Good article

[King Gheedorah]

Sunday January 17 2010

 

If Liverpool think they are in trouble now, just wait until Rafa walks

 

Liverpool's traditional January crisis has momentum this year. Perhaps this is because it follows on so swiftly from their December crisis which had been directly prefaced by a November crisis that in itself was merely an extension of the October crisis which would not have come about except for their September crisis simply being a continuation of their August crisis that was merely a hangover from their close season debacle.

 

For much of last season they were in crisis too, even for the long periods when they were top of the league. During those troubling times it was generally agreed that Rafael Benitez must be doing something right, although nobody could agree on exactly what it was.

 

The best they could often come up with was the signing of Javier Mascherano. He deserved no credit for signing Fernando Torres. That was a no-brainer, except for all the smart men who didn't sign him.

 

Winning matches was then at least a part of it, but there has always been a great reluctance to give Benitez credit for that, with the view often being that he won the wrong ones.

 

He didn't understand the English game, they said, as he went on to win the European Cup, perhaps giving the fans their finest moment in Liverpool memory, something they have, much to the displeasure of the media, been reluctant to forget about ever since. Last season, Liverpool challenged for the title, performing as well as they had in 20 years, beating the teams they were supposed to beat.

 

Now that Liverpool have stopped winning matches, there is no reason to search desperately for reasons to praise Benitez. Liverpool are a team designed for knockIf -out competitions and now they have lost the main feature of teams designed to win knock-out competitions: the ability to win matches.

 

For some perspective out of the reach of the phone-in callers who wonder why Peter Crouch is not playing for Liverpool (Crouch turned down a new contract at Liverpool so it would be an egregious breach of employment law if they continued to select him now) or suggest David Bentley as the missing link, it is worth revisiting Liverpool's January crisis from last season.

 

There were a number of reasons to criticise Benitez last January, but the main one was his treatment of Robbie Keane who, according to the critics, hadn't been given a chance. Keane started nearly every league game during his time at Liverpool but, again, that didn't matter. Keane rarely starts for Tottenham but that is understandable because Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe are untouchable. If he leaves White Hart Lane, nobody would see it as a failure of Harry Redknapp's famed man-management skills.

 

In some ways, it is the same this season. Liverpool have had a poor time, but, in the context of this crazy season, only the exit from the Champions League has been truly damaging. The FA Cup remains an irrelevance and would have been ignored by those who now stress its importance if Liverpool had won it.

 

The crazies have been bolstered by comments from ex-players like Ronnie Whelan. In the devalued currencies of punditry, Whelan is the Zimbabwean dollar, but he found a few places where his money was good last week.

 

As the phone-in callers deal in the superficial, it is worth contrasting the praise handed out to Alex Ferguson last week, when it became known that he was acting under some severe financial constraints, with the treatment of Benitez. Despite starting with a number of advantages like a massive stadium and a team used to winning titles, United are now utterly dependent on Wayne Rooney. Liverpool, at least, are utterly dependent on two players.

 

Benitez has never known a day at Anfield when the club wasn't being spectacularly badly run. Since the sale to Hicks and Gillett, the problems shared have become problems doubled.

 

Last week, Liverpool's new owners were again giving an indication of how far they had sunk when Tom Hicks Jr resigned after telling a fan in an email to "blow me, f**k face, go to hell, I'm sick of you."

 

This was pithy and to the point but, in the age of outrage, it understandably provoked a lot of anger among Liverpool fans. It did not change their fundamental position on any member of the Hicks family. They wanted them out beforehand and they wanted them out afterwards. Hicks' wild email made no difference and, it has become so normal, that nobody even wonders about the disruption to the team.

 

Nothing that Benitez achieves seems to change the view that Liverpool are in crisis. So this season seems to be a continuation of the bad years, bad years when Benitez was winning against all odds.

 

He has made a few mistakes. Perhaps he should not have talked about Liverpool's debt to such a degree as it has undermined the club and, in constantly looking to re-sign Emile Heskey, he has looked like being the first employee who instigates his own constructive dismissal.

 

He is probably too far gone now. The forces he tried to take on, the media he treated with contempt in particular, create their own momentum and affect confidence. Liverpool are a complex, dysfunctional club and they judge Benitez on the superficial to the end.

 

Liverpool have been talking about their disappointing season since they lost to Aston Villa in August. The reality is that only in recent weeks has the league title become virtually impossible but I would guess privately Benitez hasn't ruled it out.

 

Benitez remains true to a value system that he has employed since he arrived. On Wednesday night, once more he refused to engage and, once more, it was another reason to criticise him. The presenters, the reporters and the phone-in callers all seemed to assume they were more upset about the defeat to Reading than Benitez. In their world, so free of compassion, perspective and insight, they were probably right. In the real world, they were, as so often, wrong.

 

So I hope he stays true to his code as they hound him from the job. He has been a resounding success but it may be time to walk away. He deserves more than the contempt of pundits like Whelan. Benitez cares too much. He should address those who have stacked the odds against him and, one last time, tell the truth in language they might understand: "Blow me, f**k face. Go to hell, I'm sick of you."

 

If Liverpool think they are in trouble now, just wait until Rafa walks - Other Sports, Sport - Independent.ie

[Toddler]

A lot of sense in there.

 

Looking purely at Rafa's time here, i.e. 2004 to 2009 (no one has won anything this season yet), his form is as follows:

 

1 x Champions League, 1 x FA Cup (Runner up in the Prem once, CL once and Carling Cup once)

 

Ferguson blows him away with 1 x CL, 3 x Prem, 2 x Carling Cups (Runners up is about the same)

 

Mourinho in a shorter time managed to get 2 x Prem, 1 x FA Cup, 2 x Carling Cup.

 

Wenger on the other hand has only got 1 x FA Cup and has been runner up to exactly the same level in that period).

 

What does that mean? For me he doesn't deserve the criticism he has had for previous seasons, but no one can deny that right now things are f**ked up. However, in any walk of life the mark of a successful person is not just how they deal with the good times, but how they turn round the bad times.

 

Therefore give it til the end of the season and if he's turned it round then he's the right man.

[King Gheedorah]

bump

[sir roger]

Good to see an article about Rafa with a positive slant , although I liked the line about his liking for ' Big Emile '.

 

The deafening silence on the thread is a bit worrying though , compared to the hysteria over vague , unsubstantiated rumours on other threads.

[Toddler]

Good to see an article about Rafa with a positive slant , although I liked the line about his liking for ' Big Emile '.

 

The deafening silence on the thread is a bit worrying though , compared to the hysteria over vague , unsubstantiated rumours on other threads.

 

Your dead right there. When I pressed go on my previous post I closed my eyes and waited for the barrage of abuse - it's not fashionable to be positive at the moment!

[jsjazz]

Of course he's made mistakes, but all managers do.

The point about media reporting of finances is very valid- Man U problems are all down to financial mismanagement by Glazers, nothing to do with the 18M for Hargreaves, 30M for Nani and Anderson, £30M for Berbatov etc, whereas Liverpool's problems are nothing to do with the parasitic owners borrowing money to buy the club against the club they are buying, and all to do with Rafa wasting money (ignoring the fact that he's managed to recoup most of the money spent in the first place).

[Vulmea]

good find - who is the author?

[JohnnyH]

It is a good piece. A lot I agree with. And I'm even wondering if he should just tell us to fuck off and go as he doesn't deserve the abuse he gets.

 

But then I look at the Spurs team, booed off at full time in the draw at Hull. The same thing to Villa today in their draw with West Ham and I realise that even in these shite times, we still are some of the best fans out there and that the singing of Rafas name during the stoke game suggests that we have fans who are willing to give him a chance and who do appreciate what he has done and do accept that while Rafa has made fuck ups, there is an awful lot more to blame then him.

 

However, it may be too little too late as the press have their claws in and the vocal front of the fans who will change every conversation (or thread on a website) into how bad Rafa is and that he must be sacked, will probably win the day. And that, for me, is a sad thing.

[King Gheedorah]

Can't do anything right Rafa. There are far worse things you can do than get behind the manager and the team.

 

Also, great to see Digger get behind the manager too. Sod the likes of Whelan etc.

 

[YOUTUBE]snq64cN6PL8[/YOUTUBE]

[ChicagoRed]

Great article, and I hope Rafa reads it!

[Liverpool lad]

Whilst this season seems to be a disaster on the field, I don't trust the board to attract a manager of his calibre, somebody with with experience he had when he arrived.

[Wor Horse]

Benítez as a Formula 1 driver. He comes in and starts driving for a team that has a resonant name, a history full of great deeds, fresh memories of famous victories. The problem is, the car isn't good enough. The owner's not putting the money in, the marketing guys can't get the lucrative sponsorship deals and the engineers are complacent.

Still, Benítez drives out of his skin. Race after race, he squeezes every last bit of juice out of this failing car and delivers some famous victories. Then, bang, he loses it. Perhaps it was the persistent technical disasters, that prompted it, but suddenly he is suffused with self doubt: he can't pick the racing line, he breaks too early or too late. He's struggling just to finish, let alone compete.

Now what do you do? Fire the driver? The car is still worse than its rivals – worse and getting worse. For one bad season in which he has failed to overachieve again? You need a special combination of ambition and patience to succeed driving in this team – a combination that is rare enough.

 

From the Telegraph.

[d.k.E.]

Better article...for me it sums up Benitez and his selection policy well....How long will Liverpool continue to watch the Rafael Benítez pantomime? | Richard Williams | Sport | guardian.co.uk

[anfieldmods]

as ive always stated why shoot rafa its the bloody players.Why doesnt the press get at them.If rafa left today the new manager will still have the same shit bunch of underperformers and will continue to lose games.its not rafa look at his history its a mix of all things mainly THE F*CKIN MEDIA

[Tom R]

Yeah, it's all the media's fault.

 

Fucksake.

 

Seriously, where have all these whoppers come from in the last few days?

[hunts_kopite]

That article is really good and talks a lot of sense. I spent about an hour on Friday typing up a response to another anti-Rafa post on another thread (which was talking about patience being a virtue but we had been patient enough) defending Rafa but it failed when I clicked post and had disapeared when I tried to go back on my browser and I couldn't be bothered to spend another hour re-typing it.

 

It said similar things as the article and the first reply on this thread and compared Rafa's accomplisments to those around him during the same period (2004/05 to now) and Slur Alex in his first 5 years in charge which shows that calls for Rafa to go really are just outrageous knee-jerking.

 

A lot of fans have succumb to the media pressure and started to believe their over sensationalised assesments of Rafa's shortcommings. It is briliant to finally see a postive artcile written about Rafa, it's just a shame it is in a Irish paper and will not be seen by the majority.

 

This is simply a blip in what otherwise has been a period of improvement and advancement under Rafa. Under Rafa we won the European Cup for the first time in 20 years and probably come the closest we have to winning the league in the last 20 years during our best season in that 20 year period. We are in a far better postion Football wise (forget owners and finances) then were were under Evans and Houllier and the fact that we are talking about being in the Europa league as if it were the wooden spoon when we were over the moon when winning this under Houllier and would have loved to under Evans is evidence of the advancement we have made under Rafa and how this has raised our expectations back to what they once were.

 

Rafa is the best man for the job. This is a blip season and patience will show that he is the man to bring us the title. Get behind him, get behind the team and lets help the players and Rafa get some confidence back.

 

I think once again Gerry Marsden and the boys sum it up perfectly - This is our storm so lets hold our heads high and at the end a golden sky will be waiting for us. We will come back next season with a vengance.

[Salte]

Excellent read!

[aws]

Can't do anything right Rafa. There are far worse things you can do than get behind the manager and the team.

 

Also, great to see Digger get behind the manager too. Sod the likes of Whelan etc.

 

[YOUTUBE]snq64cN6PL8[/YOUTUBE]

 

Excellent listen.

[William_Ulsterman]

im dissappointed with Whelan, i guess hes been sitting beside that drunken cunt bucket of an excuse for a human being Dunphy for too long.

 

I dont like the way we play right now, the tactics the substitutions etc. only rafa knows why he makes those decisions. He will be accountable.

 

I think he's done brilliantly over the last 4 years previous with the resources he's had, obviously some signing mistakes and some brilliant as well in his tenure. Any manager in any team would have struggled with the number of injuries we've had and our luck has been unholy this season so far. So i think we all need to shut the fuck up instead of following the media hysteria like sheep, and judge him come the end of the season.

[Cardie]

Seriously, where have all these whoppers come from in the last few days?

 

Following you as you played your merry tune jigging your way around the forum after every poor result?

[shaunstrudwick]

A lot of sense in there.

 

Looking purely at Rafa's time here, i.e. 2004 to 2009 (no one has won anything this season yet), his form is as follows:

 

1 x Champions League, 1 x FA Cup (Runner up in the Prem once, CL once and Carling Cup once)

 

Ferguson blows him away with 1 x CL, 3 x Prem, 2 x Carling Cups (Runners up is about the same)

 

Mourinho in a shorter time managed to get 2 x Prem, 1 x FA Cup, 2 x Carling Cup.

 

Wenger on the other hand has only got 1 x FA Cup and has been runner up to exactly the same level in that period).

 

What does that mean? For me he doesn't deserve the criticism he has had for previous seasons, but no one can deny that right now things are f**ked up. However, in any walk of life the mark of a successful person is not just how they deal with the good times, but how they turn round the bad times.

 

Therefore give it til the end of the season and if he's turned it round then he's the right man.

 

 

i know the Wenger has won fuck all bit keeps getting rolled out to back Rafa - but the truth is that Wenger - who is operating on a similar budget to Rafa ie constrained buy debts on the club - although Rafa has spent a whole shit load load more £££'s - has build a squad that is miles ahead of ours in terms of technical ability and they probably play the best pass and move football in the league

 

can't really fault him for sticking true to his footballing 'vision' after disbanding the 'invincibles' team of 2003-2004 and building a whole new team of very good players

 

i think we are finally begining to see what his new team is capable of this season - they are maturing quite nicely imo

 

bottom line is that i'd much rather have Wenger managing us than Rafa

[WaltonRed]

He wont walk.

[Hermes]

Therefore give it til the end of the season and if he's turned it round then he's the right man.

 

What could he have possibly achieved by the end of the season to have "turned it around"?

[anfieldmods]

Yeah, it's all the media's fault.

 

Fucksake.

 

Seriously, where have all these whoppers come from in the last few days?

 

yeh it is if your a player and you constantly read about other team members saying im off if we dont do this then its gonna piss you off if the media just keeps its nose out for a change instead of jumping on the "lets sack rafa now"bandwagon things may be better.Why havnt the gunners weilded the proverbial axe on wenger yet and it must be fergies turn now hes had a few bad results.Rather than the whole fuckin world slag of liverpool lets try get behind them and show them some support hopefully morale can be lifted and players will play better.Its not all about gerrard and torres is it we have other players who should be capable but theres far too many people waiting in the wings with there shotguns to shoot every one.

of n fucksake to you

:wallbutt::wallbutt::wallbutt:

[anfieldmods]

ffs we came second last season thats runner up incase youve forgot so why are we suddenly wanting drastic changes within the camp so were not going to win the champ league or domestic cups but is top 4 spot really gone.I dont think so win at spurs and where only 1 point behind 4th spot and a game in hand over spurs too and man city arnt the best are they.

just my opinion anyway if anyteam can pull back in the second half of the season its us.so shuit up about sack him get shut of him and lets get knuckled down.