American owners to scrutinise Benitez's transfer record

[Red Chilli]

He has done very well with what he has been given, but hard work & tatics will only get you so far.

At their respective primes Muhammed Ali could coach Audley Harrison for years, but put hins against Mike Tyson, he would still get nailed

Well Rafa overcame tremendous financial disadvantages in Spain but in 3 years he's failed to get within 20 points of the champions. He's spent 90 odd million hasn't he? Between 70 and 90 anyway.

What happened to Rafa's comment "You can have the best players but not neccessarily the best team" ? Has he back tracked on that?

I'm not saying he's been a flop, but come on, Houllier came closer to winning the league.

How do you feel about last season? Happy or disappointed?

[Johnny]

Well Rafa overcame tremendous financial disadvantages in Spain but in 3 years he's failed to get within 20 points of the champions. He's spent 90 odd million hasn't he? Between 70 and 90 anyway.

What happened to Rafa's comment "You can have the best players but not neccessarily the best team" ? Has he back tracked on that?

I'm not saying he's been a flop, but come on, Houllier came closer to winning the league.
How do you feel about last season? Happy or disappointed?

without battling against the NEW Chelsea teAM BUILT FOR 300MIL????

[Red Chilli]

without battling against the NEW Chelsea teAM BUILT FOR 300MIL????

So it's all about money is it? Are you saying it doesn't matter how good a manager you are, if someone spends more than you they'll win the league?
If so, how come Man Utd overcame Chavski last season?


How can Rafa compete in cup competitions but not in the league? It's still the same Chavski team.

And would you be kind enough to answer my question about last season? I'm disappointed that no-one has given their thoughts on it yet.

[Johnny]

So it's all about money is it? Are you saying it doesn't matter how good a manager you are, if someone spends more than you they'll win the league?
If so, how come Man Utd overcame Chavski last season?


How can Rafa compete in cup competitions but not in the league? It's still the same Chavski team.

And would you be kind enough to answer my question about last season? I'm disappointed that no-one has given their thoughts on it yet.

I`m saying that Chelski did buy the league for their 2 titles and Jose lost this yr because Roman signed Ballack and Sheva,while ManU were carried by Ronaldo all season.

[Johnny]

So it's all about money is it? Are you saying it doesn't matter how good a manager you are, if someone spends more than you they'll win the league?
If so, how come Man Utd overcame Chavski last season?


How can Rafa compete in cup competitions but not in the league? It's still the same Chavski team.

And would you be kind enough to answer my question about last season? I'm disappointed that no-one has given their thoughts on it yet.

The other thing is,give me a bottomless pit at the Chelsea helm and i`d win the PL.Remember that Chelsea bought so many players the rest had very little players to buy.




Chelseas philosophy is,outbid them for the players that will improve their team even if the players will not get many games.

[Red Chilli]

The other thing is,give me a bottomless pit at the Chelsea helm and i`d win the PL.Remember that Chelsea bought so many players the rest had very little players to buy.




Chelseas philosophy is,outbid them for the players that will improve their team even if the players will not get many games.

No offence, but I don't believe you would

Are you happy with 2006/7?

[AFII]

You can't win the league if you don't sign very expensive players. That is a fact if you look at the last three years. Arsenal is the last team that won the league without any £25m+ signings in the team.

You must have that extra special players who can decide a boring away game against Portsmouth or a top game against ManU and they cost a lot of money.

If you want to win the league then you must spend, spend and spend. There isn't an easy way anymore.

[blacky]

You can't win the league if you don't sign very expensive players. That is a fact if you look at the last three years. Arsenal is the last team that won the league without any £25m+ signings in the team.

You must have that extra special players who can decide a boring away game against Portsmouth or a top game against ManU and they cost a lot of money.

If you want to win the league then you must spend, spend and spend. There isn't an easy way anymore.

Don't buy this statement at all. United added carrick to their squad last year and won. He may have cost 18m but is not a world class talent. Vidic only cost them 8m but was the player that made the difference to the team!! It is about getting the right players not 25m players

[blacky]

No offence, but I don't believe you would

Are you happy with 2006/7?

No Red Chilli. 2006/2007 was a let down from the opening game to SU and from that point on we under achieved. Maybe it was the fact that the press had made us favourites to challenge the chavs or maybe we were just over confident in Rafa's abilities as a coach but any way you look at it we won nothing and finished as far away from the top 2 as ever. No improvement made. We need to stop blaming the fact we don't have the money the top 2 have and take a closer look at the manager and his players/tactics etc!!

[Abro100]

They wanna scrutinise the transfersd he never got aswell.

[Parm]

By Sam Wallace

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, is willing to gamble all the transfer funds made available to him by the club's new American owners on a bid for Samuel Eto'o that could reach as much as £35m.

then................

It is still unclear exactly how much money will be put at the Liverpool manager's disposal next season.

Way to contradict yourself you Manc prick.

[Kopite_Colin]

Don't buy this statement at all. United added carrick to their squad last year and won. He may have cost 18m but is not a world class talent. Vidic only cost them 8m but was the player that made the difference to the team!! It is about getting the right players not 25m players

they didn't need to becuase they'd spent VERY big in the previous seasons too:

Cole (£7m)
Yorke (£13m)
Van Nistlerooy (£19m)
Saha (£13m)
Ferdinand (£18m)
Rooney (£30m)
Ronaldo (£12m)
Carrick (£18m)
Hargreaves (£17m)

Total £147m

Those players added to their home-grown talent have formed the backbone of the side who won all the trophies for them. They've had a few failures as well (e.g. Veron, £18m) but in general they've added costly, but proven quality to the side to achieve the overall quality they've needed. Now that home-grown quality is getting old , it will be interesting to see if the replacements are indeed good enough.

But they've spent more on 9 top class players above £11-£12m (mainly in the last 5 years) and in that time we've spent that amount once (£14m on Cisse). The closest to that was £11m for Heskey and £10m for Xabi, and around that for Kuyt.

if you want success, you need the best, and the best costs money - big money.

[BrooklynRed]

they didn't need to becuase they'd spent VERY big in the previous seasons too:

Cole (£7m)
Yorke (£13m)
Van Nistlerooy (£19m)
Saha (£13m)
Ferdinand (£18m)
Rooney (£30m)
Ronaldo (£12m)
Carrick (£18m)
Hargreaves (£17m)

Total £147m

Those players added to their home-grown talent have formed the backbone of the side who won all the trophies for them. They've had a few failures as well (e.g. Veron, £18m) but in general they've added costly, but proven quality to the side to achieve the overall quality they've needed. Now that home-grown quality is getting old , it will be interesting to see if the replacements are indeed good enough.

But they've spent more on 9 top class players above £11-£12m (mainly in the last 5 years) and in that time we've spent that amount once (£14m on Cisse). The closest to that was £11m for Heskey and £10m for Xabi, and around that for Kuyt.

if you want success, you need the best, and the best costs money - big money.

Then again, Ronaldo for £12 million looks spectacular business. Your list misleads, as Cole/Yorke/Van Nistelrooy/Hargreaves had nothing to do with the title run this year. It was Vidic, Rooney and Ronaldo who made all the difference, with an all-around team effort. For me, we're missing class in a few areas (out wide and striker) and it makes a big difference, but we also don't seem to have a champions concentration and mentality where EVERY TIME WE TAKE THE PITCH we expect to dominate. I get that feeling, that brash confidence, from Slur Alex and Mourinho. Rafa, for all his tactical acumen, is missing the confidence in his squad. His fiddling with the side, all of whom are trained in his system, seems to point to the mistaken belief that his players are simply cogs in the machine; Interchangeable parts that lock down the midfield and try to chip in a goal. Man U played pretty much the same players all season long. Chelsea has a core of Essien, Lampard, Makalele, Drogba, A. Cole, Carvalho, Terry, and Cech; When that core was disrupted by trying to fit in Ballack and Sheva (and when Cech went down injured) they struggled a little and it cost them the title.

As much as I hate to admit it, Chelsea and Man U on the pitch seem to be reflections of their manager's nervy confidence in their players and, in many cases, the creative potential of those players. Rafa has as much flair as a bowl of porridge, but I will grant him a tremendous amount of tactical discipline, which is how we end up playing and beating more talented sides like Barca, Chelsea, etc. I think what we really need, more than millions (aside from a striker and a winger or two), is Rafa to infuse this team with confidence, a little flair, and get the mentality of a three cup and league campaign correct; Its not about rotating players, but about building a core of confidence and quality that is allowed to believe it can dominate sides. The frustration of this year was that we OWNED so many teams for 88 minutes and lost because we couldn't finish and we lacked any creativity or individual genius in attack. Xabi wins ball, pass to the wing, whip in a cross, miss the target, rinse and repeat.

For me, Rafa is the solution to and the cause of, many of our issues; Moan all you want about transferring in players (its a legitimate concern), but at the same time, look in the mirror and see what more you could be doing in the league (some shocking results... 3-0 at the bitters, 1-0 to Blackburn, 1-1 and Sheffield on Opening day, 2-1 at Newcastle, 0-0 at City, 2-0 at Bolton-- look at the goal shortage away from home!). We need some changes and I think Rafa could contribute by asking himself how to best motivate his side to perform week in and week out. IMO, that means building a consistent core of players and letting them play together, with creativity and discipline. Otherwise, spend all you want, but tactics aren't everything.