18 May 2012

LFC Manager update: Andre Villas Boas' Agent responds to speculation...

Former Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas is currently third favourite to take over from Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool. Yesterday, the bookies had him as odds-on favourite, but with news that Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan has granted Liverpool permission to speak with Roberto Martinez, his chances appear to be falling slightly. Amid all the speculation, AVB's Agent Carlo Goncalves has provided an updated on AVB's future.

Speaking to Calciomercatoweb, Goncalves said:

"Villas-Boas follows football, but there have not been any official offers for him yet.

"If an interesting project comes about then we will certainly take it into consideration."


Liverpool is undoubtedly an 'interesting project', but is AVB the right man to lead the club forward? I think he's a good option, but I have a few reservations:

* He doesn't seem to exude the authority required to command respect from big egos.

* Seems like he takes things personally too quickly (Example: his spat with Alan Hansen).

* Given the fact he's so close in age to the players, they could find it hard to see him as an authority figure.

Having said that, he was undermined by Abramovitch, Terry and Lampard, and the Chelsea job is thankless role, so perhaps things can be different at LFC...

Jaimie Kanwar


66 comments:

  1. No, no no to AVB who was nicknamed ABC by the Chelsea fans!

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  2. He`s a little boy compared to Rafa

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  3. concerning all the manager linked ,i feel and its only my opinion ,,that rafa is the best simply reason being he would bring in european players and get us as far away from the british based club we have turned into ,,he is the only manager linked that has connections with the spanish and italian leagues something kenny ,pardew,avb,and matinez hasn,t.i feel with the current owners and rafas targeted players we would be back enjoying cl football ,,sure everyone remembers all the crap buys, but remember he did bring us,torres,,mascho,alsono,garcia,reina,johnson,skrtel,agger, and wasnt allowed to purchase,dani alves,silva,auergo,and barry, yeah he got tactics wrong but i remember turning utd over at old trafford ,beaten barca juv ac milan ,when he played a high tempo liverpool where unstoppable ,,,and if the truth be told we should of won the league with him but falled short something we havent looked like doing in the pass twenty odd years,,  BRING BACK RAFA 

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  4. AVB over Martinez for me, he has success on his CV at least.  At Cheslea he had a group of experienced and already successful players who had a lot of presence in the club and he couldn't win them over.  At LFC the players no they are miles away from being successful and would be fully willing to trust AVB.

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  5. Not sure about AVB. It's OK talking about philosophies and theories, everyone, whether a fan, player, manager or chief exec, has a philosophy on how the game should be played.

    The truth is Chelsea's squad, although older, is stronger than LFC's and he couldn't get anything out of them. As well as dodgy tactics, he fell out with a lot of players and nobody has come out and said a good word about him.

    Saying that, he bought some good players at Chelsea so he at least has some idea of what to do in the market. 

    Personally, I'd rather we steered clear. Martinez may be unproven at a high level but managing a small club on a shoestring budget requires certain skills and ways of thinking that can stand him in good stead with a bigger club. It's not easy to work at the bottom of the league - Mourinho would shout a lot less if he had to manage a sh*t club with no money. 

    The other thing about Martinez is that he believes in pass and move football with a cohesion and fluency that has been missing from Liverpool for a long time.

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  6. One thing is sure that owners want someone young and ambitious. So managers in Capello's league would be out of question. 

    I think AVB is better choice than Martinez and Rodgers. He was not supported by players at Chelsea and he learnt a lesson in man management. He is young and definitely talented. Moreover he has a point to prove for himself in Premier League. It would be ideal time for AVB to join Liverpool as most of the players are also new to the club, unlike Chelsea.

    Moreover he has once shown at Porto that he has balls to take on the world's best. Martinez and Rodgers are yet to show it. 

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  7. This could possibly be the longest post in the history of internet message boards but I read it all and I actually liked what I was reading. AVB, undoubtedly, is a scholar of the game. His only 'downfall' if you like, is his age and other players' egos, which was evident at Chelsea. At Porto, the players understood that he was the boss and played for him. If he was, indeed, to get the job at Liverpool, his first task would be to bond with the players and try to convince them with his vision on how the game should be played. His philosophy on breaking down teams who 'park the bus' would have served us well this past season, especially at home. As much as I liked Kenny's style of pass & move, I found myself frustrated by the payers' lack of ideas in the final third; constantly firing in high balls when Carroll wasn't on the pitch to attack them, for example, is just one of them. This 'provoking with the ball' is a classic trait of Barcelona's, the 'Tippy Tacka' or however you spell it, is deployed to frustrate the opposition into chasing the ball and moving out of position which the Barca forwards exploit with short, diagonal runs. They will do this dozens of times during a game and it works beautifully. I'd like the next manager, whomever it may be, to employ this type of tactic instead of relying on wingers to get to the by-line and whip a hopeful cross in only for a knuckledragging 6 feet 6 centre half to get there ahead of our 5-9 nimble striker.

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  8. Agree, the work ethics at Liverpool could mean things go much better for AVB than at Chelsea.

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  9. Has you spent your husbands compo Rafas wife and looking for another payout,

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  10. And that is why he failed at Chelsea... their senior players obviously don't think about the game often enough.

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  11. AVB or Jurgen Klopp for me. Martinez would be third choice. 

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  12. Nice read, kudos to the source

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  13. We can't rule any of the obvious out now, Liverpool are clearly transforming every dept of the club. Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura to be given more snr roles in the club, which are well deserved too.

    It appears we will see a raft of new faces at Anfield in the next 10 days or so?, all badly needed. It seems the manager will only worry about the team and nothing else, which is positive. The (dof) job split between 2 people at least, the sackings have stopped.

    If we have the right structure a manager can succeed, without it he has no chance. FSG have the finance to compete so why would a good manager not want the job?, the squad is decent enough, with plenty of youth talent, great fans and money to spend on a right-winger and goalscorer.

    We are in Europe again so the kids can play some games, unlike this past season. We know that top 4 is the target now, nothing else seems to matter as Ian Ayre has stated, sadly for me. I suppose the club needed dragging into the modern day, so here we go!!!!

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  14. Rafa or AVB for me. I'm a big fan of tactics geeks. Would have loved Brendan Rogers, but he snubbed us. Rogers has the right offensive philosophy, flooding attackers into the box a la manure; but since he doesn't want us the only significant difference between Rafa and AVB is experience.

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  15. AVB, Guardiola or Mourinho

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  16.  I am amazed what a great insight of him. I thought he just a name but he is more than that. Now I see the problem come from Chelsea player instead of him. I would also give him a chance at LFC if he wanted too for a revenge for Chelsea. Since he went through the player ego problem at Chelsea. I am sure he know how to deal with senior player at LFC. I am saying LFC player are ego but AVB must also need to learn to respect senior player. Since a great team is build under the unity of manager and players

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  17. Well the latest news is The mighty Brenadan Rodgers has been approached by FSG and told them hes not interested,wow how far we  have come.The King im afraid has done what new labour did ,spent all the money and left a terrible mess for the new leader to sort out.I dont know if its me but the King hardly looked heartbroken,in fact i think he was relieved to get out of the mess hed overseen,hes got £8m in the bank as well to get back on his cruise ship with.Rafa is the only one,if the likes of unknown Rodgers is saying he would rather stay with Swansea than go to LFC,well i think the King should hang his head in shame.

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  18. RAFA or AVB for me. Whichever one I'll b happy. Would prefer to give RAFA another go as most of his signings r there. If not him than AVB.

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  19. I think if we do get martinez or even AVB  . That fits FSGs plan .. young manager to get very young players 18 - 22 around ! to win be pushing for a title in about 5 years .. If we get  capello , deschamps , klopp etc then i think success will have to be a lot faster .. dont think they wanted kenny from the start but the clamour from the fans got him the job .. so i think they will give time to whoever they hire this time around.. aswell i think if they get a accomplished older manager they will surely have to give him a lot of money for tranfsfers to go there.. a younger manager might not be able to demand as much 

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  20. Patrick The Red11:19 am, May 18, 2012

     Jamie K is sticking up for AVB now, but just you watch if he's the next Liverpool manager and Liverpool are playing like Chelsea were in defence and losing home matches..

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  21. Just been reading that we have approached Guardiola, I know it's a long shot but that would be the dream manager for us.

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  22. None of this matters if you don't get the players to take the instructions and carry it out.

    Besides there is no such certainty to shapes and patterns - its just intellectual snobbery. The key would be that there is also a large element of chaos in a football match that nobody has a blue print or perfect understanding of. Take Di Matteo, do you think he is necessarily thinking along these lines? I'm pretty sure not, but he knew how to bring some heart back to their team. When it came down to it in the Nou Camp, for all Barcelona's probing and perceived control, Chelsea were able to pick them off with more random elements.So, to me, the key is someone that can mix some tactical knowledge/theory but more importantly gets the best from the players he's given. AVB: forget about it.

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  23.  8 million! You would think Kenny would of said keep it if he really loved Liverpool as everyone says after already wasting all Liverpool's money. 1 million should've been enough, he didn't deserve 8! No wonder he wouldn't quit, he's a Scotsman after all.

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  24. Brendan Rogers has turned down the chance of an interview

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  25. Football is played on grass not played by theory or philosopy, AVB was a total unmitigated disaster of a manager. It is ok at Porto where you dont get hounded by the press or the fans as you do in this country.
    Martinez is the best young manager in the game without doubt.

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  26. So, do you believe that Wigan's manager Roberto Martinez is better than AVB?

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  27. I am sure they will go for a young manager. Not some top manager like Capello. For me it is between Martinez and AVB. Each has their plus points and negatives. Martinez has done well scrapping for survival in the top flight but how hungry or what experience does he have challenging for top four our titles? AVB has won titles and I think he would be less of a duck out of water in respect of challenging for major honors. AVB on the other hand battled with the dressing room at Chelsea BUT maybe with Carragher as part of his management team he can win the boys over. I can't imagine Carragher being scared of telling Saurez where to get off. Besides I think FSG are planning on bringing the average age down drastically over the next few years only making this part easier. 

    As an aside JK, I don't know what your knowledge of football namagers contract are. But I have a question: How much, if anything was Kenny paid out? Between him and RH they must have cost FSG a small fortune. Surely it would be possible to put into a contract minimum performance requirement and also targets with bonuses.e.g.: If team makes Champions League the managers bonus is % of Clubs financial reward. If the Club goes backwards and end further down the log than say this season then he can be fired without being paid out the rest of his contract...? Not sure how British laws regarding termination of contract but it seems like a fairly win win approach.  

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  28. i think AVB is a decent manager. We need a good well respected manager who can attract top players, which is why i feel rodgers and martinez is not a good choice. We don't have champions league to lure the top players, but sometimes top, well respected managers can still get them to come. 

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  29. at least you never contributed to it ,,,,,ohh hold on maybe you bought a lfc reebok top ten years ago to watch the reds from ur tv ,

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  30. wow War & Peace wasnt as long as this post.
    One thing for sure though John Barnes was the worst manager of all time, even Tranmere sacked him.

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  31. Ron Atkinson has success on his CV would you employ him

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  32. I agree Jurgen Klopp would be amazing and I think Jaimie would want him too

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  33. the job has become a poisoned chalice if Rodgers refuses the approach.

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  34. if you added the compo for Rafa, Roy and KK together you would have enough money to buy a top striker, nearly as much as Carroll cost.

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  35. john henry goes on about the money being waisted how much compo has he paid out in 2years didnt want rb payed off £6 mill . plus his staff .rh lasted a couple of months  payed off and his staff. king kenny  and his staff must be aleast 18 to 20 million

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  36. Correction "I am not saying that LFC player is ego"

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  37. Out of AVB and Martinez i'd go fro AVB for sure, had he been an option after Roy....i think we all would have been giving him the thumbs up.

    You can tell that he's got a lot of ideas about the game and is very enthusiastic about it, he's young and positive, love the way he jumps up and down on the sidelines getting all animated etc shows a lot of passion in the man...

    Ticks all the boxes as far as im concerned in terms of football style etc and does have some pretty impressive success to his career already, the Chelsea episode was i think doomed from the off, right guy wrong time....

    Could also attract some quality signings, does seem to be able to spot talent BEFORE said talent mankes a big name....lots of positives IMO has to be on the shortlist and as i said IF he had been an option after Roy (Kenny not an option..) i think most of us would have been pretty happy with him as manager....

    There was much talk about this guy at that point and he was the preferred choice, that hasn't change for me, the Chelsea situation does not bother me at all, yes we have some ego's but i think its about time the Club dealt with them and brought in competition for their places SO IF they don't like it they can be dropped....

    That to me is the biggest issue with have, finding the right manager for the players.....should be the other way round i.e. finding the right manager for the Club..... and i think with AVB we could clear the decks start anew, get rid of anyone not happy about the decision to bring him in etc replace them....

    Don't see it happening though becaues i think FSG will not want to go through that much upheaval and face potentially a lot of hostility from the fanbase if it isn't glaring success straight away...

    SOS are already kicking up a stink about the state of the Club atm, calling for a sit down with the owners....and this is the thing really, the pressure will be on FSG and that is IMO very much to do with rafa benitez, because if they appoint him then SOS will STFU and be happy, most of the team will be happy as they would have got what THEY want...and the rafa obsessed fanbase would get what it wants.....and seeing as they are the most hostile and impatient of us then i can see that being a big issue, it is almost like we are being FORCED to take rafa back......

    But fcuk em, its AVB for me, hope FSG have the balls and the brains to drag this club out of this headlock that rafa seems to hold the club in.....

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  38. FSG did not sack Benitez. History lesson. Benitez sacked June 2010; FSG took over October 2010.

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  39. its alright every one debating about who should be the new manager we shouldnt even be in this position kenny should still be at the helm . albert the winger described us as a sinkin ship! kenny got us back afloat and now the yanks have hit us with one below the water line. they should abandon ship .and go back to what they do best running a rounders team 1912 the titanic. 2012 lfc sinking fast SOS

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  40. I don't think anyone could make a qualified judgement about Martinez managing a higher echelon team - because he hasn't. If he had, I think it would be easier to say if he is better than AVB.

    Would I want to see us take a chance on Martinez now? Absolutely not. Too much of a risk. Benitez gets my vote from a rational - but also an emotional - point of view.

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  41. Thank you Tom for your respond.  I think this time the owners don't want to look back and appoint an ex manager, so the best alternative solution is AVB.

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  42. AVB will do for me. If it works out, he could the manager for years to come. His Chelsea experience could also work in his favour.

    But O'Neill, for all his achievements in football, his experience and his mental strength, would be my first choice. Maybe not the best style of play but he would get us moving in the right direction and not tolerate egos taking over.

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  43. i have been to more live matches than you have hot dinners mate, so dont tell me all that crap,

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  44. only rafa should suitable for this job he is absolutely fantastic manager

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  45. whats Phil thompson doing these days? Iwas impressed with the way he handled the team with gerrard houlier,also did well when GH was off sick.there is a man who could deliver be it as head coach or assistant.(looking forward to watching the lads when thy come to Canada this summer.

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  46. A Message Sent to Fenway Sports Group's FB Page (I couldn't tag them): FSG, with all due respect, you clearly have no understanding of football or Liverpool Football Club. I have no idea what transpired in the Kenny meeting, but I can only imagine he gave you a piece of his mind--something which obviously did not sit well with you...the fact there is no clear Plan B is farcical. Having conduct...ed your "stewardship" (the fans are the true owners) with thought and dignity thus far, you have put yourself, and, more importantly, the Club in a very precarious situation. Short of bringing in a genuine world-class, highly experienced (Championship-winning) manager, we will be further away than ever. The fact Martinez--a manager whose CV includes flirting with relegation for three consecutive seasons-- is being seriously considered is outright scary. Though, I suppose he will give articulate and politically correct interviews (how nice). There is no chance we will get Mourinho, Guardiola or even Klopp (the type of appointment the Club and fans expect and deserve, following the dismissal of our icon, who despite what you may think, had set us up nicely for next season--that's another conversation). What I will say on this front is there are "lies, damn lies and statistics." The league may not lie, but it has been fibbing this year. So, where does that leave us? Certainly not with the very impressive Brendan Rodgers (a future possibility) who quite rightly thought better of it, and has respectfully declined your offer. All signs are pointing to Rafa (who would be an excellent choice, under the circumstances). Though, if you think Kenny was tough to manage, be warned. The prospect of watching AVB on the sidelines (in his black trench coat) at pitch level, all snooker player-like turns my stomach. Further, the fact you approached him before sacking Kenny has rendered him a dead man walking. He is not a LFC Manger. Personally I would welcome back Rafa, but a decision needs to be made quickly; a decision you are having to make with no genuine football leadership at the Club. My advice would be to stay a million miles away from Twitter, woeful blogs and leave the Football to Football Men. YNWA (providing you do the right thing)

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  47. Lets remember KD was player manager and he never encountered ay problems managing the players. But regardless, Benitez is the man to lead us again, IMO.

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  48. got to be rafa no one else can touch him

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  49. What you seem to miss is that KD didn't have an interfering owner to deal with back in the late 80s. The directors appointed the manager and let him get on with it.
    Let's face it, since the days of Ruud Gullitt, Chelsea have had some outstanding managers, but the owner (first Bates & then Abramovich) couldn't stop sticking their oar in. Ranieri pretty much built the squad that Mourinho took to the title. Jose pissed off a player or two, they whined to Roman and it's goodnight Mr Mourinho. Apart from Avram Grant, I'd take every manager they've had since Dennis Wise left. AVB tried to sort the trouble makers out, but the owner wouldn't back him up. I don't think JWH would back the players over the manager in the same circumstances. They can deny it all they want, but as soon as their next manager upsets Terry or Lampard, his days are numbered.

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  50. Word... as they say over there.
    Agree with every word... even (can't believe I'm saying this) agree with the bit about Benitez.
    I worry about  the idea of seeking advice on Twitter... jeez, are they learning the game by playing FM2012, dya think?
    I'm almost tempted to say bring back Hicks n Gillet... out of the frying pan and all that...
    Does Henry follow Abramovich on Twitter, by the way? Seems to be following his strategy regarding managers.

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  51. if you watched Sky Sports News you would see him every Saturday as he works for them reporting on a match in the studio with LeTissier, Charlie Nicholl and Paul Merson but never Liverpools game.
    He turned down the Villa asst mgr job under Houillier as he has a cushy number now at Sky.

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  52. Rodgers doesn't want to disrespect his own team's fans. Much kudos to him

    We know what he can do, he was applauded off the pitch at Anfield

    Rafa looking more likely. He has to be the best qualified, fans love him

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  53. _
    Choosing the right manager now, will mean either restoring Liverpool Football Club to its rightful place at the pinnacle of world football, or meandering in mid-table with Wigan and Stoke!



    My vote : Bring in Mourinho and watch this club win everything. He will instantly be written into the history book for winning the League with Liverpool after 20 years...

    _

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  54. chibuzo akobundu9:54 pm, May 18, 2012

    lovely a lover's spat. You both don't have to worry about Rafa. I have it on good authority that Comelli has advised the team against choosing Rafa as manager. I have read this online. But with anything you read there is always a chance that it might not be 100 percent accurate.

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  55. None of that matters if the players don't respect your authority and are willing to coordinate their efforts into his philosophy which is what happened at Chelsea. Will be same prob most likely at lfc

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  56. He actually donated his compensation to players fund, king Kenny he will always be!

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  57. who payed him off then

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  58. My problem is if the players have ego's why would the club entertain them, people say that AVB could not handle the ego's of Terry and Lampard, well who could? what i'm saying is shouldn't the players just play football and listen to the manager and the club should be backing the manager, if you have a plan.
    So if AVB was to come in, than wouldn't we expect the players ego's to come second to the managers plans or are we governed by the players and not the manager like Chelsea. He could be a great manager, i personally would take which ever manager had the best plan to balance what we have and what he would like to bring in because lets face it our current squad is pretty average and we can all agree that we need about  3-4 more players brought in, while trying to off load a few as well.

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  59. Jamie, your blogs are consistently hopeless, I really don't know what you think you are but you will certainly never be any sort of journalist. Your content and theme are poor, grammar is virtually non-existent and you can't spell. Stick to tweeting please!

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  60. We need the man behind the 'Miracle of Istanbul' back!!!

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  61. funny that considering i live on in bootle and have been a season ticket holder for 15 years and a member of the spirit of shankly,, ohh did you book ur flights from norway yet for next season,

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  62. Maybe Chelsea under Di Matteo says more about the power of Chelsea players over managers which could be why many managers get fired.
    Under AVB, John Terry was not once seen giving instructions from the bench like he did under Di Matteo.

    Also dont forget Di Matteo was the assistant under AVB and he still continued to sub Lampard like AVB but only this time Lampard and the press were not complaining.

    AVB suffered player power issues at Chelsea and I would have to say it will be interesting how he would deal with someone as opinionated as Carragher at Liverpool who can potential undermine him because of his long service and local boy status.

    AVB to me is a very interesting choice who will possibly attract goo layers from his network in Portugal and South America while possibly working well with the Latin element already at Liverpool.

    He will be the real antithesis of the buy British policy that caused so much anguish amid wasted money for over-inflated prices but then totally failed to respond to a club legend which got him the sack.

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  63. Akash_superstarfc7:47 pm, May 19, 2012

     PLEASE NO TO.....

    Roberto Martinez

    Rafa Benitez

    Brendan Rodgers

    Fabio Capello

    Andre Villas-Boas

    Pep Guardiola

    Didier Deschamps

    Jurgen Klopp

    Michael Laudrup





    FRANK RIJKAARD as Manager and LUIS VAN GAAL as Director Of Football.



    If liverpool appoint middle class manager, only middle class player will join liverpool.



    BUT if liverpool appoint SUPERP manager, sure all the SUPERP and fantastic players will join liverpool.



    Before this, liverpool already try managers from:

    FRANCE (Gerard Houllier).

    SPAIN: (Rafa Benitez).

    ENGLANG: (Roy Hodgson).

    SCOTLAND: Kenny Dalglish.



    So now go for Holland Management… because Holland always got talen, that
    is Frank Rijkaard who bring Barcelona to the Top & also Luis Van
    Gaal that win 2 La Liga title in 3 season with Barcelona.



    Both also like to play Attacking Game. So i hope liverpool will appoint
    FRANK RIJKAARD as Manager and LUIS VAN GAAL as Director Of Football.



    And Give Them Money To SIGN:

    Higuain (Striker)

    Ibrahim Affaley (Right Winger)

    Eden Hazard (Playmaker)

    Kagawa (Left Winger)

    Lucas Biglia (Defensive Midfielder)

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  64. Your opinions are so realistic it's not even funny

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  65. I imagine he gets a fair few hits and a decent amount of advertising revenue, perhaps even enough to quit the sort of mindless 9-5 day job a lot of people have. So who cares what you think when he gets to blog for a living?

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  66. If it's not Dalglish, it's got to be Rafa... If it's not Rafa, bring back Joe Fagan. Liverpool fans need to let go of the past and move on!

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