Liverpool Thread

Re: Liverpool Thread

If Benitez starts the season with 2 wingers then i think he's a idiot but if your playing a 4-4-2 diamond formation or a narrow one then i can see why he wanted Barry....But ive got a good feeling Benitez is going to play Kuyt as a winger! :LOL:
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

YoungGun_UK said:
If Benitez starts the season with 2 wingers then i think he's a idiot but if your playing a 4-4-2 diamond formation or a narrow one then i can see why he wanted Barry....But ive got a good feeling Benitez is going to play Kuyt as a winger! :LOL:
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I hope he does. 'Cos Kuyt was the only player to score a goal in every round before the CL finals, playing in that position. If he gets an early goal in the league, he'll be on a roll.
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

I think this year was going to be our best shot ever at winning the league but we just haven't been able to finish off the transfer window with what we need, namely some SERIOUS QUALITY IN WIDE POSITIONS.

We still have two weeks of transfer activity left and I'm praying that we acquire the right personnel.

By the way its Holland v Argentina in the quaters of the Olympics so we should have Masch or Babel back soonish.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Peter Eyres said:
I think this year was going to be our best shot ever at winning the league but we just haven't been able to finish off the transfer window with what we need, namely some SERIOUS QUALITY IN WIDE POSITIONS.

We still have two weeks of transfer activity left and I'm praying that we acquire the right personnel.

By the way its Holland v Argentina in the quaters of the Olympics so we should have Masch or Babel back soonish.
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We need Babel quickly.

When's the quarter final?
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Our club is a fucking mess :ROLL:

EXCLUSIVE: Rafa Benitez thought of resigning from Liverpool last week and even discussed leaving the club with his nearest allies, according to sources close to the Spanish manager. The only thing that stopped him from leaving Anfield was his respect for the Liverpool fans and for the people that work with him on a daily basis.

This is the first time since his arrival that Benitez has come this close to resigning, although on two other occasions offers from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and a couple of other major European clubs led him to reassess his future at Anfield. On both occasions he decided to stay put and the club improved his contractual situation.

According to sources this time around, it is his desperation with the Barry transfer saga, the lack of a satisfactory conclusion to the Alonso transfer and the gaping hole on the left hand side of midfield - yet to be filled - that are the major causes of his dissatisfaction and frustration. This has nothing to do with his contract. “Rafa doesn’t care about what he is getting paid, he thought he was being undermined this summer and was close to giving up”, says a friend of the manager.

The situation at Anfield has been so confusing over the last few weeks - with the Gareth Barry saga and Xabi Alonso's failed move to either Juventus or Arsenal - that Benitez felt the need to explain, at his Friday press conference, that he was not involved in the Barry transfer: another way of saying that if it did not take place, then it was not his fault.
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http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?id=57
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Ballague normally spot on with Liverpool news. The word 'left winger' got me excited.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Yeah, Ballague is pretty good with news and have some good sources. I'd trust him more than any newspapers.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Timing is a bit f#$ked up though if it is true. Seems more like a lets knock pool about before the season starts to get some controversy going again.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Response to Benitez quit report

Just after the story about Rafa Benitez thinking of quitting was published on our website on Friday evening, I got a call from the Spanish manager. It was a frank exchange of words and one thing became very clear: Rafa's commitment to Liverpool Football Club is absolute.

Rafa said “I am not thinking of leaving. My commitment with the club, the fans and the players is so big that just because I can be disappointed about different things, I won’t stop trying my best to achieve all of the targets that we have established as a team."

" My family and myself are very thankful to the club, the fans and the city and we will never give up fighting to get the best for Liverpool,” he added

From those words every one of you can come to their own conclusions. I think it is quite obvious that there are conflicts at the club and also that it was probably not good idea to come out with that kind of story just before the beginning of the season.

However, as I see it, that fact,coupled with Rafa’s words, does not change the content of what I wrote on Friday - and I stand by it completely.


It seems to me that there are two different forces working at the club that are sometimes pulling in different directions: something that the owners choose to ignore.

It is only normal that the manager despairs some times and even thinks about quitting. In periods of bonanza (when the team wins titles or outside the transfer market periods) there exists a creative relationship between manager and key members of the board; but there are other times, like in recent weeks, where the tension grows and it appears as if they are working against each other.

There remain questions that need to be answered. If Rafa was happy to let Xabi Alonso go to Juventus, why hasn’t he gone? If Rafa wanted the arrival of Gareth Barry prior to Robbie Keane, why hasn’t he come - and how is it that it has taken months for Liverpool to tell Aston Villa that their valuation of the player is too high? Whatever the manager wants is not always what he gets. Is that good for the club?

http://www.guillembalague.com/interview_desp.php?id=19

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Rafael Benitez Q&A
Oliver Kay answers our questions on where this leaves a troubled club

Following last night's revelation that Rafael Benitez came close to resigning as Liverpool manager after feeling undermined by the Gareth Barry transfer saga, Oliver Kay answers Times Online's questions about what this means.

Q: So Rafa Benitez seems to be intent on starting the new season as he spent much of the last -- in dispute with the Liverpool hierarchy. Are you surprised?

A: No. In fact, I'm surprised it has taken this long for things to blow up again. Benitez was told at the end of last season that he was going to have to wheel and deal in the transfer market due to the financial position at the club, which wasn't what he wanted. He has got on with that relatively quietly. Gareth Barry has been his top priority all summer long and here we are on the first day of the new Premier League season and still no deal.

Q: How close do you think he came to resigning?

A: He considered it, which is alarming enough for Liverpool's supporters, who will be aware that he left Valencia for similar reasons in 2004. He is clearly extremely frustrated not only by the board's failure to sign Barry but by the way they undermined him, agreeing a deal with Aston Villa, only to veto it on the basis that they did not share his view on the value of the player.

Q: What is the crux of the matter?

A: Essentially that he feels he cannot work with the people. Specifically he has a big problem with Rick Parry, the chief executive. There have been tensions between the two men for a long time. Rafa has frequently hinted at those tensions and he laid them bare at yesterday's press conference, blaming Parry for the failure to sign Barry and, it seemed, the "failure" to sell Xabi Alonso, who is no longer the apple of his eye.

Q: Why has this come out now and not last week?

A: Simply because last weekend Benitez and his allies were keeping their thoughts to themselves. Now it has come out of the Benitez camp -- though not from the man himself -- that he considered resigning. I should point out that the story was broken last night by www.guillembalague.com . Guillem is the journalist who knows Rafa and his inner circle better than anyone. I had no doubt when I heard about this story that it was correct, as subsequent enquiries confirmed.

Q: Do you think Benitez will be worried that the story has come out now?

A: I'm told that he will look to play down the situation when he is interviewed at Sunderland this evening. But he is a real political animal these days. He will not be distressed that these stories have come out. He will probably welcome the pressure that the revelations put on Parry, who was urged to resign late last season by Tom Hicks, the co-owner. Knowing Benitez, he will hope and expect that Parry comes under more pressure now. It is not a pleasant situation.

Q: What is the likely outcome in all of this?

A: It is impossible to predict anything at Liverpool right now. There is huge distrust between the manager and the chief executive, between the two owners (Hicks and George Gillett Jr), between Hicks and Parry, between Gillett and Benitez. The supposed alliance between Hicks and Benitez is only a marriage of convenience to suit their agendas. Literally anything could happen. Parry will be feeling the heat more than anyone, particularly if the transfer window closes without a deal for Barry or an equivalent player who meets the manager's requirements.

Q: Finally, what is the latest with Hicks and Gillett?

A: I still expect them to sell up sooner rather than later. The takeover talk may have quietened down, but it is about to resurface. From what I am hearing, there are changes ahead, but it is far from clear what form they will take. Sorry if that sounds vague, but right now, with so many rumours flying around about possible investors (and some of the names are quite shocking), no one can say with the slightest certainty what will happen next.



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article4546054.ece
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

rafa es the man, his absolutely a winner and one, for me, the best coach in the world. And i think that liverpool´s tactic is ok, the think is that we miss mascherano.

Is it joe cole going to come ???
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Enough with the bullshit. First game of the season, and we're talking about sacking the manager.

Plessis is starting! Rafa showing a lot of faith in him.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I don't believe he's actually starting Robbie Keane...I mean....two strikers for Benitez? That's unheard of.

Oh and why is he playing Dossena? Where's Degen?
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Why is he playing Dossena? Why would he spend money on someone not to play him? Maybe because he's a good player and his confidence will be high from just being called into the Italian squad?

Degen is injured. And plays right-back, Dossena is a left-back.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

How the fuck can the FA go on about respecting refs when the refs don't do their bloody job? We've just been denied a CLEAR penalty, then Diouf is five yards away when the free kick is struck (as well as him being a petulant fuck). Respect is earned, and the refs haven't earnt anything. Gormless fuckers.

Oh well, half-time and another shite performance following on from Liege. Torres and Keane haven't had anything to feed on yet again, complete lack of creativity, lack of urgency around some players (great example on 44 mins when a ball passed to Arbeloa with NOBODY near him rolls out of play) and a lack of commitment from some players.

We've got players with skill (although I do feel we need a creative midfielder to pull strings, and the left winger we clearly need), we've got a very good manager, we're playing the right formations and tactics. If the lazy fuckers pulled their fingers out of their arses and did something, maybe we'd create a chance. It's all disappointing, just like last season.
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

Meh, decent first half. Played long for the first 30 minutes or so, but then played well I thought. Plessis has been superb I think.

Keane was a bit in and out, but got really involved towards the end. Torres has been very poor. Going down too easily. Dossena looks decent.

Hopefully we start the 2nd half with a high tempo, playing on the ground. I'd like to see Ngog given a go as well.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I can't say I'm overly impressed with Dossena from my initial reactions, but then Skrtel took time to settle as well.

I agree about Ngog, bring him on now I say. He's got pace and can beat a man, which is what we need.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Dossena's been good for his first game. We need to play a lot more on the ground though. Too many hoofs. Play on the ground, and get the full backs forward. We're missing Masch today.

We should still win. Regained some momentum at the end of the half. Keane to score.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Kuyt on the wing....Says it all in my opinion. This clearly shows that Benitez wanted Gerrard on the Right then and Barry and Masch through the middle? Meh you've been poor so far.

Torres saves you lot...1-0
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

Shit performance though we picked it up in the second half. We really are screaming out for a winger. Coco out.
 
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