I am absolutely dreading the game against Chelsea on Sunday.
Not because I’m worried about the game, or because I’m worried Fernando Torres is going to come back to haunt us, I’m worried because Rafa Benitez is in the dugout.
No, I’m not one of Rafa’s lovesick wide eyed sycophants. I am truly thankful to him for Istanbul, for Cardiff 2006 and for giving me a team that didn’t know when to quit in 2008/2009, and I am more appreciative than ever of us getting into the Champions League under his stewardship.
But after two poor results in the space of a week, the mindless flock are calling their mournful tune again…”Get Rafa back.” This section of our support is causing the club damage. It feels like no manager will be safe until the Spaniard is given another chance to manage the club he loves.
Personally I think Benitez is finished as a top manager in the game – not because of tactics but because of mentality. His spell at Inter Milan was a disaster (the usual extenuating circumstances have been put forward but don’t wash with me) and whilst he’s probably going to win a Europa League, Chelsea are in severe danger of not making the top four due to a series of poor results in their bread and butter, the Premier League. Chelsea were comfortably third when Benitez took over and his squad was hardly lacking talent.
So why the continuing calls for him to come back?
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The simple answer is that I don’t know. It genuinely baffles me as to why he should be brought back atop our shoulders. I suspect our league performances are responsible for this bizarre phenomenon. I’m not someone who thinks Rodgers should be sacked IMMEDIATELY as was the call after the Reading game from the odd one or two people. For me he deserves at least another season and if we are in the same position this time next season then we can start asking questions.
But Rodgers isn’t my point – why would Benitez suddenly turn around “the poorest Liverpool team I’ve ever seen” as I so often hyperbolically read? I can’t help but think Rafa’s army (by which I include his chums at The Times) have managed to re-write history a little bit. Even Istanbul is given a rest now, our record of Champions League qualification far more of a carrot.
I’m going to sound ungrateful but I fear that Sunday is going to be embarrassing. I can see large swathes of our supporters serenading Benitez throughout the game. This will be further fuelled by anti-Benitez chants from Chelsea fans, who are completely and utterly spoilt. In my view the fans are still recovering from the Rafa era, with people deeply entrenched in their views either way; me included, I think Benitez has had his time at Liverpool. And I largely thank him for it.
But civil war will be just around the corner if the “Rodgers out, Rafa in” brigade ever got their wish, not that they ever would. But I cannot emphasise enough that it is time for people to stop fluttering their eyelids on our third previous manager and look to the future – with or without Brendan Rodgers but definitely without Rafa Benitez.
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i agree rafa had his time so lets just move on give brendon another year and we could be in top four
we could be bottom 4 with another season of rodgers . the guy is totally clueless
The worst decision our club made was to sack rafa. The second was bringing in Roy Hodgson. Im sorry but I dont think our club is well run at the top level. Rodgers is no better than Paul Lambert or Chris Hughton. Liverpool would be better with Rafa . FACT!
Bored of the talk? Where do you think this talk comes from?
Lets see, you talk about two poor results. It is not the case my friend. I was one of those who preached patience for Mr Rogers. The start of the season was the worse since records began but people still believed Rogers was finding his feet. As the season progressed, we have seen that the team lose to Fulham, West Brom, Wigan, Southampton amongst others…do i need to add points dropped? Rogers keeps giving praise to the team whenever we win, lose or draw which makes him sound like the football equivalent of David Brent.
We have won 13 games out of 33 this season which gives us a ratio of 39% wins, 27% loses and 33% draws. Simply appalling. The record breaking start of the season continues throughout the season for the wrong reasons.
His first season is Europa league ended up badly and even though we inspired the team to keep going, his subs took the sting out of the game. Rogers, was proud of it. Tactically, this guy is simply naive.
Back to the issue, Why do fans want Rafa? See above. Rafa made us the number 1 club in europe, won trophies and has vast experience. A lot of fans thought he was spent force as top manager after Inter. Can you please tell me, how many managers have lost their job at Inter after Rafa left? The answer is 3, and Andrea Stramaccioni is soon to be added to that list. Roman Abramovic, has made a great move going for the man. If they finish third, is 3 places higher that last year which is not bad for a team in transition and a manager despised by Chelski fans.
i would take him back in a heartbeat. It wont happen and we will slide further down the table. Simple as.
that said, i hope we win 5 0
WNWA
agree mate in rafa we trust in rodgers we dont ynwa
Correction.this season we have beaten Wigan home and away scoring seven goals without reply and we beat Fulham 4 nil. I loved Rafa and still do , but he was of another time and its never good to go back. We need to give Rogers time, we were never a club that constantly sacked managers we don’t want to turn into Citeh or Chelski
We dont want to turn into city or chelsea ???????? why ?
they are winning trophies
Rodgers is turning us into a norwich or WBA
Respect Rafa for real!
Exactly where is this “anti-Rodgers brigade” among the fans? Sure, there are going to be some fans who aren’t too keen on a manager, it is the same at every club. However, to suggest that there is some sort of revolt going on amongst the fans is absolute nonsense.
Benitez will be given a great welcome on Sunday, not only as thanks for his time here, but also because most fans remember the huge cheque he gave to both the Hillsborough campaign and the Lily Centre when he left. His wife still supports the Lily centre.
How long will Rodgers require and to do what????? bring us to top four???? forget it mate
totally disagree he won euro cup in istanbul with a weak side then built 1 of the most feared teams in europe and took us to another euro final in 07 ok his last season with us was poor but that was largely down to hicks and gilette he almost won the title with us aswell his record speaks for itself i rem goin to the nou camp and winning beating real 4-0 beating the inters and the ac milans, now weve been overtakin in the league by everton and br thinks his statements about not gettin in2 europe will help us nxt yr???? rafa deserves all the accolades in the world on sunday my friend since he left were no longer the feared lfc we were under him bt a mid table laughing stock FACT thank you rafa ynwa
Cooper. You are spot on mate. But is convenient to ignore facts and talk about transfers worth billions. CL, a fluke even though we became the top ranked club in Europe etc.
unfortunately, some fans like media spin and we can’t change that.
Why do people insist on believing this ‘top ranked club in Europe’ nonsense when we weren’t even the top ranked club in England? Some Euro ranking system is no way to measure a club’s success, trophies are. And Rafa never won anything since the 2006 FA Cup. And as for being scuppered by Hicks and Gillett, remember that when we supposedly had no money to spend, Rafa thought it good business to left Arbeloa leave for peanuts (to Real Madrid!) and then to spend 18million on Glen Johnson.
just right cooper. good comments.
rodgers got the money for transfer and owners who invested and are investing in the club, but rodgers did not bring anything to the club.
RAFA was not given any helping hand by the preceding owners, and yet he kept the team progressing.
This is the Rafa-Rodgers paradox
Rafa is not the answer for us to move forward. I’m with Rodgers. Please guys, stop living in the past.
one thing is sure. Rogers is not the future. He is a more polished version of Phil Brown. As Lincoln said, ” You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time. ”
I don’t know where you work or how old you are but sooner or later, you will come across the guy who comes across as great in the interview, comes up with a 180 page dossier on how he will transform the place, but is crap at what he does, just good at talking. Before long, the boss asks him for a 180 page dossier to justify his f@ck ups!
I dont live in the past mate. and the guy who wrote the article calling people psychopaths for voicing an opinion is out of order.
I will support my club and as i said above, i hope we win 5-0 but i have a right to voice my opinion. You have a right to laugh, ignore it but not to insult. (this comment is for the writer)
id rather phil brown
Respect
I totally agree with the author of this well written article. Me too is thankful for Istanbul and Cardiff. At the same time Rafa isn’t totally without responsibility for the situation the club’s in.
Rafa said get rid of Parry, and Parry had to go. Rafa said give me sole charge of transfer business, he got sole charge of the transfer business. Rafa said there were “facts”, which upset the dressing room. Rafa is one of the most egoistical manager in the game, it was the same at Mestalla.
Fair enough he was always good in Europe but never understood the Premier League follow this link for references.
It would be such a lowering of ambitions to return to Rafa and would definitely park us in the mid-section of the table for decades to come. Nostalgia didn’t work with Kenny and it will not work with Rafa.
I firmly believe Rodgers is the right man to take us back to the top 4. Yes, we have been inconsistent but we’ve also played some of the best footy I’ve seen on this side of the millennium. It was always gonna take time and I’m fully Confident we’ll reach the 70 Point mark next season. It took Shanks 5 years to win the title, Fergie 6. I’m not comparing Rodgers with any of those but it may be worth remembering a title-winning side is hardly built in a single season.
Get behind the manager, the team and the club!!!
Parry? The lovely man who asked to sell to Hicks and Gillette instead of the Arabs in order to keep his place?
Egoistical?
Talk about a no mark, who is going to bring the pass and move. Turn us into swaselona and has a portrait of himself in his house. Don’t know if laughing or crying is appropriate
This clip sums up Rafa in the PL brilliantly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t00D23R63ig
No . Winning trophies or maybe beating Barca in the nou camp
or beating Real Madrid 5-0 on agg
or the double v Man Utd incl 4-1 win
or 8-0 win in europe
or …. the list is endless
Rodgers cant even get a win against any top team , except 1 lucky win v spurs
Rodgers is a joke – A joke that isnt funny anymore
rafa had his tym lets allow rogers his
shankly spent 5 years nd fergie almost six
to me rafa is d reason we are in dis mess gillete /hicks or.not
we had it gud 08-09 bt after rafas surgery his first match in jan 09 was a draw
Rodgers has had time AND FAILED badly
Lay of him he loves LFC, he will get the great reception he deserves, winning the Champions league with the players at his disposal was magnificent. he reached another CL final, Rodgers thinks it might be good if we miss europe ? I dont want Rodgers out but if Rafa puts a bit of presure on him it must be good for LFC. RAFA HAS TROPHIES, BRENDON AS YET IS ALL TALK. BUT I THINK HE WILL SUCCEED.
Chelsea will win because Rafa has a point to prove and want to manage LFC again. Also the reception hell get will boost him. He can’t loose. But still think Rogers needs time. Another 2-3 seasons. Yes I said it. The wages the players of Rafa era were on was ridiculous. This is what has been wiped out virtually. This is why LFC needs to take a step back if it wants to move forward. The club is still in debt. And almost went bankrupt. Can’t buy players like the Rafa era in the near future. That’s a Fact. So either support your club because that is what is happening with the limited finances or go support Chelski. Try understanding the economics of the club before your spurt nonsense about past glories. Also the current owners would never have Rafa back cos he doesn’t know gow to deal with the media like Kenny, and they need someone who won’t rock the boat. Accept it. It THEIR CLUB! Unless the fans are gonna get together and finance the club you have to understand their decisions as its a business to them. People are so niave and foolish like children sometimes!
You talk nonsense
Zzzzz. And u..
Blah blah blah. More deluded talk from real
Benitez is probably the single factor why Liverpool didn’t go into administration. If it wasn’t for him calling Hicks & Gillette out when he did, we would’ve stumbled on into administration what with a significant section of the support apathetic to the plight of the club. Don’t just make the Benitez situation into Istanbul / No 1 club in Europe issue, make it into a LFC might not exist if it wasn’t for him. Still want to stuff Chelsea on Sunday though.
we want rafa back because rodgers is a shocking horrendous manager , who doesn’t have a clue
rafa – champions league winner , lots of other trophies , attracts top players , tactical genius
rodgers – championship manager, zero trophies , attracts swansea players, tactical fool
Rafa – Rafael – Rafa – Rafael – Rafa – Rafael – Rafael Benitez
Rafa – Rafael – Rafa – Rafael – Rafa – Rafael – Rafael Benitez
RAFA – RAFAEL – RAFA – RAFAEL – RAFA – RAFAEL – RAFAEL BENITEZ
BRING BACK RAFA
NOW
Yep yeah yes!
Rodgers is taking us nowhere! Atleat last season we won the carling cup with dalglish then succeding till to the FA cup finals. But now even a bit of it we haven’t succed. Rodgers do not attract any top player ,and if is a top player ,is the one who has got no opportunity for first eleven in his team.. but during bentez time we used to sign the players who were in first eleven squad in their team.. for me Rafa back , Rodgers out… WELCOME BACK RAFA.
Rodgers or Benitez ???? its a no brainer
Rafa come home . Rodgers bog off back to Swansea ( if they will have u )
Rafa is clearly 10 times the manager will ever be , so why wait ?
Rodgers never deserved the job in the first place , and has given us a disastrous season .
Rafa is a champion , who knows how to win things , all Rodgers does is waffle
I dont care what y’all think and comment,all i do no 4real is that brendas rogders is the man and manager to take our club LFC back to its glory days….this season liverpool does play wel as a team,excepting 4some mistakes that he musnt be blamed for,,,statisticaly benitez is nothing but an average coach,that lacks the technicality of modern football.
What a load of bull. It’s past your bedtime
You bell-end, go & play sensible soccer on you Saga mega drive.