We signed 3 and wanted 4

[Lambo]

No manager always gets what he wants in the transfer market, it is part and parcel of the job. The fact remains we still brought in 3 players for a combined total of 40 million quid. Should he have had more? Probably. But there is still major question marks over his transfer strategy and scouting for me.

[Simbo]

When the transfer window closed rafa said we had signed all of the players we wanted. This is just his latest attempt to deflect criticism onto somebody else.

 

Bollocks.

 

Over the past 2 years there has been a general acceptance as to where the club were heading under The 2 Cunts.

 

Now it is actually happening, heartbreaking as it is, people are all of a sudden blaming Rafa. Unbelievable.

[Royal Family]

That's not true either. Here are the only clubs in Europe who spent £20m or more net in the summer:

 

Real Madrid

Man City

Barcelona

Bayern Munich

Napoli

Juventus

Fenerbahce

Aston Villa

Hamburg

Besiktas

 

I think you'll agree that only those in bold could be described as "invariably ahead of us in recent history".

 

Spurs and Sunderland, to name but two more? redknapp has spent an absolute fortune since being at Spurs - well over £100m NET.

[Red Nick]

No manager always gets what he wants in the transfer market, it is part and parcel of the job. The fact remains we still brought in 3 players for a combined total of 40 million quid. Should he have had more? Probably. But there is still major question marks over his transfer strategy and scouting for me.

 

I am sure if the owners had said to Rafa at the beginning at the transfer season that you will only get what you bring in or maybe less Rafa would have been able to deal with the situation much better.

 

He may have elected not to buy Johnson as he would know that it would be a straight choice between a Mata or Silva or Johnson. However I think Rafa wouldnt have been so demotivated by it and would have had some time to get his head round being shafted again.

 

However to be told just after the Xabi sale that he had 1.5m to spend at the start of the season left Rafa no time and he was really pissed off and to be fair its been a downward spiral ever since

 

The owners thought Rafa would be upset for a couple of days and get over it. However it is clear to everyone Rafa is not over it and wont be here next season whatever happens hence why debates about Rafa comming or going are pointless.

[PaulMcC]

Spurs and Sunderland, to name but two more? redknapp has spent an absolute fortune since being at Spurs - well over £100m NET.

 

Didn't Chelsea spend 18m on Zhirkov and about 4m on Sturridge(set by tribunal)?

[The 5th Benitel]

Bollocks.

 

Over the past 2 years there has been a general acceptance as to where the club were heading under The 2 Cunts.

 

Now it is actually happening, heartbreaking as it is, people are all of a sudden blaming Rafa. Unbelievable.

 

 

I hate the owners but it is unbelievable to have had a manager in charge for 5 years who has had hundreds of millions to spend and for people to say he's not responsible. At what point can he be judged on his side's performances? After 10 years? Only when he's given unlimited funds?

 

That really would be unbelievable.

[Funkasy]

i think Barry was that fourth player

[Unrighteous]

Bollocks.

 

Over the past 2 years there has been a general acceptance as to where the club were heading under The 2 Cunts.

 

Now it is actually happening, heartbreaking as it is, people are all of a sudden blaming Rafa. Unbelievable.

 

Yeah, the owners are two cunts, but can't you see that Rafa is making mistakes?

[Lambo]

I am sure if the owners had said to Rafa at the beginning at the transfer season that you will only get what you bring in or maybe less Rafa would have been able to deal with the situation much better.

 

How do you know they didn't? There was lots of mis-information flying round about how much he actually had to spend. For all we know he was in full control of his budget, fully aware of the amount, and spent it accordingly.

 

He was desperate to sign Johnson and was probably panicked into paying way over what he expected, leaving him short elsewhere. Yes, he should have had more to spend but I'm not 100% sure he would have spent it wisely.

 

Fans have a very simplistic view of transfers, ignoring the reality of wages, agents fees, etc, which all come out the budget and always have.

[Unrighteous]

How do you know they didn't? There was lots of mis-information flying round about how much he actually had to spend. For all we know he was in full control of his budget, fully aware of the amount, and spent it accordingly.

 

He was desperate to sign Johnson and was probably panicked into paying way over what he expected, leaving him short elsewhere. Yes, he should have had more to spend but I'm not 100% sure he would have spent it wisely.

 

Fans have a very simplistic view of transfers, ignoring the reality of wages, agents fees, etc, which all come out the budget and always have.

 

Johnson wasn't a panic buy. Chelsea were willing to pay the same amount, and City started sniffing around near the end of it. We paid a fair price for Johnson, IMO. I have no problems with that. We wanted a top english player, and we paid for him.

[Simbo]

I hate the owners but it is unbelievable to have had a manager in charge for 5 years who has had hundreds of millions to spend and for people to say he's not responsible. At what point can he be judged on his side's performances? After 10 years? Only when he's given unlimited funds?

 

That really would be unbelievable.

 

We were doing well in Rafa's first 2 years in charge. Champions League and FA Cup winners, we were also building a relatively good squad. Then the Americans came and it is no coincidence that things have been on the slide since then. We cant even compete financially with the likes of Man City, Spurs and maybe even Sunderland. Yet Rafa is supposed to have us challenging at the top?

 

I honestly dont believe we should be judging the manager now under these circumstances. He should only be judged against our fans incredibly high expectations when he has the full backing of an owner who can see us genuinly compete financially with the top clubs (not unlimited funds) and then if things arent working we can debate whether he should be our manager or not.

 

Yanks out first.

[Lambo]

Johnson wasn\'t a panic buy. Chelsea were willing to pay the same amount, and City started sniffing around near the end of it. We paid a fair price for Johnson, IMO. I have no problems with that. We wanted a top english player, and we paid for him.

 

This fact is it?

 

According to Johnson hed already made his choice and it was just a case of agreeing a fee. I always felt the City and Chelsea links were designed to squeeze more money out of us, and we duly obliged and also made him one of the top earners at the club, which must have took up a huge chunk of the overall budget.

[PaulMcC]

Portsmouth accepted 2 offers for Johnson. He chose to join us.

[Red Nick]

How do you know they didn't? There was lots of mis-information flying round about how much he actually had to spend. For all we know he was in full control of his budget, fully aware of the amount, and spent it accordingly.

 

He was desperate to sign Johnson and was probably panicked into paying way over what he expected, leaving him short elsewhere. Yes, he should have had more to spend but I'm not 100% sure he would have spent it wisely.

 

Fans have a very simplistic view of transfers, ignoring the reality of wages, agents fees, etc, which all come out the budget and always have.

 

14 posts and all of them fucking idiotic in the extreme, thats your posts not you as its too early to form a judgement if your an idiot or not.

 

Seriously are you telling me that Rafa would have reacted the way he did if and walked out for a few hours if he knew back in June what the situation was.

 

It was clear to for everyone to see how devastated he was.

[The 5th Benitel]

We were doing well in Rafa's first 2 years in charge. Champions League and FA Cup winners, we were also building a relatively good squad. Then the Americans came and it is no coincidence that things have been on the slide since then. We cant even compete financially with the likes of Man City, Spurs and maybe even Sunderland. Yet Rafa is supposed to have us challenging at the top?

 

I honestly dont believe we should be judging the manager now under these circumstances. He should only be judged against our fans incredibly high expectations when he has the full backing of an owner who can see us genuinly compete financially with the top clubs (not unlimited funds) and then if things arent working we can debate whether he should be our manager or not.

 

Yanks out first.

 

The FA Cup win papered over the fact we were shit in the league and you could say the same thing about Istanbul but i'm obviously not going to critise him for that. Another fact is that while the yanks lied like the cunts they are about how they generated it he still was given a fair bit of money when they first arrived. He also got £20m for Keane in the previous season.

 

Transfer League

 

While no one ever agrees 100% on these things, have a look at the above website and see if you think he has been so hard done by since he's been here. I'm not saying he hasn't been working at a disadvantage to the mancs and chelsea, cos he clearly has, but he knew that when he came here and it is his job to overcome it.

 

The yanks are clearly twats but this season was the first when we've been properly hurt with transfer funds and he still chose to get Johnson and a player who still isn't fit to play while we have literally nothing in attack bar Torres and Gerrard who was here when he got here. Those are all his decisions.

 

Everyone can see that the yanks are twats but it's madness to say Rafa cant be blamed for how things are going now cos it simply doesn't stack up. It's his squad playing his was and so far the only teams we've beaten have got entire squads that cost less than our right back.

[Lambo]

14 posts and all of them fucking idiotic in the extreme, thats your posts not you as its too early to form a judgement if your an idiot or not.

 

Funny you should say that as a quick glance through your 18,000 odd posts reveals you to be a bit of a joke figure on here, emphasised by your gibberish about Rafa walking out for a few hours.

 

Does Benitez strike you as someone who would let the owners take advantage of him again after the lengthy power battle to get more control?

 

All this bleating about money and the owners is designed to take the focus off his poor judgment in the transfer market and mistakes with the team this season, and he's made some howlers recently.

[Owen]

14 posts and all of them fucking idiotic in the extreme, thats your posts not you as its too early to form a judgement if your an idiot or not.

 

Seriously are you telling me that Rafa would have reacted the way he did if and walked out for a few hours if he knew back in June what the situation was.

 

It was clear to for everyone to see how devastated he was.

 

What'chu talkin'bout, Nicholas?

[PaulMcC]

The FA Cup win papered over the fact we were shit in the league and you could say the same thing about Istanbul but i'm obviously not going to critise him for that. Another fact is that while the yanks lied like the cunts they are about how they generated it he still was given a fair bit of money when they first arrived. He also got £20m for Keane in the previous season.

 

Transfer League

 

While no one ever agrees 100% on these things, have a look at the above website and see if you think he has been so hard done by since he's been here. I'm not saying he hasn't been working at a disadvantage to the mancs and chelsea, cos he clearly has, but he knew that when he came here and it is his job to overcome it.

 

The yanks are clearly twats but this season was the first when we've been properly hurt with transfer funds and he still chose to get Johnson and a player who still isn't fit to play while we have literally nothing in attack bar Torres and Gerrard who was here when he got here. Those are all his decisions.

 

Everyone can see that the yanks are twats but it's madness to say Rafa cant be blamed for how things are going now cos it simply doesn't stack up. It's his squad playing his was and so far the only teams we've beaten have got entire squads that cost less than our right back.

 

 

Didn't we get 80 points? I rememeber us being good in the league that year with Crouch, Reina and Sissoko all helping the team loads.

[Liverpool lad]

A few people on this forum are ignoring facts that disagree with their own agenda

[straight_red]

The FA Cup win papered over the fact we were shit in the league and you could say the same thing about Istanbul but i'm obviously not going to critise him for that. Another fact is that while the yanks lied like the cunts they are about how they generated it he still was given a fair bit of money when they first arrived. He also got £20m for Keane in the previous season.

 

Transfer League

 

While no one ever agrees 100% on these things, have a look at the above website and see if you think he has been so hard done by since he's been here. I'm not saying he hasn't been working at a disadvantage to the mancs and chelsea, cos he clearly has, but he knew that when he came here and it is his job to overcome it.

 

The yanks are clearly twats but this season was the first when we've been properly hurt with transfer funds and he still chose to get Johnson and a player who still isn't fit to play while we have literally nothing in attack bar Torres and Gerrard who was here when he got here. Those are all his decisions.

 

Everyone can see that the yanks are twats but it's madness to say Rafa cant be blamed for how things are going now cos it simply doesn't stack up. It's his squad playing his was and so far the only teams we've beaten have got entire squads that cost less than our right back.

 

That last comment about the cost of Glen Johnson is just a reflection about how steep the curve gets at the top end of transfers - that's not to say we paid too much, just that if you want a coveted player the spending has to be done.

 

That Transfer League is interesting, I do forget how much we've spent and there is a heck of a lot on mediocrity there. We obviously haven't been the wisest investers, so maybe this is more an argument that we need someone to negotiate for us more successfully, or Benitez needs more support in how he goes about scouting players. Either way, he is a good manager, but shouldn't be given responsibility for this as it clearly isn't a strength of his.

[Simbo]

The FA Cup win papered over the fact we were shit in the league and you could say the same thing about Istanbul but i'm obviously not going to critise him for that. Another fact is that while the yanks lied like the cunts they are about how they generated it he still was given a fair bit of money when they first arrived. He also got £20m for Keane in the previous season.

 

Transfer League

 

While no one ever agrees 100% on these things, have a look at the above website and see if you think he has been so hard done by since he's been here. I'm not saying he hasn't been working at a disadvantage to the mancs and chelsea, cos he clearly has, but he knew that when he came here and it is his job to overcome it.

 

The yanks are clearly twats but this season was the first when we've been properly hurt with transfer funds and he still chose to get Johnson and a player who still isn't fit to play while we have literally nothing in attack bar Torres and Gerrard who was here when he got here. Those are all his decisions.

 

Everyone can see that the yanks are twats but it's madness to say Rafa cant be blamed for how things are going now cos it simply doesn't stack up. It's his squad playing his was and so far the only teams we've beaten have got entire squads that cost less than our right back.

 

Maybe im looking at that information in a simplistic way...but it shows that since Rafa took over we're the 4th highest spenders, have actually recouped the 4th highest amount of money and, on average, spend around £18m....the 3rd highest.

 

Well since Rafa has taken over we've consistenly finished 3rd and 4th in the league which ties in with that 'Transfer' information.

 

With those stats we are performing exactly how we should be yet our fans demand the title?!

[rebel23]

transfer league is ran by a manc and is inaccurate

 

he's spent about 100m net over the 5 years and brought back every penny through CL qualification, then you have increase in domestic TV money and sponsorship, Chelsea and now City with unlimited funds.

 

It gets harder every year and the yanks dont help, especially when Keane was sold and wasn't replaced.

[stringvest]

A few people on this forum are ignoring facts that disagree with their own agenda

 

fuck me, I think you should name names LL - we don't want this sort of behaviour on the forum. We need to nip it in the bud.

[The 5th Benitel]

transfer league is ran by a manc and is inaccurate

 

he's spent about 100m net over the 5 years and brought back every penny through CL qualification, then you have increase in domestic TV money and sponsorship, Chelsea and now City with unlimited funds.

 

It gets harder every year and the yanks dont help, especially when Keane was sold and wasn't replaced.

 

I think that's the answer there. If you ignore this summer where the yanks did fuck us over transfer wise he's had about £100m net plus sales from what he already had. While no can say we should be guranteed the title we should have moer than two quality attacking players, one of whom was already here. I know we had to strengthen in other areas of the pitch and i'm a big fan of Yossi but it really isn't good enough and there's no excuse. Everton are run on a real shoestring and would you have Saha or Yakubu over any of our forwards bar Torres? I know i would.

 

I'm just about sticking with Rafa but if we get to a situation where we've lost over half of our matches and are effectively out of the two major competitions then he has to be held responsible. That would certainly be the case at any other top club in Europe. He might not have as much as some other teams but he's had enough for us not to be out of the league in October. I honestly dont see how there can be a logical argument to the contrary of that.

[aws]

I think that's the answer there. If you ignore this summer where the yanks did fuck us over transfer wise he's had about £100m net plus sales from what he already had. While no can say we should be guranteed the title we should have moer than two quality attacking players, one of whom was already here. I know we had to strengthen in other areas of the pitch and i'm a big fan of Yossi but it really isn't good enough and there's no excuse. Everton are run on a real shoestring and would you have Saha or Yakubu over any of our forwards bar Torres? I know i would.

 

I'm just about sticking with Rafa but if we get to a situation where we've lost over half of our matches and are effectively out of the two major competitions then he has to be held responsible. That would certainly be the case at any other top club in Europe. He might not have as much as some other teams but he's had enough for us not to be out of the league in October. I honestly dont see how there can be a logical argument to the contrary of that.

 

He's had about £100m net (not £100m net plus sales). He's brought in about £100m from his excellent record in Europe.

 

Reina, Mascherano and Torres alone are probably worth the £100m net he's spent.

 

Sure he's had money to spend and sure he's made mistakes. But not that much and not that many expensive ones.