Liverpool FC Forum

[kazza]

What would prompt such a vast increase in performance from last season under Rafa.

Probably something called new owners and with them new hope for the future. That might have done the trick, as it did for Roy.

[dawson99]

Jesus this is gonna go round in circles. We'll never know what would have happened under Rafa this season so lets drop it. We cant start this again and again every time we drop points.

We need the Rafa fact sheet

1: Rafa is a legend for us, he won us the Champions League, got us to another final, and had a greatfinal in Cardiff

2: When we came 2nd, that was the closest we've come to the league title in a fair few years

3: He brought some great players to our club who will hopefully stay for many years to come.

(now the bad news)

4: Last season we played the worst football i think weve played since Souness was in charge

5: He is a stubborn stubborn man and will never admit any mistakes

6: Too many bad buys, dont look at net spend, look at quantity, not quality, too much dead wood.

So hes gone, and whatever the arguaments when it comes down to it the guy was awesome. I think most of the arguaments on here are basically people sticking up for Roy as that stuff is just as bad.

So... Rafa has gone, we wish him well, and we should hope he does well. What we dont need is all this what if... as that isnt gonna help anyone. And the petty bickering has to stop (yeah i know, im one of the worst) and we need to see that we do all support the same team

[tubby]

Some good points there Dawson I can't really argue with them. Due to the first point though the fans will always want to keep one eye on him to see how he is doing. I dont think that will ever change tbh. There's nothing wrong with that is there?

The petty fighting in the other threads need to stop but similarly the silly comments by some on here need to stop too.

[dawson99]

true bav... im actually trying to mend bridges lol... but its hard as i love to f*ck about

[JamCar05]

So... Rafa has gone, we wish him well, and we should hope he does well. What we dont need is all this what if... as that isnt gonna help anyone. And the petty bickering has to stop (yeah i know, im one of the worst) and we need to see that we do all support the same team

Good post in general but I've chosen to highlight the final part, as I've been having the same thoughts meself: We're all members of this site because we support LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB (well, except for the occasional WUM that is). Yet there is constant bickering going on which is just repeating it self over and over again. Don't get me wrong, it is of course perfectly well to have different opinions on some LFC matters (otherwise a debate forum would be quite dull), but the amount of times you have to read the same tepid arguments all across the board is becoming very tiresome indeed.

[neil]

Most other fans I have spoken to would have Rafa back in a heartbeat.

Interesting, most I know wouldnt, infact theres only about 6 people I've heard say they would and theyre on this forum and 2 of them are obviously not real fans

[ruskiy playmaker]

Not doing too good at Inter.  Rafa is trying to make them play organized attacking football, but clearly some of their players have no clue what that is.  Major injuries to key players have not helped either.

[Greavesie]

Spot on Dawson, now lets draw the line and focus on Roy

[Big Niall]

some people think benitez should not have got the boot - fair enough, but he did.

Why do the people who think it was a mistake have it in for the current manager of this great club?

supporters?

[tubby]

Rafa Benitez: “I’m a Liverpool fan and I support this big club”

"I'm a Liverpool fan and I support this big club"" data-via="FootballFanCast" >
258Share

Ex-Liverpool manager Rafa BenitezIn an exclusive interview with CNN, Rafa Benitez talked to CNN’s Pedro Pinto about the challenge of succeeding Jose Mourinho as manager of Inter Milan and his style of coaching, as well as looking back upon his time at Liverpool in the Premier League. Regarding his time at Anfield, Benitez defends his record there, claiming that he made the club big in Europe again.

PP: I wanted to go back in time a little to your first day when you faced the players for the first time. What was going through your mind and how well did you prepare that first speech taking in to account how much success they had the previous season?

    RB: I think it is the same in all the teams no? When you have a new squad and you have to know them and in this case to congratulate them for everything else they have achieved. I knew 5 or 6 players, so more or less knew how they were thinking about the future or what they were doing in the past or more or less I had an idea and it was easier because they knew me too.

PP: You may have had that contact, but when you come to a new group and they are used to doing things one way, and that was successful, how difficult is it for you to come in and say ‘well yeah that was successful but I want to do it this other way’?

    RB: From the beginning I wanted to keep the things they were doing well, the style of play and things on a daily basis they were doing every day, and after a while you try and do things your way, but to arrive at a point of being successful, you can do things one way or the other way so there are different ways to arrive at the success. It is important to know if this is a good option we will try to follow this option.

PP: You and Jose Mourinho were rivals in England, and you succeeded him here. Did you feel people were still talking about him here when you came, and did that make it difficult for you?

    RB: No I think it is always the same when you go to a club that has won something. When I arrived at Valencia they were playing in 2 Champions League finals so people were talking about how the team is strong, and a new manager will change things. Liverpool was the same, they were talking about the past and how they were winning trophies so it was a question of time. Here it was more difficult at the beginning, they had won the three titles, the three also that they had. Again we have to watch the future. This team has won the Italian Super Cup, and this is a minor trophy you won, but it is still a trophy, so hopefully now we can win the Intercontinental Cup, and everything will be easier.

PP: Different managers have different styles. Some are more enthusiastic, some are more controlled, how would you describe your own style? Some say you are very detached, when you are on the bench you don’t have a lot of feelings. How would you describe yourself?

    RB: That is not true, so obviously if you can see any of our games you can see it is not true. I have passion, I have control, two things it is sometimes not easy to put together, but I like my job, I like to teach and I like to be involved and to show something to the players at the same time I have to think. So I need control, I need to know what is going on and to find a solution at the same time. I think we are in the big brother society so if you do more you are better, but you have to do what you have to do.

PP: What impressed you the most when you got to Inter?

    RB: I would say to you that this is a big club. You can see that this is a big club. The mentality of the fans is similar to the mentality of the Liverpool fans, they are behind the team and they try to be behind the team and push them. The mentality of the players, the majority of them, they are very good professionals with a good approach, and this is very important if you want to keep winning games.

PP: You mentioned Liverpool, and I want to ask you a couple of questions about Liverpool. It’s not been a very long time since you left, but so many things have changed. When you look back upon your time there, what do you feel?

    RB: Well I am really proud that I was the manager, the feeling, the relationship with the fans and the city. I was really comfortable there, and still I have my house there so always the same, if I finish here in ten years time, I will go back there so it was really good for me and my family.

PP: You’ve been asked a couple of times in press conferences about Liverpool and the new manager. I’ll be honest, I was entertained by the philosophical remarks you made, the priest and the sugar, the milk. How do you see the club how it is now?

    RB: I still have a lot of respect for Liverpool and Liverpool Football Club, so I don’t really want to talk about them. But sometimes when someone says something I have to respond with what is in this case what I know. But again I would prefer not to say anything because I wish them all the best, I wish to stay in a really good position and do really well because for me it is what I feel too.

PP: But how difficult was the last year for you? Were you treated unfairly by the club?

    RB: Again I would prefer to not talk too much about that so the people that were there are really proud now again. We have the opportunity to give them back the possibility to say I am a Liverpool Football Club fan and I support this big club. We gave to them this back by working very hard and winning. It wasn’t just Istanbul, it was more trophies, more finals, semi-finals quarter finals. The team was again very important in Europe and the fans, they know.

Interview transcript provided by CNN International.

-----

Is he good or is he good. Miss him even now. Come back Rafa, some day.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Rafa Benitez: “I’m a Liverpool fan and I support this big club”

"I'm a Liverpool fan and I support this big club"" data-via="FootballFanCast" >
258Share

Ex-Liverpool manager Rafa BenitezIn an exclusive interview with CNN, Rafa Benitez talked to CNN’s Pedro Pinto about the challenge of succeeding Jose Mourinho as manager of Inter Milan and his style of coaching, as well as looking back upon his time at Liverpool in the Premier League. Regarding his time at Anfield, Benitez defends his record there, claiming that he made the club big in Europe again.

PP: I wanted to go back in time a little to your first day when you faced the players for the first time. What was going through your mind and how well did you prepare that first speech taking in to account how much success they had the previous season?

    RB: I think it is the same in all the teams no? When you have a new squad and you have to know them and in this case to congratulate them for everything else they have achieved. I knew 5 or 6 players, so more or less knew how they were thinking about the future or what they were doing in the past or more or less I had an idea and it was easier because they knew me too.

PP: You may have had that contact, but when you come to a new group and they are used to doing things one way, and that was successful, how difficult is it for you to come in and say ‘well yeah that was successful but I want to do it this other way’?

    RB: From the beginning I wanted to keep the things they were doing well, the style of play and things on a daily basis they were doing every day, and after a while you try and do things your way, but to arrive at a point of being successful, you can do things one way or the other way so there are different ways to arrive at the success. It is important to know if this is a good option we will try to follow this option.

PP: You and Jose Mourinho were rivals in England, and you succeeded him here. Did you feel people were still talking about him here when you came, and did that make it difficult for you?

    RB: No I think it is always the same when you go to a club that has won something. When I arrived at Valencia they were playing in 2 Champions League finals so people were talking about how the team is strong, and a new manager will change things. Liverpool was the same, they were talking about the past and how they were winning trophies so it was a question of time. Here it was more difficult at the beginning, they had won the three titles, the three also that they had. Again we have to watch the future. This team has won the Italian Super Cup, and this is a minor trophy you won, but it is still a trophy, so hopefully now we can win the Intercontinental Cup, and everything will be easier.

PP: Different managers have different styles. Some are more enthusiastic, some are more controlled, how would you describe your own style? Some say you are very detached, when you are on the bench you don’t have a lot of feelings. How would you describe yourself?

    RB: That is not true, so obviously if you can see any of our games you can see it is not true. I have passion, I have control, two things it is sometimes not easy to put together, but I like my job, I like to teach and I like to be involved and to show something to the players at the same time I have to think. So I need control, I need to know what is going on and to find a solution at the same time. I think we are in the big brother society so if you do more you are better, but you have to do what you have to do.

PP: What impressed you the most when you got to Inter?

    RB: I would say to you that this is a big club. You can see that this is a big club. The mentality of the fans is similar to the mentality of the Liverpool fans, they are behind the team and they try to be behind the team and push them. The mentality of the players, the majority of them, they are very good professionals with a good approach, and this is very important if you want to keep winning games.

PP: You mentioned Liverpool, and I want to ask you a couple of questions about Liverpool. It’s not been a very long time since you left, but so many things have changed. When you look back upon your time there, what do you feel?

    RB: Well I am really proud that I was the manager, the feeling, the relationship with the fans and the city. I was really comfortable there, and still I have my house there so always the same, if I finish here in ten years time, I will go back there so it was really good for me and my family.

PP: You’ve been asked a couple of times in press conferences about Liverpool and the new manager. I’ll be honest, I was entertained by the philosophical remarks you made, the priest and the sugar, the milk. How do you see the club how it is now?

    RB: I still have a lot of respect for Liverpool and Liverpool Football Club, so I don’t really want to talk about them. But sometimes when someone says something I have to respond with what is in this case what I know. But again I would prefer not to say anything because I wish them all the best, I wish to stay in a really good position and do really well because for me it is what I feel too.

PP: But how difficult was the last year for you? Were you treated unfairly by the club?

    RB: Again I would prefer to not talk too much about that so the people that were there are really proud now again. We have the opportunity to give them back the possibility to say I am a Liverpool Football Club fan and I support this big club. We gave to them this back by working very hard and winning. It wasn’t just Istanbul, it was more trophies, more finals, semi-finals quarter finals. The team was again very important in Europe and the fans, they know.

Interview transcript provided by CNN International.

-----

Is he good or is he good. Miss him even now. Come back Rafa, some day.

Could he possibly have been more in tune with the fans that mattered
Brilliant post Bav cheers for that

[dawson99]

just a pity he wasn't as in tune with the players and club

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

just a pity he wasn't as in tune with the players and club

When you say players do you mean Carragher and Gerrard....
because you cant possibly mean Reina ,Torres ,Lucas ,Mascherano ,Skrtel ,Agger ,Johnson,Ngog, Jovanovic,or Maxi  ...shall I go on ?
and when you say club do you mean Purslow and the two nasty b @stards we jibbed 

[dawson99]

just a pity he wasn't as in tune with the players and club

When you say players do you mean Carragher and Gerrard....
because you cant possibly mean Reina ,Torres ,Lucas ,Mascherano ,Skrtel ,Agger ,Johnson,Ngog, Jovanovic,or Maxi  ...shall I go on ?
and when you say club do you mean Purslow and the two nasty b @stards we jibbed 

if you had this much passion for Liverpool FC we'd have a real fan on our hands mate

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

just a pity he wasn't as in tune with the players and club

When you say players do you mean Carragher and Gerrard....
because you cant possibly mean Reina ,Torres ,Lucas ,Mascherano ,Skrtel ,Agger ,Johnson,Ngog, Jovanovic,or Maxi  ...shall I go on ?
and when you say club do you mean Purslow and the two nasty b @stards we jibbed 

if you had this much passion for Liverpool FC we'd have a real fan on our hands mate

ooooooooh Now if you had said we were bringing handbags