Rafa Benitez Leaves Liverpool

[Kenneth]

Off to bed. We're headline news again (see BBC)

[IJM]

I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand I wanted Rafa to stay, partly because I reckoned he could have bounced us back despite the circumstances and partly because I don't believe that we would be able to attract another world class manager with the club in the state it is in.

On the other hand I could see that it was possibly time for a change. A fresh hand at the helm to inspire some confidence.

As it is, this leak means that it is the end for Rafa. I reckon it's been leaked on purpose to make his position untenable and to put pressure on him to accept a smaller settlement than his contract stipulates. They've probably been trying to negotiate a graceful departure for him, but they've run out of patience and allowed the story into the public domain. Not the Liverpool Way, is it?

But there's going to be no u-turn from this now. He's going. The only question now is how much he hangs on and how big a golden handshake they'll have to pay him to leave.

[Exiled_red]

Don't see what you would have aginst McLeish really. I think he's shown himself to be a good manager.

He's not the sort of manager we should be looking at. He doesn't have experience of working at a big club or with big name players, and is an unknown outside the UK so doesn't have a reputation to attract player, and has a poor record in Europe. To me everything about him screams average.

[kris90210]

I feel awful - really, really sad. Rafa deserves so much better than this. As do we all. It is so wrong that two businessmen from the other side of the world can inflict so much misery on so many people.

Id love Rafa to tell them to stick their 3 million up their arses, but lets face it, his position has become untenable now. For all those who wished Rafa gone, I'm afraid it could well be a case of 'be careful what you wish for... **** knows who we could end up with now.

[redpablo]

we've become seriously lacking in the class which once set us apart. Grim times.

[Baracus]

Is Rafa even in the country? I thought he was on Holiday. This is so backwards, low & classless, what an utter mess of a club we have become.

[little dave hedgehog]

he's in sardinia, apparently. not that that really means anything as i'm sure he can be back whenever he wants to, and certainly has a phone and a fax.

[ronanm]

3m to leave the club. Wtf????? Think he failed us bit nonetheless a 3m payoff - what state is our club in? A lot worse than I thought :-(

[Craig_H]

Well if he goes, i'd rather he didnt get any money. I'm fond of the guy but we need that money more than he does.

[MrMichael]

Well if he goes, i'd rather he didnt get any money. I'm fond of the guy but we need that money more than he does.

Aye, he won't be short of job offers, that's for sure. I actually think he'd do brilliantly in Italy. Although looking at it dispassionately, he's entitled to what he's entitled to, it just shows how bloody mad it was for them to give him a 5 year deal when there had been so many issues between owners & manager etc. I'm damn sure this situation hasn't come right out of the blue or developed totally after he signed it.

[TheElephantMan]

The "story" on SSN was nothing. Nothing happening at all. Where is there a shred of a story to suggest that Rafa is leaving or has been sacked? Where has this come from?

[Shaggy]

The "story" on SSN was nothing. Nothing happening at all. Where is there a shred of a story to suggest that Rafa is leaving or has been sacked? Where has this come from?

Tony Barrett was first...

[TheElephantMan]

Tony Barrett was first...

I missed it, where's the story? What is the story? Is Rafa going? Did he jump or was he pushed? The SSN story was just nothingness.

[-V-]

Dude read the start of the thread and all other press reports linked at the start of this thread

[TheElephantMan]

Dude read the start of the thread and all other press reports linked at the start of this thread

CBA. What's the situation now? I watched the SSN report and it just said nothing. I've never seen such a ridiculously pointless news item on SSN. It just didn't say anything. Where is the substance to the story?