Rafa is gone.(mod warning @ post 762)

Mental Mickey

SlickRic wrote: »

i had a full-on heart attack with that thread title.

git :pac:

'after a disappointing season we decided there was a need for a fresh start.'
1) modern football :rolleyes: (one season)
2) damn Americans.

how fresh? will this new manager have money? will he have any pedigree?

absolute bullsh*t of the highest order.

i can't wait to see the replacement.

They're right. Last season was s***e.

Tusky

Very sad. We cannot afford anyone better than Rafa. Whoever comes in is not going to have any money to spend and is going to have a hard time keeping the top players at Liverpool.

Mental Mickey

Mental Mickey wrote: »

They're right. Last season was s***e.

Really?

Chardee MacDennis

Mental Mickey wrote: »

They're right. Last season was s***e.

so it was definitely the right decision :rolleyes:

Headshot

rarnes1 wrote: »

Thread title changed to keep thread open?

I rather my Martin O'Neill thread title, just to see the look on Alans face when he logs on and sees it

mastercard moment

kingshankly

redknapp hinting that gerrard may have said it's rafa or me

missingtime

This is ****. Really ****.

Dr Galen

the whole season has been a joke in fairness, but this really tops it off. A ****ing embarassment and make the club a laughing stock. I can't help feeling we are really really screwed now. Makes the Souness days feel like a ****ing dream

tbh

kingshankly wrote: »

redknapp hinting that gerrard may have said it's rafa or me

Ballague said that Rafa called Gerrard on his birthday and they had a warm 20 minute chat.

Mental Mickey

rarnes1 wrote: »

Really?

Yeah. We finished 7th. Our lowest position ever.

SlickRic

Mental Mickey wrote: »

They're right. Last season was s***e.

yes, yes it was.

it's up to you whether that's enough to completely negate the previous years' good work, especially since, for the 2,543,298th time.

1) whose better out there?
2) where's the money for anything fundamentally new and fresh going to come from?

Cypher_sounds

As a United fan im gutted for yis, it means ye might actually find a good manager dammit Benitez where to now Portsmouth?

Villain

See ya

kingshankly

kingshankly wrote: »

redknapp hinting that gerrard may have said it's rafa or me

Which Rednapp?

syngindub

Finally

kingshankly

rarnes1 wrote: »

Which Rednapp?

Jamie has just been on sky

Mental Mickey

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Yeah. We finished 7th. Our lowest position ever.

So another 7th for the next manager and sack him too?

Lowest position ever?

Ush1

All the excitement people missed my rather hillarious Carragher tag.

Rafa's Inter to defeat Man. United in next years CL final, you heard it here first.

SlickRic

Cypher_sounds wrote: »

As a United fan im gutted for yis, it means ye might actually find a good manager dammit Benitez where to now Portsmouth?

try the Italian and European Champions.

watch.

Headshot

ssn are saying rafa got 6m out of liverpool

kingshankly

kingshankly wrote: »

Jamie has just been on sky

It must be true then !

mike65

I go for a 30 min lie down and this happens!

I'm not going to sleep tonight

Mr Benitez relinquishes his position as team manager after six years and the Board of Directors would like to place on record their grateful thanks for his services and wish him all the best in his future career.

The Board has now asked Managing Director Christian Purslow, with the assistance of Club Ambassador Kenny Dalglish, to begin a formal search to identify and assess potential candidates for the managerial position.

No timescale has been placed on the process and Liverpool FC will make no further statement until a new manager is appointed.

LFC Chairman Martin Broughton said: "Rafa will forever be part of Liverpool folklore after bringing home the Champions League following the epic final in Istanbul but after a disappointing season both parties felt a fresh start would be best for all concerned.''

Rafael Benitez said: "It is very sad for me to announce that I will no longer be manager of Liverpool FC. I would like to thank all of the staff and players for their efforts.

"I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager.

"Thank you so much once more and always remember: You'll never walk alone.

Paul Tergat

can't believe there is genuine talk of Dalglish

SSN saying it was £6m payoff (reportedly)

edit: FU headshot

Mental Mickey

kingshankly wrote: »

redknapp hinting that gerrard may have said it's rafa or me

If Gerrard said that, then he deserves to be ****ed out on his a**e. No player is bigger than any club.

The Recliner

Well this situation is a load of Bollocks

Just when you think the Yanks can't screw the club up anymore

whatawaster

SlickRic wrote: »

2) where's the money for anything fundamentally new and fresh going to come from?

I think the fact that there's no money means that Rafa is going to be unable to change the playing squad hugely. I think clearly Rafa + The Squad we have was a formula that has gone stale.

A new manager + the squad we have might just freshen things up - if the right person is appointed.

They might not - in fact they almost certainly won't - be more qualified or more proven than Benitez. But they might be a better match for our current situation

Paul Tergat

Ush1 wrote: »

All the excitement people missed my rather hillarious Carragher tag.

Rafa's Inter to defeat Man. United in next years CL final, you heard it here first.

wanna bet :pac:

Peyton Manning

£6 million?

That's gotta hurt whatever transfer budget the next manager was gonna have.

Headshot

mike65 wrote: »

I go for a 30 min lie down and this happens!

I'm not going to sleep tonight

worrying over that money you owe jank

eagle eye

Mental Mickey wrote: »

If Gerrard said that, then he deserves to be ****ed out on his a**e. No player is bigger than any club.

No manager is either.

Cypher_sounds

is it true that rafa had 49 people in his backroom staff?

leninbenjamin

Tbh, whatever you think of Benitez or otherwise, this had to happen. The poor relationship between Benitez and the owners was simply affecting the rest of the club too much. Hopefully Liverpool can find someone content to work within the limited resources and put them in a better position for potential investors.

Headshot

eagle eye wrote: »

No manager is either.

what was that picture you were going to post?

Dub13

mike65 wrote: »

I go for a 30 min lie down and this happens!

I'm not going to sleep tonight

Power naps are an America concept,those poxy yanks again they are fcuking up everything.

*puts on positive hat.


Maybe there's new owners in the pipeline who wanted Rafa out and their own man in (Hiddink)

Paul Tergat

Rafa fact rant on SSN now

Highlight of Rafas era for me

Kess73

rarnes1 wrote: »

*puts on positive hat.


Maybe there's new owners in the pipeline who wanted Rafa out and their own man in (Hiddink)

I don't think that is as far fetched as many would think.

mike65

I do think things could happen quite swifty now.

Kess73

Kess73 wrote: »

I don't think that is as far fetched as many would think.

Hopefully

kraggy

Really can't understand why Liverpool fans are upset about this.

The way I see it, Benitez has been weary/fatigued/fed up the last couple of years with his relationship with the board. It has affected his performance and his relationship with the players.

Would you not be happy with the installment of a, still fresh, enthusiastic Martin O'Neill? Bear in mind that he gets the best out of less-than-world class players, which is what ye have (excluding Reina, Gerrard and Torres basically).

Maybe a new, fresh manager is what ye need to kickstart a stagnant club?

Please don't take any of the above the wrong way. I don't support anyone in England and would actually like to see Liverpool compete for the league again.

Ush1

p_larkin99 wrote: »

wanna bet :pac:

Not my soccer forum access!!!

*head explodes*

:pac:

tbh

kraggy wrote: »

The way I see it, Benitez has been weary/fatigued/fed up the last couple of years with his relationship with the board. It has affected his performance and his relationship with the players.

http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?titulo=Rafa%20exit%20not%20a%20consequence%20of%20player%20power&id=455

the reports of a complete breakdown in his relationship with key players are false. For example, Rafa called Steven Gerrard on the player`s birthday last Sunday and the pair chatted for 20 minutes.



If Gerrard is seriously thinking about a move it is not because of Rafa, but because there have been so many promises unfulfilled by the people running the club and the Liverpool captain may feel that he must go elsewhere in order to compete for titles. For an elite player, like Gerrard, titles define a career and he has given most of his professional life to Liverpool – understandably he is thinking about a move because the club is not moving in the right direction.



Gerrard has four offers from English clubs and there have been conversations with Real Madrid. Mourinho would love to work with either Lampard or Gerrard and if Mourinho convinces the Real Madrid president to fund a move, then an offer will be made for one of them. Gerrard has not conspired against Rafa even though it is quite likely that the long relationship between them had become professional. I have said before that, in my opinion, the intensive methods of Rafa, means that his squads need to be recycled regularly - every 2-3 years - for their full potential to be realised.



But reports of the distance between Rafa and his players have been grossly exaggerated – granted, he is not their best friend either, but that was not the ultimate reason for his departure. When Ryan Babel suffered an injury scare last week that threatened his place in the Dutch World Cup squad, Rafa was on the phone to him immediately to give him support.

monkey9

I'm hearing whispers the Board are in negotiations to bring Bill Shankly back to the club as manager, with Derek Acorah as his assistant!! :rolleyes:

syngindub

lets put a big effort in for 1000 posts..c'mon

Headshot

I just spotted the tags

_blank_

tbh wrote: »

http://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?titulo=Rafa%20exit%20not%20a%20consequence%20of%20player%20power&id=455

Teebs, Balague has long been discredited as a decent source, he'd say mass, then tomorrow claim he was in a mosque at the time

~Rebel~

imo, any players already thinking of leaving will still be thinking of leaving, and any players who weren't thinking of leaving, will now be thinking of leaving.

me = sad.

There are two directions the club can go from here imo;
1) This is the beginning of a new era, new owners are ready to come in, with their own manager and their own financial backing

2) This is the beginning of the end, asset stripping of the club to bring down the debt and then a quick 500 of 600million sale to whoever offers the cash first.

whatawaster

~Rebel~ wrote: »

imo, any players already thinking of leaving will still be thinking of leaving, and any players who weren't thinking of leaving, will now be thinking of leaving.

me = sad.

There are two directions the club can go from here imo;
1) This is the beginning of a new era, new owners are ready to come in, with their own manager and their own financial backing

2) This is the beginning of the end, asset stripping of the club to bring down the debt and then a quick 500 of 600million sale to whoever offers the cash first.

Asset strip + 500/600 million sale is not going to happen.

For Hicks and Gillet to sell the club quickly - Torres probably has to be here. Otherwise the value will drop significantly.

aidan24326

I'm amazed at the Pool fans who are actually upset by this. He was an ordinary manager and it was well time for him to go. And that stuff about Gerrard is just nonsense pub talk, there's no way he would have said that (though Gerrard does have a big ego it must be said).

He spent 235 million and for what? Not much as it turns out. If I was a Liverpool fan I'd say thanks Rafa, you've done your best in difficult circumstances the last couple of seasons but your time is up. All the best.

I'd say they're on the phone to Roddy Collins right now.

x in the city

how long before exclusive gold framed pics of raffa are up on ebay i wonder....