Benitez .... prick

[seanworth]

Marvellous!

I'm sure Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea will be even more pleased.

[BWFC_Insane]

How much would it cost to sack him? And would that be the reason he'll be staying?

Assuming that the majority of his backroom team would go as well, we're talking a very significant sum of money. For the lot of them, I'd be surprised if there was much change from £20m, given that he signed a 5 year deal not that long ago.

Yes, that's certainly one of the reasons why sacking him is a colossally bad idea. He may, of course, get a job offer from elsewhere and choose to leave, which wouldn't cost anything, but I think him leaving voluntarily is as unlikely as us sacking him.

Will missing out on 4th place not cost more?

And is the "cost" of sacking a manager really a good reason to stick with them? I understand there is always a business aspect to it, but should you be saddled with failure for 5 years purely because it would cost a bit to reverse?

[H. Pedersen]

Marvellous!

I'm sure Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea will be even more pleased.

More like Tottenham, Manchester City, and Aston Villa.

[blurred]

Will missing out on 4th place not cost more?

And is the "cost" of sacking a manager really a good reason to stick with them? I understand there is always a business aspect to it, but should you be saddled with failure for 5 years purely because it would cost a bit to reverse?

Why compound the cost of missing out on 4th place (losing a huge chunk of money) by chucking away a manager (losing another huge chunk of money)? And as for 'saddled with failure', don't make me laugh. He's the most successful Liverpool manager that I can remember, and one season of coming 5th/6th (should it happen) is no reason to sack a manager who's raised the expectation levels of the club over the previous 5 years by consistently qualifying for the Champions League every season.

I wouldn't just say this about Liverpool, by the way, I'd say the same for any other club. People are so ludicrously fickle and demanding of instant success it's no wonder you see so many managers sacked. It's small wonder that the most consistently successful teams in the Premier League are those that have stuck with managers for the longest time. Everton stuck with Moyes through a couple of ropey seasons and have come out of it much better for it - Arsenal have not sacked Wenger because they've been trophyless for 4/5 years and are much better for it - Ferguson won bugger all for years at Old Trafford but they stuck with him, and look at the result - Liverpool should absolutely not sack Benitez because they'll be much poorer for it (financially and in terms of a replacement).

Good players don't become bad players overnight, and nor do good managers become bad managers in the same time frame. Was anyone calling for his head this time last year when we were making a surge at the title? Has he suddenly become a worse manager than he was last year when we were winning lots of games?

[BWFC_Insane]

Will missing out on 4th place not cost more?

And is the "cost" of sacking a manager really a good reason to stick with them? I understand there is always a business aspect to it, but should you be saddled with failure for 5 years purely because it would cost a bit to reverse?

Why compound the cost of missing out on 4th place (losing a huge chunk of money) by chucking away a manager (losing another huge chunk of money)? And as for 'saddled with failure', don't make me laugh. He's the most successful Liverpool manager that I can remember, and one season of coming 5th/6th (should it happen) is no reason to sack a manager who's raised the expectation levels of the club over the previous 5 years by consistently qualifying for the Champions League every season.

I wouldn't just say this about Liverpool, by the way, I'd say the same for any other club. People are so ludicrously fickle and demanding of instant success it's no wonder you see so many managers sacked. It's small wonder that the most consistently successful teams in the Premier League are those that have stuck with managers for the longest time. Everton stuck with Moyes through a couple of ropey seasons and have come out of it much better for it - Arsenal have not sacked Wenger because they've been trophyless for 4/5 years and are much better for it - Ferguson won bugger all for years at Old Trafford but they stuck with him, and look at the result - Liverpool should absolutely not sack Benitez because they'll be much poorer for it (financially and in terms of a replacement).

Good players don't become bad players overnight, and nor do good managers become bad managers in the same time frame. Was anyone calling for his head this time last year when we were making a surge at the title? Has he suddenly become a worse manager than he was last year when we were winning lots of games?

Thats a different argument though.

Personally I think Benitez is a dud. But that aside no manager should be kept on purely because it would be too expensive to sack him.

And are you saying that Mourinho would not be a massive improvement over Benitez? Because if you are I seriously think you need your head testing.

I can't stand Liverpool so I hope you stick with Waffa for as long as you possibly can. If your "expectations" are for scrabbling around somewhere between 6th and 3rd and the odd cup run then fine. I'd have thought Liverpool fans would want to at least be having a real go at improving year on year and having a stab at winning the league?

[Hoboh]

Anyway I reckon this is the start of the last knockings for Fat Rafa. Gone in the summer I do believe.

We'll have to start another thread then. I'll miss him personally.

I'd have a reasonable sum of money on him being our manager for the first game of next season.

Yer own?

[blurred]

Personally I think Benitez is a dud. But that aside no manager should be kept on purely because it would be too expensive to sack him.

Plenty of players are kept on in similar positions, because they don't want to give up a contract and it costs the club too much to let them go, so they run it down. Financial considerations have to come into play when you're making a decision of that magnitude - yes, matters on the pitch could become so desperate as to force their hand and sack him, but we're nowhere near that state yet.

And are you saying that Mourinho would not be a massive improvement over Benitez? Because if you are I seriously think you need your head testing.

Mourinho's an interesting one, and I'd really like to see how he'd do at Anfield. His track record, though, is taking the biggest/richest team in 3 countries and winning the league with them. We are neither the biggest nor the richest team. He's invested very heavily at all three previous clubs, comfortably outspending his rivals. He'd have not a penny to spend at Anfield. I think he's a good motivator and an excellent coach, but I don't think that he'd do considerably better than Benitez over a period of time. It's impossible to tell, of course, but I can't see a significant difference between the two of them under the same constraints. He may do better, but I don't think it'd be significant. Also, there's no way in hell that he'd come to Anfield now, so it's something of a moot point anyway.

I can't stand Liverpool so I hope you stick with Waffa for as long as you possibly can. If your "expectations" are for scrabbling around somewhere between 6th and 3rd and the odd cup run then fine. I'd have thought Liverpool fans would want to at least be having a real go at improving year on year and having a stab at winning the league?

You mean like we've been doing every year under Benitez (until this one)? Last year being our record points haul in the league in decades? We have clearly been improving year on year. Of course there'll always be set-backs, but over a long period we've consistently done much better under Benitez than we had before.

Is one poor year reason to sack a manager that's brought the club forward hugely over the previous 4? Houllier had trouble qualifying for the Champions League each year, much less reaching two finals. Since the return to European football after the Heysel ban, Benitez is the only Liverpool manager to have qualified for Europe every season. He's also managed to ensure that every year it's been the Champions League, not just the UEFA Cup.

I hope you stick with Waffa for as long as you possibly can.

So do I.

[Lord Kangana]

Will missing out on 4th place not cost more?

And is the "cost" of sacking a manager really a good reason to stick with them? I understand there is always a business aspect to it, but should you be saddled with failure for 5 years purely because it would cost a bit to reverse?

Why compound the cost of missing out on 4th place (losing a huge chunk of money) by chucking away a manager (losing another huge chunk of money)? And as for 'saddled with failure', don't make me laugh. He's the most successful Liverpool manager that I can remember, and one season of coming 5th/6th (should it happen) is no reason to sack a manager who's raised the expectation levels of the club over the previous 5 years by consistently qualifying for the Champions League every season.

I wouldn't just say this about Liverpool, by the way, I'd say the same for any other club. People are so ludicrously fickle and demanding of instant success it's no wonder you see so many managers sacked. It's small wonder that the most consistently successful teams in the Premier League are those that have stuck with managers for the longest time. Everton stuck with Moyes through a couple of ropey seasons and have come out of it much better for it - Arsenal have not sacked Wenger because they've been trophyless for 4/5 years and are much better for it - Ferguson won bugger all for years at Old Trafford but they stuck with him, and look at the result - Liverpool should absolutely not sack Benitez because they'll be much poorer for it (financially and in terms of a replacement).

Good players don't become bad players overnight, and nor do good managers become bad managers in the same time frame. Was anyone calling for his head this time last year when we were making a surge at the title? Has he suddenly become a worse manager than he was last year when we were winning lots of games?

Its no coincidence that teams that have stuck with their managers longest tend to be the ones who have provided the requisite funds to compete.

And wouldn't you say its fairly reasonable to demand success off a management team that would cost £20m in compensation to replace? Really? Otherwise I'll do it for a quarter of that if you're just paying to fill a position.

[H. Pedersen]

Mourinho's an interesting one, and I'd really like to see how he'd do at Anfield.

And I'd like to see how he'd do with Daejeon Citizen FC, which is equally as likely.

[as]

He's a wánker, much like most glory-hunting Liverpool fans I ever meet.

[blurred]

Mourinho's an interesting one, and I'd really like to see how he'd do at Anfield.

And I'd like to see how he'd do with Daejeon Citizen FC, which is equally as likely.

Indeed, it's almost as if I said

Also, there's no way in hell that he'd come to Anfield now, so it's something of a moot point anyway.

Oh wait, I did.

[blurred]

Anyway I reckon this is the start of the last knockings for Fat Rafa. Gone in the summer I do believe.

We'll have to start another thread then. I'll miss him personally.

I'd have a reasonable sum of money on him being our manager for the first game of next season.

Yer own?

Yes

[BWFC_Insane]

The team that Benitez built was in full evidence today. Negative, boring, zero flair or creativity and simply devoiid of any inspiration with a whole host of players who clearly aren't exactly happy with things at Anfield.

Benayoun is better than owt on the pitch today for them but cant get a place.

He's built this side and Liverpool are supposedly meant to be one of the bigger sides in the country. You could have fooled me.

I'd love to hear Liverpool fans defend the 20M he spent on Aquilani, or the 10M or the fact he plays Lucas week in week out when its obvious he's just a very very average midfield player and keeps Benayoun (who is rumoured to be off in the summer after falling out with Benitez).

He's put this group together nobody else. And I'll be honest I think Megson would do absolutely as well as Benitez is were he in charge at Liverpool.

If they don't get 4th place I really hope the owners do the decent thing and tell Benitez that he needs to raise the 30M quid that summer that they will have lost. If Gerrard and Torries have any possible footballing ambition they'll be handing in transfer requests in the summer.

[thebish]

Will missing out on 4th place not cost more?

And is the "cost" of sacking a manager really a good reason to stick with them? I understand there is always a business aspect to it, but should you be saddled with failure for 5 years purely because it would cost a bit to reverse?

Why compound the cost of missing out on 4th place (losing a huge chunk of money) by chucking away a manager (losing another huge chunk of money)? And as for 'saddled with failure', don't make me laugh. He's the most successful Liverpool manager that I can remember, and one season of coming 5th/6th (should it happen) is no reason to sack a manager who's raised the expectation levels of the club over the previous 5 years by consistently qualifying for the Champions League every season.

I wouldn't just say this about Liverpool, by the way, I'd say the same for any other club. People are so ludicrously fickle and demanding of instant success it's no wonder you see so many managers sacked. It's small wonder that the most consistently successful teams in the Premier League are those that have stuck with managers for the longest time. Everton stuck with Moyes through a couple of ropey seasons and have come out of it much better for it - Arsenal have not sacked Wenger because they've been trophyless for 4/5 years and are much better for it - Ferguson won bugger all for years at Old Trafford but they stuck with him, and look at the result - Liverpool should absolutely not sack Benitez because they'll be much poorer for it (financially and in terms of a replacement).

Good players don't become bad players overnight, and nor do good managers become bad managers in the same time frame. Was anyone calling for his head this time last year when we were making a surge at the title? Has he suddenly become a worse manager than he was last year when we were winning lots of games?

I agree with most of this...

but - is there another factor? however loyal the club might be in keeping benitez - how loyal do you imagine the players will be in the absence of chumps league football? could torres and gerrard be tempted away? could it lead to a talent drain on the club?

[hisroyalgingerness]

It still baffles me no end that clubs put in place contracts that force them to pay out to individuals who fail.

Benitez if he misses 4th place with the money he's spent (and lost) in the transfer market is a monumental failure. If I failed as bad as that in my job I'd have been slung on my hook and no millions to soothe it

[Zulus Thousand of em]

I've always said that his sole aim in life is to transform Liverpool FC into a Spanish League Division 1 club. I am not witnessing anything that would make me change my mind.

Marvellous.

[BWFC_Insane]

It still baffles me no end that clubs put in place contracts that force them to pay out to individuals who fail.

Benitez if he misses 4th place with the money he's spent (and lost) in the transfer market is a monumental failure. If I failed as bad as that in my job I'd have been slung on my hook and no millions to soothe it

Aye and thats the truth SOME Liverpool fans refuse to face up to.

Comparing Benitez to the job Wenger is doing (also a grade A prick) and there is really no comparison.

At least even when Arsenal were not great by their standards Wenger could say he was bringing younger players through and there was a style and an aim.

Liverpool look like a more expensive, better players version of us under Megson. And you could just about forgive it on our budget but when you spend 37M quid on two players in a window you really as a fan of that club if you have any respect for your club should expect a bit better!

[seanworth]

But its so much more fun simply blaming the Yank owners for all the problems.

[BWFC_Insane]

But its so much more fun simply blaming the Yank owners for all the problems.

Indeed, Liverpool fans are missing the real issue. The real problem at Anfield. We can all see it, and to be fair some of them can.

Its obvious its got to the stage where most of the players don't rate Benitez.

But they keep shouting about owners who in my eyes haven't done a massive amount wrong.

[Raven]

It still baffles me no end that clubs put in place contracts that force them to pay out to individuals who fail.

Benitez if he misses 4th place with the money he's spent (and lost) in the transfer market is a monumental failure. If I failed as bad as that in my job I'd have been slung on my hook and no millions to soothe it

You read my mind! Why pay him off when (in my eyes) he's failed.

I want Liverpool up at the top, mainly cos I can't stand the other clubs up there and they are the lesser of evils