Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

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Benitez bid for budget control fails
Liverpool manager close to signing new contract after giving in on cash demand

By Ian Herbert


Friday, 20 February 2009

Rafael Benitez appears to have had to compromise over his demands for complete control over his club's transfer budget, with Liverpool's owners unwilling to hand over a sum that he is free to spend on players as he sees fit, as part of his new contract.


Benitez appears to be close to ending the drawn-out contract process which has created such uncertainty at Anfield, by putting pen to paper soon on a new £3.5m-a-year deal, and though it would appear that he will be able to answer more directly to the club's owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks under the auspices of the contract, the desire he expressed last month for a budget with which he is free to work does not appear to be one the club can satisfy.

Benitez has said he wanted a budget he could spend at his own discretion. "If you have £20m you can sign four players at £5m, one for £20m or one of £15m and another of £5m," he said recently. "Who will know how the money should be spent? One person – the manager, because he knows who he wants for his squad. Who will know the value of the player? The manager."

But the idea of the Americans handing over such a sum does not seem realistic, with Hicks and Gillett apparently insistent that they will expect to take each request for a player on merit, this summer. It was the Americans' decision that £18m was too much to lay out on Gareth Barry which has been a source of such rancour to Benitez, though the Spaniard's original estimate of the Aston Villa midfielder's value – at least £6m less – contributed to a belief shared by both owners that the Midlands club's demands were unrealistic as the process drew out.

Though Hicks is more amenable to Benitez's demands than Gillett, who will not countenance the idea of a manager being free to spend money as he choses, neither will allow a position to arise where he can spend such a sum without recourse to them. A clue to Benitez's acceptance of the need to compromise seemed to come in a recent Spanish interview, in which he said: "I never asked for complete control. 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." But it remains to be seen whether a more direct line to the Americans will be enough to satisfy him, should they decline him any given player this summer.

There are conflicting views on whether control over Liverpool's youth academy is the outstanding issue to be resolved before Benitez signs his new deal. Sources within the club suggest that control over the academy has never been realistic and is not an issue, though others suggest that the Spaniard is intent on being allowed to oversee that side of the club's overall development.

Ryan Babel is one of several players who had expressed discontent at being a squad player at Anfield but the Dutchman has said that Robbie Keane's departure has lifted his hopes of developing into a striker, as he was at his previous club Ajax. Benitez has tended to deploy Babel down the left flank but he said: "I have spoken with the manager and he has told me what my role can be in the future. If necessary, I will play as a winger, but I have made no secret of my desire to play as a striker at Liverpool. My shooting with my left foot could be better, too, and Fernando [Torres] is good with both feet so I have been watching how he positions his body to strike the ball."

Reds seek to avoid Hillsborough anniversary clash

UEFA are considering a request from Liverpool to move a Champions League match to avoid a clash with the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

Liverpool have asked if the second leg of their quarter-final – should they reach it – can be brought forward from its currently scheduled date of 15 April. That day marks exactly two decades since 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives at Hillsborough before and during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool would like the game to be played on 14 April, allowing players and staff to attend a memorial service at Anfield the next day.

The club have alerted Uefa to this potential clash but European football's governing body will not make a firm decision until after the last-16 ties are played and the quarter-final draw made.

A Uefa spokesman said: "We have received a request and we will try our best to accommodate it, but we cannot guarantee at this stage that we will be able to."

Liverpool must first win a two-legged tie against Real Madrid to reach the quarter-finals.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/benitez-bid-for-budget-control-fails-1626932.html

Rafael Benítez is almost ready to make his long-term commitment to Liverpool, but he has requested assurances about the future of his staff before he finally puts pen to paper. All parties hope that the contract saga will be resolved imminently, but Benítez has asked the board to guarantee job security for his various assistants, most of whom have only months to run on their contracts at Anfield.

Benítez, the manager, also remains concerned about the lack of progress in negotiations over new contracts for Daniel Agger, Álvaro Arbeloa and Dirk Kuyt, whose deals expire at the end of next season.

PiE wrote: »

I hadn't actually read it - was in the middle of it when I had to do some actual work. But yea you're right - journo taking a few liberties with the headline.

My comment about rally cries was more about when players pop up in news saying "must win, gotta play better" etc - rarely actually helps.

PEPE REINA has dismissed speculation suggesting he is seeking a move to Atletico Madrid.
Feb 20 2009 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo

Reina’s father recently declared that the Liverpool keeper is desperate to seal a transfer to Atletico, but the 26-year-old insists he is happy at Anfield.

“It’s my father who made this declaration because he wants me to play for Atletico, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t,” he said.

“If one day I was to think of moving back to Spanish football, Atletico would be my first option because it’s a club I have a lot of affection for.

“Nevertheless, saying that I want to move to Atletico right now is wrong because I’m happy at Liverpool.”

daithijjj wrote: »

Serious question requiring serious answer.

How many of us said that benitez should be the boss before his name entered the fray last time?

It baffles me that some folk on this thread acclaim benitez as having done a good job but dismiss martin o neills efforts at villa almost in the same breath. As far as im concerned i think benitez is doing ok. Martin o neill is proving yet again that he is a great manager and man motivator.

Rafa Benitez: Belief is the key - Liverpool FC latest
Feb 20 2009 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo


RAFA BENITEZ today told his players not to worry about Manchester United and to have total belief in themselves.

Liverpool currently trail the league leaders by five points and the gap could tomorrow be stretched to eight should United beat Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

But with the Reds set to take on Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday Benitez knows the dynamic at the top of the table could still shift in favour of the Reds as long as they retain their focus and belief in the weeks to come.

“The first thing to stress is that we cannot change anything that other teams are doing unless we are playing them,” said the Anfield boss.

“We can only improve the things that depend on us and what we do ourselves - so it is important that we keep our focus.

“Clearly we have to believe in ourselves because we are in the position that we are in in the league table because we deserve to be there.

“We know that every single league game from now until the end of the season will be important and we cannot start to think about where we may or may not be in two or three games time if results go this way or that way.

“All we can do is focus on each game as it comes and try to do everything we can for winning.

“You never know what will happen at this stage of the season, there are often some strange results and this is why we must keep our concentration and not think too much about anyone or anything else.

“Training at Melwood has been really good this week and the mood among the players has been very positive, so hopefully we can take this into Sunday’s game.”
Benitez’s contract situation is yet to be resolved and he today told the ECHO: “There is no news and I want to concentrate on the football.”

But one thing which he insists is not in any doubt is that the battle for the title is not a two horse race between his own side and United as it has been billed in some quarters.

Benitez is refusing to rule out Aston Villa and reckons Martin O’Neill’s team could still have a major say in the destination of this year’s Premier League trophy.

He added: I think it's too soon to say it's a two horse race.

“We have to keep going and then maybe at the end it could be down to two teams.

“Aston Villa are in a good position also but I am not surprised by this because they have good players.

“They are working really hard and are in a good position, and that makes motivation for each game easier.”

Karmafaerie wrote: »

I'll get the goal/minute ratio in a bit.

mike65 wrote: »

Why did you bother boggles? Why do you ever bother in this thread?

Karmafaerie wrote: »

As the great Magnus would say....I've started so I'll finish.


Keane played 1265 league minutes scoring 5 goals.
That means he played 14.05 games (90 mins a game)

Scored a goal every 253 minutes which gives him a goal every 2.8 games.





Vornin played 1131 league minutes.scoring 5 goals.
That's 12.56 games (90 mins a game).

Scored a goal every 226.2 minutes, which gives him a goal every 2.5 games.