Rafa shakes up the backroom staff

Ok so we know about Segura coming in and the possibility of King Kenny but there's more too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1189024/Dalglish-set-Anfield-role-Rafa-shakes-coaching-staff.html

Bit disappointed at the lack of quotes but it's early days yet i suppose.

Disappointed at Ablett leaving. Would love to see Gary Mac come back as a coach.

Looks like Rafa is really changing things.Anyone thinks that the departure of Rick Parry has led to Rafa bringing in his own people into the club's backroom?

Looking at our reserve team final position this season, and the disappointment in the Youth Cup Final - then this is entirely understandable in my opinion.

Looking at our reserve team final position this season, and the disappointment in the Youth Cup Final - then this is entirely understandable in my opinion.

Definately. I think it's a very good quality in a manager when they are prepared to make great changes.

Rafa has a new broom and is having a clean up, he wants the people he knows or has be given advice about, to be in place for next season, I don't know what went wrong with the reserves this season, whatever it was Rafa felt a change was needed and in the end he showed a ruthless streak in changing the parts of this football club he felt needed changing..........

Looking at our reserve team final position this season, and the disappointment in the Youth Cup Final - then this is entirely understandable in my opinion.

I think the main point would be the lack of players coming through the system which is the whole point of having youth system. Yes winning things are nice but if you are not pulling players from those teams into the first team then your not doing your job, Gary said that all the time his job is to get these kids into the first team and it appears Rafa doesn't believe Gary is doing a good enough job developing these young guys into potential first team players.

King Kenny would be such an asset to LFC... its pains me to say this but we would do no harm to follow the business plan of Man Utd when they have Sir Bobby Charlton as their Ambassador.
King Kenny is a well respected figure in the world of football and would be equal to the job Sir Bobby Charlton does for Man Utd.
 

Ok so we know about Segura coming in and the possibility of King Kenny but there's more too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1189024/Dalglish-set-Anfield-role-Rafa-shakes-coaching-staff.html

Bit disappointed at the lack of quotes but it's early days yet I suppose.

Rafa has battled for the power and now he's putting his design in place!
He's nothing if not ruthless, or should that be decisive
He knows where he is and he equally knows where he wants to be.  

I'm a bit disappointed to see Hughie McAuley leaving. Whenever I've heard or read anything about him from one of the lads who've come through our youth set up they only have good things to say about him.

And I've always liked former players like Hughie, Heighway, Thompson teaching the lads the Liverpool way from a very early age. Teaching them what Liverpool Football Club is about, not only on a playing level but what's expected off the field as well from our players. Giving them the insight into this club. Hopefully that's something Kenny will able to give them that same knowledge.

Really hope Kenny comes back into the fold to help Rafa with his plans to make Liverpool fc a team to be feared again ,Rafa seems to have the backbone and the will to do it his way and if he doesn't think people ,be it backroom staff or players ,are up to the job then he will get people  or players that he believes are up to the job,gets my vote if it works anyway 

Any news guys on where Kenny will fit into the scheme of things? With the contract extensions, and a great season behind us this would give such a boost going into the close season. A person of Kenny's stature can only add to the allure of players wanting to come to Liverpool.

Hadn't seen this topic until I was looking at Riera's wedding photos on LFC Globe where underneath it I saw this heading:

Benitez dismisses 16 Backroom Staff

http://lfcglobe.com/benitez-dismisses-16-backroom-staff/#more-2317



June 7, 2009 · Discuss

Liverpool are set to face a legal backlash after Rafa Benitez fired sixteen backroom staff.

The club sacked 10 Academy personnel last week and within the past few days, six-other long serving employees have been told to leave.

Liverpool have not given the staff any reasons however, it is believed that Benitez wants to bring in most of his former coaches at Valencia.

A source at Anfield said: “You’ve heard of the night of the long knives. This is more like two weeks of it and it may not be finished yet.

“Rafa wants a clean sweep, but some of the staff won’t go quietly and are taking legal advice. Some of them don’t even feel they’ve been told why they’re going.”

SACKED BACKROOM STAFF:
Gary Ablett - Reserve team manager (2 years)
Piet Hamburg - Academy director (2 years)
Hugh McAuley - Under 18 coach (20 years)
Dave Shannon - Under-16 coach (20 years)
Paul Lever - Under-14 coach (18 years)
Billy Stewart - Academy goalkeeper coach (10 years)
Norman Gard - Players’ liaison officer (15 years)
Tim Divine - Education officer (15 years)
John Wright - Kit man (15 years)
Victor Salinas - Physio (4 years)
Gerard Nus - Sports scientist (2 years)
Angel Vales - Sports scientist (1 year)
Simon Farnworth - Academy physio (10 years)
John Coburn - Academy physio (8 years)
Jan de Koning - Assistant academy director (2 years)
Tim Dittmar - Academy goalkeeper coach (8 years)



For me, that's a lot of change in the off season in one swoop.

Aside form Gary Ablett leaving, the one that stood out for me is The Kit man- John Wright. Not that I know him personally, but got to feel sorry for the man...been doing a job anyone would love to do for 15 years and he has now been given the arse. Wonder what he did wrong?  

If rumours of King Kenny coming back are true, then I am sure Rafa would have consulted with him before making such a big decision.

Feel very sorry for many of them up there but I quite certain if its time to go, then its time. They got nothing to take legal action about I think, its the normal sacking kind of thing if Rafa feels that they aren't quite up to standard. Many from the Academy up there, the academy has not been producing good enough players to make the step up so that is the reason for the sacking I feel.

The job from the reserves to the academy is to produce a good player to play in the first team, however nothing of that is happening at the moment, the players are not making the step up to the first team and that is probably one of the reasons that Rafa decides to sack them.

Rafa wants to save millions of pounds by bringing in the right quality players, and then giving the best coaches to grow their potential. If Rafa sees it that these staff cannot fulfil to that requirement, then I have no qualms of him kicking them out because it is only for the good of the club and the right direction to move towards.

Sentimentality couldn't be in his thoughts, if not we wouldn't progress. Friends or not friends, this is a football club, you are not good, you leave. Simple.

I am not sure what the Academy costs but it hasnt been prolific in sending lads through to the first team. Stevie  being the last one who plays in the first team.
So something had to change either due to financial pressure or just lack of people coming through.

SACKED BACKROOM STAFF:
Gary Ablett - Reserve team manager (2 years)
Piet Hamburg - Academy director (2 years)
Hugh McAuley - Under 18 coach (20 years)
Dave Shannon - Under-16 coach (20 years)
Paul Lever - Under-14 coach (18 years)
Billy Stewart - Academy goalkeeper coach (10 years)
Norman Gard - Players’ liaison officer (15 years)
Tim Divine - Education officer (15 years)
John Wright - Kit man (15 years)
Victor Salinas - Physio (4 years)
Gerard Nus - Sports scientist (2 years)
Angel Vales - Sports scientist (1 year)
Simon Farnworth - Academy physio (10 years)
John Coburn - Academy physio (8 years)
Jan de Koning - Assistant academy director (2 years)
Tim Dittmar - Academy goalkeeper coach (8 years)

To me it looks like Rafa has brought a sh*t-storm on himself/the club. I'm a shop steward and union activist and i'll tell you this: the claims for unfair dismissal will be raining in.

It's going to be very hard for the club to stand over some these sackings unless there's some sort of proof of wrong doing. Employees in the U.K. are protected by legislation and proper disciplinary procedure. I hope i'm wrong but in a number of these cases it would seem that the procedures were not followed.  

Its the price you pay IMO. I feel sorry for the lads leaving but if it means Rafa can build us how he wants Liveprool Football Club to be run then its a good thing for now and the future.

You cant say they were wrongly dismissed as you dont know what was in their contracts they may have been 12 month contracts that were not renewed.

This is a bold and astute by Rafa, the academy has been ineffective in its own right in producing the quality players it should. Whether its a matter of harnessing that talent to the full potential is one thing. But one has to realize that it if it's consistently not working, then there must be a need for a change. Rafa's is going to get a lot of stick for this move, but it was on that he had to make.

We cannot be impartial because one is a long standing worker towards the cause. As the facts suggest that it has been a long stand without us seeing any talents rise out of the academy and prove themselves worthy in becoming world class at best.

Good move, and King Kenny will prove a worthy appointment. For this I am sure, sooner rather than later, the quality players we have will see their potential being fulfilled.

This will bring more attention to the club. I'm suprised as to why the kit man is leaving, what could he have done wrong there?? not that I know him or anything but is someone else going to do a better job as kit man? Steven Gerrard is full of praise in his autobiography for Hugh McAuley and Dave Shannon so Rafa must be upset with the lack of youths coming into the first team. Although if the players aren't there you can't turn a bad player into a good one no matter who is coaching

SACKED BACKROOM STAFF:
Gary Ablett - Reserve team manager (2 years)
Piet Hamburg - Academy director (2 years)
Hugh McAuley - Under 18 coach (20 years)
Dave Shannon - Under-16 coach (20 years)
Paul Lever - Under-14 coach (18 years)
Billy Stewart - Academy goalkeeper coach (10 years)
Norman Gard - Players’ liaison officer (15 years)
Tim Divine - Education officer (15 years)
John Wright - Kit man (15 years)
Victor Salinas - Physio (4 years)
Gerard Nus - Sports scientist (2 years)
Angel Vales - Sports scientist (1 year)
Simon Farnworth - Academy physio (10 years)
John Coburn - Academy physio (8 years)
Jan de Koning - Assistant academy director (2 years)
Tim Dittmar - Academy goalkeeper coach (8 years)

For me, that's a lot of change in the off season in one swoop.

Looking at the list, what we see is essentially the people responsible for bringing the kids through from the Under-14 level all the way up to the reserves, who we would then hope to be pushing for a place in the first team.

I haven't met any of them personally of course, and I can't comment on whether or not these dismissals are legally fair, but from the club's perspective I can see the sense in it. It's already been mentioned that the club hasn't been producing enough young talent, and a lot of these staff have been in place 15 to 20 years, which is almost the entire period in which the team has struggled to regain it's place at the top.

I aren't for one minute blaming these individuals personally, but I think that sweeping changes were needed behind the scenes, and with Rafa wanting full control of transfers and revitalising the Academy, I do think the future of the club will benefit from this.

By extending the manager's contract we have decided he is the right man for the club. He should be left to construct the club as he sees fit, and as a man who is clearly a perfectionist to the tiniest detail, I have no worries that the new staff and systems put into place will be the right ones.

You cant say they were wrongly dismissed as you dont know what was in their contracts they may have been 12 month contracts that were not renewed.

Aye, indeed just as you can't say they weren't.

The fact that:

"some of the staff won’t go quietly and are taking legal advice." Some of them don’t even feel they’ve been told why they’re going.”

would suggest otherwise tho'.

Anyhow, I'm sure any "off field" issues don't have any impact on the team; should those issues be, interfering owners, protracted contract talks, take-over bids, bankruptcy or just sackings.