Benítez says he needs fresh investment to compete for title

[Guest]

Is there any information or rumours about this?

I don't want to go over old ground but I do think that our scouting isn't at the level it should be.

Sometimes you spot a really good talent but you're not quick enough to close the deal and you lose out. I think that has been a recurring theme along the years with us, something that Rafa has been on record a lot.

When you spot a great talent, thing is, other teams are probably on the same money, so it all stems down to your ability to cough up with it, which makes it all the more difficult.

I think we've made some good signings because on the whole the players Rafa has had to ship out have been sold at a profit.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. The less money the greater the risk as you are buying players with 'less reputation'. You don't get many players being bought for nearly nothing who turns out to be really good or world class. All of those, they are pretty much word on the grapevine.

[dww]

Sometimes you spot a really good talent but you're not quick enough to close the deal and you lose out. I think that has been a recurring theme along the years with us, something that Rafa has been on record a lot.

When you spot a great talent, thing is, other teams are probably on the same money, so it all stems down to your ability to cough up with it, which makes it all the more difficult.

I think we've made some good signings because on the whole the players Rafa has had to ship out have been sold at a profit.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. The less money the greater the risk as you are buying players with 'less reputation'. You don't get many players being bought for nearly nothing who turns out to be really good or world class. All of those, they are pretty much word on the grapevine.

We paid good money for, say, Dossena though and he didn't look physically ready for the change of leagues. We didn't know the level of Kyrgiakos's English. If you have limited budgets then you have to be more thorough about these things I think.

I agree that the level of funding has been a problem and balancing potential ability against price, wages and availability is one large issue that has caused problems with our recruitment. In some ways I forgive gambles like Aquilani or Morientes but I do wonder if better investigation of the personalities of Riera and Pennant for example could have flagged up the problems that were evident later. The same might be true of Babel.

We have invested a fair amount of money in those players and over the long term had poor returns from them. There have also been examples like Palleta where we have spent money on a young player who has been more trouble to get in than it has seemed worth. I know that young players are inherently a gamble but Alex Millers analysis posted elsewhere would seem to indicate he felt that you could have seen the problems had we scouted him well.

[Guest]

We paid good money for, say, Dossena though and he didn't look physically ready for the change. We didn't know the level of Kyrgiakos's English. If you have limited budgets then you have to be more thorough about these things I think.

I agree that the level of funding has been a problem and balancing potential ability against price, wages and availability is one large issue that has caused problems with our recruitment. In some ways I forgive gambles like Aquilani or Morientes but I do wonder if better investigation of the personalities of Riera and Pennant say could have flagged up the problems that were evident later. The same might be true of Babel.

We have invested a fair amount of money in those players and over the long term had poor returns from them. There have also been examples like Palleta where we have spent money on a young player who has been more trouble to get in than it has seemed worth. I know that young players are inherently a gamble but Alex Millers analysis posted elsewhere would seem to indicate he felt that you could have seen the problems had we scouted him well.

Yes there were problems and that's why Rafa has overseen a complete overhaul of the Academy. He thought it needed drastic actions, he had the oversight to see this through.

Rafa has always been really enterprising in correcting things that were bad, whether from his own doing or not, you cannot fault him for that. Dossena & Al have all been shipped out, if not at a profit but still at a decent fee. Houllier's tenure, for example, had been so rotten that some players wouldn't find suitors, they were practically loaned out for years before their contract expired.

There will always be mistakes, other managers have made glaring ones, and great managers they are. When that much is at stake and the fact that our expectations are so high, higher than most, that even small mistakes in the grand scheme of things, all tend to be rather exaggerated.

[BobTheCharmer]

Yes there were problems and that's why Rafa has overseen a complete overhaul of the Academy. He thought it needed drastic actions, he had the oversight to see this through.

Rafa has always been really enterprising in correcting things that were bad, whether from his own doing or not, you cannot fault him for that. Dossena & Al have all been shipped out, if not at a profit but still at a decent fee. Houllier's tenure, for example, had been so rotten that some players wouldn't find suitors, they were practically loaned out for years before their contract expired.

There will always be mistakes, other managers have made glaring ones, and great managers they are. When that much is at stake and the fact that our expectations are so high, higher than most, that even small mistakes in the grand scheme of things, all tend to be rather exaggerated.

you have just glossed over what DWW has actually said. you've done what you accuse others of doing. you should run for local government

[Guest]

you have just glossed over what DWW has actually said. you've done what you accuse others of doing. you should run for local government

Really? You should do brain teasers so as to improve your intellectual ability to analyse things.

[Shanks]

Is there any information or rumours about this?

There is a link that I read through regarding this.
I'll see if I can dig it out.

[dww]

There is a link that I read through regarding this.
I'll see if I can dig it out.

Cheers it would be great if you could.

[dww]

Yes there were problems and that's why Rafa has overseen a complete overhaul of the Academy. He thought it needed drastic actions, he had the oversight to see this through.

This is an separate issue in my book. Youth and elite player recruitment would be different departments with overlapping but different skills involved. Player development would be a different consideration entirely.

The youth development system is very important and I think that the moves Rafa made were necessary and for the best. On the other hand a/ they are long term - witness how long it has taken for Arsenal to develop players from youth level to first team with an acknowledged master at the helm of the later stages and a very well reputed set up and b/ even the club with probably the best academy in the world, Barcelona, spent a large amount of money on Ibrahimovic this season as they didn't happen to produce a player that offered what they felt they needed.

I accept that unlike Barcelona we won't be able to splash record amounts of money on players to improve the team when the need arises. For me though that means that an extra emphasis has to be put on ensuring that players we do buy are ready to adapt and are the best options available at a price we can afford. I think there are obvious problems in this elite recruitment area and we should look to resolve them along with those you have highlighted at youth level.

Rafa has always been really enterprising in correcting things that were bad, whether from his own doing or not, you cannot fault him for that. Dossena & Al have all been shipped out, if not at a profit but still at a decent fee. Houllier's tenure, for example, had been so rotten that some players wouldn't find suitors, they were practically loaned out for years before their contract expired.

There will always be mistakes, other managers have made glaring ones, and great managers they are. When that much is at stake and the fact that our expectations are so high, higher than most, that even small mistakes in the grand scheme of things, all tend to be rather exaggerated.

I agree in the main. However I think the scouting department is now an area that has shown itself to need a rethink and in line with his decisions elsewhere I think Rafa needs to make changes.