Liverpool FC Forum

[Owzat]

Well Woy was only just shading it by six votes to five against a dog turd - nuff said!

[Owzat]

Do you mean that the top players that we've got wouldn't have come if Benitez wasn't the manager? I don't agree mate. We obviously have a very different opinion on how prestigious Liverpool Football Club still is, I think most people would give their right arms to play for us regardless of who is the manager. There were plenty of murmerings about players wanting away BECAUSE of the manager in any case, so it's a bit rich to make out now that they only came because of him, and they'll all want to leave now he's gone. Some players will leave because we finished 7th last season fair enough, but that's the price you pay for finishing outside the top slots. It's only the same as players deserting relegated clubs to move back into the Premiership, or leaving teams who got beat in the play offs to play for someone who's up there. If you underachieve you lose your best players, it's always been that way.

Bang on the money fluff.

Might have been different names, but the quality of players wasn't dependant on it being Rafa in charge. Might not have been Torres, Mascherano and Lucas, but I don't doubt the quality would have been about the same if not better. And let's not forget the 'quality' of the last two seasons' signings, if people can put aside their liking for Johnson :-

09/10 Kyrgiakos (good but not great), Johnson (can't defend, ok going forward), Rodriguez (ok) and Aquilani (yet to really tell due to underuse)

08/09 Keane (sold in six months), Cavalieri (not used much, not great when played), N'Gog (handy but not great), Dossena (useless and sold), Degen (barely plays, ordinary) and Riera (started brightly, now much faded)


You can't persuade me that only Rafa could have brought that level of quality to this club, I'd fancy my chances of matching that with £40m a summer! Like with the excessive credit given to Rafa for winning the CL compared to his league finishes, I think too many rave about his signing a handful of players. Sure he signed Alonso, Mascherano, Torres, Agger and Reina, but there are plenty of counter-examples who flopped, and over the course of SIX SEASONS I think any better than decent manager would expect to do the same given £40m a summer