Rafa Benitez: We need to spend £60m on players

ESPN- "If Liverpool got themselves into a solid, stable financial condition with the funds to invest in new players then Jose wouldn't think twice of joining Liverpool if the opportunity arises. But not in the current conditions.

"The Liverpool owners have been trying to sell the club for two years, now they are seeking investment of £100 million. They'll be lucky. Who in their right mind is going to invest that amount for a minority stake with no control and no say?

"Anyone coming will want control, at least 51% at the very minimum. No one is going to hand over big sums with Hicks and Gillett calling the shots. It's dysfunctional as it is, and it would only be shuffling the deck chairs around the Titanic, and make no real difference.

"The club have been out there now for several months seeking investors without any joy, and I cannot imagine much will change in the next few months."

I can see ESPN giving their opinion. But I can't see Mourinho saying he wouldn't manager with those owners and a transfer kitty of £100m. Can you?

I can see ESPN giving their opinion. But I can't see Mourinho saying he wouldn't manager with those owners and a transfer kitty of £100m. Can you?

really? So if you were a top manager in the world, would you come to Liverpool without a good set of owners and a budget of above 5 quid?

So rafa wants 3-4 players for 60m.

Any ideas what positions he's most likely to strengthen?

I'm guessing a new striker (although we are signing Jovanananicovic), maybe a new right or left winger and a new left back. Any ideas?

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/2217.html

You're right, he hasn't got the best out of Pepe, Nando, Alonso, Carra, Gerrard etc.

Chelsea, results going against them, the owner didn't back him in the transfer window and he walked out early in the season.


Does your brain hurt?

This is now just another pro-Benitez post. I could argue his man-management of the quoted players (bar Reina) left, right and centre (quoting auto-biographies, post-sale interviews and form)... but the proof is in the pudding and I can name 20+ Benitez signings who left because they could not work under him.

but the proof is in the pudding and I can name 20+ Benitez signings who left because they could not work under him.

Go on then...

So rafa wants 3-4 players for 60m.

Any ideas what positions he's most likely to strengthen?

I'm guessing a new striker (although we are signing Jovanananicovic), maybe a new right or left winger and a new left back. Any ideas?

The right and left wing and left back is what I was thinking too. Hopefully Kjaer too though.

This is now just another pro-Benitez post. I could argue his man-management of the quoted players (bar Reina) left, right and centre (quoting auto-biographies, post-sale interviews and form)... but the proof is in the pudding and I can name 20+ Benitez signings who left because they could not work under him.

But yet, we have Masch, Pepe, Nando, Kuyt, Benayoun, The Greek, etc... that he has brought in and they have done well. His sales are hit and miss, all he has to do is buy low for a high reward. Sure the Keane signings kill us, but in all honesty, we have a great core of guys. It's literally just injuries and being unlucky that has been our downfall. To be honest we really do only need 3 or 4 guys with a sense of creativity that will allow us to be top flight again.

Depends how hypothetically we are taking this post- because I wouldn't appoint O'Neil as our new manager so it's a moot point.

I would want Rijkaard for what it's worth (that's my realistic choice, behind Mourinho in an ideal world).

Who would you sign this summer, with a budget of £60m, relative wage constraints and the fact that we are no longer in the Champion's League (big players like real European trophies ya know)?

After all the slagging of Rafa, I had to drag this one up, Rijkaard, a manager tactically outwitted by Rafa only three years ago, shown up and embarrassed two years ago at Old Trafford, sorry not even a realistic choice.

This is now just another pro-Benitez post. I could argue his man-management of the quoted players (bar Reina) left, right and centre (quoting auto-biographies, post-sale interviews and form)... but the proof is in the pudding and I can name 20+ Benitez signings who left because they could not work under him.

Alrighty then, get me some quotes!

Anyway i don't think rafa washing his and lfc laundry in the public again will do any good. "If" there is going to be a new owner, for sure they would want someone to be a bit more "profesional" in handling internal issue even tho the current owner H&G screw things up.
Believe his situation is going to be a bit like MH at mancity "if" a new owner to be in. Remenber an owner is not suppose to think or be like a fan & they are here merely for financial gain directly or indirectly & not doing charity to the club or fans.
Thats why he's hoping to get the minimum amount he wanted "if" the "situation" ever arise & it will be an intense season for rafa. Also thats why another european cup into the cv is better than nothing.
p/s: fyi to some of u, its the total amount a player is purchase that count not the payment method. End of day, u are still going to pay the total value.

Frank Rijkarrd ? Are you having a laugh ? He couldnt handle the ego's of Barcelona Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto etc.Takes he only reason he was so succesful was because of the amount of talent and money he had with a squad like that i might have even won the league.

I'm 100% pro Rafa but if he is forced out or ends up going to Madrid the only two managers capable of taking over would be Mourinho,or Pep Guardiola.Yes Mourinho has a lot of bad blood with us but most of us hate him because of his arrogance and piss takes.I know if he was appointed the fans would be 100% behind within a month of him taking over because at the end of the day he is a man driven by success,and his love and passion for the game which is what Liverpool is all about.And the people that argue the point that he cant win anything without money look at the squad ge built at Porto, Quaresma,Carvalhio,Ferrera,Deco,I'm definitley leaving out a couple of quality players ! Imo he is one of the best in the game and his charisma always seems to rub off on his players whatever club he manages

The only other man suitable to fill Rafa's boots would be Pep Guardiola.Why would he come to Liverpool ? Firstly Barcelona offered him a 4 year deal and he negotiated down to one year.And secondly he has always stated that he wants to move closer to his family who live in London but he has always said that if he was to ever leave Barca it would have to be for a club with history which rules chelsea out for a start.What makes Pep different than Rijkaard is that he handled the ego's by getting rid off them and buying Zlatan Ibrahimavoic.Most people questioned this but look how its worked out ! The only thing barca were missing for the last couple of years was height and he doesnt take away from the way they play either genius signing IMO.Secondly he has put his faith in in the younger playes like Busquets and Pedro this season and what a revelation they've been id love to see rafa do the same with Kelly,Darby,Paceco,and Nemeth

Anyway I'v just spent the last 5 minutes of my life on a pointless post because Rafa is here to stay money or no money all those phone-in fans can have another season of slagging him off and talking sh*t until he turns it round and evereyone on here jumps back on the bandwagon ! YNWA IRWT. . thanks and goodnight  

maybe David Villa play with F.Torres in nest season??

maybe David Villa play with F.Torres in nest season??

I will I'm just signing him right now.... on Fifa10

Ive had a think about this to be honest, and from what I read into it I really think that this is an ultimatium from Rafa to the club. He simply knows we cannot afford that kind of money its that simple, we now have to live within our means as we do not have that kind of cashflow to bring in top class players, and to be honest who are going to attract when our best hope for European football next season is the Europa league again.

I think Real will take Rafa this summer for a big pay off which will help maybe buy a couple of players, but not of the quality we are looking for. Its going to be a hard hard summer for us this year and I think we ought to prepare ourselves for a few goodbyes in order to clear the debts and move on. Sorry to have say this and be pessimistic, but I really think that this sort of response from Rafa is in fact holding a gun to the clubs head, "we need this or else". This surprises me from Rafa considering all the support we as fans have given him.

A left back and centre forward have to be a priority this Summer if there is money left after that a left and possibly a right midfielder.

The crucial thing is spending £60m, correctly.

And the first £20m should be spent on getting rid of that cancerous manager of ours.

A fish rots from the head afterall. Well it doesn't but you can't trust that man with any money at this point in our history.

Thereafter, I would spend a couple of million of Kevin Nolan (should have been signed many years ago), Aghbonlahore if at all possible, and Jamie O'Hara.

yep, kevin nolan and jamie o hara will win us the league.

Great managers can make good players exceptional. It's down to man-management skills.

So I would get a manager with man-management skills.

So Raffa isn't a good man manager and can't make good players into exceptional ones???

Hers a list of names for:

Pepe Riena
Xabi Alonso
Luis Garcia
Peter Crouch
Steven Gerrad
Nando Torres
Jamie Carragher
Mascherano
Agger
Skrtel
The Greek
Ngog
etc etc

All good players that have gone on in some cases to become world class players under the guidance of senior Benitez. In the cases of Ngog and the greek good signings. Cheap but have done really well when called upon. Ngog is still young and could develop to become a very good striker, maybe not world class but can do a job.

Then there are other players who just don't want to put in the hard work and prove to everyone that they are good enough to pull on the shirt. Players like Reira and Babel. Hard work isn't down to man management skills its down to the individual. Look at Benayoun who wasn't getting much of look in but knuckeled down and shown his qauilty's.

Theres also other players that IMO are decent players too Lucas, Insua etc etc. And our youth setup looks as though it may start to bring out more decent players in the future.

And before you go on about Rafa's failing in the transfer market, all managers make mistakes. SAF signed Veron, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Klerberson and now Berbatov.

Chelshki spent 30mil on a striker who never played in Schevchenko.

Personally under the current owners and the financial constraints I can't see anyone doing much better then Rafa. But thats my personal opinion. True Rafa makes mistakes but which manager gets it right 100% of the time?

agree he has done well in the transfer markets but there has been some disasters as well, and i wouldn't list Ngog as a success even though he only paid £1.5 million the lad is a long way off been a decent Premiership striker never mind a good one.

I actually think one of his best signings has been Agger for £4.5 million thatis a steal the lad is quality what would you have to pay for him now.

Theres also other players that IMO are decent players too Lucas, Insua etc etc. And our youth setup looks as though it may start to bring out more decent players in the future.

And before you go on about Rafa's failing in the transfer market, all managers make mistakes. SAF signed Veron, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Klerberson and now Berbatov.

Chelshki spent 30mil on a striker who never played in Schevchenko.

Personally under the current owners and the financial constraints I can't see anyone doing much better then Rafa. But thats my personal opinion. True Rafa makes mistakes but which manager gets it right 100% of the time?

fraggle, u were doing really well and making an excellent point....until you used the word 'decent' in same sentence as 'lucas and insua'....you lost it there fella

however, i agree with rest of your comments. the list of players flourishing under rafa is enough to make other managers weep. in particular, the players who 'became' world class under him. reina, mascha, torres, jc, alonso...and agger is on his way. stevie was already there. proof...that rafa is indeed a world class manager himself.

why is that strikers are just hard to get along with. u get a good striker who has performed at all levels. then he comes to liverpool and his form drops right off and is just a short term player look who has left
crouch,keane.baros,bellamy  players who could contruibute to our woefull goal away record. less than one goal a game

I don't get this logic. Frank could not handle the ego of Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o but they played for him. Yet, Pep was mentioned as being able to handle the big egos of these players by selling them? Hang on! If you can handle their egos surely you don't need to sell them, do you?

Zlatan has been complaining a bit now because he wants the team to play for him, which is not possible when you have Messi and other players who have been playing in a tried and trusted system. We shall see how Zlatan can adjust himself in Barçelona's set up.

There is no question that Pep has been doing really well in Barça, but don't forget he has lived through the same system and his players have also been drilled into the system. If he comes to Liverpool, he will have to build this system first, he must create it from zilch. I doubt it if Pep can be successful immediately in Liverpool. The talents are not there and football in England is different from it is Spain.

Having said that, he's still a really intelligent manager. His last win against Real Madrid was impressive. Changing Puyol, Maxwell, Alves and Pedro's positions in each half and yet the team was still working well and scoring goal is exceptional. (Of course it helps when there is the vision of Xabi Hernandez in a team).

Back to Rafa, it is difficult for him to win us the league, unless he can set up a team to attack and open up a tight defence to create higher quality chances. not just half chances or shooting through the legs of 8 defenders.

Frank Rijkarrd ? Are you having a laugh ? He couldnt handle the ego's of Barcelona Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto etc.Takes he only reason he was so succesful was because of the amount of talent and money he had with a squad like that I might have even won the league.

I'm 100% pro Rafa but if he is forced out or ends up going to Madrid the only two managers capable of taking over would be Mourinho,or Pep Guardiola.Yes Mourinho has a lot of bad blood with us but most of us hate him because of his arrogance and piss takes.I know if he was appointed the fans would be 100% behind within a month of him taking over because at the end of the day he is a man driven by success,and his love and passion for the game which is what Liverpool is all about.And the people that argue the point that he cant win anything without money look at the squad ge built at Porto, Quaresma,Carvalhio,Ferrera,Deco,I'm definitley leaving out a couple of quality players ! Imo he is one of the best in the game and his charisma always seems to rub off on his players whatever club he manages

The only other man suitable to fill Rafa's boots would be Pep Guardiola.Why would he come to Liverpool ? Firstly Barcelona offered him a 4 year deal and he negotiated down to one year.And secondly he has always stated that he wants to move closer to his family who live in London but he has always said that if he was to ever leave Barca it would have to be for a club with history which rules chelsea out for a start.What makes Pep different than Rijkaard is that he handled the ego's by getting rid off them and buying Zlatan Ibrahimavoic.Most people questioned this but look how its worked out ! The only thing barca were missing for the last couple of years was height and he doesnt take away from the way they play either genius signing IMO.Secondly he has put his faith in in the younger playes like Busquets and Pedro this season and what a revelation they've been id love to see rafa do the same with Kelly,Darby,Paceco,and Nemeth

Anyway I'v just spent the last 5 minutes of my life on a pointless post because Rafa is here to stay money or no money all those phone-in fans can have another season of slagging him off and talking sh*t until he turns it round and evereyone on here jumps back on the bandwagon ! YNWA IRWT. . thanks and goodnight 

I don't get this logic. Frank could not handle the ego of Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o but they played for him. Yet, Pep was mentioned as being able to handle the big egos of these players by selling them? Hang on! If you can handle their egos surely you don't need to sell them, do you?

Zlatan has been complaining a bit now because he wants the team to play for him, which is not possible when you have Messi and other players who have been playing in a tried and trusted system. We shall see how Zlatan can adjust himself in Barçelona's set up.

There is no question that Pep has been doing really well in Barça, but don't forget he has lived through the same system and his players have also been drilled into the system. If he comes to Liverpool, he will have to build this system first, he must create it from zilch. I doubt it if Pep can be successful immediately in Liverpool. The talents are not there and football in England is different from it is Spain.

Having said that, he's still a really intelligent manager. His last win against Real Madrid was impressive. Changing Puyol, Maxwell, Alves and Pedro's positions in each half and yet the team was still working well and scoring goal is exceptional. (Of course it helps when there is the vision of Xabi Hernandez in a team).

Back to Rafa, it is difficult for him to win us the league, unless he can set up a team to attack and open up a tight defence to create higher quality chances. not just half chances or shooting through the legs of 8 defenders.

No your spot on i didnt mean to use the word manage.He knew this was impossible and took the bold move in selling them and it clearly worked out for the better ! He may not succeed straight away but as we are LFC we have a tradition in giving managers our full support so  . . 

No your spot on I didnt mean to use the word manage.He knew this was impossible and took the bold move in selling them and it clearly worked out for the better ! He may not succeed straight away but as we are LFC we have a tradition in giving managers our full support so  . .  

Full support?
Houllier, who I had great respect for was in the most undignified of manners booted out of the club FOR FINISHING 4TH!! - for that reason alone, there would have been no Istanbul without Houllier
I like Rafa, and want him to do well next year, but he should not be considered immune from criticism

Name-calling aside, what do you think of my signing suggestions?

You on drugs?