Do you want Rafa back?

[Lecter]

If Carlsberg did headlines...

[Lecter]

[Lecter]

Nicked off RAWK

One thing that often gets overlooked is the fact that Rafa is still only 50 years of age. Which is ridiculously young for a top manager. By the age of 46 he had already racked up 2 La Liga titles, The UEFA Cup, The Champions League, The Super Cup, The FA Cup, as well as being UEFA Manager of the year twice. Even his sternest critics must admit that at the tender age of 50, Rafa has one of the best Managerial CV's in the game. It often makes me laugh when I see the whoppers on here naming the likes of Hiddink, Capello, Pellegrini et al, as managers they would love to see at Liverpool. These guys are all 10 to 15 years older than Rafa.

Heck, when Ferguson was Rafa's age all he had on his CV was 3 Scottish League titles and a UEFA Cup winners Cup. Ferguson was 57 before he managed to reach a European Cup final. Rafa had been in 2 of them at the age of 47, and a UEFA Cup final to boot. I bet Arsene Wenger would give his right bollock to have the same European track record as Rafa, and Wenger is almost 12 years the elder. The crux of my point is, Rafa was a top manager at a very young age. And despite the last 18 months, he is still without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best coaches in the game. In another 10 years he will be even better. His appetite for learning will ensure it. The man eats, sleeps, breathes, and ****s football. I wouldn't be surprised if he tags on another couple of European Cups before he reaches 60.

The thing you have to remember about Rafa is, he is not the type of coach who likes to swan into a club for a couple of years, and then **** off elsewhere. He isn't in the game for money, fame, or attention like that whore in Madrid, he is in it because he is a football obsessive. Rafa likes to build clubs from the ground up. His ideas are long term. He got it right when he was at Valencia. In their pomp they were a supreme football machine. Anyone who remembers Valencia's visit to Anfield should recall how they literally embarrassed us in our own back yard.

The biggest **** up that Valencia made was that their board didn't share the same long term vision as Rafa. Had he stayed there, and had they backed him accordingly, Rafa would have wreaked havoc on the continent with that side. No question or doubt about it. Even more havoc than he wreaked with us. You can bet your bottom dollar Valencia realized what a **** up they made when they saw Rafa holding the Champions league trophy in 2005.

He almost got it right with us too. 2009 should have been our year. We were just desperately unlucky. Some of the football we played that season was Valencia-esque. Man Utd, Real Madrid, and Aston Villa in particular, all felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of a fully functional Benitez side. I.E they got absolutely battered from start to finish. Rafa was on the verge of putting us on roughly the same level as he had put Valencia in 2001. We were almost there. It's agonizing to think back on it, but that's football. Sometimes you get the breaks, sometimes you don't.

Speaking of breaks, we got a bad one when Xabi wanted to leave. People often underestimate just how much of an impact Xabi's departure had on the team. Rafa built the side around him from day 1. He was Rafa's eyes and ears on the pitch for us. Gerrards admission that he almost cried when he heard Xabi was leaving is proof of this. It was a killer blow, but it was a blow which we could have recovered from. It just needed time. A lot more time than Rafa was afforded.

I'm not saying Rafa doesn't have his flaws, he clearly does. Of course he has made mistakes. But he is young, he is still learning. We're not talking about a guy who just came in and got lucky with us in 2005. This is a guy who had already proved himself, a two time European Manager of the year who wanted to finally realize his grand vision for a footballing institution. That institution should have been us.

Which is why I fear if we don't allow him to return to finish what he started here, then he will probably go to Man City and build a team that will dominate for years. The thought of which is too much to even ponder. Rafa will realize his vision one day. It may take him a few years, but do it he shall. My biggest fear is that when does, we will all look back from a top the hills that we all thought were greener, and think "**** it, we should have given him a second chance"

Bring him back I say. **** the myopic, short memoried idiots who lambaste him. They are fools. Fools who simply do not grasp that the working methods of Rafa Benitez are part of a masterplan. We have Bondel and Segura working with the youth team now, with tremendous effect. All thanks to Rafa. The future is bright. We have owners with a track record of achieving long term success. We just need a manager who can make it work. A manager who loves the club, and loves the fans. That man is sitting in the Wirral right now. Please John Henry, bring back Rafael Benitez. Give him his chance to make himself a hero. Lord knows, for all he has done for us, he deserves it. Report to moderator Logged

[fred_plasticine]

Doesnt make it a better read when posted twice

[Assassin]

Nicked off RAWK

One thing that often gets overlooked is the fact that Rafa is still only 50 years of age. Which is ridiculously young for a top manager. By the age of 46 he had already racked up 2 La Liga titles, The UEFA Cup, The Champions League, The Super Cup, The FA Cup, as well as being UEFA Manager of the year twice. Even his sternest critics must admit that at the tender age of 50, Rafa has one of the best Managerial CV's in the game. It often makes me laugh when I see the whoppers on here naming the likes of Hiddink, Capello, Pellegrini et al, as managers they would love to see at Liverpool. These guys are all 10 to 15 years older than Rafa.

Heck, when Ferguson was Rafa's age all he had on his CV was 3 Scottish League titles and a UEFA Cup winners Cup. Ferguson was 57 before he managed to reach a European Cup final. Rafa had been in 2 of them at the age of 47, and a UEFA Cup final to boot. I bet Arsene Wenger would give his right bollock to have the same European track record as Rafa, and Wenger is almost 12 years the elder. The crux of my point is, Rafa was a top manager at a very young age. And despite the last 18 months, he is still without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best coaches in the game. In another 10 years he will be even better. His appetite for learning will ensure it. The man eats, sleeps, breathes, and ****s football. I wouldn't be surprised if he tags on another couple of European Cups before he reaches 60.

The thing you have to remember about Rafa is, he is not the type of coach who likes to swan into a club for a couple of years, and then **** off elsewhere. He isn't in the game for money, fame, or attention like that whore in Madrid, he is in it because he is a football obsessive. Rafa likes to build clubs from the ground up. His ideas are long term. He got it right when he was at Valencia. In their pomp they were a supreme football machine. Anyone who remembers Valencia's visit to Anfield should recall how they literally embarrassed us in our own back yard.

The biggest **** up that Valencia made was that their board didn't share the same long term vision as Rafa. Had he stayed there, and had they backed him accordingly, Rafa would have wreaked havoc on the continent with that side. No question or doubt about it. Even more havoc than he wreaked with us. You can bet your bottom dollar Valencia realized what a **** up they made when they saw Rafa holding the Champions league trophy in 2005.

He almost got it right with us too. 2009 should have been our year. We were just desperately unlucky. Some of the football we played that season was Valencia-esque. Man Utd, Real Madrid, and Aston Villa in particular, all felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of a fully functional Benitez side. I.E they got absolutely battered from start to finish. Rafa was on the verge of putting us on roughly the same level as he had put Valencia in 2001. We were almost there. It's agonizing to think back on it, but that's football. Sometimes you get the breaks, sometimes you don't.

Speaking of breaks, we got a bad one when Xabi wanted to leave. People often underestimate just how much of an impact Xabi's departure had on the team. Rafa built the side around him from day 1. He was Rafa's eyes and ears on the pitch for us. Gerrards admission that he almost cried when he heard Xabi was leaving is proof of this. It was a killer blow, but it was a blow which we could have recovered from. It just needed time. A lot more time than Rafa was afforded.

I'm not saying Rafa doesn't have his flaws, he clearly does. Of course he has made mistakes. But he is young, he is still learning. We're not talking about a guy who just came in and got lucky with us in 2005. This is a guy who had already proved himself, a two time European Manager of the year who wanted to finally realize his grand vision for a footballing institution. That institution should have been us.

Which is why I fear if we don't allow him to return to finish what he started here, then he will probably go to Man City and build a team that will dominate for years. The thought of which is too much to even ponder. Rafa will realize his vision one day. It may take him a few years, but do it he shall. My biggest fear is that when does, we will all look back from a top the hills that we all thought were greener, and think "**** it, we should have given him a second chance"

Bring him back I say. **** the myopic, short memoried idiots who lambaste him. They are fools. Fools who simply do not grasp that the working methods of Rafa Benitez are part of a masterplan. We have Bondel and Segura working with the youth team now, with tremendous effect. All thanks to Rafa. The future is bright. We have owners with a track record of achieving long term success. We just need a manager who can make it work. A manager who loves the club, and loves the fans. That man is sitting in the Wirral right now. Please John Henry, bring back Rafael Benitez. Give him his chance to make himself a hero. Lord knows, for all he has done for us, he deserves it. Report to moderator Logged

Somebody should post this on Henry's facebook. I can't as I do not have an account

[Assassin]

What if Rafa was the subject of conversation when Kenny had Henry round his place for dinner. Kenny convinced Henry that Rafa was the right man for the job. Kenny told Rafa to free himself up, etc.....

If only

[Kenneth]

At least if Rafa is re-instated as manager he will soon let us know if NESV are all they are cracked up to be. If Rafa isn't re-instated as manager then obviously NESV have something to hide

Fancy explaining that one?

[marcus50bucks]

Interesting all the same. Notice how he mentions dof.

Rafa's agent gave a radio interview:

- They reached a mutual termination of contract. There will be some compensation but no figures said during the interview.

- After last season's major accomplishments Rafa's worry was that Inter would fall into a state of "drunkenness with success" and the lack of signings and renewal of the squad was needed. Improving the potential of the squad had been discussed when Rafa signed with Inter but ,for whatever reasons he wouldn't get into, it didn't come to fruition. Rafa wasn't chuffed about this obviously.

- The lack of signings and the injury crisis had built up some frustration in Rafa which he verbalizes after the WCC final calling out for one of three outcomes: Get backing and new signings, continue status quo but not getting to shoulder all of the blame for whatever happens, or get both parties to meet and reach a resolution.

- Garcia Quilon feels that Rafa's public declarations after the WCC sped up his departure from Inter. He feels that he probably could have continued otherwise since Inter had no rational explanations to get rid of him otherwise . [My impression of this statement is that he's distancing himself from that move by Rafa. I guess a good agent's advise would have been to tell his client to keep quiet and if he gets sacked at least he collects the entire compensation but this is just my own interpretation]

- He defends Rafa's career record of winning titles despite not being at the richest clubs.

- When asked about Rafa's future plans he talks about Rafa being very passionate about his profession. He's been working non-stop for 15-16 years for a good 15 hrs a day and Garcia Quilon feels Rafa may be a little 'emotionally saturated'. Despite not having given it a whole lot of thought, Garcia Quilon has suggested to Rafa to take some down time to reflect upon his career, do some self-analysis, self-critique, etc,etc and learn from past mistakes and come back stronger at some point.

- Asked about the Liverpool rumours for next season: No. He has his home there but they already have a manager in place, they have a new project with new owners and a new director of football. Garcia Quilon feels Liverpool are starting a new cycle and they need to respect these new people and see where they take Liverpool and reiterates that at least initially, not having given it too deep a thought, is to take some time off for reflection and eventually come back to a rational situation with new energy, etc

[marcus50bucks]

Roy Hodgson will bide time to sign right men for Liverpool

Tony Barrett, Chris Brereton, Ian Edwards, Darren Witcoop, George Caulkin
December 24 2010 12:00AM

Roy Hodgson will resist making any panic buys during next month’s transfer window to try to save his job.

The Liverpool manager has been under pressure since the opening weeks of his tenure when defeats to Blackpool in the Barclays Premier League and Northampton Town in the Carling Cup featured in the club’s worst start to a season in 57 years.

The situation has hardly improved since then with Liverpool only winning once away from home so far this season and losing more games than they have won in the league, giving rise to speculation that Rafael Benítez, his predecessor, could be brought back as Hodgson’s replacement.

The Times, though, understands that New England Sports Ventures, the club’s owners, have no intention of offering the recently deposed Inter Milan manager an unlikely homecoming even if a vacancy were to arise.

Hodgson is aware of both his plight and his standing in the eyes of the Liverpool supporters who are yet to take to him, but he insists that he will not attempt to buy his way out of trouble, maintaining that the interests of the club must come before his own.

Asked whether he could cement his own position with a series of short-term buys, Hodgson acknowledged that he could, but made it clear that such a course of action would be injudicious. “I think you’re probably right, I could do, but that begs the question of when you get a job like this at Liverpool, should you be working for the long-term good of Liverpool or trying to get an extra result or two for Roy Hodgson?,” he said.

“I’d like to think I am big enough and confident enough to take the long-term view even though it might work against me. I might even prefer that in some ways because I would be very disappointed if I went out in January and spent a lot of money on the wrong players and then, come the summer, we are no better off. All we would be doing is adding a few more players who we don’t think are good enough to the roster. I would be disappointed if I did that. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen but it is not my intention.”

Hodgson continues to work with Damien Comolli, Liverpool’s director of football strategy, on potential targets and the pair are in regular contact with NESV principals John W Henry and Tom Werner.

Ashley Young, the Aston Villa winger, is a player who has caught Hodgson’s eye and whose availability has been keenly tracked by the club. Hodgson, though, maintains that deal will be pursued only if it is in Liverpool’s best interests in the long-term while Villa insist that he is not for sale.

“I accept I may make a rod for my own back by not bringing in people but there’s no doubt I and Damien are pushing the owners to back us if we come up with the right people,” he said. “I think they probably will. The big question is will those players become available? Quite frankly we are targeting players that other clubs don’t want to lose. We are not targeting players who are on the market and everyone is trying to find a club for. We are targeting players who clubs don’t want to let go even if we offer them good money.”

Having seen his squad trimmed back as a result of cash constraints imposed during the reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett and a decision to reduce the size of the squad, Hodgson has concluded that Liverpool cannot afford to return to the kind of situation he inherited.“A total of 19 have left since I’ve been here and haven’t been replaced,” he said. “We’ve gone down the route of 40, 50 professionals before, of saying ‘this one will do it, or, if not, this one will do’. We’ve been down that route and it’s very important we don’t do that again and just bring in the players we really need.”

[Roboklopp]

Jesus, how many people do they need to write ome article FFS?

Don't trust the Times after their "China buys LFC debacle."

[Riche]

Fancy explaining that one?

Wasn't it Rafa's fights with the previous regime that let us all know what was actually happening at the club with regards to tansfer funds and debt payment and in general very unpleasant owners ..

[magicalbarnes]

Imagine Rafa leading Liverpool out at old toilet in next months FA Cup tie, and beating the scum. fergies face would be priceless!!!!

[G]

There's a petition online now to bring him back

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bringbackrafa/

[Armchairkopite]

signed

[murder_inc]

signed.