Rafa Benitez Leaves Liverpool

[-V-]

LOL. You keep asking the same question. Just read the opening post in this thread and you'll have your answer mate

[MrMichael]

New article from Barrett...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article7143026.ece

One battle has been lost. Now Anfield must begin fight for its very soul



The beginning of what appears to be the end for Rafael Benítez also marks the start of a summer that threatens to be one of the most painful — and will undoubtedly be the most pivotal — in the modern history of Britain’s most successful football club.

All that stands between an avalanche of obituaries on Benítez’s Liverpool career is the outcome of negotiations that will determine whether the club can muster the necessary financial muscle to convince the Spaniard to walk out of the Shankly Gates for one last time.

For once, their monetary weakness may prove their strength. Having had his purse strings tightened in the past three transfer windows, Benítez knows better than most just how scarce ready cash is at Anfield and he will have to pitch his expectations accordingly.

He also knows that support within the boardroom for his regime has evaporated and that there are those in the dressing room who have been so underwhelmed by his performance over the past year that they would not shed any tears if he departed.

Benítez often likes to talk of his love for a fight, a trait he admires in the people of Liverpool, but this is one battle that seems beyond him.

That discussions over a golden handshake have already taken place means that for Benítez to be in charge next season would require a comeback every bit as miraculous as the one that marked the greatest night of his career, when Liverpool defied logic and the might of AC Milan to lift a fifth European Cup in Istanbul in 2005.

The anniversary of that never-to- be-forgotten night passed last week and Benítez marked it by dancing on stage at a performance of the One Night In Istanbul show at the Liverpool Empire. At least now he will know that his days as a limbo dancer are almost at an end.

All that remains is for agreement to be reached on the terms of his departure and he will be free to take up a post at another club, with Inter Milan seeming the most likely destination.

It says everything about Liverpool’s present predicament, though, that even a change of manager will prompt more questions about a club who have lost direction and are in danger of losing their self-respect under the ownership regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

The first conundrum is: who in their right mind would take the Liverpool job? It used to be one of the greatest positions in English football, but now a manager would have to be prepared to take on the running of a club riddled with debt, that are for sale, that have no significant transfer budget, a squad in need of an overhaul, and where the only certainty is endemic uncertainty.

Then there is the playing staff. It has long been mooted that the only way to guarantee that the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will remain at the club would be if Benítez goes. The coming weeks and months will prove or disprove such theories. But one thing is certain — should Benítez’s replacement not live up to the kind of exacting standards laid down by the world’s best players, they will find a club that does boast such a manager. And, with José Mourinho’s Real Madrid pursuing Gerrard and Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea keen on Torres, Liverpool will have a big job on their hands convincing their crown jewels to stick around regardless of who is eventually appointed.

The ideal scenario would be for a benevolent billionaire who grew up with pictures of Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish adorning the walls of his Middle Eastern home to pop up and take the club off the hands of Hicks and Gillett, before paying off their £351 million debt and starting work on the new stadium in Stanley Park.

Unfortunately, it has been some time since Liverpool last inhabited an ideal world, so all their fans can do is limp on with anything but hope in their hearts. It would be an exaggeration to suggest that this is a nadir for a club who have been involved in two of the worst disasters in the history of the game, but, equally, it would be underplaying the situation if it is not described as one of the most painfully testing periods Liverpool have endured.

Blame for their present plight will be apportioned, fingers will be pointed and the recriminations will flow with all the incessant regularity of Torres’s goals — this, after all, is the new Liverpool way. Gone are the days when the chances of the club’s dirty linen being washed in public were slimmer than the hopes their rivals had of overhauling them.

That is unless a unifying force can emerge from the rubble of this decaying club and pull all of the factions together for the greater good. The presence of Hicks and Gillett makes it hard to see that happening, but the prize at stake — the salvation of Liverpool Football Club – is such that anyone who did so would be afforded legendary status.

For the past 20 years Liverpool have gone into each and every summer desperate to reclaim their status as English champions and each and every time they have failed in their mission.

This time around the situation they are facing is much more extreme and the challenge confronting them even more critical as they bid to reclaim both their soul and their sense of direction. Failure on these fronts does not even bear thinking about.

[Icon]

Is this all because new owners are coming in?

Sad times, as much as I love Rafa the man, Rafa the manager though...........

Bye Rafa - all the best.

[MrMichael]

Is this all because new owners are coming in?

Sad times, as much as I love Rafa the man, Rafa the manager though...........

Bye Rafa - all the best.

No

[TheElephantMan]

New article from Barrett...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article7143026.ece

One battle has been lost. Now Anfield must begin fight for its very soul



The beginning of what appears to be the end for Rafael Benítez also marks the start of a summer that threatens to be one of the most painful — and will undoubtedly be the most pivotal — in the modern history of Britain’s most successful football club.

All that stands between an avalanche of obituaries on Benítez’s Liverpool career is the outcome of negotiations that will determine whether the club can muster the necessary financial muscle to convince the Spaniard to walk out of the Shankly Gates for one last time.

For once, their monetary weakness may prove their strength. Having had his purse strings tightened in the past three transfer windows, Benítez knows better than most just how scarce ready cash is at Anfield and he will have to pitch his expectations accordingly.

He also knows that support within the boardroom for his regime has evaporated and that there are those in the dressing room who have been so underwhelmed by his performance over the past year that they would not shed any tears if he departed.

Benítez often likes to talk of his love for a fight, a trait he admires in the people of Liverpool, but this is one battle that seems beyond him.

That discussions over a golden handshake have already taken place means that for Benítez to be in charge next season would require a comeback every bit as miraculous as the one that marked the greatest night of his career, when Liverpool defied logic and the might of AC Milan to lift a fifth European Cup in Istanbul in 2005.

The anniversary of that never-to- be-forgotten night passed last week and Benítez marked it by dancing on stage at a performance of the One Night In Istanbul show at the Liverpool Empire. At least now he will know that his days as a limbo dancer are almost at an end.

All that remains is for agreement to be reached on the terms of his departure and he will be free to take up a post at another club, with Inter Milan seeming the most likely destination.

It says everything about Liverpool’s present predicament, though, that even a change of manager will prompt more questions about a club who have lost direction and are in danger of losing their self-respect under the ownership regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

The first conundrum is: who in their right mind would take the Liverpool job? It used to be one of the greatest positions in English football, but now a manager would have to be prepared to take on the running of a club riddled with debt, that are for sale, that have no significant transfer budget, a squad in need of an overhaul, and where the only certainty is endemic uncertainty.

Then there is the playing staff. It has long been mooted that the only way to guarantee that the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will remain at the club would be if Benítez goes. The coming weeks and months will prove or disprove such theories. But one thing is certain — should Benítez’s replacement not live up to the kind of exacting standards laid down by the world’s best players, they will find a club that does boast such a manager. And, with José Mourinho’s Real Madrid pursuing Gerrard and Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea keen on Torres, Liverpool will have a big job on their hands convincing their crown jewels to stick around regardless of who is eventually appointed.

The ideal scenario would be for a benevolent billionaire who grew up with pictures of Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish adorning the walls of his Middle Eastern home to pop up and take the club off the hands of Hicks and Gillett, before paying off their £351 million debt and starting work on the new stadium in Stanley Park.

Unfortunately, it has been some time since Liverpool last inhabited an ideal world, so all their fans can do is limp on with anything but hope in their hearts. It would be an exaggeration to suggest that this is a nadir for a club who have been involved in two of the worst disasters in the history of the game, but, equally, it would be underplaying the situation if it is not described as one of the most painfully testing periods Liverpool have endured.

Blame for their present plight will be apportioned, fingers will be pointed and the recriminations will flow with all the incessant regularity of Torres’s goals — this, after all, is the new Liverpool way. Gone are the days when the chances of the club’s dirty linen being washed in public were slimmer than the hopes their rivals had of overhauling them.

That is unless a unifying force can emerge from the rubble of this decaying club and pull all of the factions together for the greater good. The presence of Hicks and Gillett makes it hard to see that happening, but the prize at stake — the salvation of Liverpool Football Club – is such that anyone who did so would be afforded legendary status.

For the past 20 years Liverpool have gone into each and every summer desperate to reclaim their status as English champions and each and every time they have failed in their mission.

This time around the situation they are facing is much more extreme and the challenge confronting them even more critical as they bid to reclaim both their soul and their sense of direction. Failure on these fronts does not even bear thinking about.

Rafa's going nowhere.

[nineteen]

Well exactly. The club would either tell him or his agent. If they told him, he would've told his agent.

Whether they'd sacked him or offered him a payoff to walk, the above still applies.

Not neccesarily. The above only applies when the individuals running the club do so with integrity. The ownership and management team have completely failed to show any sense of integrity since the first day they came in.

The scenario I see in relation to Rafa and his agent having no knowledge of the offer is that Purslow and the directors decided to get him out. Rather than sacking him and having to shell out 16M, they put him in a position where he simply cannot operate. Leaking this story before even speaking to Rafa backs him into a corner. Taking the offer is the only possible course of action. If he doesn't, he risks losing the support of the fans who are still on his side. Purslow and the rest of them have completely undermined his position and I would extremely surprised if there was any outcome other than Rafa leaving and some figurehead yes-man taking over who is not going to expose the owners for the lying cretins that they are.

[Craig_H]

Nobody can be sacked, without being officially told by their employer. Legally speaking.

So there's no way they can 'leak' a story to the papers, in order to officially sack Rafa.

They could leak it to piss him off, in the hope that he will walk, but in terms of employment law, nobody can be dismissed without actually being told, either directly or via their agent. But that wouldnt be the same as sacking him.

Dignity or not, a dismissal conducted without informing the employee, is not legally valid.

[Nicey]

We are ****ed ! I hope these two cunts get theres some day .. they have made a lot of enemies

[destinydude]

Now that the decision has been made, I hope they go on to appoint someone who is decent enough to do the job rather than appoint McLeish or MO'N.

The names that have been shortlisted by the board are

Roy
Van Gaal and
Jorge Jesus.

[gaz01]

Any chance that as was suggested in that last article they are getting rid of Rafa because Gerrard & Torres want gone ??

[Kinell]

Would rather the owners have gone first rather than Rafa...

[Nicey]

My God if we sit ideally by when they ship out one the best managers on the planet . we all ****ing well deserve the mess we are in ..

We demanded these ****ers in the first place and now we are letting them get rid of a man, who as studied the liverpool way, has drank with the fans, danced with the fans, Won the ****ing Champions Lg in his first year, took us to finals, made us serious contenders, re established us as a force in Europe, signed the best striker and soon to be keeper on the planet ..

I ****ing hate what has happened to this once special club ... If Benitez loses out to George Gillet and Tom Hicks ..I may lose interest in football for awhile I think

[Nicey]

Liverpool Sack Rafa!

So the mirror are reporting. I am disgusted, if I ever had the good fortune to have the opportunity **** over Tom Hicks or George Gillet i will take it with gusto. Cunts I am distraught

[Jop]

If this is just a rumour it is damaging the club even more. Every papaer from the Echo to the guardian to some **** wit with a computer has started " spreading the news" in a way Frank Sinatra would be proud. WHY HAS THE CLUB NOT MOVED TO KILL IT IF NOT TRUE ?

[little dave hedgehog]

relax, it's just because i just started a new fm 2010 game.