Liverpool FC Forum

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 1:05 am**

some people know more and know better than others.

some talk sense, others talk ******.

am not being big headed, am just being truthful.

am not gonna sit here and say stuff thats not true.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 1:10 am**

well maybe u do know more than me, doesn't mean my opinions or anyone elses opinions are wrong

at the end of the day you'll be wrong and i'll be wrong in this forum at some point so the trick is to respect each others opinions argue them and then just sit back and see who is right in the end, but all i want is the board to appoint the right manager this time to take us to that next level

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 1:13 am**

well at least we both want the same thing.

That man is Benitez, i'd put my house on it.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 1:15 am**

being honest i was all for o'neill but i think im starting to like the sound of benitez the more i've heard about him, he seems to like to play attacking football, but you just never know, hopefully though

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 3:29 am**

If I am correct, thus far, only 1 non-British manager has won the league title for his club - Arsene Wenger.

The Premiership and the other British leagues are much more physical than the Euro leagues, with the games being played at high tempo and tactics having less effect than on the continent. I suppose that it is fair to say that a British based manager has a better chance to be successful earlier or quicker than a foreign one in the Premiership while a foreign coach would find Europe easier than the Premiership.

I read today that Sir Bobby Robson telling Maurinho to be prepared for a rough ride in the Premiership because the league games are much tougher than the European ones with the opposition being rather unpredictable as compared to Portugal where if you beat Benfica and Sporting Lisbon home and away, you are most likely to win the league title there.

However, I believe that Benitez has proven that his team's philosophy and style of play, if adopted at Liverpool, should be an improvement because their style reminds me of the 1980s AC Milan and the great Liverpool eras' philosophy. Squeeze the opposition, good passing game and attack in numbers.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 8:07 am**

Only just found out that Bobby Robson groomed Mourinho for the job at Porto, as his assistant for two years at Porto and then taking him along to Barcelona.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 11:54 am**

i still would prefer oneill at anfield, and nobody will change my mind on this.he has the premiership and european experience.he can turn a ****** player into a very good player, so just think what he could do with a bunch of very good players..not to mention 2 or possibly 3 world class.Benitez is a top class manager no doubt about it he has proved it over the past 3 years.but remember he has to settle in and get used to living in a different country,so expect things to happen straight away...hopefully i am wrong because it know looks certain that benitez will be our new manager come the start of the season.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 11:57 am**

jack66 wrote:so expect things to happen straight away...

so DONT expect things to happen straight away........sorry fellas BAD hangover....

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 12:58 pm**

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 4:17 pm**

One thing that I am confident will happen is that Rafael Benitez will fall in love with club if he comes. Walking through the tunnel, out in front of the Kop, it is special all right and I doubt Benitez has experienced anything like it, even at stadiums like the Nou Camp and the Bernabeu, despite them having larger capacities. Many commentators will tell you there is nothing quite like a European night at Anfield. The wonderful atmosphere, pass and move Football, well Liverpool has not played pass and move Football for a long time but that is sure to return under the guidance of the Spaniard.

Liverpool Football Club are giants, they are one club in Europe that is blessed in greatness, and their failing in recent times have dismayed the younger generation from that truth. They have grown up with Liverpool on the edge of things with Manchester United and Arsenal ruling the English game, BUT what they don?t realise is the prestige that comes with the name Liverpool. I recently told my friend that we were linked with Pablo Aimar coming along with Benitez, he laughed and said you wish. Why? What is so funny? We ARE BIG and we can attract players like Aimar. Players like him would dream to play for the likes of us but I don?t thinkthe club has ever been game enough to be able to put such funds into purchasing such a player. But now, with Valencia?s financial troubles, Benitez likely to be manager, a Thai deal on the horizon, then there should be no reason the SLEEPING GIANT that is Liverpool Football Club can not buy a player of Pablo Aimar?s calibre.

Make no mistake; plenty of managers would drool at the chance to manage Liverpool at the moment. Like or dislike Gerard Houllier, he did a wonderful job at bringing Liverpool Football Club forward into a new age. He invested a lot in youth, and in the end his lack of real quality signings over youth was probably his downfall. But now Liverpool has undoubtedly one of the youngest and brightest squads in Europe. The potential is there, so it might just take someone like Rafael Benitez to form them into a talented 'team?.

Players like Gerrard, Owen, Kewell, Baros, Riise, Kirkland, Le Tallec, Pongolle, Hamann and Hyypia should be enough of an attraction. Also, to some extent players like Cheyrou and Diouf HAD the potential to perform at the top level but floundered under Gerard Houllier, so Liverpool fans would be praying that someone like Benitez could mould all this talent, as well as incoming players like Cisse and whoever the manager decides to move for, into a side that will challenge for the Premiership year in year out.

So readers, Reds or not, my gut feeling is that Benitez will fall in love with the club and Real Madrid will be far from his memory, it is inevitable. There is just too much prestige and romance in the club and its fans for a manager not to fall in love with it. Beware Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and co. If Rafael is the right man, then a sleeping giant will awaken, and they will be wanting to make up for lost time.

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 6:57 pm**

Cheesey.

But i like it. :cool:

Posted: **Sat May 29, 2004 8:40 pm**

stmichael wrote:One thing that I am confident will happen is that Rafael Benitez will fall in love with club if he comes. Walking through the tunnel, out in front of the Kop,

If Benitez comes are we going to have a "song" for him ?
How about Elton Johns " Benny and the Jets "

Posted: **Sun May 30, 2004 2:46 am**

I'd personally be happy if either O'Neill or Benitez got the job.

Everyone's suddenly tarring MON with the "long ball" brush, but bear in mind that he's inherited squads that haven't had masses of quality in the middle of the park but tons of physical presence up front - Heskey at Leicester; Hartson and (to a lesser extent) Sutton at Celtic. Aside from when they play Rangers, punting it up to Hartson and getting him to lay it off to Larsson is all that Celtic have need to do to win matches in the SPL, so he's had no reason to change his winning formula.

Don't forget though that his side did a job on us a couple of seasons ago, and it wasn't because they had a better squad. If he had Gerrard, Owen, Kewell and Cisse at his disposal, he's obviously play to their strengths - you send your team out with a system that'll win you matches. Basically, the man is crying out to be given a big job with a good squad and money in the bank, and I wouldn't begrudge him the job for one second. He's a lot more tactically astute than people are giving him credit for - anyone that's heard him talking about the game can tell you that he's no Joe Kinnear.

As for Benitez, I like many only know him by reputation. What has struck me is that he sends his teams out to kill the opposition with pace, passing and movement, and that'll do me very nicely thank you very much. I'd love LFC to win the league next season even if they play ugly, but coming second or third and lighting up stadiums with top quality attacking football would do me in a season where we need to find some upward direction.

Posted: **Sun May 30, 2004 3:05 am**

druken offensive truth time . benetiz who? dont bloody ratethe guy . thats not to say he would'nt be brill prob is all you english are so european I'm so provisincial

Posted: **Mon May 31, 2004 12:47 pm**

Looks like Big Al has been on the sauce again.

Liverpool FC Forum

Mark lawrenson's article on benitez - Liverpool daily post