Albert Riera, the Liverpool and Spain winger, claimed that he did not talk to his players. “It is a lie that I don’t talk to the players,” he said. “He [Riera] made a mistake in an interview and I have witnesses and video of something that I will not count. ”

Tom Hicks and George Gillett put the club up for sale last month but the pair have so far failed to find buyers willing to meet their £500 million valuation. Martin Broughton was brought in as chairman to oversee a potential sale, but Benitez says he is yet to find out whether he will be able to reinvest money raised from players sales during the summer. "I have had a couple of meetings with the new (Broughton) to clarify the situation," Benitez said. "We need to know how much money we have, and that also depends on (player) sales."

Good news that. But it seems we are still not even sure how much we have to spend. We should be engaging clubs now to get in some players before the world cup (Wilson aside).

by **parchpea** » Wed May 19, 2010 7:50 pm

Benitez is staying so love or hate him we just have to let him crack on and hopefully he will reshape the side and give us something new next season. On the plus side I think Torres will remain with him staying put. Its hard to relax with all the stuff going on at the club and endless speculation but though its difficult its prob best to sit back and let it unfold and see where we stand after the world cup. Even without a lot of cash to play with we can do deals by moving some under performers out (plenty of those!) and being clever in the transfer market. Even though we are in a deep hole I still beleive we can attract decent footballers to the club. If Rafa cannot make us a top 4 team the least he could do us put together an exciting team with good young players who are hungry and ready to give their all for Liverpool. If these lads are placed around our more experienced pros and best players we can produce something new from the ashes left over from last season.Prob seems too positive but Im sick of being negative about it all tbh.

by **Benny The Noon** » Wed May 19, 2010 7:53 pm

That's a very good sensible balanced post parchpea and we know have to look forward and hopefully we can grab ourselves some good players over the summer and get rid of a few deadwood .

by **Reg** » Wed May 19, 2010 8:12 pm

All of this incessant speculation will quietly disappear once we have new owners and clarity as to our future direction.

Until then, I remain calm and collected, like Nan and Ciggy.... :laugh:

by **SeaofRed** » Wed May 19, 2010 8:54 pm

I'm delighted that Rafa Benitez is staying here. The thought of him leaving and having possible replacements like O'Neill, Hodgson and McLeish being touted left me feeling disappointed and deeply saddened for our future.

My expectations for next season is to have a much better season than last season. If we can reclaim a top four spot, excellent, but in truth I am not expecting it; not when Spurs and Man Citeh will be strengthening in the summer months.

I'd like us to win a trophy next season and I expect better performances from all players at the club - both individually and collectively. Players like Gerrard need to pull their finger out and really try and make up for the disappointment of last season. Better performances are needed all-round.

Seeing as Benitez will have no transfer budget for the third summer running, I expect us to give our younger and more inexperienced players game time next season. I was impressed when I saw Martin Kelly play against Lyon, Daniel Ayala showed glimpses of good defending against Spurs and Stoke. Pacheco impressed me too, so it would be nice to see our youngsters get a fair crack at the whip and it will be good to see whether or not Rafa's youth policy is bearing the fruits of its labour.

Now that Rafa has committed his future to the club, I am very happy, now all we need to do is find ourselves a buyer and hope that this buyer will not treat us with the same level of contempt that Hicks & Gillett have treated us with over the last three years.

by **kazza** » Wed May 19, 2010 9:18 pm

Wow i left for a few hours and all hell broke loose.......

I went to a fight and a football discussion broke out.

by **Reg** » Wed May 19, 2010 9:25 pm

kazza wrote:I went to a fight and a football discussion broke out.

Not in here mate.

Makes Baghdad look good for yer summer hol-ies this place....

by **NANNY RED** » Wed May 19, 2010 9:29 pm

Reg wrote:
kazza wrote:I went to a fight and a football discussion broke out.

Not in here mate.

Makes Baghdad look good for yer summer hol-ies this place....

I cant see any fighting anywhere in here , why whos been arguing

LAST ONE TO KNOW AGAIN , BILLY NO MATES ME

by **kazza** » Wed May 19, 2010 9:39 pm

NANNY RED wrote:BILLY NO MATES ME

Sorry Nan everyone likes you, that would be me

by **Sir Roger** » Wed May 19, 2010 9:52 pm

Benny The Noon wrote:From what i have heard on Five live Rafa has come out and said he is staying and anything that has been said in the press over the last weeks and months about him and other clubs has been nothing but pure specualtion by the press and he hasnt spoken to anyone else because he wants to ay at Liverpool . Now that is from the horses mouth no speculation at all .

"Liverpool has averaged 69 points in the last 12 seasons.
We made a huge mistake, as we won four titles at the start. Then people ask you for more, when in reality in the Premier League it's assumed that at the start a coach needs time to adapt. (Manchester United manager Sir Alex) Ferguson took seven years to win the Premier League."

Lets hope he didnt say this then because thats one cringey, embarrassing statement...

by **Sabre** » Wed May 19, 2010 10:43 pm

kazza wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:BILLY NO MATES ME

Sorry Nan everyone likes you, that would be me

Being popular in an internet forum doesn't give you money to your pocket nor can substitute a friend of your real life anyway.

I think you'll survive :;):

by **neil** » Wed May 19, 2010 11:39 pm

neil wrote:
woof woof ! wrote:
neil wrote:lets see, anti rafas, fact based points, others in agreement
pro rafas, insults ridicule smilies

Let's see,

By all means make a point but accept that maybe we heard you the first time around, the fact that we haven't licked your a'rse with lots of bowdowns doesn't mean we didn't hear you.

Read it all before, again and again and again.

ok mate, thanks for the heads up.

erm...just lookin back at this.... "licked your a'rse" wtdickens?! :help

by **Aussie Style** » Thu May 20, 2010 5:12 am

Benitez also refused to confirm or deny that he would, one day, be interested in returning to the Bernabeu to coach the first team.

"I'm from Madrid, I'm at home in this city, have been linked to the club and it is a great club, but I cannot say anything more," AS Quoted Benitez as saying.

Sounds like his saying alot, without saying anything.

by **shawnk** » Thu May 20, 2010 5:25 am

bigmick wrote:It would make interesting viewing if Benitez did end up going to Inter (he won't). Then you'd get a good look at how he compares to their previous managers (it's increasingly looking like he or anyone else might have a fairly difficult act to follow this season).It would be even more interesting if we swapped managers with them to get a direct comparison (we won't).

No, those who say we are stuck with him are on the money. The worse part about it is, even Benitez won't make as much of a nonsense of it next season as he has this. I expect us to have a bigger gap than 13 points to Blackburn at the end of next season, and be more than two points ahead of Everton. We might even jump a place or two in the league (I don't think we'll get in the top four though), which will cause the apologists and real fans to spout off for months about "progress".

Perhaps that was the cunning plan, nosedive us into oblivion which enables you to "improve" us over the next couple of years. In another couple of seasons we'll be back challenging for the top four, and by then the faithful will be singing "Montse is a scouser, Montse is a scouser, Nah nah nah nah, OOOOh". Let's see, another couple of seasons on from now, feck me I can see another five year plan looming on the horizon .

And then at the end of the 5 years "plan", he'll have another 5 years plan haha. Cunning indeed.

by **kazza** » Thu May 20, 2010 7:34 am

Sabre wrote:
kazza wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:BILLY NO MATES ME

Sorry Nan everyone likes you, that would be me

Being popular in an internet forum doesn't give you money to your pocket nor can substitute a friend of your real life anyway.

I think you'll survive

I think you may be right.

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