Rafa 99% certain to leave after pay-off agreed

[Delmar]

just so I'm clear, news that Rafa is off and may be replaced by O'Neill is good news?

 

You have understood correctly the general opinion of the vocal ones here.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

I've wanted Rafa gone for a while but I'd greet this news with relief rather than celebration, I won't dance on his football grave when he's gone because he brought us some top European nights and he deserves respect for that.

 

That's how i'll feel. I've never liked his style of management, but credit where it's due for the European success and some great runs in that competition. But he's made too many mistakes in the Premier league and seems unwilling to learn by them. He seems to want total control of things but not to take the blame when it goes tits up on the footballing side of things. I won't shed any tears but i also won't go down the road of calling him names etc.

 

When the yanks took over i didn't like it either. Whilst many were revelling in the fact we had new owners with promises i said at the time to mates and on another forum " all that glitters is not gold." Just didn't trust them and their immediate overwhelming bullshit.

[Antynwa]

 

Antony Shimmin

 

[James]

 

YES

[magneto]

...

OliverKayTimes

RT @bensmith_times: #LFC fans are advised to keep a very close eye on The Times website in the next 10mins or so. 3 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

[Liverpool lad]

[YOUTUBE]MzpShIhvrjU[/YOUTUBE]

[RafaLaBamba]

I don't believe that this is true. And even if it is, I personally can't see the point in it. We aren't going anywhere with Benitez or any other manager in the world in charge whilst we have those two cunts here. FACT.

[Marko121]

Erm, let me see. One of the biggest clubs in the world. Huge salary. Some world class players. Only have to improve on seventh in first season. Massive ready-made excuse for failure ...

 

No, only an idiot would even consider it.

 

We're not going to get the very best managers to leave their clubs for us unless the club is sold, sure, but I suspect we can get someone to keep us in the top division until then. They might even sneak us a CL place, you never know.

 

It's not all disaster if he goes. The disaster is if we can't find a decent buyer for the club, besides which the manager is small potatoes, I'm afraid.

 

I take your point but we can offer:

a club up for sale ( alledgedly )

owner who are split

a CEO who is in it for his own gain

no transfer money now

a squad that needs strengthening

2 best players may be off

no transfer money for the next few years

no new stadium

rivals strengthening with players you can only dream of

no CL football

 

Any good manager will have other options not just Liverpool - so again why come here. All the above may change - but if Rafa goes the above is what the new man will walk in to.

[The Chief]

Should be announced tomorrow, according to my mate who works on the sports desk of one of the quality nationals.

 

Take it or leave it, but he was the one who told me about Mourinho leaving Chelsea before anyone else knew about it - my first ever post on here, I believe.

 

Ahem, I think you'll find that I personally predicted Maureens sacking before anyone else! I can't be arsed looking for the thread though.

 

If this is true, and I'm not arsed either way, please god don't let us get Martin O'Neill!! I've always hated the fucking pumped up little cunting Leprechaun!

[usernameunknown]

Fair play to the opening poster, looks like it wasnt far off.

[zigackly]

RT @bensmith_times: #LFC fans are advised to keep a very close eye on The Times website in the next 10mins or so.

 

He posted that 15 minutes ago now, the hoaxing bastard. What about my refresh key, eh?

[RoboRiise]

even though villa have said o'neill is going nowere.

 

 

That's hardly news, O'Neill's been going nowhere for years now.

[Chinandeler Bong]

The Times :

 

Tony Barrett

 

Liverpool have attempted to pave the way for Rafael Benitez’s departure by offering their manager a compromise deal to leave the club this summer.

In what amounts to a vote of no confidence in Benitez, the Liverpool board approved a proposal to the Spaniard which would see him depart Anfield with a lucrative pay off worth in the region of £3 million up front.

According to the terms of the five-year contract he signed in March 2009, Benitez is entitled to a £16 million severance package but given their current financial predicament there is no possibility of Liverpool being able to come up with that kind of money, regardless of their desire to bring about a change of manager.

As such, the club’s hierarchy is hoping that Benitez will stand aside without demanding the windfall that he would otherwise due or else they will have no option but to allow him to continue in the role he has been in since the summer of 2004 in the knowledge that he is no longer wanted.

Though Benitez is yet to accept the offer, the chances of a compromise being reached were raised by indications from the 50-year-old that he would not be able to take the club any further if, as expected, the current restrictions on transfer spending are extended into another summer. Despite claims by co-owner Tom Hicks last week that Liverpool are set to spend big in the coming months, the reality is that their transfer budget is currently limited to £15 million at most and there are yet to be any assurances that they will be able to re-invest the proceeds from player sales to any great extent.

Had Benitez received the guarantees he had been looking for during talks with Martin Broughton, Liverpool’s chairman, then the current situation would not have arisen but with both parties unable to envisage a way of working together for the good of the club a parting of the ways now looks increasingly inevitable.

Such is Liverpool’s palsied fiscal state, they recently posted record annual losses of £55 million and are saddled with debts totalling £351 million, Broughton was simply unable to offer Benitez the guarantees he was looking for and after a desperately disappointing campaign in which they finished seventh in the Barclays Premier League and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League the club’s hierarchy would not have been keen to extend Benitez’s tenure anyway.

Inter Milan ready to offer Benitez an escape route to Italy should he show any willingness to follow in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho, his managerial arch rival, although Benitez’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quillon, has insisted that the reigning European and Italian champions have not made any contact with his client.

“I don’t know anything about Inter,” Quillon said. “No one has contacted me, it’s just transfer speculation.”

Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, is a confirmed admirer of Benitez and is monitoring his position. On Monday, he made his admiration and his interest public when he told reporters that “I have always thought Benitez is a good coach, but he is linked with Liverpool” and he will be encouraged by the fact that those links now appear to be loosening.

[RobbieOR]

All that hype over nothing. He hasnt gone yet.

[Chinandeler Bong]

The Times :

 

Tony Barrett

 

It would be problematic for Liverpool to find a top class replacement given that they cannot offer managerial candidates either a squad that is equipped for a title challenge or a substantial transfer package to tempt them. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the club is up for sale and the Liverpool board may not feel able to offer Benitez’s successor a long-term contract in case potential investors are not impressed by their choice. That could mean a temporary manger is the only viable solution, at least until a buyer is found.

It is against this backdrop of managerial intrigue and endemic uncertainty at Anfield that Real Madrid have raised the stakes in their bid to sign Steven Gerrard. The front page of yesterday’s Marca, the newspaper that is most associated with Real, carried a picture of the Liverpool captain and a story revealing that he is Jose Mourinho’s number one transfer target.

Though adamant that Gerrard is not for sale, Liverpool are bracing themselves for an offer, probably in the region of €30 million, from Real and Pepe Reina is hoping that both club and player will resist the overtures from the Spanish giants.

“I hope Gerrard will not go to Real Madrid and that he will stay with Liverpool for a long time, that he will be with us for the rest of his career,” the goalkeeper said. “I understand that something will happen, that Real Madrid are interested in Gerrard because Mourinho knows him very well and he is a footballer who can play in any team in the world.

[Salou]

Have to sign upto the Times to read it but heres a copy and paste.

 

 

Liverpool offer Rafael Benitez a way out of Anfield

 

 

Tony Barrett

Updated 25 minutes ago

Liverpool have attempted to pave the way for Rafael Benitez’s departure by offering their manager a compromise deal to leave the club this summer.

In what amounts to a vote of no confidence in Benitez, the Liverpool board approved a proposal to the Spaniard which would see him depart Anfield with a lucrative pay off worth in the region of £3 million up front.

According to the terms of the five-year contract he signed in March 2009, Benitez is entitled to a £16 million severance package but given their current financial predicament there is no possibility of Liverpool being able to come up with that kind of money, regardless of their desire to bring about a change of manager.

As such, the club’s hierarchy is hoping that Benitez will stand aside without demanding the windfall that he would otherwise due or else they will have no option but to allow him to continue in the role he has been in since the summer of 2004 in the knowledge that he is no longer wanted.

Though Benitez is yet to accept the offer, the chances of a compromise being reached were raised by indications from the 50-year-old that he would not be able to take the club any further if, as expected, the current restrictions on transfer spending are extended into another summer. Despite claims by co-owner Tom Hicks last week that Liverpool are set to spend big in the coming months, the reality is that their transfer budget is currently limited to £15 million at most and there are yet to be any assurances that they will be able to re-invest the proceeds from player sales to any great extent.

Had Benitez received the guarantees he had been looking for during talks with Martin Broughton, Liverpool’s chairman, then the current situation would not have arisen but with both parties unable to envisage a way of working together for the good of the club a parting of the ways now looks increasingly inevitable.

Such is Liverpool’s palsied fiscal state, they recently posted record annual losses of £55 million and are saddled with debts totalling £351 million, Broughton was simply unable to offer Benitez the guarantees he was looking for and after a desperately disappointing campaign in which they finished seventh in the Barclays Premier League and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League the club’s hierarchy would not have been keen to extend Benitez’s tenure anyway.

Inter Milan ready to offer Benitez an escape route to Italy should he show any willingness to follow in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho, his managerial arch rival, although Benitez’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quillon, has insisted that the reigning European and Italian champions have not made any contact with his client.

“I don’t know anything about Inter,” Quillon said. “No one has contacted me, it’s just transfer speculation.”

Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, is a confirmed admirer of Benitez and is monitoring his position. On Monday, he made his admiration and his interest public when he told reporters that “I have always thought Benitez is a good coach, but he is linked with Liverpool” and he will be encouraged by the fact that those links now appear to be loosening.

It would be problematic for Liverpool to find a top class replacement given that they cannot offer managerial candidates either a squad that is equipped for a title challenge or a substantial transfer package to tempt them. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the club is up for sale and the Liverpool board may not feel able to offer Benitez’s successor a long-term contract in case potential investors are not impressed by their choice. That could mean a temporary manger is the only viable solution, at least until a buyer is found.

It is against this backdrop of managerial intrigue and endemic uncertainty at Anfield that Real Madrid have raised the stakes in their bid to sign Steven Gerrard. The front page of yesterday’s Marca, the newspaper that is most associated with Real, carried a picture of the Liverpool captain and a story revealing that he is Jose Mourinho’s number one transfer target.

Though adamant that Gerrard is not for sale, Liverpool are bracing themselves for an offer, probably in the region of €30 million, from Real and Pepe Reina is hoping that both club and player will resist the overtures from the Spanish giants.

“I hope Gerrard will not go to Real Madrid and that he will stay with Liverpool for a long time, that he will be with us for the rest of his career,” the goalkeeper said. “I understand that something will happen, that Real Madrid are interested in Gerrard because Mourinho knows him very well and he is a footballer who can play in any team in the world.”

[H7K]

Could ye see players like Stevie, Nando and Masher playing for someone like The Goblin??

[Antynwa]

Well played RedOrDead

[melbred]

Liverpool offer Rafael Benitez a way out of Anfield | Football - Times Online

[RobbieOR]

He hasnt gone yet for fuck sake.

[Bigsy]

Voronin has posted on Twitter that if this is true, he'll cut off his ponytail. For that reason alone I reckon this is a load of bollocks

[ODZ]

He's gone in my opinion. There's no way they're offering him that if they think he'll reject it.

[Chinandeler Bong]

not exactly a vote of confidence. he's off. thanx rafa. good luck.

[waddy78]

it would be easier to sell the club if they asked for a realistic price,who would we bring in on a temp bases till new owners come in.and remember with the amount they are asking it wont be a short term appiotment?

 

Not a clue mate who we would bring in Kenny springs to mind short term but your right with £800 mill they want no one will take us at that price,thats why i think as usual the pair of twats think of themselves they aren't arsed if the clubs in limbo they just want the money so your right it would need to be long term appointment which then fucks the team up longer what players(suppose we had money to spend-i know its hard to imagine) would want to come to a club knowing the manager who brought them in could leave at any time as hes only temporary its a fucking big mess at Liverpool right now i just wish some rich billionaire decides he wants to spend some pocket change on us soon

[Torvald Utne]

and so the politics continue...