Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

mike65 · 14-02-2009 12:24PM

Only when this happens

The other 2 hours and 55 mins are rather dull.

daithijjj · 14-02-2009 01:23PM

malice_ wrote: »

I never said that you said he was rubbish. It's just that once you get through the usual names of Hansen, Lawrenson, Thompson, Smith and Yeats you're left with guys like Gary Gillespie who, good as he was, isn't in Carragher's class in my opinion. Then you're into the modern era where we skip quickly through the years until we get to Mark Wright who again I think Carragher is better than and Hyypia and Henchoz. I would rate Carragher above Henchoz but below Hyypia.

Well, it is my opinion that he doesnt even come close to any of these......

1. Hansen.
2. Lawrenson.
3. Yeats.
4. Smith.
5. Ray kennedy.
6. Thompson.
7. Neal.
8. Nicol.
9. Hyypia.

The list that was compiled in that article has carra in the top 10 reds of all time.........i dont think i would be alone in saying that this is balderdash.

Malice · 14-02-2009 01:42PM

daithijjj wrote: »

Well, it is my opinion that he doesnt even come close to any of these......

1. Hansen.
2. Lawrenson.
3. Yeats.
4. Smith.
5. Ray kennedy.
6. Thompson.
7. Neal.
8. Nicol.
9. Hyypia.

The list that was compiled in that article has carra in the top 10 reds of all time.........i dont think i would be alone in saying that this is balderdash.

Ray Kennedy, Phil Neal and Steve Nicol weren't central defenders. I agree with you on the others however.

daithijjj wrote:

there is no way carragher is even in the top 10 centrebacks

You've named six so far that we agree rank higher than him. Four more to go

.

eagle eye · 14-02-2009 02:13PM

malice_ wrote: »

Ray Kennedy, Phil Neal and Steve Nicol weren't central defenders. I agree with you on the others however.

Steve Nicol was a magnificent central defender when he joined Liverpool, he only played there for Liverpool when Lawrenson or Hansen missed games. Then Gary Gillespie became a challenger for the Centreback job and Nicol played less there after that. But he was superb at Centreback and played there for Scotland also.
Emlyn Hughes is not on that list.
Larry Lloyd is not on it either, and while he only spent a couple of years there he was also a brilliant central defender. I also rated Glenn Hysen very highly but he only played two or three years because Souness took over and dropped him.

daithijjj · 14-02-2009 02:24PM

malice_ wrote: »

Ray Kennedy, Phil Neal and Steve Nicol weren't central defenders. I agree with you on the others however.

You've named six so far that we agree rank higher than him. Four more to go .

lol, apologies for the ray kennedy inclusion....i always saw him as a left footed marauding defender but of course we never really did have to defend back then;).......i was just listing them out in my head in bout 5 seconds.

Steve nicol played every position at the back allthough he is regarded as a right back........and pretty sure phil neal played anywhere in the back four aswell.........think he made his debut at left back and over 300 games in a row, they both had great goal returns as defenders also......i believe jamie has a minus goals return:P

After that it is purely debate, with the ball at his feet, poor old jamie doesnt make it, not for me anyway. Its difficult to define how we measure greatness, for me it is talent.............appearances and a scouse accent dont count as far as im concerned. International caps is probably a better indicator. Allthough not at the club as long i would probably have mark wright in there aswell.......its all down to opinion and i also respect yours.

Malice · 14-02-2009 03:47PM

eagle eye wrote: »

Steve Nicol was a magnificent central defender when he joined Liverpool, he only played there for Liverpool when Lawrenson or Hansen missed games. Then Gary Gillespie became a challenger for the Centreback job and Nicol played less there after that. But he was superb at Centreback and played there for Scotland also.
Emlyn Hughes is not on that list.
Larry Lloyd is not on it either, and while he only spent a couple of years there he was also a brilliant central defender. I also rated Glenn Hysen very highly but he only played two or three years because Souness took over and dropped him.

I'll have to take your word for it regarding Nicol. Certainly it does him a disservice to describe him as a utility man because I remember him being excellent regardless of where he played. Crazy Horse is another one who I thought played more as a left or right back (I'm not sure which). Glenn Hysen's reputation suffers due to being associated with the resignation of Dalglish and the appointment of Souness. I know it doesn't make sense but since when did football fans obey logic?

daithijjj wrote: »

lol, apologies for the ray kennedy inclusion....i always saw him as a left footed marauding defender but of course we never really did have to defend back then;).......i was just listing them out in my head in bout 5 seconds.

I often get Ray and Alan confused

. Certainly teams were helped by the keepers being able to pick the ball up so defensive tactics were quite different back then.

daithijjj wrote:

pretty sure phil neal played anywhere in the back four aswell.........think he made his debut at left back and over 300 games in a row, they both had great goal returns as defenders also......

Good point on Phil Neal. He's another one who deserves a lot of plaudits. As for their goal return I think Nicol scored a hat-trick once as well as a couple of goals in the famous 9:0 hammering of Crystal Palace in 1989-1990.

daithijjj wrote:

i believe jamie has a minus goals return:P

He must do. Wasn't there some statistic publicised after the Spurs game which said that he has scored as many goals for them as he has for Liverpool?

Karmafaerie · 14-02-2009 04:14PM

Fooball, American Football, Nascar, all great in their own ways, but nothing beats........Dead Goat Polo!!!!!

What a sport!

daithijjj · 14-02-2009 06:01PM

malice_ wrote: »

I'll have to take your word for it regarding Nicol. Certainly it does him a disservice to describe him as a utility man because I remember him being excellent regardless of where he played. Crazy Horse is another one who I thought played more as a left or right back (I'm not sure which). Glenn Hysen's reputation suffers due to being associated with the resignation of Dalglish and the appointment of Souness. I know it doesn't make sense but since when did football fans obey logic?

I often get Ray and Alan confused . Certainly teams were helped by the keepers being able to pick the ball up so defensive tactics were quite different back then.

Good point on Phil Neal. He's another one who deserves a lot of plaudits. As for their goal return I think Nicol scored a hat-trick once as well as a couple of goals in the famous 9:0 hammering of Crystal Palace in 1989-1990.

He must do. Wasn't there some statistic publicised after the Spurs game which said that he has scored as many goals for them as he has for Liverpool?

Yeah, i think jamie is credited with 5 or 6 goals in his career..........one of my worst memories is 2 own goals in one game against united and another few against spurs, hes not strong in the air either, never been a threat from our corners like big sami can be. As a defender he has many virtues but its just my opinion that the greats give you more than that.......bringing the ball out from defence is not in his repertoire either really...........this is one of the reasons i like daniel agger. Hes capable of this and even after a year out he came back after conceding a shocker against wigan at home by bringing the ball forward, a one-two, into the box and laid it on a plate for kuyt.........i dont think jamie would even consider this kind of thing even if he was capable of it. Getting aggers contract sorted asap is very important for us imo.

missingtime · 14-02-2009 09:45PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsvKnCRkcjg&feature=rec-HM-r2

Thought this was a pretty cool clip
Wont embed for some reason

Here is another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdH8SANZj0I&feature=related

Carra and Stevie in the pub singing The Fields of Anfield Road

monkey9 · 14-02-2009 10:13PM

Jamie Carragher would get into any Liverpool team in the clubs history. Yeats, Thompson, Hughes (what a legend by the way, you look at some players today and look back at what Hughes achieved, what a hero), Nicol, Hansen, Lawrenson etc. We have had great centre backs and you obviously can't fit everyone in. So basically, for me the answer would be not in the comparison, but if they are good enough to play in any Liverpool team in history and Jamie Carragher most definately is.

daithijjj · 14-02-2009 10:33PM

monkey9 wrote: »

Jamie Carragher would get into any Liverpool team in the clubs history. Yeats, Thompson, Hughes (what a legend by the way, you look at some players today and look back at what Hughes achieved, what a hero), Nicol, Hansen, Lawrenson etc. We have had great centre backs and you obviously can't fit everyone in. So basically, for me the answer would be not in the comparison, but if they are good enough to play in any Liverpool team in history and Jamie Carragher most definately is.

Nurse, hes out of bed again.:D

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 15-02-2009 12:41AM

Back on topic.

Voronin banged in a couple today agaisnt Bayern Munich, Hertha go top of the Bundesliga. Still think I prefer him where he is, though...

monkey9 · 15-02-2009 12:45AM

daithijjj wrote: »

Nurse, hes out of bed again.:D

What?????

mike65 · 15-02-2009 10:42AM

Clive Owen - Liverpool fan with a contract clause

It is clear, from the small things he lets slip, that his daughters adore him. He tells me that when his family recently came to visit him in Australia where he is filming The Boys are Back, Hannah and Eve both wore Liverpool shirts (Owen is a lifelong supporter). "I know they'd only worn them because they thought I'd like it. They're not really that into it, but I think they just thought, 'Dad will love this!'" He laughs. Is his wife a fan? "Not. At. All. She cannot understand why men waste so much time, energy and emotion on football."

He launches into a comprehensive synopsis of where the team has been going wrong in recent matches - something about "frustrating draws" and Liverpool's failure to perform to their ability. "I've been hurting this week. Seriously. I'm absolutely not joking. I had to talk to a friend last night on the phone just to offload."

I wonder whether, just as some actresses have no-nudity clauses, Owen has it written into his contract that he can watch Liverpool games. "I have to be able to get it in my trailer," he admits. "Yep. They know it's important to me." He gives a sheepish smile, aware of his own absurdity.

More Torres advertising for his "friends"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-RbelFpMXw

Tusky · 15-02-2009 01:45PM

Rafa interview. His Spanish interviews are always so much more open.

How’s the kidney?

- Hush, hush! First they found a stone and then they said I had a perforation/hole in the kidney. I had to go through three general anesthetic procedures for the first time in my life. I missed our game at Arsenal’s pitch, first I’ve missed in 22 years. I had a very high fever on the eve of that game.

The first in 22 years…

- The manager plays every match eh? I’m going all the way back to my days coaching Madrid’s youth teams. I started out very young. At 26 I was already managing.

You had to quit playing because of a knee injury.

- It happened at the ‘Universada’ in Mexico, 1979. I was part of the Spanish quad that took part in that tournament. We beat Cuba 4-0 and then Canada showed up, I was hit from behind and goodbye it was. It was on the same day that Pietro Mennea, the great Italian sprinter, beat the 200 meter World Record with a mark of 19.72.

It stood for 17 years, until Michael Johnson beat it in 1996. And how good a player were you?

- I could’ve played in Primera. Horacio de Leiva, our manager in Mexico and later the President of the School of Referees, proposed me to sign for Oviedo. I was playing for Real Madrid’s lower-division teams when Butragueño arrived. Chendo and Michel were also around. They were the good ones but every time they played for us we would lose. I played as a holding midfielder but I felt more comfortable playing as a ‘libero’. I had a better perspective of the game from that position.

You were already thinking like a manager.

- At 13 years old I was already doing the team-sheets, I would rate the other lads. I liked to organize things even if it was just for my own enjoyment. At the INEF I was a player-manager. I would sit on the stands and manage the team and when I thought I needed to take part on the match I would go on the pitch. I was balancing that with managing Real Madrid’s youth team. You know what? My classes would end at 5 pm, which was the same time our training session started. I would rush through the halls and get there at about half-past with the stretching and warm-ups all done. Those of us who were not stars had to fight very hard to make a name for ourselves.

Yet, perhaps those were truly the happy days.

- At that time you’re less aware of certain things. You’re so involved in everything that you don’t think…I remember that after the first month training Real Madrid’s youth team I was 4 kilos under my normal weight. I would eat in a hurry, a plate with lentils and off you go!, to train the team. And besides all that I was enrolled in the School of Medicine at Alcala de Henares.

You had to quit of course.

- Yes, I couldn’t keep up. When I received the Honorary Degree at the University of Miguel Hernandez in Elche I was ecstatic because I always wanted to get my Doctorate at the INEF and I was never able to do so because of work. Sometimes I reflect back on those things and it all seems surreal. At Madrid I went months at a time working seven days a week, already as a manager. One day at Castilla ,the next day working alongside Garcia Remon with the first team, then coach the reserves in the lower divisions under the orders of Del Bosque, who was responsible for the whole setup… And I also taught at a school! And of course the games, I would watch as many as possible on the weekends, between 10 and 12.

And all of this with a girlfriend?

- Impossible! That came afterward, when I was a bit more calm, ha, ha!

Who are you most grateful to?

- Ramon Martinez (current General Manager at Celta) he promoted me every season. I will always be grateful to him and also I’ll always remember when Del Bosque told me: “There are no football managers, Rafa. There are people who manage football and you will manage for many years.”

He was right. If you got the chance at Liverpool it is because you proved your worth in Spain.

- There were some moments, not every situation was the same. I arrived at Valencia after Cuper had done a terrific job there. The team was very strong and we just were able to raise the bar. At Tenerife and Extremadura it was different, both in Second Division and both times we won promotion. At Tenerife, competing with teams like Atletico, Sevilla and Betis.

What’s the problem now with the Liverpool owners?

- England is different to Spain. Here, if you have a one year contract you have nothing…and I only have 18 months left. If people realize this, that the manager only has that time left, he’s dead. I have between ten and twelve collaborators whose contracts run out in June. What project can a manager develop if he doesn’t have his work-team secured for two or three years? Ah! And let’s clear up one thing: I never asked for absolute power; capacity to make decisions and to maneuver, yes. It’s not the same thing.

United and Chelsea have a lot more money than Liverpool. Even City now.

- United get a revenue of 65 mil euros more than us every year and they have the capability of buying three 20 million players every season. Chelsea will have spent £500 million over the past five years. We have built an entire team but economically we’re inferior and yet we are able to compete with them. There are plenty of stats to bore you with: United, only on Berbatov, spent 32 million pounds; every year they spend as they need to: 20 mil on Hargreaves, another 20 on Nani, 18 for Anderson. Seven years ago they spent 45 for Ferdinand! I, on the five years I’ve been here, spent less than 40 on Torres and Keane. There’s no discussion!

And what about Arsenal Rafa?

- It’s a different philosophy. They sign a lot of young players but if they must spend 7 mil on one, like Ramsey for example, they do it. Or 18 for Arshavin…

And Alex Ferguson?

- He controls everything here, it’s a fact, it is what it is. And since he felt the need to talk about Liverpool I had to respond.

In your peculiar English.

- I made the mistake of not taking up classes when I arrived. I lack the vocabulary and the grammar. My daughters speak with the purest Liverpool lingo and quite often I don’t understand what they’re saying. I end up asking them to speak to me in Spanish. Claudia, the oldest, was 6 when we arrived in Liverpool. At first she was lost but after six months she came home with a teacher’s note that read: “Congratulations, your daughter has recovered her voice”. She never stopped talking. Agata, the youngest, is six now. Her English is better than her Spanish.

And the food?

- No problems there. I’m a meat-lover and Scottish meat is very good. And at home we never lack the Spanish dishes like paella, omelets or lentils.

And the public relations?

- My wife does a better job than me. She belongs to a NGO that fights against cancer, she often visits a hospital and when I come along I do my bit. Most weeks we play 3 matches; I live in my own world, but it’s your family’s life that changes the most. I arrive at the club at 9 am and leave between 6 and 7 pm…I haven’t done much holiday traveling. I know Liverpool, Chester, the lakes area, to the north.

The big match against Madrid is only 10 days away. What are your expectations?

- I have the experience of our games against Barça, who were the favourites then and we knocked them out. We were unlucky on the draw but so were Real. The outlook is different on each case: Madrid’s whole season rests on the Champions, we’re still fighting for the League. We’ll have to see in what condition some of the players arrive. Torres is still looking for his best form yet, for example.

When Everton knocked you out of the FA Cup you received it almost like a liberation. Is that so?

- We have to find the positive side and that is that we’ll play less games and we can concentrate on the Premier and the Champions League. The Premier is very competitive, more so than La Liga. You have to be on top of your game or any team can make things difficult for you with their direct approach, they fight until the end. We’ve never lost control of the games but we’re lacking on finishing off teams. Our problem is that we have great expectations surrounding us. The Premier, the Premier, we haven’t won it in 19 years! And when the Champions League time comes, then lets win it…In these years we’ve won four titles, played in seven finals, another CL semifinal. We are where we need to be, the problem now is the anxiety, we have to manage it and it’s not always easy.

Gerrard is like Liverpool’s Raul? How’s he doing?

- Recovering. Injuries happen and you need to treat them properly. And yes, you can compare him to Raul in many ways. He’s a charismatic footballer, with an enormous heart; his personality touches others. He always assumes responsibility and his effort never dwindles. Raul meets all these virtues and perhaps even more because of his longer experience. I’ve known him since he was 14 years old and he was at Atletico’s youth team. He’s always shined because of his character. I’m not surprised he’s still first-choice, he’s been a winner since he was a young lad.

Hows your relationship with Florentino?

- Good.

Madrid would be the icing on the cake, the climax on your career?

- If I say yes, some people will interpret it as me saying I want to go; if I say no it will seem like a snub to Madrid…The proper thing and the reality is to answer that I’m not thinking about leaving and I hope I can stay here for a long time. Would Madrid be the icing on the cake in the career of any manager? No doubt about it! Although that sounds like the final stages of someone’s profession and that isn't my case.

http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/futbol-extrana-raul-siga-jugando/dasftb/20090215dasdaiftb_59/Tes

mike65 · 15-02-2009 02:25PM

Andrie Voronin beats Bayern Munich single handed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/8358865

he should be worth a few bob if this carries on.

shotamoose · 15-02-2009 02:28PM

mike65 wrote: »

More Torres advertising for his "friends"

I've now got a sinking feeling these are part of some 'viral' ad campaign by Nike or Reebok or whoever. Which would be a shame.

Edit: Although still pretty damn funny.

Dub13 · 15-02-2009 07:02PM

Anybody here who is a Member of Irishkop we are having a online Quiz tomorrow night at 8pm.All are welcome.

Dub13 · 15-02-2009 07:29PM

Dub13 wrote: »

Scousers terrorise the horny manc...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkim2nbuN8

This has made the papers,it got taken down on You tube but I have a link for it if anybody has not seen it.

15 February 2009
Liverpool fans dupe Man Utd fan into meeting a fake date
By Paul Kennedy
A lonely Manchester United fan made a round trip of more than 700 miles for a date - only to find out he had been conned by a group of Liverpool fans.

Stuart Slann, 39, drove 360 miles from home in Sheffield to Aberdeen to meet a girl he he had met on the social networking website Facebook.

But after a nine-hour journey to a remote farm where he was expecting to find "Emma", he got a call from a group of Scouse lads he had met on holiday who told him: "You've been framed!"

Stuart, who realised they were the same crew who threw him in a swimming pool in Mexico in November, said last night: "I've been taken for a ride. They wound me up good and proper."

The Scousers, who had several soccer-related rows with Stuart during the holiday, set up a fake Facebook girl called Emma to befriend Stuart when they got back to England. He said: "I was chatting to this girl on Facebook for about a month or so. I really thought she was genuine.

"On the night she asked me to Scotland I was on the road for about nine hours.

"And then when I got to this remote farm 'she' sent me a text to say that she was still in work. I had to wait for about another 31/2 hours."

Then Stuart got a phone call saying: "Do you recognise our voices Stuart? It's them Scouse lads who threw you in the pool. Do you recognise our Scouse accents?" Stuart replied: "Yes I domate." The mystery Liverpool fan said: "You've been framed," before bursting out laughing.

They then asked him: "How do you feel?" After a long pause he replied: "S**t."

Stuart told The People: "I just felt awful. If they had asked me to drive to Liverpool it wouldn't have been so bad and maybe I'd have seen the funny side. But to drag me all the way to Aberdeen was just cruel."

To add to his agony, the call is now circulating on the internet.

Link

Aquos76 · 15-02-2009 07:43PM

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8ampc_facebook-nightmare_fun

GBX · 15-02-2009 07:50PM

Dub13 wrote: »

This has made the papers,it got taken down on You tube but I have a link for it if anybody has not seen it.

I saw this posted on another site last night ...
He took the bait hook line and sinker. Another one up on the Mancs lol

PiE · 16-02-2009 09:17AM

Seems the Guardian have latched onto that Spanish Rafa interview and added some of their own opinions:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/feb/16/liverpool-rafael-benitez-wants-new-contracts

Rafa Benitez has urged Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to secure his future at the club by offering contracts to his backroom staff. He has also hinted that if a solution is not found to his own contract issues by the summer, then his position will become unsustainable.

Benítez has been reluctant to sign a new deal with the club despite being offered two extensions. Although a financial package has been virtually agreed, the Spaniard wants greater control over the running of the club, as well as the freedom to choose and pursue his own transfer targets, effectively bypassing the chief executive, Rick Parry, with whom his relationship has become strained. Reinforcing his position means tying his closest collaborators to a long-term project at Anfield.

"Anyone that has just a year left on his contract does not have anything at all and I have only got a year and a half left," Benítez warned. "When people, either within the club or from outside it, realise that the manager only has that much time left then he is dead. I've got 10 or 12 assistants whose contracts are up in June. How can a manager lead a project properly if the continuity of his staff is not secure for two or three years?"

Benítez denied, however, that he sought total control of transfer dealings during his contract negotiations. "I would like to clear one thing up: I never asked for complete control," he said. "I did, however, ask for the power to be able to make my own decisions and run the team the way I see fit. That is not the same thing."

The Liverpool coach also defended his success at Anfield as his team compete for a first league title in 19 years, while renewing his attack on Sir Alex Ferguson. Economic constraints, he insisted, make challenging Manchester United and Chelsea a virtually impossible task.

"Manchester United make €65m a year more than we do and buy three £20m players a season," he said. "Chelsea must have spent £500m in five years. We have built a team but economically we are way below them and yet we have still managed to compete. In the five years I have been here I have spent less than £40m on Torres and Keane. How are we supposed to compete with them?

"We have never lost the ability to control games; what has been letting us down lately is our failure to kill games off. Our biggest problem is the huge expectations that people have. People talk about the league and that we have been 19 years without winning it – but then the Champions League turns up and we have to go all out for that as well," Benítez continued.

"Since I arrived we have won four titles, played in seven finals and reached a Champions League semi-final. We are where we should be. The problem is the anxiety and the desire to win everything and that is not easy."

As for the United manager, Benítez was once again unequivocal in his assessment. "Alex Ferguson controls everything in England. The facts are the facts. They are indisputable. When he started talking about Liverpool, I had to respond."

Benítez has previously been linked with a return to Real Madrid, where he managed the junior teams in the 1990s, but he said: "If I say that Madrid would be the icing on the cake for my career people will say I want to leave Liverpool. The right thing to say and the truth is that I am not thinking about leaving and I hope to be here for a long time but of course Real Madrid would be the perfect ending to anyone's career. But my career is not at an end yet."

Boggles · 16-02-2009 09:25AM

Rafa Benitez has urged Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to secure his future at the club by offering contracts to his backroom staff. He has also hinted that if a solution is not found to his own contract issues by the summer, then his position will become unsustainable.

Benítez has been reluctant to sign a new deal with the club despite being offered two extensions. Although a financial package has been virtually agreed, the Spaniard wants greater control over the running of the club, as well as the freedom to choose and pursue his own transfer targets, effectively bypassing the chief executive, Rick Parry, with whom his relationship has become strained. Reinforcing his position means tying his closest collaborators to a long-term project at Anfield.

"Anyone that has just a year left on his contract does not have anything at all and I have only got a year and a half left," Benítez warned. "When people, either within the club or from outside it, realise that the manager only has that much time left then he is dead. I've got 10 or 12 assistants whose contracts are up in June. How can a manager lead a project properly if the continuity of his staff is not secure for two or three years?"

Benítez denied, however, that he sought total control of transfer dealings during his contract negotiations. "I would like to clear one thing up: I never asked for complete control," he said. "I did, however, ask for the power to be able to make my own decisions and run the team the way I see fit. That is not the same thing."

Deja Vu. Taken from the BBC June 2004

Rafael Benitez has resigned as coach of Valencia as speculation mounts he is set to become the next Liverpool boss.

The Primera Liga club had offered Benitez a two-year contract extension, but the former Tenerife coach rejected the new contract on the table.

"This had been possibly one of the most difficult decisions I have had to take in my sporting career," said Benitez.

"I'm going to take a few days to analyse the options and I will choose the one that suits me best."

Benitez, who led Valencia to the Spanish title and the Uefa Cup this season, is tipped to replace Gerard Houllier at Liverpool.

Benitez added: "I want to see it as positive that the club has tried to keep me on, but after the events of this season which have undermined my morale I have decided to reconsider my future at the club.

"I want to thank all the players, the employees at Valencia, the press and especially the fans for their support over the past three years."

Spanish media have reported Liverpool have offered Benitez a five-year deal.

Alan Curbishley, who has been in charge at Charlton since 1991, has also been linked with Liverpool, who want to name their new manager in the next fortnight.

Valencia president Jaime Orti insisted the club had done all it could to persuade Benitez to stay.

"Valencia not only did everything possible to ensure Rafa Benitez stayed on for the remaining year of his contract but also tried to get him to extend his deal with the club."

Benitez is known to have had his differences with the board and in particular with the club's sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch.

The two clashed at the start of the season over the control of possible new signings and Benitez expressed his dissatisfaction over the club's failure to reinforce the squad with players he had recommended.

Benitez has enjoyed unprecedented success since taking over the Primera Liga club three years ago.

In his first season in charge he led the club to the Spanish title, the first time they had won the Primera Liga in 30 years.

Benitez has also coached Real Madrid's high profile B team, as well as Tenerife, Extremadura, Valladolid and Osasuna.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3765515.stm

monkey9 · 16-02-2009 09:55AM

Chris Bascombe in the NOTW yesterday was saying that Reina is looking to go back to Spain for personal reasons. Wants to fulfill an ambition to play for Atletico Madrid

PiE · 16-02-2009 10:00AM

Can't see that being true - he always seems happy to be at Liverpool to me. If it's a personal ambition to take a relative step down at this stage of his career, he'd need his head examined. He'll be able to go to Atletico in the latter years of his career if he'd like.

whatawaster · 16-02-2009 10:01AM

monkey9 wrote: »

Chris Bascombe in the NOTW yesterday was saying that Reina is looking to go back to Spain for personal reasons. Wants to fulfill an ambition to play for Atletico Madrid

he may well play for Atletico one day, but i doubt it will be for a good few years yet.
I don't think Atletico could afford him, or rather would be willing to pay the big fee we'd want for him. I'd start the negotiations at Aguero, and move on from there.
I think his dad played for them??? I wonder is that the personal reason? He seems very happy at Liverpool.

Dub13 · 16-02-2009 10:01AM

monkey9 wrote: »

Chris Bascombe in the NOTW yesterday was saying that Reina is looking to go back to Spain for personal reasons. Wants to fulfill an ambition to play for Atletico Madrid

Bascombe has zero credibility since he went to that rag.

monkey9 · 16-02-2009 10:38AM

Yeah, i was surprised while reading it cos Reina always seems happy at Liverpool. There were quotes from his dad about urging him to play for Atletico. I know it was only the rag and it was just a small piece in it, but just thought i'd mention it.

zing · 16-02-2009 10:55AM

That whole Reina to Atletico story came from an interview Reina's dad supposedly made a recently about how he wants his son to play for Atletico and how his son wants to play for them one day too and how he was always trying to persuade him to move, blah, blah, blah. Nothing to suggest this is something other than a some day I want to play for or manage club X type story.

mike65 · 16-02-2009 11:18AM

Torres back Rafa

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/feb/16/fernando-torres-liverpool

Not suprising that Sid Lowe picked up on that Rafa interview.

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