Should we read anything into this?

[Craig_H]

Just seen on SSN, they're reporting that Rafa has said the boardroom upheaval and ownership conflict wont affect his transfer plans.

Surely if this debacle was to continue into the summer, it HAS to affect our transfer plans.

Has rafa been shown the light at the end of the tunnel?

[Shanks]

they're reporting that Rafa has said the boardroom upheaval and ownership conflict wont affect his transfer plans.

Surely it HAS to affect our transfer plans.

Why?

[Craig_H]

Why?

Because G&H have done everything with loans and are clearly in no position to back any kind of serious transfer activity.

[-V-]

Perhaps Rafa has known for some time now that he wont have much available in terms of funds and he has maybe made his peace with that

[Craig_H]

Perhaps Rafa has known for some time now that he wont have much available in terms of funds and he has maybe made his peace with that

I honestly think if that were the case, he wouldnt stand for it.

I also think that, if he had any doubts about a DIC takeover (or at least 50% purchase) being imminent, he'd walk.

[Parm]

maye he has been guaranteed his job whoever takes over

[-V-]

I think because Rafa got Torres and Mascherano on massive deals that he would be willing to accept a small budget this summer. As desperate as we all are not to fall behind this summer i personally dont think Rafa would kick up too much of a fuss over transfer money. He knows things are rocky and i know he loves Liverpool and would not threaten to quit over a small transfer budget. Thats my take on it

[Marky]

I believe Rafa will be Liverpool manager come the new season.

[peekay]

I think after talking face to face with all the concerned factions, Rafa has realized that he has the highest chances of being at Liverpool next season. Every party wants to appease him now.

[Marky]

I think because Rafa got Torres and Mascherano on massive deals that he would be willing to accept a small budget this summer. As desperate as we all are not to fall behind this summer i personally dont think Rafa would kick up too much of a fuss over transfer money. He knows things are rocky and i know he loves Liverpool and would not threaten to quit over a small transfer budget. Thats my take on it

Fair enough V, Rafa did get two very big players in Masch and Torres signed but if Liverpool FC want to be up there with United & Chelsea they will need two more Mascherano's and Torres's. Not necessarily in the same position but of there ability.
We need at least two more world class players to come in and slot in to the first eleven straight away. Thats my opinion anyway.

[carlton]

Benítez focuses on summer spending after Hicks meeting
Mark Ogden
The Guardian, Friday April 25 2008 Article history

Rafael Benítez could target Gareth Barry and Antonio Valencia

Rafael Benítez has given a clear indication that he plans to remain as Liverpool's manager by revealing that he has been given the backing of the joint owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to pursue transfer targets during the close season.

Hicks and Gillett are no longer on speaking terms and the turmoil at Anfield has raised questions over the Spaniard's future. But following talks with Hicks, sanctioned by Gillett and Parry, at the club's training ground this week, Benítez believes he can now focus on the summer market, and players such as Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, the Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia, the Athletic Bilbao defender Fernando Amorebieta and Borussia Dortmund's full-back Philipp Degen.

"It was a very positive meeting," Benítez said. "We spoke about some targets and everybody now knows the names and how to progress, so it was positive. All of them were not in the meeting, but everybody now knows the situation. If you have a target and you say, 'OK, I have a target', you need to speak with everyone about the price and how to progress, but everybody knows now, so I think we have progressed.

"Clearly the key is to inform everyone. If everyone knows the situation, it is much better. I have a responsibility as the manager. People talk about Hicks and Gillett, but we have two owners and a chief executive and a responsibility for improving the squad. We needed to say to the owners, 'These are the targets and we think we can go in this way,' and that was the purpose of the meeting."

Although Benítez spent in excess of £40m last summer on the Spanish centre-forward Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid, Ryan Babel from Ajax and Yossi Benayoun from West Ham United, the cost of his squad remains some distance short of those assembled by Chelsea and Manchester United. Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant and John Arne Riise are all likely to attract interest this summer, moreover, and Benítez believes he can improve his squad without spending huge sums.

"I'm sure we won't need too much," he said. "Our squad is much better and we maybe need to sign four or five players, but we will not need to spend big, big money. It is all about doing the deals at the right moment. I will not give you any names, but there are some players in the top sides who are not performing well and their cost was massive. If you want to win the title, you must spend millions and millions. It is not easy, so the key is maybe to sign the players that you need and the players that will make the squad stronger."

[carlton]

A bit more about the situation


Independent.co.uk Web

By Ian Herbert
Friday, 25 April 2008

His club's future remains shrouded in much financial uncertainty but Rafael Benitez suggested yesterday that the rival factions who still control it had agreed on the list of players he can pursue this summer.

A meeting at Melwood on Wednesday between Benitez, Tom Hicks and his son, Tom jnr, established transfer targets, even though the meeting did not include the chief executive, Rick Parry, and the 50 per cent co-owner, George Gillett.

The idea of such a discussion being convened without Parry present seems a bizarre one and reflects the crisis at a club which seems likely to be taken over by Dubai International Capital within the next two weeks. But Benitez was adamant that Hicks and the pro DIC element (Parry and Gillett) all "know the names [of targets] and how to progress".

Repeating the words "everyone knows" several times to underline a sense of mutual agreement, Benitez said: "It was very positive. We spoke about some targets and everybody now knows the names, about the price and how to progress, so it was positive. They all know now."

The names on Benitez's list are believed to include Philipp Degen, the Borussia Dortmund defender available under the Bosman ruling, Aston Villa's Gareth Barry and Blackburn's David Bentley.

But Benitez said that Liverpool were not looking to break the bank with the kind of big money signing which brought Fernando Torres to Anfield last summer. He said: "We won't need too much. Our squad is much better now and we maybe need four or five players. But we will not need to spend big, big money. It's all about doing the deals at the right moment."

The sense of harmony over who Benitez might buy is highly unexpected, coming two weeks after the furious public row in which Hicks tried to manoeuvre Parry out, in part by implicating him in the issue of the talks held with Jürgen Klinsmann over Benitez's job, before Christmas. Yesterday's disclosures provide the clearest sense yet that Benitez is ready to stay at the club during the probable handover of power which threatens to be another challenging period for the club.

Though Torres has been a revelation Benitez pointed to the unpredictability of big money signings. "If you want to win the title, you must spend millions and millions," Benitez said. "It is not easy, so the key is maybe to sign the players that you need and the players that will make the squad stronger. Then you have to try to progress with those players. How much have Chelsea spent in the last five years? If you want to go to that level, you need to spend millions and millions, but nobody can guarantee that players costing £20m will settle down.

"If you need to write on a piece of paper, I could give you the best pen in the world. But maybe you don't need that pen for the paper."

Benitez did not say which players might be on their way out of Anfield this summer but indicated that Scott Carson (Aston Villa) and Danny Guthrie (Bolton Wanderers) may return from loan spells.

[Kenneth]

I don't want Bentley or Barry.

[Rich]

Sounds a little wheeler dealer ish to me...

Rafa, my advice: replace like-for-like if a player wants to leave; sign 2 "world class" players (a full back, and an attacking magician!); and get in some more talented kids. End of.

[Imy]

Sounds a little wheeler dealer ish to me...

Rafa, my advice: replace like-for-like if a player wants to leave; sign 2 "world class" players (a full back, and an attacking magician!); and get in some more talented kids. End of.

It's a good thing Rafa reads these boards for advice like yours