Rafa may have the club at heart...

[Elite]

...but he must be on borrowed time now.

 

We will be lucky to finish in the top 4 at this rate.

[bobhorse]

WUM Fuck off

[hamstrung]

Aye

 

There's quite a few who are posting 100 times a day recently.

[Elite]

Hardly a WUM. He's not good enough in the Premiership, nor will he ever be.

[Elite]

Just out of interest do you think we will finish 4th this season? Is that deemed good enough considering we have spent shitloads more than Everton our main rivals?

[Scouse_Datcha]

Just out of interest do you think we will finish 4th this season? Is that deemed good enough considering we have spent shitloads more than Everton our main rivals?

 

Ofc spending is the thing to look at, not the DHICKS behind Rafa ??

[Elite]

H and G are the major problem but some people will see no wrong with Rafa.

 

We're not good enough and not even close to the league with Benitez, I am all for him staying until the end of the season but how much longer can we accept this mediocrity without realising maybe someone else can do better.

[TheDrowningMan]

Paulo Ferraira - £13.2m

Mateja Kezman - £5m

Tiago - £10m

Didier Drogba - £24.5m

Asier Del Horno - £8.5m

Michael Essien - £24.5m

Shaun Wright-Philips - £21m

Jon Obi Mikel - £12.5m

Andrei Shevchenko £30m

Khalid Boularouz - £8.5m

 

Anyone who couldn't win a league after spending that (heavily abridged) amount deserves to be shot dead. Mourinho probably deserves to be banned from football manager forever for crimes against the sport for failing to win the league last season and failing to win a single CL in his time at Chelsea.

 

And Wenger hasn't won a 'big two' trophy since 2004, and has been out pointed and out witted by Rafa up until this season.

 

The problem is, people like you pay too much attention to Sky and the pundits. You desire to see us in a Newcastle or Tottenham style state, for that is what your methods of chopping and changing would bring us.

 

The current manager has given us our highest points total since we last won the league and won a trophy AT LEAST as important as the Premiership title, and reached another final a couple of years later.

 

We've seen what works in the Premiership - you either give a manager SHEDLOADS of cash and see if he can make enough shit stick or you give them time - particularly when they've already won you a fucking trophy which is, in many ways, harder to win than the Premiership in itself (ask Wenger and Ferguson). If you go around axing managers who do that, you end up a fucking wreck.

[Elite]

The problem is, we're slipping away as oppose to getting closer. Teams who have spent considerably less than us may finish above us.

[zigackly]

People were saying we wouldn't finish in the top four last season at this stage, and earlier in the season in 05/06. I still think we're more than capable of finishing fourth, but we do need to get into some kind of form soon. The maddest thing about this season (on the pitch) is that our away form has been much better, but our home form has fallen apart. If we can improve our home draws into wins and maintain our away form we shouldn't have too much of a problem, and to be honest we should be capable of beating all the teams who will come to Anfield in the remaining games if we play at our best.

[TheDrowningMan]

People were saying we wouldn't finish in the top four last season at this stage, and earlier in the season in 05/06. I still think we're more than capable of finishing fourth, but we do need to get into some kind of form soon. The maddest thing about this season (on the pitch) is that our away form has been much better, but our home form has fallen apart. If we can improve our home draws into wins and maintain our away form we shouldn't have too much of a problem, and to be honest we should be capable of beating all the teams who will come to Anfield in the remaining games if we play at our best.

 

The home / away thing leads me to believe we are very, very close to mounting a title challenge. It's a case of blending the two. Like Arsenal last year, we might look like we're years behind but we're not.

[Hooch]

The home / away thing leads me to believe we are very, very close to mounting a title challenge. It's a case of blending the two. Like Arsenal last year, we might look like we're years behind but we're not.

 

Thats rubbish mate, any team in which Dirk Kuyt can play 90 minutes will never mount a title challenge.

If it wasn't for Hicks and Gillet bein gobshites all the heat would be on Rafa right now, fortunately for him it's not but it should be.

[ratcatcher]

Paulo Ferraira - £13.2m

Mateja Kezman - £5m

Tiago - £10m

Didier Drogba - £24.5m

Asier Del Horno - £8.5m

Michael Essien - £24.5m

Shaun Wright-Philips - £21m

Jon Obi Mikel - £12.5m

Andrei Shevchenko £30m

Khalid Boularouz - £8.5m

 

Anyone who couldn't win a league after spending that (heavily abridged) amount deserves to be shot dead. Mourinho probably deserves to be banned from football manager forever for crimes against the sport for failing to win the league last season and failing to win a single CL in his time at Chelsea.

Er he won it twice in consecutive seasons and just missed a third. We put his side out of the CL twice at the semi stages. Much as I like Benitez, I have to question myself very closely to think what the answer would be if he'd have spent that much on those players. The answer I come up with is that he'd have rotated so much we might not have won one never mind two titles and challenged for a third.

 

And Wenger hasn't won a 'big two' trophy since 2004, and has been out pointed and out witted by Rafa up until this season.

Wenger's track record does exceed Benitez's although its true Benitez and us finished above wenger for 2 seasons while he was building a new side. The results of our rebuilding are what exactly?

 

The problem is, people like you pay too much attention to Sky and the pundits. You desire to see us in a Newcastle or Tottenham style state, for that is what your methods of chopping and changing would bring us.

Talk about head in the sand!

 

The current manager has given us our highest points total since we last won the league and won a trophy AT LEAST as important as the Premiership title, and reached another final a couple of years later.

He hasnt got us into second though. Winning the CL was a magnificent achievement even if it was broadly Houllier's team but it is a cup competition. Benitez is sadly nowhere nearer winning the title. In fact Ged got closer.

 

We've seen what works in the Premiership - you either give a manager SHEDLOADS of cash and see if he can make enough shit stick or you give them time - particularly when they've already won you a fucking trophy which is, in many ways, harder to win than the Premiership in itself (ask Wenger and Ferguson). If you go around axing managers who do that, you end up a fucking wreck.

Back to wenger its taken him 2 seasons to build a new side capable of challenging for the title (note I said challenge not win) and has spent relatively modest amounts. The CL is a different animal to the PL but both the managers you mention have won more than one PL title. One has won the CL and the other got a team to the final.

 

Wake up!

[Karl_b]

 

Wenger's track record does exceed Benitez's although its true Benitez and us finished above wenger for 2 seasons while he was building a new side. The results of our rebuilding are what exactly?

 

Arsenal have been rebuilding a lot longer than us, that team they have now is years in the making. We may see the fruits of Rafa's labour in that department in a couple of years hopefully.

[RedKnight]

Crouch and Torres. Repeat until injured.

[TheDrowningMan]

How many years did Alex Ferguson go before winning his first title?

 

Why are Ferguson and Wenger allowed to go four, five years without winning a major competition without question?

 

Why do they go unquestioned, even in fallow periods?

 

How many years did it take Ferguson & Wenger respectively to reach a CL final?

 

What is a youth infrastructure, and does it necessarily pay immediate dividends?

 

Has Arsene Wenger won a major trophy - excluding the FA Cup - since Benitez took the helm at Liverpool?

 

If not, why not?

 

Should he be sacked if they fail to win a major trophy this season, taking him two seasons beyond the apparent 'sacking point' of Benitez, who hasn't had almost 12 years with which to build the club in his image?

 

Why do barely any managers have as many CL wins to their name than league title successes?

 

Why are they backed to the hilt by their boards?

 

How long do managers of clubs like Newcastle & Tottenham receive on average?

 

How many major trophies have the aforementioned clubs won in recent years, despite spending the sort of money Liverpool does, and in excess of Arsenal?

 

Why are Wenger and Ferguson the most successful managers over the last two decades?

 

After Wenger won his first Premiership title, he didn't win anything else for four years. Why?

 

You'll find all the questions in the answers and the answers in the questions.

[ratcatcher]

Arsenal have been rebuilding a lot longer than us, that team they have now is years in the making. We may see the fruits of Rafa's labour in that department in a couple of years hopefully.

 

No he hasnt. He may have replaced the odd player here and there as any manager would with a successful side but in the last two seasons, he's largely rebuilt.

 

In any event, Benitez has been rebuilding for 3 and a half seasons yet we're going backwards.

[TheDrowningMan]

No he hasnt. He may have replaced the odd player here and there as any manager would with a successful side but in the last two seasons, he's largely rebuilt.

 

In any event, Benitez has been rebuilding for 3 and a half seasons yet we're going backwards.

 

A CL success and another final is not going backwards, unless you're suggesting we've gone backwards from 1990, in which case you may have a legitimate point.

[ratcatcher]

How many years did Alex Ferguson go before winning his first title?

I dont care about them, only LFC

 

Why are Ferguson and Wenger allowed to go four, five years without winning a major competition without question?

ferguson has and very recently. Wenger won a trophy in 2004 didnt he? That's not 4 or 5 seasons.

 

Why do they go unquestioned, even in fallow periods?

Fergie has been. Why ignore this?

 

How many years did it take Ferguson & Wenger respectively to reach a CL final?

Benitez won the CL broadly with Ged's team. What does that say?

 

Why do barely any managers have as many CL wins to their name than league title successes?

Because they concentrate on their domestic title more?

 

Why are they backed to the hilt by their boards?

Benitez has been until he had a public spat with the new owners

 

Why are Wenger and Ferguson the most successful managers over the last two decades?

Because they've built consistency into their teams, they dont concentrate too much on the oppos, they play to their strengths. Do I need to go on?

 

After Wenger won his first Premiership title, he didn't win anything else for four years. Why?

Perhaps because winning the double that season raised expectations too much and he had to build and strengthen the side?

 

u'll find all the questions in the answers and the answers in the questions.

Stop being obssessed with wenger and fergie.

 

"We're so close to winning a title"? I dont normally say this but you're fcuking deluded if you believe that!

[ratcatcher]

A CL success and another final is not going backwards, unless you're suggesting we've gone backwards from 1990, in which case you may have a legitimate point.

 

CL success was a magnificent achievement. Benitez won in 2005 with broadly Ged's team. Dont take my word, ask Gerrard, Carragher and Hyppia.

 

In 2007 Benitez's team lost to an older Milan side they should have beaten.

 

The CL is basically a cup competition. In the PL, we have gone backwards.

[TheDrowningMan]

CL success was a magnificent achievement. Benitez won in 2005 with broadly Ged's team. Dont take my word, ask Gerrard, Carragher and Hyppia.

 

In 2007 Benitez's team lost to an older Milan side they should have beaten.

 

The CL is basically a cup competition. In the PL, we have gone backwards.

 

We are a better league team than in Houllier's last two seasons.

[George Costanza]

I'm going to be lambasted for this but for me Rafa is only a better version than Houllier. The football isn't much better, despite IMO with a much better squad. Its just an opnion but give Rafa another 5 years and £100m or so and he'll still not win the league, he'll probably win 2/3 trophies though. Quite probably including big ears again but not the league. He's too cautious in the premiership, not enough emphasis on taking the game to our opponents and simply going out and twatting them. Unlike Europe, the premiership isn't a chess game.

[Jerry St. Clair]

What a truly horrible thread this is and anybody who agrees with it should be ashamed of themselves.

 

Rafa looked terrible in the post match interview and has been through hell for the good of the club and its supporters since November. Rafa should be thought of in the same breath as Shankly the way he has tried to drag the club off the floor.

 

Hopefully our support will get him through the final furlong and his health doesn't suffer.

[Spy Bee]

Until off the pitch is sorted I can't judge on the pitch.

[stringvest]

Until off the pitch is sorted I can't judge on the pitch.

 

that's sensible. I do want Rafa to stay, I'm discomfited by some of his on the field decisions, but I just can't bring myself to look at games on merit at the moment - there's too much bad shit going on, and it will have a major impact on the staff, the players, and the players attitude to the manager.

 

It's the footballing equivalent of MRSA - and Hicks has got the keys to the antibiotics cabinet, but he won't hand them over.