Here we go again

[El Jefecito]

exactly, an upgrade, as with every team, was required for our midfield. barry, however, is a "sidegrade" if you get me.

That's a subjective call. I think he would be able to retain the ball under pressure, something that for some reason Xabi has not been able to do for a while now. It really undermines the whole possession part of the game when you cough it up so easily.

I guess I am among the minority that don't think Xabi will be able to return to his previous highs.

[Elvoz]

EXCLUSIVE: Rafa Benitez thought of resigning from Liverpool last week and even discussed leaving the club with his closest allies, according to sources close to the Spanish manager. The only thing that stopped him from leaving Anfield was his respect for the Liverpool fans and for the people that work with him on a daily basis.

This is the first time since his arrival that Benitez has come this close to resigning, although on two other occasions offers from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and a couple of other major European clubs led him to reassess his future at Anfield. On both occasions he decided to stay put and the club improved his contractual situation.

According to sources this time around, it is his desperation with the Barry transfer deal, the lack of a satisfactory conclusion to the Alonso transfer and the gaping hole on the left hand side of midfield - yet to be filled - that are the major causes of his dissatisfaction and frustration. This has nothing to do with his contract. “Rafa doesn’t care about what he is getting paid, he thought he was being undermined this summer and was close to giving up”, says a friend of the manager.

The situation at Anfield has been so confusing over the last few weeks - with the Gareth Barry saga and Xabi Alonso's failed move to either Juventus or Arsenal - that Benitez felt the need to explain, at his Friday press conference, that he was not involved in the Barry transfer: another way of saying that if it did not take place, then it was not his fault.

“Since I started talking with Martin O'Neill in April, I didn't talk with Aston Villa. All of the talks have been between Rick Parry and the owner and chief executive of As ton Villa and they have been pretty good... I was not doing the talks about Barry, I was not doing the talks about Alonso, so if someone wants to talk about these players, then they have to talk with the chief executive of our club. If you want to talk about football, talk with me," said Rafa.

According to different sources, Benitez would have liked Gareth Barry to have been his first signing of the summer, ahead of even Robbie Keane, and by now the squad would have been closed. Instead, there is at least one new player to come in, although Liverpool have not yet given up hope in signing the Villa midfielder. The club, according to sources close to Tom Hicks, can afford Gareth Barry or a new left winger without the need to sell anybody.


One final factor, that influenced Benitez' decision to stay, was his belief that the team is set for a very good season and that they are in a position to improve on last year.

http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?id=57

this may well be true
but balague is a friend of rafa - so why bring it up at all ?
and if i was being cynical is this not a case of making the fans feel even more loved and rafa getting them more on his side ?

i used to respect balague now im not so sure this is not another media "leak" that suits

[El Jefecito]

parry said this doesnt question the managers judgement by not paying 18 mill for barry

surely nothing questions it more

i am also no huge fan of barry - and your spot on we imo need a flair player - someone who can run at players or change a game with a spot of brilliance - not easy to get but thats why we have scouts - thats why they get paid isnt it ?

if we dont hit the ground running this liverpool "saga" is going to get a whole lot worse

Like you, I could see no reason for Parry to release that statement other than to draw attention to the fact that he and the Owners had decided to undermine Rafa.

[G]

first up, you could sit me down to watch a rugby game ( a gay sport that i know **** all about ) and i could easily tell you who is a good player or not. it's that easy. thats how they'll know he's not worth 18 million.

secondly, why were you laughing when the mancs bought carrick? he was a great young player playing in a postion where united were crying out for a player to do his job for their mob. he was at a younger age than barry is therefore giving utd a chance to make a profit on him. oh yeh, and he's a better player than barry is.

Thats your opinion mate,I have mine.If he's better than Barry than why is he sat on the bench for England while Barry plays.I laughed cos I thought he was a good player,not great but certainly not worth 18 million,his medal collection proves I was wrong.I don't know your backdrop in football mate but I can say this,two of the best managers in world football,Capello and Rafa reckon Barry is one of the best players they can use.O'Neill reckons he's so good he's worth 18million and Rafa seems to agree.So on one side we have a world renowned coach and a team of the best talent scouts in the world saying we should buy Barry and on the other hand we have people on the internet who do god knows what for a living saying we shouldn't.I know who's opinion I'm trusting and it ain't anyone's on here,or even mine cos I don't think he's worth it either,but then I'm an electrician,not a top football coach so what would I know.He might be wrong about Barry being worth it but for my money he's far more qualified than any of us to take that chance

[kingfunk]

Tom hicks knows best

[Elvoz]

Like you, I could see no reason for Parry to release that statement other than to draw attention to the fact that he and the Owners had decided to undermine Rafa.

the same parry who hicks wanted out ? yet is still there

covering his arse

[El Jefecito]

this may well be true
but balague is a friend of rafa - so why bring it up at all ?
and if i was being cynical is this not a case of making the fans feel even more loved and rafa getting them more on his side ?

i used to respect balague now im not so sure this is not another media "leak" that suits

That was published for one reason only, because Rafa wanted it published.

[El Jefecito]

the same parry who hicks wanted out ? yet is still there

covering his arse

Who knows what the politics are like today. The message was loud and clear though. We don't trust Rafa.

[Elvoz]

That was published for one reason only, because Rafa wanted it published.

course it was - the even more dirty tricks campaign starts now

[El Jefecito]

course it was - the even more dirty tricks campaign starts now

So who doesn't hate who.

Hicks wants Parry out.
Rafa wants Parry out.
Gillett wants Rafa out.
Gillett wants Hicks out.

And so the off the field distractions begin, again, 18 hours before the season kicks-off.

[G]

So who doesn't hate who.

Hicks wants Parry out.
Rafa wants Parry out.
Gillett wants Rafa out.
Gillett wants Hicks out.

And so the off the field distractions begin, again, 18 hours before the season kicks-off.

it is pretty poor timing to be fair.If he wanted to quit last week he should have really said what he said then rather than today.Now we'll have a bunch of player who will again be wondering if they have to bother giving their all for a manager who may or may not be around for much longer

[Dhav]

parry said this doesnt question the managers judgement by not paying 18 mill for barry

surely nothing questions it more

i am also no huge fan of barry - and your spot on we imo need a flair player - someone who can run at players or change a game with a spot of brilliance - not easy to get but thats why we have scouts - thats why they get paid isnt it ?

if we dont hit the ground running this liverpool "saga" is going to get a whole lot worse

Like you, I could see no reason for Parry to release that statement other than to draw attention to the fact that he and the Owners had decided to undermine Rafa.

Absolutely gents. I think Parry's statement was vague, perhaps deliberately so, and the implication, particularly in the phrase "on this occasion Liverpool think the price quoted is too high", is that the decision was taken above Rafa's head re Barry. What constitutes "Liverpool" here? It surely excludes Rafa, otherwise Parry would have surely specifically mentioned the fact that the decision was taken in conjunction with the manager.

Rafa hasn't been backed, and it's no wonder he considered quitting (if Balague is to be believed):-

http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?id=57[/QUOTE]

15/08/2008

Rafa Benitez close to quitting Liverpool last week

EXCLUSIVE: Rafa Benitez thought of resigning from Liverpool last week and even discussed leaving the club with his closest allies, according to sources close to the Spanish manager. The only thing that stopped him from leaving Anfield was his respect for the Liverpool fans and for the people that work with him on a daily basis.

This is the first time since his arrival that Benitez has come this close to resigning, although on two other occasions offers from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and a couple of other major European clubs led him to reassess his future at Anfield. On both occasions he decided to stay put and the club improved his contractual situation.

According to sources this time around, it is his desperation with the Barry transfer deal, the lack of a satisfactory conclusion to the Alonso transfer and the gaping hole on the left hand side of midfield - yet to be filled - that are the major causes of his dissatisfaction and frustration. This has nothing to do with his contract. “Rafa doesn’t care about what he is getting paid, he thought he was being undermined this summer and was close to giving up”, says a friend of the manager.

The situation at Anfield has been so confusing over the last few weeks - with the Gareth Barry saga and Xabi Alonso's failed move to either Juventus or Arsenal - that Benitez felt the need to explain, at his Friday press conference, that he was not involved in the Barry transfer: another way of saying that if it did not take place, then it was not his fault.

“Since I started talking with Martin O'Neill in April, I didn't talk with Aston Villa. All of the talks have been between Rick Parry and the owner and chief executive of As ton Villa and they have been pretty good... I was not doing the talks about Barry, I was not doing the talks about Alonso, so if someone wants to talk about these players, then they have to talk with the chief executive of our club. If you want to talk about football, talk with me," said Rafa.

According to different sources, Benitez would have liked Gareth Barry to have been his first signing of the summer, ahead of even Robbie Keane, and by now the squad would have been closed. Instead, there is at least one new player to come in, although Liverpool have not yet given up hope in signing the Villa midfielder. The club, according to sources close to Tom Hicks, can afford Gareth Barry or a new left winger without the need to sell anybody.


One final factor, that influenced Benitez' decision to stay, was his belief that the team is set for a very good season and that they are in a position to improve on last year.

[the rev leeroy brown]

Like you, I could see no reason for Parry to release that statement other than to draw attention to the fact that he and the Owners had decided to undermine Rafa.

parry said this doesnt question the managers judgement by not paying 18 mill for barry

surely nothing questions it more

i am also no huge fan of barry - and your spot on we imo need a flair player - someone who can run at players or change a game with a spot of brilliance - not easy to get but thats why we have scouts - thats why they get paid isnt it ?

if we dont hit the ground running this liverpool "saga" is going to get a whole lot worse

Absolutely gents. I think Parry's statement was vague, perhaps deliberately so, and the implication, particularly in the phrase "on this occasion Liverpool think the price quoted is too high", is that the decision was taken above Rafa's head re Barry. What constitutes "Liverpool" here? It surely excludes Rafa, otherwise Parry would have surely specifically mentioned the fact that the decision was taken in conjunction with the manager.

Rafa hasn't been backed, and it's no wonder he considered quitting (if Balague is to be believed):-

[/QUOTE]

sorry chaps but i see a different spin to this parry interview. couldn't it just be that liverpool football club ( parry, the owners, whoever ) plain and simple will not be held to ransom over a players fee? i mean why sould they? they've come out and publicly said they wont pay 18 million to stop all the scumbag journo's writing story after story about this saga and maybe also show villa that we wont pay over the odds. it firmly put the ball in villa court to come out themselves publicly and state, for all the fans, once and for all where the barry deal stands.

also, it is not a managers job to say how much a player is worth financially. in all the time rafa has been here does anyone actually beleive that rafa has negotiated a fee with another club for a player? of course he hasn't. the torres deal last year, the babel deal, arbeloa, dossena, mascherano etc... all these deals were done by the board. they decide how much a player is worth to the club and what the fee involved should be. this barry saga is no different. no matter how much rafa might want barry to sign he shouldn't be able to say how much we pay for him. his job, as rafa so publicly states, is to "concentrate on coaching his team and preparing for the next game".

i don't feel rafa has been undermined at all. but i am glad he came out with what he said earlier as the blame should not be placed on him for this mess. it lies plainly on one person and one person alone.....Gareth Barry himself.

[G]

It came out last year during the saga that Rafa did the negotiating with clubs,probably because he,like everyone else,didnt think Parry was capable of getting deals done in a timely and successful manner.Parry felt his toes were being trod on as a result.It was one of the reasons Rafa was told to concentrate on coaching the team.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Rafa did the negotiating on the Keane deal too and I'd imagine he had a fair bit to do with the Torres deal since he's the only one at the top level who can speak spanish

in the words of the great man "the directors are only there to sign the cheques"

[El Jefecito]

sorry chaps but i see a different spin to this parry interview. couldn't it just be that liverpool football club ( parry, the owners, whoever ) plain and simple will not be held to ransom over a players fee? i mean why sould they? they've come out and publicly said they wont pay 18 million to stop all the scumbag journo's writing story after story about this saga and maybe also show villa that we wont pay over the odds. it firmly put the ball in villa court to come out themselves publicly and state, for all the fans, once and for all where the barry deal stands.

also, it is not a managers job to say how much a player is worth financially. in all the time rafa has been here does anyone actually beleive that rafa has negotiated a fee with another club for a player? of course he hasn't. the torres deal last year, the babel deal, arbeloa, dossena, mascherano etc... all these deals were done by the board. they decide how much a player is worth to the club and what the fee involved should be. this barry saga is no different. no matter how much rafa might want barry to sign he shouldn't be able to say how much we pay for him. his job, as rafa so publicly states, is to "concentrate on coaching his team and preparing for the next game".

i don't feel rafa has been undermined at all. but i am glad he came out with what he said earlier as the blame should not be placed on him for this mess. it lies plainly on one person and one person alone.....Gareth Barry himself.

It's simple. Who decides on the playing staff? The Manager or the three amigos? Transfers have always been a touchy point with Rafa and this just underlines why.

If we can't afford him then fair enough. But don't come out and say but we do have that much money to spend on someone else like Silva who is more acceptable to us because when we put his age into a return on investment spreadsheet the numbers don't have brackets around them.

Within the constraints of the transfer budget footballing concerns are ALL that should matter. That doesn't appear to be the case.