Must Read - Rafa, Gerrard, Aquilani, Torres and Purslow

Anti-Rafa?. Please, don't make me laugh. A Rafalite that was not blind to his failings, that's how i'd class myself, many others on this forum would back that up. Not that i need to explain myself to you anyway.

Do yourself a favour sir, look back through my posts on Rafa and you'll see that i firmly backed Rafa during his tenure. What i wouldn't do was blindly back him, if criticism was deserved then i dished it out, as i would with anyone.

I expect a reply littered with expletives as that is your usual retort to anybody that dares question your blatantly superior footballing knowledge. Please do not call me anti-Rafa again sir, i find it highly offensive and totally uncalled for.

What makes me laugh is your constant berating of so called 'uneducated' posters, yet you have just dropped into that category by failing to research my post history before making the aforementioned ridiculous allegation.

Have a day off will you - you've been banging the same drum for quite some time now, and IMO that adds up to just one thing.

Wow - way to completely miss the point!

Never mind.

I thought you were claiming Carra/Gerrard made descisions to benefit themselves but not the club, which I disagreed with, that was what my response was relating too. If we wern't on the same wave length, apologises.

Anyway regarding this topic, taking a large majority of it with a pinch of salt.
As DLS said you would hear a completely different story in every Liverpool local.

Have a day off will you - you've been banging the same drum for quite some time now, and IMO that adds up to just one thing.

Neighbors calling a noise complaint?

Good read. We're all a fan of conspiracy theories, and these are especially interesting as they involve our beloved Liverpool FC. I'll take them all very sceptically, but with an open mind.

And no true competitor wants to exit the field, carrying a knock or not. I can't blame Torres for looking baffled, but that doesn't mean it was a stupid substitution (just playing devil's advocate here) based on the information Rafa apparently had.

That's over the top.

No it isn't,  I'm not surprised by the transfer dealings of Aquilani & Johnson, if you look into it Aqua or De Rossi were the only ones who could've made up for Alonso's loss, De Rossi will never leave Roma so we took Aqua.Aquilani is a world class player at Juve and was too good in the second half of last season but we needed him to cover for Alonso and he wasn't there at the first six months, that highlights why we didn't trade Alonso for Sneijder when he sold him to Madrid because Rafa wasn't allowed to deal with them.We also needed a right back after Arby left and Johnson IMO was the only decent option we could've had anyway, probably the figure is exaggerated but thats mainly because Chelsea entered in the race to sign him and didn't want us to take him, I still believe he is decent and under a world class, in the right system, he'll do wonders for us.

I'm not surprised by the Torres stuff, remember all the medical staff were sacked and replaced by a new medical team led by Peter Bruckner who BTW happened to cure one Harry Kewell when the latter was at Galtasaray, so again this thing makes perfect sense.

What I'm surprised with is how low Gerrard & Carra went to oust Rafa out of the club, it was as low as you can get because Rafa improved them to levels they wouldn't have dreamt if Rafa didn't came, with Rafa, Carra became a world class central defender after he was on the brink of getting sold, and Gerrard became one of the best players in the world.If it weren't for Rafa, they wouldn't have won what is arguably their biggest achievement as footballers and that is the Champions League.I've read a lot about them trying to team with Purslow in ousting Rafa by briefing some journos, there was always a rift between Rafa & Carra on the cards especially after Carra's interview stating that he'll leave if he sits on the bench but I thought it wasn't that much of a rift to let the latter force his mate in trying to fire the manager, but stories keep on coming and there is no smoke without fire and it appears both players weren't appreciative enough for Rafa and neither his methods or achievements, they wanted an arm round the shoulder manager, a British one, someone who won't oppose playing them where they wanted, and someone who doesn't have the strong personality to expose what they're doing, they did what is best for Gerrard & Carragher and not what is best for the club.

Thats why they need to be put in their place, and thats why I'm opposing hiring anyone right now except Kenny with Thommo as his assistant and Lee as a coach, you can add Segura & Borrel as coaches since they are more in the game than the first two names, but Gerrard and Carra need to be put in their place, they need to know their role, and lets be honest the only one right now who is capable of doing this is Kenny.

I'm not against hiring Coyle, he is a terrific coach with a lot of potential of being a great one, but right now the job is too big for him, it is too big for any coach that is targeted by NESV aside from probably Deschamps as I'm sure with the first instance of Carra's being dropped or Gerrard not playing in CM the briefed journos will start killing said coach and the rest of the media will join the bandwagon making life impossible for anyone to work.

And if they don't like it, if Stevie & Carra don't take one for the team, then they can f**k off right now with their arm round the shoulder manager where Carra will play whenever he wants in the back four, screams whenever he does any mistakes while blaming others for it, and Stevie returns to play in has favored position in CM, letting the defense down and they can see how far this will get them?

No one is bigger than the team and that's include our captain & vice captain.

I once caught a fish that was this big [.........], told my mate who told another mate, who told everyone down the pub.

A week later the local paper wanted an interview after hearing I had caught a fish this big [.............................................]

Pinch of salt.

I thought you were claiming Carra/Gerrard made descisions to benefit themselves but not the club, which I disagreed with, that was what my response was relating too. If we wern't on the same wave length, apologises.

Anyway regarding this topic, taking a large majority of it with a pinch of salt.
As DLS said you would hear a completely different story in every Liverpool local.

Consider that I said "IF" on more than  one occasion in the post relating to them.

The biggest "IF" is reserved for the player power scenario - I'd hate to think it of them, but I can see how it could easily happen.

I wouldn't want to lump either of them in with the likes of john terry, lampard, ballack etc but "IF" they were instrumental in getting the manager sacked, then they deserve no less criticism and villification than they (Terry et al) got/get on a regular basis.

The Rafa situation was different - he asked an employee to fulfill his duties.
Could he have been more compassionate, and maybe apologised after?
Perhaps - but when you consider what happened with his father, it's easy to see that Rafa held himself to similar, if not higher standards regarding professional duties.


I'm sceptical about the whole thing, but like you, I am keeping an open mind - it's those "IF's" about our captain and vice captain that concern me - there is NO room for player power, and if a player gets involved in club politics, and tries to use it to his advantage, I'd have him out the door quicker than he could F***ing blink.

One thing I must add is I love Rafa even more than before, the man could've walked away to greener pastures but he stayed despite being undermined from everywhere, he stayed because he loved this club, loved the city and loved the fans and would've done anything for us, he put everything on the line for us even though he could've easily walked away to Madrid or Inter way before and added a lot more to his CV and a lot more to his bank account.

I for once would love to see him back here with us because he had unfinished business to finish here but I will understand his decision if he chooses another club, I wish him all luck in the world in his next job.

Rafa, You'll never walk alone.

Have a day off will you - you've been banging the same drum for quite some time now, and IMO that adds up to just one thing.

Like i said, educate yourself before passing comment on others. Read my posts on Rafa, educate yourself. You want to berate me like you have many others on here with your relentless use of expletives and blinkered views. Carry on Kenny, you think you can tell me i'm anti-Rafa because i have spoken out about his many deficiencies as a manager?, it's called being objective.

You should try it instead of attempting to shoot people down with swear words. Please give a detailed explanation about this drum that i keep banging, i await patiently for your well executed response, seeing as you were totally incapable of answering my first response. Engage.

Have a day off will you - you've been banging the same drum for quite some time now, and IMO that adds up to just one thing.

P.S. I've hardly been online in the last 3 months due to working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Oh dear, i must have been sleep-posting again, must find a cure for that.

Like i said, educate yourself before passing comment on others. Read my posts on Rafa, educate yourself. You want to berate me like you have many others on here with your relentless use of expletives and blinkered views. Carry on Kenny, you think you can tell me i'm anti-Rafa because i have spoken out about his many deficiencies as a manager?, it's called being objective.

You should try it instead of attempting to shoot people down with swear words. Please give a detailed explanation about this drum that i keep banging, i await patiently for your well executed response, seeing as you were totally incapable of answering my first response. Engage.

I've read your posts, and like others on here, you try to dress things up using verbosity - in other words, lots of typing with little substance, and also using the old "context" trick.

BTW - there is no rule on here about not swearing, so you can stop banging that well worn drum as well.

Don't like it?
Don't F***ing read it, but for fucks sake stop whining about it.

Now how about you get back on topic, as I have done in previouos posts.

Interesting reading even if it does sound like an episode of the X Files with all the conspiracy theories. Some of it is believable though especially the bits about Johnson and Aquilani.

Interesting reading even if it does sound like an episode of the X Files with all the conspiracy theories. Some of it is believable though especially the bits about Johnson and Aquilani.

What do you think about the alleged player power thing though?

For me, that is the biggest problem of all, IF true - and surely there is to much smoke for there not to be at least a little substance to it.

I know Liverpool is really just a big village in many respects, especially where the teams there are concerned - I think it's possible though, that in this instance that lends credence rather than taking it away...

This was one of the most disturbing pieces I've read for quite some time. The biggest thing that hits me is that the facts here are known to be true, and it does plausibly put some pieces of the puzzle together as far as what was happening inside the boardroom.

The other part that disturbs me is the bit about how Aquilani's injury was a cover-up for the fact that if he played a certain number of games by January £4 million would be added to the transfer fee. Certainly does explain why Rafa would buy an injured player for the price he did.

What do you think about the alleged player power thing though?

For me, that is the biggest problem of all, IF true - and surely there is to much smoke for there not to be at least a little substance to it.

I know Liverpool is really just a big village in many respects, especially where the teams there are concerned - I think it's possible though, that in this instance that lends credence rather than taking it away...

Wouldn't put it past Gerrard and Carra to be honest with you. We've heard all sorts of rumours lately, Carra and Stevie on one side and Pepe and Torres on the other. Then you see Pepe hugging Roy after the win against Bolton, makes you wonder what to believe.

I'm still trying to come to terms with the thought in a lot of peoples minds that Stevie deliberately missed that penalty.

Wouldn't put it past Gerrard and Carra to be honest with you. We've heard all sorts of rumours lately, Carra and Stevie on one side and Pepe and Torres on the other. Then you see Pepe hugging Roy after the win against Bolton, makes you wonder what to believe.

I'm still trying to come to terms with the thought in a lot of peoples minds that Stevie deliberately missed that penalty.

Wouldn't that put more belief to the rumour that Stevie didn't want Hodgson in the first place though? And if Carra is on the same "side" as Gerrard then it'd be safe to say that he didn't want Hodgson either.

If we're being honest, 99% of new managers would of offered Carragher a two year deal because they'd need him in their first two years. Carra, along with Gerrard, is the current history of this club. A new manager would want these two on board and most managers would of given him his contract extension for their own "bedding in time". Makes it easier when you can consult a man with  almost 15 years experience of playing in the Liverpool first team than somebody with less than three.

Maybe Gerrard and Carragher have hinted at wanting Benitez gone, then again so did a fair few fans. But obviously those fans didn't want the best for the club either. Well according to some on here they didn't.

And Gerrard missing the penalty on purpose is bollocks mate. If that was his attitude would he of broke his bollocks to win the penalty in the first place? It was just one of those games where everything went wrong. It happens in football. We'll be hearing the arl "he scored the own goal against Chelsea in the League Cup Final on purpose" as well soon.

Already said it, but everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody with these stories. If I believed every single one of them, I'd be suicidal. I'm still actually trying to work out who the assistant manager in the Championship with Liverpool ties is.

Wouldn't put it past Gerrard and Carra to be honest with you. We've heard all sorts of rumours lately, Carra and Stevie on one side and Pepe and Torres on the other. Then you see Pepe hugging Roy after the win against Bolton, makes you wonder what to believe.

I'm still trying to come to terms with the thought in a lot of peoples minds that Stevie deliberately missed that penalty.

He wouldn't do that, if only for the fact that he loves the glory

Yeah, there's too much sh*t flying about, but in all honesty, there's usually a kernel of truth in there somewhere - the problem is digging that kernel out.

Obviously, there's a lot of thing we don't know, and never will, but over time certain things become clearer, even without proof.

For the record, and all joking aside, there's no way IMO that Gerrard missed the pen on purpose - even entertaining the thought beggars belief, although it can be entertaining in other ways

I don't believe a single bit of all that nonsense to be honest.

I could just make something up and post it.

I believe nothing of it. May seem that the story is convenient in explaining a few things but i don't believe a story containing a chauffeur, stewards and a friend.

F**k me, more drama then Corrie.

Some interesting stuff in the Opening Post but I'm skeptical for three reasons.

Stewards do not get assigned players or manager and walk them to their cars, ask any Steward.

Aquilani not being played because of fee's if you look at how the Aquilani deal was structured we'd have payed the money regardless as it wasnt set around games played.

A lot of this stuff has been discussed on many forums and it would be easy to combine them all into one post, throw in a chauffer job and assistant manager to add some credibility and hey presto, you've got some great info.

Interesting stuff, as for the steward's job I have no idea. But most part of the article he seems like he's beating about the bush. I really don't know about it's credibility but I really doubt it. With the exception of a few supposed 'facts', the article can perhaps be cut down to a few paragraphs long.

If Rafa hadnt sacrificed himself in battling the owners for two years he would still be here today.
If you look at the available candidates Rafa stands head and shoulders above them.

I'm missing his interviews
I'm missing chanting his name
I'm missing him tapping the side of his glasses after he puts them on
I'm missing his short answers in the interviews
I'm missing his little wave after his name is sung
I'm missing going into games knowing a draw is the worst we can expect

One thing that is utter bs it is the stuff about Steven Gerrard being a poor CM

It has become obvious that Gerrard is a moody person and when he is in the mood he springs to life and wins matches virtually singlehandedly, and when not in the mood he can go awol.

His most prolific performances for mine are when he has come from CM and is involved with everything, bossing the match. Against Blackburn he only sprang to life in the last 15 minutes and almost got us 2 goals. The urgency with which he took the spot kick caused him to miss, notice the way he looked around at the clock just before taking it. 
No doubt in my mind his moods are related to the frustration of having to play with substandard players for so long, the same frustrations felt by Torres. 

I'm missing his interviews
I'm missing chanting his name
I'm missing him tapping the side of his glasses after he puts them on
I'm missing his short answers in the interviews
I'm missing his little wave after his name is sung
I'm missing going into games knowing a draw is the worst we can expect

I am missing having a decent manager who knew what this club means to fans who crave success.