Is Roy The Right Man? (Vote)

Oh god not again......

After we win the League though hopefully everyone will be in this thread saying "yes" to the question you asked. Though I doubt it and instead credit will go to Rafa.

For my money Roy is the right man now. He's our manager so must be the right man. Very few, if any, manager's wanted the job. Roy did. He realised how big a job this is and took it. He didn't look at the problems at boardroom level or transfer budgets but instead looked at the possibility that he had the chance to manage Liverpool Football Club and that opportunity doesn't arise too often in a person's career. When it does, you have to take it.

I'm not going to lie, Roy was not me first choice for manager. I wanted a Liverpool man in charge. But Roy was the choice and up to now has done very little wrong. I've been impressed by his style of play up to now, allowing the players to express themselves. I've been impressed with keeping Sammy Lee as his assistant. I've been impressed with how much he tried to persuade Torres to stay and thankfully it worked.

I'm looking forward to seeing how we perform in the League this year and should we get off to the start I expect then we'll be celebrating another League title come May.

Amen, Billiam. Except the "credit will go to Rafa" bit, i'm in full agreement with you mate.

The reason i don't think a lot of credit will go to Rafa is that he sort of had to leave for the good of us and himself - we needed a new approach with another boss because the mental aspect of his reign was just too much for all of us - it was holding us back somewhat. Roy has the charisma and approach to the job that we needed at this time. In saying that, i'm with you and he wasn't my first choice but while i slated his appointment prior to him signing i don't think anyone could argue with his dedication to the cause and his track record shows that.

Oh god not again......

Oh no, not the 'not again' posts

I find the highlighted comment to be very shallow there mate. So you only believe that Roy will be the right man if we win something this season?. If Roy gets us playing good, flowing, attractive football and builds the team morale and positivity then that will be deemed as a success for me. If he gets this Club back on an even keel then that will also be a success for me. If he changes tactics or personnel before 67 minutes have passed due to the original tactics being ineffective then that too will be deemed as a success. If he refuses to play inferior players out of position then that too will be a success to me. If he drops out of form players then that again will be a success too.

Liverpool Football Club were in a major mess last season on the pitch. A large part of that was down to Rafa, regardless of the injuries, lack of money etc. As much of an overachievement as the season before was regarded, then the same can be said for our underachievement last season. It shouldn't be too hard to better last season's pathetic campaign.

Agree here. Its not about whether Roy wins anything or not next season. Hope he does but I won't judge him if he does not. I want to see progress, a team playing football, a team being allowed to express itself, good man managment, a manager conducting himself with dignity, a manager who treats all players the same and drops out of form players, a manager who admits it is not working during a game and changes tactics accordingly instead of going like for like. Even little things like actually showing a little emotion when we score a goal. No more petty press conferences would also be most welcome.

It is a long road ahead. As Roy said, rome was not built in a day. I have faith in Roy and win lose or draw next week, trophy or no trophy this season, that will not change!

After we win the League though hopefully everyone will be in this thread saying "yes" to the question you asked. Though I doubt it and instead credit will go to Rafa.

For my money Roy is the right man now. He's our manager so must be the right man. Very few, if any, manager's wanted the job. Roy did. He realised how big a job this is and took it. He didn't look at the problems at boardroom level or transfer budgets but instead looked at the possibility that he had the chance to manage Liverpool Football Club and that opportunity doesn't arise too often in a person's career. When it does, you have to take it.

I'm not going to lie, Roy was not me first choice for manager. I wanted a Liverpool man in charge. But Roy was the choice and up to now has done very little wrong. I've been impressed by his style of play up to now, allowing the players to express themselves. I've been impressed with keeping Sammy Lee as his assistant. I've been impressed with how much he tried to persuade Torres to stay and thankfully it worked.

I'm looking forward to seeing how we perform in the League this year and should we get off to the start I expect then we'll be celebrating another League title come May.

Know where you're coming from there. If we do win the League next May, then i'll look at it this way. Roy took Rafa's players and made them perform better than they did under Rafa. Roy brought Cole to the Club. Roy persuaded Gerrard and Torres to stay.

And to those who might say that Roy would have won trophies with Rafa's team, are you the ones that said that Rafa won the Champions League without Houllier's side?.

If Liverpool win number 19 this season Roy will get all the credit from me. He would have taken a team with no direction, no confidence and lost 19 games last season playing some of the most dreadful spineless football I have ever seen Liverpool produce ( especially away from home ), and turned it around on its head. When you consider the gloom around last season and after the end of last season, any manager coming in had a huge job on his hands.

But lets not look back, and talk about whose team it is. This is Roy's team, it will be Roy's tactics and man managment. If the players perform, it will be down to Roy, his coaching staff, the players and sheer hard work and determination. Lets look to the future, get behind him and see where it takes us.

Fantastic opening post harcore!

Ok so far so good, we were all very worried about the summer ahead of us- No manager, dickhead owners, and no-one had yet commited themselves to our club.
I know i was thinking the worst...

How things have changed in a matter of a few weeks! We have a manager, our stars are staying & are happy to stay, and we have additions to our team, just new owners now & we are ready to roll!

I was very skeptical when Roy was named manager, i was all for King Kenny- i thought what has this bloke done? Of course fulham exceeded everybodys expectations last year, but really? Roy for Liverpool? The most successful club in English history.
I have since changed my tune & the season hasent even started!
The way he deals with the media, how he went all-out to talk to Torres as soon as he could, Joe Cole! He has impressed me so far.
He seems like a very hands-on manager, talks to the lads properly- not like they are just peices of his machine- and he has very realistic expectations, he is not getting our hopes up saying we can win the league (we can do that all on our own!) just a top four finish & possibly a trophy.

So at the moment- Roy seems like the right man!

I dont see how anybody can argue otherwise... well until we lose a game!

Only time will tell, but hes pulling all the right strings at the moment.

I find the highlighted comment to be very shallow there mate. So you only believe that Roy will be the right man if we win something this season?.

I never said that at all mate, look at the context of what I said.

"Is Roy the right man for Liverpool F.C ?, I'll answer this question easily next May if he's holding the EPL and Europa Cup aloft come May."

What I said was it will be an easy question to answer if he wins both trophies.

But lets say for instance Roy faces another season of injuries, poor form, loss of confidence due to injuries/form which transfers itself onto the football pitch in terms of results that see's us finish 7th, out of the league and F.A cup, League Cup, Europa Cup at the early stages, then the question of Is Roy the right man for the job would be a harder question to answer as the variable factors would have to be taken into consideration.

However look further into my post where I said Roy needs to be given time, which he will be afforded by the fans to prove if he is indeed the right man and as I said it is far too early in Hodgson's managerial tenure here to even beg this question.

However not once in the post did I imply or say Roy Hodgson would only be the right man for the job  if he won Silverware for the club, even given in our heart of hearts, that is ultimately what we all want.

So how you've came to my opinion being "Shallow" considering winning trophies would in fact make it an easier question to answer, has left me a little baffled/mystified to be honest mate.

Roy deserves a lot of credit for leaving a decent job at Fulham to take over what was a sinking ship of titanic preportions , there wasn't a lot of Intrest from the top drawer managers ,RH is in the Paisley/Fagan mould and is exactly what we needed  and with each press interview you can't be nothing but impressed the way he goes about steering us to calmer waters , the signing of Joe Cole was a masterstroke and made a statement to the senior players here ,I loved Rafa but the soap opera that was going on behind the scenes here got to much to handle in the end so it was inevitable there would be a parting of the ways

I never said that at all mate, look at the context of what I said.

"Is Roy the right man for Liverpool F.C ?, I'll answer this question easily next May if he's holding the EPL and Europa Cup aloft come May."

What I said was it will be an easy question to answer if he wins both trophies.

But lets say for instance Roy faces another season of injuries, poor form, loss f confidence due to injuries/form which  transpires onto the football pitch in terms of results that see's us finish 7th, out of the league and F.A cup, League Cup, Europa Cup at the early stages, then the question of Is Roy the right man for teh job would be a harder question to answer.

However look further into my post where I said Roy needs to be given time, which he will be afforded by the fans to prove if he is indeed the right man and as I said it is far too early in Hodgson's managerial tenure here to even beg this question.

So how you've came to my opinion being "Shallow" considering winning trophies would in fact make it an easier question to answer, has left me a little baffled to be honest mate.

Fair play there mate. As I said in my post, I want to see progress on the pitch and you need time for that. So win lose or draw next sunday, trophy or no trophy this season, if I see progress I will be happy. It is a catch 22 for Roy though. He has to instill the mentality that we are here to win trophies and anything else is failure. This will drive the players on and you will find out who the strong ones are.

We will see progress this season of that I am sure.

Amen, Billiam. Except the "credit will go to Rafa" bit, i'm in full agreement with you mate.

The reason i don't think a lot of credit will go to Rafa is that he sort of had to leave for the good of us and himself - we needed a new approach with another boss because the mental aspect of his reign was just too much for all of us - it was holding us back somewhat. Roy has the charisma and approach to the job that we needed at this time. In saying that, i'm with you and he wasn't my first choice but while i slated his appointment prior to him signing i don't think anyone could argue with his dedication to the cause and his track record shows that.

The only reason I put that bit in mate is because there'll be a fair few saying how it was "Rafa's players" or "Rafa would of won the League this year". There'll be some who won't give the credit to Roy. If it's not given to Rafa then it'll be the rest of the League being sh*t. Either way there'll be a few who won't give Roy credit when we win the League.

I think that's the sort of battle he's facing with some fans. Already we're seeing "Rafa brought this player to the club" or "Rafa would of got us to win against the Macedonians by six goals to nil." Roy Hodgson isn't Rafa Benitez, in the same way Rafa Benitez isn't Roy Hodgson. And whatever has happened during Roy's reign and whatever continues to happen during Roy's reign, will be down to Roy Hodgson not Rafa Benitez.

What went on between Rafa arriving and leaving was down to Rafa Benitez not Gerard Houllier.

And I think people have to now stop clinging on to Rafa's reign, it's gone and this is a new era. We'll all be grateful for what Rafa did for this club and we'll all remember Rafa like we remember all our managers. But now is the time for us to show Roy Hodgson the same respect we show all our managers and stop talking about the previous manager.

I loved Rafa but last year (compounded by what was happening in the boardroom), Liverpool on the pitch were a disaster.  A change was needed for both parties (all the best at Inter and thanks for your years of service).  Enter Roy.

I've been so impressed by how Hodgson has gone about getting the team together (making sure Gerrard and Torres stayed, getting our players looking like they are enjoying their football and letting the young lads know that if they prove themselves good enough, they'll make the team), handling interviews in a frank, honest manner, focussing on matters on the pitch and really getting a feel for the Liverpool family and what being part of Liverpool means (Rafa understood the club and the supporters but would Pellegrini have?).  Watching the game at Anfield, I loved how he smiled watching the Kop signing and when a goal was struck.  The good time feeling is back and suddenly, people are not just confident about going for Top 4 but some think we'll be challenging again - we're two or three signings away from the title I feel it in my bones  .  There's a calmness about the way he goes about his business, despite all the media takeover discussions and all the transfer speculation, he has just got on with the job.  And suddenly, having two early Europa games without all your World Cup squad have been ideal pre-season preparation: a competitive challenge where other players have had to step up (Kelly my lad, you're one exciting gem), he's seen the depth of the squad and been able to see where he needs to reinforce.  Even our World Cup finalist players - some of our very best - will have viewed the game last week and seen our level of play and got excited.  It seems everyone is excited about the start of the season (oh how very different that could have been). 

That brings me to one caveat:  like Rafa, Roy is constrained by our finances until the takeover goes through.  He needs a few players and some he brings may not be everyone's first choice for that position, they may be older or unproven and that carries a risk. I hope it works out. Finally, Roy will be judged by results.  The way he worked with Fulham well, with a better squad of players, things look very positive indeed. 

SO YES, HE IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB  . 

@dunlop liddell shankly....agree completely Bill mate. I actually said as much in post 27. Benitez has gone. It is Roy's time and anything that happens on the pitch in that time will be down to Roy, his coaching staff and the players.

Don77 - I almost agree.  Rafa has gone to pastures new and in the Liverpool Way we have to put our faith and trust in Roy now and fully support his choices as our manager.

BUT we must always value and remember what Rafa did do. In some ways, and in his last year in particular, he was just as much a casualty of how this club had been run into the ground.  His biggest mistake was getting involved in some of the in-fighting.  It affected his thinking, it affected our transfers and squad (Keane - Barry/Alonso) and it cost him on the pitch and in the dressing room.  But I as a supporter knew that we needed him there to fight for us but in the end, the fight proved too exhausting. The pressure took its toll and sadly, I dont think Torres and Gerrard would still be here if he'd stayed. 

As Liverpool rebuilds and re-energises, the gutter press will try and rubbish Rafa and remember his time as the time he ran us in at 7th place.  But that was a blip.  We were genuine title contenders for the first time in a long time and there will always be Cardiff and Instanbul (brings tears to my eyes even now). He was our manager and he loved the club.

We are Liverpool. We love our managers past and present.  Nobody will stop speaking about Rafa.  But yes, we have and will get behind Roy.  Woy's got the spirit of Shankley in him.

Don77 - I almost agree.  Rafa has gone to pastures new and in the Liverpool Way we have to put our faith and trust in Roy now and fully support his choices as our manager.

BUT we must always value and remember what Rafa did do. In some ways, and in his last year in particular, he was just as much a casualty of how this club had been run into the ground.  His biggest mistake was getting involved in some of the in-fighting.  It affected his thinking, it affected our transfers and squad (Keane - Barry/Alonso) and it cost him on the pitch and in the dressing room.  But I as a supporter knew that we needed him there to fight for us but in the end, the fight proved too exhausting. The pressure took its toll and sadly, I dont think Torres and Gerrard would still be here if he'd stayed. 

As Liverpool rebuilds and re-energises, the gutter press will try and rubbish Rafa and remember his time as the time he ran us in at 7th place.  But that was a blip.  We were genuine title contenders for the first time in a long time and there will always be Cardiff and Instanbul (brings tears to my eyes even now). He was our manager and he loved the club.

We are Liverpool. We love our managers past and present.  Nobody will stop speaking about Rafa.  But yes, we have and will get behind Roy.  Woy's got the spirit of Shankley in him.

I will always remember Benitez for Istanbul and Cardiff and the other great nights he had. He worked hard for the club and I wish him well at Inter. However, at the end of last season I wanted a new owner, a new manager and Torres and Gerrard to stay and by the end of this month hopefully all those things will have happened! Roy is the man now and I have a good feeling about him. This man will be dignified until the end and will not let anything affect his focus on the team and what is best for the team. Roy will not be walked over by anyone, but the differnece is that he will sort things that need to be sorted behind closed doors. This is how things were at Liverpool when I grew up right up until the last few years.

We needed a new start and we needed to get back to basics. I think we will all see a Liverpool team enjoying the game again this season and I cannot wait for it to start!

We needed a new start and we needed to get back to basics. I think we will all see a Liverpool team enjoying the game again this season and I cannot wait for it to start!

I am with you there.  But you can't compare Roy's behaviour to that of Rafa's in his final year or so.  Yes Roy is calm and has better man management skills but Roy has also come in at a different time for the club with the owners almost (we hope) out of the door.  Rafa got overly involved in tumultuous times but his passion also guided us to many a victory. And I'll end it there as I feel that whilst remembering Rafa, it's Roy's time now.

Is Roy the right man? For what?

The right man for Liverpool F.C. at this point in our history? - Yes; he has brought an air of optimism and got us believing again.

I'm not trying to be obtuse here but, other than that, i'm not 100% sure what the question is. 

Of course he is and we should back him 100%
He needs time and we should give him time and not doubt him when we have a setback
Wasn't at the top of my list but he impresses me all the time.
I believe he can get us back up there and winning silverware again
Good times

Oh well, I've been pondering over starting this thread for a couple of weeks now, I thought one would have been started by now. At some point it would have started, so I'd like to put my case for Roy Hodgson forward to get the ball rolling. I'm hoping that this thread can be kept to a minimum with sensible arguments. The Rafa thread was just ridiculous at times last season, the amount of one liners that filled the pages was ludicrous at best. I'd like to think that posts in this thread can be kept to assess Roy's man-management skills and how he progresses as a football manager during the season. I'll try to keep the post short and sweet as most of my points for Roy have been posted in the Roy Hodgson thread.

When Roy was appointed as our new football manager I must admit that I was very apprehensive. There were supposedly better and big name managers available, yet not many were keen to come to a Club that had fallen from title favourites to Europa League position battlers  in the matter of a season. That in itself tells it's own story for me. If a manager feels he needs a vast amount of money to win trophies then he's beaten before he starts really, that's not exactly a sign of a man who is confident in his own abilities, is it?. Roy was fully aware of the financial crisis, yet he still took the job. Why wouldn't he?.

I know Roy doesn't have a managerial CV comparable with many managers, but he isn't scared of taking challenges on. And for that I have respect for him. His career has seen him travel across the globe, taking in various cultures, languages and playing styles. Out of respect I've done some research on him to get a closer look at who Roy really is. In his first managerial position at Halmstad in Sweden he took a team that were favourites for relegation to the championship title in his first season. When at Malmo he won seven titles and two Cups. The Club offered him a lifetime contract, that's right a lifetime contract. He even has a section of the stadium named after him. He left to take up a new challenge.

When in charge of Switzerland he took them to their first World Cup Finals in 28 years, an achievement in itself when you consider how unsuccessful they had been in previous campaigns. He then gained qualification for Euro 96 before leaving for Inter Milan. And for all the stats lovers on here, he took Switzerland to third in the Fifa World Rankings during his time there. After his stint at Inter Milan, where he improved the side gradually, he went on to Blackburn where he flopped quite badly. A flop that was detrimental to his chances of landing the England manager vacancy. He then flitted around some obscure scenarios before eventually returning to the Premier League with Fulham. We all know what a good job he did there so I'll leave it there.

A couple of forumites ( you know who you are ) have quite openly stated that Roy hasn't had much of a job to do since arriving?, what an absolute load of f**king bollocks!. That is such an uneducated remark to make it defies belief. Let's have a look at what Roy has done since his arrival. Well, he's had a very limited timeframe to assess the players at his disposal, he's had to convince star players who had become disillusioned with the Club that their futures were at Anfield. He's had to get to know all the players, he's had to install new training practices, he's had to build team morale, he's had to run around like a blue arsed fly meeting with Board members and owners that he knows he can't trust. He's had to convince new signings that Liverpool Football Club is the place to be.

He's had to attend numerous press conferences and remain dignified when the world knows he has no definite answers. What about trying to settle in a new environment whilst doing all the aforementioned tasks?. What about meeting all the Club's staff?. What about organising a pre-season when his feet have barely touched the ground?. What about playing a tricky Europa League qualifier with star players still on World Cup rest?. What about desperately trying to convince a player who blatantly wants out, but still trying for the sake of the Club?. I bet I haven't even covered the half of it here.

We all have mates who support other teams and of the Fulham fans that I know, they all say that he was a very good manager who got the best out of his players. I know he hasn't managed big Clubs before, but if he can get the best out of our players then there are very exciting times ahead. Imagine a Ryan Babel firing on all cylinders. With his signing of Cole, the probable sight of Aquilani, Cole, Gerrard and Torres is going to be phenomenal to say the least.

Since his arrival Roy has been making the right noises, talking sense and more importantly, being realistic. He's not guaranteeing anything because he can't. He's still finding his feet at a massive Club with massive expectations. He's done a great job in convincing Gerrard and Torres to stay, regardless of what others on this forum think, they only wanted to hear what Roy had to say with regards to the footballing side of the Club. Even Carragher was contemplating going elsewhere if he was to become a bit part player, words that he uttered himself. He's not afraid to throw the youngsters in either.

Nobody can argue that we were absolutely terrible last season, we played some of the most boring football I've seen in a long time. Players were becoming disillusioned under Rafa, they looked emotionally drained on the pitch. The constant inclusion of out of position players will hopefully become a thing of the past. We were so negative last season that I was actually expecting us to lose, this was all due to very poor team selection and nothing else.

Roy has a massive job on his hands, he has to convert this negative energy into positive energy. He has inherited a very good bunch of players from Rafa, yet these players have not been performing as well as they should have been. If Roy can get the best out of the players then I genuinely feel we can win the League. Have no doubts that even though the players are still the same, they will play differently under Roy than Rafa. I'm hoping that we get to see the artists and not the robots.

What has interested me is the way Roy has spoken about returning to 'The Liverpool Way'. I feel that is what we need, go back to basics and play the simple game. A game that served us so well for many years before. This season is going to be big, very big. Roy is going to surprise a lot of people throughout the football community.

To reiterate, I think Roy will bring a different aproach, Roy will man manage the players a lot better than Rafa did, the squad will be happier and I believe that no players will feel isolated under Roy, as they did under Rafa. If players don't pull their weight then Roy will drop them, if our senior players are injured or suspended then I expect Roy to play the youngsters in their correct positions. Roy will concentrate on footballing matters first and foremost and will not embroil himself in political wrangling. He will let players express themselves while maintaining high levels of defensive discipline when not in possession. He will get us playing as a 'team' and fighting for each other. He will return to basics and build from there, he will not over complicate issues. He will restore some dignity to the Club and will no doubt work extremely hard for the Club.

May I just say again, can we keep this thread purely as an analytical haven that relates to Roy's progress as a football manager. Any posts relating to tactics, player selection and results will hopefully be posted in the post match theads.

I look around at our competitors and I don't really see a lot to be worried about in all honesty. If Roy can get the best out of our lads then I see no reason why we can't win the League this year, can you?.

The first English manager to win the Premier League and win it on a shoestring budget?. Well.......

Ooops!, I almost forgot, is Roy the right man?. Well if I'm basing it on what he's done since his arrival then I have to say yes.

Fantastic post Hardcore, I could not have put it better myself, As with some other posters i welcomed Roy being the new boss, i new some of his history and was aware that he was'nt exactly the most successful manager around, but so what, its the present and obviously the future thats most important, as you said he has worked al over the globe and his knowledge is second to none, he is a old fashioned type of manager who sticks cllosely to the basics of the game and tries not to complicate matters, he will use the tools he has at his disposal in the best way possible and will be rewarded by creating a machine which will work effortlessly  to achieve the success we all desire, all the components are already in place it is only a matter of orcestrating those components to do what and when.

Like you i see a promising season ahead, but, i'm keeping my feet firmly on the ground and refuse to get carried away with the euphoria, i'll treat the first month or so like a brand new car, break it in gently and gradually increase the momentum, hopefully the major parts stay free of ware and tare and the engine develops into a well oiled winning machine, i love the idea of going back to THE Liverpool way and Roy being old school apperciates how that worked and clearly thinks that is the way forward, i'm glad the man is here, my optimism is very high and i believe as the season gets older people see what a great manager he trully is.   Good luck Roy!!

   YNWA     IRWT     JFT96
                 O
                 Y

The only reason I put that bit in mate is because there'll be a fair few saying how it was "Rafa's players" or "Rafa would of won the League this year". There'll be some who won't give the credit to Roy. If it's not given to Rafa then it'll be the rest of the League being sh*t. Either way there'll be a few who won't give Roy credit when we win the League.

I think that's the sort of battle he's facing with some fans. Already we're seeing "Rafa brought this player to the club" or "Rafa would of got us to win against the Macedonians by six goals to nil." Roy Hodgson isn't Rafa Benitez, in the same way Rafa Benitez isn't Roy Hodgson. And whatever has happened during Roy's reign and whatever continues to happen during Roy's reign, will be down to Roy Hodgson not Rafa Benitez.

What went on between Rafa arriving and leaving was down to Rafa Benitez not Gerard Houllier.

And I think people have to now stop clinging on to Rafa's reign, it's gone and this is a new era. We'll all be grateful for what Rafa did for this club and we'll all remember Rafa like we remember all our managers. But now is the time for us to show Roy Hodgson the same respect we show all our managers and stop talking about the previous manager.

Wise and sensible words DLS, we all loved Rafa no question and maybe sometime in the future he may return, But this is the Roy Hogeson era now and until his tenure ends by whatever means, Rafa was brilliant for us and like all good things it had to end sometime, this is the start of something very special i feel and whatever occurs it will be down to Roy and the way he manages the players, he may have the same players but he will instill a different way of playing, a different mentality a more team like style of play, he will impose his ideas at melwood and every player will be given a role to play, these ideas are a winning formula which breeds positivity, confidence and above all a winning mentality which in turn breeds invinsibility, sounds good to me, is Roy the man? could have got worse we could have had f***in Klinsman.

YNWA    IRWT     JFT96
             O
             Y

 Time and time alone will provide the answer to the question is Roy the right man.Like all our previous managers Roy will get full support of all REDS, and I hope the owners whoever they are give him the same support and do not resort to stabbing Roy in the back like they did with RAFA. Go to it Roy and bring us number 19.

With the players that he has finalised deals for (Joe cole, Wilson, Jovanovic - because there are those that say they are Rafa signings) - he has done a good job so far, hard to say so far how well he has done so far with results because he hasn't had the proper first 11 out in a game once in all of pre-season so i think he is still learning about some of the players up close so it would be hard to criticise him on anything that has occured.

This question can be answerd in more depth with a lot more reasoning in a few months (say around Christmas) when he has chance to have the 11 working together.

With the players that he has finalised deals for (Joe cole, Wilson, Jovanovic - because there are those that say they are Rafa signings) - he has done a good job so far, hard to say so far how well he has done so far with results because he hasn't had the proper first 11 out in a game once in all of pre-season so I think he is still learning about some of the players up close so it would be hard to criticise him on anything that has occured.

This question can be answerd in more depth with a lot more reasoning in a few months (say around Christmas) when he has chance to have the 11 working together.

Benitez did the groundwork for the Jovanovic signing. But the signing of Joe Cole and managing to persuade Gerrard and Torres to stay sends out a clear message. It will be a tough season with alot of competition about but Roy will go about his business in the right way, the Liverpool way and we will have a good season!