Rafa Benitez - the kingmaker

[kingfunk]

IMHO The previous owners AND Rafa HAD to go when they did, both became toxic to the club. Therefore BR has my full support. Fans are fickle and forget Rafa's bad side, imaging the war RB would have played out transfer deadline day in the press? More negativity, more upset players. No thanks.

[dww]

Take Arsenal for example, even if they lose, if I was a fan I would at least enjoy watching a team play a fluid game where players can interchange passes quickly and with techincal competence. Something we are yet to do consistently.

So, whilst I agree we can over estimate other teams, in general the better teams play consistently better quality of football, in terms of results and also watchability, than us. IMO.

Arsenal may be the sole exception to the general rule. But even they have been pretty awful to watch some seasons. The season we finished second they were particularly turgid IIRC.

I don't think things are as simple as you make out. It is perfectly reasonable to equate quality with winning, however about the better quality of football if we assume you mean more entertaining then I think that is far from true. I'm sure you remember the particularly galling period where United won a string of games 1-0 playing boring, unattractive, largely attritional football imaginable (was that also the season we finished second, seems likely to me).

Last season was odd. We played some nice stuff but without control or clinical finishing - the worst combination in terms of getting results. People are more down on our style of play under Dalglish than is really true IMO because of the results.

[Lee]

And this is why Rodgers doesn't stand a chance with our fanbase.

This whole thing has once again piled the pressure on Rodgers, just like people saying little things about hoping Rafa would return in a few years when Kenny Dalglish was here, I mean, Kenny Dalglish!

Just goes to show any manager doesn't stand a chance until Rafa's back in the hotseat.

Yeah I sort of agree.

I really wanted Rafa back in the summer and reading these articles reminds me again of how good things were under him.

However, Rodgers is our manager now. He's a young guy with a vision and he did very well at Swansea. I'd like Rafa back in the future but (barring a disaster), we need to give Rodgers at least three seasons to do his stuff.

We need to forget about Rafa now and back our current manager.

Still a legend.

[Tee]

Arsenal may be the sole exception to the general rule. But even they have been pretty awful to watch some seasons. The season we finished second they were particularly turgid IIRC.

I don't think things are as simple as you make out. It is perfectly reasonable to equate quality with winning, however about the better quality of football if we assume you mean more entertaining then I think that is far from true. I'm sure you remember the particularly galling period where United won a string of games 1-0 playing boring, unattractive, largely attritional football imaginable (was that also the season we finished second, seems likely to me).

Last season was odd. We played some nice stuff but without control or clinical finishing - the worst combination in terms of getting results. People are more down on our style of play under Dalglish than is really true IMO because of the results.

Honestly do not remember them ever being poor to watch. Just my opinion and I may be wrong, but they tend to (more often than not) be exciting to watch or be involved in exciting games.

I suppose when I say better quality of football I mean I expect a high level technically and with a good tempo, which naturally leads to a good fluid passing game. May not always win games but if the style is there and better players added, it will do IMO.

[JudgeRed]

IMHO The previous owners AND Rafa HAD to go when they did, both became toxic to the club. Therefore BR has my full support. Fans are fickle and forget Rafa's bad side, imaging the war RB would have played out transfer deadline day in the press? More negativity, more upset players. No thanks.

It wouldn't have happened tho because Rafa wouldnt have blown all that money on ****e in the first place and the owners would ve probably been happy to back him again.

Al managers have their 'bad' side, at the moment we re still giving BR the benefit of the doubt given the circumstances, enjoying his spiel etc. Perhaps more of us should appreciate what Rafa did under different circumstances. I hope one day we are all moaning about BRs early season tactics costing us the league etc, but all that seems a long way off as things stand.

[kingfunk]

I can judge Benitez over 6 years, I'm not going to judge BR over 3 months. The right package is in place but it will take 3 season to be where we want to be. Get out of yer ex girlfriends beds ye whorebags.

[RedReet]

What's 'the Kingmaker' in the title about?

[Vermilion]

What's 'the Kingmaker' in the title about?

Made lfc Kings of europe ?

It's not the title of the book anyway.

© Rafa Benítez 2012
Extracted from Champions League Dreams by Rafa Benítez with Rory Smith, published by Headline Books on September 13 at £20.

I can't see the original artice through the link either, as it's subscription, so if it explained the title, well...bugger.

[refugee]

What's 'the Kingmaker' in the title about?

I presumed it was because someone thick had heard Rafa played chess a lot and confused chess with draughts.

[el matador]

rafas time had come to an end as liverpool manager and he was rightly let go. The infighting, the constant bickering, the huge chasms between the powerbrokers had turned this club into a wreck.

rafa was a key protagonist in all that so it was right at that time to let him go. but there's no doubt that he is a genius of a manager and when kenny left i wanted him to come back. he made us into the most feared team in europe and you dont do that without massive ability.

we need to get behind rodgers but if it didnt work out for whatever reason, then rafa should be brought back.

[the rev leeroy brown]

those who genuinely wanted rafa gone - and some said some pretty disrespectful things - were / are bellends. simple as that. many others should have gone before him. Owners, board, leading players if rumours are true.

far too many couldnt see the wood for the trees and allow him any slack for the difficult circumstances he had to work under

the treatment of rafa by some fans exposed the myth that we have the best fans in the world. Maybe we did in the 70s, 80s & 90s but certainly not any more.

the above is a bellend thing to say.

rafas time had come to an end as liverpool manager and he was rightly let go. The infighting, the constant bickering, the huge chasms between the powerbrokers had turned this club into a wreck.

rafa was a key protagonist in all that so it was right at that time to let him go. but there's no doubt that he is a genius of a manager and when kenny left i wanted him to come back. he made us into the most feared team in europe and you dont do that without massive ability.

we need to get behind rodgers but if it didnt work out for whatever reason, then rafa should be brought back.

the above here though is spot on.

[Maxiedge]

I'd just like to point out the tail end of the 2005-2006 season where we played the best football I have ever seen a Liverpool team play. Always looked like winning with a mixture of creativity and flair in attack and just immense closing down and pressure as a team, when we didn't have the ball. We played as a unit and everyone's movement was connected as if there was an invisible rope. It wasn't about individuals but the team (as you can see below with the mixture of scorers). Anyway we won 11 out of 12 games as such:

28.10 Liverpool-West Ham
2-0
Alonso (18), Zenden (82)

05.11 Aston Villa-Liverpool
0-2
Gerrard (84 pen), Alonso (89)

19.11 Liverpool-Portsmouth
3-0
Zenden (23), Cisse (38), Morientes (79)

26.11 Manchester City-Liverpool
0-1
Riise (60)

30.11 Sunderland-Liverpool
0-2
Garcia (30), Gerrard (45)

03.12 Liverpool-Wigan
3-0
Crouch (19 & 42), Garcia (70)

10.12 Liverpool-Middlesbrough
2-0
Morientes (71, 77)

26.12 Liverpool-Newcastle
2-0
Gerrard (14), Crouch (43)

28.12 Everton-Liverpool
1-3
Crouch (11), Gerrard (18), Cisse (47)

31.12 Liverpool-West Bromwich
1-0
Crouch (52)

02.01 Bolton-Liverpool
2-2
Gerrard (67 pen), Garcia (82)

14.01 Liverpool-Tottenham
1-0
Kewell (58)

Thanks Rafa

[BG1973]

Probably the most vocal

he wasn't to be fair.. plenty more louder pricks than him.


where is he btw?

[The Birdman]

those who genuinely wanted rafa gone - and some said some pretty disrespectful things - were / are bellends. simple as that. many others should have gone before him. Owners, board, leading players if rumours are true.

far too many couldnt see the wood for the trees and allow him any slack for the difficult circumstances he had to work under

the treatment of rafa by some fans exposed the myth that we have the best fans in the world. Maybe we did in the 70s, 80s & 90s but certainly not any more.

This
You Barnesy need to post more often.

[Eric Swindler]

It's hilarious the way some folk suggest that the opinions of a few fans on internet forums had anything to do with the sacking of Rafa Benitez.

I.e. you didn't oppose his sacking on an internet forum, therefore you are responsible for it. It's ridiculous really