Oh. I accidentally copied all of the posts above the one I intended to copy.

Sorry

If Rafael Benitez didn't join Liverpool and instead stayed at Valencia until 2010 and managed to achieve the equivalent of what he achieved at Liverpool during that time then he would be as highly regarded amongst English fans as Jurgen Klopp

Great result for Benitez - proving his nous at European level again.

I expect Napoli to progress a long way in this competition.

Why did so many Liverpool fans want Rafa out?

There’s a lot of “teeming and lading” that goes on with these spending comparisons. The argument that Benitez spent more than Ferguson is down to dodgy accounting.

It is entirely dependent, for example, on the sale of Ronaldo for 80m. But for most of Benitez’s tenure, Ronaldo was playing, and United didn’t have that money in their bank account.

If, when he’s sold, you retrospectively wash it back through the books, then you can argue that Fergie spent less (though even then not by all that much), but it doesn’t explain why the total cost of the United team, when Liverpool won 4-1 at OT and were in second place, was significantly higher than the cost of that Liverpool team, due to the seemingly obvious fact that United didn’t get that money until later.

What’s more, Ronaldo was not bought during Benitez’s tenure, so the profit made from his transfer is properly accountable to the Houllier period. In effect, it makes up part of the spending deficit that Benitez inherited. He also cost United more, as a teenager, than Liverpool had ever spent on a player up to that point. If Liverpool were going to spend that much, it would not have been on a teenager.

Without taking these things into account, you can also arrive at the ridiculous conclusion that Fergie’s mate Tony Pulis had more spending power than Fergie did.

I don’t think the English Press understand the European model of operating. They understand that Wenger has spent less than Moyes spent at Everton, but they don’t appear to understand that there are other models. (Or at least, they don’t want to, because it makes for a better headline if you say “Spurs have spent 100m”, and I notice BR was banging that drum last week, as he knows it works with our Press).

Liverpool made an overall net profit from the players bought during Benitez’s tenure. Considering he made us No 1 seeds in Europe, qualifying and getting to the latter stages of the CL for 5 consecutive years (worth about 25m a year, and at least 50m when we won it), that’s a good spending record, and some of his players are still there. Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Sterling, and Lucas would all command a fee if sold now, which would add to that net profit....as did Shelvey.

Comolli suffers from the same misunderstanding of how a Director of Football might operate. Spurs were amongst the most inefficient spenders around, but now their net-spend figures are very low. People slate Comolli’s record because he bought players like Bentley, who didn’t work out, but that is to miss the point. Nobody can guarantee that all transfers will work, but .overall, his players made a massive overall profit for Spurs over the longer term, and that is the main reason why their net-spending is low now.

Given that a Director of Football’s remit is “long-term” spending, I think he can make a case, and I personally think it was nuts for Liverpool to judge him on a short-term basis. Either use a Director of Football or don’t, but appointing one with a long-term remit, and then judging him on a short-term basis is just expensive dithering, and a misunderstanding of his job.

The fees that Spurs got for Bale and Modric are properly accountable to the Comolli era, not the current era. It will be interesting to see if they revert to type now that Comolli’s players have all ‘washed through’ the system.

Changing managers is expensive.
It always results in a spike in transfer spending. Considering that United had the same manager for 25 years or more (owing, of course, to his success, at least after his sixth year), Liverpool’s spending, across 7 managerial changes, is not massive by comparison. And it certainly wasn’t enough to out-compete the likes of Chelsea and City.

When the boot was on the other foot, in the 70’s and 80’s, United spent a massive twice as much as Liverpool...more than any other club...and Fergie knows that only too well, if he cares to remember it, because he spent twice as much as Dalglish in his first 5 years, without getting anywhere near his team. That didn’t really change until Souness came in, and started dismantling a successful team and replacing it with expensive dross.

Benitez’s use of Liverpool’s money was better than that of any other LFC manager since we last won the league (too early to judge BR), and this in spite of the fact that after his third year, the owners were busy pulling the financial rug from under his feet.

Why did so many Liverpool fans want Rafa out?
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I don’t know how many did, but you are hardly likely to get a unanimous opinion from a fanbase as large as ours, or for that matter, yours.

There were certainly plenty of people on messageboards who wanted him sacked, but I don’t know what proportion they made up, even if you suppose that messageboards are anything like representative.

But at the time there were protest marches to the stadium in his favour, which tends to the conclusion that the consensus of opinion, at least from those who attend matches, was on his side, and there were certainly no ‘Rafa Out’ banners at Anfield.

This is in contrast, for example, to the fact that United’s board had to draft in extra Police to cope with the anti-Fergie demos at OT, after he’d been there a few years, and of course, the famous ‘Ta-Ra Fergie’ banner.

"Why did so many Liverpool fans want Rafa out?"

don't think that many did

He had a vocal minority that thought he was too defensive (despite scoreing the most goals in all comps in one season and the most in the league the next) but it was a minority.

comment by ☞ Ruiney ⑳ (U1005)
posted 1 week, 6 days ago
Why did so many Liverpool fans want Rafa out

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They were in the minority and had something to say... but at the ground there was nothing but support for Rafa. Message boards, twitter and the like give an opportunity for people who want to say something be heard.

Funny how their's none of these type of articles after Chelsea win and Rafa loses

I'm writing a Credit to Mourinho article now

Funny how their's none of these type of articles after Chelsea win and Rafa loses

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Being beaten at home to Basel is something to write about.

comment by Redinthehead - At least we didnt finish 13th! (U1860)
posted 54 seconds ago
Funny how their's none of these type of articles after Chelsea win and Rafa loses

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Being beaten at home to Basel is something to write about.
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Still not as bad as being beaten at home by QPR

Still not as bad as being beaten at home by QPR

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With all that lovely home support you have him.

gave...

comment by Redinthehead - At least we didnt finish 13th! (U1860)
posted 3 minutes ago
Still not as bad as being beaten at home by QPR

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With all that lovely home support you have him.
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But like you and Woy, hypocrite

But like you and Woy, hypocrite

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If you can give me any example of Roy being booed on his first match, or banners wanting him out in his first match... no, in his first month in charge, you can call me a hypocrite.

Otherwise you can continue being a charlatan having spouted incorrect "assumptions"

Cheers

You never liked him from day one, i went to Anfield for the game between us that season, and i was hearing anti Roy chants when you were 2-0 up against the Champions

and don't pretend you wouldn't do the same if Fergie or Jose got appointed at Anfield. I was speaking to a Madrid fan few months back, they said they would do exactly the same to Pep if he got the job.

I wasn't one of those Rafa "haters", but if say Mancini called you a past it mid table club that's living on past glories, how would you react to appointing him, ever?

and don't pretend you wouldn't do the same if Fergie or Jose got appointed at Anfield

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Actually I wouldn't. They're good at their managerial jobs.

So the case with Hodgson isn't the same as you lot and Rafa then... Thanks for clearing that up.

"Actually I wouldn't. They're good at their managerial jobs."

I bet you will be one of a very, very few.

I bet you will be one of a very, very few.

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You're probably mistaken there as well.