The Myth of Liverpool Boss Rafa Benitez Part 2
by Jonny Carter on November 3rd, 2009 76 commentsCOS Columnist Jonny Carter continues to discuss the enigma that is Mr. Benitez. Part One can be seen by CLICKING HERE.
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Part II…
I found it a little shameful that Rafa was content to excuse the current Liverpool form with an injury crisis. This exemption is lame. Liverpool are not the only club to suffer from injuries and to blame a curse endured by all is disgusting. Many teams have their issues and a brief look at Liverpool’s cross city rivals might suggest a crisis in the true sense of the term. Everton’s budget squad have endured, rant-free, without the long term application of Arteta, Yakubu, or England’s Jagielka …three players that would walk into a Liverpool first team and Everton would gladly have them walk back into theirs. Injuries are not a justified reason for failure.
The infamous beach ball incident robbed Liverpool of deserved points, yet Benítez never asked for an inquest into the game result. There has been precedent for replaying games that have been wrongly influenced by casual refereeing, though Benítez never once reached for the argument. Why not? Because Benítez was content to have the media scrum write column inches and blog based opinion about errant beach balls and not about errant Liverpool performances. Benítez was inferior news to a beach ball scandal and he was just fine with that.
So in the shadow of Liverpool’s worst run of results for a generation the clouds are turning dark. The realisation that Liverpool are way too over dependant on the world class skills of two injured players is starting to raise on the Liverpool support. And even that loyal support are coming to terms with the belief that Benítez has taken five years to build a two man team, and yet he can’t often get the two men in the same team. All the money has bought nothing but a soiled reputation. Claims were false to assume that one victory over Manchester United had alleviated all the Anfield problems and those who suggested so were just misleading themselves. And while the win was merited, a less biased student would recognise the influence of the fixture list. Liverpool rested from Tuesday to Sunday at home while United travelled to Russia and back one additional day later. That fatigue and an excitable referee should explain more than any assumed Benítez wizardry.
The loyalty of the Liverpool fan base is resilient. Despite all the indication and despite all the reminders from opposing fans the Liverpool terraces have remained dedicated to the Benítez cause. They have remained dedicated to the extent where now blame has bypassed the decision-making of a counterfeit manager and skipped upstairs to the reproach of the American owners. True, that Hicks & Gillett have dredged the club through financial turbulence and through the petulance of tabloid gossip to beyond an acceptable standard, but they don’t pick the team.
It’s a short memory that forgets the rather conceited gesture of Benítez to demand full control of the entire club and he even had significant people removed after lingering bouts of communal bullying. But everyone has a boss. The players have the manager, Benítez has the owners, and the owners have the fans. And surely the owners of any business have a right to prepare for the unpredictable future or have a right to strive to improve upon the current equilibrium. It just seems to me that the blame is being levied at the wrong source. Though I now suppose with his inflated recent contract that sacking Benítez is not a viable option. The compensation would deplete the Anfield transfer kitty to empty, and I’m sure Liverpool fans would choose to have Benítez spend the money on nothing rather than not have the money to spend at all.
However, it seems to be the owners who face the discontent of the assembled masses during the Anfield protest march. But shouldn’t Benítez be asked a few pertinent questions? While the Liverpool supporters are unhappy with the errant running of their club by the highest echelons of the hierarchy, is it really justified for sole accountability of the club’s failings, both on and off the field, to be levied at the owners? After all, the Hicks & Gillett opinions, as divided as they are, did not substitute Torres, they don’t buy the players just pay for them, and game days are rarely interfered with beyond sporadic attendance.
The correct origin of blame should be the fans.
The Liverpool fan is an awkward customer with a tendency to view scenarios with skewed integrity. They seem to be marinated in a belief of entitlement, that somehow Liverpool are a bigger, better, more important football club than all others and should be treated with exclusive wonder. The abhorrent Liverpool support have the obnoxious hereditary where they feel like the ambassador to all things football, they talk like they invented the game. The history of football did not start with Liverpool and they would make a few more football friends to recognise that there are many noble football clubs worthy of respect.
The relentless prediction of Liverpool fans to claim this year will be their year is as boring as it is incorrect. Why won’t Liverpool fans just tell the truth? The absurdity becomes intolerable when media pundits and tabloid column writers allow prejudice to slip beyond impartiality and into the realms of nonsense. Supporters predict a Liverpool win, not journalists. And while many were not happy to see Manchester United lift yet more league titles there were plenty of neutrals delirious to see the Liverpool fan disarmed of statistical verbal bile.
While I commend the loyal fan to stand by his team and support their club irrespective of on-field attainment, there is also a limit. And I think that the same fan should also have an obligation to arrest his team’s decline when the time is appropriate. While the Liverpool support continues to defend Benítez with their blinkered allegiance surely the lack of success or lost respect would deem their faith as soiled or foolish.
The rebellious factions are marching for the wrong cause. The fans are to blame for tolerating mediocrity and they are fantasists to claim otherwise. And Benítez is responsible for delivering mediocrity. You shouldn’t blame the owners and you shouldn’t expect Benítez to be remorseful.
One of the most charming elements for the neutral is that occasional victories over Manchester United have NOT redeemed the current Liverpool situation and fans will continue to be deluded to think so. One game cannot ruin a season nor can it define a season and while a win might be momentarily pleasurable, there are always more games to come tomorrow. Problems forgotten if never resolved.
And the sweetest victory for the non-Liverpool fan is that all and sundry know that Liverpool should dispense with Benítez and yet no one wants him to go. The belief, with good foundation, is that while Benítez is in charge of his program Liverpool will remain distant from the successful teams.
From The Writings Of Jonny Carter
Related Posts:
Revealed: Liverpool Boss Job Application Form
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
f*ck u john
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
What crap. But, I am sure you have a category for an article like this which is nonsense…and it would be crapomaker!
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
wow, worse than part one. were you high when you wrote this?
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
what a twat
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Articulate nonsense.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
robbed of desrved points against sunderland. Get a grip, I was at that game and they desrved nothing. Should have been 3 nil to sunderland
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
rafa/ liverpool bashing what a novel idea. hopefully you wont earn any money for this drivel
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
A series of unsubstantiated assertions does not make an argument I’m afraid jonny.
As an essay, F at best. Must try harder.
Remember, when you’re making claims such as ‘Liverpool are a two man team’ and ‘Benitez deliberately didn’t ask for a replay of the Sunderland game just to deflect attention from himself’, you really need to back them up with some facts to justify them.
Otherwise you risk accusations of being a clueless idiot who doesn’t even have a basic grip on the nature of discourse.
You obviously also fancy yourself as a bit of wordsmith. Sorry, but as a professional writer myself, you are way off the mark sonny. I assume you are attempting to come across as clever and knowledgable with your convuluted sentences and strange (and often incorrect) choice of words. I am afraid they merely confirm your status as an an immature, amateurish writer. A common mistake amongst juniors.
Still, keep plugging away.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
you make it sound like Rafa Benitez is a fraud. The man has a proven track record of winning La Liga, he has won us the Champions’ League and we were 4 points away from winning the league last season. Liverpool fans are not blindly loyal, we are patient and think things will turn around once the injuries start to clear. Rafa said clearly after the Sunderland game that the performance wasn’t good enough – there were no excuses. It’s so easy to put the boot in to Rafa, and hope that Liverpool FC has the last laugh when our fortunes turn.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
You reall are a stupid nob head haha
Donavan Ried - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
It funny how the “In Rafa we Trust” brigade rip away the article yet faifl to address any of the points made ……
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
you seriously should get a job – maybe for THE S*N – they love a bit of sensationalist writing, (although most of their readers need shorter articles as attention span isn’t their strong point!)
wish i didn’t waste my time reading this – your opinion is very strange and very different from the actual situation – still the world would be boring if we were all the same.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
ur a twat, caught offside should sack u
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
donavan:
- rafa doesn’t want to be like fergie – a bad looser, so took it on the chin when we lost at sunderland (coz we deserved to)
- liverpool fans are no more expecting of success as those at any top 4 club after the summer transfer window – if we don’t hope for success there is no excitment in the football we watch!
- the debate about spending is a non-starter for anyone with a sensible grasp of business:
resources employed X efficiency of use = volume of output
resources employed includes those players, staff & facilities that Rafa inherited 5 years ago, just look at that, and then look at where we are now, nothing but a brilliant job has been done, the long term picture is what we need to asses.
Arteta, Jagielka, Yakubu “walk into” the liverpool side – brilliant, oh and everton’s recent results have been great too – 5-0 to Benefica was it the other night…
anything else?
MIKE x
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
“The infamous beach ball incident robbed Liverpool of deserved points, yet Benítez never asked for an inquest into the game result” Two points here. Firstly 99% of fellow Liverpool fans that I have spoke to who were either at the match or watched it on MOTD said that beach ball or no beach ball Sunderland still fully deserved their victory. After the game Rafa didn’t blame the loss on the beach ball he actually said Liverpool didn’t turn up & Sunderland deserved their victory. Can you imagine the uproar if Rafa tried to blame the dreadful performance on the beach ball by journalists & pundits up & down the country? Talk about being damned if you do & damned if you don’t.
Second point I am absolutely flabbergasted that you are using, not demanding to replay the Sunderland game as an excuse to sack him. Are you for real? You have got be a bitter blue or dirty manc. Either way you seem to have an unhealthy fascination with Rafa to write not one, but two articles full of biased, one sided drivel about him.
Retryboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Fuck off you tosser, obviously a manc, they had one day less to prepare! Every fan at every club has belief at the start of each season. Newcastle fans are deluded least we have a realistic chance each year in fact most of the pundits were tipping liverpool. Fucking fat yak and jagielka would walk straight into the first team? Bollocks think you been smoking shit as well as talking it! Some liverpool fans have genuine concerns with rafa this season nothing you have printed is an issue though. Oh and when you sign players with injury records like saha on the cheap thats what Everton expect its like west ham complaining dyer misses games. I do blame rafa in part for our poor start and its up to him to get us out of it but your attack on all things liverpool is unbelievable.
Aquaman - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Phew. Hard words.
I realised that I never quoted on your first article so this will be my reply to both held as one.
In terms of pure writing, you’ve improved a lot over the first article. You communicated your points much more concisely in this piece.
Now on to content.
I don’t intend to attack you as most of the anonymous legion have been doing but at the same time I do not agree with a lot that you have said and I won’t be holding back.
I’ll take your article step by step covering each point as I read it (this is going to be a loooong comment so please forgive me).
First Article:
1) “The underlying current to any dispute about Rafa Benítez stops abruptly when you introduce the topic of his Liverpool trophy haul.”
In this section you (correctly) point out that Rafa is somewhat lacking in trophy return by comparison to Chelsea and Man U. You even dismiss Rafa’s 2 trophies as being the wrong ones. What you completely fail to mention is that one of these trophies SAF has only won twice in 23 years. That’s a 50% return in 22% of the time.
You also fail to mention how many major trophies both SAF and Wenger managed in their first 5 years (0 and 3 respectively). Mourinho is the exception here with 5 in his 3 years which can’t be refuted (but he’s gone already, and Rafa’s still here).
Oh and you say there have been plenty of other English teams in the CL final. True there have been 3: Man U (twice, 1 vic), Chelsea (once), and LFC(twice, 1 vic). Can’t fault your argument about challenging for the prem at the same time though.
2) “Liverpool have spent an inordinate sum of money on a list of players nearly a page long and totalling amounts that could support an entire lower league of English football”
I’m sorry but this statement is just not fair. Inordinate compared to who? And name a club who’s won the prem in the last few years who hasn’t spent more than us?
And there has only been one player who came in and left in less than 2 years, Robbie Keane (not saying this is good or bad, it’s just true). Then in the same paragraph you wonder why Rafa is sticking with players like Lucas. Make up your mind! Should poor players be kept or sold?
3) “The departure of Alonso has been crippling for Liverpool and yet not at all unexpected.”
The only people who expected Alonso’s leaving to be crippling were the LFC fans. No one outside of the club ever spoke of Alonso’s class until it could be used to attack Rafa. We always knew he was brilliant, but it seems no one else did until he left. Yes, Rafa stabbed him in the back, but that’s what happens when you play badly. You get replaced.
4) “The carousel of players has led to a rather incoherent style of play under Benítez where pragmatism has gazumped (heh, heh, gazumped…) sensationalism.”
You state that we lack elegance in this paragraph. I ask you: How many trophies have Arsenal won over the last 5 years for their elegance? While I agree that sometimes LFC do not appear convincing on the pitch, the fact remains that we outscored everyone in the league last year and were running pretty at the top this season until the wheels fell off.
5) “But while the criticism of tinkering has somewhat been lost by Benítez”
Best paragraph of the article. Not comfortable but can’t fault it.
6) “Tactics remain the currency of the elite manager”
A petty gripe. You say that over a season the lucky and unlucky results even out in the end (fair enough), but then you use the CL knock-out stages as an example. Knock-out rounds are notorious for not having bad luck returned. As an example: Chelsea v Barca last year. Chelsea didn’t deserve to lose, but they did. That’s football!
On the other hand I do agree that Rafa being labeled a “Master Tactician” is questionable.
7) “The most seminal moment of the Benítez reign has to be the Rafa rant”
If you agree with what you wrote in this paragraph then you must be a member of SAF’s fan club. The Scot does nothing but rant, and the media call it “mind games”. Rafa had a few major issues that he laid out in a dignified manner, and he gets crucified for ranting. While what Rafa had to say did sound conspiracy theory esque, there was a lot of truth in it. How much extra time do Man U get when they are behind?
Phew. Article 1 done. I’ll post again with my crit of the second
Aquaman - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Sorry, the petty gripe i mentioned was mine, not yours. Just to be clear
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Anyone know what Arsene Wenger has won in the last four years ????
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I Do not think i have ever heard so much utter Sh*t In my life!!! Who is this no mark writer? Think your clever? Not a chance mate! You sound like some one jumping on the band wagon of Liverpool bashing(as it’s so cool to be apart of because of how close we came last season and our poor run of form this season) I really do pity you mate, and you should give up the writing game, Your one of the worst writers iv ever had the displeasure of coming across and this is a really poor article. Liverpool have had a bad run of games, but every time we lose we get hacked with the usual”Torres and Gerrard run your team” If im right out of the last 2 of the last 4 times we beat man utd we did it with out Gerrard? I’m sick of Liverpool throwing away games to lesser teams and the whole beach ball incident show’s that benitez is no purple nose troll Fergie who whinges and moans about every single game the lose or draw and claim the ref was to blame or the change in direction of wind, Benitez didn’t whinge because he knew we played crap and we deserved to lose. There isn’t any backroom or underhand inquiry’s about it. He is a straight forward manager who knows when we lose we deserve to and no moaning like purple nose does. In the game against fullham when he tried to use “tactic’s” did you see him whinge and moan we had two player’s sent off? not one bit. it goes to show some people have no idea what they are writing about. I think Jonny Carter should try his hand at something new, Full time man utd fan? Bitter blue? Either of the previous would suit him better that the crap he is plugging at the moment. Good try mate, but way off the mark.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
f*ck off bitch
Retryboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Donovan you know i am definitely not in that brigade don’t you see this, like the other article, as an attack on every liverpool fan? This isn’t someone raising genuine points that i would welcome to balance the argument. Nor is there anything constructive in there.
Aquaman - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Article 2:
1) “I found it a little shameful that Rafa was content to excuse the current Liverpool form with an injury crisis.”
Eh? So losing 10 players to injury has no effect on a game? Is that really what you’re implying? I doubt it. This borders on the whole squad argument again, but I personally want quality in our first team before I want 50/50s on the bench. We’ll build a squad in the next couple of years, but for now we’re in transition. (yeah yeah yeah. Say what you want. This is my opinion)
2) “The infamous beach ball incident robbed Liverpool of deserved points, yet Benítez never asked for an inquest into the game result.”
What?! Where the hell do you get this from? Do you really think that Rafa sabotaged the club just so he could get some spotlight time? You know what? I’m going to pretend that you didn’t write this paragraph just so you can keep some credibility.
3) “Liverpool rested from Tuesday to Sunday at home while United travelled to Russia and back one additional day later.”
So injuries aren’t a valid excuse but being a little tired is? Come on! Can’t really fault the argument on the squad though. Though 2 man team is harsh. 5 man team at worst (G&T, carra, pepe, and yossi).
4) “It just seems to me that the blame is being levied at the wrong source.”
Can’t fault this paragraph or the next. Interesting.
5) “The correct origin of blame should be the fans.”
And thus are your true colours revealed.
While I do agree that Liverpool fans do tend towards outrageous optimism at times, this is the personality of the club. Even if you really hate it that much, we don’t really care because we’re not going to change.
It was this outrageous optimism that nearly carried us past Chelsea in the CL last season even after we lost so badly in the first round. This optimism helped us destroy Real Madrid and Man U in 4 days. Not forgetting how much this optimism changed a 3 – 0 scorecard in Istanbul. It’s in the blood of our club, introduced first by that great man Bill Shankley. Now you may consider tradition to be something that should change with the times but I don’t. This optimism, this defying of the odds, is what I love about the club. This is the exact reason why I chose LFC as my team. If the same thing drives you away, then I’m afraid that’s your loss.
6) “While I commend the loyal fan to stand by his team and support their club irrespective of on-field attainment, there is also a limit.”
Agree with this statement but not its implications. Things are not as bad at LFC as they appear. Yes, this season has pretty much exploded in our faces but it would be stupid to ignore the long term good news over such short term failings. This sounds pathetic, but of the 6 games we’ve lost in our last 7 only 2 of those I feel we genuinely should have lost (Fiorentina and Sunderland).
7) Not sure what to say about the rest. Seems pretty subjective to me
All in all this article smells a bit of trying to find as many things wrong with Rafa as possible to the point that you’ve had to make some outrageous claims. Your first article (while not as well written) at least had enough grounding in reality to make is plausible. This one was ridiculous.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Rafa will win us the league and CL for many years to come. The man is a winner.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
well said aquaman, i couldn’t agree with you more
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Yet more nonsense spouted by an ill informed writer.
Liverpool fans are not blind or stupid, we are just a bit more knowledgeable about our football club and especially our manager.
We know how important it is to progress in the CL because we know how skint the club is, we know we can’t afford to have £20 million players sitting on the bench like at some of the other top clubs. We know that if Rafa makes a certain team selection or player decision it is in the best interests of the club because we know that long term planning and progression is more important than risky gambles that could have dire consequences for the club. In Rafa we trust is not just a blind ill informed gesture it is a genuine statement based on facts & statistics that tell us that the management team is a safe, determined & experienced team that will strive to bring success to LFC.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
God u cant call urself a writer while u suck alex i cant coach outside britian ferguson u pure manure dude
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
This guy’s website has a link to an Everton fanzine on it. Enough said.
Retryboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Cos- you need to sack johnny carter and get aquaman writing! Another great post. Johnny needs to take notes… Intelligent, balanced, knows what all the words he uses mean and not a chore to read.
Donavan Ried - November 3rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Retryboy – November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm ….. You know that i respect you …. and i know just were your coming from….. But he did say a lot of thing that you,I and others supporters have raised, and yet All ( Sorry Most) of the Brigade chose to slate him rather than address what it was (no matter how right or wrong) that he had to say and most did under the “anonymous” banner yet again ……
You know what it was only after the Fulham game that i started replying to anonymous post. Think i will go back to not reading them and just deleting them……
...samlfc.... - November 3rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Afternoon Donavan Ried,aquaman,Mark.G,Retryboy and eveyrone else
To the people who are slating Donavan Ried and Retryboy are pathetic as they along with Aquaman and Mark G are 4 of about 6 or 7 people who consistantly give us good posts and give us their opinions and don’t go around insulting people for no reason what so ever…Plus they have the Balls to show their name and not coware behond the name Anonymous! (unless you have a name then atleast thats abit respectable) If you disagree then yeah you can say you do but insulting them is over-the-top and not needed!
On to the the article……..well just look at my first comment of part 1 to see what i think about it but i think Johnny carter done a better Job this time around but is still lacking some good info and something positive might be nice aswell
Hoogleboogybugleboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I started reading your 2nd instalment Jonny but stopped when I read that Jagielka, Jacubu and Arteta would walk straight into the Liverpool team. As it happens, I get more pleasure reading the other posts on here especially Aquamans, and they seem to have summed yours up nicely. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions but as a “professional” writer, you should be a bit more subjective and factual as your bile reeks of bitterness and jealousy and in my opinion that just makes you a sad man.
Retryboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Donovan..Have re-read the article and still can’t agree with you on this one. Have never said injuries haven’t been a big factor, just that rafa could have changed the formation until we had the quality players available to suit it. The whole beach ball arguement is ridiculous there was plenty to cite rafa over on his selections for that game and defensiveness would have agreed with that. The rafa rant was quality every bit of it was true, the stuff every football manager has known for years but never said. The rest is just an attack on all liverpool fans. I suspect you, like me wanted a writer to balance the arguments this guy is far from that though.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
who the fuck is John carter -you manc prick
Hoogleboogybugleboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I’ve just read the article & i find it unbelievable that someone actually feels this passionate about a team that they obviously do not support. I hate the Mancs with a passion but I would not spend the time concocting a piece of writing about them especially if it was going to make me look like a bit of a tit.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I made the comment at 4:55, I didn’t post anon out of cowardice but because I don’t have a login. Call it laziness if you like. I just wanted to point out by that comment that Mr Carter was being more than a little disingenuous (particularly in his first post on this subject) by not outright stating his club affiliation. My personal opinion as well is that it’s pretty sad that instead of writing something about his own club he’s chosen to start off his tenure as a writer here by slating Liverpool and the LFC supporters instead.
- Manda (there, I do actually have a name, happy now?)
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
bleedingred
if this guy writes another article…………..i am never coming back to this site again……………what a crap of bulls**t……………………get a grip man…….
Hoogleboogybugleboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Manda. I have to say that i agree with you. Talk about starting off on the wrong foot. There is probably nothing worth reading about his own club and as we all know, Liverpool at the moment are an easy target for saddo journo’s jumping on the bandwagon.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
johnson and aurelio won’t take part in lyon’s match
and torres may require surgery
http://www.thisisanfield.com/2009/11/03/fresh-blow-for-liverpool-as-torres-faces-surgery/
kopman - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Well this is the most iliterate bunch of dribble i have ever read, its by far worse than part 1.
Firstly to say rafa uses the excuse of injury and illness and no other tema does is shocking fergie does it all the time apart from the times when he chosses not to take interviews when his team has been embarrased. The article then goes on to compare us with everton and say that everton have had just as many injuroes but they never feel the need to complain about it, the reason they dont complain is because everton have not been targeted like we have if they had im sure they would have to find ways to explain poor form also. The whole point is because we had a half decent season last season people cant wait to see us fail and feel the need to target us and try to cause friction in our team.
Secondly yes the beach ball incident was a disgrace, its a fair point to bring up but he should have thought about it before putting it in. Liverpool didnt play the best that day and we deserved to share the points in my opinion but for this guy to ask why rafa didnt question is a bit of a contradiction because in the first oaragraph he was attacking rafa for making excuses and in the second paragraph he is attacking him for not questioning the result, if rafa did appeal about the beachball incident im sure he would of just attacked rafa again saying rafa was using excuses again all the other teams have objects thrown on the pitch during there games and they dont complain.
In the third paragraph he really shocks me by saying that the faithful fans are now starting to realise about how long it has taken rafa to achieve nothing. Firstly the fans who are slating rafa and calling for his head i dont consider very loyal, you see teams getting relegated and there fans stick by them so why arent we there is always light at the end of the tunnel and rafa hasnt done so bad i dont think this is the worst run of form we have had under him i agree but this hasnt happened before this is his first majorly bad run we just have to stick it out any other manager wouldnt be taking this coz nobody would question them.
the fourth paragraph contradicts the third like the second contradicts the first.
This article is just as bad as the first it even questions why liverpool fans are blaming the owners and not benitez, well i think the owners are the cause of the problems also and im sure that alot of the anfield faithful will too, how can so many thousands of liverpool fans be wrong? Im sure there are far more people wanting the yanks out before rafa and compared to that number the people who want rafa out is probably very small.
If the guy who wrote this is a liverpool fan (which i doubt) i think he should stop with all the anti rafa articles, i said it before and i will say it again these articles dont just affect rafa it will affect team morale it affects the fans, the owners it affects everybody thats is in anyway related to liverpool football club.
Please please please get on the right side and question the problesm at the end of the season when we have a little time to really adress the problems.
Y.N.W.A
kopman - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Sorry in that last post i meant to say that i think the number of people that want rafa out will be very small compared with the number of people that want the yanks out
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Kop King
To be honest i wouldn’t mind liverpool getting their hands on arteta but as for the others you must be having a bubble.
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
aquaman the difference between you and an anonymous post is that you have given yourself a silly nickname to hide behind,u still remain anonymous as this is not your real identity U PRICK!
MICHAEL HUNT,HUYTON
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Leave aside the content (which is laughable enough), how astounding is it that someone, anyone, has encouraged this joker enough to think he can write? It’s painful the contortions he asks of the English language. And why use a good single syllable word when his little thesaurus offers him a 3 syllable alternative?!
‘From the writings of Jonny Carter’ indeed!
Btw, doesn’t your beloved Everton give you enough material? Phil Neville’s unnatural relationship with his mother might be a good start. But of course you couldn’t get off on your obsession then, could you Jonny?
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
“statistical verbal bile” anyone?!!!!! Utter dross. You can see the agony and effort gone into this piece of shit. Must have took him days. He must be so, so proud. Who’s the prick editor that ok’d it? Needs hanging.
And who does he think he’s kidding giving the viewpoint of a ‘neutral’? How the hell would he know? The Bitter.
dave - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
get rid of johnny carter,absolute drivel
Donavan Ried - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
MICHAEL HUNT,HUYTON. ……… In all fairness, Aquaman is still a name. At the end of the day you can Aquaman, Donavan Ried, Issac Hunt, MarkG retryboy or and one else who posts with a name a “Pr!ck” and everyone here would know just who you are talking about. Anyone posting “anonymous” could make a comment and then post another post agreeing with himself(As some have done in the pass) or say “SacK Rafa” today and then tomorrow slate someone for saying the same and say “In Rafa we Trust” ……
It least by posting a name (any name) people will know who is saying what. Plus it makes for a more enjoyable read …..
Welcome to the site MICHAEL HUNT
anonymous – November 3rd, 2009 at 7:14 pm …….. Log on and have your PC remember you, or Log on and don’t log off…….
Donavan Ried - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:28 pm
This is what i look like at present
Retryboy - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Arteta would be awesome signing he must realise by now it doesn’t matter how well he performs at Everton he won’t get in the spain team needs to come to us for that!
RaNE - November 3rd, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Is Jonny Carter a Liverpool Fan? , or is he a fan of a team from Liverpool i.e EVERTON
Aquaman - November 3rd, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Is it absolutely necessary to play the “I hide less than you do game”, Michael Hunt?
I ask people to register for two reasons:
Firstly to make it easier for us to actually engage in conversations with people, and secondly so that we know who the people are that jump on Rafa’s back everytime we lose and “In Rafa We Trust” him whenever we win. I don’t think this is unreasonable, but if you disagree then that’s fine.
And if it makes you feel any better, I am Steven Bentley from Cape Town, South Africa. Happy now?
Retryboy: I agree. I’d have Arteta in a heartbeat, Toffee or not.
Aquilani4goals - November 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
aquaman thanks for your reply to the crap jonny carter wrote
Stillontheperch - November 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
If only I’d stayed on at school longer! A well crafted reposte Aquaman, Bravo!
Wind yer neck in Mikey
Aquaman - November 3rd, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Thanks to all those who’ve replied positively to my post. It’s always good to get positive feedback and you’ll be hearing a lot more from me in the future.
Thanks again
John - November 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
this is the biggest pile of balls i have seen ever. its even worse than part 1 and thats sayin somethin. havent u stopped to think that benitez didnt ask for a rematch with sunderland because he is acknowledging that they were the better team. what a load of utter balls. take 10 of any teams players from first team and subs and see what u get. if we have all our players fit then our strength in depth actually looks pretty good.
reina, johnson, agger, carragher, aurelio , mascherano, aquilani, benayoun, kuyt, gerrard and torres on the field is as good of an 11 as u will see with a bench of cavalieri, skrtel, insua, lucas, babel and ngog we have good cover in every position. looking at this it seems absurd that u can call us a 2 man team. if our only good players were torres and gerrard then ur sayin that mascherano, aquilani, carragher, johnson and reina arent good? not to mention agger is pretty amazin when fit as is aurelio. benayoun is proving to be brilliant and kuyt is as versatile as u get.
John - November 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
and also if jagielka and yakyubu can walk into liverpool then imagine how many players could walk into everton. i think even lucas and dossena would make that list. the only everton players i would even consider at liverpool are arteta and pienaar
anonymous - November 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Anyone know what Arsene Wenger has won in the last four years ????
Yeah but before that he won 3 Prem titles, 2 FA cups and bought World class like Henry, Viera, Fabregas, Van Persie and Pires etc. for next to nothing!!! (max 10 million.)
What has Rafa done? Ok he won the CL but what else an FA cup? He got Babel for 11 million and Torres 25 million( alot more than Henry and Henry was ALOT better).
Aquaman - November 4th, 2009 at 12:04 am
to the anon above: How many years has Wenger been a manager at Arsenal? Isn’t it like 13? So thats one trophy every 2.6 years. Rafa has 2 in 5, or a trophy every 2.5 including the CL which Arsene has never won (though he’s won the prem which Rafa hasn’t so fair’s fair I suppose).
As I have repeatedly said. Wenger is a genius. The value that he gets out of his players is astonishing so I won’t fault you there.
As for Henry vs Torres. No doubt, Henry was awesome. But then so is Torres. There’s no point in arguing who is better when they haven’t played in the same league, or peaked at the same time. Things change.
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 4:57 am
One Liverpool supporter asked what Arsene Wenger has won the last 4 years?
The answer is the one less than Rafael Benitez, although if you ask the same question at then end of this season it will either be the same or potentially one more.
Arsene Wenger has through his canny ability at picking up raw young talent and turning them into world beaters allowed Arsenal to move to a new 60,000 seat stadium. He has done this by spending very little money and actually having net transfer spending of less than zero since 2004. Compared this with Rafa Benitez who has bought 76 players, most of whom have been very average. Yes, Wenger hasn’t one any trophies but he has been competitive in all competitions and has gone closer to Liverpool to winning the EPL.
Currently, Wenger is reaping the rewards of his youth policy and has a large squad of players capable of challenging for the title. Liverpool on the other hand resemble a car crash, with reliance on two superstars and a decreasing chance of playing CL football next year, which means a big financial hit.
That is the answer to your question.
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 5:55 am
MY NAME IS JIMMY
to the anon above…..arsene wenger has been at the club for 13 yrs….and developed the youth system of which he is reaping the rewards………yes u r rite on that………thats exactly what rafas doing rite now…………….whether he will reap the benefits or not depends on whether or not….we (get behind him!!!!!)…………….
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 8:16 am
It takes a non supporter to really tell you how it is. All you in rafa we trust brigade, are so incapable of seeing the damage that his lack of responsibility, his lack of tactical knowhow, his poor work in the tranfer market and the way he has liverpool playing, mean that another year has gone, where we will win NOTHING. I do not want to be the one saying ” I told you so” but for 3 years I have said he is not the man to win the prem. What does he still need time. He could of signed negredo and either vander vaart, or snjider for xabi, & whilst I have no doubt Aquaman will be gr8, he should of addressed the problem of having only 1 decent striker. AND WHAT ABOUT THE HOBBIT. Lucas is like a bad smell that wont go away. It is getting to rhe point that I want to see him carded or injured so he cant be picked, yet rafa in his stuborn defiant manner continues to play the hobbit. If after 3 seasons he cant see the guy is crap, then he is a hopeless judge of player potential. HE HAS HAD 5 YEARS TO GET THE SQUAD HE WANTS. Excuses are done, a good manager will kop some of the responsibility for how the team plays, he takes nun. Pool would be better off without him.
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 8:40 am
KALEB
Rafa tries to galvanize all the “in rafa we trusters” by quoting lines from ynwa in press confrence. Well that may well work on all those foolish enuf to believe your rubbish rafa, BUT the truth is, YOU HAVE BEEN THOUROGHLY EXPOSED AS A poor manager, and a poor tactician. You can try to pull at the heart strings of the die hards, but for all us thinking liverpool supporters, you shortcoming are so glaringly obvious. 1/ your team selections have been poor. Aurellio in the midfield wtf?, lucas wtf?, vorinin wtf? 2/taking of yossi or other influential players when the game is still to be won/ saved. POOR poor decision making. 3/ he has sold keane, bellamy and crouch, who do we have after torres? ngog…and babel whose form has gone for a burton.
You fans say get behind him for the clubs sake, I say get rid of him for the clubs sake, write of this year and blood pacheco, who I think is a much better player than lucas, and some other young talent. The guy has lost the dressing room, he doesnt inspire the players anymore, that is his own fault as he is emotionally bankrupt, and his defensive style of thinking has cost us too many points, as well as the title last year. It is going to take years to recover from this, but that process could be fast tracked by getting rid of benetiz, and getting a rejckard or even have kenny as caretaker manager until we get something better. Unfortunantly, there seems to be no one with any balls at the top in liverpool anymore to make the hard decissions, and I fear we will be stuck with rafa for a long time……………
Mark G. - November 4th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
kaleb:
“”Unfortunantly, there seems to be no one with any balls at the top in liverpool anymore to make the hard decissions, and I fear we will be stuck with rafa for a long time…………”
So you may have balls, but it sounds like God gave you no brain!
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Its a bad post by the manc or the blue nose well he still a manc because its man u 2nd string anyway.
Anyway lets put Vornoin in charge of the team(he may do a better job than playing) or better still get that Donavan fella in charge he would sort the team out.
lfc to lose tonight i’m afraid 3-0
Cheers
Ronnie W
anonymous - November 4th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Mark g u are a disgrace to ur mother, keep on singing “in rafa we trust” , cuz pretty soon u will be a solo performer. Its the likes of u that accept mediocrity, hell u probably even think the hobbit is a good player. The only reason the hobbit plays, is because he has comprimising pictures of rafa with farm animals. And rafa continues to be manager because the yanks cant afford to get rid of him. U mark must be so used to let downs, much like ur gf/bf i would guess too!
Donavan Ried - November 5th, 2009 at 12:27 am
anonymous – November 4th, 2009 at 10:56 pm ……. If you have been posting here over the last two weeks you will know that Mark G and i do not see eye to eye and have had words, But…. I still have to respect the fact that he put’s a name two all his post and it would help if you were to do so too so we could all see who is saying what ….
thanks
Donavan Ried - November 5th, 2009 at 12:39 am
If jos’e would come to Liverpool ( I think no matter what he says he would if only to win the EPL with Liverpool to stick it to Roman A) I for one would well come him with open arms specail after getting rid of the most overated strike on the planet Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Samuel Eto an absolute master stroke ……
Mark G. - November 5th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Anonymous, or should I call you Cowardly Loser at Nov.4, 10:56 pm
Well, where should I start. You sound like a yob. Your anger would suggest that you don’t even know your daddy? Life on pogy ain’t what it used to be? If Ihad chance I would teach a lesson in how to respect Liverpool players.Who do you call “hobbit,” you ignorant motherf*cker?
Mark G. - November 5th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Kaleb, why don’t you show some courage and sign your posts laden with gutter language. A bit shy, are we boy?. It did not take me long to figure out, who wrote under the banner of Anonymous. What gave you away, was a primitive way of thinking, limited vocabulary, lousy spelling, and repetitive use of word hobbit. Next time if you want to attack someone who doesn’t share your views, be a man, sign it. And show some respect if you want to call yourself LFC supporter. If you don’t like your name, yourself, your life, sign your posts as Cowardly Loser.
Aquaman - November 5th, 2009 at 2:51 am
He he. An interesting point Donavan. I don’t like Mourinho as a person (I think he’s about as unliverpudlian as I can imagine), but in terms of management ability he is top class.
Oh, and Kaleb (I’ll take Mark G’s word for it that its you). When you blow your mouth off like this:
1) You prove nothing
2) If anything you make your target more determined
3) You make yourself look like an idiot (especially when you get caught)
So, yeah. Doing so is pretty pointless. Just thought I’d point that out.
Oh and before you post questioning my mother’s sexual preference, nobody cares.
Retryboy - November 5th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Kaleb- should register suggest golem as a tag- your obsession with hobbits is very worrying is it the hairy feet?? A fascination with anything to do with the ring?? Or is it just short man syndrome?? A lot of people have come onto this site and thought the way to go was to hurl personal insults at those that don’t agree with them. Most quickly realise that gets you nowhere, in fact loses you the argument i actually agree with a lot of your points and if you put them across in an intelligent way without insulting our players or other supporters people will take them on board. You also need to be more open minded your points on lucas were credible last season and i definitely agree he is played more than his abilities merit but stay open minded and you will see his massive improvements and his value as a squad player.
kermit - November 8th, 2009 at 3:06 am
whoever wrote this article is an idiot , i know of very few liverpool fans who predict we are going to win the league year after year, most of us are just hopeful like any supporter of any other team ,
kermit - November 8th, 2009 at 3:08 am
and what i like about mourinho as a manager is not his motivational skill , but his balls in making keys decisons during tthe course of a game, and this is my primary gripe with benitez, should benitez leave i would love mourinho as our manager even though he managed the chelsea scum
kermit - November 8th, 2009 at 3:10 am
in total agreement with donovan about ibrahimovic and eto o
he got forty million plus eto o
anonymous - November 8th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
While he’s a talented manager, Mourinho is a classless, egotistical, arrogant c*nt. If, god forbid, he ever becomes Liverpool boss, I would seriously have to rethink how I feel about the club I’ve loved for more than 35 years. If the game was really about success at any cost, I’d be a Chelsea or Man U fan.
anonymous - December 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
What a fucking idiot. Anti-Liverpool rubbish.