Rafael Benitez on the brink of leaving Liverpool over Anfield rift

If this is true then it's a very sad time for Liverpool FC.  I don't blame him one bit if he does walk however, he is a man of principles and honour and I imagine he feels his loyalty and dedication has been trampled on.

Some may say that it goes with the territory but apart from the England manager's job no other manager in this country is pilloried by the press like Rafa is.

The next seven days is going to be pivotal for the Club.  This weekend's results will more or less decide if we are in the CL next season and if we aren't then those waiting in the wings to buy the Club will make their move.  They will ultimately decide whether Rafa is our Manager or not.  

I honestly believe that if Rafa stays and the new owners back him we will be challenging for honours again next season but if the new owners want a clean sweep of management, coaching and playing staff then it'll be years before we are anywhere near the top again.

Look at his quotes in the past the man never looks further than the next game with the media because anything else is open to interpretation and the media makes money out of interpretation.

Exactly, beat me to it. Since Rafa arrived, the media have tried to trip him up with tricky questions about his future, the board, the owners, transfers, player relations, all sorts. Almost invariably he has remained calm and stated that he is focussed only on the next game.
This is nothing new from Rafa.

As for the other rumours. I'm not going to put my neck on the line and blindly proclaim that Rafa will definitely stay but at the same time, he's only recently brought in more men to help overhaul the Academy and would appear to be building for the future. Nobody could blame him for giving up if he continues to get zero support from the club but I do believe that he wants to stay and can't see him going anywhere until he knows exactly what the ownership situation will be. Why start over somewhere else?  

Dark days stormy nights no hope no end in sight,Please gaffa dont leave.

When new owners move into a club they usually bring a new manager with them and i can't see them wanting to keep Rafa, remember the Evans/Houllier situation, same would happen, Rafa wouldn't stand for that, so he would be on his way, so who would they bring in i wonder?

In depends on what type of new owners we have. What are their intentions, what are their expectations, how high they regard the club etc. If they want instant success, then Rafa could go. If they properly think, and think long term and everything, they might just keep him.

I still support Rafa, i think he is a world class manager. But i dont blindly support him, i accept hes made mistakes and everything, but he is a top class manager. Him staying or going should depend on who replaces him. Unless we get someone better than him, and there are only a hanful according to me, he should remain with us.

Im gonna put my neck on the line a say give phil thomson another sniff at it,he looked after us well when houllier was ill we finished 2nd and semi finalist of the champions leauge.

Just think about it, the club allowing Rafa to still buy players I.E Jonjo Shelvey, does not exactly give credence to the story as if the board were dissatisfied with Rafa and were looking to replace him then surely they would not be advocating such signings.

I don't know what to make of it all to be honest I believe Rafa will still be here for the start of the season, just certain things happening at the club paint a different picture to the ones the media are trying to paint.

The owners are not dickheads and Hicks at least came out a short time ago and gave the manager his full support and backed his supposed faith in Rafa by extending his contract, this was based purely on an economic basis in as much as LFC was being presented as a going concern and there was even some talk about signings and provisions of monies for the use of???
That has all evaporated with the banks squeezing H&G and the clubs performance taking the knock and now panic has set in and the optimism has disappeared almost overnight.The long term outlook is of no use to the owners they want it sorted now before their meagre blood money is wiped out altogether on financial penalties.
For a quick sale they are willing to ditch any long term connections strip the club to the bone and conduct a virtual fire sale.

My guess is that he is saying for one year (out of the 5 he is contracted for) he is working hard, trying to do his best. Maybe trying to say something like "It's been one freaking year, what the hell? I am contracted for four more, I have work to do!"

I agree with you there mate, Rafa is one of the best people in football to perfectly word his statements, so even at a glance they look bad, like this one, but if you actually look at it, it doesnt seem as bad. If he was going to stay to work one year and see how it goes surely he wouldnt of signed a 5 year contract. He is a man of class and integrity and (i hope) he will do his best to benefit the club, and he must of known that signing a ridiculous contract would hurt the club if he wasnt going to see at least most of it. Esp with the 24 hour payout.

I wouldn't be surprised if he did leave, with the amount of sh*t he's had to take off the gobs***e owners, the F***ing press and the dickhead fans who can't see the big F***ing mess LFC is in right now.

This little piece off another forum absolutely sums it up for me:

Goodbye Rafa!

It has been a pleasure these last 6 years with you at the helm but sadly you are bringing it all to a close. No one can blame you given the circumstances and I wish you well in your next project.
You were known by only a few when you stepped into Anfield that summer’s day in 2004 – those that did know you remembered how your Valencia team had put on a display at Anfield that made us envious.

The first season was a roller coaster which ended in the greatest night of many Reds lives – who can forget Istanbul. The credit the team and your staff share is for some reason not given by all who instead look to detract from the achievement of winning the greatest prize in club football – the history books never lie and in 2005 Rafa Benitez managed a side containing such astute buys as Alonso and Garcia. (No one is ever critical of Joe Fagan for winning in Rome ‘with Paisleys team’ are they?)

A plan was taking shape and a steady improvement in the league was being witnessed over the next years with a memorable FA Cup win providing evidence that you had improved the squads capabilities of competing on more fronts and allayed fears that you had ‘no respect for the English cups’.

To reach Liverpool’s 7th European Cup final in Athens and your 2nd in 3 years was once again evidence of the progress being made in terms of the playing style and squad strength – we did not jab and run against the heavyweights of Barcelona and Chelsea as we had done in 2005 but this time went toe to toe and knocked them both out becoming only the 2nd manager (after Paisley) to guide an English team to victory in the Nou Camp. The plan was developing and Liverpool’s status as the UEFA ranked number one seed in the Champions League was such an achievement for a team who in previous times had struggled to qualify for the competition let alone move out of the group stage.

At this point the dynamics changed and after an initial injection of Torres and Mascherano the transfer policy of Liverpool FC began to change and the progression began to slow. We gradually got closer to the summit of the Premier League and were consistent in reaching the latter stage of the Champions League but discontent grew, the signings didn’t materialise, more and more the cheaper option was only option.

2008/2009 saw a huge challenge to bring home the title. Driven by the outstanding form of Reina, Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres the squad achieved a record points haul and a record number of goals for modern history of Liverpool FC yet still you had your critics. With the right financial backing who knows if the 4 point gap would have been exceeded?

Sadly the back up and overall squad strength did not match our rivals and the season will only be remembered for the outstanding results gained against Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea (with the 4-4 draw being one of the bravest and gutsiest performances seen by a Liverpool team). The Bernebeu was added to the San Siro as stadiums which witnessed fantastic Liverpool victories proving that to win in Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid in consecutive seasons is no fluke.

2009/2010 was just sadly inevitable of the current predicament of Liverpool Football Club as it now exists to sell merchandise and service interest payments. Operating a sell to buy policy with an overall transfer profit for 5 transfer windows would eventually catch up with a squad suffering injuries. The expectation remained simply because ‘we are Liverpool’ but the truth is that ‘we are no longer the Liverpool us fans were brought up on’.

You and your family have brought so much to Merseyside and will be missed ‘for sure’. The gradual campaign by 99% of the English media has acted like a dripping tap on the foreheads of many and they have simply given up the fight and believe what they are told.

On Sunday at around 3.15pm when you are waiting for the final whistle for the last time as a Liverpool manager at Anfield there are bound to be tears in your eyes. A man who is churlishly turned on for not ‘showing passion’ or in other words acting out of control on the touchline will show the world what his passions are and how deep his feelings for Liverpool Football Club run.

The last great compliment we fans can pay to you is that you have continued to fight the ownership battle for the greater good of Liverpool FC when you could have walked away on many occasions. You fought that battle for us and when we continue the fight to remove the current ownership, custodians and executives who claim to be running ‘our’ football club our inspiration should be taken from you.

No longer can you let the current situation affect your personal health, your outstanding record managing your last two clubs and your great affection for the city and the football club.

Go now with the best wishes and the one positive to come from your departure will be the anticipated unity in Liverpool fans in their quest to settle the ONLY fight we have.
Sunday’s situation will be a unique one and cannot be compared to 1995 when we all wanted Dalglish to finish ahead of Ferguson and sadly this unique atmosphere will not be the arena your time at Anfield should draw to a close.

Once again many thanks for guiding us over the last 6 years, once more pushing our way to dine at the top table and enjoying experiences unique to this once great club. If in 5 years time we can say the same about your successor then Liverpool Football Club truly will be a huge force but sadly the realism is that the top table is out of our reach both domestically and abroad. Will your successor have the stomach to fight the internal politics destroying the club from its very heart, will he have the strength to take on the owners like you did and be willing to operate in the most trying of circumstances.

On Sunday 2nd May Rafael Benitez will walk out of Anfield for the very last time on a match day signalling the end of Liverpool Football Club as a genuine footballing force for the foreseeable future. He is not going because he rotates too much; he is not going because he plays the same way every week; he is not going because he is negative; he is not going because he doesn’t understand the Premier League;

HE IS GOING BECAUSE LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB IS NO LONGER IN A POSITION TO MATCH THE AMBITION SHARED BY THE MANAGER, THE PLAYERS AND THE FANS ALIKE – WE ARE IN DEBT TO THE TUNE OF £240 MILLION; OUR REVENUE STREAMS CANNOT MATCH OUR ON FIELD RIVALS; THE NEW STADIUM IS NOTHING BUT A DREAM; THE CLUB IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING SOLD DUE TO THE EXORBITANT PRICE DEMANDED BY THE OWNERS MEANING WE WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE BY SLOWLY STRIPPING THE CLUB BARE OF ITS SALEABLE ASSETS.

Goodbye Rafa, my last wish is that on Sunday you will tell the world of the problems this once great club faces but I know you won’t as you have too much dignity and too much respect for us to go public. Hold your head up high, Rafael Benitez You Will Never Walk Alone.

If Rafa does leave this summer, can I just say that it's been emotional, the fact that we had such a principled, intelligent and classy man in charge of our club, I'd just like to say what a pleasure it has been and what a F***ing ride!

I think this time next season, certain fans who have vehemently moaned and groaned about Rafa, will come to regret in the next couple of seasons, especially if our financial problems continue.

*Hopefully this is all bollocks and will be forgotten about when Rafa takes charge of our first league game next season.

My 2 cents worth

If he decides to go wouldnt blame him. Hes had some sh*te to deal with and done it with dignity. A Liverpool man to me no matter what.

For those calling for his head for months now think of this. He goes his staff go. That means the youth development which he now has in place will be effected so it will go right through the core of the club. The likes of Torres and Masch would also consider there options. Players who he could attract to the club might not be so quick to join under someone else

Yes its been a crap season in my view our only really poor one undr Rafa. But I truly believe one that will stand to us in the longterm. You can learn from seasons like this. Sadly Rafa might not be here next season. And as with a lot of things in life only when no longer there is it truly appreciated

To those of you wanting him gone the grass is rarely greener on the other side

I wouldn't be surprised if he did leave, with the amount of sh*t he's had to take off the gobs***e owners, the f**king press and the dickhead fans who can't see the big f**king mess LFC is in right now.

This little piece off another forum absolutely sums it up for me:
 
If Rafa does leave this summer, can I just say that it's been emotional, the fact that we had such a principled, intelligent and classy man in charge of our club, I'd just like to say what a pleasure it has been and what a f**king ride!

I think this time next season, certain fans who have vehemently moaned and groaned about Rafa, will come to regret in the next couple of seasons, especially if our financial problems continue.

*Hopefully this is all bollocks and will be forgotten about when Rafa takes charge of our first league game next season.

Exactly what every Liverpool fan thinks. If he does go, I hope we can bring in someone everyone will agree that this club needs someone that will take it back to the top and not tread water around the 2-7 spots in the League.

I wouldn't be surprised if he did leave, with the amount of sh*t he's had to take off the gobs***e owners, the f**king press and the dickhead fans who can't see the big f**king mess LFC is in right now.

This little piece off another forum absolutely sums it up for me:
 
If Rafa does leave this summer, can I just say that it's been emotional, the fact that we had such a principled, intelligent and classy man in charge of our club, I'd just like to say what a pleasure it has been and what a f**king ride!

I think this time next season, certain fans who have vehemently moaned and groaned about Rafa, will come to regret in the next couple of seasons, especially if our financial problems continue.

*Hopefully this is all bollocks and will be forgotten about when Rafa takes charge of our first league game next season.

Sums it up for me too HR.  Was crying reading it, not just at the thought of him leaving but the state the Club will be in once he's gone.

Sums it up for me too HR.  Was crying reading it, not just at the thought of him leaving but the state the Club will be in once he's gone.

I think the club is in bad shape whether he stay or goes. Once he is gone I don't think it changes the situation at the club, we still have to sell it, we still have to bring in new managers, and of course the one that would be added is we have to find a manager.

And another thing, a little snippet I saw about something that happened last week in Madrid:

Please remember that Purslow is a politician selfishly looking after his own interests. He is also the same animal as Peter Kenyon, Mike Ashley and latter day figures like Peter Swales and those that wanted to be in the limelight more than the team itself.

He feels that he can gain popularity for himself by forcing Benitez out - witness his crass comments as he strode along the pitch perimeter in Madrid last week. How many Managing Directors/Chief Executives would stroll in front of the fans and when asked the following would give public answers?

Liverpool fan:  "Christian, are you going to get rid of these Yanks"
Purslow:  "Oh yes"
Liverpool fan: "and get them to take Rafa with them"
Purslow: (putting thumb up) "he's gone, he's gone"

Another Liverpool fan: "I'll rip your F***ing head off"

It's not that he has an opinion based on football as to why he wants Rafa out he is just playing his own game of chess and will massage his own ego saying I gave them what they wanted without any long term planning or succession ability.

Said it for a while, said it when he was appointed, that I wouldn't trust that little shitehawk Purslow, in fact I'll go as far as saying I don't trust anyone who is on our board or in a position of power above the manager right now.

Maybe it's because I'm a cynical c**t!

I think the club is in bad shape whether he stay or goes. Once he is gone I don't think it changes the situation at the club, we still have to sell it, we still have to bring in new managers, and of course the one that would be added is we have to find a manager.

But if he leaves and the club isn't sold, next season and possibly beyond will be far worse than this season has been.

I can see us fighting relegation never mind fighting for a top 4 finish.

Wrangling over Benitez's golden handshake may be all that stops a wave goodbye

By Ian Herbert, Deputy Football Correspondent  Saturday, 1 May 2010

With Juventus set to announce his arrival, the Liverpool manager's farewell to Anfield could deliver arch-rivals United a 19th title

There is a chance that all of the endgames – for Chelsea, Manchester United and Rafael Benitez – may arrive at once at Anfield tomorrow afternoon and if the match against Carlo Ancelotti's side happens to conclude with Liverpool taking the three points and Benitez running to the Kop, removing that tight-fitting shirt of his and bidding a valedictory farewell to the fans, then football will have been served with one of its supreme ironies.

The last meaningful act of the Spaniard's theatrical life in British football might have been to allow his nemesis, United, to deal him the last and cruellest cut of all and take the 19th League title – one more than Liverpool – they always vowed would be theirs. Football can be a desperately spiteful game at times.

With Liverpool's last hope of silverware having disappeared in the ashes of Thursday night's bitter Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid, and Juventus adamant yesterday that he is about to become their manager, Benitez drove another nail into his relationship with the club yesterday, declaring that he has only resisted alternative job offers put his way over the past year because of the supporters. "I'm here... because of those fans," Benitez said. "I have had massive offers over the last year and I decided to stay because of the fans. If I am here it is because of them." The fans alone? he was asked. "Yes. I am here despite massive offers, but I said I will stay. I gave them my word."

The superficial question after the Chelsea game has been done and dusted is whether those fans can prove enough of an incentive once again. The real issue is whether the ambitions of Juventus, Europa League competitors like Liverpool will almost certainly be next season, represent a better offer than the current chaos at Anfield, where the owners and senior management seem to show very little sign of encouraging him to stay.

Benitez would not say where ideally he wanted to be, come July. "I will not talk too much about an ideal world. The situation is the situation that we have and Chelsea is the target." But the noises from Turin create an increasing sense that it is over for him here, with suggestions that Juventus are only delaying announcing his arrival, on a four-year contract worth £3.5m a year after tax, out of courtesy to Liverpool.

Set against the complicated emotional attachment he has for Merseyside – his wife, Montse, has always urged him to stay on at Anfield – are a series of clear contrasts between Juve and Liverpool. The Italian club want him, have a new chairman, Andrea Agnelli, who plans to spend £60m in each of the next three summers in a quest for Champions League success, and will have a new stadium, integral to their business model, completed in 12 months' time. Liverpool show no sign of wanting Benitez, have a new chairman whose mission is to sell the club rather than buy players, and are still years off opening a new stadium central to their business model.

With alternative new horizons seemingly closed off to Benitez – the Real Madrid-affiliated paper Marca exhorted Jose Mourinho to move to the Bernabeu yesterday – it is tempting to view Juve's move to seal a deal for the Brazilian midfielder Hernanes, a player in the mould of Xabi Alonso and whom Benitez is known to like – as yet another indicator that the wind is blowing towards the River Po for him. Reports in Turin suggest that the only incomplete aspect of a deal put in place by Benitez's agent, Manuel Garcia Quillon, is the buonuscita ("good exit") – the golden handshake equivalent to one year's salary that Benitez feels he is entitled to. Carlo Ancelotti, incidentally, believes Benitez will flourish in Italy. "His teams are tactically very, very good and so, in Italy, he would not have a problem," the Chelsea manager said yesterday.

The Liverpool hierarchy's apparent failure to exhort Benitez to stay seems like folly. Where do they find a better manager than the one who came so close to eclipsing Sir Alex Ferguson 12 short months ago and who, two months before that, was rolling over Real Madrid home and way, and briefly establishing Liverpool as the strongest force in Europe? There are suggestions that some at Anfield want an English manager now – but will Martin O'Neill or Roy Hodgson take them higher? Will high-bracket managers want to take on a club with boundless expectations and minimal cash? Will Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano be willing to stay under a new order? With the club in such a state of financial limbo, there is a genuine risk that Liverpool, minus Benitez, could drift into a period of deep and inexorable decline.

Surveying the wreckage of a 120-minute game against Atletico and the manner of the defeat, Benitez admitted that it would be much tougher to raise his players tomorrow than it might have been. "It will be difficult, we know," he said. "We will leave them to be with their families, then start again. Chelsea is an important game and we have to be ready. We have not got too much time now but they have to be ready anyway." But any sense the players have that the manager is leaving may create an incentive which defies the weariness. Ancelotti may be dealing with forces way beyond his control.


http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/wrangling-over-benitezs-golden-handshake-may-be-all-that-stops-a-wave-goodbye-1959488.html

Wrangling over Benitez's golden handshake may be all that stops a wave goodbye

With Liverpool's last hope of silverware having disappeared in the ashes of Thursday night's bitter Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid, and Juventus adamant yesterday that he is about to become their manager, Benitez drove another nail into his relationship with the club yesterday, declaring that he has only resisted alternative job offers put his way over the past year because of the supporters. "I'm here... because of those fans," Benitez said. "I have had massive offers over the last year and I decided to stay because of the fans. If I am here it is because of them." The fans alone? he was asked. "Yes. I am here despite massive offers, but I said I will stay. I gave them my word."

What a man.

I'll be gutted if he goes, why? because you watch Rafa go to juve and turn them around, it should be us that gives him funds, something he has not had for nearly three years. Stabbed in the Back by Purslow and the yanks, I think they want us to be unsuccessful.

Here cos of us! Says it all. Hes put up with the crap for us! God almighty why dont some of you realise hes the only man for this club. Back him

The biggest mistake was the 20 million contract with all the heavy pay out clauses. As soon as that contract was signed the performances dropped. When you put someone in a position whereby failure will be rewarded with a huge payout the incentive to perform is taken away.
What I would be more in favour of is performance based contracts, that reward the manager heavily for winning the title, or finishing higher on the table.  You could throw in incentives also for winning other trophies. Basically, the managers remuneration should be directly linked to the money generated by his teams on field success.

The club get richer, the manager gets richer.
In the same way if the team fails, the manager gets paid less. This ensures he stays hungry for success.

We are now in the ridiculous position whereby sacking benitez would not only fill his bank account with 16 million unearned pounds, but then he goes and earns another 20 million with another club, meaning he stands to make 40 million or so over 5 years, giving him a massive incentive to fail, as has happened. Coincidence?  or no coincidence?

Personally, I think the club are trying to get him to leave for free, and he is playing the game smart knowing he can act as badly as he likes because he has the whip hand. At the same time if they dont pay him out and he stays on with the same performance level, then no prospective buyer is going to be interested in buying the club in that state.

Basically, some poor sucker has to cough up a sh*t load of money to clean this ugly situation up, and you can bet it wont be H&G. 

I wonder who the club’s hierarchy are.

Rafael Benítez could bid an emotional farewell to Anfield tomorrow after a breakdown of trust between the Liverpool manager and the board.

The club’s hierarchy believe Benítez is “playing games” as he weighs up an offer to take over at Juventus.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article7113271.ece

Would the Chelsea fan be considered to be part of that hierarchy? Nah, he couldn't be, could he? Sure he's a "nice chap" and by no means a c**t.  

I wonder who the club’s hierarchy are.

Rafael Benítez could bid an emotional farewell to Anfield tomorrow after a breakdown of trust between the Liverpool manager and the board.

The club’s hierarchy believe Benítez is “playing games” as he weighs up an offer to take over at Juventus.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article7113271.ece

Would the Chelsea fan be considered to be part of that hierarchy? Nah, he couldn't be, could he? Sure he's a "nice chap" and by no means a c**t.   

Considering he's only been here a couple of weeks, I'd say it was more H&G + Purslow. All the sh*t about transfer budgets were lies and I think now we know what Hicks meant by "big summer."