Moving goalposts to suit your argument!!
Maybe if Owen hadn't have been such a shithouse when he left Madrid for Newcastle and listened to Rafa, he could of ended up back at Anfield, but Owen saw his arse, worried about his England place and signed for Newcastle. Again another good decision by Rafa not getting ripped off by Madrid for £16 million, especially when we sold him to Madrid for only £8 million.
The goalposts haven't been moved at all. They were the demands when they, and Rafa took the job. Klopp has the top 4 demand now. While we the fans, hope for more than that, as long as he delivers a top 4 spot, the owners are happy.
Newcastle paid the fee demanded. We bought Crouch instead who couldn't score at all until after the league cup was gone, and the title challenge was well and truly over.
If he really wanted Owen, he would have paid up. When we get ripped off now, as we often are, Klopp tells us to "forget about the fee" and focus on the football. So that's what we do.
Owen was already a gonna and guess what it is absolutely nothing to do with Rafa!! Rafa was told by Rick Parry Owen had already made up his mind he was leaving Liverpool. He had one year left on his contract, hence the paltry £8 million we got for him. Madrid had already been in contact with him long before Rafa pitched up, hence why every time Ricky Parry was trying to get Owen to sign an extension to his contract 12 months previously when Houllier was in charge, Parry was constantly told by Owen that he couldn't sign the contract as his agent was "on sabbatical"
Real had forgotten about Owen. There was no bids in for Owen until he was put up for sale. Only at that point did Real do business. So the idea that he was "always going that summer" is simply not true.
Danny Murphy didn't even get as far as the bench in Graz. He was sold to break up the "Scouse Table" at Melwood. Cold and calculating, like so many other players' experiences of him, as time went on.
What we have today is a manager of a happy and settled dressing room, where everyone wants to play for him, and others want to sign for him. Even those who can't. The difference between the two of them, is as wide as the difference in the league table.
When Rafa arrived the team scraped into the top 4 - it wasn’t a great squad hence why GH got sacked. To say Klopp etc had different targets again it false.
history shows the club was right not to resign him from Madrid ( for twice the fee ) and also then for a free after an injury ridden spell at Newcastle
History shows it was a mistake. I've already covered the crap 2005/06 league campaign. How many points did we lose by refusing to pay up? 10? 15? 20? More? When we didn't sign him for free, it showed the earlier refusal had nothing to do with the fee, he just wouldn't sign him at any price. The 2010 season was a write off.
We let a 158 goalscorer go, by choice. We didn't rectify the error and resign him when we had not one, but two chances to do it with consequences on the pitch. That is also on the Rafa CV here.
Houllier was sacked because finishing fourth at the time, 30 points down the field, was considered a poor season. It was in Parry's own words, "a minimum acceptable target, not a goal". Therefore the goal was for the next man in charge, to win the league. If we wanted to make the top 4, Houllier would have remained in charge, still trying and failing to take Emile Heskey to the next level.
I know exactly how hard but it’s still the CL - the biggest Comp in club football - too right I rate it over what GH did . Ask any player what they would prefer - the CL or the three cup comps - answer would be the CL
I wouldn't ask any player to prefer a trophy. To me, a cup is a cup is a cup, it's a trophy to put in the cabinet. I would ask them "what do you want to win?" The smart ones would say "anything". And right now we need something, even if it is only the League Cup. Just win something, it's been way too long prioritising this over that against the other, and ending up with nothing whatsoever.