Why I back the only man for Liverpool - Rafa Benitez

Aye. True True mate.

Paper's have it in for him!

I definately want to see him here next season.

If it does not go well next season, then maybe it is time for change, but Im in no hurry, I still think to get proper success you need a manager to stick around like mr Alex has done at the mancs!

Either that or you pronote guy's from inside the club like we used to do!

I think this needed a new thread to get the message across to the idiots calling for his head. Work, JD.

The amount of sh*t Rafa has to put up with, not just with the owners and coco the clown, but also the media is unbelievable.  I take my hat off to the guy for what he has endured and to have us in the position we are in now is an achievement in itself.

I'd love nothing more than to see Rafa lift that league title and to rub it in the face of all the fuckers that hate upon everything he does.  His decisions and tactics can be baffling but here's a guy that has put his heart and soul into our club and for that Rafa will always have my support, and same should go for every other Red.

I think the players should be behind the manager. I cant understand how any so called Liverpool supporter could even think about changing RAFA. On other forums (SKY) I get slated for having blind faith but isnt that what support is about. Regardless of the Manager I am never going to support any other team.  It confuses me to think a "SUPPORTER" would want to have a go at any player or the manager when we are so well placed to have a great season. There are so many people always waiting to have a go at Liverpool I find it sad that some supporters do the very same thing.

I agree with everyone, we have come on leaps and bounds under Rafa, he is also up there with the longer servers as managers in the PL. Things take time and slowly but surely things have taken shape and we are seeing the culmination of this, there are few pieces left to the jigsaw, unfortunately they are big pieces; board, funding, new stadium, 1 or 2 more big signings, and without these pieces we will eventually hit a brick wall.

In an age where every other team chops and changes manager it is no suprise that the teams that are doing well are those who have stuck by their man.

Ferguson at Man Utd
Wenger at Arsenal
O'Neill at Villa
Benitez at Liverpool.

Even look at Everton and Wigan, both reasonably difficult to beat by sticking with Moyes and Bruce.

Then look at what changing managers has acheived for the likes of Newcastle....

A perfectly formed flower takes nourishment from what is put into it from when the seed is planted, Arsenal had ups and downs, then did the Invincible season, Man Utd took 2 season out from winning then won it 2 times in a row in recent years.

Sticking by Rafa is the ONLY way we can emulate our previous success, YES I will question his decisions and judgement at times, it is our duty as fans to do so, but never will I call for his head.

well said jd,under houllier we forgot how to play good football,in europe we were force no mo more.
under the GEM rafa we have been re-born,we F***ing play quality football,in europe we are the number one ranked team,we forgot what champions leauge football was untill rafa showed us the way once more,we won one final in istanbul,runners up in athens,semis against chelsea,any other club would be happy with that alone,ask wenger,mouriniho,fergie.

in rafa i trust.
YNWA

Exactly lad's, people dis. our european record Under Rafa, but it's arguably the best in Europe over the past 5 seasons.

2005 - Won it
2006 - Quarters
2007 - Runners up
2008 - Semi's
2009 - last 16 (for now)

A final every 2 years is a great record!

Paper's have it in for him!

Unless Rafa gets in first, like in this odious NOTW writing, weighed down with all the silver he can get, little pr**k's case, as I hear he is now banned from our press conferences and attending the match, after the article he wrote in last weeks edition of the news of the screws.

Wonder what his employers will think of that?

The source of that image you posted is worrying Huyton:

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http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/images4/chrisbascombe_head.gif

Exactly lad's, people dis. our european record Under Rafa

What the hell? 

I would be interested to know exactly who had slated our European record under Rafa, that's senseless!

I was under the impression that we had been rated as the strongest European team (or thereabouts) going into this years CL competition, but now I'm wondering if I was mistaken?

This link has us placed number one currently, I think it's the official UEFA rankings:

http://kassiesa.net/uefabackup/data/method4/trank2009.html

Didn't we win the best european team or something over the past 5 years?

Now back to topic

look rafa lives breathes liverpool 24/7. then he has to be involved in the polictics of liverpool f.c ownership issues. hes only human he can make mistakes. he hasnt got the budget of chelsea man utd,spurs or man city. but the proof is in the pudding look at the premier league table. then look at our results against the top four

I admit I have certianly been frustrated with Rafa at times - mainly with subsitutions and team selections.  But I still 100% believe he is the man to take us forward - look at his record so far.  With all the few resources he was left with when Houllier left, he has done very very well.

Just think - in four years he has got us:

The best defensive holding midfielder in the World - Javi Mascherano
The best passer in the World - Xabi
The best striker in the World - Torres
The best keeper in the World - Pepe
The best up-coming centre-back in the World - Skrtel

Oh, not forgetting a Champions League medal, Fa Cup, Super Cup, Charity Shield, and League Cup runners up and CL runners up, another CL semi, and, now, a challenge for the Premier League title, PLUS a another CL chance.

YNWA.

I don't think that all of our Spanish players would leave if Rafa left. They might have had an easier decision knowing Rafa would be their coach, but I think many of our players come to play for one of the best clubs in the world. Also for everyone who is bashing Rafa you have to agree completely with JD, Rafa has to deal week in and week out with arguably the most frustrating owners in the world. Any person who has to deal with Parry/Gillett/Hicks on a regular basis has to have some thick skin, and I feel that if our owners and boardroom directors were not such a problem Rafa would have floated through this season mouth shut and smile on his face as Fergie blew his mouth off at a man content at being on top.

Also as someone who is American I apologize for my country having rich dimwits with cash to blow on a game they do not appreciate at all! 

The best keeper in the World - Pepe

I think Iker Casillas is a little bit better personally, but Pepe is world class no doubt.

no way, pepe is better, better with his feet, better all round game, more consistent, as in he'll one off game a season like clockwork

One more chance maybe for El Rafa !

Well, he definitely made the best out of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and got us , probably the best finisher in the world - Fernando Torres. He's managed to get a good players for us in Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Arvalo Arbeloa and Pepe Reina.

There's been a few people in the past week/fortnight who have managed to get right on my tits.  First there was the moaning about getting rid of a striker who had offered us nothing, and that somebody wanted to actually buy. So instead of wasting nearly £20 million plus millions more in wages, we actually got out only taking a £3 million hit.  Would this have happened under Houllier? We'd have ended up paying someone to take him off our hands.

Before that the people who had been complaining about Keane going were moaning about him being brought on for a tired Gerrard against Wigan.

Next up we have the fact that Rafa's bosses are arguably the most unhelpful indviduals this side of Guantanamo Bay prison guards.  Gillett even threw a sly dig in about Rafa at the weekend (before we beat Chelsea - again - for the first time in 20 years) - all this after they were about to replace him with Jürgen Klinsmann.

Finally, Liverpool are positioning themselves well as we enter the final stages of the season.

I don't even need to use Istanbul as part of my reasoning for why I'm backing Rafa either.

Tonight somebody on the site said that we should get Kenny in - nobody can do worse than Rafa.

Interestingly if we go back to the last time we won the league in 89/90 - after 24 games we had banked 46 points.  This stage we have 51 points under 'terrible' Benitez in a vastly harder league to compete in.

People even contemplating getting rid of Benitez are in the minority, and some of those on here who have done so have since been uncovered as United fans or Everton fans, and I'm sure others have some other motivations too.  People have the right to be critical - we all are - but people calling for his head who are genuine Liverpool fans need to get a grip.

The silent majority know that for the first time in decades we are a team hard to beat, constantly flexing our teeth in European Football again, and at long last genuinely talked about as potential Champions.

The day Benitez leaves Liverpool will be the day our club gets put back in to the dark ages and 30-35 points off the title.

In Rafa I Trust

good post mate, i agree 100% with you

Probably repeating myself but Rafa under the circumstances has been nothing but exceptional. How did he win the Champions league with that squad and then get there again with the likes of Rise Crouch and Bellamy I tell you the mans a genius. Look at the variances in our squad. Alonso or Lucas Torres or Ngog. Its simply not good enough but here we are complaining about the chance to go back to the top of the league.

its good to back the manager, but to me he needs to look himself in the mirror and ask himself, what am i doing, i need to sort my head out and play my best team from the start,

and maybe rest one top player a match not fekin 4

We need new owners not a new manager....

And thats a fact .

We all know we havent got the strength in depth that we would like. He knows Spain will play Torres and if he played a full game yesterday he maywell have aggrivated his hamstrings through tiredness on Wednesday. He just doesnt do  things on a whim ,he has a team behind him who he respects and listens to.