Rafa or Martinez? Which Spaniard will get the call?

[Sir X]

lol.....so much love....lol......RAFA mi say.

[Paul Marin]

lol....dis bredda serious.So Rafa wasnt buying wisely or wholesale? He managed to win a CL , FA cup , CL & Prem runners up by doing what ?...buck up?

Again how yuh compete with clubs who dont have to sell to buy and do what Rafa has achieved.

Proof Rafa was a genius.Like pep said liverpool was the only club he saw as a future threat,sound like a man u ite..too big fi im britches....you just got sucker punched.

Yuh notice ow Jangle missing !

I'm with X on this one. Most people have perceptions about Rafa being a big spender when the facts are that he was far off the market compared to Chelsea and United, his biggest rivals andwhen he did have to sell to buy, the club did very poorly, i.e. in the last year of his tenure under G&H:

Rafa
2008 - 2009 Net spend: -21.8m
2007 - 2008 Net spend: -37.1m
2006 - 2007 Net spend: -24.6m
2005 - 2006 Net spend: -22.0m
2004 - 2005 Net spend: -29.7m
Total: 135.2

Chelski
2008 - 2009 Net spend: +11.9m
2007 - 2008 Net spend: -14.3m
2006 - 2007 Net spend: -38.9m
2005 - 2006 Net spend: -50.7m
2004 - 2005 Net spend: -139.5m
Total: 231.5

Manure
2008 - 2009 Net spend: -33.2m
2007 - 2008 Net spend: -52.0m
2006 - 2007 Net spend: -2.1m
2005 - 2006 Net spend: -21.0m
2004 - 2005 Net spend: -45.4m
Total: 153.8

It is no coincidence that Rafa got screwed by lack of funds. In his last two years, Liverpool had a surplus on transfers (total 8.5-10m) and while he had decent funds in the early years of his tenure, he was up against Chelski's big money and Manure's established infrastructure. So he did well when he got the funds, but he got nothing like Jose and didn't have the starting point that Slurgie had.

That said, my problem with Rafa is his playing style regarding forwards and attack. He likes his teams to play at a high tempo, which is great, and he has a great sense of tactical awareness defensively, but he is not to my liking on the attacking side nor is his player selection outside of defenders and defensive midfielders coherent. He completely flopped on Keane - spend 21m and benched the man. In fact, name a single striker that Liverpool signed under Rafa that did well other than Torres and maybe Kuyt. He destroys them because his expectation is that they are going to work like defensive midfielders in the opponents half. It is unrealistic. Only Tevez, Kuyt and maybe Suarez can work like that, but few others. Think about the list of strikers/forwards Rafa had:

Pongolle
Morientes
Cisse
Babel
Riera
Crouch
Bellamy
Voronin
Keane
N'gog

As I said, other than Torres or Kuyt, none of them developed. One could even argue that Rafa can't identify striking talent. So that's my beef and why I support a new manager, but I would not go English or Prem like X says, I'd rather see Frank Rijkaard than anyone else.

YNWA

[Assasin]

how many of those players lasted 3 good years? That is what I am talking about with Rafa, plus he nearly gave a way Alanso for nothing and bought Barry for a huge amount, only because Martin Oneil held out why that didn't happen.

Rafa also was not on board with the owner and came out in the public about it.

[Gamma]

so how comes the gunners do it while MAKING 11M?

is not how much yuh spend, is how yuh spend it!!!

[Sir X]

Sass yuh get Xposed ....leff it alone...lol.Better Rafa buy english and suffer with mediocrity, btw how much man city bought Barry for ? and which club did Alonso want to go to before he came to pool?

For a player who claimed his heart was in pool , he handed in his transfer too quick, where was the fight to stay.

How many of your prem managers , specifically Martin Oneil who operated under the same sell to buy policy won a CL or better yet has a runners up prem record ?

Keep talking , the questions and revelations only get harder.

[Paul Marin]

so how comes the gunners do it while MAKING 11M?

is not how much yuh spend, is how yuh spend it!!!

The gunners did it with a net 11M because of the sales of Nasri and Fab but they also had to scramble to get in reinforcements after the buss ass...I am not sure if those figures include getting Arteta etc. Still, of course it's how you spend it...but all things being equal, net spend (and overall squad value) is a good indicator of where you will land in the table, unless you are Liverpool of course.

[Assasin]

Alonso handed his request a year later because he felt disrepected the year before. He played his heart out for Liverpool to be told he was on the selling list to be replaced by Barry.

[Sir X]

Thats your issue ? thats going to take away from the ((fact)) he won a CL, FA cup and 2 runners up in the CL and Prem ?

Are you for real ?... compared to other managers under the same policy who achieved what , e.g Martin Oneil ?

Boss tek whey yuhself....1 year later, after Barry went to city, how spitefull, when he knew we needed him most, alonso has admitted before coming to pool and at pool , his heart was at Real and he got his deal.

[Dunny]

Alonso handed his request a year later because he felt disrepected the year before. He played his heart out for Liverpool to be told he was on the selling list to be replaced by Barry.

Sass give up, I've tried many times to point out to X that Rafa is just a cheque book manager but he has this blind faith in Rafa. I hope they bring him back so he can finally realize that the Champions League win was a buck up with Houlliers team.

[Gamma]

that is my point! thank you.

[Sir X]

The FA cup , runners up in CL & Prem too ?

[Dunny]

The FA cup , runners up in CL & Prem too ?

X, me afi tek mi hat off to you. Rafa cant do any wrong in your eyes, you didn't even realize that the longer Rafa spent at the club the worst they got. Cho why do i bother?

[Sir X]

True one bad season after finishing runners up in the prem , should get any manager sacked who works on a sell to buy policy, keep in mind up to 60 to 70 % of his squad was out injured for 90 % of the season.

We all know why you Arse fans fear Rafa , because Liverpool youth academy is now # 1 in the U.K , again thanks to rafa.

[Dunny]

True one bad season after finishing runners up in the prem , should get any manager sacked who works on a sell to buy policy, keep in mind up to 60 to 70 % of his squad was out injured for 90 % of the season.

We all know why you Arse fans fear Rafa , because Liverpool youth academy is now # 1 in the U.K , again thanks to rafa.

X,please don't get me started. Liverpool youth Academy no 1 in the UK thanks to Rafa? Rafa spent 6 years at Liverpool and took the club backwards where are the top young players that he left when he went.Jay Spearing,Jonjo Shelvey etc. You should know your club history my youth, Liverpool used to produce good young players before Rafa's tenure and it went pear shaped while he was there when was the last time a good young player of the Owen's,Gerrard's and Carragher's calibre come out of your club? How many young players Liverpool have out on loan or ready to come into your first team?

[Sir X]

Talk to Pep, I think he should know something about ball.

Pep Guardiola Lauds Liverpool Academy
Posted on 09. Jun, 2011 by Dominic Campbell in News

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Pep Guardiola has issued a glowing review of the Liverpool youth system after holding an interview with Catalan Radio. The Barcelona coach has arguably the world’s best academy at his disposal, with many regarding Arsenal’s young guns as contenders.
However, Guardiola believes that it is Liverpool who have the only academy that can challenge his own – a sentiment that he was keen to share during a recent interview:
“The academy of the Liverpool is the only one that can compare to La Masia of Barcelona FC.” he said.
The double winning coach then went on to state: “If Liverpool can manage those lads in the academy, then maybe 20 star players can arrive from that academy”.
Rafa Benitez’ marmite approach to football is one that still has the Anfield faithful split between those who laud his time at the club, and those who rejoiced at his exit. But the legacy that he left behind is testament to his managerial ability and vision for the club’s future.
Thanks to his hard work, and that of Jose Segura and Rodolfo Borrell – both of whom were poached from the Barca ranks – as well as Frank McParland and Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool finally have an academy set-up which is envied the world over.