Rafa Watch

[Lee]

Sounds real. I'll take it as real.

[Tee]

I can actually imagine Rafa saying that.

[barnes10]

Did this happen? First I've heard of it. I do remember Rafa compaining bitterly that he was frustrated at wanting to meet Broughton but for some reason Broughton was reluctant to meet with him. If he did say that then surely he would have just resigned rather than being sacked? I'm pretty sure Rafa's sacking was driven by Purslow in an act of ego-driven megalomania.

i remember reading that rafa found evidence of purslow operating behind his back / working against him and took it to broughton.

who knows if its true but thats what I read

[Dhav]

i remember reading that rafa found evidence of purslow operating behind his back / working against him and took it to broughton.

who knows if its true but thats what I read

Either way, it seems clear that Rafa has in the past been a bit too eager to play club politics. I'd like to see him get a crack at the job where there is a stable ownership structure in place and without having to deal with interference from the owners. Get rid of Comolli too (not sure what his actual job role is to be honest) and let's see what Rafa can accomplish.

[RedReet]

As much as I would love Rafa back in charge tomorrow I think Kenny and his signings should have at least one more season to prove themselves.

Hopefully Gerrard will be fit next year, Lucas should be back, Suarez won't be suffering from any post-International hangover and should have less on his plate if this racism crap blows over and the new signings should be more settled. There should be no excuses for Kenny next year and I would expect massive improvements.

[Dhav]

As much as I would love Rafa back in charge tomorrow I think Kenny and his signings should have at least one more season to prove themselves.

Hopefully Gerrard will be fit next year, Lucas should be back, Suarez won't be suffering from any post-International hangover and should have less on his plate if this racism crap blows over and the new signings should be more settled. There should be no excuses for Kenny next year and I would expect massive improvements.

Sadly I think Gerrard is well past his best. He hasn't offered much the last couple of seasons to be fair and I think he is on a rapidly declining downward spiral. We need to get used to life without him. Lucas has been a huge loss as the results since he's been injured testify. As for Suarez, I don't really know what to make of him, he's supremely talented and skillful but his finishing has been far too erratic. I think may be he'd benefit from playing with an out and out finisher ahead of him like he does with Forlan for Uruguay (would have loved to have seen him pair up with Torres).

As for Kenny's signings, I've seen enough of Downing, Adam and Carroll to conclude none of them will ever be top 4. I'd cut my losses on all three. Henderson is miles away from that level too but has shown one or two encouraging signs. I still think we have major long-standing issues which £110m worth of spending has failed to address - the right wing, lack of pace throughout the side, inability to counter-attack etc.

[RedReet]

Sadly I think Gerrard is well past his best. He hasn't offered much the last couple of seasons to be fair and I think he is on a rapidly declining downward spiral. We need to get used to life without him. Lucas has been a huge loss as the results since he's been injured testify. As for Suarez, I don't really know what to make of him, he's supremely talented and skillful but his finishing has been far too erratic. I think may be he'd benefit from playing with an out and out finisher ahead of him like he does with Forlan for Uruguay (would have loved to have seen him pair up with Torres).

As for Kenny's signings, I've seen enough of Downing, Adam and Carroll to conclude none of them will ever be top 4. I'd cut my losses on all three. Henderson is miles away from that level too but has shown one or two encouraging signs. I still think we have major long-standing issues which £110m worth of spending has failed to address - the right wing, lack of pace throughout the side, inability to counter-attack etc.

Gerrard may be past his best, but he's still better than most players in the league. Due to his injury record we can no longer build our team around him but if he's fit next year then he'll have a massive impact on the season. Giggs and Scholes have been past their best for a good few years now yet they are still coming up with match winning performances.

Suarez I think will benefit massively from having a summer off to relax. He had the world cup two summers ago, then half a season with Ajax. He then joined us, having to his family to a new country. Last year was the Copa America and he was surprisingly thrown into the first team against Sunderland in August and then the whole racism thing. He must be exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. With his record in Holland and at International level, I have no worries about his finishing ability and I think he'll be unplayable next year.

It's fair to say I wasn't overly keen on any of our signings before we signed them and wouldn't lose any sleep if any of them were sold. I do think they are all capable of a lot more than they are showing so far and think they are worth persevering with for at least another season. Downing is the biggest disappointment for me, I thought he would have did well for us this year. Carroll I didn't expect much of, Adam was worth a punt for the price and Henderson at least looks a good CM in the making.

[G]

Deleted.

[Craig_H]

Rafa v Roy, from the Anfield Wrap:

Rafa walks up to the table, Roy stands up and sticks his hand out:

“How are you Rafa?”

Rafa: “You are a liar. You lied about my squad, you lied about my team, you lied about morale, you lied about Kenny’s role and that he was banned from Melwood. You are a liar and I am not going to shake your hand.”

Roy: “How was the traffic?”

[Craig_H]

"How are you Wafa"

"How was the twaffic?"

[Roboklopp]

Rafa v Roy, from the Anfield Wrap:

Rafa walks up to the table, Roy stands up and sticks his hand out:

“How are you Rafa?”

Rafa: “You are a liar. You lied about my squad, you lied about my team, you lied about morale, you lied about Kenny’s role and that he was banned from Melwood. You are a liar and I am not going to shake your hand.”



Roy: “How was the traffic?”

"How are you Wafa"

[kris90210]

Tha's quite a good response from Roy actually. An answer like that would wind me right up

[MrMichael]

I'm pretty sure Rafa's sacking was driven by Purslow in an act of ego-driven megalomania.

That's not all there was too it. There were a lot of people who thought Rafa's time was probably up, despite the circumstances. An awful lot of people, including some posters on this site who now act like his sacking was the biggest traversty of all time. There was obviously a lot of backstage politicing etc involved too, but it was hardly something that came out of the blue.

[Glenn Hysen]

That's not all there was too it. There were a lot of people who thought Rafa's time was probably up, despite the circumstances. An awful lot of people, including some posters on this site who now act like his sacking was the biggest traversty of all time. There was obviously a lot of backstage politicing etc involved too, but it was hardly something that came out of the blue.

[Tee]

That's not all there was too it. There were a lot of people who thought Rafa's time was probably up, despite the circumstances. An awful lot of people, including some posters on this site who now act like his sacking was the biggest traversty of all time. There was obviously a lot of backstage politicing etc involved too, but it was hardly something that came out of the blue.

Even Pepe says in his Autobiography that it was time for Rafa to go.