Mourinho 'keen on Benitez's job'

[Kilteragh]

Rafa would buy 22 players with £89m...they'd all be hard workers, and lack real genuine title-winning quality...

Rafa came in nearly 4 years ago and nearly £150m later, we're in the same position, in terms of league challenges...

My post from another thread:

Comparing our spending to the Scum is disingenuous.

Even if we had spent the same amount, Ferguson is starting from a better base. If he needs to buy a new striker or winger he can spend £20M. We may have the same amount to cover several positions because we have been deficient in several positions so we end up spending the same amount on more players but with less ability through no fault of Rafa's. He can only spend what he's got and he has had plenty of gaps to fill as well as trying to provide cover for those same positions.

Add the fact that he has had to revamp the academy and that costs money too and you can see that his plans involve the future as well as the present.

He is not a magician and sadly he needs a bucket of money to compete for the league.

[kurtangle01]

Well no, granted. You were just highlighting that one quite considerably, is all.

The only one i'd be truly ashamed of is the Anders Frisk one. I'd like to think, if Mourinho came to Anfield, that he'd have learnt his lesson on that count and it wouldnt happen again.

What about his criticism and lies, which he later had to retarct, about the amulance service? They were comments to be really proud of, eh?

[AFII]

But at the end of the day, do you really celebrate youth cups? I celebrate players coming through more than youth cups.

Yes because youth cups are not only decided by money.

I'm happy when the players are coming through, very happy because that is the players that always will give 100% on the pitch week in week out. They are the heart of Liverpool FC.

I don't care if it's an English player or not. The youngsters know what LFC is all about and have thought their way into the team thanks to very, very hard work week in week out.

Some of our first team players should take a look at them then we should play better.

[tomasjj]

Possibly. But when i look at Rafa buying Kuyt for £10m and Mourinho buying Robben for £12m (who was a superb player), then i'm unsure.

The point is, we are SEEING that Rafa, under the conditions at LFC, cant seem to win it.

Mourinho hasnt had the chance.

I call your Kuyt signing and raise you a Ferreira...who cost 13.2 mill...

[Craig_H]

But in fairness, Syd, and surely you can recognise this. Both Rafa and Mourinho took over completely different teams in terms of quality. While we had Dudek, Cisse, Cheyrou, diouf etc... Mourinho had
Cole, Robben, Cech, Duff etc...

The difference in quality was huge and only this season, thanks to Rafa's work, do we have a squad almost as good as theirs.

I dont dispute that and of course Rafa's improved the squad hugely, there's no doubt.

But as i've said, that's not my gripe with him. My gripe is that now, having GOT a very good squad, he mis-uses it and it costs us points and a title challenge.

It's actually the very point that rafa HAS built a strong squad, that works against him - because with such a squad, there's expectancy. And he's not living upto it.

I dont think our squad is 15+ points worse than anyone in the PL.

But it's looking like we'll end up 15 points or more off the top.
That's underachieving and not good enough. And he cant argue that it's not his team now, he's had 3.5 years and it should be coming together better than it is.

[Red Chilli]

I am sure you see that there was a difference in quality between the team Mourinho inherited and the one Rafa got, no?

So what you're saying is that there will never be a valid comparrison to make, so we're all wasting our breath because it's all hypothetical. Yes, I agree with you, it's pointless comparing the 2.

Choosing to turn the blind eye to this point like you and Red Chilli appear to do is just arguing for the sake of it, being tits.

And another one. Please tomas, if you want to call me names do it in a PM, it just makes us all look ridiculous and childish by association. And I haven't turned a blind eye to it, the comparisson is invalid, I agree, pointless to try and compare the 2.

And he got 80 mill to spend in 2 seasons? I don't recall exactly. He got Drogba, Carvalho and Ferreira (who is crap anyway) in the first summer IIRC.

89 million in 2 transfer windows BEFORE HIS RECORD BREAKING TITLE WIN.

[paulcooper4]

Why then, in nearly four years, are we performing little better than Ged's league campaigns?

In my opinion we are. Ged used to rule us out in november.

Also we were petrified of passing the ball. It was all about having 10 men in our half and just using Owen on the break. I couldnt stand the football.

IMO there is a world of difference between what I was seeing then and what I am seeing now.

Mourinho to me is a houllier with money. Dont like him OR his style of football.

Yes its succesful but I want more than that for liverpool and with Rafa I have it.

[Red Chilli]

Yes because youth cups are not only decided by money.

I'm happy when the players are coming through, very happy because that is the players that always will give 100% on the pitch week in week out. They are the heart of Liverpool FC.

I don't care if it's an English player or not. The youngsters know what LFC is all about and have thought their way into the team thanks to very, very hard work week in week out.

Some of our first team players should take a look at them then we should play better.

Winning youth cups won't "save us millions of pounds in the future" though will it AFII

[AFII]

But you were talking about the academy right? Even our new director said that results were irrelevant what matters is producing players. In which case it is far to early to judge what Rafa has done, even though the signs are promising.

I would agree with Kurt that Houllier couldn't take credit for Gerrard's development before he gave him his chance in the first XI.

Results in the Academy means results on the pitch and that players are coming through.

IMO.

[The Glove]

Winning youth cups won't "save us millions of pounds in the future" though will it AFII

Did last time we won it previous. Micheal Owen was in the team.

[paulcooper4]

I call your Kuyt signing and raise you a Ferreira...who cost 13.2 mill...

I see your ferreira and raise you a wright phillips - £22m i believe

[bigfooty]

My post from another thread:

Comparing our spending to the Scum is disingenuous.

Even if we had spent the same amount, Ferguson is starting from a better base. If he needs to buy a new striker or winger he can spend £20M. We may have the same amount to cover several positions because we have been deficient in several positions so we end up spending the same amount on more players but with less ability through no fault of Rafa's. He can only spend what he's got and he has had plenty of gaps to fill as well as trying to provide cover for those same positions.

I disagree regarding Man Utd.

At the end of 2005-2006 we were dead level with them. A few things subsequently happened:
1 - Cisse got injured and we couldn't sell him to raise funds.
2 - Harry got injured and we opted not to buy proper cover for him, rather buying Pennant and hoping Zenden / Gonzo would do until Harry was able to return.
3 - Scholes regained fitness.
4 - Rafa bought two hard working strikers that like to roam and changed our attacking style despite Crouch having been effective the season before.

Now Scholes coming back for Utd was a huge plus. Cisse's injury we couldn't do anything about. But (2) and (4) were Rafa's calls and I think played a huge part in our poor league form that saw us losing pace with Utd.

[Red Chilli]

Results in the Academy means results on the pitch

100% agree and a reasonable comment

and that players are coming through.

IMO.

Whoa and there you go with the unrelated hypothetical guess work which is opinion only

[Kilteragh]

I see your ferreira and raise you a wright phillips - £22m i believe

Tiago - **** knows how much.

[Red Chilli]

Did last time we won it previous. Micheal Owen was in the team.

It only saved us money because "he came through from the academy".

This was a seperate discussion about which is more important-winning youth cups or players coming through the academy to play in the first team.