What the fuck Rafa

[philyhamann]

Rafael Benítez has effectively written off Liverpool's title chances even though his team lead the Premier League after 16 matches in which they have lost only once. Benítez's side have defeated both Manchester United and Chelsea during a promising opening to the season as they chase the club's first championship since 1990 but the manager is downbeat about their chances of lasting the pace.

 

"For us to win the league we need Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal to mess up their season," he was quoted. "It is very rare that three teams all mess up. So there's no point waiting for our direct adversaries to slip up because it won't happen. They all have a lot greater financial means than us."

 

Liverpool lead Chelsea by a point and enjoy a six-point advantage over United, who have a game in hand. Benítez's comments may be designed to ease the pressure on his squad before tomorrow's game at home to Hull after they managed only goalless draws at Anfield against Fulham and West Ham United in their past two league matches there. They were also held at home by Stoke in September.

 

"For me Valencia and Liverpool are similar - for them to win, the bigger clubs have to do badly," added the 48-year-old Spaniard, a Champions League winner with Liverpool. "When I won La Liga with Valencia that's what happened, Real Madrid and Barcelona were in transition, so it was easier."

 

Benítez, who is close to signing a new contract to keep him at Liverpool until 2013, has tended to be circumspect about his team's chances of winning the Premier League title, a trophy which the club's captain, Steven Gerrard, has described as his No1 target.

 

Yet the manager indicated earlier this season that he believed Liverpool were capable of ending their long search for the championship, which last came to Anfield when Kenny Dalglish was the manager. After Xabi Alonso had given the side a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in October, ending Chelsea's unbeaten home league record after 86 matches, he said: "To win here sends a massive message to the other teams of what we can do and tells our fans what we are about.

 

"To come here with that mentality and showing the character the players showed gives us a big boost for the rest of the season."

 

Football: Liverpool need a miracle to win the title, says Benítez | Football | The Guardian

 

Surely this is a mis translation or something?

[Fugitive]

He's either talking down our chances to ease some of the pressure or he is after more money to spend in January by comparing us to the others in terms of finance.

[tulsakop]

I realize the site probably filters out the name of a certain shite rag, but it says in the link "he was quoted by the S*n". Has all the feel of something them cunts made up or seriously twisted for column inches.

Edited December 12, 2008 by tulsakop

[Dani Pacheco]

That's some ridiculously shit journalism.

[Guest Ulysses Everett McGill]

In truth though, does anyone really think we have a cat in helps chance of winning the league?

[StevieH]

Rafael Benítez has effectively written off Liverpool's title chances even though his team lead the Premier League after 16 matches in which they have lost only once. Benítez's side have defeated both Manchester United and Chelsea during a promising opening to the season as they chase the club's first championship since 1990 but the manager is downbeat about their chances of lasting the pace.

 

"For us to win the league we need Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal to mess up their season," he was quoted. "It is very rare that three teams all mess up. So there's no point waiting for our direct adversaries to slip up because it won't happen. They all have a lot greater financial means than us."

 

Liverpool lead Chelsea by a point and enjoy a six-point advantage over United, who have a game in hand. Benítez's comments may be designed to ease the pressure on his squad before tomorrow's game at home to Hull after they managed only goalless draws at Anfield against Fulham and West Ham United in their past two league matches there. They were also held at home by Stoke in September.

 

"For me Valencia and Liverpool are similar - for them to win, the bigger clubs have to do badly," added the 48-year-old Spaniard, a Champions League winner with Liverpool. "When I won La Liga with Valencia that's what happened, Real Madrid and Barcelona were in transition, so it was easier."

 

Benítez, who is close to signing a new contract to keep him at Liverpool until 2013, has tended to be circumspect about his team's chances of winning the Premier League title, a trophy which the club's captain, Steven Gerrard, has described as his No1 target.

 

Yet the manager indicated earlier this season that he believed Liverpool were capable of ending their long search for the championship, which last came to Anfield when Kenny Dalglish was the manager. After Xabi Alonso had given the side a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in October, ending Chelsea's unbeaten home league record after 86 matches, he said: "To win here sends a massive message to the other teams of what we can do and tells our fans what we are about.

 

"To come here with that mentality and showing the character the players showed gives us a big boost for the rest of the season."

 

Football: Liverpool need a miracle to win the title, says BenÃ*tez | Football | The Guardian

 

Surely this is a mis translation or something?

 

Chelsea and Arsenal are certainly not bigger clubs than Liverpool.

[chorlton]

Saw that, thought load of rubbish. Not even news. We all know that it's either a twisted version of something he's said or a pre season quote or something.

 

Wonder if it's a foreign interview and has been 'translated'. I bet they fucking love foreign managers purely as they can grotesquely change the meaning of something and claim it was a translation error.

[King Emlyn]

Saw that, thought load of rubbish. Not even news. We all know that it's either a twisted version of something he's said or a pre season quote or something.

 

Wonder if it's a foreign interview and has been 'translated'. I bet they fucking love foreign managers purely as they can grotesquely change the meaning of something and claim it was a translation error.

Be that as it may,but if he actually said the Valencia and Liverpool bit words fail.

[Catch22]

Everything he said there is absolutely correct.

 

The budgets of Mancs/Chavs are so much greater than us that they have to actively do something very stupid for us to win the League

 

Similarly in Spain for anyone but Real/Barca to win the League the big 2 have to do something very stupid.

As they are run as fan democracies are & therefore partial to "Rashid-like" glamour signings, then that is more possible.

He admits that with Valencia he benefited from the big 2 imploding

 

Everything in that is 100% correct.

 

This year neither of the Chavs/Mancs appear to be doing anything stupid & as such we have no chance of finishing higher than 3rd.

[billybonzo]

Rafa in playing down our chances shocker.

[King Emlyn]

Everything he said there is absolutely correct.

 

The budgets of Mancs/Chavs are so much greater than us that they have to actively do something very stupid for us to win the League

 

Similarly in Spain for anyone but Real/Barca to win the League the big 2 have to do something very stupid.

As they are run as fan democracies are & therefore partial to "Rashid-like" glamour signings, then that is more possible.

He admits that with Valencia he benefited from the big 2 imploding

 

Everything in that is 100% correct.

 

This year neither of the Chavs/Mancs appear to be doing anything stupid & as such we have no chance of finishing higher than 3rd.

Hear what you're saying but no way in the world are Chelsea and Arsenal bigger clubs than Liverpool.

[Thants]

Er . . January is coming up, "other teams are richer". It's a bit obvious, no news here.

[Catch22]

Hear what you're saying but no way in the world are Chelsea and Arsenal bigger clubs than Liverpool.

 

Totally agree with you.

 

But the Chavs cheat (& Wenger was right for once when he called Russian money laundering cheating) & Arse are run very well off the pitch so now have their new 60k stadium grossing £3m/match whilst we were run by fools who sold to chancers.

[Fugitive]

Er . . January is coming up, "other teams are richer". It's a bit obvious, no news here.

 

 

Fazakerley

[redrosetints]

Rafael Benítez has effectively written off Liverpool's title chances even though his team lead the Premier League after 16 matches in which they have lost only once. Benítez's side have defeated both Manchester United and Chelsea during a promising opening to the season as they chase the club's first championship since 1990 but the manager is downbeat about their chances of lasting the pace.

 

"For us to win the league we need Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal to mess up their season," he was quoted. "It is very rare that three teams all mess up. So there's no point waiting for our direct adversaries to slip up because it won't happen. They all have a lot greater financial means than us."

 

Liverpool lead Chelsea by a point and enjoy a six-point advantage over United, who have a game in hand. Benítez's comments may be designed to ease the pressure on his squad before tomorrow's game at home to Hull after they managed only goalless draws at Anfield against Fulham and West Ham United in their past two league matches there. They were also held at home by Stoke in September.

 

"For me Valencia and Liverpool are similar - for them to win, the bigger clubs have to do badly," added the 48-year-old Spaniard, a Champions League winner with Liverpool. "When I won La Liga with Valencia that's what happened, Real Madrid and Barcelona were in transition, so it was easier."

 

Benítez, who is close to signing a new contract to keep him at Liverpool until 2013, has tended to be circumspect about his team's chances of winning the Premier League title, a trophy which the club's captain, Steven Gerrard, has described as his No1 target.

 

Yet the manager indicated earlier this season that he believed Liverpool were capable of ending their long search for the championship, which last came to Anfield when Kenny Dalglish was the manager. After Xabi Alonso had given the side a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in October, ending Chelsea's unbeaten home league record after 86 matches, he said: "To win here sends a massive message to the other teams of what we can do and tells our fans what we are about.

 

"To come here with that mentality and showing the character the players showed gives us a big boost for the rest of the season."

 

Football: Liverpool need a miracle to win the title, says BenÃ*tez | Football | The Guardian

 

Surely this is a mis translation or something?

 

its from the S*n. Your copy has been changed to not mention it, did you change it ?. Either it's a comolete whopper to destablise us, or it's Rafa posturing for money. Best not to quote stuff from that rag.

[Guest TK-421]

In truth though, does anyone really think we have a cat in helps chance of winning the league?

 

Yes, we definitely have a chance. If we can get to the half way point of the campaign as the leaders, having played some tough away fixtures, then it stands to reason we can still be there at the end of the season.

[andymc]

it wouldn't suprise me if he had made these comments a few seasons ago and that dirty little rag put them todays paper to try and fuck us up. Rafa knows we want to challenge this year hence why he has just said this week it is important we are near the top when europe comes back around

[Guido]

Rafa always makes comments about our finances in December and May when the transfer windows are coming up. Don't tell me no-one else has noticed that!

 

He's after Blaszczykowski. And i reckon we'll get him.

[Xherdan]

At last we have something to give out about. I was worried after Tuesday night as Lucas, Dossena & Keane all played well, we won our CL group and are top of the league. Normality is restored.

[Dirk]

January is coming, Rafa wants some more money.

[redrosetints]

At last we have something to give out about. I was worried after Tuesday night as Lucas, Dossena & Keane all played well, we won our CL group and are top of the league. Normality is restored.

 

Other papers are reporting it, but only as quotes from the s*n. Bound to be a Marca or AS translation.

[redrosetints]

January is coming, Rafa wants some more money.

 

of course, but would he really run his achievements at Valencia down, as simply being due to the big two being in transition ? And would he really say we've no chance unless the other three slip up ? Im sure he wants cash, but not so sure he'd say those things in that way, would he ? All the other press reports this morning say Rafa wants us top in February when the Cl gets going again. hardly the words of someone who doesnt think we can win the league and who is dismiising his previous success. The S*n on a wind up probably by a Manc or Chelsea fan

Edited December 12, 2008 by redrosetints

[JohnnyH]

In truth though, does anyone really think we have a cat in helps chance of winning the league?

 

Nope, I don't think we'll win it. I think we'll be out of it by Feb, but I still harbour that slight hope. A lot depends on Torres coming back and staying fit and firing on all cylinders again.

 

I would imagine there are a lot more quotes from that piece that have not been put in.

 

"It is very rare that three teams all mess up. So there's no point waiting for our direct adversaries to slip up because it won't happen. They all have a lot greater financial means than us."

 

I'd imagine that you could add to that quote quite easily with "So we will not wait for them to slip up but will try our best to win all our games and stay top of the table where we are now.....etc, etc"

 

By the end of today there will be a piece on the Offal denying he said this. However, within this piece Rafa will point out he needs money in January, and I'm all for that.

[redrosetints]

From todays Times,all the other papers carry this story, that Rafa wants us to still be top come Feb. And we now have to concentrate on teh domestic front.

 

Rafael Benítez free to focus on domestic prize | Liverpool - Times Online

 

December 12, 2008

Rafael Benítez free to focus on domestic prize

 

Oliver Kay

 

For the first four months of the season, Liverpool have successfully juggled their ambitions on the domestic and European fronts and, with the Champions League in cold storage until late February, Rafael Benítez wants his team to use the break to strengthen their challenge for a first league title since 1990.

 

Liverpool lead Chelsea by one point at the top of the Barclays Premier League table, with Manchester United a further five points adrift, and, while Benítez has been eager to play down their prospects so far, he believes that his team have an opportunity to step up their title challenge before the Champions League resumes on February 24.

 

A more emotional manager may be preoccupied by the Champions League first knockout draw a week today - in which his team could be paired with Real Madrid, the club that have frequently courted him, or Inter Milan, coached by José Mourinho, his fierce adversary - but yesterday he was thinking only of the opportunity presented by the break from European football.

 

“We now have almost three months to concentrate on the Premier League and the FA Cup,” Benítez said yesterday. “We would want to go back into Europe next year still top of the table. We have qualified for the next stage in Europe, we are top of the Premier League and now we can concentrate on domestic considerations. We do not want to give up top spot. If we are still there when we start up again in Europe, the chances of a really good season will be obvious.”

 

With a home match against Hull City tomorrow afternoon, Liverpool have the opportunity to be four points clear at the top of the table by the time Chelsea take on West Ham United at Stamford Bridge the next day, but this is precisely the kind of fixture in which Benítez's team have often been found wanting this season.

 

Goalless draws at home to Stoke City, Fulham and West Ham have raised doubts about whether Liverpool have the ability to go the distance in the title campaign, but Benítez is eager for them to underline their credentials against Hull before turning their minds to their next fixtures, away to Arsenal, at home to Bolton Wanderers and away to Newcastle United in the league and a trip to to Preston North End in a tricky FA Cup third-round tie.

 

It will be interesting to see whether Benítez opts to use the January transfer window to strengthen his squad, as he has traditionally done. He is far happier with his squad this season - and suggested last week that there was no cause to sign a new centre forward, despite Fernando Torres's persistent hamstring problem - but, with Jermaine Pennant likely to leave the club and doubts over the future of Andrea Dossena, who has struggled at left back since his arrival from Udinese for about £7million last summer, changes are possible.

 

Benítez must hope that his hand is not forced by the continuing uncertainty over the future of Daniel Agger. The Denmark defender has still to agree an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of next season, and is evidently being touted around Europe's top clubs by third parties in case Liverpool decide to sell him.

 

What is more confusing is the extent of the interest shown by Real and AC Milan. Just as José Ángel Sánchez, the Real financial director, backtracked in October from quotes in which he appeared to express an interest in signing the 24-year-old, so Milan denied yesterday that Adriano Galliani, their vice-president, had stated that “we have of course noticed the problems that Agger and Liverpool have on agreeing a new contract”.

 

Liverpool are confident that Agger will sign a new long-term deal, but his agent, Per Steffensen, continues to cast doubt. “I don't know if he will stay,” Steffensen said. “It's not only up to Daniel. He has said that he is happy at Liverpool, but there are always two parties.”

[WhiskeyJar]

What the fuck indeed!

 

If this is true then either he is not happy with his contract and wants out by causing a fans backlash to what he said or he is just using the media as pawns to get more money from the american owners.

 

Either way, just when we all thought we were making the headlines for the right reasons, when stability in some shape or form has returned to the club, this happens.

 

Just get on with it will ya, and we will see in May who will be on top of the league.