Gianfranco Zola v Rafael Benitez

[Juan Galonso]

Both clubs these two manage are up to their eyeballs in debt.

 

Both clubs have a reputation for playing football in the right way.

 

Both managers apparently undermined by senior figures above them at the club putting them in what would seem like untenable positions.

 

Both managers apparently have had their bosses bidding for players behind their backs that they may not want.

 

Both managers apparently have had their employers leaking stuff to the press to force them to quit.

 

One handles himself with class and decorum and gets on with the task of doing the right thing by his club until the end of the season and earns the respect of his players in doing so.

 

One plays political games basically to cement his own position first and foremost and when being linked to other jobs plays coy games with the media thus manipulating the supporters in the process.

 

One has hardly spent a penny in his time at the club and has tried his best with the resources at his disposal despite a disappointing season has his team trying to play the right way.

 

One has spent a fortune trying to create a winning team and has had a disappointing season has his team playing the worst football seen at the club in years.

 

Both managers will probably be leaving their respective clubs in the near future.

 

One will leave with class and dignity with his fans best wishes.

 

One will play the political game right until the end and will leave kicking and screaming about how hard done to he has been.

 

It isn't hard to guess who is who.

[RedKnight]

And one is going to Italy...

[Royal Family]

And I reckon only one is in line for a £16m windfall for getting sacked, which is why he's now provoking the board at any opportunity.

[Strontium]

Is Benitez the one who has won two La Liga titles, a European Cup, a UEFA Cup and an FA Cup?

 

Do I win a prize?

[Brownie]

Fucking hell he's a proper cunt is that Zola isn't he?

 

I'm not very good at this game...

[Dan Vito Corleone]

That spreadsheet I put up the other day says all you need to know about West Ham.

[Herp McDerp]

Both clubs these two manage are up to their eyeballs in debt.

 

Both clubs have a reputation for playing football in the right way.

 

Both managers apparently undermined by senior figures above them at the club putting them in what would seem like untenable positions.

 

Both managers apparently have had their bosses bidding for players behind their backs that they may not want.

 

Both managers apparently have had their employers leaking stuff to the press to force them to quit.

 

One handles himself with class and decorum and gets on with the task of doing the right thing by his club until the end of the season and earns the respect of his players in doing so.

 

One plays political games basically to cement his own position first and foremost and when being linked to other jobs plays coy games with the media thus manipulating the supporters in the process.

 

One has hardly spent a penny in his time at the club and has tried his best with the resources at his disposal despite a disappointing season has his team trying to play the right way.

 

One has spent a fortune trying to create a winning team and has had a disappointing season has his team playing the worst football seen at the club in years.

 

Both managers will probably be leaving their respective clubs in the near future.

 

One will leave with class and dignity with his fans best wishes.

 

One will play the political game right until the end and will leave kicking and screaming about how hard done to he has been.

 

It isn't hard to guess who is who.

 

Fuck it, I'm stealing that pic and using it as my avatar.

Edited May 9, 2010 by Gowldilocks

[RedKnight]

G'day.

[Faustus]

John, I think you seem a decent lad and a good red as well, but there's no need for this, mate. We all know your stance on this and I don't think we need another 10 page epic of people on either side of the Rafa divide at each other's throats.

 

Just my opinion like.

[Durango]

Both clubs these two manage are up to their eyeballs in debt.

 

Both clubs have a reputation for playing football in the right way.

 

Both managers apparently undermined by senior figures above them at the club putting them in what would seem like untenable positions.

 

Both managers apparently have had their bosses bidding for players behind their backs that they may not want.

 

Both managers apparently have had their employers leaking stuff to the press to force them to quit.

 

One handles himself with class and decorum and gets on with the task of doing the right thing by his club until the end of the season and earns the respect of his players in doing so.

 

One plays political games basically to cement his own position first and foremost and when being linked to other jobs plays coy games with the media thus manipulating the supporters in the process.

 

One has hardly spent a penny in his time at the club and has tried his best with the resources at his disposal despite a disappointing season has his team trying to play the right way.

 

One has spent a fortune trying to create a winning team and has had a disappointing season has his team playing the worst football seen at the club in years.

 

Both managers will probably be leaving their respective clubs in the near future.

 

One will leave with class and dignity with his fans best wishes.

 

One will play the political game right until the end and will leave kicking and screaming about how hard done to he has been.

 

It isn't hard to guess who is who.

John,

do you spend every hour of the day nit picking at Benitez?

for fucks sake give it a rest.

 

I've said for a couple of months now,I'll reluctantly accept Benitez going.

 

But John see the bigger picture,when you open your eyes in the morning another £110k will have gone out of the Clubs funds to pay Hicks and Gillett's interest and the same thing will happen for every SINGLE day they are at the Club.

 

Your a match going Red John,for fucks sake channel your energy where it should be channeled.

 

We've got massive problems at the Club,Rafa Benitez ISN'T our biggest problem.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

JG lives by Shankly's words - "Grab one straw to beat Benitez with and it'll snap. Grab a thousand straws and it's as hard as iron."

[Joe Le Taxi]

Hahahahhaaha oh dear.

 

Really? I mean, are you actually being serious?

[Lucky Pierre]

Players respecting Zola? You can take that one off.

[Juan Galonso]

Players respecting Zola? You can take that one off.

 

Must have been a figment of my imagination Cris when they all jumped over Zola when Scotty Parker their captain scored the winner v Wigan recently then.

 

Imagine one of our senior players doing that with Rafa? No me neither.

[Randy Marsh]

And people on here wonder why some posters get overly defensive about Rafa Benitez when shit like this gets posted on a regular basis.

[JohnnyH]

Yeah! A thread to say that our manager is a cunt/greedy/twat/useless (delete as appropriate). Thank God we have one of these threads as there has been a shortage I feel. In fact there has been a famine of these types of threads to the extent that I hear Bob Geldof is on the case and is arranging Liverpool Aid so we can have more threads like this.

[Joe Le Taxi]

And the point of this thread is......................

 

Fuck it, i'll bite.

 

Are you seriously trying to compare the managers of Liverpool and West Ham? Two managers who face completely different problems, who guided their squads to seperate halves of the table, manage squads whose values are vastly different and also have different expectations from their clubs?

 

Really? I bet this sounded good in your head and to your friends who use every opportunity possible to take a pop at Rafa. Is your hate for the manager superior to that of the owners? The real problem we face.

[Juniper]

My rare contribution to a FF thread will be thus...

 

Fuck Sake.

[Randy Marsh]

And the point of this thread is......................

 

Fuck it, i'll bite.

 

Are you seriously trying to compare the managers of Liverpool and West Ham? Two managers who face completely different problems, who guided their squads to seperate halves of the table, manage squads whose values are vastly different and also have different expectations from their clubs?

 

Really? I bet this sounded good in your head and to your friends who use every opportunity possible to take a pop at Rafa. Is your hate for the manager superior to that of the owners? The real problem we face.

 

It's not even worth the bite mate.

 

By giving it a reasoned response you're setting yourself up for ridicule for not having the cheek to realise Rafa is a total bastard who is the route of all evil at this club and has never had a grain of success in his career.

[Joe Le Taxi]

Here John, a few of my posts. Read them and think for a moment.

 

A while ago now I posted in here and on other forums about looking at the bigger picture and I have recently read about Rafa seeking assurances and he was questioned about these 'assurances' as people felt he was given everything he asked for. "I asked for a table and they gave me a lampshade". That was Rafa's now infamous quote in reference to players he wanted to sign when in charge of Valencia. The same could be said of his time as the manager of Liverpool.

 

In 2004 when he first signed, Cisse was brought in and all that was confirmed before he arrived. He later went on to sell Michael Owen and a few others and brought in a few of his own players. He didn't have the spending power the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United or AC Milan had at the time. Yet, like at Valencia he managed to defy the odds and win us the Champions League for the fifth time. He had to compete against the biggest teams in Europe with a weak squad which is similar to his time at Valencia when he had to contend with the spending power of Real Madrid, Barcelona and to some extent, Deportivo. He got the best out of players such as Ayala (similar to Carragher here) and Aimar (Similar to Gerrard here) as well as making good buys. Once again, this is a similar reflection to Liverpool but the re-building here included a lot of dross. However the team now is much stronger than before he arrived and anyone who says otherwise (and yes there have been such claims) are deluded and will refuse to give Rafa any credit.

 

Rafa's reason for leaving Valencia was that he was not given control of new signings and the club's failure to reinforce the squad with the players he wanted. Here however he has had most of the control of who is brought in. On the downside, in a league which depends on money, not much money was put into the club so we had to settle with sometimes our second or third options. Would a manager who is looking to launch a title challenge be scrapping the barrel with signings such as the free transfers for both Degen and Voronin?

 

I am not trying to portray Rafa as a knight in shining armour despite what some people on here will think. I do not support 'Rafa FC' which is a blind accusation thrown around to people who defend the manager. The same man who has had to fight more boardroom struggle than any other manager in the Premier League. He has had people in the board wanting to stab him in the back. For example, look at a few quotes from this article: this is about far more than Rafael Benítez. This is just the latest in a long line of examples of the press being briefed about Rafa in a way that certainly wasn’t designed to be supportive of the manager. . If Christian Purslow is willing to shove all the blame onto Rafa, do you really think he is such a brilliant man as he tells us? Isn't he another person who lies to fans? If you don't know what I mean, read the minutes of his meeting with SoS. Christian Purlsow’s arrival coincided with spending on transfers that, going off the fees available in public, went from being “net spend” to “net profit”. Liverpool brought more in than went out last year. That’s the calendar year 2009. Once again, is this something that a manager should have to deal with? Why should the man whose job it is to manage the 11 players on the pitch have to get himself involved in the finances and politics of the club?

 

Rafa has and should take some of the blame for a depressing season but should there be such hatred and vitrol directed to him? Do we as fans even understand the full facts? The answer to both questions is no. Why should he be the person to take all the blame for this season? I notice that people don’t seem to be bothered in launching an attack on our owners. It seems they have sunk into the shadows and because they are intent on selling up, people think the job is done. Well let me tell you, the job is far from other. Which sane person would pay an extortionate price for a company that needs significant investment to start making profits? Now you may ask yourself what we can do as fans. Well the answer to that is simple. We must put as much pressure as humanly possible onto the owners so they lower their asking price to attract investment. We all know Rafa is capable of good things and with the right backing of the board, he can produce the goods, such as his record in both Spain and England shows and it would be a disaster in the current regime to replace him.

 

I cannot force you to change your opinions of him but the future of the club is at stake. We can either unite as fans or continue to whine and moan and further the division between our support. It will get ugly soon and I hope that Rafa Benitez is still here next season because I honestly believe he is the right man to lead us forward. However, as I have pointed out, he needs help.

 

Liverpool Football Club is a poisoned chalice and we ourselves must take a portion of the blame. We have been weakened and weakened by two parasites and yet some people only care to argue over the future of the manager? It is pathetic and I hope many of you see sense soon.

 

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/2245708-post574.html

 

Which clubs, in living memory have built a title challenge on selling players to buy others? That 'shite' would have to be replaced unless you want us to have a paper thin squad, and then we would need more money to buy top players. Going by that, we would most likely hit a dead end in our quest to win the league.

 

As I said before, some may want to leave, others may want to stay for the club, it's fans and for Rafa. I don't and I would be very suprised if you do know what is going through the minds of the players.

 

It isn't just Benitez's fault we are in the position we are in. Back to my original post, there are other factors, such as him having his money taken away. And I seriously doubt that in our current situation, another manager could step in and win the league with our squad and next to no money. Yes, in a fantasy world, we could afford Mourinho and give him loads of money but snap back to reality here, do we look an attractive club for Mourinho to go to? Would he leave Inter Milan, where he is in the Champions League final to a club where he would have to take a pay cut and with no Champions League football? We are a poisoned chalice and putting all the blame at Rafa's feet is unfair. Rafa has been unfortunate to have owners who don't care about the club and who lack the ambition he has.

 

I cannot stress how important this is but we as fans need to prioritise! Look at the bigger picture here and look who is causing the club the most pain. Rafa is an easier target for abuse but he isn't the biggest problem the club face. I don't expect to convince you to change your stance on Rafa but you aren't stupid RK but just think about what we could achieve if the manager was given money to spend, without worrying about selling players to increase his buying power.

 

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/2245641-post545.html

 

I did open my eyes. Then I looked at the bigger picture and realised all this pathetic squabling over the manager is wrong, when we should be focusing all our efforts onto the owners. Yes Rafa should take some of the blame but bitching about Rafa isn't going to help. If we directed the same amount of effort we do in slagging Rafa off to help rid the club of the owners, I doubt they would still be here.

 

Rafa Benitez isn't entirely innocent in the huge fuck up that has been our season yet he said it himself, he thought he had more money to buy players. We also know that a lot of our money vanished and we have to wonder why. Focus on the real enemy to the club, not the one that is easiest to slate.

 

Is Rafa the real enemy of the club? No. Is Rafa the one who has bored us to death with his tactics? Yes. However, what is more important; the survival of the club, or a few results? Some people may think the two of these are connected, but we should prioritise all our efforts onto the biggest cancer on the club. Not until the two Americans are out of the club and we have owners who are willing to back the manager should the future of the manager be questioned.

 

I have opened my eyes.

 

Have you?

[Anubis]

 

 

Try harder. Or should that be troll harder?

[Guest PurpleNose]

Bad aids.

[The Tott]

Rafael Benitez is a prick of the highest order. If this gets me negged so be it. He is the SINGLE reason we have done shite this year.

 

RAFA fucked off alonso

RAFA fucked of hyypia

 

Two leaders.

 

RAFA bought Aquilani

RAFA bought The greek

 

Both to replace too heroes.

 

 

Keane, Dossena, Degen, El Zhar, Insua, Aquilani, Ngog, Lucas,Dirk, Skrtel, Riera, Babe (90 million worth of shite roughly off the top of my head : All bad signings (Aquilani could prove to be good, but if the "beloved" benitez stays he'll be off)

 

Constant whinging in the press about various bollox, insane trasfer targets and substitutions, disgraceful man management, mistreatment of top players, an ego that eclipses that of mourinho, tryin (and succeeding in making fans believe he cares about the club)

 

He couldnt give three fucks about us. Hes a disgrace. He gave me the best night of my life in 05 in istanbul and i will always thank him for that, but his conduct as liverpool coach has sickend me.

 

Ill get negged like a bastard for this, but its where im at. The man hasnt a shred of dignity. Hes a disgrace. Ive as much contempt for him as i have for mongo, the catholic church and our owners.

 

If he remains at the helm of our ship longer than this summer, we lads, are heading down.

 

Hes a coach. A COACH. Not a manager. His reign has gone to shite since Pako left. The one man who kept him right, kept him on the ground. He fucked pako off, grew the goatee and became the politician hes become.

 

How people can defend him leaves me scratching my head. It highlights our fall into mediocrity that people will actually STILL defend that twit.

 

Liverpool football club. I grew up with the impression that LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB were the greatest club in the world. If your 2nd your nothing. How about 7th lads??

 

Now obviously those American Cunts deserve to die by donkey rape, but in the short term, we must remove ourselves of that cancerous lump we call the GAFA.

 

 

Alot has been said recently on this forum about The Liverpool Way : What it is? What it means?

 

I like to think this sums it up

 

[YOUTUBE]wpcNFll5yOM[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

 

ps : In the supporters club today I was disgusted that our "so called Fans" cheered when chelsea won the league.

[Joe Le Taxi]

Richie don't hold back! I love how you compare Rafa to the Catholic church though.

 

And on an un-related subject, how the fuck do you pronounce your surname?

[Coro]

 

He couldnt give three fucks about us. Hes a disgrace. He gave me the best night of my life in 05 in istanbul and i will always thank him for that, but his conduct as liverpool coach has sickend me.

Ive as much contempt for him as i have for mongo, the catholic church and our owners. If he remains at the helm of our ship longer than this summer, we lads, are heading down.

 

 

:lol:

 

Get.to.fuck.