Rafa to finally pen 5 year deal next week?

[Thants]

 

Well then it simply wasn't the right decision to let him go, was it?

 

Selling him was a massive mistake. Not replacing him was just massive mistake number 2.

 

As massive as the injustice to the A Team? Crikey.

 

Yes, it would be great to have a miserable Keane on the bench seeing his price tag fall exponentially til the summer. The mistake was buying him in the first place. The solution was to sell to the desperate.

[JMARKH]

5 years is too long, if we suffer another miserable season domestically in terms of performance like this one and last season Rafa will be rightly hounded out by the media and fans in the same way Houllier was at the end of his reign, we will then be left with another massive payout. I can't imagine Shankly coming out with the defeatist "oh they spend more money than us rubbish". He is basically admitting he hasn't got the ability to win the league and blaming money, he can't do the job. This is what we will have to look forward to every year the money excuse. Is the squad and youth set up as strong as what possibly could be in terms of what Rafa has spent? the answer is no and we should expect more.

Edited March 13, 2009 by JMARKH

[Tom R]

Not being funny, but I saw Robbie Keane play on of teh best games I've ever seen from a striker lat week. He scored one and made three and was absolutely fucking brilliant.

 

Why?

 

Cos he's an excellent player, and he always has been. Only now he has a manager who knows how to use him and play to his stregnths, that's why.

 

Wed have got no less for Keane in the summer than we did in January. Anyone who says we would is fucking deluded.

If anything we my even have got more as he wouldn't have been cup tied.

 

It should be a sackable offence to considerably weaken your squad in mid-season. you certinly shouldn't be rewarded with a five year fucking deal, not when we could just as easily finish 5th and trophyless as we could finish 2nd and be European Champions this year.

[Carra_is_legend]

Why shouldn't they talk about it. It's real.

 

Why should they talk about it the day before we are due to play them? Even if it is real? Are they getting the excuses in early if we lose tomorrow? Are they not confident enough to take them on?

 

Even if they want to say something like that they could have said "they have the money but we have the spirit to match them. Just like we did at Anfield early on this season" or something along those lines. This would have conveyed the message as well as raised the spirits of other players and fans.

 

You know what mate? I just wish everyone associated with LFC will keep their fucking gob shut before a big game.

[Barrington Womble]

I love that quote, I really do. I agree we want the league, I agree it should be a priority, but, come on! Are we that blase' about the champions league already?

 

In essence you're saying Man U do have more money but he should shut up and win the league?

 

Can you not see that your expectations may be a bit unfair considering what you, yourself have just acknowledge?

 

 

I don't think it has anything to do with being blase about the CL. If we were champions of england, due to the strength of our league compared to everywhere with the possible exception of spain, we'd at least be competitive in the CL. We might not be as good as we are now, but I would expect minimum last 8 or last 4 in the CL most seasons if we were champions of england because we'd have a good side.

[WaltonRed]

I'm sick of all this I really am.

[Plev]

You know what mate? I just wish everyone associated with LFC will keep their fucking gob shut before a big game.

 

Thats just the way of wall to wall media coverage, especially before big games. Best get used to it because this is how it is now, unfortunately.

[Whelan]

Not being funny, but I saw Robbie Keane play on of teh best games I've ever seen from a striker lat week. He scored one and made three and was absolutely fucking brilliant.

 

Why?

 

Cos he's an excellent player, and he always has been. Only now he has a manager who knows how to use him and play to his stregnths, that's why.

 

Wed have got no less for Keane in the summer than we did in January. Anyone who says we would is fucking deluded.

If anything we my even have got more as he wouldn't have been cup tied.

 

It should be a sackable offence to considerably weaken your squad in mid-season. you certinly shouldn't be rewarded with a five year fucking deal, not when we could just as easily finish 5th and trophyless as we could finish 2nd and be European Champions this year.

 

Come on! he may well be excellent, for Tottenham! but he wasn't for us. And there is no way Tottenham or anybody else would have come with a similar deal in the summer, no way. They had just lost Defoe so they were desperate, and Keane obviously wanted to go.

 

As I said, It was really sad, but he looked poor for most of the time and frankly disinterested in others, and let's be honest he isnt expected to perform well against Middlesborough (yes I understand we have just been twatted by them) he was expected to perform well against, the best sides in Europe, something I am not sure he has proved he is capable of.

 

He has been through quite a few managers and teams in his time so maybe there is something in that, I dont know, I really wish he was a success but he wasn't and had Spurs offered 10, 12 million then I dont think he would have left.

[JMARKH]

Why shouldn't they talk about it. It's real.

 

What has Uniteds' budget got to do with our dire performances and bad tactics against teams who have not spent as much as us, what has it got to do with wasting 20 million on the wrong player? nothing, it is just an excuse to deflect from Rafa's flaws.

[Carra_is_legend]

Thats just the way of wall to wall media coverage, especially before big games. Best get used to it because this is how it is now, unfortunately.

 

There is media coverage because we continue to feed them because our manager and some players can't keep their gob shut before a big game.

[WaltonRed]

United spending more money defo had something to with us drawing against the likes of Stoke this season and getting beat by Boro.

 

Oh hang on a minute...

[ratcatcher]

I dont understand why some people are backtracking on benitez's not having the cash to buy players to mount a title challenge.

 

When he arrived, these same people were saying he'd won the title in Spain by not spending big sums on players ergo, he wouldnt need to spend big in the PL.

 

Now, they are saying he hasnt had the cash to match filth and the chavs spending. Correct me if Im wrong but didnt he have a similar situation in Spain with Real and Barca spending big money on players?

 

Real and barc may not have spent big like the chavs but Im fairly confident Real have been very close to filth's spending and perhaps not that far behind the chavs?

 

We seem to have moved away from the notion a manager who could win la liga without spending big could repeat that in the PL to a position where he must spend the same as filth and the chavs to be able to challenge.

 

Im not convinced by that argument. I think we've spend lots of money but we just cant buy the quality we want and instead, are obsessed by having the quantity.

 

We could have signed ballack if we wanted to because he was a bosman so would only needed to have found his wages. We could have bought vidic but allowed filth to outbid us at the last minute. OK that may not have been benitez's fault but if we were spending the £4m - £5m on some squad players, could have paid more.

 

Its a subjective argument at the end of the day whether we have to spend big on quality or spend big on quantity. Clearly, spending on quantity hasnt worked so maybe we should change and start spending big on quality.

 

Carrying on with the same old same old isnt an option because it doesnt work.

[Whelan]

There is media coverage because we continue to feed them because our manager and some players can't keep their gob shut before a big game.

 

Press conferances! Because it is a big game and there is a lot of focus he gets asked questions and he answers them. It's not as though they are going out of their way to speak to the press.

[stringvest]

Stock has fallen with who?

 

Fans, Journalists, unfortunately for them they aren't the ones who decide on a managers job and amongst chairmen, especially abroad, I imagine his stock has rarely been higher.

 

Do you really think if he left today he wouldn't have a queue of clubs looking to hire him?

 

He would have a load of offers, I've no doubt about that.

I've no doubt about the fact that his stock has fallen since the league title challenge fell away, certainly with a proportion of the fans of the club he's managing, but more importantly with the owners.

[JMARKH]

Why should they talk about it the day before we are due to play them? Even if it is real? Are they getting the excuses in early if we lose tomorrow? Are they not confident enough to take them on?

Even if they want to say something like that they could have said "they have the money but we have the spirit to match them. Just like we did at Anfield early on this season" or something along those lines. This would have conveyed the message as well as raised the spirits of other players and fans.

 

You know what mate? I just wish everyone associated with LFC will keep their fucking gob shut before a big game.

 

Yes and we can look forward to this every year as long as Ferguson continues to outsmart Benitez tactically in the Premier League. I actually think Rafa is catching up fast with Houllier in terms of excuses.

[Catch22]

United spending more money defo had something to with us drawing against the likes of Stoke this season and getting beat by Boro.

 

Oh hang on a minute...

 

 

Where we drop or pick up points is irrelevant.

 

I keeep hearing on here that the reason people want the PL is because it is over 38 games.

 

& then they fail to judge over 38 games

 

Every team drops points in certain games but the PL is judged over 38 games.

 

No-one has ever won the PL from our budget position yet it is somehow to be expected?

[WaltonRed]

Rafa is catching up fast with Houllier in terms of excuses.

 

Catching up? I'd say on par.

[The 5th Benitel]

I think we're talking at crossed purposes.

 

Your initial reply was to my post about comments from Rafa which admitted he has/will make mistakes but suggesting he has less room for error due to finance.

 

You seem keane (snigger) to steer the conversation into a pro/Anti Rafa thing. There's more than enough of that on here already - so I'll not get involved.

 

Fair enough but my point on here related to finance is that he cant really moan about the difference in financial clout when he was prepared to go into our first title run in for years down one £20m forward withjout bringing in a replacement.

 

And it's also relelvant to Walton Red's post that i completely agree with. This season, it wasn't money that lost us the league. Our challenge was over in Feb cps of the way we played against teams with a fraction of our budget.

[Plev]

There is media coverage because we continue to feed them because our manager and some players can't keep their gob shut before a big game.

 

There's media coverage because of the public demand for it. So if there's no news or slow news they make it up. Before a big game there's always a big build up, including player interviews, which I'm pretty sure they'd rather not do. Quotes get picked out, tossed about, edited, to make a good quote, the more controversial/newsworthy then all the better.

[Guest simon]

6 words come to mind. "Believe it when i see it.".

[Carra_is_legend]

Press conferances! Because it is a big game and there is a lot of focus he gets asked questions and he answers them. It's not as though they are going out of their way to speak to the press.

 

Journalist: So, Rafa, do you think you can win at Old Trafford tomorrow?

Rafa: I will wait for 2 weeks to make my mind up about the new contract

Journalist: If you lose tomorrow, do you think the title is over for you?

Rafa: I don't want to live on last game's result. I want a long term contract.

 

I guess this is how we do our press conferences. Before EVERY big game.

[Guest ShoePiss]

Hope he signs, there isn't anyone better to do the job under the circumstances.

[JMARKH]

Where we drop or pick up points is irrelevant.

 

I keeep hearing on here that the reason people want the PL is because it is over 38 games.

 

& then they fail to judge over 38 games

 

Every team drops points in certain games but the PL is judged over 38 games.

 

No-one has ever won the PL from our budget position yet it is somehow to be expected?

 

Why are we under performing against the same type of sides? Ones who are happy to settle for a point? I would say that we have the ability to beat all these teams and it is more down to tactics and team selection than anything else

[Whelan]

Journalist: So, Rafa, do you think you can win at Old Trafford tomorrow?

Rafa: I will wait for 2 weeks to make my mind up about the new contract

Journalist: If you lose tomorrow, do you think the title is over for you?

Rafa: I don't want to live on last game's result. I want a long term contract.

 

I guess this is how we do our press conferences. Before EVERY big game.

 

I'm sorry you have lost me, is that an actual snippet?

[ratcatcher]

Where we drop or pick up points is irrelevant.

 

I keeep hearing on here that the reason people want the PL is because it is over 38 games.

 

& then they fail to judge over 38 games

 

Every team drops points in certain games but the PL is judged over 38 games.

 

No-one has ever won the PL from our budget position yet it is somehow to be expected?

 

I have to be brutally honest and say that even if benitez had filth's or the chavs transfer budget, I wouldnt be confident of him winning the title with us due to his overall game plan.

 

Put it another way, I firmly believe if heaven forbid, furguson had been our manger these last 5 years, we would have had more than the current title challenge to shout about.