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Rafa Benitez


Anorthernsoul
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It's a big positive if he can make his own signings too - this seemed to let McClaren down as there was some players he clearly didn't want and clearly didn't have faith in, hence our emergency spending in january.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2009/may/20/liverpool-transfers

 

A worry, no?

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That link doesn't work.

 

Either way my riposte was likely to be rafaholdinguptheeuropeancuporsoomething.jpeg.

Just a telegraph article on the players that Rafa bought at Liverpool that flopped.

 

 

Josemi £2m

For his first signing as Liverpool manager Benítez turned to a market he knew well, but this right-back from Málaga made just 16 starts in 18 months at Anfield before being sent to Villarreal as part of an exchange deal

 

Antonio Nunez swap

After arriving at Anfield as part of the deal that took Michael Owen to the Bernabéu, the often-injured midfielder gave no hint as to why Real Madrid had signed him but plenty of clues as to why they let him go. Sold to Celta Vigo

 

Fernando Morientes £6.3m

The Spaniard’s capture in January 2005 was hailed as a coup but his form soon led to puzzlement over the deterioration of a player who was once one of Europe’s leading strikers

 

Jan Kromkamp swap

The Dutch replacement for Josemi looked no more at ease than his predecessor and was unable to shift right-back Steve Finnan. He moved on after half a season, returning to his native Netherlands at PSV Eindhoven

 

Mark González £4.5m

Yet another signing from La Liga who failed to find any consistency in England and even had trouble entering the country: the Chilean spent a season on loan at Real Sociedad before moving to Liverpool for just one season

 

Craig Bellamy £6m

After less than a year, only a handful of decent performances and a much-publicised clash with team-mate John Arne Riise, the Welshman was sold to West Ham, though at least the £7.5m meant Benítez made a profit

 

Ryan Babel £11.5m

One of the brightest prospects in Europe when signed from Ajax in 2007 but the erratic Dutch winger has yet to fulfil his potential since his arrival at Anfield

 

Jermaine Pennant £6.7m

That he was not considered good enough for Arsenal did not dissuade Benítez from imagining the wayward winger as the solution to Liverpool’s problems out wide. Now playing for Real Zaragoza

 

Robbie Keane £20.3m

Intended as the final piece in a title-winning jigsaw, the hitherto prolific marksman became a misfit and was ditched after half a season

 

Charles Itandje undisclosed

The French goalkeeper has never come close to breaking into the Liverpool first-team and is available to offers after laughing during April's ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster

 

Gabriel Paletta £2m

Bought from Banfield in Argentina in 2006 the 21-year-old central defender made three appearances for Liverpool and looked shaky at best. The 6-3 defeat by Arsenal in the Carling Cup highlighted his weaknesses and he was sold to Boca Juniors in 2007

 

Philipp Degen Free

Arguably the worst injury record in Liverpool's history has seen the Swiss full-back make just four appearances in 15 months for the club

 

Andrea Dossena £7m

Brought in as a replacement for John-Arne Riise at left-back in the summer of 2008 the Italian was soon found out for his lack of pace and clumsy first touch. Now behind Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio in the Anfield pecking order

 

Mauricio Pellegrino free

The veteran centre back joined Liverpool from Benítez's former club Valencia in 2005. He made 12 undistinguished appearances in which he looked unable to handle the pace of Premier League football. Now a coach at Anfield

 

Andriy Voronin free

The Ukraine striker joined Liverpool in 2007 from Bayer Leverkusen with a view to playing in the hole behind Fernando Torres, but he soon found himself on the outskirts of the squad after making little impact

 

Alberto Riera £8m

Played well on the left wing in his first season at the club after his arrival in September 2008 as part of the team that nearly won the league, but fell out of favour in his second season and his outspoken comments against Benítez did little for the manager's job security

 

Alberto Aquilani £18m

The Italian midfielder was bought for a large fee last summer as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, but injuries meant he did not start a league game until Boxing Day and failed to make an impression all season

 

Not my list.

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Balance that against the trophies he won and for me - that's great use of somebody else's money.

:lol:

 

He's a top manager, but I don't rate his transfer dealings.

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Just a telegraph article on the players that Rafa bought at Liverpool that flopped.

 

 

Not my list.

 

C'mon Fish. There are plenty great managers out there that have players that worked out and those that haven't.

 

Okay here's another list. This is just one attempt, but given time I'm sure I could find lists from his time at Tenerife and Valencia. Probably better list than any of our managers over the past number of years I'm sure.

 

http://telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/7673913/Rafael-Benitezs-five-best-and-worst-transfers-at-Liverpool.html

Edited by LooneyToony
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Next up for Newcastle is the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland on Sunday, when the stakes could hardly be higher. “Every game is important but this one is the most important because it is the next one, it’s a derby,, and because of the position in the table,” Benítez said.“I told the players they have to play without anxiety, because they will make more mistakes. They have to play with great commitment, working really hard, but they have to use the brain and try and play good football. In this way we can create more chances and maybe take more chances.

None of the usual bullshit about it being a battle or the winner will be whoever wants it most. Of course commitment is important, but just as important is making your quality count. He really is a breath of fresh air. Still can't believe he's our manager. All he needs is a suit that fits.

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I think we might be doomed unfortunately. The decision to not sack McLaren after the Chelsea game is what will ultimately relegate us. Could be back to square one of Rafa fucks off too. We need at least 1 point in the Derby to have any hope of staying up imo

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That's it really in a nutshell. We need to get enough points to get out of the relegation places in the next match .. the further we drop behind the more the players will lose faith and the less likely we are to get results.

 

Despite the total fuckery of last night, I still see the potential for a fuckin brilliant striker in mitro and a legend in Gino - I really do see class in there somewhere.

 

I think with Mitro he just needs to get a few goals under his belt and man up a bit and stop shitting himself everytime he's in a scoring position.

Sissoko is so frustrating , it pisses me off just looking at him now. He's capable of decent crosses and shots but he just shits himself far too often.

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Thank you...

First let me start by thanking you all for the heartfelt reception I have received since I arrived. It was an honour to be asked to take charge of this club and I could not have asked for a warmer welcome.

 

Working hard…

 

As you know, work began with intensity from the moment my coaching staff and I arrived. Our first job is to make sure we remain a Premier League club and this week we have committed everything we have to making that happen.

 

Whilst the result on Monday at Leicester wasn’t what we wanted, I was pleased with parts of what I saw. We have worked intensively on the areas that need improvement and I am confident we go into Sunday’s game well-prepared.

 

A Black & White Army…

 

I have been in the opposing dug out at St. James’ Park and I know that when I take my place on the home side, I will be backed by some of the most passionate fans in the world. In fact, the strength of your famous support is one of the many things that drew me to this club.

On Sunday, Sunderland’s team will face not only the 11 players on the pitch, but a 50,000-strong army. I hope you will not underestimate the importance of the role you will play on Sunday; you can make the crucial difference for us.

Let’s create a wall of sound and a tide of black and white. I am sure there will be respect on both sides, that's important, but I have no doubt that the atmosphere you will create will be electrifying and imposing.

 

We are ready…

 

In turn, I know the team will play with the passion befitting of this historic fixture. We will give our all to honour the tradition of the derby and take the victory we need. I know you’ll be behind them.

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We'll probably end up with Pearson if we go down.Maybe not a bad choice

He would probably be about the best option for rebuilding in the Championship to be fair (short of the impossibility of Benitez staying, which I see as implausible for his wages just as much as his preference to not be manager of a Championship team).

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It's going to be completely shite if we go down and he leaves, imagine how down everyone will be when the next useless old English failure that is appointed comes in.

I have been deluding myself by thinking of a scenario where if we do go down, Benitez will stay as a board member or Director of something... allowing for one of his assistants to manage the team on a day to day basis and get the experience to move on when they are ready (I have heard he likes to have "students" that he teaches) so when the team comes up the following year he steps back in and leads us to the land of milk and honey and silverware.

 

I dream...

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It's going to be completely shite if we go down and he leaves, imagine how down everyone will be when the next useless old English failure that is appointed comes in.

 

Don't you think they seem to be grooming Ian Cathro?

 

and not in a Adam Johnson kind of a way.

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Don't you think they seem to be grooming Ian Cathro?

 

and not in a Adam Johnson kind of a way.

:lol: Perhaps, he's a bit of an unknown quantity though so it's hard to be excited by the prospect. They have precedent for appointing the assistant obviously so I'd say there's a good chance.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd love to think Rafa would stay with us in the Championship but a manager of his calibre could go where he wants. I'd like to think he'd be excited to be given carte blanche to build the club from the foundations up in any way he wished but unfortunately I don't think Fatty Fucknuckle would relinquish that kind of power to anyone. Any decent owner worth his salt would do what they could for that to happen, knowing full well that in 2-3 years time you'd could have a great club once again. The sooner Ashley gets to fuck, the better.

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