I have been uncomfortable with some of the support Liverpool fans have been giving to former Reds boss Rafa Benitez in response to Roy Hodgson’s criticisms of his reign. Although Rafa has a right to defend himself against Roy’s accusations, the feeling you get is that many just like sticking the boot in on Roy. There is no doubt that Roy was stirring up a hornet’s nest when saying his comments though. Roy had spoken on a number of occasions about the lack of quality depth in the Liverpool squad and highlighted last week that there were many “expensive failures” in the Spanish manager’s reign. He is also criticised Rafa for his treatment of Kenny Dalglish. Roy said:
“I always said to Kenny when it was mooted that Liverpool wanted me for the job that, if I got it, he would be very much on board with me. It won’t be the question it was with Benitez that you are here in name but you are never allowed to set foot in Melwood – and basically we don’t want anything to do with you.”
These were the reasons behind Rafa’s attack on Hodgson yesterday. Although he had been reluctant to talk about Liverpool at all in his press conference, Rafa eventually felt he had to with the amount of questions from the English media:
“I feel that Mr Hodgson he doesn’t understand. Every single press conference is worse than the last one. He’s talking about things he doesn’t know. Some people cannot see a priest on a mountain of sugar. I brought back Kenny Dalglish to do a role in the club. It was (managing director) Christian Purslow that gave him another role. So (Hodgson) doesn’t know but I will explain to him. Instead of talking about the flips and the flops, he has to concentrate on his players and do his best. He has a big job to do.”
No doubt Rafa rose to the bait of the English media and there is no coincidence in my view that they Roy’s comments were published yesterday to bring up more controversy between the pair.
As not being an ardent supporter of either Hodgson or Benitez, I believe fault must lie at both ends for the comments made. Roy has been consistently emphasising that Liverpool are going through a “transition period” and “rebuilding phase.” It has been part of his argument as to why Liverpool are going through such a bad spell on the pitch at the moment. The narrative for Hodgson has then inevitably extended to blaming the previous manager for leaving a squad bereft of quality. Benitez also responded to this by stating he left a squad worth £300million and with 13 internationals. On this point, Roy is fundamentally in the wrong as he should not blame a poor start on the previous manager. As Rafa also stated, Roy has already brought in nine players so to identify the Reds squad as predominantly Rafa’s legacy is wide of the mark.
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STELLA WDM RESULTS
The Manure loving media always had it in for Rafa and seen to have a love affair with Hodgson Unlike 90% of the fans who’ve totally given up on him and his crazy tactics so why not put the boot in? There’s now a facebook group called: (We want Rafa back at Liverpool FC).
That Jurassic pillock Hodgson needs to shut his mouth and get out of our club. All Rafa did was reply to an insult from a far far inferior manager. Hodgson has criticised every single thing about this great club since he arrived, the previous manager, the current players, the owners, the fans, everybody but himself. Grow a pair of balls Hodgson for the first time in your life and resign and admit you are not up to the job. Just go. NOW.
Firstly, Rafa was the one who brought Dalglish back to the club. It was Managing Director Christian Purslow who came in in the summer of 2009 and gave another role to Dalglish. So in this sense, Rafa is correct in saying that Hodgson is ‘talking about things he doesn’t know’. Secondly, Mr Rafael Benitez will always be in our hearts for his service to Liverpool FC and his achievements so he deserves our full support. Thirdly, we’re not just sticking the boot at Roy. Roy blamed our poor start to the season on Rafa when we have 13 internationals in the squad, a squad capable of competing at the top of the league, not a squad struggling at the foot of the table. We’re simply expressing our opinions about Roy as he refused to take the blame for our poor start and instead blamed his predecessor which is unacceptable. To add to this, I believe Roy should get on with his job and stop moaning about the squad he inherited from Rafa. We’re Liverpool FC and we should not be languishing in 13th place. Mr Hodgson, you have a big task in front of you and that is to bring us back to where we belong. The “transitional period” is no excuse for our poor start to the season and if there’s any one to blame, it’s you Mr Hodgson. And one more thing, you have absolutely no right to criticise Rafa. YNWA
absolutely right Eric
I am with you Eric….!
I wasn’t one of the IRWTer’s but I have to side with Benitez on this argument – Hodgson had the opportunity to sell some of the “expensive failures” and remould the club as he saw fit in the summer, which he did.
That he decided that the remaining options in the transfer market weren’t better than the players that he had at his disposal was entirely his decision, so he can’t suddenly turn around and complain about the lack of quality in the team now.
The club didn’t need to be ripped apart in the manner that Hodgson is hinting – we just need a more progressive manager to move the club forwards
Sorry but I’m also with Benitez on this one. Hodgson should have said that he was in a transition period and left it at that. No he had to elaborate, make excuse after excuse, make snide remarks to hide his incompetence. And for what reason did he have to bring Dalglish into it? How does that help his transition argument. An embarrasing and desperate attempt to bring Kenny to his side. Benitez had no option but to defend himself. He was also right about defending his players when hypocrite opposition managers state lies about them. In the beginning I wanted Hodgson out but felt sorry for him and believed that he was an honorouble man whatever his shortcomings were. After hearing some of his comments I think most people will revise their opinion of him. As for trying to put cold water onto Benitez’s £300 million squad argument, Torres and Gerrard alone were quoted as being around £100 million in the summer.
Roy is trying to pass the buck, pure and simple. His tactical approach to lesser teams has been nothing short of treason. WE ARE NOT FULHAM ROY!!!!
Rafa is right, Roy is not right to blame him. A simple trawl of the forums would suggest a majority of Liverpool fans want Aquilani at the club RIGHT NOW. Roy shipped him out. That isn’t Rafa’s fault. Aquilani was one of our creators. But not to worry, we’ve got Poulsen!!!
Roy has to go, he’s going to fill our club with average players like Konchesky. His tactics are awful and his comments bizarre.
bring rafa back what a joke he will need a job soon check out his results since taking over the champions league winners spurs should have won the first game and now have won rafa will be sacked by mid march please nesv dont bring him back he has had his time at lfc we thank him but lets not step backwards this is a new start for us look foward hodgeson is not the answer either please someone come up with the right man for the job im not to sure who it is but not rafa not martin oneil come on nesv get the ball rolling in jan ynwa
Bill Shankly once said :
“Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.”
I fear that Roy Hodgson sees Liverpool as a mid-table side when we should still be aiming for top four. He seems to fail to realise that we can field a whole side of international players even allowing for some injuries. The problem Liverpool seems to have at present is one of attitude and belief. This comes from the manager, if he doesn’t believe, how can we expect the players to believe?
Bill Shankly also said:
“A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.”
Roy should hammer this into his own beliefs. If he can’t, he should resign.
Benitez is gone, forget about him. I have. We have a new manager, for goodness sake act like Liverpool supporters and get behind him, he’s only been her a dog’s watch, Rafa had at least 6 years. You’re like a lot of grieving widows, buck up for god’s sake and act like Liverpudlians.
To read some of your comments you’d think Hodgson was the devil incarnate. He’s the manager of Liverpool FC and is trying to do the best for the club, therefore he should have your 100% backing until such time as he leaves.
after all, it was Roy who started it, and what a disgraceful way to use Rafa to cover his own ass. Just listen to what Rafa said, ‘We gave the fans their pride again. We fought for the fans, we fought for the club and we fought for our players’. Isn’t this the kind of mentality, attitude, and the way things should be done at LFC?
Roy should be given till the end of season before we start making judgements,however so far it’s not looking good. He has recruited konchesky and poulsen who are not Liverpool quality.
Everyone needs to look back to when Houllier came in as joint manager to Evans ! These partnerships as we all know , DO NOT WORK ! Benitez brought in Dalglish to do a specific job and that idea was good ! He may have kept him away from Melwood,but that was a sensible move. We have to remember what happened when Shankly,(during Paisley’s reign)turned up at Melwood!He was undermining Paisley just by being there,and eventually was asked not to come to Melwood! Roy Hodgson needs to be aware of what happened to Evans as a result of Houllier’s arrival! THE SAME THING COULD HAPPEN TO HIM !!!
I think ROy need to prove his method before condemming Rafa…
With Rafa, we won champion league..
Also Rafa has signed many quality players also for Liverpool..Reina, Xabi, Torres, Garcia etc..
Xabi become world class passer and DMF..
Roy so far, do not sign anyone like him for this DMF
Torres – our goal machine for a few seasons.
Roy, I want to see which player he’ll bring. Can new striker got the same record as Torres?
Sorry, i have to say that i was never a fan of Roy becoming our manager, but even though i had my reservations, i was optomistic nonetheless.
Roy stated that we should not look at the first couple of games, but judge him after 10. Well Roy, you have had your 10 games, and you have been found wanting..
This is the most dire and desperate football i have ever witnessed come from LFC. This kind of football can be witnessed in the 4th and 5th divisions, not the EPL, and should definately not be displayed by LIVERPOOL!
13 internationals, one of the best strikers in the world, and you still have the audacity to say that you inherited a bad squad. Shame on you. If you cant ge these guys to perform, then you are truly better off leaving and going back to your mid table mediocrity. At least there you will not be judged as harshly for your extremely poor management, tactics and inability to get top level internationals playing decent football, as you wont have any internationals to manage.
Your time is up Roy, you’ve had your 10 weeks to prove to us all that you are the man for the job, and after 10 weeks you have only managed to muster 12 points, that’s weak as piss in anyones book.
You can blame Beneitz,H&G, the fans, the ground, God, nothing will take away your ineptness at taking a top 4 club into the depths of possible relegation, and you will still be left with what you know. Your a single minded, single tactic misfit whoshould not be at the helm of one of the greatest clubs in the world.
Pack your bags Roy. Your time is up…..
Roy is using Benitez as a way of getting people to overlook the real issue facing the club and that is quite simply his and the teams poor performances.
To start off with he made comments about needing to assess the squad and the decisions he made were wide of the mark.
He could have got advice on who to get rid of and buy Roy had no real plan to begin with.
I cannot see any of the better young talent abroad wanting to play under Roy and the sooner he goes the better.
i dont want both men.roy is too stupid for liverpool.rafa wont make a good one becoz he is arrogant.he will be trying to prove a point that i am back by popular demand.i know most fans dont want him back anyway.lets get a new coach,kenny,or klinsman even hidink
rubbish
I think we should not continue wasting time on telling how good or bad Rafa or Roy have been or will be. Rafa left, he’s gone now. Rafa was a different type of manager, he needs to feed in new blood from outside to progress. He would never have fitted NESV’s vision to go for youth devt. Mourinho is also not too much known to go for his own youth policy… Arsene is, Alex maybe less, Mancini even less.
Roy has, at his most optimistic, up till the end of this year to show what he can do. NESV will never give him £35m to spend if he’ll not make it further.
Roy has a tendency to go for mature players to build on his strategy – Poulsen, Konch. The media are now saying he wants Cole, Crouch, Diarra etc who have all but past their best periods. Maybe someone like Klinsmann (who set up the german system) can be given a thought or else we must build on the spanish system – they’re winning all the cups nowadays.
But end of the day i don’t think Henry is a fool. He knows why he’s spent £300m and what needs to be done now to get them back. He’s a strategist – using stats, benchmarks and sabermetics – and comes up with simulated results.
Roy has one more thing to do n dat is to blame rafa for not getting a partner for torres during d lat transfer period. Also to say in turkey wen we played trabzonspor dat turan will not come to lfc only to complain less than 30 days later of no natural wide winger and later lfc is now linked with charles Nzogbia. Is’nt it funny?
One more thing, Roy was a complete joke in the transfer market. He had more than a month to bring in a striker but he decided to wait till the very last day to inquire about the availabilities of the likes of Gomez, Carlton Cole and Pavlyuchenko…and he failed. He spent around 25 million on players but none of them are strikers or wingers, which we’re desperately in need of. Instead, he brought in average players like Konchesky and Poulsen which cost 10 million in total. To add to that, we were without a fit left back and he decided to loan out Insua. Im not saying Insua is a world class left back but at that stage we were short of options in that position. More importantly, he loaned out 20 million signing Aquilani as if we have a lot of creative midfielders. It was obvious that Roy had no plan and did not know which part of the team needed strengthening. I just hope that Roy, in January, if he’s still manager, is more smart in the transfer market. Signing a striker and a winger must be the priority. Instead of signing 5 to 6 players as he suggested, he should look to sign 2 to 3 quality players to improve the squad, not average mid-table players like Poulsen and Konchesky. He has to stop moaning about the squad cause Rafa left him with a squad of 13 internationals and full of quality in every position. So please, get on with the job and come January, make some quality signings with the money you’re given. YNWA
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