Liverpool FC Forum

by **loke** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:34 am

I though this was a football forum not some twisted dating site

BTW Please please please let me wake up tomorrow so the news that Rafa has fecked off back to Madrid.

by **made in UK** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:34 am

Ciggy wrote:
made in UK wrote:
Ciggy wrote:
made in UK wrote:Don't worry she hates me now I'm all yours you little minx.

Is that so http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-qN6TCY85c

My links wont work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fJpbsYTGlY

Oh Gosh

Wink wink

:devil:

by **Ciggy** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:35 am

Lost for words Mr made in the Uk? :laugh:

by **made in UK** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:39 am

Ciggy wrote:Lost for words Mr made in the Uk?

by **Ciggy** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:45 am

fabulous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....ynext=1

by **The_Rock** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:11 am

I didn't write this article......

Liverpool need a Jose Mourinho, or a Guus Hiddink, maybe even a Fabio Capello

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns....cc=4716

Reading loss must spell the end for Rafa

Time is up for Rafael Benitez - and in truth it's been up for some time now.

The clock is ticking for Rafael Benitez

The FA Cup defeat at Anfield at the hands of Reading amplifies the call for the manager's head. The headlines will be gruesome reading for Benitez on Thursday morning. That is hardly a surprise.

What is a surprise, though, is the intransigence of the club's American owners to do anything about it because, apparently, it would cost too much to dispense with their manager and his large entourage of backroom staff and coaches.

Mark Hughes was dismissed by Manchester City with a far superior record this season. The Middle East owners want instant success, at least a top four finish, if not the title, and sacked Hughes after only half of the season. In came Roberto Mancini, which didn't go down well with the media, but look at the outcome - resurgence at City. No one seems to be bemoaning the loss of Hughes right now.

The same might well happen at Anfield. Yes, it will be a shame for Rafa. He is suffering from constant injury problems to the two key players who could have carried him through this crisis, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Benitez insists he has a good, sound squad that can cope without them. He is wrong. He is papering over the cracks.

He has been wonderful for the club in his time. Mostly the glory has come on the continent, while the fans crave the League title, which has been the private domain of Manchester United and Chelsea for the past five years.

Just as United have stated in their investment prospectus, there is a danger of problems if they cannot find the right man to one day replace Sir Alex Ferguson. It's no good replacing Benitez if Liverpool don't have the right man to take his place.

There can only be a handful of men who would turn Liverpool's fortunes around, and if you want the best, you will have to pay the best. A pot of gold, though, is in short supply at Liverpool right now.

LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages

Fernando Torres walks off past a concerned Rafael Benitez

In fact, the decision to stick with Rafa appears to be one about finance, rather than what is best for the team, what is best for the fans, what is best for Liverpool. That is an intolerable situation. Liverpool FC should be bigger than that.

With Rafa only a few months into a fresh five-year deal, everyone knows the team need new direction. How they must be regretting that deal right now.

This week the club's managing director, Christian Purslow, announced that, despite Benitez's remarks to the contrary, there will be no fire sale of top stars such as Torres, Gerrard and Javier Mascherano, if as looks likely the club fail to make it back into the lucrative land of the Champions League.

Top of the agenda is to sift through the multitude of interested clients wishing to invest in Liverpool. Sounds good, but the club has been for sale for some time, or new investors have been sought for a considerable time, and yet there has appeared to be a problem in finding the right formula with two diverse owners to unlock the path to investment.

Liverpool need a Jose Mourinho, or a Guus Hiddink, maybe even a Fabio Capello. None of these guys come cheap, if they will come to Anfield at all. Money speaks these days for the top coaches, and judging by the one free transfer Benitez has been allowed so far in the January window the club are impoverished compared to the high rollers at the summit of the Premier League.

The solution rests with a new owner, or powerful investor, who can shift the inertia that currently grips Anfield.

It's hard to say "I told you so" as it does sound so conceited and egotistical. But here goes ... "I told you so".

Wind back to the start of the season. Expectations were fuelled by such a fabulous second half of last season when Liverpool came so close to taking the title. Many experts tipped Liverpool to win the Premier League.

However, as early as September I forecast that the title was well beyond them, then I suggested they would struggle to make the top four, and soon I was forecasting potential financial meltdown as I could see them slipping out of the Champions League and not getting back for next season.

Months ago I said Rafa's time was up. It is now. It can only be a matter of when, not if.

by **akumaface** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:34 am

One thing I don't understand Rafa is that if the players are not performing, shouldn't some of them be benched regardless of the player's status? If Reading can beat us with nobody, it wouldn't be a bad idea to play more of our reserve players as they are more hungrier I suppose. Players like Pacheco or move players around. It just seems our team had lost it's soul. No one is willing to take up the challenge and lead this team. Even with our injuries, I don't mind them losing if they show they had put in the effort but I don't see that happening. A lot of the players deserve to be benched and humiliated. They have to realize the job will be taken away if you are not performing. This is what a manager should do as this is what other manager will do in other professional sports also. If they cry being disrespected, they have no one but themselves to blame. And those are not the kind of player we need. We need more player with a fighting spirit in them rather than "Oh well, too bad" kind of attitude. Just look at Birmingham, I had watched them recently, why they had been so successful recently is because all the players just take extra effort in pressurizing the opponents. Basically, they just work harder and run an extra step. If you work hard, good things will eventually come. I see the players in our club seems to wait for the ship to sink and then leave and it won't be their problem. This is really sad as I think the problem lies beneath more than Rafa. :angry:

by **shawnk** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 6:41 am

akumaface wrote:One thing I don't understand Rafa is that if the players are not performing, shouldn't some of them be benched regardless of the player's status? If Reading can beat us with nobody, it wouldn't be a bad idea to play more of our reserve players as they are more hungrier I suppose. Players like Pacheco or move players around. It just seems our team had lost it's soul. No one is willing to take up the challenge and lead this team. Even with our injuries, I don't mind them losing if they show they had put in the effort but I don't see that happening. A lot of the players deserve to be benched and humiliated. They have to realize the job will be taken away if you are not performing. This is what a manager should do as this is what other manager will do in other professional sports also. If they cry being disrespected, they have no one but themselves to blame. And those are not the kind of player we need. We need more player with a fighting spirit in them rather than "Oh well, too bad" kind of attitude. Just look at Birmingham, I had watched them recently, why they had been so successful recently is because all the players just take extra effort in pressurizing the opponents. Basically, they just work harder and run an extra step. If you work hard, good things will eventually come. I see the players in our club seems to wait for the ship to sink and then leave and it won't be their problem. This is really sad as I think the problem lies beneath more than Rafa.

You can blame the players but if they know they dont perform well and yet get to be in the starting line up, I believe most wouldn't bother working over time. I'm pretty sure successful Alex Ferguson would not allow this to happen.

And I feel sorry for Kuyt to get involved in almost every competition even the Carling Cup. He looked so tired in the match against Reading last night.

by **Big Niall** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:30 am

the team looks :censored:

and have been :censored:

all season.

Rafa has paid a fortune for this squad, picks the team, tactics, motivates etc

The manager needs to be fired ASAP.

by **parchpea** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:04 am

If Benitez cared for this club as much as people give him credit for he would walk.He should have been canned after last nights game but I assume remains in post today so they should call him in before the day is out.If he does stay on then it will only confirm the assumption that the owners do not care two s***s about this football club and where the team is going.This whole debacle has gone on for so long now its farcical as Rafa should have gone long ago.Shambolic.

by **Judge** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:01 am

perhaps the doubters will now stand and say - we are wrong and we agree rafa should go

the season has now completely fallen apart, and tbh, it will be a mammoth task to pull this one out of the hat and into at least 4th place in the league.

No disrespect to Reading, they played very well, but come on, with that result, he should go.

Get Mourinho in, as much as the man is a plonker, he is a winner and masterful tactician. i reckon him or hiddink could change things. if we are really lucky he'd get rid of lucas and insua

by **Owzat** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:02 am

As posted in another thread in more detail than I'll post it here, our exit from the CL is embarrassing. Fiorentina and Lyon look decent sides on face value, but both are lingering SIXTH in their respective leagues and FIFTEEN and THIRTEEN points behind their league leaders respectively (Fiorentina do have a game in hand)

So while JoeTerp (? sorry if it wasn't you) thought we underestimated our group - did we?!?! Two teams not exactly playing well in their leagues, Debrecen got beaten 3-4, 2-5, and 0-4 (twice) by everyone else while we beat them only 1-0 in both games. Out of both domestic cups are only two games in each, one out at the 1st hurdle and the other at the 2nd hurdle with a record of P3 W1 D1 L1 against lower league opponents.

Signings have been unconvincing thus far this season, maybe Maxi will change that but let's wait and see, and were not exactly excellent last season with none of the six firmly established in the 1st XI despite costing a combined £38m or so. We could wait and see if Rafa secures 4th, I can't see it somehow when we can beat the odd good side, but face an ordinary side and they make us look even more ordinary. Those stuffings we handed out to Burnley, Stoke and Hull seem a distant memory

by **dawson99** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:08 am

I think its funny how Torres and Gerrard seem to get injured at the same times... real injuries? Or they just really don't wanna play?

by **Boocity** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:54 am

I am so gutted about last night, I just want this season to be over with. We must make the top four in the league but on current form thats looking decidedly dodgy.

Some people go on about still being in the Europa league but we cannot even beat one of the championship whipping boys over two legs so how are we to progress in that.

Rafa must go now, otherwise top four could be out of our reach

by **agoodmentality** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:16 am

This is now beyond a joke,

he's gotta go, now!

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Sack him. if you want the manager sacked - ...put your thoughts in here.

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