Benitez: It’s time for us to talk

[kurtangle01]

Bascombe is usually spot on with his info and I think that he probably knows more than he's letting on about Rafa to Real. I hope that when Rafa sits down with Gillett and Hicks he likes what he hears but I must admit to being slightly nervous about the situation at the moment.

[kurtangle01]

Schuster will be the next Madrid coach apparently.

Anyway is Capello really doing that bad a job? They could still win the league.

The thing is if Real were to give Capello a bit of time I'm sure that he'd have them as a real force in a year or two. Sacking him achieves nothing and just because he hasn't won the league in his first season doesn't make him a bad manager it just means that he needs a bit of time until he gets it right. Surely Rafa must see this for the way it is and realise that if he isn't an instant success he'll be out on his ear in less than a year.

Real Madrid employed Capello on a 4 year contract to manage their team and ultimately win them trophies in the long term. It's about time that they honoured a contract for once and realise that it can take a manager time to develop the team in to the way he wants it.

Rafa would never get the time and patience there that he's had here and hopefully that's something that he will realise.

[Darth Marty]

i tend to look at it this way, in your career you always want to do well and you are always open to new challenges provided that challenge offers you something that your existing job doesnt have.(usually more money and security) Currently both clubs are undergoing a transitional period, i think liverpool are ahead of real in their re-building and that is due to Rafa, however we are far from the finished article and i cant see rafa leaving us solely on that basis. once we win the league then a fresh challenge may loom. depends on whether he wants to really build a legacy and a legend here or in madrid. I think he could go but id wager he doesnt. yet. Anyway, this is purely unfounded speculation so **** it, id rather talk about which striker we are going to buy so im off to another thread!!!

[lfc4ever]

Rafa's In The News

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2034004,00.html

Benítez keen to clarify strategy with Liverpool's new owners


Dominic Fifield
Thursday March 15, 2007
The Guardian

Tom Hicks and George Gillett are on the verge of securing complete control of Liverpool after accumulating 94.4% of the club's shares, but any celebrations may have been dampened by indications from Rafael Benítez that he is seeking talks to clarify their vision.

The manager remains committed to the club but his publicly expressed intention to meet the Americans is disconcerting, given Real Madrid's apparent desire to lure the Spaniard back to his home city. Liverpool rejected an approach from them last year, with Benítez subsequently signing a new long-term contract, but Real's interest in him remains. That is unsettling on Merseyside, even if Real are aware that Benítez's instinct is to remain.

Article continues
Real's interest does offer Benítez a position of strength from which to negotiate, however, and he will do so with Hicks and Gillett when they return to England on March 31. "There are always a lot of rumours and a lot of people have been talking about Madrid," said the manager. "I have read in some papers I've had a meeting with people from Madrid. This is not true. I'm very happy at Liverpool. I couldn't have more support, but now we have new people taking over and it's important I talk to the American owners.

"I have spoken to them once, when they first came to the club, but now I would like to see them as soon as possible and talk about the future. I don't just want to talk about money to spend on players. I would like to hear about the plans which will improve the club."

Gillett and Hicks will attempt to convince Benítez that they have the means and intention to pour resources into long-term planning with special emphasis on youth recruitment, an area where the manager feels Liverpool have fallen behind. The Americans are also exploring ways of increasing the proposed 60,000 capacity of the new Stanley Park stadium and have ordered a review, which could delay the start of work.

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article2359007.ece

Benitez warning for Liverpool over League form
By Paul Walker
Published: 15 March 2007

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, accepts that he must bring his players back down to earth to maintain their place in the top four of the Premiership.

Sunday lunchtime's away game at Aston Villa will be their first match since knocking Barcelona out of the Champions League to clinch a place in the quarter-finals.

The praise since then has been almost constant, but Benitez is well aware that with Bolton Wanderers just six points behind his club, in fifth place in the table, Liverpool must concentrate on the League ahead of their next European game against PSV Eindhoven in three weeks' time.

Benitez said: "We must concentrate on our League matches. We have had some time off since the Barcelona game, but it is the game at Aston Villa that must be at the top of our agenda now."

Benitez knows that claims from the Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, that Champions League qualification is beyond his team, amount to little more than mind games.

Liverpool's current League form has also put a a top-three finish, to equal last season's final placing, in jeopardy. They have taken just four points out of the last 12 and are hampered by their mediocre record on the road, scoring just 15 goals in 14 away League matches, underlining that they have lost more away games than any other side in the top six.

A home game with Arsenal - who have three wins against Liverpool already this season - on 31 March follows the Villa match before Liverpool head off to the Netherlands to face Eindhoven three days later.

Benitez will not want further problems with domestic form to cloud preparation for the test against Ronald Koeman's Dutch league leaders.

Peter Crouch, who is recovering from a broken nose, could be back in action by then, and he is aware of the lack of goals.

Crouch said: "I get annoyed when people talk about us needing a regular goalscorer. Wen I've played this season I've scored. But I accept that goals are what is going to keep me in favour with the manager."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/article1517307.ece

Real rumour puts Benítez in position of strength
Oliver Kay

George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, the American tycoons, secured total ownership of Liverpool yesterday and immediately urged the club to increase the capacity of their new stadium on Stanley Park beyond the planned figure of 60,000, but they must also offer reassurances to Rafael Benítez in the light of renewed interest from Real Madrid.

It has not escaped Benítez’s notice that Real appear to have identified him, along with José Mourinho, of Chelsea, and Bernd Schuster, of Getafe, as the leading candidates to replace Fabio Capello as coach at the end of the season. Despite his ambition to coach Real one day, Benítez is in no rush to return to his native Madrid, but their apparent interest has strengthened the Spaniard’s bargaining position as he tries to persuade Gillett and Hicks of the need to offer him substantial backing in the transfer market this summer.

Benítez was happy enough with what he heard from the Americans when they met him upon buying 62 per cent of the club last month, but, with a compulsory buyout of all remaining shares on the cards now that they have secured 94.4 per cent of the club, the manager has urged them to talk again, something they intend to do when they return to Merseyside for their next planned visit, to coincide with the home match against Arsenal on March 31.

“There are always a lot of rumours in the newspapers and a lot of people have been talking about Madrid,” Benítez said. “I have read in some papers I’ve had a meeting with people from Madrid. This is not true. I’m very happy at Liverpool. I couldn’t have more support than I’ve had here, but now we have new people taking over and it’s important I talk to the American owners.
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“I have spoken to them once, but now I would like to see them again as soon as possible and talk about the future. As I’ve said before, I don’t just want to talk about money to spend on players, I would like to hear about the plans which will improve the club. We need to do things which not only help for one or two years, but will help the club for the next 100 years.”

The Americans’ plans for the stadium should at least help to persuade Benítez that their ambitions are long term. Preparatory work began on Stanley Park at the start of this week, but it emerged yesterday that it has been put on hold while the club carry out an urgent review of their original plans. With the existing plan due to house 60,000 supporters, as opposed to 45,000 at Anfield, Gillett and Hicks feel that there is scope to build a bigger stadium to maximise the club’s future revenue streams, although it is not clear whether they would be able to match the 76,000 figure that Manchester United can accommodate at Old Trafford, the biggest stadium in English club football.

A new planning application will have to be submitted if the original plan is changed substantially, but Liverpool are confident that the completion date of 2009 remains realistic and that any brief delay would be justified. “There is a total commitment to a new stadium, but the new owners are conducting a review of the proposals to see if there is any way they can be improved,” a club spokesman said.

The £234 million cost of the new stadium will almost certainly rise as a result of any changes, but Gillett and Hicks are understood to have made provisions for this. Having borrowed £298 million to fund their initial investment in the club, they are preparing to borrow a further £200 million — and perhaps more — to finance the construction of the new stadium.

Unlike the Glazer family, in their takeover of Manchester United, Gillett and Hicks have not leveraged their takeover against the club, although it is understood that Liverpool may have to make regular payments towards the annual interest charges, which are estimated to be more than £20 million.

[mick the click]

Ta Del!

[anfieldanfield]

Unfortunately, I think there's more to the Rafa-Madrid rumours than people assume.

[LadyRed]

Unfortunately, I think there's more to the Rafa-Madrid rumours than people assume.

The Madrid rumours are bothering me, but they don't seem to be bothering too many others...

[red g]

great managers will always be linked with great clubs. end of. If you want the specualtion to stop we need an english manager.....and we really dont want one of them !!

[simey85]

i don't think rafa would go to madrid when he is building for the future with us. it wouldn't make sense for him to leave and their history of sacking managers would also be another factor!

[Neil Young]

Unfortunately, I think there's more to the Rafa-Madrid rumours than people assume.

What do you mean?

I think most people assume Madrid want him (or at least want to be able choose him) and that he wants to manage there one day.

The question is whether he wants to go there now. I think the ball is is in the club's court - if they can persuade him of their ambition then he'll stay on. If he's got to carry on making do with lampshades rather than chairs then he might just go, he's done it before.

I'd put the overall odds at about 70/30 staying/going. It's up to Hicks and Gillett.

[bazza76]

id give it more of a 95/5 % chance of him staying/going.
He will have many opportunities in the future to go to Real. They sack their managers of late after a season or less, the last successfull manager Del bosque, they sacked after eh won the Champions League

[Jayesh87]

US duo pledge Benitez backing

Mar 16 2007

by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

GEORGE GILLETT and Tom Hicks have moved swiftly to reassure Rafa Benitez of their intentions at Anfield following the manager’s request for a meeting with the new owners.

Benitez was contacted by the American duo shortly after airing his desire to hear more detail about their plans for the future of the club.

With interest from Real Madrid in the Liverpool manager a genuine concern, both Gillett and Hicks have shown they’re aware of the importance of forming a flourishing, working relationship with the Spanish boss.

Clearly it’s early days for Gillett and Hicks as they assess the future and await the conclusion of the formalities of their full purchase of the club – which is now unconditionally agreed.

But with Benitez eager to know how much he’ll have to spend this summer, as well as their broader plans to improve numerous areas of the club, the exchange of correspondence this week could be interpreted as an important first step.

Benitez told the ECHO today he anticipates he’ll be in more regular contact with both Gillett and Hicks now they’ve secured the number of shares required to buy Liverpool.

“I’ve been in contact with the new owners by e-mail over the last two days and they answered very quickly,” said Benitez. “I know they will be here for the Arsenal game.

"I will not meet them face to face before then, but we are in contact and we can progress from this. This is important because we need to know the situation so we can continue our plans for the future.”

This apparent delay in the exchange of correspondence could have been a consequence of little more than a series of misunderstandings.

The American pair are still concluding the formalities of their takeover so, technically, haven’t yet bought the club.

They wanted to keep a deliberately low profile when they attended the Barcelona match last week when their presence wasn’t confirmed until the day of the game.

Hicks and Gillett were given a tour of Melwood while Benitez gave his press conference at Anfield on the eve of the game, and then the owners-in-waiting didn’t have an opportunity to meet the manager after the match on Tuesday.

Benitez was hoping an opportunity to talk to the owners would have presented itself during that time, but as Hicks and Gillett still hadn’t secured their 75% threshold of shares then, they were effectively attending the Champions League game as guests.

After their unfortunate experience with the Dubai group, who had a higher profile presence at a number of home games where they met Benitez, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, Liverpool were keen to ensure all the technicalities were complete before Gillett and Hicks were seen to be taking a hands-on role.

By the next time they come to Merseyside on March 31, they’ll be in full control of the club and won’t have to be discreet during their visit.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0...name_page.html

[Mumsafan]

Bascombe is usually spot on with his info and I think that he probably knows more than he's letting on about Rafa to Real. I hope that when Rafa sits down with Gillett and Hicks he likes what he hears but I must admit to being slightly nervous about the situation at the moment.

Yeah but you also said there would never ever be investment, that Gerrard would leave and that Mascherano would never get clearance.

[kurtangle01]

Yeah but you also said there would never ever be investment, that Gerrard would leave and that Mascherano would never get clearance.

That's some track record. I never knew my predictions were as good.

[Guest]

Fookin' hell Milky, use tiny url when posting links from the echo.