Liverpool to Appoint Benitez

Dub13

REDS TO APPOINT BENITEZ
Wednesday 16th June 2004
Liverpool are expected to finally end the speculation surrounding their new manager by naming Rafael Benitez as Gerard Houllier's successor on Wednesday.
The former Valencia boss has already been replaced by Claudio Ranieri at Estadio Mestalla, and is now set to take the reins at Anfield.

Benitez is thought to have already agreed to the move a couple of weeks ago, but The Reds have kept quiet on the matter until chief executive Rick Parry returned from holiday.

The 44-year-old is now on Merseyside to have a closer look around the club and is due to be unveiled in the near future, possibly as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Liverpool are still talking over a possible investment from Thailand, and they hope to hand their new manager a healthy transfer kitty to build his squad for next term.

Houllier departed after finishing fourth in The Premiership, but it was the gap between the club and the top three that was the major factor behind his departure.

Benitez, who guided Valencia to the Spanish title and Uefa Cup last season, will be charged with the task of making Liverpool into a side challenging for The Premiership next term.

He will have the services of French striker Djibril Cisse to call upon once he takes up his role, as the Auxerre man will join the club on July 1.

The French forward is being tipped to make a big impact on the English game, and he for one is expecting a title challenge.

"Liverpool will be at the top this season and to win the championship will be perfect," said Cisse.

"I am looking forward to my first game with Liverpool.

"People should look for Liverpool this season. Liverpool will be competitive."

mike65

Is that from bbc.co.uk/sport? I saw something simialir yesterday I think "we" can say its in the bag. I just wish they'd bloody say so!

Mike.

Dub13

No its from Sky Sports.....yea it looks like we have him.Next season is going to be very intresting for a lot of teams I cant wait.

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,1-1139611,00.html



Reporter from Liverpool daily post on sky sports:
They had a sighting of Benitez at a Liverpool hotel last night. They sent a couple of reporters and saw Rick Parry going into the hotel, there are thought to be no problems with the contract - the reporter thinks it would be likely to make an announcement today, ahead of the England match

phenom

He is a good manager .He might be able to sort out the trouble at anfield and bring in a few new players to the club.

kida

Unless he sell theres not much money to buy players - it will be case of working with what he has.

p.pete

Hopefully he can get Gerrard and Owen to sign new contracts (and for Owen to Kop on)

cruiserweight

Originally posted by kida
Unless he sell theres not much money to buy players - it will be case of working with what he has.

What about the thirty million kitty that was supposed to be available(before any take over bids)? They are spending 14million on Cisse!

I am sure some money will be available when he trims the fat from the squad. I read somewhere that apparently he wants to bring Canizares,Aimar and Ayala with him. And I also read somewhere that Stevie G is not happy because he recommended Curbishley!

Dont be at yourself

According to Koptalk, a press conference has been scheduled for this afternoon, and Benitez should be unveiled at it! Hurrah!

watman

Liverpoolfc.tv say a press conference has been scheduled for 15.30 .. New Boss to be Unveiled

mike65

Yipee!

Mike.

watman

Rafael Benitez has today been confirmed as the new Liverpool manager. The former Valencia manager follows Gerard Houllier into the Kop hotseat and will take charge of his first game against Celtic on July 26.

Rafael Benitez is the first Spaniard to manage Liverpool and the capture of his services is a shrewd one by the club.

There is no doubting his credentials after leading Valencia to a league and UEFA Cup double in 2004, overcoming the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was Valencia's second La Liga title in three years under Benitez.

Indeed, in his first season in charge at Valencia he led the club to their first La Liga title for 31 years and quickly became something of a legend amongst the Valencia fans.
Benitez was born in Madrid in April 1960 and during his days as a player had a spell with the mighty Real Madrid. He never played for Real though and spent most of his career in the lower leagues in Spain.
It was his coaching that made him the man he is today. He started out coaching the youngsters at Real Madrid in 1986 and was in charge of their youth team. Unhappy spells in charge of Spanish teams Valladolid and Osasuna followed before he led Second Division side Extremadura to promotion in 1997.
During the 1999/2000 season Benitez took a year out to study coaching methods in Italy and England, which certainly stood him in good stead on his return to management. He studied coaching at Manchester United and Arsenal which certainly gave him a good insight into English football.
He returned as head coach of Second Division side Tenerife in 2000 and a year later was to be the start of a fairytale success story with Valencia. His appointment as successor to Hector Cuper was met with mixed reaction and questioned by fans and pundits alike. However Benitez was to have the last laugh as Valencia won the league title.
The following season was disappointing and like Liverpool, Valencia finished fifth in the league. However they did have a good run in the Champions League and reached the quarter-finals. Liverpool fans will well remember coming up againstValencia in the Champions League and we lost twice, 2-0 at the Mestalla Stadium and 1-0 at Anfield. Many fans and pundits remarked after those games how well Valencia had played and were honest in the fact that Valencia outclassed Liverpool in both matches. Not many argued against that point.
Benitez is something of a perfectionist and is a very technical coach who uses computer technology to monitor his players' diets and physical development. He also has a degree in Physical Education.

LizardKing

He won the League in his 1st season in charge of valencia .. shall I count my chickens and put a tenner on Liverpool for next season ... hmm might wait to see who he buys in ... Anyway a good appointment IMO ...

mike65

Steady On! All I expect from Benitez next season is some
rebuilding and a good points tally in the top 4 (ie no last gasp moments). It would be mad to want much more.

Mike.

LizardKing

yeah you're probably right Mike65 ...

hopefully some entertaining football and more goals from the Strikers too and some consistency and ... (whoops gettin carried away again)

p.pete

Originally posted by mike65
Steady On! All I expect from Benitez next season is some
rebuilding and a good points tally in the top 4 (ie no last gasp moments). It would be mad to want much more.

Mike.

I'd settle for 3rd - at least it would be showing that we're capable of hatching into the current top 3 while still having further room for improvement.

But yeah, 4th again with more points then last season has to be the realistic expectation for the moment...

Shred

Really chuffed, brilliant news:)

I can't see LFC winning the title next year but Benitez should put us back on the right road.

kida

He doesn't have much time to get things right - first competitiive game is in CL qualifier. I assume L'pool will be seeded however there were some decent unseeded teams last year. Dortmund,Benfica, Rosenberg and Newcastle


Thats what you call a pressure start.

TwoShedsJackson

That's a good appointment for them and I hope he does well there. Next season in England should be interesting

mayordenis

here

5 year deal again will we ever learn??

p.pete

Originally posted by mayordenis
5 year deal again will we ever learn??

I'm happy enough with the 5 years - it lets him get on with his job without looking over his shoulder wondering where his next contract is coming from. At least there isn't the longterm existing friendship as there was with GH which got in the way of things towards the end...

jesus_thats_gre

Sure Morinho has commited himself to winning the premiership within 4 years.. And look at what he has at his disposle.. The term of the deal is irrelevent, judge him on how we perform.

Hydromonkey

I liked this quote from the press conference:

Journalist: How big a job do you think it is for you to raise Liverpool above Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea? Is it a massive rebuilding task or do you think maybe a few players will do it?

Rafael Benitez: I know it's a hard work because when you arrive at a very good club the last season, the difference between the others is not good, then you need to work hard. In Valencia it was the same as Real Madrid and Barcelona were the top. You need to change the mentality, perhaps here it is not necessary because I think we have good players good mentality in the club but if it is necessary to change then we change the mentality. The most important thing is to be a team, a group that every player knows what to do in each moment on the field. That means a lot of hours working, a lot of hours talking with the players, a lot of hours try to say to them what is the best for the team, not for the players, not for the manager bit for the team and I am sure we will obtain a good thing. For me this is very important.


Exactly what we need if you ask me

jesus_thats_gre

I truely believe that the current squad is capable of far more. The players that GH bought who has not worked out were all very capable and well performing players before they arrived at Liverpool. Diouf for example was a massive hit two years ago in Korea and Japan but has done little for Liverpool. Benitez seems to a manager that can get the best out a player and this is exactly what we need. The players have been underperforming for the past 2 seasons and he could possibly change this.

Ronan|Raven

Well he is finally confirmed. Hopefulyl he can help turn things round and get liverpool back to some sort of form. It will be interesting to see what players will be let go and what new faces if any are brought in. Next season will be about rebuilding and impsing his style on the team with the aim hopefulyl for a good champion leagues run and a good run in the league securing cl qualification hopefully a lot easier than this past years.

Shred

I've just watched the entire press conference and I'm impressed. He definately seems to be the right man, what he had to say was very heartening. I'm quite optimistic that we'll see a very different Liverpool next season now. In fact I can't wait:)

eyerer

People say I will sign five players from Valencia like Canizares, Ayala… but this is not true, not true

didn't think he would do that, i think there are better options than ayala anyway
interesting to see who'll he'll bring in

Dub13

While we have a few Liverpool Fans talking here I would like to let you no about a site/group I setup for Irish Liverpool fans.We have around 200 members,here is a bit about the group and a Link.


This group is for all Liverpool fans but the main aim is to help fellow Irish fans who travel to games.I hope we can help each other out ie keep each other up to date on flights,seacat and I hear sea link are doing a new sail rail ticket to any station in the UK.So lets keep fellow Irish reds up to date.Also info on hotels would be welcome as I have stayed in some Kips but also in places well worth it.And if you know any good pubs to watch games in let us know.We are also running a few polls please take a few min and cast your vote,we also have a database of Pubs with Channel 5/dodgy norwegian channels so if you no of a pub that has these and its not on our list please add it.For any new members have a look through the old posts and see what the group is about and reply to any if you want.


http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/LFC_Irish_fans/

Dub13

Rick Parry unveiled Rafael Benitez has Liverpool Football Club's eleventh post-war manager today and revealed he was always the club's number one choice to succeed Gerard Houllier.
As the Anfield Chief Executive introduced the former Valencia boss to the assembled throng of journalists he explained that an outstanding track record and enthusiasm for the job weree the qualities that made Benitez the right man for the Reds.

"He has an outstanding track record. Two Spanish League titles in three years I think speaks for itself. But what was just as important to us was his very evident enthusiasm for the job," said Parry.

"Rafa clearly wanted to come to Liverpool. This shone through in every conversation we had and that's why he was our number one target. He's young, enthusiastic and very hungry for more success."

zAbbo

thats some good whoring(again!)

Dub13

people have to no about the group/site for it to survive,thats my first mention of the site on here in a long time.But I do mention it a lot on the official Liverpool site which I am on alot.

Ronan|Raven

I signed up for the site ages back but forgot about it tbh. I liked the ideas I did see on it though of helping each other get tickets sorted etc.

Dub13

we have a photo of the new away kit on the home page now....it looks CRAP and you will not see me in it any time soon.

Caesar_Bojangle

I'd say we have a better chance of winning the champions league next season than the premiership. Winning the Premiership is really about consistency, whereas the champions league is down to luck and perseverance. Gerrard to Chelsea? Please not

eyerer

http://msn.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,7-1139708,00.html

not looking good, he may be on his way, i thought he would've stayed to see what rafa had to offer, but with what parry said weeks back and now this he could be leaving now

uberwolf

Originally posted by eyerer
not looking good, he may be on his way, i thought he would've stayed to see what rafa had to offer, but with what parry said weeks back and now this he could be leaving now

could you quute the article please, can't see it in work...

Shred

From Sksports

PARRY ADMITS GERRARD FEARS
Thursday 17th June 2004

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has admitted for the first time that Reds captain Steven Gerrard is unhappy at Anfield.
The England midfielder has told Parry that he was not satisfied with how things were developing at the club as he wants the club to meet his own ambitions.

The speculation has raised doubts about Gerrard's long-term future with Chelsea and Manchester United both strongly linked with the powerhouse midfielder.

Parry admitted that one of the first tasks of new Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will be to persuade Gerrard that his goals can be met at the club.

"The next priority is for Rafa and I meet to meet Stevie and try to persuade him that his future is at this club," said Parry.

"I spoke to him three weeks ago and it was clear that he was not happy. He was down and he wants success.

"His feelings were fairly deep-seated and they were not expressed idly.

"We will do everything we can to persuade him that his future here, but we are not complacent.

"Hopefully the appointment of Rafa Benitez as our new manager will swing things our way with Stevie.

"Realistically, players have to be happy and we can't force anybody to stay at the club against their wishes, but there is no way we want to sell him and we sincerely hope that he stays."

"It isn't about money with Stevie. Medals are important to him and he told me that he doesn't want to be here at 35 having not won anything.

"Finishing fourth in The Premiership is not an achievement in his eyes, but we are with him on that.

"You can't knock his ambition but hopefully medals won with Liverpool will mean more to him than medals won anywhere else."

Meanwhile, Christian Damiano has left Liverpool in the wake of Gerard Houllier's departure from Anfield.

Caesar_Bojangle

arsenal show interest

MEDIA WATCH
ARSENAL JOIN GERRARD CHASE
Internet Report 17 June 2004

The Rumourphile understands that Arsene Wenger is preparing a move for unhappy Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool Chief Executive, Rick Parry, revealed that Gerrard is considering his future at the Anfield club, and Arsene Wenger sees him as the perfect partner for Patrick Vieira in midfield.

It's believed that the Gunners will offer a cash plus player deal, with Liverpool being told they can choose from Ray Parlour, Jermaine Pennant, Gilberto Silva and Lauren.

This story has been reproduced from today's media and is not necessarily the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Gerrard is my absolute favourite player in the world but is any player really bigger than the club? Sometimes, the way he talks he certainly thinks it. I'm more fearful of Arsenals interest tbh.

PHB

If Gerrard is availible I can imagine a huge bidding war between Man Utd Chelsea and Arsenal, not to meantion a few foreign clubs that would happily want to get involved.

My biggest problem with Benitez is that he plays defensive football and quite frankly I'm sick of Liverpool playing defensive football, and I'd wager a strong bet that Gerrard and Owen are too, hence the movement rumours.

uberwolf

this is second hand but I thought I was told that he commited to playing attractive football (yesterdays press conference), and indeed that that was a quality the board sought in a canditate?

I always admired Valencias attacking verve, certainly solid at the back but able to cut a team apart when the chance arose.

I really really hope that Gerrard remains - but even with that saidI find it hard to find the logic in leaving the club you leave even as a new manager comes in - especialy a manager with the experience and reputation of Benitez.
Fingers crossed.

Hydromonkey

I spoke to him three weeks ago and it was clear that he was not happy.

Was this before or after Houllier was sacked?

uberwolf

Originally posted by Hydromonkey
Was this before or after Houllier was sacked?

It was supposed to have been three weeks ago, which by reckoning is before Houliier left the position.



from todays indo
___________________
Liverpool worry over Gerrard
Friday June 18th 2004


LIVERPOOL chief executive Rick Parry has admitted he faces a huge battle to persuade Steven Gerrard to stay at Anfield.

Parry is praying that the appointment of Rafael Benitez will prove the key to keeping hold of the influential midfielder. But with Gerrard starring in Portugal with England, Parry and Benitez have an anxious wait ahead amid rumours the player could be the subject of a £30m bid from Chelsea.

Gerrard has previously made plain his desire for silverware and his confidence in the new appointment is set to prove crucial in his decision.

"It would suit Stevie best to win titles here and selling him is the last thing we want," said Parry. "I hope this appointment swings it for him but you cannot force anybody to stay against their wishes.

"He does not want to get to 35 having been loyal to the club but find out that he has never won anything. I understand that. The England team is important to him and medals are important to him.

"With Stevie it is just passion to win titles, you can't knock or quarrel with that. All you can say is 'hang on Stevie, we're with you on that'."

Gerrard signed a new three-year deal last November which did little to assuage fears of his imminent departure. And if the temptation of a move to Chelsea proves too much it will be a shattering blow to Benitez' hopes of rebuilding the side.

The Spanish coach insisted at his introductory press conference this week that he would seek urgent meetings with the likes of Gerrard and Michael Owen in a bid to convince them of his future plans.

____________________
edit for article

jesus_thats_gre

It was after GH left...

Anyway, he could be in a totally different frame of mind when he comes back from Portugal. If anything, I appreciate Gerards honesty and the fact he has not done anything on the sly...

eyerer

with Liverpool being told they can choose from Ray Parlour, Jermaine Pennant, Gilberto Silva and Lauren.

wow, better seal this quick, before they change their mind

..no thanks

kida

No thai money now

bbc link

might need to sell him

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by kida
No thai money now

bbc link

might need to sell him

Not at all, the 14m for Cisse was already available before the Thai deal. Unlike the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool are financially well off and not overly burdened by the new stadium they are building.

Dont be at yourself

Some private sector Thai company are going ahead with the bid, aren't they?

Dub13

And Thomo is gone....looks like Benitex is starting from scratch.I like thomo I hope he stays in the game I think he has a lot to offer and maybe one day he could return as manager.

Dub13

Thai PM ends Liverpool interest



Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says his government will not now be buying a 30% stake in Liverpool.

Thaksin wanted his administration to invest £63m in the Anfield club but public opinion and an inability to come up with funding has ended his hopes.

"The government cannot pursue the deal because it will not spend taxpayers' money," the Thai premier admitted.

"And problems arose with issuing a lottery to raise funds that people considered to be gambling."

The decision has paved the way for Grammy Entertainment, Thailand's largest recording company, to now mount its own bid.

"I don't know how we could raise the money, so we're letting the private sector take over," Thaksin added.

He insisted that any investment in Liverpool by the Thai private sector should contribute to football development in his country by implementing a new training academy.

Grammy chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham will fly to England this weekend for talks with the Reds, according to his spokesman.

"There will be a lot of negotiations involved and we are unsure when the deal will be signed. We have to wait for him to come back," he added.