It’s depressing enough being a Liverpool fan just by looking at the league table or that big taxi-meter style counter totting up the ridiculous daily interest payments the club has to make. Then you find yourself trying to reason with people who have far more interest in seeing the manager replaced than finding ways of making the owners sell up more quickly. People who are so set on seeing that manager gone that they just won’t stop for a few minutes and consider that maybe, just maybe, it’s not all as simple as blaming one person for all the ills this club has to endure.
Then you realise that many of those people you’ve been trying to reason with haven’t got the courage to step away from the little group they’re in and actually think about things all by themselves, to make their own minds up, to question the joint opinion of their little group on all things LFC and to maybe even risk finding themselves drummed out of that little group. So, briefly, you wonder why you even bothered trying; they’ll not change their minds until one of their leaders or advisers tells them to.
That’s when you realise that you’re not talking to them, not really. They won’t change their minds in a hurry, but a lot of people listen in without getting involved. And they are the people you’re talking to really, people who will listen to all that is said and make their own minds up. People who don’t just follow their leader. People with the sense to see that people at the club are using fans for their own ends.
Elsewhere someone else is trying to reason with people who won’t admit to Rafa making any mistakes at all – but if they did admit those mistakes they’d soon be able to turn the conversations back to the people who have wilfully messed things up for this club, deliberately acted in a way that put this club to so much harm. Rafa makes mistakes. Others made no mistake – they knew full well what they were doing.
Since Rafa Benitez signed his new contract, as negotiated by Christian Purslow back in March 2009, Liverpool have not spent much at all in the transfer market. In fact they’ve spent less than they got back in, with the profit since then currently standing at £6.3m. And that’s including the purchase of Jonjo Shelvey, who is of course yet to play for Liverpool.
An £8m profit on player trading in terms of players available for the season just gone and the priority is to get rid of the manager? Yes, Aquilani was a gamble and it didn’t pay off. But is that enough to make it right to send this message to the owners, this message that they’ve spent more than enough, thanks very much? Is it enough to tell them that, in fact, we’re so happy with their work on our finances that we’ll gladly let them free up money to pay a bit of that interest by selling more players this summer without reinvesting the proceeds into the squad?
Some people have started to turn on Rafa perhaps because they’ve started to think it’s the only change that could actually happen if they shout loudly enough. The reasoning seems to go that although it won’t fix the problems with the owners, and the new manager would probably have to sell some star names to get the funds to build a new squad, maybe it might work.
It might not.
And it will buy yet more time for owners who should have put up or shot off a long time ago. It buys more time for an MD who negotiated a contract that it is claimed would cost Liverpool £16m, to be paid within 24 hours, to terminate. If that’s true he should resign for that one major gaffe alone, if it’s false then maybe we need to talk about whether it’s right for Liverpool’s MD to be talking to the media the way he does. It also buys time for a chairman who promised a sale within a matter of months – I can hear it now: “The appointment of a new manager has caused us some delays in attracting a buyer; they are very keen on buying the club but wanted to see how well the new manager settled in first. It’ll be a done deal in a couple of months.”
There are still claims being made that the manager got his new contract so it all looked good to potential investors. Obviously that pretty much cancels out the idea that Rafa would have a contract that has to be paid in full the day after he is sacked, because that just does not look good to potential investors. But that expensive pay-off is being touted as the only reason he’s not yet been sacked. And then we’re told there aren’t any problems at the club, that Rafa is well and truly loved by his board and we shouldn’t even dream of suggesting otherwise – not with those potential investors ready to make a billion-dollar decision on the strength of an article on a website somewhere or other.
Potential investors need to know something very important. This club is a long way from being harmonious. And maybe, just maybe, that is the best way this club will find a buyer.
What’s the point in inviting people to buy a perfect, sparkling, well-tuned club? They’re only going to be disappointed when they get here. And the fact they were brought here under false pretences means they’ll be gone quicker than the money from the Standard Chartered deal.
So tell the truth. Tell the buyers they’ve got work on their hands. They’ll need to appoint a new chairman (Broughton made it clear he’ll be gone after any sale), a new chief executive (we still haven’t got one) and they’ll need to get rid of the MD (we won’t need one with a CEO in place, and the MD is not a suitable CEO for this club). They’ll need to talk to the manager to see if they can give him what he asks for – and if they can’t then they need to make sure he knows that – no point making promises that won’t be kept.
And they’ll need to be honest with the supporters from day one. Those protests, the ones the MD pleaded should be kept to a minimum to avoid upsetting potential buyers; they’re not done because people see making anti-owner banners as a bit of a hobby. They’re not shouting to keep warm, they’re shouting about something that made them extremely angry. If those new owners can’t do what’s needed to stop those supporters being angry then they might as well go and buy some supermarkets or something.
If you think you can make money out of this club today, sell it today. If you think you can get a finder’s fee or a big chunk of commission then get it and go. Take your money and run.
If you think we’re annoyed now, just wait and see what happens when this renewed anger bubbling under the surface finally erupts. There’s more harmony amongst fans than you think. We’ve been stuck in this limbo far too long. Sooner or later we’ll snap out of this depression and stand up to you once more. Sooner or later we’ll stop arguing with each other and we’ll turn to you and your banks. Sooner or later we’ll make it impossible for you to pretend everything’s okay. The day that happens you’ll not be able to smooth-talk your way out of it. You’ll not be able to hide; you’ll not be able to run. You’ll wish you weren’t here. And you’ll not see it coming.
Sooner or later we’re taking our club back.
Good article, I cannot wait to see the back of these Yanks who are destroying our club, day by day.
£800 million? Don’t make me laugh.
Yanks out now!
Who wants to buy an over priced club? Yanks ask way to much and thats the problem
Well said, I feel the same 100%, Rafa’s made mistakes but he’s done far more good for this club than harm, and Rafa’s not the problem. Yanks Out!
Some of the comments coming from Ex LFC players has been really poor especially coming from them. We need investment but change is needed more!
YNWA
i have read all kinds of articles facts and so forth this season ,liverpool this liverpool that ,i also hear our close nighbours and people around the country saying liverpool this liverpool that ……and im getting a bit sick of it fact is at the great liverpool f.c is
1:there are that many forigners living here ,good working skilled people cant get one no more.
2. the team hasnt played well for the last year because the real liverpool fans who live and own our dreams,cant get to the game because there are jobcuts everywhere ffs i have 4 boys,and due to redundancy unemployed
3. its been taken over by a pair of cunts who call a goal a touchdown
4.stevie or fernando dont even believe all this hype about leaving for a medal ill do you a favour ill buy u both one each out of my weekly shopping money of a whole £68 just to keep my four boys believing that one day they too could be in your boots
5. liverpool f.c will beat manchester united to the 20th title FACT
all fan sites should start thinking about a unified and clear message.
we should start talking to each other and see if there’s anything we can do together to ensure the debate remains about ownership and debt.
Good article.
and i seen a lot of young fellas around here who are really good at football do u have to have an invite these days to get a look in, the real wayne rooneys,stephen gerrards, danny murphys,jamie carraghers, leon osmans , talent is in walton hall park croxteth park calderstones park sefton park and on every street corner, drinking ale and smoking cannabis,liverpool not just the football club but i mean the councils should get more football pitches more leagues together and maybe then the gun culture ect could be driven from our streets ,more boxing clubs and for the kids please free no parent can afford what the citys offering at the minute
I agree fully with most of the article, but I do think we need to lay off Martin Broughton a bit. Since day one he has been honest and open, something a lot of people may not be comnfortable with since we are so used to being told lie after lie. He did say a sale would be complete in a matter of months, I for one think a lot is going on in the background and that Broughtons’ prediction will come true, he wouldn’t risk his massive reputation if he didn’t believe it. Just because it is quiet doesn’t mean nothing is happening, it is the way we used to be run, it’s nice to be hopefully getting back to that.
i have been a liverpool fan as long as i can remember
while i have not been born in the city and live 1000’s of mile away lfc flow thru my blood, i stay in england for 2 years and at one time had just 56 pence in my pocket
and i was on the verge of returning home , but the dream of watching the Boyz , drove me to find work and when i did i worked 20 hrs shifts to ensure that my dream would become a reality , i managed to watch our team on four occasions , saw a steven g Hattrick and watched us beat Chelsea in the Com Sheild .
at this moment in time i sit in South africa and read as much as i can about our club , and pray every day for new owners, there are a few things that need to change for us to get back to our best,
spirt is on of them , our players seem to be going thru the motions at the moment the is no drive – Do we blame the mamagment for this , the owners , or the players
i think the blame lies on us all including supporters
liverpool are a massive club and when you at the club there is lots of pressure , as players they are paid to deal with it as management they have to take the punches as fans we need to stop beliveing everything we read and as owners we should want to succeed,
we know G & H are only in it for the $ , they are greedy and don’t care about the club , i think as fans we can show them exactly how we feel – Maybe when we have our first game of the new season if they still in charge we should let our team play in an empty Anfield
the game will be on Tele – that will send a clear message for the Yanks to get the F*&^ out
as for the futher i hope the person that comes in brings stablity and as passion for the club , Rafa should stay but if the new owners do not trust that he can turn things around then he must Go , Robbie said that no one is bigger then the club – every player needs to earn his place in the squard
with new owners a new stadium , a few new players we want to play for the club , and any manager that will have the players respect we will turn things arround next season.
so you america idiots go back to the States and do what you’ll do best – point blame at others when you’ll are at fault
Now that Rafa is staying, we’ll start to see the players voting with their feet.
They know he was saved by Gerard in Istanbul. They know he picked the wrong team against AC Milan. They know he doesn’t know a good player when he sees one, but can play a genius out of position till he drops. They know he can’t motivate.
They know they won’t win anything playing for him. 77 players!!! Seven teams and he still whines and whines, give me the money, show me the money, where is my money…
As always Jim I very much enjoy your articles.
I dont always agree but most of the time I share a similar viewpoint.
First it seems from your last few articles you take serious issue with Christian Purslow. I’m not sure that I yet see the villainous character with ulterior motives that you see. I’m not saying that I think you are wrong or right regarding CP but I wonder have you learned something recently about the MD that the rest of us don’t yet know about?
As much as I agree with your article the only way I think “Sooner or later we’re taking our club back” is going to happen is if fans start to boycott home games.
Its over 3 years since the owners took control of the club. In that time Hicks has been abused in the Sandon, Gillett claims to have received death threats, there has been in-ground protests, street protests, email campaigns, poster campaigns, attempts to stop the duo either entering or exiting the ground. Even local politicians have had their say.
Result : Hicks and Gillett are still here with no sign of the club being sold in sight.
Come next August if Hicks and Gillett are still here I think if fans really want to force a sale they themselves will have to stop doing what they do best ; turning up on match days to support the team.
Start by boycotting one home game and threaten the Americans with further boycotts from there. The players will suffer, the fans will suffer but more importantly Hicks and Gillett will suffer. Its not the Liverpool Way of doing things and its never something Liverpool fans would have considered in the past but for me these are extraordinary times where extraordinary and exceptionally difficult choices need to be made.
Theres 3 months to the new footballing season and the clubs future is hanging in the balance. At the end of those 3 months should the club still be hanging in a precarious limbo then I believe boycotting matches is a necessary evil Liverpool fans just might have to seriously think about taking.
YANKS OUT NOW !
They are destroying are club, we will end up like leeds united if they continue to F**k up financialy !!!
YANKS OUT NOW !
These two men should be banned from doing what they do. They have no interest in the sporting establishments they buy into. They borrow massive amounts of money against the clubs run up massive debts and try to sell for a profit. They gamble with poeples lives, love and passion like cold calculated hard nosed heartless money grabbers. The EPL should put in place a rule for owning a club, owners are not allowed to borrow the value of the club to buy into a club. This is a reciepy for disaster as we are seeing. The only way to get the message across to these leaches is boycott home games, hit them inthe pocket and force them to sell up. I know that it will be hard to do but it will send out a loud clear meassge to these blood suckers.
Peter, please can you stop with the same rubbish that we’re hearing from so many supporters at the moment.
Gerrard saved us in Istanbul – yes he did play his part but it was actually Hamann coming on that changed the game. Did Gerrard make that miraculous save or was that Dudek? Correct me if I’m wrong. Did Gerrard score the second and third goal or would that be Smicer and Alonso? Was it Gerrard making last ditch tackles at the back or was that Carragher? I’ve had enough of fans saying that Gerrard won us the Champions League; no the WHOLE team and manager won us the Champions League.
Playing the wrong team in 2007 – we were actually better than Milan in that game. We played better in 2007 than we did in 2005 but we lost. That’s the way it goes sometimes – its football. He didn’t pick the wrong team at all. In hindsight it is easy to dissect the game but on the night we played well but lost.
Doesn’t know a good player when he sees one – Ok so what about Torres, Mascherano, Agger, Reina, Alonso, Arbeloa, Kuyt, Garcia, Skrtel, Johnson, Riera, Benayoun. Aurelio is a decent player but is injury prone. Babel is a good player but has been inconsistent. Maxi is a good player. The Greek has played well when required. Aquilani was starting to show some form at the end of the season. Not all of them are world class but they are all good players who have played well at LIverpool. All of them are international class.
And finally the biggest fallacy of them all – he has bought 77 players – yes he has, but look at who and what he has actually bought. Of the 77 players bought during Rafa’s tenure 33 players are what I would consider youth or reserves players (18 years and younger). 26 of those players remain at the club, making their trade in the youth team, reserves or on the fringes of the first team squad. That leaves 44 player bought specifically for the first team squad. Of those 44 players 24 still remain at Liverpool. So of the 77 players bought in five years 50 still remain at the club( a few are out on loan), which means that 27 players have been signed and sold/released in just over 5 years (an average of 5.4 players a season).
Look at the bigger picture Peter. Of those 33 young players, some of them may become first team players, which means we would have bought them cheap and developed them. Others we’ll sell at a profit making money for other transfers. Man Utd and Arsenal have been doing this for years and we’ve only started under Rafa.
I have no problem with you expressing your opinion Peter but it would be good if you were actually factual. When writing do a bit of research instead of believing the rubbish in the media. Its not difficult.
further more it grates at me when I think of how a club as big as liverpool got iot this mess. Did the last owners not think for the good of the club how these 2 blood sucking leaches were going to finance a take over and build a stadium also buy new players. Look at Man City. They were bought but Shinwots his name form Thialand, who sold to big wallet Arabs. If I remeber did we not have offers form The same man from Thialand. That could have been us, but o no we got two vampires. sucking the life out of this great football club. The day the have nothing to with this club will be a day to jump for joy. Bastards.
Liverpool season might have been a bad one but when you put in RB had no money to spend can you blame the manager? NO because he had to buy the best players he could with the limited resources he had,
Gerard and Torres to go? NO WAY – They say Torres is worth 70 Million and Gerrard only 30 Million (Give me a break!!!! Gerrard is still worth aleast 50 Million) It is a tough point of view but if RB was to get 100 Million to 120 Million (Big if that is) would he go out and buy the types of player we need?
The players I would like to see at Liverpool come the start of the season:
Joe Cole – Free Transfer (English) would be a hell of a signing and given the new rules coming in would be an extra English man
Ever Banega (Argentina) Would cost 8.5 Million but would he do the job left vacant by Alonso this season?? if so then he would be a good signing.
Danny Wilson (Scottish) By all reports he is a good defender and young at 18, possibly one to be groomed by Likes of Carragher, Agger etc
Mesut Ozil (German) By all reports a good midfield player which is what we need (Even if Gerrard leaves) then we have a good selection of midfield players.
Sell
Riera – All the hype when he came but hasn’t lived up to it and to be honest any player who could come out and claim he is on sinking ship doesn’t deserve to wear the shirt.
Yossi Benayoun For Roman Pavlyuchenko – Yossi has been a good player for us but if a Deal could be done for Pavluchenko then I’d probably let Yossi leave.
Babel – He has pace but isn’t the player he was recommended to be and whilst I think he could be molded into a attacking central midfielder to play the role Gerrard does I believe Liverpool should sell him for around 10 to 12 Million.
Players to keep for one season or more
Aquilani – Rumoured to be for sale for 15 Million but in glimspes he has shown he can be a assest to Liverpool but he need to get past his injuries. I’d like to see the Italian do one more season as I believe he could be a vital player for Liverpool.
Kuyt – Was a striker when we bought him but coverted to Right Winger where he has done pretty well and his work ethic is good. If we found another winger (Joe Cole) then I’s be willing to bet that these two wingers would give Liverpool a fair amount of goals and be good suppliers to the strikers..
Lucas – Not that big of a fan but having watched him I’d have to agree with the commentators that RB need to move this player from a defensive midfielder to a more attacking midfielder as Lucas has shown glimspes this season of what he could do given the role of Attacking midfielder.
Final comments
It is common knowledge RB and Harry Redknapp don’t get on but even so you have to admire the way Redknapp wheels and deals in the transfer market and then gets the best out of those players. Going forward RB needs to wheel and deal but also I think any push for the priemership or Champions league means we need to be self sucffient which means we need to bringing more players through the reserves and youth team that make it into the 1st team.
Players like Ayla,Mavinga, Dalla Valle, Nemeth etc need to be on the subs bench in 1st team games furthering there education and getting them ready for 1st team duty, Again I hate using Wenger as example but look how Arsenal had blooded there youngester in the 1st team and what have they got for it? 3rd place isn’t bad given time who knows???
Peter – you seem to have no interest in the club except for your anti-Rafa nonsense. Rafa can’t tell a good player when he sees one! Torres, rejected by Fergie for not being a prolific scorer! Mascherano picked off the West Ham bench. Reina was hardly mentioned by another manager. Lucas was booed by some supporters and some so-called “experts” like Redknap as not worthy of the red shirt and voted young player of the season by supporters this season. Alonso was unknown when he was bought. Think of it, Rafa is respected globally and wanted by most top clubs in the world; that is someone who does not know football in your view. I suspect even your street neighbour may not know you for your foot balling ability! So show some respect, humility and some commonsense too.
Why does it always have to be one or the other ? Why does it have to be the owners OR Rafa ? What about the sensible fans who want BOTH the owners AND Rafa gone .
This has been one of the major things that has annoyed me over the last few years . Why are fans unable to calmly look at both sides , weigh everything up and then make a decision on both . Just because we all hate the owners why do we have to side with our enemy’s enemy (Rafa) ? . Don’t get me wrong the choice to leave is obviously 1/owners & 2/Rafa but to think Rafa has only made some small mistakes over the last few seasons is ridiculous . Too many fans are looking past these as Rafa , in their eyes , represents the Anti-Owner side .
The point i am trying to make is that many fans want the owners gone but then quickly followed by Rafa as we don’t believe new owners and bags full of money would change the many glaring mistakes in his management style – poor negative tactics from style to substitutions , poor signings even when he was buying big (keane and aquilani ) , poor player management …the list goes on . I genuinely would not trust him with 100m to spend on the squad . And why do we always need so much money ? Chelsea, UTD and Arsenal all spent little last season yet we were the only ones to dramatically drop in standard despite only losing a RB, CM and CB …all of which we replaced. So at the very least we could have stayed at the same level. Anyway not being able to compete with the big teams does not excuse terrible results to teams who spend nothing like us – Pompey , Reading , Wolves, Fulham etc etc .
Many also believe that even under the current owners , many managers would have done a far better job then Rafa or at least tried to be positive .
Finally , what do fans expect new owners to do with the club ? Pump loads of money in and not make any return on it ? We’re going to need some really rich owners who don’t mind burdening the debt until the stadium and club repay their investment . New owners will be a start but certainly not the end of our worries if they don’t have deep pockets or if they keep Rafa.
The owner are buying time more than they are selling the club.
800 mil. is to much for the club and its debts, not to mention building a stadium and investing in transfer market.
It would cost in total more than 1 bil. for anyone to invest.
If the fans would restrickt from buying season tickets and any tickets before the club is sold than maybe it would make the sale go litle faster.
The owner are buying time more than they are selling the club.
800 mil. is to much for the club and its debts, not to mention building a stadium and investing in transfer market.
It would cost in total more than 1 bil. for anyone to invest.
If the fans would restrickt from buying season tickets and any tickets before the club is sold than maybe it would make the sale go litle faster.
I think perry must have got some good commisiion from the sale of the club he stirred everything in the yanks direction and now he s loughing having pocketed an other 4 mil to be sacked.
perry has a lot to answer for. He got us in this mess
I agree with Mark E. The FA should ban owners from buying a club, then mortgaging it to refinance their loans. Liverpool have gone from solvent to debt-ridden in 3 miserable years.
How many more clubs have to follow suit before the FA stamp it out?
If Randolph & Mortimer are still there at the start of next season, I’ll stop going on, and would also like to see some sort of massive boycott / demonstration / picket line.
never going happen guys, sorry but we are a second rate club now
get used to playing on channel 5 for a long long time, we have no money, no one in there right mind will give us a billion pound as thats whats it will take, 500 stadium 300 debt and 200 million players. riera was right, we are a sinking ship, i love my club but get used to this as we have no chance of anything for a good few years..
Jim – unfortunately the ppl scared to step away from their little group are those that continue to back Rafa to the hilt, no matter what, not those of us that want a clean sweep at the top.
Those of us that want him gone in order for Liverpool FC to move on are not the ones that are so single-minded and simplistic in our views as to the problems at the club. We readily accept that the Yanks are a joke and need to move on asap, I’m yet to hear ANYBODY dispute that – the only argument is from the Rafa apologists that refuse to accept our manager’s responsibility for the teams failings, instead placing ALL blame squarely at the owners door (even though Rafa AND the fans were content with this squad at the beginning of the season)
I agree with RedZeppelin’s sentiment – being our enemy’s enemy does not make the man our saviour
Its about time we started Rioting and blockading RBS.
SOS get something organized for fuck sake before we go Bankrupt.
@Jay – Do you really think Rafa was totally happy with the squad at the start of the season? It wasn’t the squad he had in mind, because he was misled about how much money he’d get to spend on new signings. Do you think fans were happy? I can’t personally think of any fans who didn’t think we at the very least needed to buy an attacking player to provide support, competition and cover for Torres.
Think of it another way. Forget the dislike of Benitez for a few seconds and instead imagine that Benitez had walked last year instead of signing his new deal. In his place came a different manager, but one who was given the same promises, promises that were broken. Someone who had to look at players from clubs who owed us money to try and make up for a complete lack of hard cash at this club.
A club that finished second in the league and went a fair way in the Champions League at a time when TV money has never been so high. A player leaves and his fee is the most the club has ever received. Surely the manager’s budget, whoever the manager is, would be pretty high.
Unfortunately not. Not high at all.
The two transfer windows after that second-placed finished saw the club make a transfer PROFIT of £7,990,000.
Going by calendar year instead the club made a transfer PROFIT two years running, £15,990,000 and £6,300,000, overall a transfer PROFIT of £22,290,000.
Even going by financial year, the one we’re in now, starting 1st August 2009, has already seen us make a transfer PROFIT of £17,040,000.
I find it hard to see how any manager could be expected to tread water with that kind of spending power, let alone make progress. It was inevitable we’d sink with that kind of budget, but it wasn’t just the lack of funds that weighed the manager down this season.
No manager or set of fans is ever “totally” happy with his squad, but we were all confident that it was capable of challenging for the title again. I only have Rafa’s comments to go by, and he was consistent in the message that he was happy with the squad and a lot more confident in his striking options than most of us fans were.
Anyway, let’s follow on from your example and continue imagining that Rafa walked last season – the new manager then comes in and sells a central midfielder for a record fee and lets a solid right back walk for a marginal fee, then reinvests all his money in a playmaker/attacking midfielder (where Gerrard has excelled for the last two seasons, where Benayoun would prefer to play, where our reserve star (Pacheco) is best suited and where Lucas would also “apparently” be effective) and an expensive new luxury right-back.
At the same time, the champions sell one of the best players in world football and another key component of their team, while Arsenal sell their no.1(?) striker and centre-back and Chelsea do nothing to significantly strengthen their team in the transfer market.
Our new manager then proceeds to inspire his team to play some of the most dire football in the league, while exiting the Champions League at the first stage, being embarrassed by a lower league club over two legs in the FA Cup and struggling to 7th in the league. Surely the manager would be subject to heavy questioning right, regardless of what he had achieved in previous roles or any conversations he may have had with ownership, right??
To be honest I dont think fans should even entertain thoughts about keeping / sacking Rafa until the ownership farce is sorted first.
Fans no matter what their differences about the manager should be singing from the same hymn sheet and concentrating their efforts on keeping this club alive.
The fact is we have had a disastrous season. However that will continue to be the case no matter what manager is in charge while Hicks and Gillett are at the club.
And for those who want Rafa sacked ; if you were to get your wish surely its better if that happens when new owners are in place who can afford a worthwhile replacement like Mourihno. What top class manager would want to come to manage Liverpool while Hicks / Gillett own the club and when its in financial meltdown.
People need to start using their heads and think about the long term future of the club rather than whether or not the manager should go
I agree with Jim. Love or hate Rafa I don’t think he would have signed a new contract if he knew he was going to be so tightly constrained in the transfere market.
You should also notice the way that Rafa actually stopped slagging the owners and the board of once he got his new contract, nowhe has started to slag them off again. I can’t see Rafa signing a new contract if he knew things where going to end up like this.
I think this season Monster will go to Barca. Then next Season Torres will leave and possibly SG and then LFC will be a europa league club at best.
I think that there are enough fans to take over my club.every fan can donate 25pounds per month and there are fans in billions.if liverpool require moey,one fourth of the fans will donate.this way liverpool would not be owned by just one person,billions of them and the owners would be liverpool fans.But this won’t happen until those Yanks leave my beloved Liverpool FC.
What’s wrong with ye all lads, are ye getting paid by Rafa to write this stuff, your all seriously confusing loyality to the club with loyality to Benitez. Even the most stubborn of ” Rafa heads” have to see what’s going on. How can anyone continue to attempt to make excuses for this guy when every half decent player at the club now or at any time during his reign doesn’t want to play for him, seriously guys what is wrong with you all that you say that “he won the European Cup” (with Houlliers team) but it’s not his fault that we’ve had to endure the most negative unimaginative football, it’s not his fault that any of the talented players we have or had don’t want to play for him, it’s not his fault that we blew our chance to win the league last year when everyone else had a bad season and we had a glorious chance but Rafa’s contract took priority and he started his nonsence in Feb/March which cost us those needed points, it’s not his fault that he couldn’t work with( well the list is too long) of everyone he had to purge from the club for his liking. It’s not his fault that only players of Lucas & Kuyt ability command his respect.
Jim, I love reading your articles, sometimes I think that you’re actually Rafa Benitez under in disguise, but it’s time for all Liverpool Fans to show loyality to the club and not to any one individual. What’s important now is that we keep our best players, all of them, and if that’s not possible then that we get best price for them, and put a manager in place who can best use that money to keep the club from sliding further down this very competitive league. Lets face it we’ve lost Torres & Gerrard so what we need is someone capable of getting 5 or 6 quality players for around the 10mil mark, and there are managers out there capable of that, unfortunately for you Rafa Benitez is not one of them and anyway there are so many big jobs out there waiting for him that he would’nt want to stay.
Hicks & Gillett have a lot to answer for alright and Rafa Benitez contract is just one of them.
Another good article Jim, it’s a pity Peter and Joe did’t bother to read the secong sentance.
Just for them –
“Then you find yourself trying to reason with people who have far more interest in seeing the manager replaced than finding ways of making the owners sell up more quickly.”
Come on guy’s lets all focus on the ownership issue first. Get rid of the greedy money loving yanks and focus on the new owners plans for going forward.
I still find it surprising that some supporters are so intent on finishing Rafa Benitez off that they’ve not realised just who they’re standing side-by-side with as they use whatever methods suit them best for what seems to have become their only goal.
If we are all Liverpool supporters, we should at least be able to try and be honest with each other, telling the truth as openly as possible. No tricks, no spin, no ignored facts or facts out of context and no spite. But that’s about all I ever see when any debate on Rafa’s future gets underway. If you can’t persuade a fellow supporter to see what you see without being completely straight with them, or without letting it get nasty, then maybe you need to go away and think why that’s the case.
Maybe some supporters don’t realise they’re not being honest, because they’re not being honest with themselves.
Maybe too many people are trying too hard to show they are 100% right, instead of accepting that maybe it’s impossible to be 100% right.
No nastiness on here yet, but plenty of examples of the kind of arguments that are not honest attempts to persuade fellow supporters of the same team see a different point of view. A couple of quick examples:
Rafa “lets a solid right back walk for a marginal fee”. Is that an example of being truthful to fellow supporters or an example of twisting the truth (deliberately or not) to fit the argument? Alvaro Arbeloa wanted to go back “home” to Spain and he’d been open about that with the club and the manager. It was nothing to do with any split with the boss, he just wanted to go back to his homeland. He didn’t want a new contract and by the end of his time at the club had a year left to go. We got a fee of £3.5m for him, which is far from something that could be described as “marginal” under the circumstances, particularly when he was six months away from being able to negotiate a free transfer. And let’s not forget the treatment he got from his vice-captain in his last game for the club, hardly a sign to anyone that he’d have a harmonious final season if we decided to force him to see that last year out. Let him walk? For a marginal fee? Try as I might, I find it hard to take any of your other points seriously after that, even if some of them could be valid.
With Joe’s comment it’s tough to pick just one part out but perhaps this one’s the best illustration: “It’s not his fault that only players of Lucas & Kuyt ability command his respect.” Coming a matter of weeks after arguably the country’s best goalkeeper signs a new contract committing himself to the club for the next six years it’s either a case of deliberately skewing the facts or a suggestion that somehow a goalkeeper most other clubs in this country would snatch our hands off for is sub-standard. And that’s before we get to the stage where we point out that there is very little more than gossip – from those with a track record of twisting the truth or just making stuff up – to suggest he’s not got the respect of his players. Mascherano has been quoted in a tabloid today saying he wants to leave the club because his wife and kids aren’t happy in the city – no mention of any issues with the manager. Torres hasn’t said anything to suggest he’d leave because of the manager. Any gossip at all about Steven Gerrard needs to be taken with a pinch of salt – especially if the source of it is someone who’s been on the wrong side of Rafa for way too long for the sake of his own job.
And Joe – one extra point is your apparent acceptance without so much of a flinch that “we’ve lost Torres & Gerrard” – regardless of who the manager is. It might actually be an overstatement of how bad things are for the club – but the fact you’re so willing to accept it and keep the focus of your anger squarely on the manager says a hell of a lot about how good a job is being done on diverting your attention from the underlying and overriding problems we have at this club.
I’ll stop there, because I don’t think you’ll change your mind now you’ve got to the stage you have, but if you want to persuade anyone else to not only hear you out but maybe take on board anything you say about Rafa my advice is to avoid half-truths and gossip and remember that you shouldn’t be in any kind of “argument” or “battle” with a fellow supporter. You need to open with what you say and open-minded to what to you hear.
Without that the owners, manager, “senior sources”, players, agents and anyone who might possibly be out to hurt the club or put their own needs above those of the club’s can carry on doing what they’re doing, whatever it might be, without us stopping them at all. They’re emptying the safe as we stand outside fighting with each other.
If we can’t be honest with ourselves and each other then this club’s biggest enemy will be ourselves and each other.
Jim – if you want to ignore my post and focus on arguing the point that £3.5m for a starting caliber Top 4 right back (that is also very capable of filling it at left and centre-back) is not just a marginal fee, then you are operating far from reality and there is no point in me continuing with you.
Iain and everybody else that says, “lets ignore everything else going on at the club and just moan about the owners” – the owners have already realized their time is up and want to sell but won’t be going anywhere until somebody shows them the money!!!
Jim if you really want some humorous reading material have a look at one of Jamie Kanwars latest articles on Liverpool-Kop.
He is trying pose a serious debate as to whether Rafa Benitez oo Hicks / Gillett are costing Liverpool more money.
Take a read, the guys is so fixated with Benitez hes lost all sense of perspective when it comes to Liverpool FC and its finances.
Sorry the link;
www dot liverpool-kop dot com / 2010/05/rafa-benitez-or-hicks-gillett-who-is.html
Jay, it’s more a case of concentrating resources and fighting one battle at a time.
If i was in Hicks shoes i would want the fans arguing amongst themselves.
Divide and rule.
Yes they say they want to sell but spade in the ground in 60 days and no debt on the club springs to mind.
Let’s start pulling together. Yanks out!
I’ve had a good laugh at Jaimie’s latest rants – as have a lot of Liverpool fans. I’m yet to see one positive comment about it, although I’ve only seen it when it’s been posted on other sites. People have, on the whole, just laughed at him.
In fact one other site I’ve seen it on suggested it was best if it wasn’t even linked to. It’s only going to up his hits and give him the oxygen it seems that he craves from all the “look at me” attention it brings him.
With that in mind I’m going to edit your post so that it’s not a direct link, but people will still be able to go and visit it if they really feel they must!
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/in-six-months-the-benitez-era-will-seem-like-a-golden-age-2173371.html
Not for the faint-hearted.
Written with passion but don’t hold your breath Jim. Look at what our friend Tom is doing with the Texas Rangers – thumbing his nose at Major League Baseball while the club piles on more debt and he holds out for an outrageous price. That’s what he’ll do at Anfield, too. And the more we protest him, the more he digs in his heels.
MLB can remove a bad owner. The Premier League, of course, cannot. Shanks spoke of his own brand of socialism, I wonder what he’d make of this kind of capitalism, holding the people’s club hostage. It will be a long hot summer.
i blame david moore, for being greedy and selling us out to the yank. and he call himself a liverpool fan. he is as greedy as the yanks. i mean the glazers were already creating trouble at old trafford. and what does the yanks has anything to do with football? the football they watched are being played using hands.