Rafa eager to resolve future.

[JPK]

Rafa wants deals for duo.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wants the club to sort out new deals for Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger.

The duo both have just 18 months to run on their current contracts with reports suggesting other clubs are monitoring their situations at Anfield.

Benitez is keen to keep the pair and he revealed talks with Agger are at an advanced stage, although discussions with Dutch star Kuyt have yet to get underway.

"Agger is very close and he is talking with the club," said Benitez.

"There is no news yet with Kuyt but he is another player that I would like to get done as soon as possible. They have to be done before the New Year.

"In each team you need people with quality, that work hard and with a good character.

"I want to do it as soon as possible because it is better for them and better for the club."

Kuyt has pledged to stay at Liverpool if they make him a suitable offer to extend his time on Merseyside and he has called on the club to open talks.

"I'm really happy here and I want to stay, but so far there has been no talk of a new contract," said Kuyt. "Hopefully that will come in the next few months."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4453407,00.html

[Skillz]

Agree with a lot of that. If what you say about Rafa being poor at signing, which some of us would agree with, should Rafa have a director of football? Someone like a Paco Herrera who is now doing a similar role at Espanyol.

No he shouldn't. Not at Liverpool anyway IMO.

Keane is not a failure yet either, not by a long shot, we are equal top and he has been a part of that. He will get better as well with more time with torres who we have seen little of. And are still equal top.

You can stick your Football Directors up your arse, they belong at Spurs and Newcastle.

[Neil Young]

No he shouldn't. Not at Liverpool anyway IMO.

Keane is not a failure yet either, not by a long shot, we are equal top and he has been a part of that. He will get better as well with more time with torres who we have seen little of. And are still equal top.

You can stick your Football Directors up your arse, they belong at Spurs and Newcastle.

Anyway, he's not **** at signing players.

[dww]

Anyway, he's not **** at signing players.

I think that "Rafa being **** at signing players" is a genuinely baffling statement. Nearly everyone would accept that we have a vastly more talented squad than he began with and with at least two genuine world class players in Torres and Mascher bought in and many very, very good ones such as Agger and Skrtel.

This seasons signings need time although I would say that Riera at least has certainly improved the team already.

The only conceivable reason we would want a director of football in with Rafa would be to oversee the development of the academy and Melwood and their greater cooperation. By all accounts the problem if there is any in that area lies in the relationship between Rafa and Parry. So in effect we may well have someone doing the things we need of a DoF (signing contracts and operating the academy) and they are the person most frequently criticised at the club. I think that Parry has the right role but the incorrect relationship with Rafa and an disproportionate amount of power in footballing areas if reports are to be believed.

Having said that the media reports could be a load of rubbish.

Either way a continental style DoF who signs players is the absolute last thing we need.

[Skillz]

I think that "Rafa being **** at signing players" is a genuinely baffling statement.

I could not agree more. Rafa has bought a stunning team and we are just starting to see the benefits now.

[anfieldanfield]

If we're challenging for the title in March/April, then by all means give Rafa a new contract. But not before.

[Sarb]

If we're challenging for the title in March/April, then by all means give Rafa a new contract. But not before.

[friedk]

Havent we?

League cup wins, treble, FA Cup wins, consistent CL qualification and success, not to mention Istanbul and Athens.

Yep, we've clearly been finished since Kenny left.

calm down mate, never said we've been finished since Kenny - I think Rafa is the manager who has the ability to bring the title to Anfield.

The statement was about moving on and the simple fact is that up to the time of Kenny's departure we were clearly the best side in England and probably one of the best sides in the world, and that had been the case for 20 odd years. Since Kenny we have been neither the best side in England or the world.

Rafa is taking us towards being where we were at the time of Kenny's departure, and unlike like certain fans, I think he is doing as well if not better than can be expected. While I have no doubt the likes of Rashid, Rage & Sarb are true Liverpool fans, I feel their evaluation of Rafa and the task facing him is simplistic when you consider he took over a Liverpool squad and a club that was dying and quite frankly an embarrassment to the tradition and history of LFC, into a team that is feared throughout Europe, is showing signs of becoming a genuine title threat and is superior in every respect to the one he took over.

As Digger said recently he does not believe another manager in charge, be it Ferguson, Wenger, Scolari, Dickhead or anyone else, could do a better job at Liverpool than Rafa has done and we are very lucky to have him.

To not offer Rafa a new contract is, IMO, ridiculous.

[rage]

If we're challenging for the title in March/April, then by all means give Rafa a new contract. But not before.

[BG1973]

The same was said about Mourinho and Chelsea. No man is bigger than the club.

If we can move on after Dalglish, we'd move on if Rafa went too.

move on to what though? no league title in nearly 20 years since Dalglish.

that's his point no?

[Craig_H]

move on to what though? no league title in nearly 20 years since Dalglish.

that's his point no?

Only one team can win the title, no matter how many top sides there are.

We've won things and continued to be successful, since Kenny went. Obviously not as much as before, but that's how it works, nobody can dominate for 30 years. Lots of clubs have a successful period and then fall away into obscurity. We are one of the few that has continued to win things, even after our period at the pinnacle ended.

I think the 70s and 80s have seriously spoilt some Reds.

[BG1973]

I've been really encouraged by some of the football we have been playing lately. Mostly, oddly enough, in the Spurs game. I remember reading shortly after Benitez joined (a Spanish journo I believe) that Rafa is great tactically but really poor at buying players. This is somewhat borne out by this season I think - we are beginning to play the sort of football that I want to see Liverpool play, and this is his team now, so it is his doing. However, most of our summer signings have been a little disappointing. Nevertheless, Rafa has signed almost everyone in this team, and apart from nor scoring many (and the odd defensive lapse) I think the team is playing well - certainly passing and moving much better, which indicates that players need a great deal of time to get used to playing the way Rafa wants - some of them never will get used to it - which could infer a poor transfer record (i.e. buying 'expensive' players who ultimately don't fit in). Keane may end up to be a player who doesn't get it, as might Dossena (although I have higher hopes for him). It seems to me that Keane blossoms most when he has a freer role, which I'm not sure Benitez will allow him. Like most, I found this purchase bizarre.

As for Benitez, the problem with having the odd failure like Keane, if ultimately that is what he proves to be, at a club which cannot afford to blow £34m on Veron, is that ultimately the more 'return' oriented owners get a little fed up. It would not go down well if Keane falls out of the team and gets sold for £11m or so.

Unfortunately for Rafa, I think the owners have already looked through some of his failures, or indeed still think he is a trouble causer, and that barring a strong challenge this year, our Rafa is being managed out of the club.

I think this would be a disaster. Houllier once said (following the purchases of Diao, Cheyrou and Diouf) that a club like Liverpool ought to be able to lose £5m or so on a speculative transfer - he was right, we just couldn't afford to lose £20m. The point is though that Rafa makes something of most of his transfers even if it is only a small loss. Although position wise we may appear no better off than under Houllier, the league is much much tougher than it was even 7 years ago. We have kept pace with limited resources, which I think is no mean feat. Indeed I think we have caught up a bit. Personally I feel this team is in a different league to that which Houllier managed even during his successful year.

It would be a great problem for Liverpool if Benitez is managed out in my opinion simply because a new manager will seek to rebuild the team. That means fire sales and speculative buys - which we simply cannot afford at the moment.

Currently we have a manager who will take us reasonably far in the Champs league every season, and so pay his way. He is also looking more likely to challenge for the title, and even with Tom and George, once the credit squeeze lifts and the stadium gets built (which I believe it will - they are connected) then we will be looking much better financially and potentially on the field. Better to build from a position of strength with some one who understands what he has than from a position of enforced weakness with some one trying to make their mark.

Unfortunately unless we finish a close second, he's out.

Wow, That's my longest post.

Disagree.

On a financial level the owners should be chuffed fcukless with Rafa. He has a proven track record of CL qualification and success.

If you think Rafa's pre-season performance brief has 'minimum requirement must finish a close second' then you're crackers.

He also bought Torres to the club who the richer clubs would now pay the earth for. Any mistakes in the transfer market can easily be reconciled by that one signing. On purely a finacial level.

And you're writing off Robbie Keane far too early.

[BG1973]

Only one team can win the title, no matter how many top sides there are.

We've won things and continued to be successful, since Kenny went. Obviously not as much as before, but that's how it works, nobody can dominate for 30 years. Lots of clubs have a successful period and then fall away into obscurity. We are one of the few that has continued to win things, even after our period at the pinnacle ended.

I think the 70s and 80s have seriously spoilt some Reds.

But anyone can win a cup, we want the league and to win it you need to build a squad and that takes years. If you keep giving up on your managers after a few years then you're never going to reap the rewards. Unless you have a blanck chequebook.

If we lose Rafa, it's on to the next five year plan, and then the next... and this at a time when financially we're looking a bit iffy.

[Craig_H]

But anyone can win a cup, we want the league and to win it you need to build a squad and that takes years. If you keep giving up on your managers after a few years then you're never going to reap the rewards. Unless you have a blanck chequebook.

If we lose Rafa, it's on to the next five year plan, and then the next... and this at a time when financially we're looking a bit iffy.

I'm not suggesting we should get rid of him.

[JPK]

But anyone can win a cup, we want the league and to win it you need to build a squad and that takes years. If you keep giving up on your managers after a few years then you're never going to reap the rewards. Unless you have a blanck chequebook.

If we lose Rafa, it's on to the next five year plan, and then the next... and this at a time when financially we're looking a bit iffy.

Continuity is what we need now.