Where do we go from here?

[StevieH]

Where do we go from here?

 

The Manager is under severe pressure with the media baying for blood, the team is badly struggling with only 6 wins from 22 games, and the club has crippling debts of £245M with no new stadium on the horizon.

 

So how do we move forward as a club in the short-term?

 

 

The Manager

 

Do we stand by Rafa Benitez until the end of the season and give him the chance to turn things round? If so, do we give him the funds from any player sales to reinvest, or let him bring in loan signings and free transfers only?

 

Or

 

Do we terminate Rafa’s contract and appoint a Caretaker Manager until the end of the season, as Chelsea did last season with Guus Hiddink and Tottenham with Harry Redknapp?

 

 

The First Team

 

Is it time to blood some of the younger players like Pacheco, Ecclestone and Amoo?

 

It may not be the ideal situation for them to come into, but Robbie Fowler came into a struggling Liverpool side at 18 years of age and flourished and young players tend to play without fear and are keen to impress. We desperately need an injection of positivity, and perhaps giving 1 or 2 younger players a 25-30 minute run-out to see how they fare may give the team a much needed boost.

 

Would a change of formation help?

 

 

The Owners

 

 

Does the fact that the team is struggling on the pitch help to push the owners nearer to the exit door, or does it make Liverpool FC more an unattractive proposition for any interested parties as Newcastle and Mike Ashley have discovered since their fall from grace?

 

If a Private Equity firm was to acquire a 25% stake in the club and had no desire to have a say on the day to day running of the club, would this assist in removing Hicks and Gillett at a later date?

[Delmar]

The manager: Stick with him, sell Babel, give funds to Benitez. Start preparing two plans for the summer, one with Benitez, one without. Let Benitez know this in clear terms.

 

The team: This is the easiest part, given the injuries, some younger players will get a chance anyway. Who, that will be the interesting part. The formation is fine, execution by players is not.

 

The owners: This is the real issue. A private equity fund would not invest in LFC without a reasonable expectation of making money out of their investment (and more than they would somewhere else). I do not see that happening, I expect more of the same, dysfunctional club staying dysfunctional. I believe we are in total limbo, it will probably take an owner to die to get the situation moving...

[Marko121]

I think we need to stick by Rafa, he deserves to go but I wouldnt trust our current "custodians" or MD to make the right choice for next Manager.

 

Lots of people seem to think Kenny is the answer til the end of season and then Maureen/Hiddink etc.

 

Would Kenny want it?? ( lets be fair, he had trouble coping with pressure 20 years ago, the pressure is 10 fold now!!!)

 

If any top Manager made themselves available there would be more than Liverpool chasing their signature ( What can we offer them, a split club, no money, below par squad)

 

I'm scared that we will end up with some Megson/Curbishley/Bassett esque Manager as they will be the only ones who would come here on a shoe string.

 

None of thsi will get better until the Yanks have fucked off and it seems they will only do this on their terms.

 

Unfortunately I think we will lose Gerrard in the summer, deffo Masch and possibly Torres.( all for different reasons)

 

Yanks and Purslow dont care about trophies or even good football - They want to get the debt down so they can sell with a healthier profit.

 

Sorry for the doom mongering.

[mister_lizard]

Down to the beach, I fear.

[chrisbonnie]

sack Rafa, pay him off, they`ll just the money on the debt of the club, there`s fuck all we can do about that

 

ask one of these 3, mourinho, rykaard or hiddink do they want the job, im sure at least 1 of them will take it

 

take stock now, give the new manager at least 3 months to see who`s shit and who he wants to stay

 

this season is now a right off, i ont belive Jesus Christ himself could make us get 4th, so Rafa Benitez certainly wont, and if we`re gonna sack him for not getting 4th, why wait??

 

as for managers not being available, thats a pile of shite

 

Rafa had just won a double with Valencia, there wasnt a less available manager than him at the time, yet we managed to get him, so everyone is available

 

owners.... we can do fuck all about it, so lets just get on with sorting the actual football team out first

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

sack Rafa, pay him off, they`ll just the money on the debt of the club, there`s fuck all we can do about that

 

ask one of these 3, mourinho, rykaard or hiddink do they want the job, im sure at least 1 of them will take it

 

take stock now, give the new manager at least 3 months to see who`s shit and who he wants to stay

 

this season is now a right off, i ont belive Jesus Christ himself could make us get 4th, so Rafa Benitez certainly wont, and if we`re gonna sack him for not getting 4th, why wait??

 

as for managers not being available, thats a pile of shite

 

Rafa had just won a double with Valencia, there wasnt a less available manager than him at the time, yet we managed to get him, so everyone is available

 

owners.... we can do fuck all about it, so lets just get on with sorting the actual football team out first

 

What he said. Even sell Babel to pay part of his pay off.

 

If we can't get one of those managers, Kenny, Thommo or Donald fucking Duck until the summer.

 

We're a fucking laughing stock.

[rage]

winning our next game would help.

 

the manager

either sack rafa now giving a caretaker like the king a real chance to compete for 4th or sack him in the summer regardless of where he finishes like we did with houllier.

 

not sacking this manager for fear of getting someone worse is the decision of a coward.

 

the first team

players like kuyt, insua and lucas will always be in or around the first team. i'd rather see players being played in the positions they were bought for. at the very least play aquilani and use degen whilst we have injuries. i'd love to see some of the youngsters given a chance but really who do we have that is good enough? when we were playing well rafa had plenty of opportunities to play some youngsters but didn't, there is nothing to suggest he will now when we set out a team with 8 defenders.

 

the owners

they are a cancer. they will not be forced out. hard to accept maybe but the only way these guys will sell is if they make enough money. of course playing better makes us a more attractive proposition but it also probably increases the already inflated price.

[Troubadour]

The manager: Stick with him, sell Babel, give funds to Benitez. Start preparing two plans for the summer, one with Benitez, one without. Let Benitez know this in clear terms.

 

That's actually quite a good idea. Well done. There's nothing wrong with Rafa knowing he has to perform to keep his job, just as Kuyt, Skrtel etc and the rest of the players do (if you swap job for place) and everyone else in life does. He's done enough to warrant time and, to an extent, to warrant a bad season. But that doesn't mean he has carte blanche to underperform.

 

As regards the young players, it's time to bring a few of them on to the bench. Kelly would be playing now if he was fit, and Pacheco's becoming a regular feature. If Babel goes, I can see Ecclestone getting back on the bench, even if a striker comes in. Never been that impressed with Amoo, but everyone else seems to think he's great. The really good one is Andre Wisdom, but he's a bit young yet. I'd like to see Dalla Valle on the bench, too.

 

That may spell the end, though, for the likes of Spearing as a substitute, which some won't like, at least when Gerrard's back.

 

On the subject of benches, ours looked half-decent for once yesterday, with Riera, Maxi and Aquilani. Throw Gerrard, Torres, Agger, Benayoun and Johnson in and suddenly it looks a bit more positive. Strange the difference one player can make.

[Little Sammy]

winning our next game would help.

 

Or the next one. Or the next one. Or the one after that. Or the one after the one after that.

 

Our season starts now! Or, in case we fail miserably again, our season starts in the next game! And so it goes.

 

Thank God we're guaranteed fourth place because looking at that table I would've thought we were languishing in mid-table at the moment.

 

Thank you Benitez.

[Guest PurpleNose]

not sacking this manager for fear of getting someone worse is the decision of a coward.

 

 

Absolute fucking nonsense.

 

Sacking the manager before lining up a good enough replacement is the decision of a mong.

[2pak]

Absolute fucking nonsense.

 

Sacking the manager before lining up a good enough replacement is the decision of a mong.

 

You didn't quite get it did you? He's not suggesting you get rid without a replacement but that a replacement should not be clouded with fear it may not work out.

[Delmar]

You didn't quite get it did you? He's not suggesting you get rid without a replacement but that a replacement should not be clouded with fear it may not work out.

 

I would think that there has to be a serious risk analysis before any decision is taken (to any direction). That includes dealing with "the fear it may not work out" thoroughly, as well as what is likely to happen if we continue as it is today. We are not exactly in a position to make a high risk appointment, that is probably the one and only thing the owners can agree on.

[Guest PurpleNose]

You didn't quite get it did you? He's not suggesting you get rid without a replacement but that a replacement should not be clouded with fear it may not work out.

 

Got it perfectly ta.

 

He, like so many others, offers no realistic suggestions on who should replace Benitez.

 

Nobody has a fear in itself that a replacement per se won't work out. Some have a fear that we could not find a better manager who wants the job. Some have a fear that we could actually get worse if we sacked the manager. Some, probably most, don't trust the judgement of the enormous spastics that run our club.

[Unrighteous]

Manager: Sack him. He's lost it. Caretaker manager whilst looking for a suitable replacement.

 

Owners: Fucking cancer. Our short term was our only realistic chance of a title in the next five-six years and it's been pissed down the toilets by the first team, rafa benitez, and the owners.

 

First team: Too many players lacking in skill/ability.

 

Stadium: Never going to happen.

[rage]

so what was the process like when we got rid of houllier then mr purplenose?

[Furmedge]

Can't you just send a couple of emails to the owners fuck face?

[TommyW]

whats the saying? something about rearranging deck chairs on the titanic?

 

the club as a whole is fucked, a caretaker manager may have an initial reaction but how long will that last? 6 months at best? then what? no money in the summer, possible departures of top players, no stadium and it goes on and on and we fall further and further away

 

sack Rafa in the hope it might kick us into gear and get us to 4th by all means but dont expect any improvement in the long term

[massy316]

:wallbutt:if by some amazing feat, the yanks did sell, would anybody still have a contract, would these contract still only be carried on if the new owners choose to fullfill them

[NorwegianRed]

6 wins from 22 games, Fucking hell. Said like that, it really makes you think.. Meh :/

[RazorBack]

I want Rafa out but only if we got a "world-class" manager ready to take over. Not that "sack Rafa and than search for a manager" shit..

[Koptimus Prime]

Even if we did get rid of rafa we'd be back in the same position in 12 months time, none of the top tier of managers like mourhino, hiddink would want the job with no money or back up from our custodians, which would mean us getting an o'neill or big fat sam to wheel and deal with fuck all in the way of funds.

 

Till we get new owners this season will be like ground hog day for the next few years.

[Hooch]

Personally, I've just decided I'm going to keep my mouth shut about the manager/players and just support. Cheer the lads on as much as I can, sing my heart out, and hope we come through this.

 

If the manager goes, I'll support the team and if he stays I'll do the same.

 

What will be will be.

[WaltonRed]

Its gone too far for me now, a new manager is the only option to re-unite the club.

 

Caretaker till the summer and then take stock.

[PaulMcC]

Its gone too far for me now, a new manager is the only option to re-unite the club.

Caretaker till the summer and then take stock.

 

New owners is the only way to re-unite the club.

[PaulMcC]

I'd keep the manager.

 

Kill the owners.

 

Sell babel, give me half the money and let Rafa take the other half to spend on players.