I think he should go

[kerfuffle]

If we finish outside the top 4 then maybe but no not now. I believe Rafa can turn this around.

Turn what round ?, turn a title challenge into trying to scrape into 4th place again. Enough is enough now, the time has come, thanks rafa for the european cup but you will never lead us to the holy grail.

[Jimthered]

While I cant claim to be Rafa's biggest fan, sacking him today would not be a good idea. We owe it to the man to judge him at the end of the season based on what we achieve.

My concern is the attitude of our players who seem to think it is ok to turn up, put on the red shirt and hoof the ball around for 90 minutes while waiting for a pay check. Some of the senior members of our squad should be given a sound beating for thier attitude and effort recently, lets face it they couldnt live with Havant for 45 minutes recently.

Others have said it and I'll echo it here. No matter what is happening off the pitch or in the dressing room, the players have a duty to play for and deliver a performance the fans can be proud of regardless of the result.

The fans are up for it every week, rain or shine, about time the players were too.

[Diego]

The whole thing is a mess, I want this season to be over already, I will be happy to secure our Champions Lg place and win one of the cups we are still in. I know some people will say thats disgusting but its the reality of the situation. I believe Rafa has earnt the right to see out his contract at the very least .. for me I want stability at the club, I believe Rafa is the man to bring the title back to us, What did Demento do in his first 3 seasons ?

**** all...

he won the fa cup after 4 seasons and the league after 6 or 7 seasons. after having broken the British transfer record more than once...

[joxers25]

I respect rafa and i do support - Liverpool. no one is bigger than the club.

I have not been happy with him for a while now - but did not voice due to the backlash.

If rafa wins big ears again - i will be delighted.
05' is in my top 5 events of my entire life!!!
However,
I want to win the league - not the fa cup or big ears!
Rafa does not look capable of that in england.

In Spain the overall standard is a lot better - the 'lesser' teams always have the possibility of taking points from the big teams.
Not so in Premier League - most teams are beaten before they face the BIG THREE so theres not so many chances to catch up if you are having a bad run which we riding at the moment!

get new man now - give him 3 months + summer to bed in - get rid of the ****e and bring in his own players

We dont need much, a couple of wingers and a left back.

Does anyone know of any other team incapable of either producing or buying wingers as bad as we are!

then full tilt for next season

I so fcuking sick of saying "maybe next year" in January - 17 points behind

By the way - i think i hate kuyt!

Joxer

[Nicey]

How the **** can you Hate!! Kuyt ... For ****s sake get ****ing grip of yourself ...

You may not think he is up to scratch ..but Hate him ... sure its not Joker Joxer

[vonk]

i hate myself for saying this but if rafa goes mourinho is about the only one to come in and take control of the situation to avoid players leaving and everything that goes on with that. if we would bring in a lesser name that needs time to get it right and does not have the mentality to go at it from the start i see player leaving and i'm not talking about one or two...

I think you are right Diego. Many have posted that if Rafa goes the players will too but not if Mourinho came in. I'm certainly no Mourinho fan but his results speak for themselves, even at Porto. I recall him doing a lot of talking to Reds players in our matches with them. I think players really respect him for some reason. So there you have it. If Rafa goes, could we stomach Mourinho if it meant Torres, Gerrard, Reina (our only three decent players) stayed too?

[Reece]

I can completely understand why many people think it's time for Rafa to go. But I think he deserves a bit more time to try and get us out of this rut. We are still in the CL and the FA Cup, and you never know what can happen in those. So I say give him to the end of the season and assess the situation then. Even more so regarding the uncertainty with take overs and what not. If we get settled a board room level, maybe it would have a positive effect on the team.
However, I fear one more bad result would be the final nail....

As for a replacement should it happen - well **** knows really. Mourinho would be the obvious choice, albeit one that would split Liverpool fans. I've always hated the ****er, but he has some great qualities as a manager (don't think he is as good a "coach" as Rafa though), and I think a lot of the players would respect him and be motivated to play for him.
Other than him, well maybe someone like Hiddink, but I really don't know. **** it, get Aldridge in.

[vonk]

I fear that if he stays, we'll miss out on a CL place.

Of course, if he goes, that could still happen.

Don't buy this "give him to the end of the season" stuff. If we are to bring a new man in, now is the time. Doesn't matter how we finish, maybe we won't have CL next year, but I'd give it up for a season if I thought we were getting better. A new man needs time to see the team train and play before he strengthens in the summer. A summer change is pointless as a new manager has to wait until January to replace the dross he's seeing. Either we believe in Rafa or we don't. If we don't then waiting until the summer does us no good. If he still has the players on his side he should stay. If not, as appears to be the case, he needs to go.

[joxers25]

How the **** can you Hate!! Kuyt ... For ****s sake get ****ing grip of yourself ...

You may not think he is up to scratch ..but Hate him ... sure its not Joker Joxer

OK grip taken -

Hate is strong -

he stirs up strong negative emtions in me each time i see him fire the ball wide - but his trade is scoring goals, - not running around like a mad yoke. (he could do both in the Dutch League i know its ****e)

Maybe rafa has asked him to do this

He could/should be able to be a bit more intelligent - in the mould of rushie, or God, and only chase players in their last third and not in ours.

And score more goals - or else get outta the way and ask Rafa to play Crouch instead (like him or not) he scores goals!

I thought he was keeping crouchie as a secret weapon of mass destruction to unleash on teams for the second half of the season - totally fresh - ripping us up the league in the process.

Has rafa lost the players?
Pako has been a huge loss.
They all now realise that the league is well gone and are all down heartened.
Do they assume rafa is gone in the summer and dont care about playing for him?

I think

Riise is better than Aurelio
Crouch is better than Kuyt and Vornin combined
Babel for 60 minutes is better than Kewell
Finnan is better than Arbeloa
Lucas should play more in CM with Xabi or Masher with Gerrard on the Right.

[Reece]

maybe we won't have CL next year, but I'd give it up for a season if I thought we were getting better.

Problem is would be able to strengthen enough without the money the CL brings? Especially under our current owners?

[Nicey]

OK grip taken -

Hate is strong -

he stirs up strong negative emtions in me each time i see him fire the ball wide - but his trade is scoring goals, - not running around like a mad yoke. (he could do both in the Dutch League i know its ****e)

Maybe rafa has asked him to do this

He could/should be able to be a bit more intelligent - in the mould of rushie, or God, and only chase players in their last third and not in ours.

And score more goals - or else get outta the way and ask Rafa to play Crouch instead (like him or not) he scores goals!

I thought he was keeping crouchie as a secret weapon of mass destruction to unleash on teams for the second half of the season - totally fresh - ripping us up the league in the process.

Has rafa lost the players?
Pako has been a huge loss.
They all now realise that the league is well gone and are all down heartened.
Do they assume rafa is gone in the summer and dont care about playing for him?

I think

Riise is better than Aurelio
Crouch is better than Kuyt and Vornin combined
Babel for 60 minutes is better than Kewell
Finnan is better than Arbeloa
Lucas should play more in CM with Xabi or Masher with Gerrard on the Right.

Fairplay the old he runs all day for the team is wearing a little thin ..

[rage]

the consensus seems to be judge him at the end of the season. Well we're not gonna win the premiership. so what do we judge him on.

FA Cup?
Champions League?
Top 4

I'd want at least top 4 and one of the other two cups. Anything less is a complete disaster.

But then again, i can see none of the above taking place and the consensus being give him another year in the summer. he's had no money, he needs time, he has a 5 yr plan, he's not backed by g&h, he won us number 5 etc.

Rafa will not change, he'll over rotate, play kuyt the remainder of the season, and our players will continue to lose faith in their leader and it will show more and more in our play. Where did it all go so wrong?

[alunevans]

The big question for me isn't whether Rafa moves on (I think he should) but who replaces him. Given that the current owners' idea of a Liverpool manager is Jurgen Klinsmann then I'd be pretty terrified of who they name as replacement. And that is still something that makes me think not twice but several times before I'd vote yes at this time.

If we had people I trusted to make a good appointment then I'd have absolutely no problem with Rafa moving on. We've not won since boxing day and the guy simply refuses to stop doing the things that are causing the team problems.

As DJS says, its not so much the squad thats the problem (although its not title winning in my view yet), but its the way Rafa uses it. Every game we have better players on the bench than we do on the pitch.

I think it must demoralise everybody as I'm certain they can see what the majority of us can see. And a demoralised team carrying two players every week regardless of how poorly they perform will play like we do.

[Reece]

[IrishCop]

"I am thinking just about the next game," said Benitez. "Trying to get the next three points and that's it.

"I think we need to think about Sunderland. That is more realistic.

"With my experience in football you can win games or lose games. We will try to start winning.
"I am the manager and I have the experience so I must think about how to improve so that we take our chances and win games."

What the f**k does that mean, I'm sick of listening to the same sh*t come out of the man's mouth. Does he not see what we all see out on that pitch??? Does he not realise how far we are behind the top 3 we are? Not only points wise but performance wise. Same thing every week, he's feels we should have won. If they did actually go out and f**king win a game he could come up with a new lines. He has to go at the end of the season, he's only going backwards now and I don't think it'll get any better. Seriously hope I'm wrong but I don't think so.