Liverpool F.c.

[StevieH]

This is a good start if it comes to pass (looks like there's some substance in it, though) But there is a lot more work to be done, apart from just sacking an average manager, before the club can be turned round.

Starting with scouting staff, coaching staff, and playing staff. Pity messrs Hicks and Gillett will need MUCH more than 3 million quid to shift them !!!!

Penkoprod

fuc_k off eh? today is the beginning of the end of liverpool fc as the sole remaining obstacle to the owners having carte blanche to dismantle the playing squad goes.

this club doesn't now get turned around. that's yer lot, game over, bye bye.

[NADTATIDA1]

Calm down Stevie you have still got Fernando.

And Benitez may be the answer first,if i had the choice i would rather him go than Torres ..ok we don't know down the line but Benitez going is a start he never delivered the title did he? and i am not going to refer back to all that money he has spent!

Graham Taylor or David Pleat are free so i hear or soon even SGE!!

[Penkoprod]

fuc_k off eh? today is the beginning of the end of liverpool fc as the sole remaining obstacle to the owners having carte blanche to dismantle the playing squad goes.

this club doesn't now get turned around. that's yer lot, game over, bye bye.

Just what are you smoking, lad? The words "drama queen" come to mind

He is just a manager, nothing more, nothing less. And a mediocre one at that, in terms of the EPL. JUST like the rest of these managers that come from "girlie" leagues like Ligue 1, La Liga, Serie A etc, and think they are the dogs <deleted>. Trouble is, they all come up short sooner or later, and get found out. Give them shitloads of money and they do well for a while. Cut the funding and they soon find their level. Martinez and Zola spring to mind, here. Liverpool have always been underfunded, but NEVER underachieved to the levels under Benitez (and Houllier before him as well!!!!)

All he had to do was manage what players at his disposal..either by buying what he's allowed to, or those already there. Thats why he gets out of bed each morning to do. Not to duck and dive like some poor mans Del Boy. P*ss poor man management skills will have contributed to his downfall.

People that see Rafa as some sort of demigod worry me, tbh

I asked on here if anyone could post his progress. It went very quiet....because deep down everyone knows there was none !!!!!

And i AINT just basing this on last season (Four years with no silverware sums it up really) He just never cut it in the best league in the world is all. He will do well in the "minor leagues" of Europe, and i wish him well

Get over it. No one man is bigger than the club, remember?

Penkoprod

[StevieH]

Just what are you smoking, lad? The words "drama queen" come to mind

He is just a manager, nothing more, nothing less. And a mediocre one at that, in terms of the EPL. JUST like the rest of these managers that come from "girlie" leagues like Ligue 1, La Liga, Serie A etc, and think they are the dogs <deleted>. Trouble is, they all come up short sooner or later, and get found out. Give them shitloads of money and they do well for a while. Cut the funding and they soon find their level. Martinez and Zola spring to mind, here. Liverpool have always been underfunded, but NEVER underachieved to the levels under Benitez (and Houllier before him as well!!!!)

All he had to do was manage what players at his disposal..either by buying what he's allowed to, or those already there. Thats why he gets out of bed each morning to do. Not to duck and dive like some poor mans Del Boy. P*ss poor man management skills will have contributed to his downfall.

People that see Rafa as some sort of demigod worry me, tbh

I asked on here if anyone could post his progress. It went very quiet....because deep down everyone knows there was none !!!!!

And i AINT just basing this on last season (Four years with no silverware sums it up really) He just never cut it in the best league in the world is all. He will do well in the "minor leagues" of Europe, and i wish him well

Get over it. No one man is bigger than the club, remember?

Penkoprod

you're obviously an idiot, sorry. i won't bother trying to explain complicated things to you which are above your level of comprehension. but go back a few pages in this thread and you might learn a thing or two, simpleton.

[StevieH]

Calm down Stevie you have still got Fernando.

And Benitez may be the answer first,if i had the choice i would rather him go than Torres ..ok we don't know down the line but Benitez going is a start he never delivered the title did he? and i am not going to refer back to all that money he has spent!

Graham Taylor or David Pleat are free so i hear or soon even SGE!!

torres is going. so is gerrard. that's yer lot, like i said. game over, hello martin o'neill and midtable obscurity.

[Penkoprod]

you're obviously an idiot, sorry. i won't bother trying to explain complicated things to you which are above your level of comprehension. but go back a few pages in this thread and you might learn a thing or two, simpleton.

This is the trouble with teleclappers

Once you confront them with FACTS they resort to name calling and offer nothing to the debate

Sad, so sad (but expected )

Penkoprod

[sharecropper]

Cheer up StevieH.

I hear the likely target will be - unsurpise unsurprise - Hodgson, although if I was afflicted with supporting Liverpool I would probably want Daglish back as a caretaker and see how he gets on.

[spongeman]

So Rafa is gone.

Who will follow him out the door ???????

[salty]

And who will his sucessor be? Questions about ownership, big 2 possibly departing, bit of a poisoned chalice. 20 years and counting.

[rott]

Hey Fatarse, bring us 2 pints and a plate of chips before you <deleted> off.

[longstebe]

Gutted, but the club will move on, it has to.

Lets hope Gerrard and Torres stay. If they were to leave then <deleted> knows whats gonna go on.

Hope we don't end up like Leeds.

[Jimjim]

I think Rafa's left as there's not enough money to spend. What does that tell you? I don't share Stevie's extreme pessimism but I'm not happy about this. I'll just have to wait and see.

And for the predictable criticisms for how much Rafa has spent, the last two summers the club have broke even or even made a profit in the transfer market. And yet Rafa has had a lot to spend? Give me a break, there are some FACTS for those who think they know so much. Whenever we've spent we've had to sell in order to buy.

And Rafa's not cut out for the EPL, is he? Only 2 clubs have won the league in the time Rafa's been here. So, I guess Wenger isn't cut out for the EPL, either. And I guess everyone easily forgets Rafa brought us the best EPL finish for Liverpool ever with 86 points and only 4 points from the champions. That's what a year does for you, everyone's memory is short.

[rixalex]

And Rafa's not cut out for the EPL, is he? Only 2 clubs have won the league in the time Rafa's been here. So, I guess Wenger isn't cut out for the EPL, either.

But Wenger has actually proved that he can win it, right?

And I guess everyone easily forgets Rafa brought us the best EPL finish for Liverpool ever with 86 points and only 4 points from the champions. That's what a year does for you, everyone's memory is short.

Also-runners always get forgotten about quickly i think you'll find. Second is second, and it doesn't matter whether you are one point from the title winners or 20 points, it makes little difference because either way, you haven't won.

[NADTATIDA1]

I think Rafa's left as there's not enough money to spend. What does that tell you? I don't share Stevie's extreme pessimism but I'm not happy about this. I'll just have to wait and see.

And for the predictable criticisms for how much Rafa has spent, the last two summers the club have broke even or even made a profit in the transfer market. And yet Rafa has had a lot to spend? Give me a break, there are some FACTS for those who think they know so much. Whenever we've spent we've had to sell in order to buy.

And Rafa's not cut out for the EPL, is he? Only 2 clubs have won the league in the time Rafa's been here. So, I guess Wenger isn't cut out for the EPL, either. And I guess everyone easily forgets Rafa brought us the best EPL finish for Liverpool ever with 86 points and only 4 points from the champions. That's what a year does for you, everyone's memory is short.

It tells you he is a average manager,that cannot put a decent squad together with the money he has spent since he has been there,show me the FACTS of the money spent on transfers since he has been there??

For any club in the World he has spent a lot of money.

Sorry mate but your last paragraph is just babble and the FACT is he never cut the mustard week in week out in the EPL!

"torres is going. so is gerrard. that's yer lot, like i said. game over, hello martin o'neill and midtable obscurity."

You should be so lucky?

Seven dud signings

ALBERTO AQUILANI - ฃ18m

THE poor man's Xabi Alonso was signed from Roma in August 2009 and was often used as a substitute in an injury-hit first season.

ROBBIE KEANE - ฃ19m

FLOP Keane rejoined Spurs for ฃ12m in February 2009, just six months after leaving White Hart Lane for his boyhood club.

ALBERT RIERA - ฃ8m

SIGNED from Espanyol in September 2008 but has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and has never really seen eye-to-eye with Benitez.

ANDREA DOSSENA - ฃ7m

EX-UDINESE left-back joined in July 2008 but was later sold for around ฃ3.7m to Napoli.

RYAN BABEL - ฃ11.5m

ARRIVED from Ajax in July 2007 but has failed to live up to his substantial price tag.

JERMAINE PENNANT - ฃ6.7m

Hit just three goals in three years before joining Pompey on loan. Now at Real Zaragoza.

FERNANDO MORIENTES - ฃ6.3m

JOINED in January 2005 but left after two seasons and just 12 goals in 60 games.

[StevieH]

I think Rafa's left as there's not enough money to spend. What does that tell you? I don't share Stevie's extreme pessimism but I'm not happy about this. I'll just have to wait and see.

And for the predictable criticisms for how much Rafa has spent, the last two summers the club have broke even or even made a profit in the transfer market. And yet Rafa has had a lot to spend? Give me a break, there are some FACTS for those who think they know so much. Whenever we've spent we've had to sell in order to buy.

And Rafa's not cut out for the EPL, is he? Only 2 clubs have won the league in the time Rafa's been here. So, I guess Wenger isn't cut out for the EPL, either. And I guess everyone easily forgets Rafa brought us the best EPL finish for Liverpool ever with 86 points and only 4 points from the champions. That's what a year does for you, everyone's memory is short.

that isn't why he's left jim, it's far, far bigger than that. the club is rotten to the core and he was the last man fighting the owners for the future of it. gerrard and torres will leave this summer and it will be made to look like their own requests or the bank's doing. this club is absolutely fuc_ked for years now, and probably terminally. that's it for me really now until the owners are gone.

[Jimjim]

And Rafa's not cut out for the EPL, is he? Only 2 clubs have won the league in the time Rafa's been here. So, I guess Wenger isn't cut out for the EPL, either.

But Wenger has actually proved that he can win it, right?

And I guess everyone easily forgets Rafa brought us the best EPL finish for Liverpool ever with 86 points and only 4 points from the champions. That's what a year does for you, everyone's memory is short.

Also-runners always get forgotten about quickly i think you'll find. Second is second, and it doesn't matter whether you are one point from the title winners or 20 points, it makes little difference because either way, you haven't won.

Ya, but that's not the point is it? The point is he came dam_n close to winning the title with severely limited resources and an inferior squad depth (due to financial constraints, again) to at least Man and Chelsea, even last year. And yet he was able to get the team above Chelsea and in 2nd place. No shit we didn't win it, but that's not the point.

Yes, Wenger has won it, but what has he done lately? He's also been limited financially and it just shows in today's game you need to able to spend more in the transfer market to actually win it. But clearly he's a great manager and has won titles with Arsenal, before.

As for NADTATIDA1, thanks for the babble. But you have no balance in your argument. You could come up with a list of dud signings for almost any club, and yet you do not notice all the good signings. Why? I have no idea, other than that you don't want to do so, so your argument just looks poor and one-sided. But keep it coming, these cliches we've been hearing a lot in the press the last 2 years that look like just like yours are quite entertaining. I don't need to quote the figures of all the transfer dealings for you, and don't have time at the moment but the last 2 summers have been about 0 NET SPEND. If you want the figures for all 6 years, go find them yourself. But they don't compare to the two clubs who have won the title the last 6 years.

I guess average managers win Champions League titles, get to other cup finals and win FA Cups, right? I guess average managers lead their team to mount a title challenge with the best goal difference in the country and the most goals scored.

Of course he hasn't won Liverpool a title but he is not an average manager. If you believe that it's just a distorted opinion through distorted eyes.

If the club was in a different situation I'd agree maybe it's time for him to leave. But the club's situation now is much, much bigger than the manager. It's just not looking good.

[TheAceFace]

About time too if you ask me....pity he's took our transfer kitty with him

1 down 2 to go.

Stick Kenny in for the time being until (heres hoping) new owners come in soon and sort all this sh!te out once and for all. Theres so many rumours flying around at the moment its hard to make any sense at all. Even whispers over Keegan being approached haha

I for one am being optimistic that something positive will come out of all this not before too long.

Onwards and upwards

Adios

[hansum]

Who do Liverpool fans realistically expect to come along and change things? as only another leverage buyer is likely to come along imho.

Or do football fans expect someone to raid a foreign nations mineral wealth and plough it into building a stadium and buying overpriced players for them as surely all the people in the Socialist Republic of Liverpool would thing this wrong would they not.

[NADTATIDA1]

Liverpool Transfers

In bold i have given you his positive buys and maybe's

January 2010 Transfers

In:

Maximiliano Rubén Rodríguez (free, Atletico Madrid)????

Out:

Andrea Dossena (£4million, Napoli)

Andrey Voronin (£1.8 million, FC Dynamo Moscow)

Nathan Geoffrey Junior Eccleston (loan, Huddersfield Town)

David Edward Martin (loan, Leeds United)

Nathan Geoffrey Junior Eccleston (loan, Huddersfield Town)

Summer Transfers 2009

In:

Glen Johnson (£18m, Portsmouth)???

Alberto Aquilani (20m, Roma)

Sotirios Kyrgiakos (2m, AEK Athens)

Out:

Sami Hyypiä (free, Bayer Leverkusen)

Paul Anderson (£250k, Nottingham Forest)

Sebastián Eduardo Leto (£3m, Panathinaikos)

Jack Hobbs (undisclosed, Leicester City)

Jermaine Pennant (free, Real Zaragoza)

Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (3.5m, Real Madrid)

Xabier Alonso Olana (30m, Real Madrid)

January 2009 Transfers

In:

None Out:

Jermaine Pennant (loan, Portsmouth)

Craig Lindfield (loan, Accrington Stanley)

Krisztián Németh (loan, Blackpool)

Robert David Keane (£12m, Tottenham)

Péter Gulácsi (loan, Hereford)

Summer 2008 Transfers

In:

Phillip Degen (free, Borussia Dortmund)

Andrea Dossena (undisclosed, Udinese)

Diego Cavalieri (undisclosed, Palmeiras)

David N'Gog (undisclosed, PSG)

Robert David Keane (£20.3m, Tottenham)

Péter Gulácsi (permanent deal, MTK Budapest)

Albert Riera Ortega (undisclosed, Espanyol)

Out:

Harold Kewell (released)

John Arne Riise (£4m, Roma)

Anthony Le Tallec (free, Le Mans)

Peter James Crouch (£11m, Portsmouth)

Danny Sean Guthrie (undisclosed, Newcastle)

Scott Paul Carson (£3.25m, West Brom)

David Edward Martin (loan, Leicester)

Sebastián Eduardo Leto (loan, Olympiakos)

Craig Lindfield (loan, Bournemouth)

Stephen John Finnan (undisclosed, Espanyol)

Andrey Voronin (loan, Hertha Berlin)

January 2008 Transfers

In:

Martin Skrtel (£6.5m, Zenit St Petersburg)

Out:

Ryan Flynn (loan, Hereford)

Robbie Threlfall (loan, Hereford)

Craig Lindfield (loan, Chester City)

Jack Hobbs (loan, Scunthorpe)

Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (£8.2m, Juventus)

Lee Peltier (undisclosed, Yeovil)

Summer 2007 Transfers

In:

Andrey Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free)

Krisztián Németh (MTK Hungariam, undisclosed)

Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed)

Lucas Pezzini Leiva (Gremio, undisclosed)??

Sebastián Eduardo Leto (Club Atletico Lanus, £1.7m)

Mikel San Jose Dominguez (Athletic Bilbao, £270,000)

Fernando José Torres Sanz (Atletico Madrid, £20m-£26m)

Yossi Shai Benayoun (West Ham, £4m)??

Ryan Guno Babel (Ajax, 11.5m)

Daniel Pacheco Lobato (Barcelona, £350,000)

Charles-Hubert Itandje (Lens, undisclosed)

Mikel San Jose Dominguez (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed)

Péter Gulácsi (MK Hungaria, loan)

Damien Plessis (Lyon, undisclosed)

Out:

Robbie Fowler (released)

Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2.7m)

Danny Sean Guthrie (Bolton, loan)

Luis Javier García Sanz (Atletico Madrid, £4m)

Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m)

Boudewijn Zenden (Marseille, free)

Djibril Cissé (Marseille, £6m)

Godwin Antwi (Hartlepool United, loan)

Jerzy Henryk Dudek (Real Madrid, released)

Mark Dennis González Hoffmann (Real Betis, free)

Scott Paul Carson (Aston Villa, loan)

Jimmy Ryan (Shrewsbury, loan)

Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente, loan)

Gabriel Paletta (Boca Juniors, undisclosed)

January 2007 Transfers

In:

Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (Deportivo, £2.6m)??

Francisco Manual Duran (Malaga)

Emiliano Adrian Insúa (Boca Juniors, loan)

Daniele Padelli (Sampdoria, loan)

Jordy Brouwer (Ajax, free)

Out:

Stephen Warnock (Blackburn, £1.5m)

Salif Alassane Diao (Stoke, free)

Summer 2006 Transfers

In:

Craig Bellamy (Blackburn Rovers, undisclosed)

Gabriel Paletta (Atletico Banfield, £2million)

Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues (Valencia, free)

Salif Alassane Diao (Portsmouth, loan return)

Florent Sinama Pongolle (Blackburn Rovers, loan return)

Jermaine Pennant (Birmingham City, undisclosed)

Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord, undisclosed)

Out:

Fernando Morientes Sánchez (Valencia, undisclosed)

Bruno Cheyrou (Rennes, undisclosed)

Christopher Edmund Kirkland (Wigan Athletic, six-month loan)

Dietmar Hamann (Bolton Wanderers, free)

Zak Whitbread (Millwall, free)

Antonio Barragán Fernández (Deportivo La Coruna, £680,000)

Conal Platt (Bournemouth, free)

David Raven (Carlisle, free)

Carl Medjani (Lorient, undisclosed)

Djibril Cissé (Marseille, season loan)

Djimi Traoré (Charlton Athletic, £2million)

Scott Paul Carson (Charlton Athletic, season loan)

Anthony Le Tallec (Sochaux, season loan)

Neil Mellor (Preston North End, undisclosed)

Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, season loan)

Jan Kromkamp (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed)

[rixalex]

Ya, but that's not the point is it? The point is he came dam_n close to winning the title with severely limited resources and an inferior squad depth (due to financial constraints, again) to at least Man and Chelsea, even last year. And yet he was able to get the team above Chelsea and in 2nd place. No shit we didn't win it, but that's not the point.

Winning is not the point?!

I think for a club like Liverpool, it rather is.

severely limited resources and an inferior squad depth

The inferior squad depth has not only to do with the money side of it, but to do with who the manager brings in. Rafa has bought too many flops and that has as much to do with recent failure as anything else.

[oldgit]

Lads, Was it that he had four of his five year contract to go and was entitled to a severence payment of 16 million pound yet came to an agreement,by mutual consent, to take 6million? I know it was a lot of money but I can guess at a few other managers in the Premier League who wouldn't have been so benevolent and would have held out for every brass farthing.

I think it either shows the character of the man,he's got another job lined up already or he was so utterly sick of the lies and backstabbing at the club,he just wanted to get out of the place.

[StevieH]

Lads, Was it that he had four of his five year contract to go and was entitled to a severence payment of 16 million pound yet came to an agreement,by mutual consent, to take 6million? I know it was a lot of money but I can guess at a few other managers in the Premier League who wouldn't have been so benevolent and would have held out for every brass farthing.

I think it either shows the character of the man,he's got another job lined up already or he was so utterly sick of the lies and backstabbing at the club,he just wanted to get out of the place.

it's the latter oldgit. he's had enough and has been forced to admit that nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future. there is no buyer on the horizon, there is no money for transfers, there are only big name sales this summer. the club is utterly rotten and the four most senior figures, hicks, gillett, broughton and purslow, now have carte blanche to asset strip players to service the absurd debt.

torres is thinking seriously about chelsea. gerrard's probably going to go to madrid. they won't be replaced. that's that.

[hansum]

Lads, Was it that he had four of his five year contract to go and was entitled to a severence payment of 16 million pound yet came to an agreement,by mutual consent, to take 6million? I know it was a lot of money but I can guess at a few other managers in the Premier League who wouldn't have been so benevolent and would have held out for every brass farthing.

I think it either shows the character of the man,he's got another job lined up already or he was so utterly sick of the lies and backstabbing at the club,he just wanted to get out of the place.

These contracts dont ensure the manager is paid for the entirity of the remaining contract should the club wish to get rid of them, that'd be the most one sided contract ever signed and plain stupid as managers on average only last a couple of seasons.

[TheAceFace]

Lads, Was it that he had four of his five year contract to go and was entitled to a severence payment of 16 million pound yet came to an agreement,by mutual consent, to take 6million? I know it was a lot of money but I can guess at a few other managers in the Premier League who wouldn't have been so benevolent and would have held out for every brass farthing.

I think it either shows the character of the man,he's got another job lined up already or he was so utterly sick of the lies and backstabbing at the club,he just wanted to get out of the place.

it's the latter oldgit. he's had enough and has been forced to admit that nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future. there is no buyer on the horizon, there is no money for transfers, there are only big name sales this summer. the club is utterly rotten and the four most senior figures, hicks, gillett, broughton and purslow, now have carte blanche to asset strip players to service the absurd debt.

torres is thinking seriously about chelsea. gerrard's probably going to go to madrid. they won't be replaced. that's that.

Hi StevieH

Sh!t place to be in isnt it? Do you have reliable sources that there will be only big name sales this summer?

Something just does not seems right here, unless H&G pi$$ed Rafa off so he would not, could not stand in the way of any sales...just a thought.

[delboy]

Nobody knows what goes on behind the scenes, but maybe Benitez was offered a good deal by Inter Milan and knowing the situation at Liverpool, wouldn't he offer to go for 6 million in the bank and a guaranteed new job without the restrictions of Anfield? I don't think I'd spend too long in making up my mind in that position. All will become clearer if he's appointed boss of Inter.

[bkkjames]

Don't sweat it too much boys.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

What's this I read about Stevie G needing to do a runner because of some 16yr old he knocked up?

[hansum]

Don't sweat it too much boys.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

What's this I read about Stevie G needing to do a runner because of some 16yr old he knocked up?

Reminds me of the Scouse Fairy Liquid Joke

'Mummy mummy why are your hands so soft?'

'sweatheart, its because I'm only fifteen'

[sharecropper]

Benitez was the poison in the chalice.

His incompetent man-management skills are largely to blame; they led to Alonso going, and it was basically downhill all the way from there. Coupled with his rubbish signings, and his inability to get the best out of many of the players, these Benitez-only issues have put you in this position, not the owners.

[Jockstar]

Benitez was the poison in the chalice.

His incompetent man-management skills are largely to blame; they led to Alonso going, and it was basically downhill all the way from there. Coupled with his rubbish signings, and his inability to get the best out of many of the players, these Benitez-only issues have put you in this position, not the owners.

You really dont like Liverpool , do you?

[bkkjames]

Benitez was the poison in the chalice.

His incompetent man-management skills are largely to blame; they led to Alonso going, and it was basically downhill all the way from there. Coupled with his rubbish signings, and his inability to get the best out of many of the players, these Benitez-only issues have put you in this position, not the owners.

You really dont like Liverpool , do you?

Misery loves company Jock, let him be