My initial reaction following last nights loss to Reading was that we must get rid of Rafa as soon as possible and that Liverpool needs a total ‘reboot’, something similar to CTRL+ALT+DEL. “Get him out now” was my thought. But again I look at the work that’s gone into reshaping the football side of Liverpool and I think we are on the right track. The academy is better, the scouting is better, the first team is better (on paper), the value of the club is better. That is a solid foundation for a long term dynasty of Liverpool success. It’s a lot more like the Liverpool of old that had the best structure in the league and the best young players in the league, the best run business in the league. Those are the things that got lost since Dalglish was manager and only now are they coming back. That project is what will make us a force again.

Man Utd. allowed Fergie to do the same when he came in during the 80’s. They built the best ground in the league, the best academy, the best training facility, the best business model. During that time they avoided relegation on the last day of the season on one occasion. But all that effort in setting themselves up properly has really paid off big time. They rode out the tough times and came out the better for it. One thing they did which we haven’t set about doing is buying great players. Man Utd. spent huge during those days. They broke transfer records at will.

I can’t remember the last time Liverpool actually had an all encompassing plan for the football Organization (not just the game plan). Under Souness the plan was “We’ll win coz we are Liverpool”. Under Evans it was “We’ll win coz I’m from the bootroom”. Under Houllier it was “We’ll win if we sign a lot of French guys”. There was no mention of managing the brand. No mention of maximising sponsorship earnings. No mention or physical plans for a truly world class stadium. These are the ingredients Man Utd. put together to end up where they are today. But we were stuck in the past thinking we are football royalty.

Only now are we actually thinking about Liverpool as an organization and not just a football club. This is not a social footy squad that just lands on match day to play!

I think we need to persist with the plan we have started. It looks good to me. I think the owners must support the plan with big money so that we can be competitive. We need to shake our season awake. A major world class signing would be the perfect boost for the whole team. Confidence is the only thing missing right now. The potential is definitely there.

We must hold our nerve people, ride out the storm. We’ll come out better for it on the other side.

YNWA

So it’s back, all the agony and the ecstasy. The familiar twisting knots in the stomach, almost seeming to follow the minute-by-minute tracks of the football on the field as our dearest club gets off the blocks in this new Premiership season. A 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur later, I am surprisingly not blowing my top and ranting all about those 90 minutes to anyone who’d care to listen, because I’ve got it all figured out, and I invite you all to ponder the same.

Last season, we blew everyone away with our breathtaking beginning to the season. Even Fergie choked on his chewing gun, John Terry was forced to add us to the top of the title-challengers list, and old Rio probably spent a few minutes gnashing his teeth over every sparkling victory we churned out, unfailingly, one after the other. The latent voices in the background used to only whispering about our trophy ambitions in the league became louder and louder, nearly a cacophony. Unfortunately, this fairytale didn’t have a happy ending. You all know what happened, 2009 brought with it a Gerrard bar brawl, a Rafa rant, tons of dropped points and heartbreak, and ultimately, a position in the league for which there exists no trophy.

So I’ll take this for now, opening blues, a bit of a stumble early on, lessons learnt and all, if it means the business end of the league goes our way. In Niccolo Machiavelli and his ‘ends justifies the means’ theories we trust, and hopefully, the slackness shown today can soon be consigned to distant memory. Bring on the rest, we’ll be ready. Meanwhile, whoever you see delighting in our loss today, don’t hesitate to sock it to them.

YNWA.

PS — But what did all of you think of today’s match?

Remember the crazy Rafa who listed out all of Ferguson’s shortcomings in that little tirade which began Liverpool’s decline last season, the one where we let the Premiership get away? Well, watching him in person at Liverpool’s first press conference in Bangkok today got me thinking, in between trying to stifle my laughter so the other journalists wouldn’t stare at me, that he really is quite a funny guy. And the art of dodging questions with well-appreciated witticisms has been mastered pretty damn well too. Move over Mourinho!

Oh yes, it is pre-season, all relaxed, travelling to countries where each step induces a million people scream to out your name in obsessive adulation, spreading the Reds name to faraway lands, and well, you get my drift. When the real business begins, in around a month, that’s when the claws’ll come out, we can be rest assured. The only thing I wish for is that Rafa keeps his marbles, and uses them to flick over our esteemed rivals in England.

On Monday, the talk was all Xabi Alonso and David Villa and when The Title would return to Anfield, all of which the Spaniard dodged with as much skill as is contained in the feet of our silken Basque midfielder. “Of course we’ll talk,” he said, talking about Alonso’s possible move to the sunny shores of Spainish. “We’ll talk about strategy, the match coming up, and all that,” he concluded with a wicked grin. That’s it then, all the information he would volunteer.

The subject of David Villa was dealt with quickly, too, and he won’t be putting on the shirt with the Liverbird anytime soon.

There was Ryan Babel and the heart of LFC, Jamie Carragher, sitting on either side of him at the press conference table, but the questions were all falling into Benitez’s net and he probably felt a bit bad that his players were being ignored. “No questions for the players? They are the ones who will be playing,” he smirked, and laughed, along with everyone in the room.

Carragher spoke in for Stevie, who is in England at his bar brawl hearing, and made all the usual noises about how he would’ve loved to be in Thailand, etc etc, and Babel was thrown a question about the swine flu that’s doing the rounds, and boy, did that faze him. I mean, what’s he supposed to say, should’ve just laughed it off, he needs to learn from Rafa. But maybe he was all happy with the praise the gaffer had just dealt him. “He’ll be more settled now, he is a much stronger player now than he was before.”

All the talk done, questions dealt with, photo-ops done, the players got up to leave. There was this girl who stood behind all the cameramen and stealthily moved to where the players would leave from. She positioned herself just right so Carra would just HAVE to pass by and then thrust her book and pen and said what would probably be the most important words of her life: Can I have your autograph? He didn’t look like the happiest person in the world, but whatever, signed it and moved on. It made her day. Yes, that was me.

Just a few quick thoughts on priorities for the offseason.

1.  Yes, I think we can all agree that a suitable partner / replacement for Torres is a must.

As we’ve read and heard nearly everywhere lately the Mancs can toss in their offensive pairing of choice more often than not while we’re forced to push the likes of N’gog and El Zhar into the spotlight which is probably not the level they are at just yet.

I think this is the place to put the majority of our financial muscle.  We need folks that can put the ball in the net.  How many times can we watch poor first touches, scuffed shots and poor passes slow and thwart our attacks, especially from the wide places?   You get what you pay for most often when it comes to that special level of class so let’s not skimp.

2.  Can we also all agree that Gareth Barry is not the most important signing of the offseason?

His main quality as far as I can see is his habit of funneling the ball to Stevie when the two are together on the pitch.  Unfortunately for us, our captain is most often heavily marked and is forced to make moments out of what space he can.  This isn’t to say it’s not a good linkup for us, I think it would work wonders against lesser opposition, but let’s not put 3 more months and 18 million quid into this fella again.  There are more important matters at hand.

3.  It’s time to start thinking about it……Sami’s Exit and Carra’s impending retirement

As to the second point, I know it’s not imminent, but in another two seasons this will be smack in our face.  Agger and Skrtel are both able center halves and worthy of their places in the squad, but as we all know there is strength in depth, and that depth is exactly what we’ll need in our challenge to win on all fronts in the years to come.   Now with Big Sami making his farewells, it’s time to find his replacement and with his position being such an important one, I think it’s best to find a younger option who will grow and peak with this team as it’s being built to do.

This seems to be Rafa’s specialty, finding cheap young center backs primed to excel in English football.  Here’s hoping he can repeat that success again.

4.  It’s about damn time Rafa got control of his transfer policy.

If he is who we believe best to devise and execute both our selection and tactical decisions, then how could we believe any less when it comes to knowing how best to fill the positions he himself is creating for us?

This only makes sense, as he just like anyone must be allowed to sink or swim on his own merit.  At the very least it has streamlined our process of player acquisition such that we can be more fluid in our actions as situations dictate.  That can only be a good things going forward.

YNWA

I thought as much! Over the last couple of months when Rafa was refusing to sign the new contract, many had suspected that he may just quit. I recall reading some reports that talk of Rafa quitting was not true but now he has come out and said that the thought of quitting had crossed his mind. It was only natural to think that he may quit after all the fighting that was going on at board room level.

Rafa wants to run Liverpool in his own way and he was not going to be allowed to until the American owners gave in to his demands and accepted what Rafa wanted. Now I guess the ball is in Rafa’s court, now that he has been allowed to do things his way. I have a lot of faith in Rafa and I am sure that now he has signed a new contract he can do things his way and hopefully it will bring success to us.

In Rafa We Believe!

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N163657090318-2103.htm

It’s now official, Rafa Benitez has signed on to lead the Reds for a further five years.  As you can read yourself on the official site, following the end of this deal, he will have been at the helm of Liverpool for over a decade.

With the club now possessing the #1 ranking over the past five years in European competition I don’t see how there is any way to receive this news as anything but joyous.  Add to that our continued progress in the league with, let’s admit it, far lesser financial clout and you have a recipe for success that is unrivaled in England or elsewhere.

With several seasons more to grow and develop, perhaps we’ll be the ones contemplating quadruples and quintuples before you know it.

Congratulations Rafa, but more importantly congratulations to you and me and everyone who loves this club.

Today is a major turning point in our history and from here it seems that we’re heading in the best direction possible.

p.s.  Hello to you all again, some personal issues have kept me out of action, but I hope to return on a permanent basis.

Come on you Reds!

Rafa’s contract saga could finally be resolved in the next two weeks, according to Rafa himself. The boss wants his contract sorted out in the next two weeks with the American owners. I hope that this time around everyone agrees and we have no more drama and Rafa signs the contract and everyone is happy and life can go on.

It is no secret that Rafa wants to stay at Liverpool and stay for a very long time. It only makes sense, he needs assurances that he can put together a long term project at the club. We have come a long way and we should allow Rafa to finish off the work he has started. This season we could just finish second which would be a sign of progress. It would have been a tall order for us to move from fourth to first in one season. Yes we had a great chance to win the title this season but we blew it. Hopefully now we can learn from this so we are better prepared next season.

I do not think you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what we need to win the league. It is simple we need a quality squad. And to have a quality squad we need cash! If the American owners can sell the club in the summer to someone with a load of cash then I do not see how we can not win the league.

But first thing is first for me, let’s get Rafa on a long term contract and get some cash and then we can move forward.

Your guess is as really as good as mine! I am getting sick and tired of this! Who are we to blame: Rafa or the American Owners? I think it has now boiled to the fact that Anfield is no longer big enough for both Rafa Benitez and Rick Parry. One of them has to leave and I hope it is Parry. There is no way we can afford to loose Rafa. Just look at what he has done for us over the years, I really can not see or want any other manger to come and take over our club right now. I want to see Rafa have the full support of the board and to be allowed to do things his way (to a certain degree) and have him stay on for many years. There is no point in us loosing him now and then getting another new face who is going to want to start to rebuild the team and give us another 5 years before we start challenging again.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is suggestion that Rafa will rest key players for this weekends F.A. Cup tie against Everton at Anfield. I am not too sure if this is a good idea. Yes, our priority is the league and then the Champions League but surely we can not take the F.A. Cup lightly especially since it is against Everton of all teams. We have to win not matter what against Everton. We can not afford to give them the bragging rights for the city until next season. Right now they are glowing after the draw on Monday night so we can not give them any further joy.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was quick to come out and support Rafa for the stance he took last week Friday against Sir Alex Ferguson. I thought that was a once off and the last we would hear from Rafa but he has continued further now and I think he is loosing it now! The Spaniard questioned whether Manchester United chief executive David Gill should be allowed to hold his position as a board member at the Football Association. Benitez said: “They were saying we are a threat. Now they know we are, they are playing mind games. But when you have control of everything and your chief executive is powerful in the FA and things like this, then that is not mind games.
Read the rest of this entry »