Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has shed some more light on the reasons behind his departure from Anfield in 2010, and he also revealed his concerns about people 'rewriting history' and misrepresenting the overall impact he made at the club.
Speaking to Fox TV Australia, Benitez said:
"At the end I had to go because the conditions were not the best. The club was being run like a company; everything was about money, and we had to sell to buy, so it was a difficult time".
The sell to buy issue is controversial one; I personally refute the notion that Benitez was forced to sell to buy, but I've covered that at length many times before so I won't repeat myself here.
Benitez was also keen to point out that people should not just focus on the drudgery of his final season, which he argues is not representative of his whole tenure:
"We had 5 very good seasons, and one not the best season, but people are still talking about this [the final season]. We cannot rewrite history; we have to think about the whole six years, and I think it was a great time, and I was relly pleased".
I am a big critic of Benitez's management style but it is true to say that the club did have some good seasons under him, and fans experienced lots of magical nights under his stewardship.
There's an old saying that 'History only remembers most what you did last', and it seems that seems to be coming true for Benitez. With the demise of his Liverpool career, and then the ignominy of an early sacking at Inter Milan, people with short memories will struggle to look further than those two negative incidents.
Benitez has already admitted that he would like to manage Liverpool again when Kenny Daglish retires, but for now, he is 100% behind the team, and hopes that the next few years will be laden with trophies:
"The situation now is totally different; they have new owners, new manager, new technical director, some new players...everything is place now to be successful again. They can win trophies; I wish them to win trophies..."
I may not be a fan of Benitez but I can still appreciate his qualities, and hopefully will get back into football sooner rather than later. With the right team and the right conditions, I'm sure he will remind everyone of his excellent coaching abilities.
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to Fox TV Australia, Benitez said:
"At the end I had to go because the conditions were not the best. The club was being run like a company; everything was about money, and we had to sell to buy, so it was a difficult time".
The sell to buy issue is controversial one; I personally refute the notion that Benitez was forced to sell to buy, but I've covered that at length many times before so I won't repeat myself here.
Benitez was also keen to point out that people should not just focus on the drudgery of his final season, which he argues is not representative of his whole tenure:
"We had 5 very good seasons, and one not the best season, but people are still talking about this [the final season]. We cannot rewrite history; we have to think about the whole six years, and I think it was a great time, and I was relly pleased".
I am a big critic of Benitez's management style but it is true to say that the club did have some good seasons under him, and fans experienced lots of magical nights under his stewardship.
There's an old saying that 'History only remembers most what you did last', and it seems that seems to be coming true for Benitez. With the demise of his Liverpool career, and then the ignominy of an early sacking at Inter Milan, people with short memories will struggle to look further than those two negative incidents.
Benitez has already admitted that he would like to manage Liverpool again when Kenny Daglish retires, but for now, he is 100% behind the team, and hopes that the next few years will be laden with trophies:
"The situation now is totally different; they have new owners, new manager, new technical director, some new players...everything is place now to be successful again. They can win trophies; I wish them to win trophies..."
I may not be a fan of Benitez but I can still appreciate his qualities, and hopefully will get back into football sooner rather than later. With the right team and the right conditions, I'm sure he will remind everyone of his excellent coaching abilities.
Jaimie Kanwar
Excellent coaching abilities? You were so against him when he was in charge; you've changed your tune totally.
ReplyDeleteYou're a lying shithouse and a coward. Fuck you Kanwar.
Jamie I know you were not a fan of his pragmatic style, but playing against and beating heavyweights such as AC Milan, R. Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Juventus, Man United, amongst others is an experience we may not see for a while... I have a lot of time for Rafa and what he did for LFC, he did not deliver the league title but he got us very close, he made the careers of so many players and no doubt others will disagree with me, but it was a sad day when he left.
ReplyDeleteI will give KD time as he deserves that, but I truly believe we will not see the same success under him as we did with Rafa
Totally agree. Rafa regularly - REGULARLY mind you - got us to the latter stages of the Champions League and made us a lot more appealing for potential top-class signings than anything any manager had done at the club for 15 years, or anything any manager has done since.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Jaimie's constant criticisms of him are in part down to these good times - in essence, Benitez was a victim of his own success.
My only problems with Rafa were his predictability when it came to making substitutions and the regularity of his caution. But the caution came from knowing our shortcomings and acknowledging that we were a lot more solid and compact when we played it tight, and that we didn't have the abundance of expensive flair players that the other teams had at the time.
Granted, this was never going to last forever, but I'd have liked to have given him one more season under proper ownership to prove either the pro or anti-Rafa brigade right or wrong.
He'd still be a legend in my eyes anyway for what he did for the club.
Rafa is a legend for LFC. He had to sell to buy, could not buy the players he wished to as was most often not given the funds (he wanted Silva, one example), and importantly, these were players that would have come to Liverpool due to our strong placing in the league and in European, the number of Spanish and international players there, and Rafa being the manager.
ReplyDeleteIf Rafa had had the backing Kenny is getting now for the duration of his time in charge - we would have won the league. We finished 2nd in a year in which we were forced to again sell to buy, and, although Benitez's conservative tactics could be frustating, and although he made some bad signings (Aquilani, though I think he would have been good eventually in the long run, Johnson possibly, as though a good player we could arguably have done with another winger, and Babel - though he wasn't too expensive and did show potential), most of the players he bought were great, and the ones that weren't (and weren't free or cheap players he had no choice but to sign), do not come to such a grand total of wasted pounds. Think Man U and Chelsea and the money they've spent.
Rafa one us a European Cup with a team of chumps, got us to another final and we were unlucky to win, almost took us to the league title, and restored our pride in Europe. This was despite the distractions of our ownership, their limited funding of his choices (sell to buy). Given greater support, such as we have in our new owners, Rafa would have won us the league and the Eruopean cup again, I have no doubt of this.
Bring him back in the future I say.
I will repeat it Jaimie.
ReplyDeleteFor all of Rafa's great signings the loss of Alonso will go down with Leeds selling Cantona to Man United or Newcastle selling Andy Cole to Man U.
That was HIS decision not the boards, just telling the player he can go after he had built his team around him for the previous 5 years with success only thing we were lacking was another sort of striker(Suarez) for back up to Torres and not a change in the style of play we had just scored 77 goals Con27 and finished second, the team was coming together 08/09 season.
Should of sold Mascherano who wanted to leave.
As far as I'm concerned, I find absolutely nothing to disagree with in that great post. It was a very sad day indeed; & I would find it amazing if anyone takes as high as we achieved under him, even within a few years
ReplyDeleteJJ, well, well said. That one fatefully move sealed Liverpool's fate along w/ Benitez. YNWA
ReplyDeleteYes Rafa tried selling Alonso but only to finance other deals. I don't think he would have ever sold him if the two Yanki Muppets had given him money to buy players rather than sell.to buy.
ReplyDeletejj you infuriate me Alonso asked to leave and refused to sign a new deal. This was because Rafa tried to sign Barry. You shouldnt forget Alonso had an awful season when we tried to sign Barry. Simple Alonso left because he sulked
ReplyDeleteAlonso had the option to stay yet chose to go.Rafa wanted Alonso to stay,Rafa asked Aloso to stay,it was Alonsos decision to leave,end of.
ReplyDeleteIf he sold Mascherano and still brought Aquilani that would have given us the change in style of play that might have been needed,when Aquilani was fit he showed how good he was great touches and was MOTM most times he played.
ReplyDeleteErm scenario - your boss tries to replace you with somebody less inferior whilst offering you to other places. This inferior person says actually I'm going somewhere else for more cash. Your boss turns round and says to you "come on lad pull your socks up and play and be loyal to us for evermore - I didn't mean to embarass you like that". We are all human and running through all our veins is the feeling of being wanted and needed and repsecting the person you work for. Rafa destroyed the bond between him and Alonso and the relationship was untenable. I still think Alonso was one of the best players to wear the red shirt however fully undertsand his reasons for leaving. It will always be Rafa's biggest mistake.
ReplyDeleteWhat to go for an inferior player? Stop looking for excuses when they are not there.
ReplyDeleteRafa had his hands tied,he was never given any money and had to perform miracles with no money,the only way he could do this was to sell to buy.Alonso was not playing great when Rafa tried to raise money,Juve were supposedly going to sign him then changed their minds and nobody else wanted him.Alonso being Alonso then produces his best ever season and moves to Madrid,that in itself seems suspicous to me.Also on Alonso remember when Rafa had to name his squad for a european game and Alonso was umming and eying for days on end saying he doesnt know if he will be able to make it as his wife might be due for giving birth,in the end he didnt go.Rafa was loyal he refused Madrid,in fact Rafa was so loyal he missed his Fathers funeral because we had a game.Why couldnt Alonso have the same attitude,so Rafa tried to raise funds by selling an underachieving player at the time,is Alonso so sensitive that when Rafa asks him to stay the following year he says no because of this.well I dont want these sort of players at Liverpool,selfish self centred primadonnas.
ReplyDeletewell done for writing something a bit more balanced about rafa. I recall reading things you wrote about him in the past and not being able to go past the first paragraph is was so one sided.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you will find that in his last 3 years he did have to buy to sell, thats why the squad was so thin. E.g. sign Torres 20m+ sell Bellemy 14m and Garcia 6m.
So you would have sold Alonso for Barry then!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteRafa sowed the seeds of doubt,Alonso had been injured but came back strong he thought he was an important part of the team but Rafa told him he was n't wanted!
Undermined a key player that had help us to 2 Champions League, FA Cup bet the board must of thought what are up to no wonder why he did n't land Barry bet the board thought what the hell is he up to and were n't prepared to lose Alonso for Barry ,Gerrard was devastated Torres says was the main reasons we and he failed.
I disagree about Alonso being the downfall. I feel Rafa's ultimate downfall was the minute he and Pako Ayestrayan fell out. Look at what these two achieved together at Valencia and Liverpool and then beyond the rift things started to regress. Its a shame.
ReplyDeleteIts not even about football anymore when people state their opinions about Benitez. Most opinions are stemmed by the insecure thoughts that plague a persons mind. People only remember bad things, accept them and never move on. Forget the reasons or facts, when it comes to discussing Benitez they are always out of the window!!! Benitez had the ability to make Liverpool rampant on their day but most people doubt his management style. How many teams could conjure some of the scorelines Benitez accomplished. He alienated himself from players because he thought no player is bigger than the club. It may have not worked for some players but it doesn't mean Liverpool are obligated to purchase players with a desire to play for them. They are never going to attract the right players that way. Face it, Liverpool are not winning the league like Man United; giving top class players a desire to play for them. He brought in quality but dealt with egos, whereas Liverpool now are avoiding that problem completely. Benitez got a lot of stick for getting rid of players he bought. But face it, some players did not produce to how he wanted them to. Keane, Gonzalez, Crouch, Pennant. He tried to bring in flair players but it didn't hit off so he got rid of his mistakes. People are quick to bash him on his mistakes ( negative part) and not his attempts to replace those players ( postive part). His management style was not suited to the support he was getting from the owners, but most people will only remember the negative and never the positive of what Benitez was trying to achieve. He never got his chance to show people so one day I hope he will manage Liverpool again.
ReplyDeleteFor now faith is with Kenny Dalglish. So far he has given stability to Liverpool which is positive. He can thank the owners for that and in most part Luis Suarez. Henderson and Carroll are potential, but Adam and Downing are supposed to be the players to improve Liverpool. It is still early days and much depends on the next transfer window. Downing needs to be replaced or given competition, he is too static and relaxed. His runs don't give Liverpool open space and he always needs Enrique there to cope with the pressure. His final ball is also dismal. He isn't improving and taking his place for granted. I saw as much determination in his first game than the rest of his other games put together. Look at Carroll, he was left out for a run of games and he has come back into the team with better focus and determination even though he may not be producing to a respectable level. Adam is a good purchase but he is hit and miss. Not the first team midfielder that is solid every game. Lucas is amazing, his passes are improving dramatically and he is a workhorse; I have so much respect for the man. We still need a replacement for Torres because we have no speed upfront. Carroll isn't his replacement, he is just another option. If Suarez is the focal point of our attack now we need a striker that will feed of that. In the next transfer window 3 players is a must. Striker, Winger, Creative Midfielder. The defense I am not too worried about. Kelly and Johnson are good enough for RB. Coates Skrytl and Agger are playable in CB. Enrique is playing well at LB but it could pose a problem if he gets injured. But since we are playing potential players like Hendo and Carroll it will be a benefit to play Robinson.
ReplyDeleteAll a bit to late then was n't it, bet Rafa did n't apologise for the Barry business, Alonso had n't even thought about leaving until Rafa said he could go not,the board.
ReplyDeleteI have sympathy for Rafa and he took the Cowboys on if he had the money we would have got players like Silva but he needs to learn how to deal with players it's funny how Rafa compares Liverpool to being a company when he treats his players like he was a manager on a shop floor of a factory and needs HR to deal with the player problems!
Mali you hate British players so you would want Barry over Alonso then?
ReplyDeleteRafa is actually a great coach. I believe Sir Alex had a rival and it was Beni boy!
ReplyDelete'I personally refute the notion that Benitez was forced to sell to buy'
ReplyDeleteYou have no credibility on this and absolutely no foundation to make such a claim. Back to your blog. Let professionals who put their reputation on the line speak their truth and judge the facts accordingly. Something you are incapable of doing with any credibility when it comes to Benitez. You also supported Hodgson, his style and results. Enough said.
What makes you say i hate British players...just because i call crap crap even if its British.
ReplyDeleteThe reason i criticise these players is that kenny bought the wrong ones..if Kenny bought Lucas for 20million i would be saying how stupid Kenny was. Same when Kenny signs Henderson for 20million i think Kenny made a mistake.
If Kenny bought Ngog for 35million i wouldn't have said well done Kk
the way i see it is to be fair whether its British player or a foreigner. if they are good say it. if they are crap British then why make excuses.
i would have sang praises of Kk if he had bought Alex Chamberlin instead of Henderson
1) Rafa put Alonso in the shop window (who wanta to buy him?) FACT!
ReplyDelete2) Rafa was given money and he wasted it (40 million in his last year and bought
crippeled Aqualani and useless defender Johnson for 40 million) FACT!
3) Sold Crouch, Bellamy, Cisse, Keane bought and sold him in 5 months and kept
Vernon, Ngog and Babel. Just look and compare. Sold good quality strikers and
kept garbage, FACT!
4) Sold Risse, Finnan and didn't give Hyypia another season contract and kept
and bought, Josemi, Kromkamp, and that Italian left back " forgot his name"
look and compare. Again sold good quality and kept garbage, FACT!
5) Plus, selling the likes of Bennyoun and having a dispute and not playing Riera
after he had a great season with us when we came 2nd. in the league. Also
telling Bennyoun to find himself another club, quality players he got rid off,
FACT!
6) Won us the Champions League? Hahaha, You mean stevie G. did. Go look it
up, FACT!
7) Won us the F A Cup? Again hahaha, again you mean Stevie G. did Go look it
up, FACT!
8) Fact yes he made us lose the Champions League in 2007, when AC Millan
were much weaker than 2005, by having ONLY Kuyt as a forward, losing 2-0
with only about 12 minutes to go. Then he brings on another forward (Crouch)
and then we score. Can you imagine Alex Fergurson losing 2-0 in the final
he would have brought on every forward at his disposal, FACT!
9) Maybe your great Rafa was thinking it's a "2 legged final"
10) If you guys think Rafa was a great manager, I pity you, cause it means you
very backward in football knowledge, FACT!
Oh and your great Rafa sold another skillfull player, Pennant. But then again who needs him when we had, Babel, Vernon and the great Ngog. Hahahaha.
ReplyDeletethe season we tried to sign barry, alonso had been poor for the second season running. also alonso was bought originally as gerrards replacement the 2 of them couldnt play together. do you ever watch the games
ReplyDeletecorrect !
ReplyDeletealonso was poor so rafa tried to sign barry to improve the team is that a crime - no
ReplyDeleteHe DID have to sell to buy. Players leave, its inevitable, but he was NOT given money to fund the right quality replacements.
ReplyDeleteThe big one that got away was Stevan Jovetic who should have come in with Aquilani, but the club vetoed it due to the Alonso cash paying off debts.
The ONE thing that held us back after the great 08-09 season was our forner owners, who did not have any clue at all about football.
True. A great coach indeed, JK is mad to criticise
ReplyDeletegreat post mate paco would do a could job with kenny and clarky i reckon
ReplyDeletePlease stop blaming everything on the owners. I know they were the worst that anyone can ever have, but, Rafa was at fault with the players he kept and player he sold simple as that, FACT!
ReplyDeleteWho gave him almost 65 million pounds, just to buy 3 players? Auallani, Johnson and Torres, the useless owners, FACT!
I find it amusing to watch how 'Rafa Haters' will arrange everything in such a way, so as not to give Benitez credit for anything he did or achieved in his 6 year tenure at Liverpool FC.
ReplyDeleteHere's another one for you to add to the rest of your garbage 'Fact' comments.
"It was Houllier's team, not Rafa's, that won the 2005 Champions League!"
PS. And please, save the pity for yourself.
Stevie G won us the champions league? it was the fault of Sg and Alonso we were 3-0 down in the 1st place as neither could get to grips with Kaka. Rafa won us the Champions league by bringing on Didi hamman and changing to a 3-4-1-2
ReplyDeleteAquilani cost 5mill that season which is why we purchased him. It is quite possible the reason we are not playing him now is because he'll trigger larger payments to Roma.
ReplyDeletePortsmouth still owed us money from the crouch deal and were going bankrupt. If we didn't sort something out for Johnson by including the money they owed us we'd have lost everything. Selling Arbeloa also gave us money to contribute to the Johnson purchase so I think you'll find, at the time, to make up for the lack of cash for a winger Rafa improvised and signed an attacking fullback. Johnson therefore probably cost us 6m. And to finish what are you on about regarding Torres Rafa could have sold him for £80m. Keep reading the papers son......
1)Rafa did not want to sell Alonso but needed Barry and had to come up with 20mil - plus like others are saying Alonso had a bad season prior - FACT!
ReplyDelete2)Aquilani could have gone either way and was unlucky for Rafa - I for one was excited when we signed him. Glen Johnson is England right back - FACT!
3)Crouch wanted more game time than Rafa could give to stay in the England set up but neither really wanted him to leave. Bellamy was a nuisance (you have a very selective memory). Babel and Ngog had huge potential and much much younger than unfortunate Keane - FACT!
4)Riise was past his best everyone accepted that but it was still sad to see him go. Josemi and Kromkamp both were good but homesick so never settled. Dossena could have been good (look at him now for Napoli) but again we had to sell GOOD players because they were worth something - FACT!
5)Benayoun - love him - but injury prone. Riera had much passion but little patience and flapped his trap, got sold.
6) - 10) NO COMMENT you are talking crap sorry mate.
who "gave" him 65mil??? Far out mate what are you smoking, can I have some?? Look at the players that went out and the quality that left with them - YOU keep saying this... that's where the 65mil came from!!!
ReplyDelete1) Alonso had a bad season prior. I was against selling Alonso but how many fans get on the back of a player that has a bad season. But this can be one of his mistakes. So I give you that.
ReplyDelete2) Crippled Aquilani? He was a quality signing and a player to this day that we need. Johnson at the time looked a good signing. He entered the team in blistering form, looking good in attack and getting goals. Injuries have ruined him. 3) Crouch was useless. Bellamy had discipline issues. Keane was given a chance but didn't finish and wasn't his player in the first place. Cisse was a good player, unsure why he left. But all in all it proved that he had to sell to buy. The only reason the other players were kept because they could AFFORD them to stay. 4) Selling Risse was a bad choice because he wasnt replaced with a good player. You can say the same thing with the Carroll and Torres situation except Insua didn't cost 35million. Josemi wasn't even kept past Finnan and Risse so what are you on about. Kromkamp was never a first team player regularly and was just there to fill the squad. Kelly was too young back then. Who was it that gave Kelly his chance. Dossena wasn't garbage for the amount we payed for him. What do you expect he would be when he wasn't worth more than 10 million. Again lack of funds. 5) Riera had no respect. How many players are daft enough to critisize their manager in the media; there is no place for that even if the manager is Roy Hodgson. You talk about respecting players, you cant even type Benayoun's name properly. He was a defensive liability that failed to track back at times and weak in the tackle. Benitez figured there would only be a specific use for him in specific games. 6) He won us the championsleague. He brought on Hamman for the midfield which gave balance to the midfield, and positioned Gerrard to go forward. Many of you would have substituted Smicer. 7) You may be right on the FA cup. Gerrard did win us the cup. But your daft to say that managers shouldn't be relying on their best players.
8) Kuyt and Crouch was never a good partnership. Goals scored by AC Milan were just bad judgements on the players behalf. You also forget how Liverpool even got to the final in the first place. Benitez made Liverpool a team to be feared in Europe. Fact is you are a hater regardless whether Liverpool did or did not get to the final.
9) Get your brain checked out by a neurologist.
10) Benitez gave us Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Johnson, Riera, Garcia, Reina, Agger, Kuyt, Aquilani, Skrytl, Lucas, Maxi. Changed the youth setup, brought back Fowler, rampant goal-scoring games and special wins. The price tag involved with the players he bought was low usually around 6-8 million. The only large amounts that were spent was Keane (19 mil / not his buy) Torres (22 mil), Johnson (18 mil because hes English), Aquilani (20 mil), Mascherano (18 mil), Alonso (10 million), Kuyt (9 million). How many of these players were quality; 5/6 not counting Keane. How many players were sold for more than they were bought for. Pretty good manager in my opinion.
The statement says ' We had to sell before we buy' was the problem. Rafa had to sacrifice someone who will be worth 30M and get new players for different positions. In my mind 'Gerrard' is the best replacement which was already in the team for Alonso.
ReplyDeleteAs if Benitez is naive. Nowadays football is money business, started by one Glaswegian by the name of fergie. Need I say more.
ReplyDeleteSorry red man but the truth is Alonso had a very poor season with us which is why Barry was considered, this pushed Alonso to work harder and prove Rafa was wrong for even contemplating this move (which he done tremendously) i love Rafa but had he gone and spoken to Alonso given him a pat on the back and said sorry i was wrong to doubt u he would have stayed. Give king kenny a go and lets see but if it doesnt work out, i for 1 wouldnt mind Rafa coming back
ReplyDeleteYNWA
The European experience under Rafa was fantastic, his record was superb. We finished 2nd in the Premier League too, I think he was superb but lost the plot in his last season. He will be loved forever by Liverpool fans!!!!
ReplyDeleteHave You ever Heard Alonso on LFC.TV in a recent interview?
ReplyDeleteHe revealed that Rafa said him to go because the Club needed funds.
Poor Season by Xabi? Did The best playmaker in Europe and the Best Liverpool player so far had a poor season????? In which planet????
ReplyDeleteIn a worst scenario, Gareth Barry should not fill in the boots of Xabi Alonso, also if Xabi undergoes a groin surgery
Again, also for You: Have You ever Heard Alonso on LFC.TV in a recent interview?
ReplyDeleteHe revealed that Rafa said him to go because the Club needed funds.
Someone is a liar, Rafa or Xabi: You can decide Who is the liar
Totally true: I totally agree with You.
ReplyDeleteThe rumour mill is revamping: it seems that Alonso has had a bad season......
ReplyDeleteDo You heard the story on a comic novel????????????
Xabi has had a first period to adapt him to english style but from then He was simply majestic. Rafa is simply a Man, and as a Man He brings both some errors and good things to the Club: SELLING XABI WAS UNDOUTEBLY A BIGGEST MISTAKE, AND NO ONE DECIDED FOR HIM. FACT.
Rafa did good things, Rafa delivered good moments, Rafa is the past. Keep some faith in King Kenny and move on!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from Rafa:
"The situation
now is totally different; they have new owners, new manager, new
technical director, some new players...everything is place now to be
successful again. They can win trophies; I wish them to win trophies..."Rafa is a Liverpool Fan Who just now is supporting the CLUB AND THE MANAGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should suggest to some pathetic bollocks to support the Club as well as Rafa instead of blatantly living in the past!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aquilani's price tag was almost £18ml.
ReplyDeleteAssuming you are right (which you are not) then - A manager built his team around 1 player.1 player and when he left coudn't cope with it. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you the true definition of a LEGEND.A LEGEND.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Rafa Benitez, this man is the best manager in the world. He is a legend in my heart and brought so many glory to us especially in Europe matches. Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson are maybe one of the best managers out there but they are managing the first class team. However, Liverpool never fear ANY other football club in Europe in his hand. We beaten Real Madrid and Man Utd both giant clubs in one week time. I was over the moon that time. Do you guys still remember that?
ReplyDeleteEven that, I don't think he is perfect. He made some mistakes in his career in Liverpool also. But surely, selling Xabi Alonso is not one of it. I blamed Alonso who insisted wanting to go when we nearly won the Premier League. He was nothing when he was in Real Sociedad but Rafa and Liverpool made him the world class playmaker but he never appreciate it. The fans in Singapore (Liverpool visited Singapore before the start of the season) made him signboard and begged him not to go. The same goes for Mascherano as well. I blamed him too for not willing to feature in Liverpool match to force his transfer.
Rafa's most crucial mistake is Aquilani's injury. (I think Rafa publicly admitted this point before) Aquilani is brilliant but he didn't really replaced Alonso since he is injuring all the time and missed the season opener, which is why we're struggling already because of absence of Alonso and Aquilani. And then, the Pako Ayesteran, Rafa's right hand man. I do not know why he left but yes, that was the starting downfalll for Liverpool. Then, Riera and Benayoun were publicly criticized him before. It was down to his man management style's problem
Other than that, I don't think there is any other major mistakes he had done. Some people do complain about his substitution when Torres is coming off but I found the reasoning behind his explanation is just fine. And if he is still here when the new American owners arrive, we will have David Silva or Mata instead of Downing. If one day Kenny Dalglish had decided to stepped down, I for one, sure support the decision of bringing Rafa back to this club. And if you wanna know my personal opinion, yes, all due respect to the King's fans, I do think Rafa Benitez is better than Kenny Dalglish. Thanks for reading guys.
You're going soft Jamie! lol
ReplyDeleteIt's all an act; lulling people into a false sense of security, before I ATTACK! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhen Rafa said after he had his morale knocked at Valencia!
ReplyDeleteBenitez added: "I want to see it as positive that the club has tried to keep me on, but after the events of this season which have undermined my morale I have decided to reconsider my future at the club.
You would have thought Rafa might of learnt from his own personal experinences to treat his players with respect and that they are human beings and not assets!
What Rafa said after leaving Valencia!
ReplyDeleteBenitez added: "I want to see it as positive that the club has tried to keep me on, but after the events of this season which have undermined my morale I have decided to reconsider my future at the club.
So is Rafa a selfish self centered primadonna then and why did we make him manager then if he likes to rock the boat??????
Do you think Fergie,Wenger and Mourinho would have stopped a MAN attending his childs birth I don't think so or LFC stopped Alonso?
He did n't attend his fathers funeral does that make him a better coach or a lesser man?
Rafa is great coach but has had problems and is not approachable to the players keeps a few happy instead of the squad happy, other managers like Fergie and Wenger are seen as father figures as well as managers.
Chamberlin wanted to play for Arsenal,Henderson wants to play for Liverpool and that is the price for young English players I have watched videos of Henderson at Sunderland in the Premier League and you can see why they spent the money.
ReplyDeleteCarroll will prove his worth not even been here a year and you have written him off.
£20 million for Barry would you have paid that?
Let's hope we start seeing some praise for these English players and they don't fail;)
6-1 now go away:)
ReplyDeleteWhy was n't Didi on from the start then?
ReplyDeleteWait till the end of the season, if kenny can win anything in his first year and infact for the next 3 years, kenny will not win anything apart from Carling cup. Then you will appreciate what Rafa has achieved. I would dare to say Liverpool will not get 4th this season unless, kenny admits his mistake and spend big in Jan. Hopefully, no more sub standard British Players. Is Henderson or Downing a much better player than Maxi, Jonjo and Spearing? Definitely NOT. Maxi was consistent towards the end of the year and scored a coupled of hat tricks. He is more suitable to the move and pass and he is always inside the 6 yards box. If he played against Norwich, i am pretty sure he would have a hat trick. Also, look at Jonjo, he is doing well at Blackpool. My question to kenny, why changed a good combination with potential. Obviously Kenny can use the money for Henderson and Downing on some areas. Instead of buying Henderson, kenny should give Jonjo and maxi more playing time. I am aware alot of Fans love kenny and treat him as a legend but to me, he makes more mistake than Rafa in his first year. Kenny first year, spend more than 100M and Rafa first year, he only spend less than 20M (Alonso 10M, Garcia 6M and Josemi 2M) and yet Rafa won the champion league on his first season with Liverpool. If Kenny did not win anything, we as fans have the right to question him and his ability as a manager after spending more than 100M.
ReplyDeleteSpot on buddy..Rafa made us unplayable in Europe..we we're ranked No1 for the champions league coefficient at one point..rafa is my hero and I would without hesitation jack him off
ReplyDeleteNo player is bigger than the club and neither is any manager.
ReplyDelete6 years at a top 4 club is as much of a chance as anybody could reasonably ask for. Everybody needs to just move on...
Simple question for all of you - what is the priority for LFC in your eyes??
ReplyDeleteFA Cup
Champions League
League Title
League Cup
Other (e.g. seeing a particular manager in charge)
How exactly was Alonso 'poor'. Please provide examples.
ReplyDeleteCan't knock Rafa on Europe but he made fans skitso over the league! Go and win in Europe at all the big clubs and then go and draw or lose against lesser teams in the league.
ReplyDeleteRafa was there to win the league and in 07/08 and 08/09 season the title was there for the taking it was nothing about the transfers or the board the players were there, the team only lost 5 matches but drew to many and could have been more adventurous in the league.
Rafa had more faith in the players winning in Spain,Italy and France then in winning against the lesser teams in the league!
In my eyes:
ReplyDelete* Playing attractive pass and move football with exciting, attacking players
* Winning the league
This is why I absolutely loved the Roy Evans era; the football we played was so enjoyable, and we had the likes of Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman in their prime, playing alongside the likes of Rush and Barnes. Okay, we didn't win much but I'd rather we played exciting football and won nothing than played, dull boring football and won everything.
The football we're playing at the moment is good at times but it's mainly down to one man: Suarez. Take him out of the team and things look pretty dire.
After first season of trophies, Rafa didn't win a single trophy for the Club in six yrs. Meanwhile Rafa did a good job as well as Kenny. If We'll win anything at the end of this first season, it will happen anything. ANYTHING. Kenny will stay, because is The King, We love him, He loves Liverpool, He's a great manager (with a CV in terms of trophies that any manager of the league could only dream for himself) We're happy with the way the Club is moving forward in these days, and simply because it's THE FIRST SEASON IN A THREE YEARS DEAL. If You have a problem with Kenny, change your own Club and fuck off away, If You dislike the way in which Kenny runs Liverpool fuck off away. Pure and Simple. And Stupid idiot, take a look at Club accounts: Kenny didn't spend 100M. When Rafa was in charge any of these so called fans asked for looking at the bigger picture, but now, now They can't go ahead 10 games in a three yrs deal.....
ReplyDeleteBut Fuck Off Idiot, If You want istant success, change Your Club.
We don't need You.
I think part of the reason KK will not see the same success as Rafa is down to there being a 'big 6' now instead of a 'big 4'. When Rafa was in charge, we only had to see off the likes of Everton or Villa to be in the Champions League. Nowadays, Man City are pretty much guaranteed a place and we have to battle it out with Spurs and Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteJust the way you have great hope that Carroll will improve and so will Henderson..maybe Rafa thought and hoped that Barry would do the same for him..its a risk you sometimes take.
ReplyDeleteThe risk can be took on one player and if he doesn't work out then the other 9players on the out field can carry him ...but when you sign four on big money..you have took such a big risk and when all four are not working out..it affects the team. the four Kenny bought at same period of the transition..
since you mentioned about wenger and fergie wouldn't treat their players like Rafa did. i.e.father figure..lets twist the argument..would wenger and fergie ever sign Adam ..Henderson..Carroll..downing on their own never mind together??????
He'd been injured fairly constantly for a lengthy period of time and on the occasions that he did play, he wasn't able to regain the form of his first season.
ReplyDeleteBenitez saw that Barry could play in a couple of positions, that he was the captain of a team that was regularly challenging the CL places, and that he was an England international. He weighed it up against Alonso's deficiencies and he decided that he could make decent money on the Spaniard and probably make a profit by signing Barry.
Alonso went on to have his best season in a Liverpool shirt - unhindered by lengthy injuries. Personally, I'd have stuck by Alonso anyway because he offered a flair that Barry never could, but I can understand why Benitez was contemplating selling him, and I recall many Liverpool fans at the time having a much more reasoned view, unassisted by hindsight.
Granted, this is a stick with which to beat Rafa, but I don't feel it's as black and white as most people make out. I'd also remind people that without Rafa, we'd never have even attempted or considered to sign Alonso in the first place, let alone succeeded in it.
Wenger would n't have brought them but Redknap wanted Adam and Carroll, another father figure manager look how he turned Spurs round would have been like when he brought our exs Keane and Crouch and finished 4th.
ReplyDeleteI think Fergie was sniffing round Adam and Henderson then splashed out big on Phil Jones £16m and Young who wanted Champion League football.
Fergie has got his foundation to carry on building we had next to nothing and the way Carroll and Henderson have performed for Newcastle and Sunderland they do n't look like big risks both capped for England as well.
Didn't Rafa won us the FA cup in his second year and on his third year, were in the CL Final again and his 4th year, Liverpool came second. Correct me if i am wrong? He did that with a limited fund. Kenny spend 35M on Carrol, 23M on Luis Suarez, Henderson 16M, Downing 20M, Adam 7M, Enrique 6M, Coates 6M, Doni Free, Bellamy Free (i am sure a few Million on signing on fee plus their salary would be high too considering they get paid handsomely by their previous clubs). A total of 110M. With that sum, i would expect to be fighting for the title not 4th. But sadly, in my opinion, Liverpool might finish between 4th -6th. Unless, Kenny has the guts to drop carragher, Downing, Henderson and to that extent Andy Carrol who is not suitable to the pass and move as what Kenny promised how Liverpool should play. If Rafa was given that money, he would have bought, Dani Alves, Simao...and all the players that he was after but the board did not support Rafa due to the financial factor and i am pretty sure, if they did, Liverpool would have got the no 19 by now and on the way to no 20 if all Rafa first targets were signed.
ReplyDeleteMany seem to forget that Alonso personally said that with UK top tax rate going up to 50% meant he was going to lose out so Liverpool may have had to to increase his wages by up to 50% simply to maintain his then wages since the new tax rate would have gobbled up any increase.
ReplyDeleteIt seems convinient to forget a lot of things that went beforehand for example many sated that Gerrard and Alonso were not compatible until Mascherano came and partnered Alonso meaning he had a good first season and then 3 average seasons hampered by injuries before his brilliant last season.
As JK stated earlier what you do last is what is remembered so many experts that had been saying liverpool were a one man team for years and that one man was Gerrard while Alonso was in the team. The moment he left, they soon began to claim Liverpool had lost a world class player despite dismissing him as one of the 10 while they claimed it was a Gerrard show.
I do believe Alonso is a very good player but sadly his cycle with us had come to an end just like it did with Torres who had been fabulous for us but many now seem to only remember him wanting to go and therefore became a bad player overnight.
When a loved player leaves its never amicable because someone has to get the blame in the minds of many fans and media i.e Rafa forced out Alonso or Torres sold out his soul because he requested the move to Chelsea.
Nostalgia can be good but too much of it can mean many fans never move with the times and the challenges lying ahead because they will always feel a sense of entitlement while the rest of the teams around evolve and move ahead.
Paul koncheskey had been capped by England. doesn't mean anything
ReplyDeleteNah mate, it was borrowed money for Torres. Money for Aquilani was paid over 4 (?) seasons installments from the Alonso money (of which most had gone on debts. As for Johnson, there were rumours of Pompey owing us money for Crouch, but whatever, for a top club like ours - these should be happening every year.
ReplyDeleteNo comment about Jovetic? Thought not.
Pennant was turning up for training late (and other things.... e.g drinking) and so was let go. Not committed to the club and all he could do was moan thinking he was owed a living when he couldn't even get to training on time.
ReplyDeleteSorry false. In 08-09, how can a team who were top scorers in the league be any more adventurous? Are you for real? Did you not check this before you just followed what sky sports kept saying about Rafa and told us that Roy Hodgson was the man to save us.
ReplyDeleteThe club never backed him over signing Stevan Jovetic. Things may have turned out very differently if they had decided to speculate here.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that Benitez was just about buy Silva, Mata, Alves, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Cavani, Aguero, Kompany etc basically pretty much any player that was linked amongst the hundreds of transfer rumours and turned out to be really good, whereas any purchases that flopped were forced onto the club against his wishes...
ReplyDeleteBtw, there aren't many clubs out there that don't have to sell to buy...
Funny enough I'm pretty much the same, which probably explains why I hold a similar opinion of Benitez and wanted to move on as soon as it became obvious that we weren't going to win the league under him - it's a pity that some fans seem to regard 4th place as a trophy nowadays, and buy into this whole idea that we were some midtable team under Evans that Houllier/Benitez rescued and dragged back to 'respectability'. Rather than accepting that we've spent hundreds of millions over the last decade to severely reduce the quality of football on display (ask a neutral fan of our style of play in recent years) without seeing any improvement in our league standing (check the historic tables).
ReplyDeleteIt's also a pity that most fans will say that the league is a priority, but then continue to pine over a manager that managed one league challenge in 6 years and point to European results as justification for this stance.
How fans can argue that we were the best team in Europe (based on a cup competition) without ever being the best team in England (based on league performances) just baffles me, and partially helps to explain why Liverpool fans have become the butt of most fans jokes nowadays, rather than being well respected and liked by neutrals as in yesteryear...
And on top of all that, he really rattled SAF, to the point that whiskey nose was questioning his transfer dealings.
ReplyDeleteThis at a time when SAF had something like 17 players over £15m and Rafa had 5!!
That's an achievement - who else has rattled SAF's cage other than Chelski?
an 86pt finish and an 82 point finish is exceptionally good.
ReplyDeleteName anyone who's done it outside SAF and the Russian Oligarch.
Not at 20. Koncheskey might have been poor for us but in his twentys he was a useful left back.
ReplyDeletePennant is so great that's why he's playing for stoke
ReplyDeleteso many are only interested in the sticks when it comes to Rafa, the media included.
ReplyDeleteGet your facts right ..its official that it was a 12million pound deal with add ons would eventually total 18million. but the lad never got a chance
ReplyDeleteWe failed to beat Wigan,Hull,Stoke (2 draws),Fulham and West Ham the LESSER TEAMS did n't you read my post and check the results January when we did n't win and did n't score more then 1 goal in a game? Most of those teams were earlier in the season we finished the season playing the best football in years when Rafa went on the attack but was hoping on Fergie to drop points which we all know by now rarely happens in the run in!
ReplyDelete18mill depending on targets/games reached I believe.
ReplyDeleteDowning has put some awesome crosses in, our problem has been lack of finishing, not Downing's wing play. And we have Bellamy to provide variation - and the excellent Maxi.
ReplyDeleteWe're only 2 or 3 points off a terrific start to the season (Chelsea only on 19).
Just a result against ManUre with those final chances would have stuck us up in the top 4.
For a new team that's good going and the lost points will be great motivation.
loved it when SAF started getting rattled and picking at his transfer spending. That makes him a hero on its own.
ReplyDeleteSo much wrong with this post.
ReplyDeletei am interested in rafa's stick i have to admit, i often dream of it at night time
ReplyDelete..... maybe on 'match of the day'
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OHC7lIfvk4
ReplyDelete"thankyou rafa benitez"
try watching that without getting a hardon
“First is first. Second is nothing.” – Bill Shankly, OBE
ReplyDeleteSky TV have turned getting into the top 4 more important then winning the league itself because of Man Uniteds dominance, to win the league you need to grab it with both hands and WIN games not be happy with draws and hope other teams drop points.
Do you really believe that fergie was going to sign Henderson and Adam...??so why did he buy Jones and Young? did we beat him to them .?well he must be counting his lucky stars
ReplyDeleteHe should go and get himself another job and forget about the Anfield job.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not the same kind of success, but I do believe Dalglish can succeed providing he looks anywhere but Britain for players.
ReplyDeletewhen someone divides opinion like Rafa, it's a sure sign that they were doing something right - otherwise there would be nothing to say, or opinions would be very 1 sided.
ReplyDeleteExpectations are very high at lfc and Rafa's only real shortcoming was not translating 2nd into 1st in the league.
But it's amazing how much he gets hammered for that with everything that was going on and despite what he did achieve - certainly more than any English manager has.
Tomkintimes does a great analysis of Rafa's buys. 43 players not including youth squad, and was very close to a balanced book when he left.
ReplyDeleteI think Torres' sale pushed his record into profit, though the value of some will never be realised as they won't be sold.
Of course the name of the game isn't net spend, but this side, of which Wenge is the master, his record is terrific.
we also had injury problems in his last season. Half a season went well hence the 7th place finish (hardly a collapse, even then).
ReplyDeleteWell, thankfully we didn't get an English manager instead of Rafa. Look what happened when we tried that.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite simple really, and Jamie's never answered it.
WHO has matched Rafa's record with any club in challenging SAF and the Russian Oligarch?
WHEN is another manager going to match it?
WHEN is an English manager going to match it?
Simple as.
Just because Liverpool finished 2nd once under Benitez doesn't mean he regularly challenged SAF. Man United have never been under any serious threat from Liverpool whilst Benitez was in charge. Even in the 2008-9 season, there was never any real chance that Liverpool would catch United.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say 'record...in challenging SAF', to what record are you referring?
I'll give you one manager straight away: Arsene Wenger. He led Arsenal to 3 league titles during the height of SAF's powers as United manager. Wenger's recent record in the league may not be the greatest but he did what Benitez could never do: win the league. Plus, he did it with a hell of a lot less money than Benitez.
Nah mate. Has never been useful, if you think otherwise you are deluded. I know people who used to watch highlights to see him get skinned every week.
ReplyDeleteThe United boss declared after his side's three-goal goal fight-back at Bloomfield Road: 'We couldn't handle Charlie Adam. His corners alone are worth £10m.'Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1351785/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-targets-Charlie-Adam-replacement-Paul-
ReplyDeleteScholes.html#ixzz1cjI0xtBG
The Manchester United boss is leading the chase to sign Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and is keeping tabs on Newcastle full-back Jose Enrique. The People
Plenty of talk Fergie wanted Henderson.
The United boss declared after his side's three-goal goal fight-back at Bloomfield Road: 'We couldn't handle Charlie Adam. His corners alone are worth £10m.'Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1351785/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-targets-Charlie-Adam-replacement-Paul-Scholes.html#ixzz1cjI0xtBG
ReplyDeleteMan U have Fletcher,Anderson and Carrick give me Adam and Henderson any day over these 3!
The daily sport had a story saying that Barcelona were preparing to sign Adam to replace Xavi and when Adam chose Liverpool they signed Fabregas..and their source was a crack head prostitute.
ReplyDeleteJust explain to me if Fergie wanted these two then how come he didn't even put in an offer for them..or is it that these two didn't want to win the league or play in the champs league .?and told fergie we don't wanna play for you
Rafa Rafael...Rafa Rafael..Rafa Rafael...Rafael Benitez..!
ReplyDeleteThis man is LFC..moreso than many that have come before..got nuff love n time for Rafa the badboy Gaffa..!
We will be this season and next year the champions league and the year after that the fifa club world cup and world domination for Adam and Henderson thats why they joined us over man united!!;)
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with mali. We overspent on british players simply b/c they are british. i am not sure why we saw fit to spend 16 mil on Henderson when a small fraction of that money could have been used to increase Miereles' wages and keep him. Ridiculous we benched a player who now starts for Chelsea for Henderson. Miereles was/is a proven player not just in the Premier league, but for Liverpool. Carroll was/is a massively over-priced buy, but b/c of the position Torres (that c**t) put us in, I understand why it was done. I think Adam is actually a good buy (though his defense is woeful, but that was known b4-hand), and Downing has class, but there are far better wingers out there (Mata was available). In the end, building a team full of English players is always going to have the result that liverpool currently experience. One only has to look to the national team. England does not produce creative flair players that can open up a game, and a team full of englishmen will be devoid of such.
ReplyDeleteaye, like I mean 2 Champions League finals in 5 years, with peanuts to spend. Seemingly in your tiny mind, Benitez was not up to scratch.
ReplyDeletePS - do you watch much football?
Benitez has left the building. He's gone and the only reason he will come back is if the team is performing below standard which I hope will never happen under Kenny Dalglish. However if God forbids that happens he should be the first Manager to be considered replacing him. I would also want to add that Benitez failed to truly "suceed" because there was no money. He couldn't afford Liverpool taking risks on expensive potential players which is why he went for players with the finished article. Has anyone noticed why he didn't chase the best English talent because of the premium involved and constantly went for foreigners; he had no choice.
ReplyDeleteon planet earth.
ReplyDeletethus you probably missed it.
Who would turn down Real Madrid offer?? Come on..be realistic and stop blaming Rafa for this..yes we had a bad season during 09/10..but i strongly believe that the board should give him incharged for 1 more season instead of replacing him with Hodgson..
ReplyDeleteWho would turn down Real Madrid offer?? Come on..be realistic and stop blaming Rafa for this..yes we had a bad season during 09/10..but i strongly believe that the board should give him incharged for 1 more season instead of replacing him with Hodgson..
ReplyDelete