Rafa to Madrid - "Who beat whom 5-0?" (Or Why I still Love Rafa)

[dirty_sanchez]

I'd have Higuain as part of any deal. Higuain + £25m for both of them.

[rebel23]

Perez wants him cos he is Spanish - that is the only factor here

 

yes Alonso is a v.good player but Madrid don't need him - the interest is purely cos he is Spanish and Perez wants more Spanish players

 

given the above Perez is not going to break the bank to get him - ala Ronaldo or Kaka - that is the difference

 

if Alonso doesn't want to go he won't go - end of

 

Real will not pay silly money for him

 

they do need him, their midfield is crap.

 

They will pay silly money for him as there's no one else of comparable quality. I expect them to offer what we want, no problems. more so if Xabi lifts the confed cup on sunday

[Lucky Pierre]

Real will not pay silly money for him

Well they can fuck off then.

[Xherdan]

They have to pay silly money or they wont get him. Simples.

[shaunstrudwick]

they do need him, their midfield is crap.

 

 

then we disagree about why perez is interested in him then

 

i thinkPerez wants him because of teh crieria below:

 

1st.Alonso is Spanish

2nd.Perez thinks we will let him go cheaply cos Rafa tried to sell him last summer

3rd.Alonso is a good player

[mickeydocs]

i guess what i am getting it is who would you get in to replace Xabi's position if he did WANT to go?

 

in Snjeider there is a ready made replacement imo so we should make him part of any deal

 

i'm still unsure as to whether Alonso DOES want to go mind

 

Wouldn't say there is a ready made replacement, but there is a player of equal quality that could help the team evolve in a new direction.

[shaunstrudwick]

Wouldn't say there is a ready made replacement, but there is a player of equal quality that could help the team evolve in a new direction.

 

exactly where i was coming from :)

[bigwool]

Apologies if already posted, but do I detect a whiff of desperation here...?

 

Valdano: S*** on stick rift won't stop Liverpool transfer talks

 

24.06.09 | tribalfootball.com

 

Real Madrid chief Jorge Valdano is confident a rift with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez won't affect talks over Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.

 

Valdano angered Benítez when he described the 2007 Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea as “s*** hanging from a stick” and criticised the Merseyside club's manager for mistrusting talent because of his own failure to make it as a leading player.

 

But Valdano said that he did not expect any ill feeling between the pair to hamper negotiations.

 

“What I'm sure about is that Liverpool and Real Madrid are above personal relationships,” he said. “Benítez was here [at the Bernabéu as a coach] and has kept friendships with employees of the club. Personal disagreements matter little in this.”

[Randy Marsh]

Still baffles me that people on here even entertain having that baldy cunt cheat Robben in a red shirt. Short memories.

[Red Nick]

Dutifully awaiting someone to explain why this still means Rafa is a cunt.

 

Thats brilliant by Rafa and your statement has absolutely nothing to do with it whatsover its like your board and want to start an argument with someone.

 

FFS Rafa being brilliant in transfer negotations (obviously cleverrer than Parry) has no bearing on deciions he has made on team selelctions and subistitutions that is a totally different matter.

 

Class by Rafa

[SpeedyG]

Thats brilliant by Rafa and your statement has absolutely nothing to do with it whatsover its like your board and want to start an argument with someone.

 

FFS Rafa being brilliant in transfer negotations (obviously cleverrer than Parry) has no bearing on deciions he has made on team selelctions and subistitutions that is a totally different matter.

 

Class by Rafa

 

:whoops: A little objectivity wouldn't go amiss.

 

David Prentice: Rafa Benitez is a master tactician

 

Sep 19 2008

 

by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo

 

 

WHAT constitutes a master tactician? The ability to make changes to the pattern of a match with influential substitutions is clearly one criterion.

 

And in Rafael Benitez, Liverpool possess the best Anfield has ever seen.

 

Ryan Babel’s goalscoring impact against Manchester United last Saturday was the 50th occasion Benitez has brought on a player who has scored.

 

Even given the increased number of substitutions in modern football, that’s a remarkable record.

 

To give that stat even greater resonance, on 12 separate occasions Benitez has made substitutions which have led to two or more goals – many from losing positions.

 

 

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Cynics might suggest that the Reds boss sent out the wrong team in the first place. But I prefer the argument that there aren’t many better coaches in Europe at analysing the flow of a match and making the necessary switches which work.

 

Remember Olympiakos? Steven Gerrard’s late piledriver is the obvious memory, but without goals from supersubs Mellor and Pongolle that match-winner might have been meaningless.

 

Then there’s Kewell and Alonso scoring against Charlton to salvage a 2-2 draw, Crouch and Warnock against Fulham, Garcia and Cisse saving a draw at Birmingham, then Alonso and Biscan turning a 2-0 deficit at Fulham into a 4-2 win.

 

And none of them were even Benitez’s greatest switch.

 

Arguably the Reds’ manager’s most valuable intervention was the introduction of a player who didn’t score at all – not until a penalty shoot-out anyway.

 

Vladimir Smicer might have come on and scored in Istanbul, but it was Dietmar Hamann’s half-time introduction which swung the match back Liverpool’s way.

 

It’s just as easy to make a damaging switch as it is to introduce an effective change – as Sir Alf Ramsey discovered in Mexico, Howard Kendall at Wembley in 1986 and Gerard Houllier in Leverkusen.

 

But Benitez has, so far, managed to avoid that pitfall.

 

Even his controversial withdrawal of Steven Gerrard at Goodison Park for showing “too much passion” paid off.

 

The use of an impact substitute was a tactic whose effectiveness grew only stealthily.

 

It was first allowed in England in 1965, but only for injuries. Tactical switches were later allowed in 1967, increased to two changes 20 years later then, in 1995, increased to the current limit of three.

 

Predictably the influence of Anfield substitutes has grown with the times.

 

Bill Shankly made just 18 scoring switches in nine years, the last – in 1974 – resulting in a last-minute winner from Peter Cormack against Norwich.

 

Bob Paisley doubled that figure in eight years, but then he could call on the greatest Supersub of them all, David Fairclough, who scored 18 goals after stepping off the bench.

 

Joe Fagan did it three times, Dalglish 21, Souness 10 and Roy Evans 12, before the folly of a joint management team was exposed.

[Guest davelfc]

One day in the future I hope there will be a reason to erect a statue of Rafa at the ground. He's building something great here.

[Hermes]

What a load of bollocks. Did previous managers have 3 substitutes to bring on?

 

Prentice in "talking through his arse" shocker.

[Hyppia 4]

I'd have Higuain as part of any deal. Higuain + £25m for both of them.

 

If Higuain were available he would be the only player I'd be interested in.

 

I think he is absolutely superb.

[Hermes]

If Higuain were available he would be the only player I'd be interested in.

 

I think he is absolutely superb.

 

You can say that.........Higuain.

[rebel23]

Madrid need Alonso more than they need Ribery yet if you believe the papers they're considering paying some ridiculous fee for him which I dont understand, are they going to dump Raul? they can't all play these attacking players.

 

if Madrid had any sense they'd pay top whack for Alonso and forget about Ribery, not that I want Alonso to go but i'd be surprised if they dont make an obscene offer.

[Code]

Perez wants him cos he is Spanish - that is the only factor here

 

yes Alonso is a v.good player but Madrid don't need him - the interest is purely cos he is Spanish and Perez wants more Spanish players

 

given the above Perez is not going to break the bank to get him - ala Ronaldo or Kaka - that is the difference

 

if Alonso doesn't want to go he won't go - end of

 

Real will not pay silly money for him

 

Only want him because he is Spanish?

 

Maybe they want him because he pisses all over every other CM they have got in the squad and totally dominated them twice in the CL, along with the fact he is Spanish.

[Steve Holt]

I know the OP has stated he was given the article or whatever, but does anyone know where I can find the original? Classic Rafa.

[AmerScouse]

Madrid need Alonso more than they need Ribery yet if you believe the papers they're considering paying some ridiculous fee for him which I dont understand, are they going to dump Raul? they can't all play these attacking players.

 

if Madrid had any sense they'd pay top whack for Alonso and forget about Ribery, not that I want Alonso to go but i'd be surprised if they dont make an obscene offer.

 

it all depends on what they are going to do with the forward position. the could easily play ronaldo, kaka, ribery and raul in an attacking front four if they wanted. it'd be madness because i don't think raul is up to it but they obviously can

 

they are looking to sell a majority of the players in attacking positions anyway like RVN, huntelaar, sneider, vdv, gago, higuain, robben, drenthe etc.

 

so they won't be too overloaded. they've accomodated the galaticos previously they'll do it again, but their downfall would be if they didn't get a top class striker to score the goals cause i don't think raul will cut it.

 

ironically the RVN of a season or two ago would score 50 with that attacking talent providing for him.

[Glen C]

The good thing is that we're in a position of strength. Alonso has 3 years on his contract so its not like he's gonna lose any value if we sold him next summer. In fact we could get more after next seasons world cup. So madrid have to meet our value or fuck off basically. As much as i don't want to sell him it seems like rafa and alonso both want the deal to go through. So in that case i think Sneidjer plus £15m would be a good deal for us.

[The Party Boy]

if Madrid had any sense they'd pay top whack for Alonso and forget about Ribery, not that I want Alonso to go but i'd be surprised if they dont make an obscene offer.

 

They have no sense and only want to play fantasy football so they won't do that. I bet Madrid thought and still do that they could get him on the cheap.

[shaunstrudwick]

Only want him because he is Spanish?

 

Maybe they want him because he pisses all over every other CM they have got in the squad and totally dominated them twice in the CL, along with the fact he is Spanish.

 

Alonso is a different type of player to what they currently have - granted

 

but for me Snjeider is the heartbeat of teh Dutch national side and offers more goal threat / attacking capability than Alonso does

 

Snjeider alongside Masch and Gerrard could deffo improve us imo

[t1971]

Alonso is a different type of player to what they currently have - granted

 

but for me Snjeider is the heartbeat of teh Dutch national side and offers more goal threat / attacking capability than Alonso does

 

Snjeider alongside Masch and Gerrard could deffo improve us imo

 

If Alonso does go to them i would like Wesley in part exchange.

[thaipool]

I love the Man,Liverpool thru and thru,and yet some wanted that excuse of a man mourinho,and still some think He should be gone yesterday,do Me a favour

[fin-bat]

I love the Man,Liverpool thru and thru,and yet some wanted that excuse of a man mourinho,and still some think He should be gone yesterday,do Me a favour

 

What in the name of fuck are you talking about ? Who exactly doesn´t want Mourinho to leave ?