Ian Brown

So, the people who are saying that agreeing deals now doesn't really mean much - if that's the case then why do managers spend all of the time planning/negotiating for players in January? Are you trying to tell me that some internet warrior knows more than Premiership managers?! It's laughable! Are people forgetting that the deal for Reina was agreed months in advance, for one example? And what about Mascherano? A deal's been agreed with him now, and Rafa is worried that us being unable to confirm our side of the bargain will attract other offers and turn his head. If both sides agree to a deal then by and large they stick to it. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but I would say 95% of agreed deals are completed. For people to question the transfer policy of Rafa and the hundreds of other managers throughout Europe from behind a computer screen is laughable.

Since when is it against regulations to agree deals with clubs for the buying of their players?

If you SERIOUSLY believe that negotiations for the signing of players in January, begins on the January 1st, then you're much more stupid than I previously presumed. Paul Jewell was talking about it today on Sky. He said, 'deals are sorted months before January'. I'll trust his experience and expertise over the opinion of an argumentative forum warrior such as yourself, any day.

Haha I just nearly choked on my tea!

It's just speculation? They have released two statements revealing that they won't discuss ANYTHING until mid-December! That's not speculation, it's fact. And it's not even a case of Rafa wanting money, he just wants permission to get deals tied up but he's not been allowed too. Rafa is the manager of LFC and he wants to do some deals for the January transfer window and has been refused permission to do so - does that not worry you? What reason do they have for not having a tele-conference with Rafa and discussing deals? Why should Rafa have to wait until mid-December? There's been countless examples in the past where we've missed out on targets so you can forgive Rafa for being frustrated when past mistakes show no sign of being addressed.

So in essence you're saying that Rafa should just accept that he's going to miss out on targets and just get on with it. He should just accept that for as long as he'll be at Liverpool, he'll identify players that will improve the squad/team and increase the chances of success, but he'll have to accept alternatives because by the time the owners get around to dicussing deals we'll have missed out on the best players. Are you mad Ant? Rafa may not have covered himself in glory this week, but do you honestly believe after everything he's done since he's been at Liverpool, that he has anything other than the best intentions? I'm GLAD he's done what he has because it's highlighted the incompetence of the clubs hierarchy. If he'd just kept quiet and signed alternatives, we would probably suffer on the pitch and he'd be criticised and sacked because of it. At least we know the reasons why now.

I think it's reasonable for people to be worried about the future of the club considering it's a FACT that Rafa is unhappy and the owners aren't prepared to do anything about it. The media reports and posters with sources have nothing to do with it - there's clearly something wrong, we don't need 'inside information' to see that. The lack of acknowledgement from people like yourself astounds me mate. I don't think you have the right to criticise people for being worried and talking about what they MAY do if events come to fruition.

Why are you registered on a forum if that's what you feel?

Because Rafa keeps mentioning the last time they were over etc. If they'd spoken about the problems this week then someone from either side will have mentioned it, i.e. 'i've spoken to the owners and they know my idea', or 'we've spoken to Rofa and explained the position'. All that's been said is that it will be discussed in December. For me it's down to who you trust. We KNOW for a fact that Rafa is pissed off about a lack of action and the owners have done NOTHING to appease his frustrations. In fact, all they have done is told him to get on with his job and refused to dismiss press reports that he'll be sacked. It's not enough for me and for people to have the attitude of 'phew that's all right then' is laughable IMO. What about the interim period? As far as i'm concerned, there's just as much a chance of Rafa walking out as there is him being sacked.

The owners shouldn't be releasing statements on the website and doing interviews in the papers. They should be speaking directly to the manager or to him through Rick Parry. We have to ask why the channels of communication have broken down. None of us know what's really happened here, but judging on the various quotes it seems clear to me that Rafa has tried to contact them to seek permission to complete deals but he's been told to wait. That's obviously why he was so angry in that press conference. Since then, the owners have conducted their business in the media instead of talking to the manager about it. It's a disgrace.

I'd also like to add here that the statement will pish Rafa off even more - that statement just confirms that he's going to have to wait until December to liaise with them regarding transfers etc. He's obviously unhappy about that and they're making no effort to ease his worries about players etc. On top of that there's no denial, so if I was Rafa i'd be fuming. Put it this way, this week Rafa has made it clear that he needs to get issues sorted out now rather than wait. The response to that was, 'get on with your job'. He's now had reports that he's going to be sacked and the response to that is, 'nothing has changed, you'll have to wait until December to speak to us'. I repeat, i'd be furious.

That has to be one of the most half-hearted statements ever! Not once is there even so much as an indication that they are backing Rafa. If I was Rafa i'd be worried after reading that. Why couldn't they just say 'Rafa has our full backing and we want to put an end to this speculation' or something along those lines? What's stopping them from saying that?

Ah ok, I get what you mean now then. Obviously some people do go OTT and like to pretty much a situation before it's even occurred. I is understandable in a way though, because if Rafa is sacked then it's a disgrace and the new owners will deserve everything they get. It's far from cut and dried though so until it does actually happen, it's difficult to know what to say or do. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.

Although that's the case with some people, I think it's harsh to throw that accusation at everyone. What's wrong with being worried? There's obviously a bad situation going on otherwise we wouldn't have had the events we've had this past week. Add to that journalistic reports from people with good sources and people have every right to be worried and speculate in my opinion. To just dismiss it all is comical-ali-esque.

I don't think there's any doubt that as we stand Wenger is seen as a better manager than Rafa. That's no disgrace on Rafa's part though because he's not as experienced as Wenger and he didn't inherit as good a team. Whether Rafa will go down as a better manager than Wenger in the future, only time will tell. To do so, he'll need to win a couple of league championships with us. There's no doubt that Rafa has the egde in Europe, as he's won three major european trophies. There are other factors which is difficult to argue, such as the youth recruitment of Wenger - he's had years to build a system and Rafa is obviously trying to put something similar into place for us. Rafa is definitely a better man though in my eyes, he's less controversial and far more humble. Wenger gets his team playing amazing football which you have to admire, and I personally admire their team spirit too which I don't think we have as Rafa is less of a man-manager than Wenger would seem to be. Interesting comparison, and I think no-one can argue that Wenger has the edge at the moment.

Yes he probably is an improvement, but as I said it's only slight if any. And he's gonna cost £8/9M.

I agree - it's not about big name players per se, but we need to improve and I honestly don't see Malouda as a massive improvement. Is he better than Kewell? Possibly, but it's only marginal and £8/9M is a lot to pay for a slight improvement IMO. Fingers crossed he proves me wrong and turns out to be a great player, I just haven't seen anything from him thus far to suggest that he has it in him.

Hicks said we'll reveal a big name signing this week and according to the Echo that will be Malouda! I'm sorry, but Malouda is far from a big name IMO. EDIT - I'm not complaining like, just don't think he's a ground breaking signing. I'm not stupid enough to think it's all about signing big names...

It's not Rashid.

I've got a £5 accumalator on the following teams to win their opening games: Germany - won England - won Argentina - won Mexico - find out soon! Portugal - find out tonight Italy - tomorrow France - Tuesday Brazil - Tuesday £115 if the remaining five sides win. Mexico and Portugal victories tonight would be sweet to keep it going.

Cisse with one leg is much better than Heskey or Roberts!

Yep, I was talking to a mate about it last night and we both agreed it's the worst timing possible. If it was an injury that kept him out for a couple of months then the situation would still be manageable, however now we have a player who we won't be able to use for at least six months. On top of that we might not be able to get a replacement in due to the funding we'll be missing out on from his protracted sale. Basically we're gonna have to buy two strikers for the money we were going to use for one, i.e. the £12M for Kuyt may have to be split for Bellamy and A.N. Other. (just using that as an example). I bet the people who wouldn't take £3M for him yesterday will have changed their mind!

I agree with all of that. I'm gutted for Djib, but it's only natural as Liverpool fans that we'll look at the wider picture.

Excellent post, and one I agree with entirely. I remember that Carra 'incident' really well too - he had an aura about him as he out-paced Henry and shepherded the ball out of play. A sort of 'you aren't beating us today' aura.