Rafa: The Party is over

[POL]

Angry fans home in on Sam Allardyce and Rafael Benitez

Oliver Kay and George Caulkin


Rafael Benítez and Sam Allardyce are bitter adversaries, but the respective managers of Liverpool and Newcastle United were united in misery last night as the pressure on them increased after poor home results that led to them being jeered by their supporters.

Allardyce’s job appears to be under more immediate threat after Newcastle’s 2-0 home defeat by Manchester City, with growing unrest among fans likely to render his position untenable if they are beaten by Stoke City in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, but Benítez’s long-term prospects are also bleak, with a damaging 1-1 draw at home to Wigan Athletic inviting more pressure from Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, with whom he has repeatedly clashed over transfer policy.

A late equaliser from Titus Bramble, the Wigan defender, left Liverpool 12 points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the Barclays Premier League and they have slipped below City to fifth place. With the leaders moving out of sight, even Benítez struggled to gloss over the fact that their title challenge looks increasingly forlorn.

“I’m really disappointed because it’s another game where we needed a bit of luck,” Benítez said. “It’s clear that the gap is bigger, but we have said before that it is a long race. We just need to think about one game at a time. If you think about more than the next game, you will play with more pressure.

“It’s more difficult [to challenge for the title] now, for sure. If you lose points like we did today, it will be more difficult. I think we need now to think about the FA Cup and then think about the next [league] game. The season is very long.”

The result is likely to increase Benítez’s sense of urgency about the need for support in the transfer market, a source of much of the tension between him and the Liverpool board. He is desperate to sign at least one defender, with Wayne Bridge, of Chelsea, having emerged as a surprise contender for the left-back position.

Allardyce, with whom Benítez repeatedly clashed over issues of fair play during his time as Bolton Wanderers manager, saw the odds on him becoming the next top-flight manager to lose his job cut from 11-10 to 4-6 after a third successive defeat and he conceded that disappointing results had left his position under threat.

Allardyce retains the support of Chris Mort, his chairman, and Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, who is on holiday, but he recognises the precariousness of his position. “It’s great to have that backing, but at the end of the day the pressure still mounts and it mounts on us all, particularly me, because we’ve lost a game at St James’ Park we shouldn’t have lost,” Allardyce said. “It’s a low moment for us all.

“Now it’s three defeats on the trot and pressure grows. We’ve got to stick together and believe in each other and get out of trouble.”

Allardyce rejected the suggestion that Newcastle’s cup-tie away to Stoke, which is being televised by the BBC, could bring an end to his reign. “I don’t see Stoke as a defining game,” he said, “but I’m not daft, I know that I’m in the results business and that I need to win some matches, That’s clear. It’s a tough month for us.”

Sven-Göran Eriksson, the City manager, had words of encouragement for his opposite number. “Of course I have sympathy with him,” he said of Allardyce. “It’s happened to me many times. That’s football. Sometimes there are hard times, they can be for weeks and months, but Sam Allardyce is a very good manager. He showed that at Bolton. Give him time and he will get it right.”

[Sound]

Rafa needs a serious rabbit from the hat to keep his job.

[KolaKubes]

Hard on Rafa.

He convinced Pool fans that they were once again one of the big boys and, having raised expectations beyond cruising along in 4-6th every year, is now going to suffer the consequences.

[3pointplay]

Give him till end of season and bye bye then.

[keanos dog]

Hard on Rafa.

He convinced Pool fans that they were once again one of the big boys and, having raised expectations beyond cruising along in 4-6th every year, is now going to suffer the consequences.

i will laugh for the whole summer if they finish outside the top 4. can't see it happening but fingers crossed.



of course next year they'll once again find the final piece of the jigsaw.

[Sound]

i will laugh for the whole summer if they finish outside the top 4. can't see it happening but fingers crossed.



of course next year they'll once again find the final piece of the jigsaw.

The only people who ever say 'It's Liverpools year' are Utd fans.

[keanos dog]

The only people who ever say 'It's Liverpools year' are Utd fans.


i'm not one of them. i tend to form my own judgements. i gave a mate a 10 point start on united in a bet. looking good now.

[KolaKubes]

The only people who ever say 'It's Liverpools year' are Utd fans.

That's because we're taking the proverbial Sound.

Although, that could have been ye last year, Utd were not that good really.

[Sound]

That's because we're taking the proverbial Sound.



Jeez.

No foolin'?

[POL]

in reality Rafa was never really at the party, that fluky European Cup masked some serious deficiencies in his abilities, even the most ardent Liverpool fan must now recognise that, its jose time now

[Philby]

He`s a pretty lucky fucker to have fluked his way to the Champions League final twice in 3 year don`t ya think?

Barring a serious further downturn in Liverpool`s fortune (...eg not making reasonable progress in the CL and finishing outside the top 4) I couldn`t advocate sacking Rafa one bit. It would kick off another cycle of rebuilding which would set the club back at a crucial time when success on the field would ease the pressure of stadium construction.

His achievement to date (...both at Liverpool and in Spain) merit a certain amount of patience. He needs at least have a 2nd season with a squad of his own construction imho

[Philby]

Here`s a post from a liverpool fans site..I would have to echo many of these points especially those on squad value, transfer expenditure and the assistant manager situation, which, along with Agger`s continued absence has been one of the more subtle yet important reasons for an unsteady season to date.

was it out of sheer affection and loyalty given that Liverpool fans have supposedly been loyal and patient with their managers...was it sheer defiance in watching a little guy taking on the new owners who are increasingly under the spotlight of distrust...or was it an entrenched belief that come what may Rafa is the best man to take Liverpool forward...

I've sat and read most posts on this forum and I've even posted my own concerns about how points wise Rafa has been closer to the managers of teams like Everton, Tottenham and now even Man City than those of United, Arsenal or Chelsea and I've reached the point where above all else what I want is certainty!

If the new bosses genuinely do not want Rafa to be at the helm and if the show of support for him was a romantic one and not based on hard-headed opinion about wanting Rafa to stay then let's make the change now and throw all the support behind whoever comes in - vocally and financially...

If however Rafa is to stay then equally I want to see him backed to the hilt now to make a serious step forward. This for me is the preferred option (but only after my knee has stopped jerking this past 24 hours) and here's why...

1. Under Rafa we have a squad that is of real value in terms of £s - that is a tribute to what he has done compared to the inherited squad that he had to give away...this tells me that even though we have doubted some of his buys that on teh whole we are better off in terms of average quality...

2. He has spent a heck of a lot of money and perhaps in hindsight he might have spent the same money on half the players but on better ones and tried to blend these in with whatever he could in terms of reserves and inherited players... nonetheless he has been purchasing strikers (Torres apart) for half the price that United have been purchasing defensive midfielders. At our peak we never shirked from flexing the financial muscle to replace quality with even better quality (Dalglish for Keegan, the summer of 87...)

3. The quality players at our disposal are genuine class...reina, gerrard, carra, agger, alonso, mascherano, torres and possibly Babel. There are lesser lights who add depth and there are players that we could sell and who all would sell at a decent value... It's time to sift off the quality 2nd tier players who have brought us so far and replace them with fewer 1st tier quality replacements. Having built the base already mentioned Rafa needs to be given the chance to finish the job and then stand or fall on the completed project... when you see the quality of Masch and Torres you see why figures of 17 and 20 million are mentioned...

It's time to back him or sack him. To keep him in place but not allow him to actually finish the task is a recipe for disillusionment and disaffection...

oh...and Rafa, please show your quality now by keeping the mouth shut and getting a decent no.2 in

Chewie

[STEVIEG]

I agree that sacking may not improve things but that guy is typically deluded

The old money argument

For a club with only about 40,000 match goers they manage to release quite a lot of cash

I refer you to http://www.peoplesrepublico fcork.com/~peoplesr/forums/showthread.php?t=120 864&highlight=liverpool+ spending

[KolaKubes]

I agree that sacking may not improve things but that guy is typically deluded

The old money argument

For a club with only about 40,000 match goers they manage to release quite a lot of cash

I refer you to http://www.peoplesrepublico fcork.com/~peoplesr/forums/showthread.php?t=120 864&highlight=liverpool+ spending

Not to mention this being the club that was bankrolled by Littlewoods for a long time.

Not quite as ludicrous as the "marble halls" crowd trying to claim they're some sort of underprivileged plucky underdog these days mind...

[POL]

Mourinho 'keen on Benitez's job'


Duncan Castles
Sunday January 6, 2008
The Observer


Jose Mourinho is growing increasingly restless in his search for a return to management and, after possible openings at Real Madrid and Barcelona failed to materialise, is monitoring the position of Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. If the Spaniard pays the price for failing to keep the Reds in serious contention for the Premier League title, then the former Chelsea boss would be interested in talking to the club's American owners.
There has been no approach to Mourinho by the Americans, but Hicks and Gillett are understood to be actively considering replacement managers and are well aware of the abilities of the Portuguese, who discussed becoming Liverpool manager before joining Chelsea in 2004. Asked last night to comment on the pair's interest in employing Mourinho, Hicks declined.

Mourinho's family were keen to live in London again when he was considering becoming England coach, although they do not hold the same enthusiasm about the wetter, colder and (in their view) less cosmopolitan North-West. 'Liverpool is not the same as London,' said a friend. 'But Liverpool is a big club and Jose loves English football. For now we have to wait.'
Mourinho had received indications that Real Madrid or, more likely, Barcelona would move for him during the Spanish league's winter break, but has been disappointed by Barcelona's continued faith in Frank Rijkaard and Bernd Schuster is still in place at Real. Mourinho has dismissed reports that he has agreed to take over from Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan next season, issuing a strongly worded formal denial. He believes Milan will stick to their policy of appointing former players.

Mourinho would be interested in an approach from Bayern Munich, who are set to replace Ottmar Hitzfeld at the end of the season, and club president Franz Beckenbauer wrote in a recent newspaper column: 'Mourinho, why not? Our club needs a big name.' Mourinho's camp has interpreted these words as a clear statement of intent. However, the Portuguese would prefer a return to England and reports he is learning German are untrue.

Mourinho came close to accepting the England job in December, despite long-held plans not to move into international management until the latter stages of his career. At the time, Mourinho's assistants were so confident that he would take the post, ultimately filled by Fabio Capello, that they talked openly of being back in London by January and discussing where they would live.

There were several reasons for Mourinho's late change of plan. Senior FA figures are understood to have held reservations about his radical plans for creating a 'Club England' national team. The Portuguese wanted unprecedented control over support structures and involvement in the training regimes of Premier League clubs. Mourinho was also concerned about media intrusion into his private life, discussing this with the FA before withdrawing his candidacy. Though still an issue, it would not be such a great concern if he took the less public position of club manager.

Berti Vogts has admitted that his future as Nigeria coach is in doubt just two weeks before the start of the African Nations Cup. Vogts said delays in salary payments were making him consider quitting 12 months into his four-year contract. 'I love Africa, but I don't know how long I can put up with these problems,' the German said.

[scrumpy]

jose what a legend he'd be entertaining at least

[POL]

in all fairness its time for this clown to step aside at this stage, apart from Torres look at the sate of his signings. FFS, a bigger Fraud than Houllier ever was

[Rebelred]

in all fairness its time for this clown to step aside at this stage, apart from Torres look at the sate of his signings. FFS, a bigger Fraud than Houllier ever was

Torres finish was quality yesterday. Downing was very unlucky to rattle the post though.

[Philby]

in all fairness its time for this clown to step aside at this stage, apart from Torres look at the sate of his signings. FFS, a bigger Fraud than Houllier ever was

Is Rafa supposed to be a cordon bleu chef as well these days? :rolleyes:

Yet more unqualified, brainless ramblings.

At least do yourself the justice of outlining your views instead of issuing these moronic, simplistic sun-esque one-liners.

[SullysQuayboy]

He`s a pretty lucky fucker to have fluked his way to the Champions League final twice in 3 year don`t ya think?

Barring a serious further downturn in Liverpool`s fortune (...eg not making reasonable progress in the CL and finishing outside the top 4) I couldn`t advocate sacking Rafa one bit. It would kick off another cycle of rebuilding which would set the club back at a crucial time when success on the field would ease the pressure of stadium construction.

His achievement to date (...both at Liverpool and in Spain) merit a certain amount of patience. He needs at least have a 2nd season with a squad of his own construction imho

Spot on. The yanks came in promising the earth as regards transfer money,paying for a new stadium etc. Reality is they are now struggling to come up with the money for the stadium,and havnt given him big money in the transfer market.Kuyt,voronin, and another couple arnt good enough.As for Mourinho,would never be accepted by the fans.Rafa seems to have the backing of the majority of LFC fans.

[Rebelred]

Spot on. The yanks came in promising the earth as regards transfer money,paying for a new stadium etc. Reality is they are now struggling to come up with the money for the stadium,and havnt given him big money in the transfer market.Kuyt,voronin, and another couple arnt good enough.As for Mourinho,would never be accepted by the fans.Rafa seems to have the backing of the majority of LFC fans.
I bet he would. The man's a winner

[Sound]

I bet he would. The man's a winner

He would be in the end.

[STEVIEG]

Yup, the Rafulation will be forgotten about in months if he is to go

Results will influence things if Jose was successful he would be fine


Remember how Houllier was revered?