Ronnie Whelan wants Rafa sacked

[The Fallen Soldier]

Im shocked by this to be honest, and rather disgraced by a great LFC legend coming out and yet again washing more dirty linen in public. I would though however like to point out before some of you go too far, he may well have been quoted out of context on a lot of his comments as so often is the case with things like this. I am however very disapointed that this article has come to light..

Source
http://www.gulfnews.com/sport_extra/world_of_sport/10211626.html

Ronnie Whelan airs his frustrations

By Sarah Tregoning, Staff Reporter
Published: May 08, 2008, 18:23

Liverpool stalwart Ronnie Whelan believes that Rafa Benitez’s days at Anfield are numbered as The Reds tumble out of the Champions League following a titanic struggle against Chelsea last week.

The Showtime pundit and Liverpool great is not “100 per cent” convinced the Spaniard is the right man to lead Liverpool to success next year. Instead, he would like to see former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at the helm.

“Rafa’s not won a trophy this season,” says Whelan, whose own days as a midfielder at Anfield in the 1980s glory years were littered with trophies. “He has been quoted many times as saying ‘judge me at the end of the season’, well it’s the end of the season and his squad simply isn’t strong enough.”

Whelan believes Benitez has made bad decisions.
“When the Americans [co-chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2006] came in, they gave Rafa a lot of money to spend on players.

“But he obviously didn’t get the right players — the results say so. Jermain Pennant, Alvaro Arbeloa, Lucas Levia and Ryan Babel — I don’t think they are good enough to get Liverpool where they want to go. So should they give him the chance to spend another £40 million (Dhs 290m) and try and get the right players?”

Whelan points to Benitez’s baffling decision to compile a dossier going back four years of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba’s theatrics on the pitch prior to the Champions League clash as an example of strange choices made by the Spaniard.

When the big man from the Ivory Coast scored his first goal of the night from an acute angle to make the score 1-0 (2-1 aggregate), he gleefully ran the length of the touchline to slide in front of the Liverpool bench in celebration.

“People are saying it may have motivated Drogba to score those two goals, but honestly, I don’t think so,”  Whelan says.
“I don’t think he needed motivation in the semi-final of the Champions League. I really don’t know why Rafa decided to do that before the game. There were plenty of times in the past when he could have done it if he’d wanted to. I don’t think it was a good idea.”

The game saw Chelsea start with an away-goal advantage following the first leg at Anfield when defender John Arne Riise inexplicably tried to head a low-ball clear and found his own net.

With the score tied at 1-1 on aggregate both sides had everything to play for.

Then Drogba’s goal in the first half put a rather flat-looking Liverpool under more pressure with the aggregate score 2-1.
But the Reds came out fighting after the break with the knowledge that a single goal at Stamford Bridge would put them right back in the fight burned into their minds.

And that goal came 20 minutes into the second half courtesy of nifty footwork from Fernando Torres in the box to level the score 2-2 on aggregate.

With full-time approaching fast, Chelsea defended with all their might aware that another away goal from Liverpool would kill their hopes of reaching a first Champions League final.

Extra-time saw Michael Essien’s joyous celebrations cut short when his bullet-like shot was disallowed for offside but salvation came in the shape of a penalty awarded to the Blues after Sami Hyypia tripped Michael Ballack in the box.

A brave Frank Lampard, grieving the recent death of his mother, stepped forward to slot in a text-book penalty making the score 2-1 to Chelsea (3-2 on aggregate). And less than 10 minutes later, Drogba slotted home another goal to make it 3-1 (4-2).

Refusing to admit defeat, Liverpool kept fighting and Babel, on for Fernando Torres in the second half of extra time, who was apparently suffering a hamstring injury, hit a 30-yard shot which found the top corner.

The game finished 3-2 to Chelsea with the Blues winning 4-3 over the two legs and Liverpool unable to stage a miracle fightback.

Whelan has nothing but praise for the way a grieving Lampard, wearing the black armband of mourning, delivered a sterling performance for his team and took that penalty.

“It shows tremendous bottle to be able to do that,” he says. “When you think about what’s gone on for him and his family. Probably before the game he said to the manager that he wanted to play and do it for his mother, but it takes something extra to step up and take that type of penalty.

“You might have expected him to blast it and hope for the best, but he placed it calmly and that showed great professionalism and presence of mind.”

Chelsea’s win is a result that Whelan, even with all his affinity for Liverpool, believes that Avram Grant’s men richly deserved.

“Chelsea would have been strong enough on the night to take them through to the final anyway, even without that away goal,” he said.

“Liverpool got their away goal too which they felt that they needed and played a lot better in the second half, but Chelsea just seemed to have more conviction.”

With the trophy cabinet sadly bereft of silverware for the 2007-08 season, Whelan says Liverpool’s decision-makers need to think carefully about where they are headed.

“Everything needs to be looked at now,” he says. “We don’t know if the American owners will be there next season or if the Dubai group [Dubai International Capital] will be the new owners.

“Whoever is there will need to decide if they have confidence in Rafa. Personally I don’t.”

And he believes that Liverpool fans, who haven’t been able to celebrate a league title since 1990, won’t care who is in charge providing they spare enough cash to buy new players capable of propelling the club back to their former glory.

“I doubt the supporters will mind who the owner of the club is as long as they are winning trophies. If they give money to the manager and the manager spends it wisely, that’s all the fans care about.”

So if Steven Gerrard et al need a fresh start, whom would Whelan like to see in charge?

“I think Mourinho would be very good,” he says. “Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.

“He might be a bit unpopular with some people, but if your team is winning, you don’t care if a few people don’t like your manager,” Whelan said.

[Billy1]

I have the greatest respect for Ronnie Whelan as a great Liverpool player but he is wromg with his comments about RAFA who I feel as done an incredible job this season with a totally disorganised board.Also I dont think Ronnie can claim any success as a manager himself.

[clint_call01]

I have the greatest respect for Ronnie Whelan as a great Liverpool player but he is wromg with his comments about RAFA who I feel as done an incredible job this season with a totally disorganised board.Also I dont think Ronnie can claim any success as a manager himself.

I agree with you, if we had another manager he would left us in December 'cos of the board's problems.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky.

[N-Jay]

Ronnie Whelan airs his frustrations

By Sarah Tregoning, Staff Reporter
Published: May 08, 2008, 18:23

Liverpool stalwart Ronnie Whelan believes that Rafa Benitez’s days at Anfield are numbered as The Reds tumble out of the Champions League following a titanic struggle against Chelsea last week.

The Showtime pundit and Liverpool great is not “100 per cent” convinced the Spaniard is the right man to lead Liverpool to success next year. Instead, he would like to see former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at the helm.

“Rafa’s not won a trophy this season,” says Whelan, whose own days as a midfielder at Anfield in the 1980s glory years were littered with trophies. “He has been quoted many times as saying ‘judge me at the end of the season’, well it’s the end of the season and his squad simply isn’t strong enough.”

Whelan believes Benitez has made bad decisions.
“When the Americans [co-chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2006] came in, they gave Rafa a lot of money to spend on players.

“But he obviously didn’t get the right players — the results say so. Jermain Pennant, Alvaro Arbeloa, Lucas Levia and Ryan Babel — I don’t think they are good enough to get Liverpool where they want to go. So should they give him the chance to spend another £40 million (Dhs 290m) and try and get the right players?”

Whelan points to Benitez’s baffling decision to compile a dossier going back four years of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba’s theatrics on the pitch prior to the Champions League clash as an example of strange choices made by the Spaniard.

When the big man from the Ivory Coast scored his first goal of the night from an acute angle to make the score 1-0 (2-1 aggregate), he gleefully ran the length of the touchline to slide in front of the Liverpool bench in celebration.

“People are saying it may have motivated Drogba to score those two goals, but honestly, I don’t think so,”  Whelan says.
“I don’t think he needed motivation in the semi-final of the Champions League. I really don’t know why Rafa decided to do that before the game. There were plenty of times in the past when he could have done it if he’d wanted to. I don’t think it was a good idea.”

The game saw Chelsea start with an away-goal advantage following the first leg at Anfield when defender John Arne Riise inexplicably tried to head a low-ball clear and found his own net.

With the score tied at 1-1 on aggregate both sides had everything to play for.

Then Drogba’s goal in the first half put a rather flat-looking Liverpool under more pressure with the aggregate score 2-1.
But the Reds came out fighting after the break with the knowledge that a single goal at Stamford Bridge would put them right back in the fight burned into their minds.

And that goal came 20 minutes into the second half courtesy of nifty footwork from Fernando Torres in the box to level the score 2-2 on aggregate.

With full-time approaching fast, Chelsea defended with all their might aware that another away goal from Liverpool would kill their hopes of reaching a first Champions League final.

Extra-time saw Michael Essien’s joyous celebrations cut short when his bullet-like shot was disallowed for offside but salvation came in the shape of a penalty awarded to the Blues after Sami Hyypia tripped Michael Ballack in the box.

A brave Frank Lampard, grieving the recent death of his mother, stepped forward to slot in a text-book penalty making the score 2-1 to Chelsea (3-2 on aggregate). And less than 10 minutes later, Drogba slotted home another goal to make it 3-1 (4-2).

Refusing to admit defeat, Liverpool kept fighting and Babel, on for Fernando Torres in the second half of extra time, who was apparently suffering a hamstring injury, hit a 30-yard shot which found the top corner.

The game finished 3-2 to Chelsea with the Blues winning 4-3 over the two legs and Liverpool unable to stage a miracle fightback.

Whelan has nothing but praise for the way a grieving Lampard, wearing the black armband of mourning, delivered a sterling performance for his team and took that penalty.

“It shows tremendous bottle to be able to do that,” he says. “When you think about what’s gone on for him and his family. Probably before the game he said to the manager that he wanted to play and do it for his mother, but it takes something extra to step up and take that type of penalty.

“You might have expected him to blast it and hope for the best, but he placed it calmly and that showed great professionalism and presence of mind.”

Chelsea’s win is a result that Whelan, even with all his affinity for Liverpool, believes that Avram Grant’s men richly deserved.

“Chelsea would have been strong enough on the night to take them through to the final anyway, even without that away goal,” he said.

“Liverpool got their away goal too which they felt that they needed and played a lot better in the second half, but Chelsea just seemed to have more conviction.”

With the trophy cabinet sadly bereft of silverware for the 2007-08 season, Whelan says Liverpool’s decision-makers need to think carefully about where they are headed.

“Everything needs to be looked at now,” he says. “We don’t know if the American owners will be there next season or if the Dubai group [Dubai International Capital] will be the new owners.

“Whoever is there will need to decide if they have confidence in Rafa. Personally I don’t.”

And he believes that Liverpool fans, who haven’t been able to celebrate a league title since 1990, won’t care who is in charge providing they spare enough cash to buy new players capable of propelling the club back to their former glory.

“I doubt the supporters will mind who the owner of the club is as long as they are winning trophies. If they give money to the manager and the manager spends it wisely, that’s all the fans care about.”

So if Steven Gerrard et al need a fresh start, whom would Whelan like to see in charge?

“I think Mourinho would be very good,” he says. “Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.

“He might be a bit unpopular with some people, but if your team is winning, you don’t care if a few people don’t like your manager,” Whelan said.

Ok, , This is kinda funny... I believe it has been blown out of proportion as usual, but seriously... what if (WHAT IF!) We had won that match against Chelsea... Whelan, regarding the 'dossier on didier', would of said that it was the right thing to do & that the fact that Rafa dug up all that dirt on Drogba made him play rubbish and 'miss opportunities' etc. Personally on the night Lampard played an average game, the penalty was good though, but not exactly a hero, he gets paid however much grand a week for that. Fair doos about losing his mother though because thats awful.

And then regarding Jose, ok fantastic, Sack Rafa & Bring in Jose: What is Whelan trying to say? Jose will buy Drogba, Cole, Malouda, Shevchenko, Ballack, Carvalho etc for Liverpool and then make us win titles & trophies, Never gonna happen is it?

I love this bit: ""Rafa’s not won a trophy this season,” says Whelan, whose own days as a midfielder at Anfield in the 1980s glory years were littered with trophies."" - Ok, , So that means that 20 years later Whelans opinions stand for sh*t. Just because he played and won doesn't mean he made or can make the right decisions regarding building a winning team.

Chelsea were better than us on the night, we got out played I agree. Yes we all had high hopes this season & next season will be no different, but we know this owner thing has gotta be sorted and there are a lot of issues, but I dont believe Rafa is one of them.

[Fowler_ynwa]

I was reading this filth on RAWK, and it's not the first time that Whelan has criticized Rafa. This season I've heard/read Nicol, Smith, Bruce and Whelan all have a pop at Rafa. I respect these players and they're entitled to their opinion, but when they're in public if they don't have anything good to say for the sake of the club they should say sweet f*** all.

[Brown LFC]

I think Ronnie Whelan, Nicol, Bruce, Simth,and other LFC players of the old, have the right to express their opinion about Benitez, because, the standards was set for them by the previous managers at their time of playing for LFC was very high, and it is not the same now under Benitez or even Houlier then, it has very much lowered under those two managers.

Let us face it Benitez management style is bizarre to say the least, his tactics and unusual decisions and choice of using odd players in his team selection, which it has often lacked ambitions, are the main reasons for criticizing Benitez, and I go along with those criticisms, I don’t think he will take LFC further forward despite giving him more money to waste this summer on more average players, if he is allowed to stay!!!., he is negative manager in his own making, it can not be helped, and he is the wrong manager for LFC.

[Chico Banderas]

I expect many of the former greats to have this attitude.. They played in a successfully Liverpool team AND there of a different generation, their also cynical middle aged men who will always think they know best.. TBH their just fans now with no deeper understanding of the modern game than us really.. Like fans on this boards there occasionally reactionists too.. He's just pissed off we haven't won anything this season..

I may need to do my research but have Raffa and Moureen really spent the same amount of cash?
If Raffa was allowed to be as aggressive in the market as the other 3 top clubs and have first pickings of Europe's elite players then I too would question him but we all know he has had to make do with less pricey gambles that don't always pay off..
 
I don't think Chelksi were much better than us over the two legs at all, I just think it was their destiny..
Lamps played a quiet game but scored the pen for his mum.. Only a situation like that could displace our relationship with the CL that's why I wasn't that bitter..

Oh and everybody can have an opinion but I simply don't agree with Whelans ramblings at all...

IRWT

[crouchinho]

Together we rise, united we fall.

I'm sick of the cheap shots played at Rafa through out his career. What the f**k ever happened to loyalty and support in this club? In a season where we should be supporting each other more than any other season, we see former greats come out and bag Rafa with misplaced criticism. FFS is it Rafa's fault Tom Hicks is a tit who jeapordised his job? Is it his fault that while he manages a side, we have our name dragged through the dirt? NO.

And Ryan Babel never going to win us anything? Im sorry but no matter how much of a legend you are, to think this is bang out of order. Ryan is one of the hottest players in Europe and will grow to amazing highs and Whelan says he's worth f**k all? Ronnie, you've lost me on that one mate.

F***ing atrocious to see the sh*t coming out. 'Jermain Pennant, Alvaro Arbeloa, Lucas Levia and Ryan Babel — I don’t think they are good enough to get Liverpool where they want to go.'

If the best young Brazilian and U/20 captain plus one of the biggest prodigies in Europe along with a guy who gets assist upon assist upon assist and the best player up untll Christmas plus Spanish International arent good enough then who, Ronnie? 40 million well bloody spent if you ask me. Forgot to mention Yossi and Nando Ronnie!

Check the facts before having a dig at our manager and a guy leading the club you once played for before opening the gob and making a fool of yourself.

“I think Mourinho would be very good,” he says. “Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.' Give me a f***in break! Jose Mourinho spent over double of Rafa's transfer kitty without having to ship players off and he deserves credit for it? Here's some facts Ronnie (!) : Rafa lead the 2005 squad to the crown with one of the worst squads, Rafa lead us to another final only 2 seasons later with a slightly but not massively improved squad, Mourinho not once led Chelsea past the S/F of the CL and because of who? One man, Rafael Benitez.

Time to show some f**king support in this club and put this season behind us. This is Liverpool, not Newcastle.

[CRK]

I don't like that comment!...

“Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.

With no mention of out of this world wage offers, and of course an owner who could afford to do all of this without having to sell other players on! :

If Whelan did say all of this stuff then he is very niave! Plus, he's saying it's Mourhino's doing that Avram Grant has taken Chelsea all the way to Moscow! That's also disrespectful to Grant!

[donrafael]

Anybody else get the feeling Wheelan may have wanted a role at the club, a la Ablett or hopefully soon, Sammy... and it's slightly sour grapes.

I do.

Ronnie what have you managed in your life?

Who the feck are you to be judging a management position at elite level footy...

Got to giggle to be honest...

I.R.W.T.

[The Invisible Man]

Rafa spent the same as Mourinho?

This is the problem I have with Whelan and his ilk - total disregarding of the facts. Great player, utter tit.

[7-King Kenny-7]

I have alot of respect for Whelan but he is bang out of order and it is likely to just cause even more media speculation whether Rafa will be in charge or not.

He needs to look at the facts and them right before he goes shooting his mouth off!

[Brian78]

Very very disappointed with Ronnie here. Not only a top ex player for us but a captain! He should know better then to tell the press what is his opinion and hes entitled to it. I have no problem with anyone saying they want Rafa sacked but why come out in public with it. In saying that the way the press have worded it is probably a million miles from what Ronnie was trying to get across. F**kin hate the press 

[smigger15]

Anybody else get the feeling Wheelan may have wanted a role at the club, a la Ablett or hopefully soon, Sammy... and it's slightly sour grapes.

I do.

Ronnie what have you managed in your life?

Who the feck are you to be judging a management position at elite level footy...

Got to giggle to be honest...

I.R.W.T.

Got to agree with you there Don, sounds like sour grapes to me 

[MsGerrard]

They had a table up on sky sports the other day saying how much each of the top clubs had spent over the last ten years,
 surprise surprise, Chelsea were way ahead of everyone else on something like 475 million,
can't remember the exact amount,
 don't know if anyone else saw it and can confirm............. but that's a lot of dosh,
 and they still haven't won the Champions League, yet 

Liverpool were in third behind the scum.

Ronnie Whelan I am very disappointed with you mate 

[andylfcynwa]

Just tuned in to hear the biggest pile of sh*t ever ,even if he has been misquoted he obviously said something along those lines ,great player /captain for us but for fck sake dont abuse our fondness of you big mistake ,aint it funny how a lot of ex players who havn,t had the balls to manage themselves see it fit to rubbish the ones that do,and to say Rafa spent as much as moureen you must be smokiing serious sh*t man.

[donrafael]

This isn't unfortunately a first for Ronnie.

He said much the same thing at the height of the Jurgen/sack Rafa crisis... (along with another ex-hero of mine, Tommy Smith).

Ronnie if you hear a bang, it's my estimation of you crashing into the ground next to you (sadly from a fairly high level).

I.R.W.T.

[kelv78]

Here we go again a ex player venting his frustrations,I wonder how well they would have done this season under the circumstances surrounding the off the field problems.

[carragerrard]

I respect wheelan'S opinion  ,,  But one thing was not mentioned when comparing rafa with mourinho(or chelsea)  That rafa and his squad reached the CL final 2 times in 4 years (winning one in turkey) before chelsea reached it this year  and to add more rafa went to the final at the expence of chelsea and mourinho in the semis

[Bpatel]

Isn't it annoying when ex-legends of football clubs, especially those of Liverpool start slagging off the team?

Calling for Rafa to be sacked was just uncalled for. He has done a very good job, he has completely transformed the team and he will become successful, if only people don't start calling for his head and owners don't secretly hold meetings with people that could replace him. He needs time, he will deliver the goods. Just have faith.

YNWA
IRWT

[srslfc]

Very disappointed to read this and like Don says this is not the first time Whelan has come out and criticised Rafa.Although he is not alone as a lot of ex players have criticised him over recent months.

The most disappointing thing is a lot of what he is saying is simply not true.He talks about the amount of money the Americans have provided for transfers, without going into detail most fans of the club and sensible analysts know this to be untrue as Rafa has recouped the vast majority of money spent since they took over. Also I would argue that it was their money as the amount spent should have been earned through revenues.

“But he obviously didn’t get the right players — the results say so. Jermain Pennant, Alvaro Arbeloa, Lucas Levia and Ryan Babel — I don’t think they are good enough to get Liverpool where they want to go.

No mention of Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Skrtel, Reina etc. Also Pennant, Lucas and Arbeloa have been mostly squad players this yearand in my opinion are able back up players with Lucas in particular showing promise to be a very good player in the future.As for Babel I've even heard Andy Gray saying he is going to be a hell of a player and we know he doesn't like to dish out praise to us that easily!!

“I think Mourinho would be very good,” he says. “Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.

This is quite simply a ridiculous statement as Chelsea have spent far more than us in recent times on players and are also probably paying out even more in wages. I can't believe that he thinks Rafa has spent the same amount of money as Mourinho did at Chelsea. If he had those resources then why were we looking for investment into the club.

He may have been mis quoted but I don't think so. I feel it is yet another former player with some sort of agenda against Rafa, or maybe feels some personal greivance with the club in general

[Magillionare]

I dont see how he beleives that

a) this will help matters at liverpool
b) his comments will have any impact on the security of rafas job

this was a pointess outburst in my opinion

[redbill]

 
who cares what he thinks

[Pippen]

I don't understand Whelan.

1. Didn't he realize it was Rijse who actually destroyed Liverpools run for the Final with a once-in-100years-mistake? Didn't he relaisze that our boys had chances in London to pull it out? It could have gone the other way very easily....

2. Mourhinho had a lot more money and top-players available at Chelsea. Liverpool never had the money to spend like Chelsea or ManU.

3. Benitez has a couple of young guns who will develop into very good players, but not overnight. Benitez thinks strategically (more longtermwise).

4. Mourinho - can you imagine this guy being 5-10 years in Liverpool? His theatrical character won't admit that...Rafa on the otherwise seems loyal to our club and THAT should count something.

GIVE RAFA TWO MORE YEARS and if he hasn't won another CL- or PL-title by then, let him go...but only if he had the money to make sure Liverpool gets the competitive players it needs to accomplish those goals...and this brings us back to the DIC/Gillett & Hicks-Parry-problem...that's the real cancer of this club and it needs to be removed VERY QUICKLY!

[GERNS]

Rafa spent 40 million on second rate players acording to Ronnie Whelan. Unlike  Morinho. You bet it was unlike Mourinho. He spent 250 Million and over 40million of that was on players who failed to make the grade and were sold at massive losse. I havn't heard much about Ronnie Whelan since he stoped playing until he appeared as a t v pundit. Not a very good one at that. This is just a method of stirring up controvercy so he gets noticed. Must be looking for a bit of work alongside andy gray I think. F***ing Tosser.

[AJ]

I have to say I am shocked by this outburst and lack of respect for a manager who has given this club fresh hope and is working towards a bright future.  I think a lot of people think they have a right to write off Benitez so easily as they tend to follow the general media misconception, but for an ex legend I'm sure he has close ties to the club and understands how much the media bandwagon and bad vibes can affect a club such the size of Liverpool and these comments don't help one bit.

I'm all for freedom of speech and if he had a REAL argument to question Rafa's position maybe people would take them on board, which I'm sure a select few have.  Unfortunately this is not the case:

“He has been quoted many times as saying ‘judge me at the end of the season’, well it’s the end of the season and his squad simply isn’t strong enough.”

Does anyone remember Rafa saying "I will win a trophy this season" as that's pretty much what whelan is implying.

“When the Americans [co-chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2006] came in, they gave Rafa a lot of money to spend on players.

Really? from what I saw they gave him the money for a few big signings to keep him sweet then shut the kitty, probably due to the fact that they didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket cowards!

There were plenty of times in the past when he could have done it if he’d wanted to. I don’t think it was a good idea.”

Maybe it was due to the fact that in such a high profile game the ref/officials need to be aware of what diving antics he is usually capable of, as if any other team would not do the same given the opportunity!

“We don’t know if the American owners will be there next season or if the Dubai group [Dubai International Capital] will be the new owners.

As if you care unless they ultimately "buy" the title

“Whoever is there will need to decide if they have confidence in Rafa. Personally I don’t.”

Well I'm sure the editorial team of gulf news will listen to your unsupported claims on that all day as after all they are the first for all the big stories or were they the only people who would interview you on this?

[winky]

True Legend !!!!!

Kenny Dalglish, the most eminent player in Liverpool's history, fears that Rafael Benítez will struggle to attract top-class reinforcements to Anfield this summer unless the club's ownership issues are resolved.

Benítez is highly confident of signing Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa captain, and a handful of low-key acquisitions, such as Philipp Degen, the Borussia Dortmund full back, but Dalglish believes that the continuing dispute between Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool co-owners, may deter other potential targets from joining the Merseyside club.

“On the field, [liverpool] are an attractive proposition,” Dalglish said. “Off it, you would have reservations about coming here while there are still issues to be resolved. How does Rafa get the sign-off to go after a player? Who signs it off and who negotiates the deal to a conclusion? I hope it is resolved sooner rather than later. Players around Europe are starting to look at where they want to play next season and it's not fair for Rafa to try to enter negotiations with an arm behind his back.”

Steven Gerrard, writing in the match programme before the game against Manchester City last Sunday, also stated the importance of signing more top-class players to improve on this season's fourth place in the Barclays Premier League. “We'll hopefully invest in a couple of quality additions to the squad in the summer and have a go at it again,” the Liverpool captain said. “If we get some of the players that the manager wants - and some of them can have the same impact that guys like Yossi Benayoun, Fernando Torres, Martin Skrtel and Ryan Babel have had this year - then we will have taken a step forward.”


Whelan you are a pure and utter clown!!!!!!!!

[Benito]

y the hell did he say that it must have been for his own publicity as in every way it is not helpfull for the club.

2 CL finals in 4 years makes every single manager in the premier league at the moment jealous. Look at the signings recently, skertel, masch, babel, torres all Fing amazing and wtf is he talking about mourinho. hes talking absolute bull and makes me laugh every time I read it.
We did them twice under him and if it wasnt for that 95th minute in the first leg we would have done them again this season but thats football.
Football is at its highest level ever at the moment and does he just think that spending 40mil in this day and age can buy u the league? The scum and chelski have been spending that every summer for the last 4 years and he expects  rafa to be the messiah
Sorry Ron I respect what u did for us in the past but footballs a whole different ball game nowadays seeming as the £ rules all

IRWT

[bartman49]

We all have an opinion I suppose but please tell me I am not dreaming when Ronnie said Rafa has had just as much money to spend as Chelsea (that's not my take on these proceedings) Drogba, Anelka, Essien, Cole, Lampard, Cech, Wright-Philipps, Malouda, the list goes on so and on so where does Ronnie get is facts. He also wants Rafa sacked based on one Champions League game in which he sounds like he was watching the 2005 game. Your wrong Ronnie and aught to know better than to ask for a guys job just because you do not like the way he does things so get of Rafa's back and support your old club like Phil Thomson does and other ex players. And Ronnie would like the special one to take over (must have bumped into his agent)....No thanks...

Would someone put me strait on how much money Rafa has spent during his time at the club I caught a little of how much the clubs spent on ssn and our club were 3rd with something like 260mill spent and just ahead were the mancs and Chelsea with something like 20 and 30 mill more, will someone tell me how can this be since Rafa has been here I've see him spend on ave. about 30mill a year so where did they get 260 from, I know last year he spent a little more but it was around 40 mill and a lot of that was from selling players so where the sh*te do these people get their figures...

[The Invisible Man]

£260m is over 10 years.

Rafa's spent about £150m, but his NET spend is around £90m.

Mourinho's net spend was around £200m.