26 Nov 2012

"We wanted him" - Rafa Benitez admits he tried to sign £32m superstar for LFC...

In his time at Liverpool, Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez (it feels so wrong to type that!) tried and failed to sign Dani Alves, Stevan Jovetic and several other promising players before they went on to become major stars. Missing out on players of that quality has definitely had an impact on Liverpool's progress over the years, and in a recent interview, Benitez revealed that he also tried to sign a member of his current Chelsea squad whilst he was at Anfield.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Benitez said:

"I can tell you 200 players I wanted to sign in my career and we couldn't.

"I'm not someone that has no experience and will say, 'Oh, I want to do this and do that', and it's not sensible. You have to be sensible."

"Eden Hazard, we wanted him at Liverpool. We couldn't sign him. In our list, maybe he was here [top] but we have to go for this one [lower down].


Hazard at Liverpool? That would've been one hell of a signing, but the 21-year Belgian would've, perhaps, been too young during Benitez's Anfield reign, and probably made the right decision to stay at Lille and develop his game.

I doubt the transfer even got to the negotiation stage though; Liverpool were probably priced out of any deal, and given the money Benitez wasted in his last two seasons at Anfield (not to mention throughout his entire tenure), it's no surprise the board put the stoppers on any further big-money transfers.

In his book 'Champions League Dreams', Benitez also claims that he was blocked from buying at least three players that he feels would've helped Liverpool improve over the 2008-9 season. He explained:

"We knew we would need cover and support for Fernando Torres, as David Ngog was still developing, and we had raised the cash to find it. The player we identified to fill that role was Stevan Jovetic..

"The funds we thought we had available would also have stretched to another central defender, to provide [defensive] cover. The two players we had identified were Sylvain Distin, then with Portsmouth, and West Ham’s Matthew Upson, both boasting abundant Premier League experience.

"Signing one of those two, plus the tall, powerful, intelligent Jovetic, would have given Liverpool the squad we needed to build on the previous year’s title challenge, when we had run Manchester United so close".


Wishful thinking in the extreme. Even if Liverpool had signed Jovetic and, say, Distin, it's highly unlikely those two would've been enough to change the course of the 2009-10 season.

In 2009, Jovetic was only 19 (!) and would've probably needed time to adjust to the league; and Distin, whilst a good player, is not going to transform a team into Premier League champions.

Unfortunately, Liverpool can only dream of signing players of Hazard/Jovetic's quality at the moment, but when the club gets back into the Champions League - and it WILL happen over the next two years - players like that will once again grace the Anfield turf.


158 comments:

  1. Money wasted in the last two years Jamie.....He wasn't given any funds for the last two years. He had to sell to buy....so to say he wasted funds....is a lie. He spent money he earned himself...and was not given any funds whatsoever....!!! But never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is not a lie, and the accounts prove that, but keep believing that if it makes you sleep better at night.

    ReplyDelete
  3. True talk coliemac you see the bigger picture unlike some

    ReplyDelete
  4. The manufactured 'bigger picture' always takes a back seat to the actual, factual, unbiased truth.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah we here go, the 'net spend' mob.

    Spending over £15m on a injured player is a waste of money, regardless of net spend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. lol and who pushed riise out of the door and spent 7m on dossena as replacement? this money should have been spent on other depart.. everybody knew that at that time as it was in the same transfer window that he sold peter crouch and spent 20m on robbie keane ans sod him months later st a much cheaper price.is that money well spent? and the following season who splashed 20m on the injured aquilani to repace the playmaker of the team (alonso)? who sold arbeloa for 4m and replaced him by the 18m on johnson? is that money well spent? lol if u cant see that then u r a joke. i for nce agree wt jamie here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Can't benitez be once focuse on his job than to be talking bla bla giving excuse here and there

    ReplyDelete
  8. @ jk and originalchan
    Wellll if you guys have so much complain about why not apply for the LIVERPOOL manager post and show us the light you 2 bitching mouth.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nah. Instead, why don't you try and understand the terrifyingly simple concept of the right to have an opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  10. well if you are an expert you should apply for the post of football director/ managing director im sure your talents will be put to full use there

    ReplyDelete
  11. Haven't got my coaching badges, sorry. So, for now, I shall keep on showing you the light on here(!)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Johnson IS money well spent.

    ReplyDelete
  13. No, imo. Other areas of the team needed that sort of money more, at the time, imo. And for a £18m right back, he isn't all that good. Though now I vaguely recall me and you, Orme, doing this dance before about Johnson, so I'll leave it there ;)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wanted to dance with another, don't be so jealous, haha...
    Question- How will Kop react when Rafa returns to Anfield?

    ReplyDelete
  15. nice piece. always said rafa wanted the right players with proper backing, silva,mata,villa, aguero etc
    like to add the Chelsea fans (most) are a discrace. not like hes taken the manu job. Chelsea had only just been put on the map when we were meeting them regular.

    ReplyDelete
  16. One things is for sure, Benitez now has the chance to prove his doubters wrong. He has a strong squad to work with but Chelsea's fans might just be his downfall. I think Abramovich will pull the plug if he keeps on seeing banners and hearing chants of we don't want you here directed at Rafa.

    I am not Rafa's biggest fan but would not want to be in his position right now. He is getting the Hodgson treatment and look what happened to him.

    Without the support of the fans, Rafa will fail. He should have stayed clear of this job. Where will Rafa go after this?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Benitez sold Arbeloa; A Real Madrid first team defender for £2mil; and replaced him with Krygiakos for £1 mil.
    What a phenomenal waste!
    Throwing away a Real Madrid first team defender and replacing him with a 30+ year old defender who has at best 1 more year of football.

    Thats a shocking decision!

    That alone should've got him the sack!

    ReplyDelete
  18. My question was when he returns as their manager, should have been more percise...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Facts are Arbeloa wanted to go home...he was sold for 4 million not 2...and was bought for only 1.5 mill I think or at most 2 so was an increase on what was laid out on him. And Arbeloa was not replaced by Kryiakos...since when are right backs replaced by centre backs. And Kryiakos was a replacement for Hyppia for a year while he sorted out the centre backs and certainly did a job in his first season. So come back and claim managers deserve the sack when you know what you are talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jamie I think you will find the accounts show he was in negative spend for his last two seasons therefore not receiving any funds and instead having to generate funds himself from sales.

    ReplyDelete
  21. He wanted to sign 200 players he ultimately couldn't sign. Now, that would be a huge squad. Who'd have paid the wages. It would really be nice if Rafa would only once come out and admit that he made a few mistakes himself instead of always blaming everyone else. Granted, our previous owners were leeches, everybody knows it. Time to look at your own failings, too, Mr. Benítez.

    ReplyDelete
  22. He'll get a great reception, me thinks, considering how it seems a lot of LFC fans are defending him from the Chelsea fans.

    ReplyDelete
  23. With BR in charge it will be difficult to see LFC in the CL. Bad signings already, telling us that Joe Allen was the best midfielder in the world and Borini dhe best striker... don't see LFC in the top 4. Hopefully we can get Rafa back at the end of the season.

    ReplyDelete
  24. A pity we let him go for so low, considering its big money Real, but I guess with only a year left on his contract, there wasn't much choice.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It seems to me that we have a similar one right now- we do need time to make this work but BR made a few mistakes(summer transfer window and few wrong line ups and subs) and admitted none so far, I think.
    And I just read that he saw the replay of that denied goal and he thinks it wasn't offside?!? We were robbed quite a few points this season but vs Swansea ref's decisions were good.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Does it count that he once said he would NEVER go for a job at Chelsea, and that the ONLY club in England is Liverpool? Nobody asked him to say that- it's a statement of a fan or a supporter, and I understand why he went there as a professional, but if you make a statement- stick to it...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hard to judge but it seems like many have glossed over/ignored that because of the time that has passed, how badly we have done in recent seasons and because of how he is getting treated by the Chelsea fans.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jamie I was just wondering what you thought of the book by Paul tomkins pay as you play.because that's what I call the bigger picture

    ReplyDelete
  29. Totally agree with you on this. Liverpool under BR reign, has never beaten any top four once this season. The strength of the squad and the departure of players without any replacement can be used as an excuse, but I don't think it s a good enough reason when comparing to West Brom, currently on the 3rd position in the league. BR is definitely wasting 12 M on Borini and tbh Joe Allen isn't anywhere better than our Lucas Leiva.

    ReplyDelete
  30. How will the Kop react should Rafa return? Many will be delighted. After a while Rafa will start to moan that he doesn't get enough funds and will incite the fans against the owners/tea-lady/kit-man. Some fans will take the bait and blame everyone but Rafa for not signing Neymar/Falcoa/Superman. The ground man will get all the blame for one of Rafa's flop signings while RB takes all the credit for the signings that worked out well. The IRWT-Brigade will calculate on every comment section how Rafa's net spend is only x amount completely ignoring that wages have to be paid for those players signed as well. Not to forget agent fees, signing on fees and the like. You may ask how I know what would happen. I am not clairvoyant, but this has happened before.

    ReplyDelete
  31. After all he probably isn't such a loyal person, is he. While he tried to get a contract extension at Liverpool he also told the world that he wants the Real Madrid job. How short memories can be.

    ReplyDelete
  32. he had to take the job. his jsa had run out!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Jaimie, Rafa only was given 5 mil. each trading window on his last two years. By the way, he made 56 mil for the team in sales, some thing that you continue to ignore.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I'd take beating all of the non-top four sides over beating the top four sides. Had enough of watching us turn it up against big teams over the last several years and then go on to to show wishy-washy performances against so-called lesser sides. So not the be all and end all, to beat the top 4 sides, especially when we aren't title challengers.

    ReplyDelete
  35. All right. So, wanting the right players is enough. Then the club should hire me. I want to sign Muniain, James Rodriguez, Yann M'Vila, Llorente, Neymar, Higuaín, Iturbe. You say Liverpool can't afford those players. What a pity then. Wanting the right players might just be not enough then.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I think that silence is the most he should get... And if you are right, that will be my first disappointment in the Kop.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Where will Rafa go after this? You answer this yourself. Hodgson and look what happened to him. Rafa will join the Spanish equivalent to WBA and then be hire manager of Spain.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Could've kept his mouth shut...

    ReplyDelete
  39. just read wenger wants downing in jan . straight swop for walcot? cos he will go for nothing in summer .cut our losses on dowing not loan him out .a deal that would suit both clubs

    ReplyDelete
  40. Erm, no. Did BR openly blame the board/owners for his signings? Did BR instigate the fans against the club owners? Did BR several years after he left the club still throw dirt? He actually doesn't say one bad word about his former clubs (correct me if I'm wrong). It's not as if BR told the world that he wanted to sign 200 players for Swansea, but the board wouldn't let him. It's one thing not admitting mistakes, but it is another to blame someone else for them. You may or may not agree with me, but in private life both ways would be pretty unacceptable.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Allen was not supposed to be better than Lucas hence the reason why Allen is not a defensive midfielder but has been given the job to cover for Lucas. Is it that difficult to understand?

    Once Lucas is back then Allen will have the opportunity to play further up the pitch like he did for Swansea so judge him when Lucas is back.

    ReplyDelete
  42. It would be really great, if you wouldn't only remember the good things Rafa did at our club, but also the bad things. He actually guaranteed that we would finish fourth in his last season with us. I'll tell you something. Anybody who promises to his bosses that he will conclude the big deal and fails will get the sack.

    ReplyDelete
  43. 5 mil each trading window?

    How exactly did Rafa then buy Torres? With 5 million? You are having a laugh right?

    Aquilani and Johnson were combined +- 40mil in one season. How exactly does 5mil bring two players to Anfield that cost the club +- 40mil???

    Maybe you need to invest in a calculator?

    ReplyDelete
  44. job seekers allowance!!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Did say similar... If he fails and gets sacked(hope that doesn't happen) I see him blaming fsg- so far he is still here and wants to keep his place so he keeps his mouth shut. And someone is to blame for the summer...
    I support BR to a certain extent, but some of his ways of doing things are wrong and he is so damn stubborn I don't see him changing that..

    ReplyDelete
  46. No, I don't think he would blame FSG. I can't recall him blaming Madejski for being sacked at Reading. Anyway, even if he said that the owners did a big cock-up one transfer window, I don't expect him to go on and on and on about it like Rafa. Do you know any other manager who does this? I don't.
    I actually don't like everything BR does, but there are so many out there who are already calling for his head, that I won't jump the bandwagon. That for sure wouldn't help our cause. Stubbornness seems to be a necessary ingredient for a football manager. All Liverpool managers I can recall have been stubborn in one way or the other. And most of them were a bit silly at time when it came to press conferences. That goes for most managers, not only at our club. Don't know why I should pick on BR in particular then.

    ReplyDelete
  47. This would be too good to be true. Any one of those transfer rumour lies.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Or judge him from the pass he makes backwards or wrong when in position to make the one that would give us goal scoring opportunity? I expect him to improve when Lukas returns, but could've been better so far...

    ReplyDelete
  49. I "pick" on him because he is here now, and I want Liverpool to be perfect. And yes, if you are not stubborn you will fail- but choose your battles... And of course, nobody will ever be worse than Rafa in going on and on...And on...
    And a another and- If we sack BR in January or even May we will be a mid table club for a long time- we needed vision and hired him,now stick to it, changing visions every year or so will destroy us...

    ReplyDelete
  50. If I get you right, Orme, then we agree on keeping Rodgers, right?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Of course. Hopefully he gets better along the way...

    ReplyDelete
  52. Wasted money or not Liverpool were NUMBER ONE in Europe Under Benitez. Where r we now Mr JK.

    ReplyDelete
  53. JK for a man who seems to be so scrupulous on other issues I cant for the life of me why you cant give Rafa some of the credit he deserves. Yes he wasted money. Which manager hasnt?

    But who brought Torres, Skirtel, Agger,Johnson,Suso, Sterling, Reina, Mascherano, Alonso,Arbeola to the club? If he says he wanted Hazard i can assue you we had more chance then of pulling top class talent then we have now. Compare to last 12 months - do Downing, Henderson, Carrol, Allen, Borini not show how far we have fallen.

    If you want an example of wasting money and setting liverpool back at least 5 years then it is the waste of a 100 million pounds by FSG, Comolli and Dalgish. Minus suarez and Enrique who else of the dalglish buys do we ever hope to recoup our outlay on?

    Yes those that make up the bulk of the value of the club today are still Rafa buys - for that there must be appreciation.

    Im the first to admit he got things wrong but lets remember he got a lot more right than wrong. Have you forgotten the nights against Barca, Madrid or the fact that we reached 2 champions league finals, and won one of them, or the second position in the league.

    ReplyDelete
  54. We bought Johnson for a hypothetical £18m. That cash did not change hands. Pompey owed Liverpool for the sale of Crouch and had not paid the bill. LFC bought Johnson and offset the fee against the Crouch money.... versus losing the lot when the went bust a few months later. You can not just read the published accounts to see what happens with cashflow Jaimie!!!

    ReplyDelete
  55. Absolutely agree Coliemac. Benitez made amazing signings with a frugal budget. Alonso, Garcia, Sissoko, Reina, Agger, Fowler, Bellamy, Kuyt, Mascherano, Leiva, Torres, Benayoun, Johnson. The successes achieved in that period were wonderful and while it is great that we aspire to more, I believe Benitez was completely hamstrung by his finances provided. A great manager for us

    ReplyDelete
  56. Redforlife are you conveniently forgetting the sales Benitez had to make? The year Aqui and Johnson came in (btw your written costs for them are too high) we sold Alonso for 30 million. The year Torres came in for 20m we sold FS Pongolle 2.7m, Garcia 4m, Cisse 6m, Bellamy 7.5m, Gonzalez 3.5m, Kirkland 3.5m, Sissoko 8.2m and some others. As mentioned before he had to sell to buy

    ReplyDelete
  57. The sell to buy issue is a giant red-herring, and it's irrelevant to the following question: When Benitez had money to spend, did he spend it wisely?

    How Benitez got the money doesn't matter; what he did with it when he had it in his hands to spend is what matters, and no amount of historical revisionism will change the fact that:

    * Glen Johnson was an unnecessary purchase (He's playing well at the moment but he's been defensive liability for most of his LFC career);

    * Aquilani was a catastrophic waste of money.

    * Dossena was a total waste of 8m.

    * Degen and Jovanovic were shocking acquisitions, and money was wasted on their wages and signing-on fees.

    * Riera was arguably a waste of 7m.

    * £20m was pi$$ed against the wall on Robbie Keane (LFC made an £8m loss overall, and the accounts confirm this)

    I said last two years: All the above were acquired in Benitez's last two years in charge. Total outlay: £70m (not including Degen/Jovanvic signing-on fees).

    Whether Benitez had to sell to buy is, as I said, irrelevant: no one twisted his arm to spend 8m on Dossen, or 20m on Keane. The point is he should've spent the money he *did* have better. The same goes for Dalglish - he spent a ridiculous amount of money, and just because LFC got £50m for Torres doesn't make it okay that KD spent £35m on Carroll.

    People are so desperate to defend Benitez that these lame excuses pop up all the time. Just face it: he spent badly in his last two season.

    Benitez made some great signings too during his time at Anfield, that is beyond dispute, and I have acknowledge that time and time again. Only a month ago, I wrote a post praising him to the hilt for signing Sterling, Suso and Shelvey.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I'm not Jaimie but feel free to be childish, doesn't do me any harm. Your picky-ness does not counter the point of my reply nor does it negate it, which is that Johnson was a £18m right back, whether it be in value or cold hard cash. Pompey's situation does/did not justify Johnson's value. So I'm not fussed as to the fact I did not making it clear as to how the Johnson transfer was precisely done.

    ReplyDelete
  59. 'losing the lot when the went bust a few months later' - how about stop painting the worse case scenario to suit your agenda, instead refer properly to the "Football creditors rule" as going into administration doesn't automatically only mean creditors would lose their money. On one hand you accuse Kanwar of being narrow-minded with his use of published accounts, yet you are narrow-minded to with your interpretation to the alternative to not buying a Pompey player at the time.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Jaimie is spot on here.

    The numbers don't lie, Rafa's net spend was £63 million over 12 transfer windows.

    Net spend is equal, obviously, to net input from the board of LFC to the manager.

    Rafa totally frittered away the, on average, £5.25 million investment per window.

    £5.25 million PER WINDOW. He performed miracles with the cash, imagine what he could have achieved, with his inside knowledge of Spanish game, had he been given an initial £150 million splurge a la Chelski.

    Jaimie, you do Rafa a terrible disservice by condemning the man when your own figures prove the opposite.....

    ReplyDelete
  61. All very good points that can't be argued.
    Ideally you wouldn't have to disrupt your playing squad to create funds, often some players that would have provided good depth had to be offloaded, though sometimes these were problems of his own making (Alonso)..

    ReplyDelete
  62. There's no point responding to this because, like so many others, you are in denial, and you've completely missed the point.

    ReplyDelete
  63. In fairness thats rubbish..why not sign him for a hypothetical £12m so?! Or just get him for free and offset what was owed entirely!? The fact is we grossly overvalued him at c£18m. Think he's a great player though!

    ReplyDelete
  64. Does an average investment from the board of £5.25 million per transfer window not point to poor backing?

    Yes wages are the unseen, possibly larger expense, and there was sod awful signings.

    I still find it remarkable that even with Keane, Johnson, Aqua signings the net investment is so low. Is my recollection of the £63 million figure accurate?

    ReplyDelete
  65. 'Net spend' and 'expenditure' are two different things. Low net spend does not justify questionable expenditure (i.e. not the quantity level of expenditure but the quality of the expenditure. e.g. spending £15m+ on a injured player). Rafa had plenty to spend, even if he had to sell to buy. So what if he didn't have the backing of a oil baron, still possible to finish top 6 without that kind of money.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Yes, the £63m figure is correct, but that's not the issue. Same goes for your insistence on breaking Benitez's transfer spending into windows, then diving the total net spend by the number of windows. It's just another way to decrease the figures in involved and make it look like Benitez was somehow hamstrung by the board.

    Benitez's gross spend over 6 years was £289. However you try and spin/twist the situation, you can't change the following fact:

    * Irrespective of net spend/selling to buy, £289m passed from LFC to other clubs for transfers from 2004-2010.

    Money received from sales goes to the club; it could just stay in the bank, but the board chose to give the recouped money to Benitez, so that constitutes investment, does it not? Why does the provenance of the money matter?

    Players like Dossena, Keane, Aquilani et al were not bought for £5.25m. They cost the amount of money *received* by the club selling.

    Yes, money was recouped but that has no bearing how the available funds were actually spent.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Jk you have failed to remember the money spent on the restructured academy and the staff bought,rafa had a vision for the long term therefore had to take gambles in the market,Jamie you cannot sell rubbish and then shop in harrods.rafa had no choice he had to balance the books every year,he's the best manager lfc have had in the last 20 years and that's a fact

    ReplyDelete
  68. To generate £226 million from his own dealings, while building a team is remarkable

    And yes, I concede that he spent it unwisely at times - Keane, Aqualani, Johnson. As manager he surely earned the right to back himself by generating the funds.

    Aqua was a deplorable signing. I think that one was him throwing the toys out of the pram........

    ReplyDelete
  69. Unfortunately, Rafa made more bad buys than good buys. The mother of all bad buys is the Aquilani one. In the real world, there is never enough money for anyone. But when you have the money, its how well you make the best use of it that matters. On this score, Rafa does not do well. Just like Torres Chesea's scoring record where he needs many attempts to score 1 goal, Rafa needs many many buys to hit a good one. Poor record if you compare him to the other top managers.

    Objectively, I have to agree with Jamie on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  70. I agree, despite Johnson's defensive frailty, he was a good buy.

    ReplyDelete
  71. He may have earned the right to back himself but he also has to shoulder the responsibility for bad buys (e.g. instead him of going on about how he had to miss out on first choice signings bla bla bla), just like he shoulders the praise for the good buys. Just because he had to sell to buy, doesn't mean that gives him immunity and needs to be pitied.

    I don't deny that he bought some good players but too many people want to bring up the good buys and then when it comes to bad buys, they just gloss over it with the 'net spend' spin.

    ReplyDelete
  72. JK will say he DOES give Rafa credit, see his earlier link.

    He is however, a master at damning with faint praise. For every positive point made about Rafa I bet you can find 10 against him.

    He's not going to change his mind. Let it go....

    And for the record, no, I don't want Rafa back, and yes, he DID make a right mess by the end.

    came mighty close though, just needed to gamble just that bit more to win games rather than not lose them. Especially THAT year.

    That was his biggest flaw, not wasting money

    ReplyDelete
  73. He never wanted to sign Keane did he?

    ReplyDelete
  74. i have read through all the comments on here about what Rafa did right and wrong, and all i have to say is "so what if he made mistakes" he is the last manager we had that made us truly believe we were competitive and in the hunt for the real trophies and thats because he delivered them, we where one of the most feared sides in the champions league and that was solely down to his tactical know how!

    Can anybody truely say they have the confidence Rodgers is going to take us to where Rafa did? i doubt it.. He wont get us into the champions league and if by some miracle it does happen he definately will not take us to a final let alone 2, i think a lot of people including JK are more concerned that Rafa proves them wrong and makes the appointment of Rodgers look even more ridiculous, and as for him taking the Chavski job so what if he has, he would walk out on them in the morning if we said "come back" and we all know it.

    Rafa was the last manager that allowed us to dream, every manager since has only provided nightmares!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Funny how a player like Kuyt only won the League cup at LFC in a period of 6 seasons and that was won with Kenny.

    How many of Rafa's ***OWN*** signings won a trophy while he was in charge over a period of six seasons?

    Period of wonderfull successes?

    ReplyDelete
  76. The defensive midfielder was created to cover for the defence.

    That is the position Allen is covering for.

    It is not like Lucas will be making many goal scoring opportunities when he returns to play as our defensive midfielder because his duty is to cover for the defence. That is to stay back and do the dirty work for our midfield.

    Do you understand now?

    ReplyDelete
  77. What constitutes wasted money for you? To me, if I sell my mansion (Alonso) and buy a wooden shed in the backstreets of Calcutta (Aquilani) with the money I got for my mansion, that is money wasted.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Oh no not the Parry signed Keane rubbish again...

    ReplyDelete
  79. Jaimie,

    You didn't comment unless i missed it on the Swansea game yet AGAIN choose to write an article about Rafa.
    Please for the LOVE OF GOD stop the Rafa Bashing it's tiresome and boring.
    We have had THREE Managers since he's left yet you harp back to him.
    MOVE ON

    ReplyDelete
  80. There is no logic to your logic. Benitez was given more money than five million per window whether he generated the cash or not. He sold the players he sold because he had no more need for them. Obviously Alonso was a giant mistake but what do you think should have happened? He should have been given 40 million every window outright and we should have kept all the players he sold at the club? He would have had a squad of over 100 players by the end of his reign. Try to keep them happy....

    ReplyDelete
  81. Jobsy

    Brendan is still the a new kid on the block. His career does not span as far as Rafa's...

    Rafa did not start his career of on a high either.

    Rodgers is still young mate and thankfully he has a footballing brain. If you are expecting Rodgers to turn things around in half a season then you are missing the picture completely.

    FSG are not going to make another managerial change in the near future unless the wheels fall of completely. They will give Rodgers time.

    Rafa is not coming back so it does not matter how much you hope for it to happen. Now get on with it.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Guys, just agree to whatever Jaimie has to say. He is always right. All this topics that he picks seem to be a feel good factor for him. Over the years, noticed that it is simply a waste of time to discuss with him. Yep, Rafa made a mistake. Who didn't ? I wonder what he does for a living ?Jaimie, are you saying you never made any mistake in your work ? Grow up man. Get a life.

    ReplyDelete
  83. That's not remarkable at all. That is doing your job and replacing players with better players. Had they been better players of course. You don't renovate your house without breaking down a few walls. As for Aquilani, it was a deplorable signing full stop. No toys, no excuses, he drove out Alonso and replaced him with a player with a terrible injury record and dito mental toughness.

    ReplyDelete
  84. If you only have an opinion on things that you are flawless at yourself, it must be really quiet round your place

    ReplyDelete
  85. Surely the money spent on Aquilani, Dossena et all could have bought better players.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Yeah, sure, nothing is ever Rafa's fault. Praise him for the good ones and blame someone else for the bad ones. Great tactic to twist reality.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Net spend is all that matters, eh. I suggest you do some business classes, otherwise you'll get ripped of on a regular basis in real life. I'll give you an example. If I sell my car for 10k and buy a new one which has a broken engine for 12k, my net spend is only 2k, but I have still waste 12k on a car that doesn't work. Dear Goodness, it's not rocket science, is it.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Please don't tell me what to write, Septimus. If you don't like articles about Benitez, don't read them.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Unfortunately the team Rafa had assembled didn't qualify for the CL even though he guaranteed that it would. It hasn't been getting better since, too.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Good points made. I sometimes wonder if the Valencia supporters were moaning about Rafa, who had achieved nothing when they hired him, the same way some folk moan about Brendan.

    ReplyDelete
  91. As long as Rafa complains about his time at Liverpool there will be Liverpool supporters making their feelings known about it. Rafa should just get on with it and shut up about the past.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Riera 7 mil tosic 7 mil for manure never played nothing said by media.

    ReplyDelete
  93. How is it irrelevant bigger squads is what it takes to win leagues since the Russian guy for Chelsea came arsenal have not won anything do you think that's a coincidence

    ReplyDelete
  94. Remember you own a car company not one car

    ReplyDelete
  95. Rafa wanted Keane.

    ReplyDelete
  96. utter tripe unbalanced post and agenda driven. Done reading this crap!

    ReplyDelete
  97. I aint saying i want Rafa back i am saying that a lot of fans forget the good he did, and why am i missing the picture completely? we shouldnt be where we are mate its that simple, there are teams above us with players regarded not as good as ours, their playing well and getting points, we arent, and the footballing brain comment is interesting as a lot of the football i am seeing is side to side and backwards, and can be very boring!
    We can keep saying we lost this player and that player and didnt sign this player or that player, but either way it is still Rodgers fault as he let them go and also didnt bring in the quality needed to replace them and if FSG did block certain bids then he should have had alternative targets or said "look we need these players and i want them" and fought to get the apparent players, as i said in a comment previously i think he was the cheapest option in the summer and thats showing now.

    ReplyDelete
  98. The difference is Valencia without sounding disrespectful hadnt had any sustained period of success of real note since the 40's and then won the league the season Rafa took over so there wasnt much they could complain about..

    ReplyDelete
  99. All the hate for Glen! The only "Brazilian" playing for England. FYI: outside of England the Johnson is revered and generally considered one of the most exciting players to watch in the Prem.

    ReplyDelete
  100. lol.. i blame every manager for the wrong they did its just that saga went on that long and around the houses that much i lost interest lol

    ReplyDelete
  101. Sometimes you cannot too stingy about break accaunt bank to get best players.If you see the biggest potential inside the players,it is very worth to the best action to prevent your target players.Hope after this LFC will try the best to sign David Villa,Edison Cavani,Dries Merten,Filips Djuricic,Dennis Praet, Yann M'Villa,Alex Pearce,Christian Erikson and Tello.Try to invest only for right players who can fit and high potential.Wallcott, Sturridge and Darrent Bent is not good for LFC team.

    ReplyDelete
  102. A managers job is to evaluate the squad and make the neccessary changes ny buying and selling...wheelin n dealing if u like.its also his job to get value for money.truth is rafa bought badly when he needed to be shrewd.in his final years he tried too hard to fix the squad and made bad buys.sellin keane cost us the title.keane would have surely scored a few goals between jan and may but rafa put his own feud with parry before the good of lfc and that is unforgivable!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  103. I really like the fact that Chelsea fans hate Rafa it tells me they still remember the beatings they got from Rafas Liverpool side.
    Rafa did make mistakes in the transfer market i nearly spewed when they signed Aquilani but still he was a great manager and would not have pissed the funds away as badly as Dalglish.
    But i am happy with Rodgers and think he has done marvellously well with the kids and the team in general and believe Allen and Borini will shine and prove their worth.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Ok, 2nd place doesn't mean much but they did do rather well under Cuper (they were a good outfit under Ranieri too) in Champions League, I think 2 consecutive CL finals as well as being joint second with Barca in league and than the next season finishing ahead of Real. So Benitez inherited a pretty group of players, even if some had left, that had showed some bloody good pedigree. Them and Depor were brilliant in that period. Valencia were already a rising force before Benitez came along and continued that rise.

    ReplyDelete
  105. So who should we have appointed ahead of Rodgers then Jobsy and would that manager have been given time to rebuild?

    Clearly not as some fans think success is an overnight thing.

    There is no room for a quick fix. We are starting at the bottom and working our way up. That is the only way to do it from now on otherwise we will end up like Chelsea who have a new manager every season.

    No manager after Kenny's first spell has won the League and that clearly will not happen this season either but to change manager again just because we want instant success is pure madness cause if we get rid of Rodgers the next manager will also see his backside if there is no instant success. Then we will get rid of that manager and appoint another one etc etc etc. That is a chain reaction which LFC cannot afford.

    Our new style of play would not be classified as boring if we had someone who was helping Suarez out with goals? That is all we need at the moment. Another prolific scorer.

    Why cannot people have some patience?

    ReplyDelete
  106. Jame bet you never played footy in your life , you were probably the fat kid that never got picked , one word 'muppet' comes to mind

    ReplyDelete
  107. JK lol wow you seriously think ppl don't know your also originalChan?

    Your as transparent as they come... without trying to be....

    ReplyDelete
  108. Rafas buys where so bad that they still make up half our starting line up today..

    1) Reina
    2) Johnson
    3) Agger
    4) Skrtle
    5) Kelly(when fit)
    6) Lucas
    7) Suso
    8) Stirling

    These player were bought for less than what Torres was sold for!

    3 managers and 2 years later we have spent over £200m on player and yet still Rafas team is the heart and soul....

    Yet you want to talk about the one of the greatest managers of all time in a negative light... Behave!

    ReplyDelete
  109. Right so Pep guardiola can't take any credit right?? lol grow up mate!

    ReplyDelete
  110. All right then. Imagine I sell my assembly line for 100bn and buy a new one, which ultimately doesn't work at all, for 120bn. My net spend would be only 20bn, but I'd own an assembly line not fit to assemble cars. I wouldn't be able to sell cars in the future then, but my net spend was not very high. Great business, eh.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Well, they had been to a CL final the season (or so) before Rafa joined and he inherited a decent squad from Héctor Cúper. Again I don't want to take anything of his achievements away. Rafa did magnificently in getting that team to win the Spanish League title. That surely is an astonishing achievement.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Why we are still talking about Rafa several years after he's been our manager and while he is managing a rival club is doing my head in. I wish he'd sign a lifetime contract at some other club as far away as possible. Then we could concentrate on our club again.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Screw the media and ManU. Couldn't care less if they wasted their money. If we won the league every other season and much higher gate receipts I wouldn't be too bothered if our manager wasted money on some duds and then didn't moan about not getting the funds he requires. If you have limited funds you have to spend it wisely, which Rafa often did. He should stop the moaning though as it makes him appear like someone with a chip on his shoulder.

    ReplyDelete
  114. I get the impression that some fellow Liverpool supporters not only want a new manager, they want a Man City/Chelsea-style owner, too. It's, in a way, understandable (quick fix, instant success and all that), but it's highly unlikely to happen. Therefore we should be glad that we have owners who actually want the club to be run self-sustainable. Leeds anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  115. We should have appointed a manager with pedigree not someone who is cutting his teeth, why couldnt we have shown real intent and ambition rather then get a manager who is basically living off a reputation that swansea has built over years!

    He is taking us nowhere and i personally would have given Clarke the job well ahead of him

    ReplyDelete
  116. And only invest money that you've got. Otherwise we might end up in administration just like Leeds did a few years ago. They broke their bank accounts and gambled on CL qualification. It's a long and hard road for them back up the leagues now.

    ReplyDelete
  117. The fact is until Rafa came along they didnt win out regardless of how many finals they got to, until you have a manager who can get you over the line first you will always be runner up at best

    ReplyDelete
  118. He still turned them into winners rather then runners up

    ReplyDelete
  119. But when Allen who is not a DF plays as df you expect him to shine from time to time, even Lukas does sometimes. And he never does. If he is that good- I think he should do more, regardless of position. I did understand your point before you explained it, do you understand mine?
    And no, I do not hate him or BR.

    ReplyDelete
  120. I never explicitly contradicted that, I was merely illustrating that Valencia weren't some nothing side that Rafa somehow magically turned into title winners against all odds, as some like to portray. They were, instead, in that period a team that was proving to be a force, along with Depor. Rafa came along and did a great job in improving that.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Re: Arsenal

    More like inferior XIs

    ReplyDelete
  122. That's what I meant when I said it was an astonishing achievement.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Clarke? Is Clarke a manager with Pedigree. 1 game as caretaker of Newcastle and 15 games so far for WBA?

    Shoots itself.

    I have nothing against Clarke but fact is that he would be facing the exact same problem BR is and that is rebuilding to try and get back to where we once were.

    Want to try again?

    ReplyDelete
  124. Well unfortunately for you Allen will cover for our defence until Lucas is back. So suck it up and wait for Allen to play further up the field.

    Or I have an idea, let Shelvey, Gerrard, Suso or Henderson play the holding role and let Allen sit on the bench till Lucas is back.

    Our midfield will be torn to shreds and then you will realise that Allen is doing a pretty good job.

    ReplyDelete
  125. pretty good. and sometimes not.

    ReplyDelete
  126. No not really i dont need to, i was stating i would have given Clarke the job ahead of him if i were looking at appointing a manager who is learning the trade as they say

    ReplyDelete
  127. To generate funds of £226 million, by signing and selling on players is remarkable.

    If 'Arry did it the media fanfares would be deafening.

    ReplyDelete
  128. Agger tackles. Ball goes to Johnson and then to Allen. He's got 2 options- to pass it forward to Suarez/Sterling who would be in a goal threatning position or could make the final pass or pass it sideways/backwards. The later option is safer and it is BR style of possession play but if he is so damn good with such superb passing skills-try the forward pass for once, for fcuk sake! Especially when you know how dangerous is our forward trio when given some space.
    I hope(and expect} both Allen and Gerrard to give better performances when lucas returns, but they should be better now- we can't depend on Lucas that much...

    ReplyDelete
  129. Clarke is managing WBA.

    The Liverpool job is a totally different monster my friend.

    If Clarke found himself in the same shoes as BR (which he most likely would have) then would you also ask for Clarke to be replaced?

    Answer carefully :)

    ReplyDelete
  130. Moving on, next please :)

    ReplyDelete
  131. Rafa's a bit of a conman in some ways. He claims to have wanted to sign every player in existence.

    ReplyDelete
  132. I am not making up rubbish. Only a handful of the players that Rafa signed one a trophy under his guidance as manager.

    You do not need me to prove it to you?

    ReplyDelete
  133. It really is pointless to discuss this any further.

    Tell you what, once Lucas is back then you can keep count of how many forward passes he makes.

    Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  134. But you have failed to add all the players who have come and gone?

    When Rafa took the job back in 04/05 he still had majority of Houlliers players after two seasons which won us the CL and FA Cup.

    Fast forward 4 seasons later and Rafa overhauled the squad completely only leaving him with Gerrard and Carra from Houlliers reign.

    In four seasons Rafa after the CL and FA Cup victories Rafa won zero trophies. Eye opener?

    ReplyDelete
  135. Maybe so but again i am saying.. I would sooner have given it to Clarke then Rodgers, its always amused me how he takes credit for everything and assumed people believed him and didnt know better, FSG were made for his salesman like patter

    ReplyDelete
  136. Think it's gna be a lot longer than the next two years be4 we get bk in the champions league , think it's about time we except were not the team of the past , we lack quality and I know we have a few young players who r coming threw and look like they might be decent but the likes of allen ,shelvey downing Henderson arnt up there with the top teams midfields sterlings looking good for such a young boy he's like Lennon carnt see him being like robin Robben di maria I keep hearing people say shit like that wich isjust laughable , last thing to say dnt wana sound so negative but we need to face facts

    ReplyDelete
  137. Don't see the point of your comment. You would rather have given the job to clarke and then call for his head if he was struggling.

    What is the point of giving the job to Clarke if you are going to call for his head when half a season has not even passed?

    Baffling.

    ReplyDelete
  138. obviously not smart ass

    ReplyDelete
  139. I never said i would call for his head, your making that assumption, all i am saying is i would rather have had Clarke then the guy with the messiah complex

    ReplyDelete
  140. More than a eye opener thank you!
    It just proves what a great manager he is.

    Pushed houlliers so called team to CL Glory, which houllier couldn't.
    For good measure with his own team got to another CL final. Under houllier was we the most feared team in Europe?
    Number 1 in Europe?
    Hmmm think not.

    86points in the league?
    CL QUALIFICATION yr in yr out?

    If it was about trophies Kenny would still be manager wouldn't he?

    It's about Being in the top 4 and then challenging for the title as we did under Rafa.

    Had it not been for Howard Webb that season we would have won the league I'm sure of that lol
    All this under the ownership of laurel and hardy!

    He was a poor manager no doubt.. So poor Real Madrid wanted him and he Said no!
    So poor that the European champions in inter Milan wanted him...
    So poor that the current European champions Chelsea have got him.....
    Seems to be a pattern emerging here...

    What do these great European teams
    With billion pound businesses See in him that you don't?

    Eye opener?

    ReplyDelete
  141. So rafa weren't on a level playing field

    ReplyDelete
  142. No need to get personal, r sole.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Our club isn't on a level playing field with ManU when it comes to gate receipts. Has nothing to do with Rafa at all.

    ReplyDelete
  144. Rafa was also in for David Silva and Sergio Aguero and we ended up having to sell and not buy after just coming second to the manc in the league

    ReplyDelete
  145. Neither was Wenger when he won those PL titles at Arsenal.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Jamie is a cunt who fails to recognise that every manager will buy ggod and bad. Rafa was always trying to catch up with little resources.

    ReplyDelete
  147. What a load of old hat...moany benitez and what could've been if players were signed and players weren't injured....played that sob story too many time to hide his lack of creativity going forward

    ReplyDelete
  148. Yeah but he never had a Russian owner for Chelsea to deal with

    ReplyDelete
  149. Who died and made you god you Tit?

    Krygiakos was the only defender bought so he was obviously bought to provide defensive cover for Arbeloa being sold.

    You want to ask yourself why Benitez cant use players in their natural positions then!!!

    Look at West Ham v Chelski this weekend. Chelski got 'Hammered' with Benitez tinkering and making his very same nonsensical substitutions.

    I guess people like you will need an excuse like 'He didnt have the players; He didnt have the money...'

    ReplyDelete
  150. Ha....talk about coming late to the party...!!! Lol. Were waiting for Chelsea to lose a game before you unloaded that complete load of rubbish. If you seriously believe that Kryiakos was bought as a replacement for Arbeloa you really are a thick, and this conversation is over. He is in a new postition a week and your already blaming him for one game...!!! It's fans like you that give fans a bad name...get up off your couch and learn a thing or two before mouthing off.

    ReplyDelete
  151. Ps....off the chelsea team this weekend...who was played out of position ???

    ReplyDelete