Rafa Watch

[badpiggy]

It's not about what anyone wanted, it's what happened. Getting rid of Benitez was always going to lead some useless piece of crap coming in - I and others predicted this before Hodgson was appointed, quite possibly before Benitez was even sacked.

So the agitation to get rid of Benitez played into the hands of Hicks, Gillett and Purslow. The only speculation is whether a unified fan base would have stopped them sacking him and might have galvanised the players.
I'd certainly agree there were problems in the attitude of some players, and I think Gerrard's recent comments about "your mum and dad fighting and you just want them to stop" entirely corroborate this. But again the fans could have influenced this.

I'm not saying the fans who called for his head are entirely to blame but you have to take some responsibility for allowing them to replace a Champions League winning manager with Captain Smint.

Why would LFC be guaranteed to hire a ****e manager after sacking one? If Kenny goes, is it nailed on that the next manager will be ****? Chances are far slimmer now that Purslow is gone obviously but you can't seriously say you're only speculating about the fan's influence:

1. You're speculating that Rafa could have turned it around on the pitch.
2. You're speculating that we were always guaranteed to get a **** manager after Rafa.
3. You're speculating that more voiciferous support from the fans would have kept Rafa in the job and that therefore H&G gave a **** what the fans thought. Or that Purslow considered the fans ahead of his own ego.

[badpiggy]

To sack a manager that made use the most feared club in Europe, yes the most feared, after one bad season will always be a disgrace. Will the same rules apply to KK? I wonder if the ones that wanted Rafa gone thinks that? One bad season and he must go. No second chances.

Add that we was hours, not days, hours away from bankruptcy.Try and do a good work with bosses that hate you and want you gone. Try and do a good work with bosses that piss on the work you try to do to. Try and work with bosses that won't miss an opportunity to stab you in back.Try and do that.

That was the thing Rafa had to deal with every day of the year. Scout a player and do the hard work and then the CEO could laugh you in the face and lie to you.

You can also add that according to Barrett Gillett and Hicks had two PR companies working for them. Why? To feed the world with lies about Rafa and make them look as good as possible. The club of course paid for them.

Try and do a good work in those circumstances.

Couldn't agree more about the circumstances Rafa worked under. These are the main reasons he failed. It's not anti-Rafa to say that I have doubts about whether he could have managed us successfully again aftere things going so badly wrong. And I know there are all sorts of clear reasons why he failed at Inter as well - lying owners, players were cunts, the post-Mourinho effect. Doesn't change the fact that he made a mistake in going there to begin with.

[Neil Young]

Why would LFC be guaranteed to hire a ****e manager after sacking one? If Kenny goes, is it nailed on that the next manager will be ****?

Because that's what happened. It was speculation before Bronto was appointed. It no longer became speculation when it came true. I realise some people genuinely thought we'd get Mourinho or Klopp or Hiddink or whoever but I always believed if we let one world class manager go then there would be zero chance another one would be willing to replace him. The reason? Zero transfer budget, terrible owners, a club in crisis.

And events proved me 100% correct.

It wouldn't happen now. If Dalglish isn't appointed permanently it'll be because they've got someone else with credibility. The reason? Decent transfer budget, good owners, a club moving forward.

1. You're speculating that Rafa could have turned it around on the pitch.
2. You're speculating that we were always guaranteed to get a **** manager after Rafa.
3. You're speculating that more voiciferous support from the fans would have kept Rafa in the job and that therefore H&G gave a **** what the fans thought. Or that Purslow considered the fans ahead of his own ego.

I agree there's no guarantee of 3. I said it in my post.

2. Already dealt with.

1. I'm speculating that the fans could have galvanised the players and that would have led to an improvement. I think it's reasonable to believe we wouldn't have been 19th under Benitez as we were under the ****e manager who was appointed in his stead.

I feel both these speculations are perfectly reasonable based on what he had achieved before. I agree there's a chance he wouldn't have arrested the decline and of course we can never know that.

But actually that misses the fundamental point: if a fresh start was needed then the time to get a new manager in was when new owners came in. Getting rid of Benitez before was asking for trouble which is precisely what arrived in the jowly shape Captain Garrulous.

Really Mr Pig, I'm not questioning your good faith and I think the question of whether Benitez could have achieved what Dalglish has done is at best unknowable but that's another issue.

My argument is that I think you had the wrong tactics for the situation - Benitez was more on our side than the owners and a better judge of football than Purslow. There are times when, if you don't support the good guy, you're aiding the bad guys. Summer 2010 was one of those times for LFC.

[Glenn Hysen]

Good news. Perhaps you could **** off out of this thread then.

By the way, it's not fact, it's logic. You should give it a go sometime.

Ha ha ha! You must be like 10 years old. No logic, no reason, no manners. Must be great to predict the future and allways be right. You are a really successfull person?

[Fredo]

It was criminal from a LFC point of view, to even want Rafa out, especially that it meant having faith in the judgement of Purslow & Al with the Hicks & Gillett saga still rumbling on at the time.

Neil is spot on.

[badpiggy]

Because that's what happened. It was speculation before Bronto was appointed. It no longer became speculation when it came true. I realise some people genuinely thought we'd get Mourinho or Klopp or Hiddink or whoever but I always believed if we let one world class manager go then there would be zero chance another one would be willing to replace him. The reason? Zero transfer budget, terrible owners, a club in crisis.

And events proved me 100% correct.

It wouldn't happen now. If Dalglish isn't appointed permanently it'll be because they've got someone else with credibility. The reason? Decent transfer budget, good owners, a club moving forward.


I agree there's no guarantee of 3. I said it in my post.

2. Already dealt with.

1. I'm speculating that the fans could have galvanised the players and that would have led to an improvement. I think it's reasonable to believe we wouldn't have been 19th under Benitez as we were under the ****e manager who was appointed in his stead.

I feel both these speculations are perfectly reasonable based on what he had achieved before. I agree there's a chance he wouldn't have arrested the decline and of course we can never know that.

But actually that misses the fundamental point: if a fresh start was needed then the time to get a new manager in was when new owners came in. Getting rid of Benitez before was asking for trouble which is precisely what arrived in the jowly shape Captain Garrulous.

Really Mr Pig, I'm not questioning your good faith and I think the question of whether Benitez could have achieved what Dalglish has done is at best unknowable but that's another issue.

My argument is that I think you had the wrong tactics for the situation - Benitez was more on our side than the owners and a better judge of football than Purslow. There are times when, if you don't support the good guy, you're aiding the bad guys. Summer 2010 was one of those times for LFC.

So you agree you're speculating - that'll do me! Anyway,I'm outta here. Arn is on the case and all of a sudden the wife and kids seem more appealing to argue with.

[Neil Young]

So you agree you're speculating - that'll do me! Anyway,I'm outta here. Arn is on the case and all of a sudden the wife and kids seem more appealing to argue with.

I'd already said it before you 'accused' me of it. I guess you didn't read my post properly.

It doesn't change the fact that events proved me right. So, if we're going to judge whose speculation is more likely to be accurate, then it's obvious who people should trust.

[badpiggy]

I'd already said it before you 'accused' me of it. I guess you didn't read my post properly.

It doesn't change the fact that events proved me right. So, if we're going to judge whose speculation is more likely to be accurate, then it's obvious who people should trust.

I'll never doubt you again.

[Neil Young]

[peekay]

The thing is that his early teams were more in that mould. Given the playing staff at Madrid you wonder whether he would strike a more attacking balance. The problem is the Mourinho legacy within the squad which affected him at Inter, although this time at least the Real squad seems hungry.

I think he would be better off taking another job first. Give someone else a chance to deal with the downside of Jose's bunker mentality.

Agreed. He should take a step back and manage a club like Valencia and make them punch above their weight. He may not be able to win the La Liga due to the strength of the Madrid/Barca squads but he is more than capable of knocking Jose or Barca out of another CL semi final.

[Chrono]

I'm not saying the fans who called for his head are entirely to blame but you have to take some responsibility for allowing them to replace a Champions League winning manager with Captain Smint.

Being equally responsible for the return of Kenny we accept your thanks

[badpiggy]

Being equally responsible for the return of Kenny we accept your thanks

Yeah too right Chrono. Rafa = no KK. Neil and his RCDNWB h:

[pezzzer]

not wanting to stir **** up here but the **** Benitez got from fans was digusting, we dont need a book to tell us how hard his final year was here.

kenny has done so well and he is our legend but rafa was robbed of his own dynasty

[Arn]

not wanting to stir **** up here but the **** Benitez got from fans was digusting, we dont need a book to tell us how hard his final year was here.

kenny has done so well and he is our legend but rafa was robbed of his own dynasty

The two PR agencies that worked for Gillett and Hicks did a good job Incredible really that the owners hired two PR agencies to spread lies about the manager. Says it all about the state of the club.

[pezzzer]

The two PR agencies that worked for Gillett and Hicks did a good job Incredible really that the owners hired two PR agencies to spread lies about the manager. Says it all about the state of the club.

the **** i heard from fans wanting him out whn he'd achieved so much was shocking.

i can honestly say i never wanted him out and thought he deserved at least a good year under good owners. look what he achieved under ruthless **** ones, a CL a CL final a SECOND in the league and an FA cup, needed more time for his legacy