Liverpool FC exclusive: Rafa Benitez rejects new contract

[BFG]

No matter what you think of Hicks he's taken the sting out of what could have been a difficult siituation today.

Unless it was all planned. I do love a good conspiracy.

[Vermilion]

No matter what you think of Hicks he's taken the sting out of what could have been a difficult siituation today.

Unless it was all planned. I do love a good conspiracy.

I am by no means a fan, but he said all he needed to today, no points scoring, no brash statements, i still don't trust him with LFC though, far from it, it will take years for me to do that, years of proving to me that he's not the total cunt i have him down for a far as business is concerned, and we are to him only a business.

Also i would have liked a single owner with more personal wealth to have bought us, but it looks like Hicks at least is here long term.

[Neil Young]

As a matter of fact Hicks and Rafa could be in this together to get shut of Parry, who really knows, not us for sure.

Es posibile.

Interesting...so soon.

Yes. Rafa effectively threatens "either Parry goes or I do" and within a couple of hours Hicks is available for interview and promising Rafa will stay.

Hicks and Rafa pincer movement on Parry...?

Exactly. It's an attempt to isolate Parry.

Makes me wonder if there are still two very split camps at Liverpool. Hicks and Rafa on one side and Gillett and Parry on the other.

That's the big issue. Is Parry now isolated? Can they successfully detach Gillett from him?

No matter what you think of Hicks he's taken the sting out of what could have been a difficult siituation today.

Unless it was all planned. I do love a good conspiracy.

There's no doubt in my mind.

[leftpeg]

From the Guardian
Andy Hunter
Friday 16 January 2009


Rafael Benítez has thrown his long-term future at Liverpool into doubt by rejecting a new contract offered by the club's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The Liverpool manager has refused to back down over his wish for any new deal to include greater authority over the club's transfer policy. At present that is the domain of the chief executive, Rick Parry, and the Americans are content with the existing structure and unwilling to bow to Benítez's demands. The Spaniard responded this morning by announcing that he has turned down their offer.

Benítez said: "The owners feel that the manager's decisions need to be subject to the chief executive but I know that I am subject to results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have. I have a lot of experience in football at different clubs and if you do not have a technical director and you are the manager you have to have control of the football decisions. But always within the confines of a budget which is controlled by the owners and the club.

"In this scenario the manager knows the amount of money he has available to him and can decide how much he should spend on each player according to the needs of the team. The only person who can decide the value of a player to his squad is the manager because he knows what elements are needed to improve the squad."

Despite Benítez's concerns, however, Hicks expects the situation to be resolved soon. "Rafa's been frustrated for a long time about the length of time it takes for certain things to happen," he said. "He's just trying to position himself to do the job better. There are balances that need to be done in English football and we'll work through these. We can fix this."

Earlier this week Benítez denied that he had a problem with Hicks and Gillett. His announcement today illustrates that his problem lies with Parry. Benítez claimed his agent had only received the contract document on Monday night. That was the latest draft in a series of contract offers, however, and once again did not include any increased authority for Benítez over transfers. The Liverpool manager also wanted more influence over the club's youth academy.

Benítez said: "My relationship with the owners is better than people think. I have regular contact with them and especially with Tom Hicks who has always been very supportive. The talks between my agent and the advisers of the owners have been very positive and friendly and our differences are about my responsibilities."

He added: "I believe the academy is a very important part of the future of the club. The length of the contract was already agreed and this showed my long-term commitment to the club. I know the academies of Ajax, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan and Valencia and they are producing players regularly.

"The way the system works there means the manager has an input into development and I think this could be the way forward here and we would hope that this would help us make better use of local talent."

The Liverpool manager is unhappy that, at present, he has to recommend who is bought and sold to Hicks, Gillett and Parry, who then decide the player's value, what the club can afford and divide the transfer budget accordingly. Benítez had wanted to dispense with the existing chain of command and operate on his own terms, setting the valuation on players, providing the transfer budget allowed it.

The Spaniard's resolve was hardened by last summer's unsuccessful pursuit of Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa midfielder whom he envisaged as a replacement for Xabi Alonso. Benítez missed out on Barry's signature when Liverpool's owners refused to meet Villa's £18m asking price. Hicks and Gillett said that the Barry deal collapsed over the price and not because they lacked the necessary funds, having agreed a £20.3m deal for Tottenham's Robbie Keane. Benítez felt his judgment had been undermined.

The manager's stance has a precedent in his reign at Valencia, where he sought greater control over transfers from the director of football, Jesús García Pitarch, before leaving for Liverpool in 2004.

Personal terms and the length of the new deal at Anfield were agreed in early December. The contract would have given Benítez a significant increase on his current £3.5m-a-year salary and tied him to Anfield until 2013. Hicks and Gillett are united on the terms of the new deal and the offer is believed to be still on the table. Benítez has 18 months remaining on his existing contract.

"I have to say again that this is not about financial gain. This is not a way to get more money," said Benítez. "This is solely about being allowed to manage Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities as I see them. I believe that this club has the potential to improve and I just want to be able to help this to happen.

"I will continue to do my job as manager and concentrate on the thing that our fans want me to focus on – winning trophies for them. From the first day I came to the club I have only ever given 100% and I will continue to do this. We have a very important game coming up against Everton on Monday night and now I just want to be able to concentrate only on this."

[Darkon]

I just hope we get his contract signed up ASAP, and if that means giving him more control of transfers, then that is fine by me.

But unfortunatly I think Rafa coulden't have made much worse timing going public with this! Should have been handled at the club, not in public - sort of what many of us where giving T+H **** for same time last year!