Tom Hicks: Quit talking and coach the players

[El Jefecito]

I reckon they would say he disrespected them first, in public, and not for the first time either.

Either way, Rafa is the man.
If he walks I would be gutted.
Then them yanks can pack it and take their stadium with them.

He misbehaved, they treated him w/contempt. The two are VERY VERY different.

[ronan]

Rafa needs to stop being a cunt and a pain in the ass. If the financial backing is the case, you cannot expect to have endless amount of money and buy all the best players. I think the transfer kitty from previous transfer window made him a bit spoiled.

net spend 20m
whos being the cunt and the pain in the ass
some of you cunts sound like you want rid of him
who the **** would we end up with then
martin o ****in neill or some other ****
:whatever:

That interview in the Echo wasn't just a kick in the balls it was probably the final straw for Rafa. I mean, what do they want in charge, a yes man? It seems that you can't even try to press ahead with plans to improve the team without being publicly criticised.

spot ****ing on.

[Kaip]

Ive had a few and cant make any ****ing sense out of this mess at all why havent we heard **** all from parry or foster gill and didnt the owners say the other day that they learnt from the yanks over in mancland that you keep your trap shut if you havent got anything good to say or perhaps they have been reading the net and reading some od the ****e being posted about and rafa and they think the fans would go with them over rafa

[tomasjj]

He misbehaved, they treated him w/contempt. The two are VERY VERY different.

[peekay]

I know how you feel. I was thinking the same thing. But I reconsidered.
I think Rafa will understans he owes it to the players to stay for a while atleast, how can he look the likes of Torres etc in the eye and just leave. His family is also very settled on Merseyside.
Was only a few days ago he was talking about doing a Fergie. I think it is possibe to patch things up, an if they do, there can be no repeat performances from either side.

He owes nothing to the players mate. They are all on more than 75K/week. It is not like if leaves Torres and his entire family will starve to death.

I agree with the general sentiment of kurtangle and speedyG. If my boss had come out with that statement in public I would quit.

Couple of years ago, I was seriously pissed of with my boss (an American
by the way). I let him know my anger even though I had no right to. He could have fired me that moment. I am 10 % talented in my field as Rafa is in football management.But he didn't. Even though I crossed the line, he took me to his office, spent an hour with me explaining the situation. He then spent another half an hour talking to me to come up with ways to ensure that such a situation did not come up in the future.

With that action he won over my trust, loyalty and respect. And later on when people in our group had some issues with him I repeated that incident and that created a positive vibe. Thats what separates great people managers from normal people like us.

It takes ages to build a healthy trusting relationship. This was a perfect opportunity for the owners to leverage some trust with Rafa. It would have been really useful when in the future, if the stadium cost overshoots and we are left with no transfer kitty during that period.

All they needed to do was call Rafa and spend an hour explaining why they haven't made money available to them instead of calling the echo. They would have come out of the situation looking like bigger men.

[kurtangle01]

Ive had a few and cant make any ****ing sense out of this mess at all why havent we heard **** all from parry or foster gill and didnt the owners say the other day that they learnt from the yanks over in mancland that you keep your trap shut if you havent got anything good to say or perhaps they have been reading the net and reading some od the ****e being posted about and rafa and they think the fans would go with them over rafa

If they think that they're held in such high regard by the fans that they can do no wrong and will be backed all the way...Well it would show how daft they are, eh?

The only way this will end is with them giving into Rafa, unlikely, or Rafa leaving, seems likely at this stage.

So they'll go an appoint a yes man which is just what the club needs, eh?

[tomasjj]

Parry could do with a whisper in Tom and Georges ear now...

[kurtangle01]

Parry could do with a whisper in Tom and Georges ear now...

I'm sure he has but whatever we say about Parry he'll have done it in the right way. Behind closed doors and in a dignified manner. Something that these two yanks seem in-capable of.

Any respect I had for them has totally gone.

[Slinky Skills]

Course he's not, but he has been backed into a corner and we all tend to go a bit feral when that happens. Believe you me, If my boss has treated me with the same same contempt as Hicks did in that interview, I'd be gone already.

I agree here man, that's exactly why he's gone off on one the way he has. I don't understand what the Yank's game is, yes they've spent £40 million in the summer but we're still short on a few players here and there, also Rafa's urgency to conclude a deal for Mascherano is having an effect on things behind the scenes. I'm grateful for what they've done for the club so far in bringing money in but they need to listen to Rafa, he knows what he's doing.

The yanks would have been better off keeping quiet instead of releasing those statements, that's just made things worse. I'm not saying Rafa was right in what he said at the Press conference but he should have kept quiet too. I can only think that whatever's happened in the background is serious, serious enough for them both to be having at pop at each other like that. They obviously had a major argument that's riled both parties for them to come out publicly the way they have.


It's been bad from both parties, like someone said before; it's tarnished the reputation of our club and made us look a laughing stock. I just hope to God that this doesn't end up affecting the players and ****ing up our season, I just hope they can all resolve their differences for the good of the club and it's supporters.

I've felt sick all day thinking about this, I keep checking the BBC website to see if Rafa's left it's a ****ing nightmare, I'd be gutted if he leaves, absoloutly gutted.


Please don't go Rafa, we all love you.

[Jimthered]

According to Phil Mcnulty on the BBC site, Rafa was told over three weeks ago that this would be the situation with regards to transfers.

Rafael Benitez's relationship with Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks has been strained before - now it is close to breaking point.

Benitez delivered an extraordinary, exasperated performance at his media briefing before Liverpool's visit to Newcastle on Saturday.

He responded to questioning on a variety of topics by repeating that he was "focused on training and coaching my team" no fewer than 25 times.

Benitez was so agitated that he was even happy to link himself with the newly-vacated England job - a sure sign of any man's discontent.

So what is the truth behind the apparent breakdown in relations between Benitez and Anfield's American owners?

My understanding is that Hicks and Gillett were furious with Benitez's outburst, which they regard as unwarranted and undeserved.

And, contrary to reports, his incendiary reaction was not a response to a telephone call with the Americans shortly before the press conference.

Benitez has been told within the last three weeks that no transfer business - in or out - or any potential funding, will be discussed until Hicks and Gillett return to Merseyside from America in mid-December.

He has clearly stewed on this information and the lid came off at Liverpool's Melwood training headquarters in almost surreal circumstances.

Hicks and Gillett were similarly infuriated and mystified when Benitez, in an apparent fit of pique, launched an attack on them in the wake of the Champions League final defeat against AC Milan in Athens in May.

I believe that was forgiven, if not exactly forgotten, and even Thursday's outburst has not put his job in immediate jeopardy.

But if it was designed to shake the Americans off course from their original strategy of formulating all their transfer plans in December, it has backfired.

Benitez's very public show of petulance will not persuade Hicks or Gillett to shift their stance one inch.

There will be no discussions until mid-December whether Benitez likes it or not.

If that has made him question his position, so be it.

The ball is now firmly back in his court, but he can be in no doubt that he has not pleased his employers and they are sure to take a dim view if he delivers any more public criticism.

Hicks and Gillett believe they gave Benitez everything he wanted in the transfer market in the summer, even though it was a stretch on their planned transfer budget.

They feel the arrival of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel demonstrated their commitment.

This is a point for debate among Liverpool supporters, with some suggesting he recouped plenty back from sales, but this is the view across the Atlantic.

Benitez has since come up with a number of transfer targets that he wishes to pursue and has expressed fears to the Anfield hierarchy that he could miss out.

Hicks and Gillett want to sit down in December and formulate a clear plan. There will be no scatter-gun spending.

Rather than back down in the face of increasing and regular pressure from Benitez, I am told his latest broadside left the American pair almost having to be scraped off the ceiling in rage.

Their message to Benitez was to stay silent and get on with the business of coaching and winning games between now and December - then they will talk business.

They feel their request that Benitez waits until December to discuss matters further is perfectly reasonable - a view clearly not shared by their manager.

Benitez is no stranger to the politicking of football. He had similar problems at Valencia over transfer targets.

But I understand the Americans will not be budged, leaving Benitez to either bite his tongue and wait or continue to publicly berate the club's owners.

If he fails to take the hint, it may well be that Benitez might pursue his ambitions elsewhere.

Benitez, despite his benign public image, is a ruthless, single-minded, sore loser - no problem with that.

He also remains a highly-popular figure with Liverpool fans, although that might alter if they fail to reach the Champions League knockout phase.

But Hicks and Gillett feel they have played fair with Benitez, a feeling not reciprocated by the Spanish manager.

Benitez may have the last word, but a major diplomatic incident has been sparked by his criticism and he needs results more than ever as Liverpool enter a crucial phase of their campaign.

[Darth Marty]

I know im in the minority here but I feel that Rafa is at least 50% to blame for this whole debacle. I dont like the way in which our boss seemingly threatens to walk out each ****ing transfer window, as Rafas boss id be sorely tempted to tell him to **** off and do it then.
There are actually 3 or 4 managers which I think could replace Rafa and do equally as good a job and they are always available to a huge club like Liverpool.
I think in my mind Id love Rafa to stay but more than even that I want my club to be run with respect and none of this utter bull**** behaviour we have experienced over the past week or so.
**** you Rafa, **** you Hicks...sort it out or **** off from our club. Get it?!

[alunevans]

It's obvious to me that the Americans haven't got a clue how "soccer" works.

Mid December to discuss transfers in January is an absolute joke.

Rafa is being prevented from doing his job. He is clearly trying to do the most fundamental planning for January acquisitions but is being told not to.

How can any top manager accept an instruction to not do his job??

It'd be like telling him NOT to coach the players.

It's ridiculous.

If he walked over this I'd be disappointed but if I were in his shoes then I'd have to weigh up whether these dopes were ever going to let me do my job properly or whether every transfer window must be approached without adequate planning.

For a manager as methodical as Benitez, such a situation over something as crucial as transfers would clearly be unacceptable. If he feels that this is how it is now, he'll walk.

I just hope he has the tactical and strategic nouse to wait til December when the new owners return to Anfield so that the supporters get the opportunity to vocally back the manager.

As to the Hicks line that they have "spent more money than has ever been spent before at this club" - bollocks. Surely if we take out what he had to sell to raise money thats simply not true.

[Jimthered]

I know im in the minority here but I feel that Rafa is at least 50% to blame for this whole debacle. I dont like the way in which our boss seemingly threatens to walk out each ****ing transfer window, as Rafas boss id be sorely tempted to tell him to **** off and do it then.
There are actually 3 or 4 managers which I think could replace Rafa and do equally as good a job and they are always available to a huge club like Liverpool.
I think in my mind Id love Rafa to stay but more than even that I want my club to be run with respect and none of this utter bull**** behaviour we have experienced over the past week or so.
**** you Rafa, **** you Hicks...sort it out or **** off from our club. Get it?!

Having just read the Rafa interview again I have to agree, Rafa acted like a complete **** as far as I am concerned.

[peekay]

I'm sure he has but whatever we say about Parry he'll have done it in the right way. Behind closed doors and in a dignified manner. Something that these two yanks seem in-capable of.

Any respect I had for them has totally gone.

Agree. Moores ( isn't he a honorary board member or something like that) and Parry better get their act together and do their level best to defuse this situation.

If Rafa walks and the next manager isn't up to the task then I can see some serious pressure on Parry. Even though I think Moores had the best intentions when he sold the club, if the above happens, Moores will be remembered as the chairman who put his interest before the clubs interest.

[alunevans]

I know im in the minority here but I feel that Rafa is at least 50% to blame for this whole debacle. I dont like the way in which our boss seemingly threatens to walk out each ****ing transfer window, as Rafas boss id be sorely tempted to tell him to **** off and do it then.
There are actually 3 or 4 managers which I think could replace Rafa and do equally as good a job and they are always available to a huge club like Liverpool.
I think in my mind Id love Rafa to stay but more than even that I want my club to be run with respect and none of this utter bull**** behaviour we have experienced over the past week or so.
**** you Rafa, **** you Hicks...sort it out or **** off from our club. Get it?!

The thing is, if he's being prevented from doing his job in a methodical manner then why would he stay?

He's a planner above all else. That's how he manages. If these dopes think that mid December is the time to start discussing who we buy two weeks later, then they are stopping Rafa from doing his job.

In such circumstances, it would make sense to walk.

Maybe there is a few managers who can do the job as well as Benitez, but from his point of view, there are a host of clubs who'd let him run the team his way. So why not manage one of those and get the freedom to do it his way ie methodically.

Rafa is 100% correct on this one in my view.