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[tubby]

Especailly as this is probably Keanes boyhood favourate club. He must be feeling like .

[tubby]

Benitez: 'We can't progress until I control the transfers'

By Steve Tongue
Sunday, 18 January 2009



GETTY IMAGES

Benitez's complaints about transfers are of long standing and go to the heart of his relationship with Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry

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Having once suffered fromthe tiniest kidney stone, your correspondent has every sympathy with what Liverpool's Rafa Benitez is currently going through. Whether it entirely excuses his recent outbursts of tetchiness is another matter.


Last weekend it was Manchester United and all their works that caused the irritation; now his own club have inflamed him, and last night he was forced to deny suggestions that they will be looking for a new manager this summer if he is not given greater control over transfers. It was at best an odd way to set the agenda ahead of two critical matches in the next seven days against Everton.

Why bring the matter into the open at this particular moment? "The owners offered me a [contract] extension and I said that we would have to do it very quickly because I don't want distractions," Benitez explained yesterday. "After two months of conversations they know my ideas. I told them that we cannot progress. We cannot keep going over and over with these things. For me it was good to do it, finish, and concentrate on football. So we finished the conversations. That's it."

As he is happy with the length of contract and the sums on offer, it is hardly a secret that the "things" in question concern control over transfers. Yesterday he made it clear that the manager should have the final say on how much a particular player is worth: "If you have £20m you can sign five players for £4m or one of £20m. Who will know? The manager, because he knows what he needs in the squad. It's clear."

Benitez's complaints about transfers are of long standing and go to the heart of his relationship not so much with the owners but with Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry. The morning after losing the Champions' League final to Milan in 2007, Benitez shocked listeners at the squad's hotel with a diatribe clearly directed at Parry about the way Liverpool were losing out on transfer targets because they did not act quicklyenough. "We talk and talk but never finish," was his beef.

His particular frustration this season is not having signed Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, apparently because his superiors decided that the £18m Villa held out for was too much; as the American owners were hardly in a position to judge the players' worth, it was assumed to be Parry who made the decision. The worry now is that Liverpool's best chance in recent years to win the Premier League may yet be frittered away. It would be hard to bear if Manchester United were the team to come from behind and take it, equalling Liverpool's record of 18 English titles.

Clearly, Benitez will have to return to discussions with the Americans, who are expected at Anfield in two weeks' time for the game with Chelsea. "I don't have any problem at all about talking with them," he said. "The phone works both ways. It's about how I can manage the club in the best way for the future. I am working very hard for Liverpool and I want to stay here a long time.

"My relationship with the owners is better than people think. So if you have a disagreement about different things in the contract it doesn't mean you have a bad relationship. We have finished talking and now we have to concentrate on football."

So to Everton, firstly in the League tomorrow night and then the FA Cup next Sunday. For many Liverpool supporters, treating their nearest neighbours with disdain, United are the most important team to beat these days; a sentiment echoed yesterday by Fernando Torres. For Evertonians, however, it is still the derby matches that matter most, which is why these two fixtures are so essential to their wellbeing.

They will travel across Stanley Park tomorrow in sixth place, which represents an excellent recovery from some patchy early-season form, including a 2-0 home defeat inflicted by two fine goals from Torres. Unfortunately for Everton, he now appears ready to start a game again, Liverpool having missed him when he was left in the dug-out for the first hour of a poor performance at Stoke last weekend.

What even the most jaundiced Red would admit is that David Moyes has done as good a job as could be expected given the financial constraints imposed in his seven years on Merseyside. Getting in a famous little dig on arrival in March 2002, he christened Everton "The People's Club". Benitez later stirred up a fair old storm when he spoke of "small clubs" like Everton coming to Liverpool to play for a point. Blues walking into enemy country this week may claim that, small or not, they appear to be the more united of the two clubs.

[lakes10]

Benitez: 'We can't progress until I control the transfers'

By Steve Tongue
Sunday, 18 January 2009



GETTY IMAGES

Benitez's complaints about transfers are of long standing and go to the heart of his relationship with Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry

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Independent.co.uk  Web 
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Having once suffered fromthe tiniest kidney stone, your correspondent has every sympathy with what Liverpool's Rafa Benitez is currently going through. Whether it entirely excuses his recent outbursts of tetchiness is another matter.


Last weekend it was Manchester United and all their works that caused the irritation; now his own club have inflamed him, and last night he was forced to deny suggestions that they will be looking for a new manager this summer if he is not given greater control over transfers. It was at best an odd way to set the agenda ahead of two critical matches in the next seven days against Everton.

Why bring the matter into the open at this particular moment? "The owners offered me a [contract] extension and I said that we would have to do it very quickly because I don't want distractions," Benitez explained yesterday. "After two months of conversations they know my ideas. I told them that we cannot progress. We cannot keep going over and over with these things. For me it was good to do it, finish, and concentrate on football. So we finished the conversations. That's it."

As he is happy with the length of contract and the sums on offer, it is hardly a secret that the "things" in question concern control over transfers. Yesterday he made it clear that the manager should have the final say on how much a particular player is worth: "If you have £20m you can sign five players for £4m or one of £20m. Who will know? The manager, because he knows what he needs in the squad. It's clear."

Benitez's complaints about transfers are of long standing and go to the heart of his relationship not so much with the owners but with Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry. The morning after losing the Champions' League final to Milan in 2007, Benitez shocked listeners at the squad's hotel with a diatribe clearly directed at Parry about the way Liverpool were losing out on transfer targets because they did not act quicklyenough. "We talk and talk but never finish," was his beef.

His particular frustration this season is not having signed Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, apparently because his superiors decided that the £18m Villa held out for was too much; as the American owners were hardly in a position to judge the players' worth, it was assumed to be Parry who made the decision. The worry now is that Liverpool's best chance in recent years to win the Premier League may yet be frittered away. It would be hard to bear if Manchester United were the team to come from behind and take it, equalling Liverpool's record of 18 English titles.

Clearly, Benitez will have to return to discussions with the Americans, who are expected at Anfield in two weeks' time for the game with Chelsea. "I don't have any problem at all about talking with them," he said. "The phone works both ways. It's about how I can manage the club in the best way for the future. I am working very hard for Liverpool and I want to stay here a long time.

"My relationship with the owners is better than people think. So if you have a disagreement about different things in the contract it doesn't mean you have a bad relationship. We have finished talking and now we have to concentrate on football."

So to Everton, firstly in the League tomorrow night and then the FA Cup next Sunday. For many Liverpool supporters, treating their nearest neighbours with disdain, United are the most important team to beat these days; a sentiment echoed yesterday by Fernando Torres. For Evertonians, however, it is still the derby matches that matter most, which is why these two fixtures are so essential to their wellbeing.

They will travel across Stanley Park tomorrow in sixth place, which represents an excellent recovery from some patchy early-season form, including a 2-0 home defeat inflicted by two fine goals from Torres. Unfortunately for Everton, he now appears ready to start a game again, Liverpool having missed him when he was left in the dug-out for the first hour of a poor performance at Stoke last weekend.

What even the most jaundiced Red would admit is that David Moyes has done as good a job as could be expected given the financial constraints imposed in his seven years on Merseyside. Getting in a famous little dig on arrival in March 2002, he christened Everton "The People's Club". Benitez later stirred up a fair old storm when he spoke of "small clubs" like Everton coming to Liverpool to play for a point. Blues walking into enemy country this week may claim that, small or not, they appear to be the more united of the two clubs.

well if i was G&H and i heard someone say that just as they are about to be given a new contract them i think i would give them a P45 instead. sounds like Rafa trying blackmail on them now.

Shut up Rafa and win the big game in under 24hrs.

[bigmick]

well if i was G&H and i heard someone say that just as they are about to be given a new contract them i think i would give them a P45 instead. sounds like Rafa trying blackmail on them now.

Shut up Rafa and win the big game in under 24hrs.

Oh I don't know Lakes, I don't find anything wrong in what rafa is asking for TBH. I don't think he'll get his way, and nor do I think he should to be honest but it seems a reasonable enough request to me.

It's only natural if you wanted to sign two 28 year olds for 20 million each and the one you did sign didn't work out, that you look at the other one and are convinced that one would have been the better move. Equally, as we got beaten in the race to sign Vidic and one or two others, any manager is bound to look enviously at the success of people we didn't sign. It's probably equally natural to conveniently forget about blokes who we were in for who went elsewhere and flopped, there's no doubt been a few of those over the years as well (Malouda being an obvious example). They won't get mentioned as much, and nor will Rick parry get the blame quite so much for missing out on them.

No I think his request is a natural one and there's nothing wrong with it, but I personally think the board would be justified in resisting it.

[sgs]

His position is a direct indictment of Parry. I therefore find it ironic that folks would on one hand call out Parry for the incompetent that he is while at the same time condemning Benitez!

If Liverpool had a David Dein in the position Parry is, we would not be having this conversation.

[Lando_Griffin]

Why is benitez keeping yapping to the press about barry ? I mean....give me a break FFS. That is sooooo 6 months ago. Why does he wanna bring that up at every opportunity ?

what had happen to handling stuff behind closed doors ?  (you know the liverpool way).

Benitez argues this is a decision he alone should have taken. On the day the Keane deal went through, the manager even made a last-ditch effort to block it until after Barry was signed.

And if this is the reason why he doesn't play keane, then hope he just f@cks back to spain..... A manager who puts his personal "biasness" over the club doesn't deserve any respect....

Stop being such a f*cking pr*ck.

If you think Keane deserves a place in the starting 11 over Gerrard (whom he is competing with for a place), you're more deluded than even I gave you credit for.

Tell the gaffer to "f*ck off back to Spain" again, and I'll make it a personal crusade to get you banned, you racist bag of whore sh*t.

[Lando_Griffin]

His position is a direct indictment of Parry. I therefore find it ironic that folks would on one hand call out Parry for the incompetent that he is while at the same time condemning Benitez!

If Liverpool had a David Dein in the position Parry is, we would not be having this conversation.

You're forgetting, though, that some people don't let the facts get in the way of a jibe at Benitez...

[The_Rock]

Why is benitez keeping yapping to the press about barry ? I mean....give me a break FFS. That is sooooo 6 months ago. Why does he wanna bring that up at every opportunity ?

what had happen to handling stuff behind closed doors ?  (you know the liverpool way).

Benitez argues this is a decision he alone should have taken. On the day the Keane deal went through, the manager even made a last-ditch effort to block it until after Barry was signed.

And if this is the reason why he doesn't play keane, then hope he just f@cks back to spain..... A manager who puts his personal "biasness" over the club doesn't deserve any respect....

Stop being such a f*cking pr*ck.

If you think Keane deserves a place in the starting 11 over Gerrard (whom he is competing with for a place), you're more deluded than even I gave you credit for.

Tell the gaffer to "f*ck off back to Spain" again, and I'll make it a personal crusade to get you banned, you racist bag of whore sh*t.

Hahahha.....  i am pi$$ing in my pants now..... 

If anyone should be banned or at least get a card...it should be you....

Mods.....any comments ? 

[bigmick]

His position is a direct indictment of Parry. I therefore find it ironic that folks would on one hand call out Parry for the incompetent that he is while at the same time condemning Benitez!

If Liverpool had a David Dein in the position Parry is, we would not be having this conversation.

I'm missing how it's "ironic", although I can understand how you may think such a stance is a contradiction.

My feeling is that I'm fully prepared to believe that Parry is not the best man for the job he does (I don't know this, but if people are convinced then I'm certainly convincable). That doesn't necessarily mean though that I would advocate scrapping his role altogether and giving the manager (whoever it is) all the power. I think that would be a mistake.

So in a nutshell, replace Parry if we must, redefine the autonomy of the manager by all means, but I personally like continuity in the youth ranks (as long as the right man is in charge, I ask again, Dario Gradi?) regardless of who is the manager and whether he leaves or is sacked. I should think if Wenger was to leave Arsenal Liam Brady would probably stay in his post since we mention David Dein. Equally, I think there should be checks and balances on transfers, as the long term interests of the club and the slightly shorter term interests of a manager aren't always the same thing.

Not a Rafa bash though, I think his request is fair enough. I just don't think any manager having that much autonomy is healthy.

[Rush Job]

Parrys been holding us back for years and as we probably cant afford a top class CEO who'll look to bring in the top players then i'd give ghe control to Rafa. Think about some of the players we'd have like Simau, Alves, Vidic Barry, going back a little further theres Figo and Ronaldo. And thats just a few that we know about.
Give the manager the budget to spend as he see's fit, theres no way IMO Rafa would have blown his whole budget on Keane.
I explained last summer how the transfer business works these days with CEO having more power than the manager in some cases and was laughed at by some, well there you go.
Save the cllub some dough, sack Parry, and its not just signings he's sh!t at, look at the mess he's got us into. And give Rafa the power to spend his budget how he see's fit, he's got sammy to help him out at melwood if it mean he's  a little busyer.
And think about it if you were a young player what would impress you the most meeting with some Parry bloke or Rafa Benitez?

[Rush Job]

And as far as the academy is concerned I think it shows how long Rafa would like yo be at the club.

[sgs]

His position is a direct indictment of Parry. I therefore find it ironic that folks would on one hand call out Parry for the incompetent that he is while at the same time condemning Benitez!

If Liverpool had a David Dein in the position Parry is, we would not be having this conversation.

I'm missing how it's "ironic", although I can understand how you may think such a stance is a contradiction.

My feeling is that I'm fully prepared to believe that Parry is not the best man for the job he does (I don't know this, but if people are convinced then I'm certainly convincable). That doesn't necessarily mean though that I would advocate scrapping his role altogether and giving the manager (whoever it is) all the power. I think that would be a mistake.

So in a nutshell, replace Parry if we must, redefine the autonomy of the manager by all means, but I personally like continuity in the youth ranks (as long as the right man is in charge, I ask again, Dario Gradi?) regardless of who is the manager and whether he leaves or is sacked. I should think if Wenger was to leave Arsenal Liam Brady would probably stay in his post since we mention David Dein. Equally, I think there should be checks and balances on transfers, as the long term interests of the club and the slightly shorter term interests of a manager aren't always the same thing.

Not a Rafa bash though, I think his request is fair enough. I just don't think any manager having that much autonomy is healthy.

It is ironic because you recognize the incompetence of Parry but disparage the Manager's attempts to address this lack of capacity...

2ndly, what is not addressed here is Parry's failures on the commercial side. Liverpool FC is a global franchise, yet it is almost marketed like its only sphere of influence was around Stanley Park!

[Lando_Griffin]

Why is benitez keeping yapping to the press about barry ? I mean....give me a break FFS. That is sooooo 6 months ago. Why does he wanna bring that up at every opportunity ?

what had happen to handling stuff behind closed doors ?  (you know the liverpool way).

Benitez argues this is a decision he alone should have taken. On the day the Keane deal went through, the manager even made a last-ditch effort to block it until after Barry was signed.

And if this is the reason why he doesn't play keane, then hope he just f@cks back to spain..... A manager who puts his personal "biasness" over the club doesn't deserve any respect....

Stop being such a f*cking pr*ck.

If you think Keane deserves a place in the starting 11 over Gerrard (whom he is competing with for a place), you're more deluded than even I gave you credit for.

Tell the gaffer to "f*ck off back to Spain" again, and I'll make it a personal crusade to get you banned, you racist bag of whore sh*t.

Hahahha.....  i am pi$$ing in my pants now..... 

If anyone should be banned or at least get a card...it should be you....

Mods.....any comments ? 

Well why don't you do your usual trick and run off to them?...

Imbecile.

[account deleted by request]

It amuses me how at the time we first missed out on Alves it was because Rafa didn't want to be seen to be taken for a ride and ...." Rafa is making a stand "...... "Rafa won't pay over the odds for a player ".

Now that Alves has become a big success it has subtly changed to being "that incompetant tw@t Parry's fault we didn't get Alves".



BTW I was reading tonight Parry's version of the events over Alves by someone who actually talked to Parry :- Rafa instructed him to do a deal with Sevilla, but Del Nido was really playing hardball. Rafa had a valuation, and Sevilla's price was way above it and Del Nido wouldn't budge an inch.

Parry reckons in the end he just agreed to pay them what they wanted, but when he went back to Rafa and told him Rafa pulled the plug and said he didn't want to give in to Del Nido's demands, so we didn't do the deal.

[bigmick]

You're not a real fan S@int