New deal for Rafa agreed

[dom9]

seems that way, which is why i would have waited till the summer

Ideally you want contracts sorted before then to enable you to concentrate on new signings.

[rage]

Ideally you want contracts sorted before then to enable you to concentrate on new signings.

if he fails to deliver the title or come very very close and win the champions league i wouldn't let him spunk more money on new signings

[barnes10]

have to keep making more progress. if we stop wasting chances now and have a strong finish to the season that means genuinely challenging for the title and getting to the latter stages of the CL, then progress is progress and we have to back the manager.

no progress tho and its a different question altogether

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

Good news needs to be sorted before the Real rumours begin in the summer IMO

[twh]

oops

[RedSpartan]

Jesus!.....could be a bad move.....

[Shanks]

Jesus!.....could be a bad move.....

Why might it be a bad move?

[Sarb]

Don't see the harm in waiting until April to be honest. But I think Rafa has played a good game to put pressure on the owners to offer him an extension now

But then again, a contract isn't worth the paper its written on. Can't see the Yanks owning us next season and if Rafa fails it will be someone else's problem, not theirs. So they don't really lose.

[Guest]

If Rafa fails this year he'll win it next year. Fantastic news to tie him to a long term deal. We need stability at this club and we're getting there. There's absolutely no point in waiting to offer him a deal because he's the perfect man for the job.

[rage]

Don't see the harm in waiting until April to be honest. But I think Rafa has played a good game to put pressure on the owners to offer him an extension now

But then again, a contract isn't worth the paper its written on. Can't see the Yanks owning us next season and if Rafa fails it will be someone else's problem, not theirs. So they don't really lose.

spot on. paying rafa out if we sack him won't be the yanks problem

[Elvoz]

Don't see the harm in waiting until April to be honest. But I think Rafa has played a good game to put pressure on the owners to offer him an extension now

But then again, a contract isn't worth the paper its written on. Can't see the Yanks owning us next season and if Rafa fails it will be someone else's problem, not theirs. So they don't really lose.

spot on. paying rafa out if we sack him won't be the yanks problem

if he hasnt signed by early jan and we do start slipping into 2nd 3rd or even 4th
expect guilleme to "leak" how rafa doesnt feel wanted and real are sniffing around

[Craig_H]

Rafa's in a strong position because of his relationship with the fans.

But any more calamatous decision making like yesterday, and that relationship will gradually deteriorate.

[Elvoz]

Rafa's in a strong position because of his relationship with the fans.
But any more calamatous decision making like yesterday, and that relationship will gradually deteriorate.

and he plays it well mate you and i can see that clearly

[Elvoz]

SPORTS HEADLINES

Benitez - set to stay at Liverpool.

REAL HAPPY WITH RAMOS


Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has effectively ruled out any move for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez following the appointment of former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos on an initial six-month contract.

Madrid-born Benitez is reportedly on the brink of signing a new four-year contract with Liverpool which is worth an estimated £16million to the Spaniard.

It will keep Benitez at the club until 2013 and Real, one of the clubs linked with an interest in the Reds boss, put an end to further speculation about his future when Calderon insisted they would prefer to keep Ramos.

Ramos has replaced Bernd Schuster until the end of the season and Calderon, speaking on BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme, said: "We want to see what happens with Ramos and at the end of the season, if everything is okay, and I hope so as he is a good coach, we will see what happens in May or June.

"We had to take this decision very quickly. I had a meeting with Bernd Schuster and he was very disappointed and not excited about keeping his job, so we got in touch with two or three coaches who could come and one of those was Ramos. That is why we did it so quickly.

"Benitez is a very good coach and he was with us as everyone knows. He was training the youth team at Real Madrid. But he is the coach of Liverpool and I am sure he is going to be there for a long time and so he is not an alternative for us.

"We know him very well, he is Spanish and worked with Real Madrid a long time ago. He is a very good coach but I would like to have Juande for longer than six months. So let's hope everything is going to be okay and if it is like that, he will continue with us.

"Ramos won the Carling Cup with Spurs and the UEFA Cup two years in a row with Sevilla. In England, with the problem of the language and different habits, maybe it affected him. But we trust him very much."

[Leyton388]

TBH Rafa would be sacked at madrid after his first season as Capello was sacked for playing boring football even though he won the league title as it was not the real madrid way and the way Rafa sets his team out he would not last long there.