Brian Reade another thoroughly sensible article..

[alias75]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/r...15875-21084536/

 

The people at the top of Liverpool Football Club never tire of telling the world how special their fans are.

 

They’re fond of quoting, even miming, those famous Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics about never walking alone. But behind the sentimental smokescreen lie warring factions so obsessed with personal victory they long ago ceased to care about the misery they’re piling on those same fans. From the team-sheets to the balance-sheets, from the manager’s head to the owners’ objectives, Kopites no longer have a clue what’s going on at Anfield. At the very point in history when the club cries out for unity, the blows from above rain down harder. It’s as though Manchester United being one title away from equalling their own record of 18 has made the management more intent on playing out their civil war. As though Liverpool’s seven-week presence at the top of the table didn’t just give their fans a chance to rekindle past glories, it gave the men in charge a platform to cement their own futures.

 

The absentee American cowboys are only united in one goal: To suck as much money out of Anfield and forget they ever heard of the place. The life president and the chief executive are lame ducks, wallowing in the shame of selling the club so badly and so cheaply. And an increasingly stubborn manager, who refuses to sign a new contract until he’s handed full control of all football matters, seems more intent on all-out attacks on Rick Parry than opposing teams. There’s schisms and plotting, lying and leaks, inexplicable outbursts and bizarre decisions wholly unbefitting a great club which is now five months away from being repossessed by banks. And in between are a group of players, some awaiting new contracts, others acceptance, many simply bemused at what’s going on around them.

 

Forget the awful draws, the anti-Fergie rant and the Press leak which forced the Kuwaitis to walk away in anger, what most sums up this unseemly shambles is the treatment of Robbie Keane. Last summer, Benitez fancied him, but not as much as he fancied Gareth Barry. Parry fancied Keane so badly he paid over the odds, leaving Benitez without sufficient cash for Barry, and fuming. Almost from day one Keane has felt unwanted, a feeling confirmed by regular substitutions, exclusion from the team and eventually, in a home derby, from the bench. And this week he’s all but been encouraged to leave. So instead of watching a proven striker winning games, the fans stare dumbfounded at a £20million pawn in a long-running power struggle. Nothing exposes the divisions at the heart of the club more.

 

I’ve been a staunch supporter of Benitez and I still believe he can make Liverpool great again. I even think he can win a trophy this season. But right now he seems so hell-bent on winning his own personal battles he’s alienating everyone around him. Tomorrow Tom Hicks and George Gillett will sit a dozen seats apart in the directors’ box, in some fake show of love for a club they’re killing. Equally distant will be Benitez and Parry. No doubt, if Liverpool win, all will try to claim credit, when it will probably be down to a flash of brilliance from the usual suspects and the passion of the fans they claim are so special.

 

Well here’s a message from one of them: This year sees the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly’s arrival at Anfield and the creation of modern Liverpool. Never in his worst nightmare would he have envisaged his precious club being run in such a destructive and undignified manner.

 

You love Liverpool? Put away your egos and prove it.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/r...15875-21084536/

 

 

what most sums up this unseemly shambles is the treatment of Robbie Keane. Last summer, Benitez fancied him, but not as much as he fancied Gareth Barry. Parry fancied Keane so badly he paid over the odds, leaving Benitez without sufficient cash for Barry, and fuming.

 

I thought this was just myth - is there some credance to it ?

Edited January 31, 2009 by Rory Fitzgerald

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

Think Rafa would have walked had that happened

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

and here's a REALLY poor piece of journalism

 

coughbulls***cough

 

Valencia were 2-0 down at half-time to Espanyol in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium when Rafael Benítez decided to take off Pablo Aimar, his team's creative mainspring. Benítez was approaching the mid-point of the 2001-02 season, his first as Valencia's manager, and there were already grave doubts over his ability to inspire the sort of attacking football demanded by the club's fans.

 

Only four months into the job the removal of the popular little Argentinian playmaker looked like the last straw. Why, when the team needed to go on to the front foot, had Benítez removed his most creative player? Forty-five minutes later Valencia had won the second half 3-0 with goals by Rufete and Adrian Ilie, they were on their way to the first La Liga title in their history and the critics were silenced.

 

So, you see, he can do it.

 

These last couple of weeks, however, the story has been very different. Allowing Everton through to score a late equaliser and deny Liverpool two precious Premier League points at Anfield two Mondays ago, Benítez received criticism for taking off Fernando Torres, his most dangerous attacker, with five minutes to go when his side were trying to preserve a precarious 1-0 lead. Along with the Spanish striker went not only Liverpool's ability to offer the threat of a clinching second goal but the shape that had served them well for 85 minutes.

 

If that decision caused astonishment, there was dismay when he repeated the trick against Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium on Wednesday, taking off Torres after 72 minutes as Liverpool again defended a 1-0 margin. Ten minutes later the home side equalised, prompting Benítez to redouble the offence by withdrawing Steven Gerrard, the side's captain and talisman, and sending on Robbie Keane, a forlorn £20m misfit who, short of form and confidence, could hardly be expected to win the game on his own as the closing minutes ticked away.

 

Those incidents appeared to present prima facie evidence of two of the more worrying facets of Benítez's character, the sort that might enter the thinking of the club's owners when contemplating their manager's demand to be placed in full control of the football side, including transfer negotiations. The first is the contrariness behind a seeming desire to prove his critics wrong by refusing to acknowledge his mistakes and then repeating them. The second is a willingness to hang those players who have not performed to his satisfaction out to dry.

 

Benítez acquired a reputation during his years in Spain for voicing complaints that decisions were being made to the benefit of other clubs: referees were often said to be turning a blind eye to injustices suffered on his players, for instance, and in his loudly expressed view Valencia were being asked to play domestic fixtures too close to their Champions league ties. When Real Madrid were awarded a debatable last-minute penalty that gave them a 1-1 draw in the Bernabéu just after the half-way point of the 2003-04 season, Benítez ignited a row by claiming that there was no point in his players trying hard because they would not be allowed to win the title again. In the event they swept home by five points.

 

The plight of Keane, apparent for months but highlighted in the past week when the Irishman was omitted from the squad for the FA Cup tie against Everton on Sunday before being granted a mere six minutes of action three days later, also has historical precedents. Salva Ballesta was a player Benítez bought in 2001, the year after the striker's 21 goals in 33 matches for Atlético Madrid had made him La Liga's top scorer. Five goals in 24 appearances for Valencia, however, saw him swiftly dispatched on loan to Sam Allardyce at Bolton. The Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez, acquired from Albacete after protracted work-permit negotiations, was another to be quickly shipped out when he proved unable to fulfil the manager's hopes.

 

Just over a fortnight ago, at a time when his team were holding a narrow lead in the Premier League and being spoken of as potential champions, Benítez took what some see as the biggest gamble of all by attempting to lure Sir Alex Ferguson into a battle of wits. The subsequent tilt in fortunes would be salutary to anyone not quite so intent as the Spaniard on persuading the world of his ability to remain in control of his team's lurching fortunes.

 

Two points is not much of a gap but, as far as Liverpool are concerned, it might as well be an ocean. The lead Liverpool took into the new year melted away as Ferguson's squad picked up maximum points from their games in hand, six wins in a row since mid-December providing yet another demonstration of the Old Trafford club's modern habit of coming on strong as they round the turn. Liverpool, by contrast, have dropped six points in their last three matches, against Stoke, Everton and Wigan.

 

With 15 matches of the league season still to go, nothing in Benítez's actions or behaviour this month has suggested that he will be able to motivate his team to repass their rivals in order to bring the title back to Anfield for the first time in 19 years. And perhaps the weakest element of Liverpool's claim to be taken for credible contenders is that so much of the focus is on Benítez himself.

 

In times of trouble, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger know how to put themselves in harm's way in order to deflect attention from their underperforming players. At the moment, however, Benítez is not so much carrying the can as embodying the flaws that appear to be undermining Liverpool's challenge.

[MFletcher]

Think Rafa would have walked had that happened

 

Or he might be prepared to sit and wait for Parry to get the long overdue sack he deserves, especially given his well documented affection for the club, city and fans.

[Earl Hafler]

Think Rafa would have walked had that happened

 

True, but it fits in nicely with those not wanting to think that Rafa wasted £20m on Keane

[MFletcher]

True, but it fits in nicely with those not wanting to think that Rafa wasted £20m on Keane

 

He didn't decide the fee, as the recent problems demonstrate.

[Earl Hafler]

He didn't decide the fee, as the recent problems demonstrate.

 

And ? He still wanted him at the club but some fans refuse to see that and hence the ' Parry signed him ' rumour that started.

[lfc003]

And ? He still wanted him at the club but some fans refuse to see that and hence the ' Parry signed him ' rumour that started.

 

 

Agreed...If Rafa didn't want Keane, Keane wouldn't be here

[Berger]

And ? He still wanted him at the club but some fans refuse to see that and hence the ' Parry signed him ' rumour that started.

It was not a rumour. Parry deemed Barry was not worth 18m, when he deemed Keane is 20m player, Rafa has to spent on his valuations and recommendations. If Parry had stay free of the transfer activity, Rafa would have got Barry, there would have not been Keane issue anymore,

[Archangel]

He didn't decide the fee, as the recent problems demonstrate.

 

I really really really doubt things are so dysfunctional at the club that the CEO buys a 20m striker in spite of the manager's wishes and 20m is the ridiculous fee you pay for British players these days, Bent being a good example. Also I think the idea that the money spent on Keane put the ki-bosh on the Barry transfer is pretty lame far more likely was the fact that Benitez had thought he could obtain the player for roughly the same amount of money for Alonso. Someone is playing cute with the truth.

 

Reades article makes some pretty valid observations and I cant argue with it in general but as with eveything written about Liverpool these days, its heavily laced with his own slant on events

[Earl Hafler]

It was not a rumour. Parry deemed Barry was not worth 18m, when he deemed Keane is 20m player,

 

It is a rumour. Rafa wanted Keane, he got him.

[Chili Palmer]

It is a rumour. Rafa wanted Keane, he got him.

 

 

I don't think there is any doubt about that, Rafa would walk if players were forced on him, the big question is did Rafa prioritize his signings and Parry f***ed up.

[D.Boon]

I don't think there is any doubt about that, Rafa would walk if players were forced on him, the big question is did Rafa prioritize his signings and Parry f***ed up.

 

Its irrelevant now. We have a striker Rafa wanted who now looks like he is being shipped out within 6 months.

[Flanders]

Clearly Rafa wanted both players. Parry decided one was worth the asking price and one wasn't, surely no one disputes that?

[Hassony]

Clearly Rafa wanted both players. Parry decided one was worth the asking price and one wasn't, surely no one disputes that?

thats how i read it as well

[surfaris]

all of em can f*** off from our club next may as we ll see manc clinch their number 18. wtf.