Who was the best manager Liverpool have had in between the 2 Dalglish eras

wexfordia

Souness, Evans, Houllier, Benitez & Hodgson are the men who have led Liverpool FC between February 1991 and early January 2011 but who do you think has been the best ? I'd say Benitez has been the best of them. Liverpool performed most consistently in the European Cup under him and of course won it in 2005 and got to the final 2 years later. I kinda wish that I could give my vote to Roy Evans because I loved the way his team played with the 3-5-2 system allowing McManaman a 'free role'. They were too bloody inconsistent though and lacked mental strength ( something United had in abundance).

The_Kew_Tour

From an outsider for me it be Benitez...Then again the competition was not the best.

Even as United fan I always admired the way the fans stuck with him.

YouTookMyName

Why does this warrant a new thread?

Rafa FTW.

d22ontour

As Pool fans like to reminisce about success, i suppose it would have to be the one who brought the most success to the club.Am sure a Pool stato could clarify which that was.

#15

Rafa without a doubt IMO. He was a level above all the others.

Lukker-

Benitez.

ShamoBuc

Not sure if it warrants a thread as I would imagine it will be a landsliide for Rafa!

wexfordia

ShamoBuc wrote: »

Not sure if it warrants a thread as I would imagine it will be a landsliide for Rafa!

Rafa wins then ! ShamoBuc you take the photo while I give Rafa his award !:D

FlawedGenius

Howler for me he won 5 cups in one year micky mouse or not!:eek:

jesus_thats_gre

Rafa..

ollie1

Roy Evans :pac:

Hodgson

3hn2givr7mx1sc

I've only seen the end of Houiller to now and I'll say Rafa.

rednik

I thought they were all great.;);)

Hannibal

On win percentages its,
1. Benitez: 55.43%
2. Evans: 51.33%
3. Houllier: 50.77%
4. Hodgson: 41.94%
5. Souness: 41.40%

Guy:Incognito

ollie1 wrote: »

Roy Evans :pac:

Best football was played under Evans.

tommyhaas

Phil Thompson obviously. Had circumstances not conspired against him, he'd probably be held in the same esteem as Wenger

In Late 1993, Phil was widely linked with the manager vacancy at Nagoya Grampus Eight where he would get the opportunity to work with former England great Gary Lineker who - at the time, was playing for the club. It was rumoured he would take this role but decline it at the last minute as he found out that in Japan he'd have to eat sushi. And being a Liverpool boy at heart, he'd only eat fish that was deep fat fried served with chips

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Thompson

I choose to believe Wikipedia in this case

djfitzerjnr

Why is this even up for debate?

There is a reason for this Liverpool banner

Hannibal

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Best football was played under Evans.

Best season under Evans was 1995-1996
-P--W--D--L--F--A--GD--Pts
38--20-11-7--70-34-36--71

Best season under Benitez was 2008-2009
-P--W--D--L--F--A--GD--Pts
38--25-11-2--77-27-50--86

blockedPaT

Rafa

Sir Gallagher

Benitez obviously.

The real question should be who was worse, Souness or Hodgson?

Snappy the Moose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRllRTMU51s

Love him

@ Sir Gallagher, Souness damaged the club, Hodgson was just a gobshíte (hope he does well at WBA though).

djfitzerjnr

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Benitez obviously.

The real question should be who was worse, Souness or Hodgson?

Souness had transfers and tactics. But talking to the S*n on the Hillsborough anniversary is a no-no. Altho he did apologise for it, it took him how many years.

Also, if you heard him Tuesday night commentating on the United game, kept calling United "we".

That said, Souness had the club at heart, Hodgson did not.

Hodgson is the worst Liverpool manager of all time. It's proven that he is certainly of the last 50 years.

Leiva

Phil Thompson

ilovelamp2000

Houllier

spent half as much and won more trophies.

shotamoose

ilovelamp2000 wrote: »

Houllier

spent half as much and won more trophies.

All of which he would have exchanged for the European Cup won by Rafa, who any sensible person can see was a better manager.

mike65

If Evans brio and Rafa tactics could have been melded together it would have been better than Barcalona! Of course for a brief spell it was - March to May 2009 thats how LFC should always play.

population

Rafa

End thread

tommyhaas

ilovelamp2000 wrote: »

Houllier

spent half as much and won more trophies.

Houllier won 2 league cups, an FA Cup, the UEFA Cup, Super Cup and Charity Shield. Rafa won an FA Cup, Champions Lge, Super Cup and Charity Shield

Which would you prefer, two League Cups and the UEFA Cup or the Champions Lge? Not even close IMO

As for money, obviously with inflation etc, figures are likely to be distorted. When Houllier took over, Denilson was the most expensive player in the world at £21m. When Rafa took over, it was Zidane at £46m, so their spending cant really be compared like for like, however the below article adjusts figures for inflation

On average, using TPI to create an even playing field, Benítez has spent £10.5m net per season, while Houllier spent £24.4m; roughly two-and-a-half times as much. Houllier clearly had more supportive backers than Benítez.

http://tomkinstimes.com/2010/05/houllier-vs-benitez-spend-analysis/

Rafa also IMO, assembled a far better side during his time there

K-9

tommyhaas wrote: »

Houllier won 2 league cups, an FA Cup, the UEFA Cup, Super Cup and Charity Shield. Rafa won an FA Cup, Champions Lge, Super Cup and Charity Shield

Which would you prefer, two League Cups and the UEFA Cup or the Champions Lge? Not even close IMO

As for money, obviously with inflation etc, figures are likely to be distorted. When Houllier took over, Denilson was the most expensive player in the world at £21m. When Rafa took over, it was Zidane at £46m, so their spending cant really be compared like for like, however the below article adjusts figures for inflation



http://tomkinstimes.com/2010/05/houllier-vs-benitez-spend-analysis/

Rafa also IMO, assembled a far better side during his time there

The mad thing is, Houllier had more to spend than Rafa, not as much pressure to sell and didn't recoup much.

It has to be Rafa though Evans teams were probably more exciting to watch.

ollie1

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Best football was played under Evans.

Yea but he is no where near the best manager thou I would rate Houllier and Rafa higher.

Dont be at yourself

Rafa, for me. We had success on the pitch, he fought for us off the pitch, and it was clear he had a real love and understanding for the club.

I really think Houllier gets it rough by a lot of fans though. He brought the club on leaps and bounds. Football, and the premiership in particular, was undergoing massive transformation during his tenure, and he kept us above the water level for the most part. The UEFA Cup win was the first major trophy won in the lifetime of a lot of fans. And for all the impact the likes of Alonso and Luis Garcia made, Houllier's signings and philosophy laid the foundations for the Istanbul success.

Turtyturd

Souness










On a phone and can't post a trollface pic so this will have to do :pac:

Seriously Rafa.

LuckyLloyd

Sounness: The thing is, the blame for Liverpool's fall from being top club in England to chasing the coattails of the top clubs should not be placed solely at the Scot's door. The business side of the club was dreadfully managed during the 90's, and the failure to seize the commercial opportunities created by the transition to the Premiership era left Liverpool on the wrong side of a steep hill for years to come.

Nonetheless, Sounness failed as a manager. He was unable to reconcile his memory of the all conquering teams he was a focal point of with the squad of players he inherited / built in the early nineties. He spent poorly in the transfer market, struggled to connect with his players on a personal level, and the end footballing product on the pitch left a lot to be desired.

There is no doubt that he left the club in worse shape than he found it as a manager, even if it wasn't for the want of effort or love for the club.

Evans: Gave youth a chance and implemented an exciting flowing style of football. Under Evans Liverpool were great to watch and easy to like. Evans was an honest and ethical man who never hid from poor results or negative press.

However, his preference for attractive football was not matched by a keen eye for players who could complement that style while bringing enough toughness to the table to win. Too many of his signings lacked real character in the clinch, and his Liverpool team had a habit of performing poorly in pressure games. Leaving aside frankly embarrassing returns in Europe, there were simply too many high profile cup or league games were Liverpool were completely outfought and outplayed.

By the end of his reign he had left an imbalanced squad lacking in guts and heart. He did his very best though, and should be remembered fondly. However, his managerial endeavours post Liverpool speak volumes about his ultimate abilities as a manager in my opinion.

Houllier: Completed an extensive overhaul of the squad and put a strong spine in place that essentially laid the foundations for a rich haul of trophies from 2001 - 2006. Westerveld, Dudek, Hyppia, Henchoz, Finnan, Riise, Hammann and McAllister were all great signings who played a big role (along with Houllier's effective big game tactics) in making Liverpool competitively relevant again.

Houllier was what Liverpool badly needed at the time. He had a harder edge to him than Evans - less sentimental, more cynical and much more focused on results above all else. While much of the football was not aesthetically pleasing, the reality is that 2000 - 2002 was a really exciting period to be a Liverpool fan. After becoming so used to losing big games under Evans and Sounness for a decade long stretch, to suddenly start surviving the big games was a huge adrenaline rush. Beating Barcelona in April / May 2001 was akin to a religious revelation, ugly though it was. His record against Utd was also hugely pleasing, including sticking it to them in a cup final.

However, the wheels came off when it came to his second wave of signings and the structure of the club in terms of bringing youth through to the first team (a tradition Houllier had also benefited from hugely in the likes of Gerrard and Carragher). The likes of Cheyrou, Diouf and Diao were duds, and young talent like La Tallac and Pongoille were badly handled. More crucially though, he failed to bring in anybody to replace the creative and spiritual contributions made by the likes of short term additions like Litmanen and McAliister - players who had a big role during his two best seasons at the helm.

Houllier left the club in much better standing then he found it, and he dragged us back to the big time. But yes, by the end things had gone stale and it would be fair to contend that he had brought us as far as he could.

Benitez: A topic that has been done to death. Simply put, Benitez picked up from where Houllier left off and took the club up another notch. We were stronger competitors in the Champions League and a more consistent force in the Premiership after his first season. Whereas Houllier made us relevant, Benitez placed us at the top table of European clubs - feared and respected by everyone. His six years were the best period to be a Liverpool fan since Dalglish left the first time, and as such he has proved to be the best of the four managers during the period before the second coming.

K-9

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Rafa, for me. We had success on the pitch, he fought for us off the pitch, and it was clear he had a real love and understanding for the club.

I really think Houllier gets it rough by a lot of fans though. He brought the club on leaps and bounds. Football, and the premiership in particular, was undergoing massive transformation during his tenure, and he kept us above the water level for the most part. The UEFA Cup win was the first major trophy won in the lifetime of a lot of fans. And for all the impact the likes of Alonso and Luis Garcia made, Houllier's signings and philosophy laid the foundations for the Istanbul success.

He also got us back into the Champions League. I still to this day do not know how we lost that match to Leverkusen, particularly taking Hamann of!