Gianfranco Zola v Rafael Benitez

[Joe Le Taxi]

Dalglish isn't shit. Show some respect for fuck sakes. He has been out of the game for too long so I don't think he would be a success with us but calling him shit is taking it too far.

 

That is another reason why I don't want Dalglish to manage us incase people turn on him and abuse him.

[Joe Le Taxi]

Dalglish isn't shit. Show some respect for fuck sakes. He has been out of the game for too long so I don't think he would be a success with us but calling him shit is taking it too far.

 

That is another reason why I don't want Dalglish to manage us incase people turn on him and abuse him.

[Lucky Pierre]

I think he was being ironic about Kenny.

[Joe Le Taxi]

In response to Robbie's neg;

 

It's hard to tell what is a joke with the amount of crap that is posted from certain people.

[RedKnight]

I thought it was a fairly obvious sarcastic remark. Nevermind though, we all love the king.

[theghost]

John, I think you seem a decent lad and a good red as well, but there's no need for this, mate. We all know your stance on this and I don't think we need another 10 page epic of people on either side of the Rafa divide at each other's throats.

 

Just my opinion like.

 

We should have ended the thread here.

[LFC Ultra]

Rafael Benitez is a prick of the highest order. If this gets me negged so be it. He is the SINGLE reason we have done shite this year.

 

RAFA fucked off alonso

RAFA fucked of hyypia

 

Two leaders.

 

RAFA bought Aquilani

RAFA bought The greek

 

Both to replace too heroes.

 

 

Keane, Dossena, Degen, El Zhar, Insua, Aquilani, Ngog, Lucas,Dirk, Skrtel, Riera, Babe (90 million worth of shite roughly off the top of my head : All bad signings (Aquilani could prove to be good, but if the "beloved" benitez stays he'll be off)

 

Constant whinging in the press about various bollox, insane trasfer targets and substitutions, disgraceful man management, mistreatment of top players, an ego that eclipses that of mourinho, tryin (and succeeding in making fans believe he cares about the club)

 

He couldnt give three fucks about us. Hes a disgrace. He gave me the best night of my life in 05 in istanbul and i will always thank him for that, but his conduct as liverpool coach has sickend me.

 

Ill get negged like a bastard for this, but its where im at. The man hasnt a shred of dignity. Hes a disgrace. Ive as much contempt for him as i have for mongo, the catholic church and our owners.

 

If he remains at the helm of our ship longer than this summer, we lads, are heading down.

 

Hes a coach. A COACH. Not a manager. His reign has gone to shite since Pako left. The one man who kept him right, kept him on the ground. He fucked pako off, grew the goatee and became the politician hes become.

 

How people can defend him leaves me scratching my head. It highlights our fall into mediocrity that people will actually STILL defend that twit.

 

Liverpool football club. I grew up with the impression that LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB were the greatest club in the world. If your 2nd your nothing. How about 7th lads??

 

Now obviously those American Cunts deserve to die by donkey rape, but in the short term, we must remove ourselves of that cancerous lump we call the GAFA.

 

 

Alot has been said recently on this forum about The Liverpool Way : What it is? What it means?

 

I like to think this sums it up

 

[YOUTUBE]wpcNFll5yOM[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

 

ps : In the supporters club today I was disgusted that our "so called Fans" cheered when chelsea won the league.

Excuse ‘war and peace’ but the balance needs re-dressing here mate. You are battering a manager with media propaganda that doesn’t even come close to the truth. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and mine is no better than yours, that’s for sure. But………. Come on, take your foot off the manager’s head and take a step back. Think about what you are writing.

 

 

El Zhar – Free (Do you think funds were made available for Rafa to buy Ribbery or do you think there was no money in the coffers so Rafa took a punt on potential?)

Deggen – Free (Do you think funds were made available for Rafa to buy Alves or do you think there was no money in the coffers so Rafa took a punt on a free alternative to bolster the squad?)

Insua £100,000 (Do you think funds were made available for Rafa to buy Ashley Cole/Patrice Evra or do you think there was no money in the coffers so Rafa took a punt on potential?)

Ngog £1.5 million (Do you think funds were made available for Rafa to buy Drogba or do you think there was no money in the coffers so Rafa took a punt on potential?)

Lucas £6 million (Do you think funds were made available for Rafa to buy Makelele or do you think there wasn’t much money in the coffers so Rafa took a punt on the U20 Brazilian captain and former player of the year? he is without doubt a £6 million midfielder, if you only got £6 million to spend, you get Lucas Leiva )

Skrtel £6 million (He is without doubt a £6 million centre half, if you only got £6 million to spend, you get Martin Skrtel)

Dossena £7 million (RUBBISH but all managers make mistakes)

Riera £8 million (He is without doubt a £8 million winger, if you only got £8 million to spend, you get Albert Rierra)

Babel £11.5 million (Wanted by all the leading clubs, disappointing and in my humble opinion he has not fulfilled his potential)

Keane £19 million (signed by Parry and club allegedly expected to recoup full fee paid but none of the funds given back to Rafa for squad investment)

Kuyt £9 million (Dirk Kuyt listed by The Telegraph’s Henry Winter in Rafa’s top 5 buys and worth £9 million!)

 

 

 

Total £75 million spent (Not £90 million) minus the possible £19 million recouped for Keane = £56 million.

 

The point I am making is that Rafa wears financial handcuffs and cloth has to be cut accordingly. 90% of Rafa’s signings, although not the best, they are pretty much worth what he paid for them and unfortunately in this day and age, ‘you only get what you pay for. I would also hazard a guess that if Rafa was given free reign with a comparible transfer budget to his title rivals, very few of the ‘average’ players he signed would never have darkened the doors at Anfield!

 

Hyppia was NOT fu**ed off by Rafa- QUOTE “Hyypia's reluctance to look back explains his reasoning for moving on. After 10 years' outstanding service the model professional was offered a role in Rafael Benítez's coaching team, possibly a testimonial with it, and continued involvement from the sidelines. He rejected it, and several other deals from Premier League clubs, to extend his playing career for two more years in Germany.

 

Alonso was NOT fu**ed off by Rafa – QUOTE “Before handing in a transfer request in July to facilitate his £30m move to Real Madrid, the midfielder had repeatedly pledged his allegiance to Liverpool and his desire to stay, despite Benítez's willingness last summer to sell him to fund his ill-fated pursuit of Gareth Barry. Similarly the Liverpool manager was insistent that the player he signed from Real Sociedad for £10.5m in 2004 had no desire to leave and would not be sold.

Alonso's performances did not suffer in the wake of the uncertainty and he enjoyed arguably his best season at Anfield, as the club came within four points of wresting the Premier League title from Manchester United. However he has now admitted that he knew his fifth season at the club would be his last.

"Last summer the club [told] me that I might have to be sold to find funds for new players. It was a difficult decision or difficult moment to accept. I accepted that as a professional and that moment probably changed my mind," he told Sky Sports News. "It was a very difficult decision for me to make. After five years I have experienced wonderful nights at Anfield, to have experienced the support of probably the best fans in the world.

 

 

Give a mention to Rafa’s top 5 signings:

1. Fernando Torres – Signed from Atlético Madrid for a club record £20.2 million in July 2007, Torres has developed into arguably the best striker in world football. The Spaniard has scored 72 goals in 116 matches in all competitions for Liverpool.

2. Pepe Reina – Seen by many as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, the Spaniard has been an unqualified success for Liverpool since joining from Villarreal in July 2005. Reina provided a major boost to the club when he signed a new six-year contract last month.

3. Xabi Alonso – One of Benítez's first signings as Liverpool manager, Alonso played a key role in helping to stamp the manager's personality on the team. A technically gifted player able to dictate the pace of the game from central midfield, Alonso was a key performer before being sold to Real Madrid for £30 million last summer.

4. Javier Mascherano – After an unhappy spell at West Ham, the Argentine midfielder has flourished at Anfield, performing key defensive duties at the base of the Liverpool midfield. His consistently impressive displays have seen a number of clubs, including Barcelona, express an interest in luring Mascherano away from Anfield.

 

5. Dirk Kuyt – Initially signed as a striker, Kuyt has been transformed by Benítez into a right-sided attacker to some success. The Dutch forward's industry and energy has won him plenty of fans at Anfield but has been linked with a move to Juventus if Benítez goes to Italy.

 

Aquilani – When Alonso was sold to Real Madrid for £35 million, Liverpool made almost £25 million profit. Rafa Benitez was given £5 million (Yes I know the final fee could be as much as £20 million but the fact remains that Aquilani was bought in instalments and the same payment method would have been required for any other signing) to find a suitable replacement. I ask you the question, “who would you sign that was available for a down payment of £5 million?” Maybe Stephen Hunt, Kevin Prince Boateng, Keiron Richardson, Jimmy Bullard, Matthew Taylor or any other two bob midfielder wallowing in a premiership sea of averageness? Or do you take a justifiable punt on one of Italy’s most talented midfielders, albeit an injured one? Also bare in mind that one of the world’s leading surgeons was consulted before Rafa committed to making the signing. Also bare in mind that Aquilani has started approximately only 10 games for Liverpool in his first season in a foreign country. playing in the worlds toughest league. Surely it is too early to judge a player so early in his Prem career?

 

The Greek: When the board give you £1.5 million to find a centre half you get the Greek. Or do you think that the board offered him £25 million to buy a centre half and Rafa said, “no thanks I can get a top Greek for next to nothing, just write me a cheque for £1.5 million and we will struggle on?”

Benitez is a coach not a manager : 2 La Ligas, 1 Uefa Cup, 1 European Cup and an FA Cup id not a bad return for a coach, I would argue these stats prove he is a manager! The fact that he is linked with all the top managerial vacancies would also suggest he is a manager.

 

We have had 1 poor season under Benitez and had he not sold Alonso or Hyppia, how would they have compensated for the loss of Torres for 75% of the season, Gerrard’s injuries and poor form, Johnson’s injuries, the whole teams injuries, beachball gate etc etc etc?

I have said it before and I will say it again, Liverpool would have struggled under any manager in the world this season. You should be careful what you wish for because Liverpool will end up with a cheap two bob yes man in charge who will promise to deliver on a meagre budget and we all no that will never happen. Transfer funds are key to success in ‘modern football, Man Utd and Chelsea are living proof!

 

The Liverpool Way - Do you honestly believe that Mourinho and Capello would be capable of playing the Liverpool Way? Or, would it not be a concern just as long as Liverpool are winning? There is a moral in there somewhere, you decide!