RedPower

The knock against Rafa is that he can't cut it in the Premier League. It would be better for him if he got the boot for 'non footballing reasons' by 'clueless American owners that know fuck all about football and don't like their authority questioned', rather than making way after 4 years at the helm that was deemed 'not quite good enough in terms of Premier League performance'.

If these ‘quotes’ have really come from ‘a close friend of Rafa’, then it seems pretty obvious to me that Rafa wants to be sacked so that he can pick up the compo and stroll into another job with his reputation intact, saying: “If it wasn’t for those pesky yank owners………”, and a considerable number of lemmings will fall for it hook, line and sinker.

If the Bitters do end up in Kirkby then I don’t think it would be embarrassing in the least if they moved grounds before us. Personally, I wish the fuckers were pissing off (to Kirkby) tomorrow.

These opportunities are like gold dust; we’ve got to cash in and put the cunts under pressure.

If that is the case, why wait till this week? Why not announce your arrival with a bang and go with it as your first story? Being the passionate Red, you couldn't just sit on this, could you? You'd be chomping at the bit to get this info out into the public domain to let the fanbase know what is going on. Seems a bit suspicious to me that 'that' press conference occurs on the Thursday, the press are on to it, then the new hot shot Liverpool correspondent rolls along on the Sunday trumping everyone else's story.

Yeah, I'm aware of all that. I'm just trying to make sense of Bascombe's article in which he says that the decision has already been made to sack Rafa due to his Athens outburst and the constant bickering that has gone on ever since, and a list of possible replacements has been drawn up with Maureen at the top. Now if Bascombe had been sidelined because he thinks that Hicks & Gillett are not the best 'custodians' for LFC, I'm wondering where all this 'detailed information' is coming from. Why would Hicks, Gillett and Parry want to throw Bascombe a few bones if he (Bascombe) has such contempt for them? And seeing how they are currently running things from afar, how many high-ranking people within the Club would be privvy to this info?

Are you suggesting that Hicks and Gillett have plotted to oust Rafa from the moment they took over, and Bascombe knew about this?

I guess some people just will not be happy until Rafa gets the boot. Not long to go now until Bascombe trots along and tells us what's 'really' happening, eh?

Spotted this on RAWK.

'm0e' is an unusual username choice for somebody called 'Chris Bascombe'. :whistle:

Well, apparently Thommo has been blabbing his mouth off by saying it's Roy Keane for next Manager. Look, another insider!

So you're suggesting Parry has planted a story in the Press to undermine Rafa's position, and in order to plant that story to undermine Rafa he turned to Bascombe?

If Rafa is the source, how does he know a list of replacements has already been compiled, with Maureen at the top of that list?

It would seem unlikely that the 'inside information' is coming from the Yank camp if he then goes on to say: "It is a mess really and it has happened because the owners have a total lack of understanding about European "soccer"....."

Another point to consider would be the possible affect on the team; if Rafa got the chop, it could have an adverse affect on our performance. Even with a game in hand, we are still ‘only’ 5th in the league and if morale took a nose dive with unrest in the camp, we could possibly finish outside the top 4, meaning no CL big bucks next season. A possible early exit this season and no CL at all next season, plus Rafa’s severance pay would put quite a hole in our finances.

Why was it written though? This whole thing came into the media spotlight after Rafa’s press conference last week. We’ve learned from Rafa that everything appeared fine during the meeting around the Arsenal game, yet just before the press conference it appeared things had changed, and this was the reason for his ire. Now, if Rafa hadn’t have piped up in public last week over this matter, would Bascombe have run with this story? After all, according to him, the Yanks have been planning to fuck Rafa off since his outburst after the CL final, so all the pieces are still in place for Rafa to get the boot.

Did you see the interview Rafa gave after the Newcastle match? He was asked if he thought the current problems were serious, and he laughed and said 'no'. Also he was asked if he was actually serious about the the England job, and again he laughed and said 'no'. It wasn't just what he said, it was his non-verbal communication that gave me the impression that HE didn't think he was in trouble, yet, here we have Bascombe saying: "Benitez has no intention of quitting Anfield and sacrificing a £6m pay-off, but privately he’s already accepted his stay on Merseyside is coming to an end, which is why he’s open to offers from elsewhere, including the England national team. The Spaniard is serious in his intent to be considered by the FA". Do we start disbelieving everything Rafa says until Bascombe gives us the 'real' thoughts? I've still got it on tape and i'll re-check it later. The article is riddled with sensationalism and 'information' that just doesn't ring true. I'm not denying that Rafa may be in trouble, but to suppose this shite from Bascombe is the inside track is fucking ridiculous.

I'm sure that journalists have trotted out that defence on numerous occassions. :whistle:

This problem between Rafa and the Yanks surfaced before Sunday, so, Big Bad Bascombe - the new hot shot reporter with the legendary Club sources and insider knowledge - can't be seen to be just rolling along after everybody else, so he's got to go out of his way to trump everyone else's story. "If he can't get the big LFC scoops, what the fuck did we hire him for?" a confused NOTW editor will question.

:lol: :lol:

Is Parry the hero then?

Fucking terrible article by Bascombe; even this snippet: "The mythical ‘Liverpool Way’ talks about keeping issues in house, and not washing dirty linen in public. Anfield has looked more like launderette than a football club since last May’s Champions League final". There was a spat straight after the CL final, which was subsequently smoothed over, yet since then, according to Bascombe we've been washing our dirty linen in public nearly every day of the week? I suppose it's all worth it if he's invited to be a guest rent-a-gob on talkshite, and not doubt other media shows.

My post was in response to the theory that this story has been placed on behalf of Rafa, so although I'm inclined to agree with your scenario 3, it's not really applicible in this case.

Bascombe is saying that Rafa is definitely going to get sacked, so, if this story is a really one that has been placed on behalf of Rafa I can see see two scenarios: 1. Rafa has somehow caught wind of his imminent sacking and has asked Bascombe to break this news in order to cause outrage amonsgt the fans with the slim hope of frightening Hicks and Gillett into changing their minds. 2. Rafa is trying to strengthen his position against Hicks and Gillett so scare strories revealing his 'immenient' sacking are planted in the media, thus galvanising support for Rafa amongst the fans and sending a mesage of: "don't fuck with me" to the owners. If scenario 2 is correct then Bascombe is making things up.

Doesn't this imply that Bascombe is making things up to frighten people into action?