Rafa backs down?

[jonesie]

[Shaggy]

Rafa "backs down"

WHEN Kahka Kaladze helped AC Milan topple Liverpool in last May’s Champions League final, little did he know that six months later he could end up playing an unwitting role in Rafa Benitez’s potential downfall.

The Georgian defender might have frustrated Benitez in Athens but to nothing like the same extent as the failure to sign him has infuriated the Liverpool boss in the last week.

Benitez wanted to snap Kaladze up to provide defensive cover for Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Sami Hyypia but when Tom Hicks and George Gillett refused to even discuss potential transfers before December 16, the chance to sign him was lost and the Reds boss reacted angrily.

Having been ordered to concentrate on “coaching and training”, Benitez saw this as evidence that Liverpool’s American owners were not prepared to back him in the transfer market and, brimming with indignation, used a Melwood press conference to let the world know that all was not well at Anfield.

Despite being unceremoniously slapped down and told to “quit talking” by Dallas-based Tom Hicks following his outburst, Benitez refused to give any ground in the aftermath of Saturday’s resounding 3-0 win at Newcastle.

He claimed the Americans had not yet had time to develop an understanding of the intricacies of the transfer window – and that the club needed to conduct business as promptly as possible.

The battle lines had been drawn and there was precious little sign of either side backing down from the fight.

But today, the mood music coming from Benitez’s direction changed.

Gone today is the outspoken criticism of the club hierarchy and the seemingly kamikaze confrontational approach which had the bookmakers frantically cutting their odds on him being the next Premiership manager to be ousted.

Instead, the language has a more conciliatory tone as an olive branch is held out to Hicks and George Gillett and, by way of reciprocation, sources close to the Americans have dismissed talk that they have already decided to sack the manager at such a crucial stage of the season.

Whether this means Benitez will remain in position for too much longer is another matter entirely.

His recent outbursts have upset the Americans greatly and they came at a time when they were privately questioning his ability to lead Liverpool to the title.

Watching from afar, they have been disappointed by the way their most recent sporting acquisition has struggled in this season’s Champions League and the lead Arsenal have built up over them in the Premiership.

Even an unbeaten run in the league has failed to overly impress them, so Benitez was on the thinnest of ice when he decided to take them on over transfer strategy.

Today, that ice remains just as thin but at least Benitez has given himself a chance of not falling through it by making a tactical withdrawal from battle and intimating that he is now prepared to put his misgivings over the club’s transfer strategy to one side until that all-important meeting on December 16.

Although his future remains open to question, what seems apparent is Benitez’s commitment to the club and his desire for it to be successful.

As those closest to the manager have intimated, it is this hunger and desire to be the best that makes the Spaniard so frustrated when things do not go as he would expect them to.

With Daniel Agger currently injured and Sami Hyypia entering the twilight of his career, the proposed acquisition of 29-year-old Kaladze for a fee of around £4m was seen as crucial to his ongoing squad building.

But with transfer talk banned at Anfield until mid-December that deal died a lingering death last week and Benitez was left with nothing to console him but a swift return to the drawing board.

For a manager whose entire transfer philosophy is built on getting deals done quickly to save money, stopping latecomers from snaring his targets in the process, this was too much to bear, hence his coded attack on the club’s owners that he would now concentrate only on coaching as they had ordered him to.

But Benitez it seems recognises that, like politics, football is all about the art of the possible and the fact that the Americans are not going to change policy to suit him means, in the short term at least, he must either accept their authority and way of doing things – or face the sack.

He could carry on fighting what is a losing battle with a pair of all powerful, American multi-millionaires – or keep his head down until they finally reveal their hand in a couple of weeks time.

The fact that he now seems to have taken the latter course suggests his desire to remain at a club he loves is stronger than any selfish hunger for battle.

Significantly, Benitez will also be aware that he has the backing of the club’s fans, as evidenced by the continued chanting of his name at Newcastle on Saturday and the outpouring of support on internet forums in the wake of a report that his time as Liverpool manager is about to come to an abrupt and undignified end.

But the inescapable fact is it could all be too little too late and the man who has taken Liverpool to two European Cup finals in three years – winning one in the most spectacular fashion possible and narrowly losing the other – with FA Cup glory sandwiched in between, could soon be looking for another job.

The statement released by Tom Hicks yesterday afternoon stopped a long way short of saying Benitez has the backing of the club’s owners and there has been no official public denial from either co-owner that the Spaniard is heading for the Anfield exit door.

Unbeaten in the Premiership, with their Champions League fate still in their own hands and a squad of players which is the envy of most clubs in Europe, it says everything about how badly the relationship between Benitez and the American owners has broken down that they could even consider giving him the sack.

Whether the fans will accept this situation is another matter entirely.

Their devotion to Benitez and his love for them means they share a strong bond and it is entirely possible there will be a show of support for the Spaniard at the crunch game with Porto at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Most supporters simply cannot understand how the manager who delivered Liverpool’s fifth European Cup just two seasons ago and took them to the brink of another one last May can now be fighting for his managerial life, especially when there have been no real indications of malaise since then.

At St James’ Park on Saturday, the fans chanted the manager’s name time and time again.

So, as understandably affronted as they are, if Tom Hicks and George Gillett are about to load the gun that will ultimately fire Rafa Benitez, it looks like they may have to take on the Anfield crowd first.

As so many have found to their cost on a European night, that is easier said than done.

[Harv]

where is that from Shaggy?

[Montana]

Rafa Benitez ready to offer olive branch to Liverpool FC owners

Nov 26 2007 Tony Barrett
Tom Hicks, Liverpool FC co-owner, walks past a picture of Rafa Benitez at Anfield

Tom Hicks, Liverpool FC co-owner, walks past a picture of Rafa Benitez at Anfield (158)

RAFA BENITEZ is ready to hold out an olive branch to Liverpool’s owners – but his gesture of reconciliation may have come too late to save his job.

Though sources close to Tom Hicks and George Gillett insist no decision has been made to sack Benitez, the Americans have refused to deny speculation it is only a matter of time before the manager is forced out.

Despite the pressure , Benitez is still planning for the future and remains hopeful of landing the league title he knows Liverpool.

A source close to Benitez said: “Rafa loves it at Liverpool. He loves the people of the city, he loves the fans and he loves the club. All he wants is what’s best for the fans - he gets frustrated when he feels he’s not able to do that.

“But he is happy with Tom and George owning the club and he has enjoyed working with them since he came and he has no problem working with Rick (Parry) – all he wants is to be able to continue the job that he’s started so he can continue improving the squad in a bid to deliver the title he knows Tom, George and Rick want just as badly as he does.

“The manager has got a few transfers that he wants to get done, one in January and two Bosmans in the summer but it looks like he is going to miss out on the first one now.

“That frustrated him because the first one was a centre half, a position he feels we really need back-up in. The frustration stems from the fact that communication has been so difficult with everyone being so far apart and in different time zones. But the fans should be reassured Rafa has no plans of walking away. He loves it here and his family are settled on Merseyside.

“He always describes his children as ‘Scousers’ and that makes him really proud. And the fact that the fans have backed him so much only makes him want success even more for them. Even when he guided Valencia to their first Spanish league title in 31 years their fans did not sing his name but the Liverpool fans sing it every single game.

“Rafa only wants to work for Liverpool. It wasn’t that long ago that Rafa was thanking Tom, George and Rick for the work that they had done to bring Fernando Torres to Liverpool. He is still grateful for that and hopes that there has been no lasting damage done.”

“He is hoping this situation can be resolved.In a statementHicks and Gillett said: “Despite speculation in Sunday’s newspapers, there is nothing new to say. We had a good win yesterday and we have got some very important games coming up. “Both of us, together with chief executive Rick Parry, plan to meet with Rafa when we come over mid-December to make decisions on the team’s requirements at that time.”

[Pacman]

I love Rafa

[dww]

But today, the mood music coming from Benitez’s direction changed.

Gone today is the outspoken criticism of the club hierarchy and the seemingly kamikaze confrontational approach which had the bookmakers frantically cutting their odds on him being the next Premiership manager to be ousted.

Instead, the language has a more conciliatory tone as an olive branch is held out to Hicks and George Gillett and, by way of reciprocation, sources close to the Americans have dismissed talk that they have already decided to sack the manager at such a crucial stage of the season.

I thought that Rafa had started to tone down his criticism over the weekend. He was much more balanced with talk of both him and the owners having the clubs interest at heart. People picked up on the part where he talked about the owners needing to understand the market but the overall interview was much less strident.

I still think that the problem is not at Rafa's end but that he has potentially really upset the owners and they may take his seeming disrepect badly. I hope that in the long run they see that he has the best interests of the club and their business as a consequence in mind. It is clear though that something has to change - I just hope it is a reorganisation of the financial side of the club rather than the sacking of Rafa.

I guess there is a good chance that once we have sorted the refinancing of the debt both sides will have more room for maneuver .

[Pacman]

I just hope it can be sorted.

If Rafa can back down then so can the yanks.

**** pride do what's best for LFC and sort this **** out. Get round a table kiss and make up and let Rafa do what he does best and that's win trophies for LFC.

****ing sort it out Hicks and Gillett and don't sack OUR manager.

[Helios Creed]

I must admit I was very worried by Stevie's recent comments about foreign players ruining the game as I felt that they were a veiled attack on Rafa. It appeared to me that when Rafa took over he inherited a split dressing room with a powerful English clique and he aimed to resolve it by getting rid of the trouble makers. Danny Murphy was out the door like a rocket (his parting comments were worryingly similar to what SG said last week). Owen had his bags carried to the door for him and with Xabi in as a replacement, there appear to have been several attempts to move SG on too.

I fear that that the rift is long running and will only end when one leaves (or we win the league?)

Or maybe I'm being gloomy.

[kewellnthegang]

I just hope it can be sorted.

If Rafa can back down then so can the yanks.

**** pride do what's best for LFC and sort this **** out. Get round a table kiss and make up and let Rafa do what he does best and that's win trophies for LFC.

****ing sort it out Hicks and Gillett and don't sack OUR manager.

[RedProf]

Kaka Khaladze .......... first time I've read about Rafa being after him. Shame. Good player and for £4M we could do a lot worse as cover. Hope things simmer down now and that things get sorted properly when the mid Dec meeting takes place.

[tomasjj]

Wow!

At least we can try to relax a little now.

[Shaggy]

Kaka Khaladze .......... first time I've read about Rafa being after him. Shame. Good player and for £4M we could do a lot worse as cover. Hope things simmer down now and that things get sorted properly when the mid Dec meeting takes place.

It was on here in the summer that we were after Khaladze and/or Ujfalusi.

[The Glove]

Said the mood was lifted on saturday after a meeting before the match. On the money me boys.

[tomasjj]

Kaka Khaladze .......... first time I've read about Rafa being after him. Shame. Good player and for £4M we could do a lot worse as cover. Hope things simmer down now and that things get sorted properly when the mid Dec meeting takes place.

He was in the frame in the summers as well, mate.

[Red_hot]

I just hope it can be sorted.

If Rafa can back down then so can the yanks.

**** pride do what's best for LFC and sort this **** out. Get round a table kiss and make up and let Rafa do what he does best and that's win trophies for LFC.

****ing sort it out Hicks and Gillett and don't sack OUR manager.