Liverpool tell Benítez league title is a must

[tomasjj]

Hicks said earlier this season that this season was too early in terms of winning the league.

[alunevans]

Hicks said earlier this season that this season was too early in terms of winning the league.

then if he kept his fool mouth shut that's all we'd have to go on and the press wouldn't be writing ultimatum style stories

[Howard_lfc]

I do wish these new owners would be more spotlight shy. They're like bloody rentaquote and it's annoying.

Plus, to say "win the title or we need to have a massive meeting about it at the end of the year" is ****ing ridiculous, not just in terms of the pressure it puts on the manager but also in terms of the expectations they have of us which in my view are not realistic at this stage.

If Rafa has said "this is what you need to win the Prem" why have they interpreted it as "give me the money and i WILL win you the Prem THIS season" ????

Rafa's next task is to get us to be a top 2 team consistently. If he ever does that then I believe the title would come, but thats his first task and even that is a big one.

This is just silly talk from the new owners. But then they don't mind silly talk so long as they've got a camera pointed at them. They should take a tip from David Moores on this one. I never rated Moores as a leader, but he was the ideal Chairman in terms of media exposure.

Maybe he can have a word in their ear that the Liverpool way is to shut the **** up and stop talking to the press every two minutes.

I know what you're saying Al but if they're asked the questions then it's only polite to answer. After all - if they gave a brusque 'no comment' when asked about the team etc then they'd be slammed for it. They're in a no win situation IMO.

[alunevans]

I know what you're saying Al but if they're asked the questions then it's only polite to answer. After all - if they gave a brusque 'no comment' when asked about the team etc then they'd be slammed for it. They're in a no win situation IMO.

Moores always managed it.

Besides, you can say nothing in many sentences. Just because you're speaking doesn't mean you have to say anything.

How about something dull and unreportable? Or even an affable chuckle with the words: "Oh we never comment on team matters. That's Rafa's job and he does it very well thankyou."

I don't think its a no-win situation at all. I think they just like the spotlight too much.

[dww]

If you ask me he said nothing wrong there. What in those words is different to the expectations from the fans? He said challenge for the PL and I think everyone on here would have had that as a minimum target after the summer.

He may not have needed to say it but really it is stating the obvious to say in the event of failure we will review what we are doing surely.

I think the fact is that owners are more in the spotlight of late, particularly foreign ones. The fact we hear quotes from them mostly indicates that they don't have any skeletons in their closet. All American owners judging by the reports around the meeting doodad/NFL game in London are more talkative than English ones as far as I can tell.

[peekay]

If you ask me he said nothing wrong there. What in those words is different to the expectations from the fans? He said challenge for the PL and I think everyone on here would have had that as a minimum target after the summer.

He may not have needed to say it but really it is stating the obvious to say in the event of failure we will review what we are doing surely.

I think the fact is that owners are more in the spotlight of late, particularly foreign ones. The fact we hear quotes from them mostly indicates that they don't have any skeletons in their closet. All American owners judging by the reports around the meeting doodad/NFL game in London are more talkative than English ones as far as I can tell.

Rafa was taking a calculated gamble with his outburst during the summer. Everybody knew the score including himself. If the owners backed him and there was any dip in form the media are gonna twist every word of the owner to make it look like an ultimatum. We knew it, Rafa knew it.

I dont see anything wrong with the statements made by Hicks. As a club we have been in the media spotlight over the last few months. New owners, Gaillard statement about our fans in Athens, New stadium. It is only natural that the owners will have to talk to the media about this. I dont think they have tried to be media whores at all.

[AFII]

Rafael Benitez insists he is not under pressure and expects patience from George Gillet and Tom Hicks, the Liverpool owners, as he builds for the future.

The Liverpool manager has been forced to withstand much criticism as Liverpool have slumped to the brink of elimination from the Champions League and performed indifferently in the Premier League, winning only two of their past five games.

However, they go into Sunday's game against Arsenal at Anfield unbeaten in the league, and with Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso likely to make comebacks from injury.

Benitez's side lost their Champions League tie against Besiktas in midweek, leaving them bottom of their group, but the Spaniard said: "We knew we needed to win in Istanbul, so when we lost I expected the reaction to be like this. Now we are back in the Premier League, and when you have had a few problems, the motivation of the side to change the situation is strong."

"Now we are back in the Premier League, and when you have had a few problems, the motivation of the side to change the situation is strong. The only way is to work, and work hard. That is the way to handle this sort of pressure.

"When I have a player who is not doing too well, keeps giving the ball away, I say that the way to change that is to keep wanting the ball to try again. If you do not do that you cannot change anything.

"As a manager you must keep going, doing the right things and you know that will change things for the better."

Benitez wants the same patience the Arsenal board have shown to Arsene Wenger, who has been allowed to nurture young talent in a side that is now top of the league.

He said: "Arsene Wenger has done very well bringing on his younger players, and it is important that people realise it takes a couple of years to achieve results.

"You can sign young players, good players with talent, but it takes time for them to realise their potential. Wenger has been using these young players for two or three years and now we are seeing them play really well with quality.

"We must wait to see whether they can maintain this through the season, but they do have enough quality to play well for a long time. It is what we are trying to do here. We have brought in a lot of young players, 17, 18, 19 years old. We have to wait a while for them to be ready for the first team.

"You can see the reserves now winning games with these players, some of them are really close to first-team level. In a few months, a few years, there will be a lot of players coming through from the reserves."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2748246.ece

[pezzzer]

Sissoko has said that he want to leave.
Riise should have been sold in the last window to Villa.
Crouch will be sold if the bust up is true.

I doubt that anyone of them will stay. We really don't need them and have cover in their positions without them.

agree with that, use the money for a quality striker and winger.

[bigfooty]

For those saying it would be crazy to sack Rafa, if we were to finish 5th this season would you still be of the same opinion?

Personally I reckon we're going to be 3rd or 4th which would probably buy him another season, but if that is indeed the case it will be interesting to see how much more money the top men are willing to give him. Especially if our footballing style doesn't improve.

[AFII]

For those saying it would be crazy to sack Rafa, if we were to finish 5th this season would you still be of the same opinion?

Personally I reckon we're going to be 3rd or 4th which would probably buy him another season, but if that is indeed the case it will be interesting to see how much more money the top men are willing to give him. Especially if our footballing style doesn't improve.

I think that Rafa will get sacked if we finish outside the top four. I don't want him out but that's what I believe will happen.

[Morph]

I think that Rafa will get sacked if we finish outside the top four. I don't want him out but that's what I believe will happen.

I don't think it will, I'd imagine he'd get another season to put things right

[red g]

I don't think it will, I'd imagine he'd get another season to put things right

i agree. it would be stupis with the youth we have, the backroom staff and his control over Melwood, would be mental to sack him

In Rafa we trust

[thesilverfoxlfc]

[Dan]

**** font

[alunevans]

to be fair, if he finished 5th at this stage of his management he'd deserve to be sacked. i can't see us finishing outside the top 4 but if we did then I think he'd deserve to go unless there was some major major mitigating circumstance.