Pressures that threaten to tear LFC apart

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Rafa has been able to come out with his comment because he has earned the right to, he has done the talk and walked it in his 3 years at the club. He has brought the good days back.

Rafa's stock is high with the footballing world and he has the backing from the fans. This allows him to make such comments and the owners will have to back him or face an uneasy time at Liverpool. The honeymoon period can last as long as they want if they back Rafa and walk with him.

[einar]

"Is the money in Liverpool’s bank account, but there is nobody to sign the cheques? “Okay,” Benitez nodded. “You know.”"

So we have the money?

[ningnangnong]

Rafael Benitez kept blowing his nose as he spoke to the press on Thursday. His complaints about the transfer inertia of his football club’s hierarchy were caustic; a savaging with sniffles. In the lobby of Athens’ Pentelikon Hotel sat Steven Gerrard, ashen, bent forward, chin resting on folded arms. The strain of losing a Champions League final attacked manager and captain physically.

You are supposed never to walk alone at Liverpool. You celebrate and suffer as one, but infuriating Benitez was a feeling he had been deserted. Tom Hicks, George Gillett and their families were already on their way home to the US. Benitez made it clear he no longer believed Rick Parry could deliver signings: what about Gillett’s son, Foster, installed by the new owners to run Anfield? “Yes,” glowered Benitez, “but he is not here now.” Foster was on the plane with Pops. When did Benitez need him? “Today.”

Liverpool finished 2006-07 not only trophyless but with a power vacuum swirling at its heart. Benitez’s polemic about the need to spend big and change the club’s “structure” after defeat by Milan was more than just an attack on Parry, as it was reported. The manager has succeeded, with his usual painstaking effort, in coaxing at least two “top-class targets” to the verge of joining Liverpool, only to have to keep them waiting while superiors dally. Benitez spent a long time hinting to journalists at the root problem until finally being pinned down. He kept saying he trusted Hicks and Gillett’s promise to fund signings, so why no transfers? Is the money in Liverpool’s bank account, but there is nobody to sign the cheques? “Okay,” Benitez nodded. “You know.”

The manager has grown apart from Parry, Anfield’s chief executive, over several issues, including Liverpool being committed to two friendly tournaments, in Holland and Asia, this preseason. Benitez suggested Parry no longer has authority to push transfers through. Foster Gillett will not be Liverpool’s managing director until August. With Parry a lame duck and power held by absentee barons without their own man on the ground, the club feels paralysed. “We can improve the squad, but we have to do it now. It’s a crucial time. We can’t say, ‘We’ll see what happens in August’. Then you will lose your targets,” Benitez said.


He may seem like the avuncular propietario of a neighbourhood tapas bar but Benitez is as political as Jose Mourinho. On the surface throwing barbs at Gillett and Hicks seems unwise, given the my-way-or-the-high-way culture of American business leaders, but Benitez’s attack was carefully worked out. The Americans’ strategy relies on building a new Anfield, with a 70,000-plus capacity, and they need the fans with them. But the supporters are with Benitez and so are the players, Jamie Carragher and Gerrard especially.

Rather than admonishing him, the Americans have already moved to placate Benitez. Late on Friday there was a transatlantic conference call involving Foster and George Gillett, Hicks and his son Tommy, Parry and Benitez. “We had a long call and agreed on actions to be taken with our own players and with possible new players and we are all comfortable with our plan,” said Tom Hicks. He excused Benitez’s ire in Athens: “He was very upset the day after the match.”

Benitez’s challenge to the owners is to back up their words with action. The current stasis is affecting Liverpool’s most important players. Despite reports that Gerrard and Carragher had extended their contracts, nothing has been finalised. There is delay over new deals for Xabi Alonso and Jose Reina. On Wednesday night in Athens, Benitez held a powwow with Gerrard, Carragher, Reina and Alonso. They are his inner circle, the players around whom he sees Liverpool’s future being built. “We were talking about the game, the quality of the opposition players, the tactics we had. Xabi, Reina, Gerrard, Carra want to know that you have good players ready to sign. The problem is if we spend time, if we waste time, we can’t sign the players we want,” said Benitez.

Were Gerrard and company as “frustrated and angry” as he? “Yes. The players must be happy and have confidence in the team.” Should Liverpool worry about losing some of the quartet if the impasse over new contracts continues? “Could be. Because they are good players and they could have some offers.”

Benitez is about to go on holiday for a week but will continue working via his mobile phone and said he would be “disappointed” if at least one new signing is not clinched by the time he gets back. His previous three seasons at Liverpool make him pessimistic. A lack of funds in the pre-American era, coupled with what Benitez sees as Parry’s less-than-dynamic modus operandi, saw the manager put a deal in place for Nemanja Vidic, only to be gazumped by Manchester United. Simao Sabrosa was so keen to join Liverpool last summer he was sending messages to Benitez until transfer deadline day, but ended up staying at Benfica. He is back on Benitez’s shopping list along with Gabriel Milito, Jefferson Farfan, David Silva, David Villa and Samuel Eto’o.

Athens exposed the best and worst of the present Liverpool. Through effort rather than technical flourishes they had Milan pinned down until Filippo Inzaghi’s lucky opener. Yet they are also limited, lacking invention and personnel to alter a defensive gameplan at 1-0 down.

If Benitez gets the big money and quick action he wants, especially after being so bolshie, it will be his make-or-break moment. The idea he has already spent £100m is creative accounting by his critics. Benitez’s net spending is £44m over three seasons. For that he has twice finished above Arsenal and won as many trophies as Manchester United. “You must be clear. I am happy with the new owners. I trust them and they want to finish as high as possible because they are winners – this is one thing I like about them. But they need to understand the business here. We have just signed Lucas Leiva, a top-class midfielder, 20, the Golden Boot in Brazil. There was another big club after him but we did a fantastic job. It’s not always a question of the amount you pay, but how quickly you move.”

Rafa Benitez in the transfer market

- Since Rafa Benitez joined Liverpool in June 2004 he has signed 29 players. He has also unloaded 36, thereby cutting his net outlay to around £44m. His signings are:

Josemi (Malaga £2m, now Villareal), Luis Garcia (Barcelona £6m), Xabi Alonso (Sociedad £10.5m), Antonio Nunez (R Madrid swap, now Celta Vigo), Mauricio Pellegrino (Valencia free, now Alaves), Fernando Morientes (R Madrid £6.3m, now Valencia), Scott Carson (Leeds £750,000), Jose Reina (Villarreal £6m), Mark Gonzalez (Albacete £4.5m), Boudewijn Zenden (Middlesbro free), Antonio Barragan (Sevilla free, now Deportivo), Mohamed Sissoko (Valencia £5.6m), Peter Crouch (So’ton £7m), Godwin Antwi (Zaragoza free), Jack Hobbs (Lincoln free), Paul Anderson (Hull free), Jan Kromkamp (Villarreal swap, now PSV), David Martin (MK Dons free), Daniel Agger (Brondby £5.8m), Robbie Fowler (Man City free), Craig Bellamy (Blackburn £6m), Gabriel Paletta (Ban? eld £2m), Fabiano Aurelio (Valencia free), Jermaine Pennant (Birmingham £6.7m), Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord £9m), Nabil El Zhar (St Etienne free), Alvaro Arbeloa (Deportivo £2.6m), Francisco Duran (Malaga free), Javier Mascherano (West Ham free)

Possible targets: Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza, defender) £8m Jefferson Farfan (PSV, striker) £10m Simao Sabrosa (Ben? ca, winger) £12m Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona, striker) £30m David Villa (Valencia, striker) £35m

[ARIMAN]

If Benitez goes we move on. The club is far more important than any individual. Always has been, always will be...

Spot on. He may sound like a fan, but he is shrewd in deflecting critics from tactics in the Final and players he has bought that havent cut it.

Can he buy big-time players? Can he manage big-time players? Who knows
I`m sure he is the man to bring home number 19, but these last few days have made me have doubts for the first time

[thesilverfoxlfc]

"Is the money in Liverpool’s bank account, but there is nobody to sign the cheques? “Okay,” Benitez nodded. “You know.”"

So we have the money?

Good question.

Who signed the cheque for Lucas?

After all their talk and big plans this is all they have to show for there time with us so far. I guess when La Liga finishes there will be transfer melt down.

[Roboklopp]

Nowt on newsnow.

Another one from the Graun to fuel the fire:

Please please me, pleads Rafa

An angry and frustrated Rafa Benitez wants Liverpool's new owners to break open their vast piggy bank for him, and now.
Paul WilsonMay 26, 2007 10:59 PM
No club in the world do a better impression of togetherness than Liverpool. No other team can touch the relationship between fans and players, no other team can reach and sometimes win European Cup finals by sheer determination and spirit, and no other team have such great songs to perfectly express it all.

Yet within minutes of losing in Athens, Rafa Benitez struck out on his own. He couched his original remarks in diplomatic terms, stressing his high regard for the club's American owners and repeating his belief that they could be trusted to do the right thing for Liverpool. But even a day after the final there was no mistaking Benitez's anger and frustration, because when asked if he was angry and frustrated he replied: 'Yes, both of those things.'

There was no mistaking the underlying message, either. Politely yet firmly, in terms Americans would understand, Benitez was asking Tom Hicks and George Gillett to show him the money. Not the debt, not the financial restructuring or the plans for the new ground, but cash on the table so he can buy a player this week. Actually, right now. 'I don't want more money than anyone else, I'm not saying I need £40million to spend on top strikers,' Benitez explained. 'But if we have money I need to use it, and the key is to use it quickly. We need to move quicker than Chelsea and Manchester United, and this is a crucial time. It is not always a question of the amount you pay, but how quickly you move. I have targets in mind and if we cannot make a major signing in the next week I will be disappointed. If we miss out now, it might be a struggle to make the top four again next season.'

Benitez insists this does not amount to an ultimatum and says his disappointment would not extend to walking away from Anfield, but he is astute enough to know what he is doing. He has identified a problem that goes to the heart of Liverpool's paralysis and could have repercussions for the rest of the Premiership. His immediate difficulty is that Rick Parry, the club's chief executive, appears to have been sidelined since the takeover, leaving the club without anyone with authority to sign cheques or pursue day-to-day business apart from the Americans themselves. This explains why it has taken so long to tie up players such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina on new contracts, and suggests that despite outward appearances of unity Liverpool have been putting a bold front on internal conflict. Benitez was originally concerned because his senior players share his frustration at not being able to capture leading targets to improve the squad - now he confesses to being worried key players could leave if the stasis continues.

Liverpool's new owners seem relaxed, to put it mildly, about their manager's visible tensions. But Benitez does not want to hear any more about backing, or assurances for the future, he wants to see action straightaway. If, as has been suggested, Gillett's son Foster is coming over to run the club - once he receives a work permit - he cannot arrive too soon for Benitez. 'When do I need him here?' he asked. 'Today.'

Should Hicks and Gillett senior wish to raise the stakes around the metaphorical poker table, they could respond with a question of their own. Why should they release funds to a manager who has spent £23m on Momo Sissoko, Craig Bellamy, Peter Crouch and Mark Gonzalez since Istanbul, yet found room for only one of them (Crouch) in Athens, and that for a mere 12 minutes? They are unlikely to adopt such a hostile stance, however, since they know Benitez has done well with a squad of players who were not always his first choices, even if he has spent almost £100m in the process.

The much bigger question, given that the Glazers are now understood to be disappointed at the financial returns from Manchester United when set against their monster debt, is whether Hicks and Gillett really have the will and the wherewithal to enter bidding wars with clubs such as Chelsea and United. They might be the sort of owners who can show a profit on leveraged buyouts and real estate, but can they show they have the bottle to turn Liverpool into champions? Benitez can do his bit - he has just signed Lucas Leiva, captain of Brazil's under-20s, as a midfielder for the future - but winning the title any time soon will probably involve beating Chelsea to the next Didier Drogba, or outbidding United for Dimitar Berbatov. The fans all feel Liverpool's first priority should be a striker, although Benitez seems to believe a quality No 10 would galvanise the team by creating more opportunities for others.

Hicks and Gillett might feel they did not sign up for that sort of financial bravado, especially as Roman Abramovich, Jack Hayward, Peter Ridsdale and Ken Bates can attest that it is still easier to lose money than make it in Premiership football. But the whole purpose of Liverpool selling out to the Americans was to make money. They wanted a bigger ground, to compete with Manchester United. Long term, that still might be a good plan. Short term, and Benitez bristles with indignation as he confirms it, Liverpool have been in two European Cup finals in three years and are further away from United than ever.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Spot on. He may sound like a fan, but he is shrewd in deflecting critics from tactics in the Final and players he has bought that havent cut it.

Can he buy big-time players? Can he manage big-time players? Who knows
I`m sure he is the man to bring home number 19, but these last few days have made me have doubts for the first time

I have no doubt he's the man, but i think he has bite his lip for long enough and now with the new owners coming in he can put it to them straight away and get everything sorted(Hopefully), where as with Moores him and Parry they had to much of a close relationship and he was an outsider.

[kurtangle01]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle1845157.ece

Hmmmm. Seems a bit more posotive but I'll hedge my bets before I get to confident that things will work out for the best...

[Chris]

Hmmmm. Seems a bit more posotive but I'll hedge my bets before I get to confident that things will work out for the best...

Yep, it seems a well balanced piece that one. Encouraging quote from Hicks but as Rafa has said we need actions. I'm sure he doesnt expect a billion to spend in the next week but tieing up a deal or two for these "top class players" he's seemingly arranged transfers for would be nice.

[einar]

He is back on Benitez’s shopping list along with Gabriel Milito, Jefferson Farfan, David Silva, David Villa and Samuel Eto’o.

That is an interesting list.

[Marky]

I have no doubt he's the man, but i think he has bite his lip for long enough and now with the new owners coming in he can put it to them straight away and get everything sorted(Hopefully), where as with Moores him and Parry they had to much of a close relationship and he was an outsider.

Exactly, i'm right behind Rafa on this one. Any manager would be properly pissed off when they miss out on there main targets and Rafa is no different.
The club must back him.

[Roboklopp]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle1845157.ece

Excellent article that & makes me feel a bit better TBH. I like the way it dismisses the £100m fallacy as the nonsense it is (unlike the article I linked).

[einar]

"Rather than admonishing him, the Americans have already moved to placate Benitez. Late on Friday there was a transatlantic conference call involving Foster and George Gillett, Hicks and his son Tommy, Parry and Benitez. “We had a long call and agreed on actions to be taken with our own players and with possible new players and we are all comfortable with our plan,” said Tom Hicks. He excused Benitez’s ire in Athens: “He was very upset the day after the match.”"

Hope this is accurate.

[Roboklopp]

He is back on Benitez’s shopping list along with Gabriel Milito, Jefferson Farfan, David Silva, David Villa and Samuel Eto’o.

That is an interesting list.

aye, no tevez

[Red Chilli]

If Benitez goes we move on. The club is far more important than any individual. Always has been, always will be...

Spot on. He may sound like a fan, but he is shrewd in deflecting critics from tactics in the Final and players he has bought that havent cut it.

Can he buy big-time players? Can he manage big-time players? Who knows
I`m sure he is the man to bring home number 19, but these last few days have made me have doubts for the first time

I'm pissed off with Rafa in all of this. What is the big hurry? We should have been negociating deals for months, it doesn't all take place on day 1 of the transfer window opening.
I'm sure Rafa is aware that the window isn't even open in Spain.
And what's all this bollocks about money? How many transfer fees are paid in full immediately?
Probably a very low percentage.

What the hell does Rafa hope to achieve with his outburst? Will it help us get players? Will it ****, all it does is make Parry's job even harder, clubs KNOW we're desperate now and will quite rightly hold us to ransome.
It also makes us look like feckin amateurs.
These outbursts only hurt the club.

I wonder if Rafa actually wants out or whether he is trying to deflect criticism over the fact that we haven't challenged for the league since he arrived and we didn't win anything last season.