Back page of Mirror Today - Rough for Rafa

[IgPig]

Big piece by Martin Lipton quoting an unnamed board member (smells of Morgan to me) that Rafa has wasted money and wages on players (uses Kuyt as an example!) and that the board aren't happy with him and his methods (rotation, gerrard unhappy etc)

 

If Morgan is doing this to destabilise things he's playing a dangerous game. History proves Rafa will walk if this sort of stuff happens.

 

Can't find the story on the net.

[stonty]

Whether is Gerrad, Rafa, rotation or zonal, they just won?t leave it alone will they?

 

 

Anyone who thinks Kuyt is a waste of money is complete moron and should put the story in context.

[bipjohn]

Why wont they leave us alone?

 

I am seriously fed up to the back teeth with this type of crap.

 

Why wont they leave us alone.

[Guest Kev]

Mirror Mischief

 

ROUGH FOR RAFA

By Martin Lipton

RAFA BENITEZ'S position at Liverpool is under pressure after a senior Anfield board member admitted the club is concerned about the direction the Spaniard is taking them.

 

With Liverpool already 11 points off the Premiership pace set by Manchester United and Chelsea, directors are already giving up hope of ending the championship drought that has already lasted 16 seasons.

 

And one influential figure on the six-man board revealed that Benitez's leadership of the team was being questioned.

 

"We have paid too many inflated prices and inflated wages for players who are not doing the job," said the director, who is concerned for the future of the club but wants to remain anonymous to avoid a boardroom split.

 

"When it comes to any manager, the view of the board has always been to let them get on with it. We do not believe in interfering.

 

"But the day will come when we may not be that way inclined any more. We have always been very respectful of any manager we appoint. The view has always been the same one, the right one - that the manager must stand or fall by his efforts.

 

"But one thing that we can't hide is that we have to be in the Champions League every season and if we do not qualify it will be a major problem.

 

"The budget we have set up is still in balance if we do not get into the Champions League. But if we are to make investment in the team we are talking about £20m of income we need to have every season."

 

Criticism of Benitez - who still has the backing of chairman David Moores - was aimed at his constant team changing and the lack of any pattern or passion in last weekend's Old Trafford defeat.

 

"We were looking to do something in the league. We thought it would be this year and it's not going to happen now.

 

"Normally, by the time you get to October, you'd expect the manager to know his best team and stick with it but there are no signs of that happening now. I don't think he could tell you what his best team is."

[Tyler]

comes with the territory of being a manager of a top club

 

can't see it worrying rafa unduly

 

this time last season united and ferguson were being written off

 

papers don't refuse ink and all that

[muleskinner]

The press are going to be at Rafa every time we drop points. He, more than anybody is aware of the pressures and I think it showed on his face last Sunday. Public criticism from the board is not whats needed at the moment.

 

It may be a board memeber who won't be one for much longer if certain investment rumours come to fruition . . . .

[Guest Kev]

Mirror Mischief

 

And one influential figure on the six-man board revealed that Benitez's leadership of the team was being questioned.

 

 

So the six members of the board are:

 

N.White F.S.C.A,

T.D.Smith,

K.E.B.Clayton F.C.A,

J.Burns,

L. Wheatley,

J.Cresswell

[Bigal]

Absolute f***ing b******s, the champions league, the FA cup, the Super Cup and the community shield?

 

b******s

[Kopfaithful]

So the six members of the board are:

 

N.White F.S.C.A,

T.D.Smith,

K.E.B.Clayton F.C.A,

J.Burns,

L. Wheatley,

J.Cresswell

 

i'd bet it's nobody off that list and if it is, it's that c**k end noel white.

[Falconhoof]

Can these quotes be accurate ?

 

First time I can remember a board member criticising our manager.

I'm a little shocked TBH.

 

Apart from the fact that the criticism is completely unfounded and over the top, its just not the Liverpool way.

[Gilps]

i'd bet it's nobody off that list and if it is, it's that c**k end noel white.

 

So not N. White then?

 

Can these quotes be accurate ?

 

First time I can remember a board member criticising our manager.

I'm a little shocked TBH.

 

Apart from the fact that the criticism is completely unfounded and over the top, its just not the Liverpool way.

 

Doesn't seem right to me either. Can't think of anything similar when we've been in far worse states. Something doesn't stack up.

[Guest Kev]

i'd bet it's nobody off that list and if it is, it's that c**k end noel white.

 

I can't help but agree, I've never liked him. He bought himself a place on the board from ruddy Altrincham of all places. I'm sure we haven't won the league since he's been here - but I'm probably wrong.

[Kahnee]

"We have paid too many inflated prices and inflated wages for players who are not doing the job," said the director, who is concerned for the future of the club but wants to remain anonymous to avoid a boardroom split.

 

Keeping your trap shut would avoid a split, numbnuts

[Huyton_Red]

This is absolute 100% rubbish, a liverpool board member would never criticise a manager, they would NEVER do this, they did not do it to souness, evans or houllier why the f'ck would they do it to benitez. I beleive this is totally fabricated and I await a strong response from the club

 

If one of the board members did say this then moores should sack the f'cker and ban him from the ground for life

[Guest Kev]

This is absolute 100% rubbish, a liverpool board member would never criticise a manager, they would NEVER do this, they did not do it to souness, evans or houllier why the f'ck would they do it to benitez. I beleive this is totally fabricated and I await a strong response from the club

 

If one of the board members did say this then moores should sack the f'cker and ban him from the ground for life

 

Correct.

[Tyler]

Unnamed source usually means the journalist is the source.

[Huyton_Red]

Correct.

 

The angle they have put on postive gerrard quotes - giving it the title "Gerrard, yes we have a problem" and then selectively editing his quotes to make them sound as bad as possible says it all about what angle they are trying to pursue

 

Ban the f'ckin paper from the ground and the training complex and dont let the players do any work with it

 

Its a f'ckin disgrace this

[Tyler]

Papers taking things out of context and distorting the facts is hardly a shock.

 

Who reads these things and believes them.

 

They are comics.

[AE]

Cannot believe that to be true.

A "board member" would narrow it down to such a few (i.e. the 6 of them) that they wouldn't be that stupid.

I wonder what the clubs response will be, I don't think they can ignore this (although they probably will)

[Falconhoof]

Papers taking things out of context and distorting the facts is hardly a shock.

 

This is a bit more serious than that. To invent quotes from a board member criticising the manager is a step too far IMHO.

[Andy @ Allerton]

The fans should find out who made these comments and hound them out of Anfield.

[Guest Prongsy]

This is a bit more serious than that. To invent quotes from a board member criticising the manager is a step too far IMHO.

 

You're wrong.

 

It's about 14.5 steps to far and they should feel the consequences of their actions. I can't for a minute believe that this has been said by a board member, but on the off chance that it has, then they need to be f***ed off.

[Stevie H]

those quotes smell entirely made-up. no board member would leak crap like that, and certainly not to no-mark like lipton.

[Mevster]

This is absolute 100% rubbish, a liverpool board member would never criticise a manager, they would NEVER do this, they did not do it to souness, evans or houllier why the f'ck would they do it to benitez. I beleive this is totally fabricated and I await a strong response from the club

 

If one of the board members did say this then moores should sack the f'cker and ban him from the ground for life

 

well said. i find the article and the suggestion staggering.

 

if nothing else, rafa even said it would be a struggle until november. we've had almost all our hardest away fixtures in one go when we had a set of new players trying to be bedded in and all the international break ups didnt help either. add to that teh number of times we've hit the woodwork and things could have been completelty different.

 

This board member should ask who else in the world has rafas record with the budgets he has had.

 

numpties!

 

furthermore,

 

how can they say inflated prices? bellamy was basically half price, aureilo and zenden were frees, lots of other clubs were interested in kuty, people said crouch was overpriced but look at him now. the only one people think might have been overpriced is pennant but rafa had been looking for two years for a right winger, turned down alves for being overpriced and had to pay what he did to birmingham because i belive they still had to pay some fo the transfer fee to arsenal. sissoko is looking one of the buys of the decade and im sure agger will be too.

 

at least get it frickin right!

[Gunga Din]

i cannot ever remember any of our board members taking to the press before. i doubt they have now. i reckon it might be Morgan, who many believe to be a board member. if anyone has said this, whether it be Morgan or one of the board, i hope Moores hangs the fecker out to dry and he gets banned from Anfield