Author Topic: Players signed by Rafael Benitez  (Read 164352 times)

Offline Troglodyte

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #40 on: November 2, 2009, 11:04:25 am »
Rafa's biggest signing  was not a signing at all.The fact that he convinced Gerrard to stay at Liverpool, turning down clubs who would have paid him much more and had better chances(then) to win trophies.That was an achievement.

Not to mention Torres's signing...
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Offline redgriffin73

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #41 on: November 2, 2009, 11:05:14 am »
Great OP, just a shame people are blinded by what they are told by the media.
Rafa Benitez: "I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager. Thank you so much once more and always remember: You'll never walk alone."

Offline Hannibal

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #42 on: November 2, 2009, 11:11:51 am »
Why do people expect quality on the bench when we can't afford to buy top players and can't afford their wages.

This is what's been hitting us hard this season the lack of quality in reserve/squad players, we've had to sell the old to buy new.  We had to sell Baros to get Crouch to get Torres.  Since we only had enough money to spent on getting first team players the rest of the squad suffered and had to bolster the ranks with free transfers like Voronin.  Now throw in injuries and virus outbreaks are people really surprised we are struggling to field even a half decently strength team?.

Offline SP

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #43 on: November 2, 2009, 11:14:42 am »
Well researched, although I disagree with your assumption that we'll get decent money back for Babel and Dossena. I doubt we will recoup half of what we paid for them and to be frank if someone offered 3 mil for Doss and 5 mil for Babel I'd bite their fucking hands off!

Dossena is still rated in Italy, and crucially the Euro exchange rate has moved since we signed him. His Euro price would probably drop considerably, but the cost difference in sterling would be much smaller. The proposed move in the summer would have been less than £1M loss. Cheap for a 4th goal specialist.

Offline koptician

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #44 on: November 2, 2009, 11:19:20 am »
 :wellin :thumbup :scarf

TOP TOP post. 

I hope you're wrong about Mascher though.

Offline guest

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #45 on: November 2, 2009, 11:19:52 am »
There are some names in there that have gone, either because they didnt "settle" or Rafa didn't like, call it what you will, that i'd much prefer to still see in a Liverpool shirt ahead of Voronin/Babel/Ngog. Maybe I'm speaking out of turn.

Fuck all wrong with N'Gog. Would rather have him than Keane.

Offline The Nihilists

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #46 on: November 2, 2009, 11:21:50 am »
Fuck all wrong with N'Gog. Would rather have him than Keane.


Me too.

The "problem" is that our reserve strikers cost about £1.5m combined, and we pay them relatively low wages.

Offline IfOnlyYouKnew

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #47 on: November 2, 2009, 11:26:29 am »
Great...take a bow.

Now lets go and win some football matches!

Offline shanklyboy

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #48 on: November 2, 2009, 11:26:58 am »
What amazes me is the number of posters in here who seem suprised at these well documented figures.
How can we expect the media hype mongers to get their facts right if our own fans don't even know them?
The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

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Offline gwto

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #49 on: November 2, 2009, 11:27:06 am »
Well done!  :wellin

Offline koptician

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #50 on: November 2, 2009, 11:30:20 am »
Why can you, "some poster on an internet forum" work it out like this, and see it as it is. While the big effin majority of the press not see that, and cut Rafa some slack, or at least don't make up stories, and tell lies.

Bunch of c*nts, the press.

Good post!

Mate, the press LOVE to have a target and being based in London (mostly) they know that there won't be much retaliation/media war coming from Liverpool.  Everyone's scared of Mr. Ferguson so they won't even touch things like what a flop £30m Berbatov is.  They're a business and all the doom and gloom sells.  So what if most of it's based on spurious, yellow journalism.  Boils my blood  :no

Offline Marko B

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #51 on: November 2, 2009, 11:31:21 am »
Brilliant post.

Lets just hope the effort you have put in turns at least one ignorant head to see the bigger picture.
Quote from: Rafa Benitez
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Offline The 5th Benitle

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #52 on: November 2, 2009, 11:32:19 am »
Fuck all wrong with N'Gog. Would rather have him than Keane.
Agree with that. I just hope the owners don't see him as a saleable asset given how well he's coming on and given his age.

Offline the 92A

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #53 on: November 2, 2009, 11:32:21 am »
 Great post. You must have some time on yer hands, You're The New Paul Tomkins ;)
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Offline SP

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #54 on: November 2, 2009, 11:34:16 am »
Mate, the press LOVE to have a target and being based in London (mostly) they know that there won't be much retaliation/media war coming from Liverpool.  Everyone's scared of Mr. Ferguson so they won't even touch things like what a flop £30m Berbatov is.  They're a business and all the doom and gloom sells.  So what if most of it's based on spurious, yellow journalism.  Boils my blood  :no

It's not even a geographic thing (this time). Any manager with a run of poorer than expected results gets the feeding frenzy. Last season it was Wenger. Sports sections are very big, and reporters imagination is very limited. Given the choice between a well researched and original piece (time consuming) and a beleaguered manager piece with suitable rent a quotes - the hatchet job wins out nearly every time.   

Offline Paul JH

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #55 on: November 2, 2009, 11:35:16 am »
Should be essential reading for every Red (though why they should need it pointing out God only knows)

I beg to differ. Should be essential reading for reds who listen to people like Stan Collymore or Ronnie Whelan, or call phone-ins and call for the managers head. Not EVERY red. There are a few of us who already know this stuff.

Good thread though.
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Offline The 5th Benitle

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #56 on: November 2, 2009, 11:35:33 am »
Brilliant post.

Lets just hope the effort you have put in turns at least one ignorant head to see the bigger picture.
I'm sure it will change the point of view of quite a few. Sadly, a post on here doesn't have quite the same reach as the falsehoods peddled by the likes of Ronnie Whelan in the media. If this was what the hacks wanted to write about, they'd lift it or similar stuff from Tomkins, but 'Rafa is good at wheeling and dealing' is a non-story to them, whereas ex-reds sticking the knife in without the slightest clue of what they're talking about makes for great copy and sadly convinces millions that what they print is correct.

Online rocco

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #57 on: November 2, 2009, 11:39:45 am »
 I wrote nearly the exact same Article a few weeks ago regarding transfers under Rafa and e-mailed to Ronnie and RTE 2 ... must not have read it ....
Included in it the value of the players at the club which Rafa had bought since he bought them and it worked out with Rafa spending £2m net over all his transfers .. IE.
Torres £20m --£70m

etc ..


« Last Edit: November 2, 2009, 11:43:48 am by rocco »

Offline BoRed

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #58 on: November 2, 2009, 11:40:12 am »
All Rafa's flops together don't add up to a single Juan Sebastian Veron, and this tells me four things:

1. Rafa is doing a brilliant job, and we've been realistically overachieving since he took over.
2. We're financially miles behind the big boys.
3. The media are either clueless or malicious.
4. It'll take a bloody miracle for us to win the title any time soon. :(

Offline wideawakewesley

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #59 on: November 2, 2009, 11:42:22 am »
A link to a post I made back in May that has similar sentiments to this:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=242589.0

Offline jaffod

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #60 on: November 2, 2009, 11:44:02 am »
So in real terms Rafa has only spent what he has generated himself from outstanding progress year in year out in the CL. Probably less if anything.

Money from gate receipts, corporate hospitality, the Premier league, television/Sky, merchandising, sponsorship and numerous other income streams has gone.....where exactly?

Offline LFC-Dan

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #61 on: November 2, 2009, 11:44:26 am »
Superb post.

Why haven't Chelsea been slated for their dealings in the transfer market recently?  The Money they've lost on players over the years has been staggering compared to ours and they've changed their manager umpteen times since Ranieri left.

Seems the media love any chance to have a go at Rafa, wish there was a way you could post all that to all of them!
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Offline Twiggthemanc

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #62 on: November 2, 2009, 11:46:03 am »
I'll do the same for United, just as a comparism, not trying to stir anything, and as I'm writing this, I don't know how it'll turn out.

Man United 2004/2005
Alan Smith – Leeds United to Manchester United (7 mil) - Quite expensive signing, and made before Rooney was known to be coming. Still played around 50 games. Later sold for 6 million.
Gabriel Heinze – Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United (6.9 mil) Bought in and originally showed a lot of promise, winning our player of the season. Eventually injuries ruined him and Evra was bought in. Later sold for 8 million
Wayne Rooney – Everton to Manchester United (27 mil) - A lot of money for a young teen at the time. Scored a hat trick on his debut. Now Uniteds main player, and one of the best strikers in the league. Fee included a lot of add-ons, which I imagine all were reached.

Sold


Nicky Butt – Manchester United to Newcastle United (2.5 mil) Good servant to the club, no longer in first team plans
Diego Forlan – Manchester United to Villareal (4 mil) Started as a flop, but eventually started scoring. Could have got a lot more for him.
Eric Djemba Djemba (1.5 million) - A flop. Sold at a loss.

Total spent: 41 million
Total recieved: 8 million


2005/2006 season

In:
Edwin van der Sar – Fulham to Manchester United (2 mil) Great signing. Still number 1, and one of our most consistant keepers. Very cheap as well
Park Ji-Sung – PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United (4 mil) Another cheap reliable signing, injured recently, but has done a job, and definitely worth the money we paid.
John Obi Mikel – Lyn to Manchester United (0). Announced to have signed for United in January. Went on to sign for Chelsea instead.
Nemanja Vidic – Spartak Moscow to Manchester United (7 mil) - Best defender in the premiership last season. Great buy.
Patrice Evra – Monaco to Manchester United (5.5 mil)
- Worlds greatest left back IMO. One of Fergies best signings.

Out:
Phil Neville – Manchester United to Everton (3 mil plus) Good servant, again no longer needed.
Kleberson – Manchester United to Beşiktaş (2.5 mil) - Another flop, albeit I would have liked to see him given more time.

Total spent: 16.5 million
Total recieved: 5.5 million

2006/2007

Michael Carrick – Tottenham Hotspurs to Manchester United (18.6 mil) - At the time the price was laughed at, but become a mainstay in a United midfield that won 3 Premierleagues on the bounce. Great player. Good deal.
Tomasz Kuszczak – West Brom to Manchester United (swap). A back up signed in exchange for Luke Steele and Mcshane. West Brom fell out with United over this.
Henrik Laarson (Loan) - Came for free, scored a few goals. Quality player

Out:

John Obi Mikel – Manchester United to Chelsea (12 mil) - Recieved a massive ammount for a player who never did anything. Worth it.
Jonathan Spector – Manchester United to West Ham United (0.5 mil) - Reserve player sold for minimal fee.
David Bellion – Manchester United to Nice (1.2 million) - Bought cheap. Sold cheap
Quinton Fortune – Manchester United to Bolton Wanderers (free) - Ran down his contract. No longer fit enough for Man United.
Ruud van Nistelrooy – Manchester United to Real Madrid (10.2 mil)
One of our best strikers, fell out with Fergie. Many thought it was a stupid move, but bought about a great style of play.
Slyvain Ebanks Blake 0.3 million Decent little player
David Jones 1 million Derby got robbed. Reserve player sold for small price though.

Total Spent: 18.6 million
Total recieved: 25.2 million

2007/2008

In:

Owen Hargreaves - 17 million Very public pursual of Hargreaves finished, bought him, been injured a lot. Transfer could go either way.
Anderson - 17 million Although I've seen a lot of other fans don't rate him, I think this has been a great signing. Been great this year in the midfield.
Nani - 14 million
Can be awesome one day, shit the next. Probably his deciding year, and he needs to step up.
Carlos Tevez - 10 million A two year loan deal for a player, 5 million a year. Did his job as a back up, then let go as he wasn't worth the 32 million he went for.

Out:

Kieran Richardson (5.5 million) reserve player no longer needed. Shown the door for massive profit.
Giuseppe Rossi (8 million) Young reserve player, no longer needed. Shown the door for massive profit.
Alan Smith (6 million) - Injury hit and not as good as when we sold him. Sold for a 1 million loss.
Gabriel Ivįn Heinze (8 million) Injury plagued seasons and lost his first choice spot to Evra. Wanted to go Liverpool but sold to Real for profit.

Total Spent: 58 million
Total recieved: 29.5 million


2008/2009:

Fabio/Rafeal (1 million) - Great bargain. Looks the real deal.
Manucho 0? Bought for next to nothing from the Angolan top division. Played against Stoke in his only appearance if I recall, went to hull, then later sold for millions.
Berbatov 32 million Massive money for a player we were after for a while. In my opinion has been a good signing, but many criticise his "lazy" play.
Ritchie Da Laet - Bought from Stoke reserves for nothing, now looks to be a good little prospect.Hopefully will push first team
Tosic and Ljijac - Joint deal for around 14 million pounds. Ljijac then loaned out and he looks to be the real deal. Tosic languishing in reserves, but keeps scoring.

Out:
Dong 0.2 million United legend. Absolute shit.
Saha 2.5 million No figures exist apart from this one, but it might be higher/lower. Great striker, always injured
Pique 7 million Very cheap compared to what he's worth now. But at the time was playing poor (mistake v bolton) and Evans was thought of as better
Silvestre 0.75 million His tenth season. Very good but aging.
Chris Eagles 2 million Sold reserve player. Decent lad.
Ryan Shawcross 2 million Got paid for Ryan Shawcross. Stoke broke thier record transfer fee for him, and he's been great in the prem. Might be on his way to a bigger club soon.
Lee Martin 1 million The reserve clearout continued. Sold at a profit.

Total in: 47 million
Total sold: 15.5 million

2009/2010

Players in:

Antonia Valencia 17 million Good player. Really improved in last 3/4 games. Money well spent.
Gabriel Obertan 3 million Good prospect, played well on his debut, and looks promising
Michael Owen 0. Good signing. Scored 3 already, and looks lively when coming on. Stayed fit as well.

Out:
Cristiano Ronaldo 80 million   :( Cracking player. Sold for a lot.
Manucho 2.5 million Sold to Real Valladoid. Bought for peanuts.
Richard Ecklesley 1 million Reserve lad gone to Burnley

Total in:
21 million
Total out:
83.5 million

 
 




Our net spent is either + or - a few million depending on what transfer fees you believe.



Offline killer-heels

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #63 on: November 2, 2009, 11:47:13 am »
To be fair, the whole issue over signings overblown by both sides.

On one side, the pro Rafa camp state how much our net spend has been and how our current woes are to do with us having not signed enough players or spent enough money.

On the the other side, the anti-Rafa camp state how many players have been sold (most of whom wanted to go anyway) and how he has spent lots of money.

I for one sit in the middle in regards to signings and our current form. Rafa has spent lots of money and is hardly a pauper and all in all, has signed some very good players. I mean our current starting line up could include..

Reina
Johnson
Agger
Mascherano
Gerrard
Torres

Now 5 of those have been mentioned as the best players in that position in world football (plus peoples opinion of Agger isn't low if Sarge's post was anything to go by). Thats all excluding the likes of Aurelio, Aquilani, Lucas, Benayoun, Kuyt, Babel and Riera.

Yes we could have had an even better squad but we have a starting 11 that most teams would be proud of. You can't have 5 world class players in a team and lose 5 out of 6 games.

Our issues at the moment are purely down to the under performing of a number of key players within our squad and probably the slightly weak mentality of the team. More signings would be great and keeping some of the players sold may have helped. Personally, I don't think it would have (unless Hyypia and Alonso stayed). Rafa's signings are not the issue here.
« Last Edit: November 2, 2009, 11:48:54 am by killer_heels »

Offline longtimered

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #64 on: November 2, 2009, 11:47:38 am »
Good post but there is obviously more issues involved in debating whether a manager is doing a good job.People management;tactics etc come to mind.

For whatever reason the squad are underperforming and have been since pre season.Whether thats the fault of the manager or not I dont know.The time to take stock will be at the end of the season but if we are shortly left only playing for 4th place and an FA Cup then it is difficult for many to look that far ahead.

Offline The 5th Benitle

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #65 on: November 2, 2009, 11:49:41 am »
Twigg, thanks for that and I believe you when you say you didn't know how it would turn out.
 
A couple of things though, since the Beckham/Butt/Neville/Scholes introduction that Alan Hansen would remember so well, Ferguson has only had to top up his squad. Rafa on the other hand had to overhaul his squad completely. Would you concede that this means he's done well to alomost catch you up (last season anyway) with less to spend?
 
Also your figures are horribly skewed by the Ronaldo sale!! Not that this matters I suppose when you're just looking at the mathematics of the thing.

Offline Twiggthemanc

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #66 on: November 2, 2009, 11:55:17 am »
Twigg, thanks for that and I believe you when you say you didn't know how it would turn out.
 
A couple of things though, since the Beckham/Butt/Neville/Scholes era, Ferguson has only had to top up his squad. Rafa on the other hand had to overhaul his squad completely. Would you concede that this means he's done well to alomost catch you up (last season anyway) with less to spend?
 
Also your figures are horribly skewed by the Ronaldo sale!! Not that this matters I suppose when you're just looking at the mathematics of the thing.

Yes, whilst I don't think Benitez is the saviour in the transfer market many claim him to be (not many in all fairness) I don't think he's as terrible as made out. The fact he didn't have a great squad when he started did mean he will have to spend a lot more, but a lot more could have been done with the money he had been given.

And yes, the Ronaldo sales does massively change the stats for us, to a smaler sum, but I would point out United would have a lot more money coming in from sponsorship/ticketsales/payments from trophies. So you would expect us to be spending more net. Obviously it's not what you want to hear, but you'd imagine more money would be availible for us, so yes Rafas hands are tied there trying to overhaul someone who has an advantage in team and money availible.

One thing I will say I noticed when doing our list, it's staggering how much money we recieved for very average players. 8 million for Heinze, 5.5 million for Richardson etc. I forgot to put the Frazer Campbell transfer in as well, which will eventually raise to 6 million. Overall we seem to get a lot of money for reserve players. I imagine if Gibson/Da Laet/Simpson/Welbeck were sold tomorrow, we'd get a lot of money for them. Whereas your fringe players seem to go for much less.

Offline mrbutch

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #67 on: November 2, 2009, 11:56:21 am »
Excellent post.  I tire from arguing with all and sundry about out net spend etc.

But is does raise the question asked in a recent thread.  Where should are expectations be ?  How do we measure success ?

Is top 4 good enough ?
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Offline Paul JH

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #68 on: November 2, 2009, 11:56:42 am »
Whereas your fringe players seem to go for much less.

Can't argue with this really ... has always been an issue with us.
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Offline RedRush

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #69 on: November 2, 2009, 12:02:49 pm »
I love you BHB. Really, I do. Great post! Unfortunately a lot of our fellow reds won't believe it as they will rather swallow what the media and Martin Tyler's monkey or ex-players like Collymore, Whelan et al feeds them.

Offline BHB

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #70 on: November 2, 2009, 12:05:58 pm »
But is does raise the question asked in a recent thread.  Where should are expectations be ?  How do we measure success ?

Is top 4 good enough ?

Historically - no

In terms of where we are now, in terms of money to spend etc, then yes.
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Offline Davies9

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #71 on: November 2, 2009, 12:09:57 pm »
Great post BHB. Well researched and laid out. It is unbelievable how many 'experts' criticise Rafa's activity in the transfer market, it is obvious that they haven't bothered to take any time to look into the facts themselves and form their own opinions. The usual nonsense keeps getting trotted out.
Rafa has made a few mistakes in the transfer market, but every manager has. One thing I like about Rafa is how swiftly he offloads players who are not quite up to scratch, sometimes making a tidy profit.
Some of Rafa's signings have been outstanding, a number of the world's greatest players have been snapped up. But no credit ever seems to be given to our boss for this.
Torres - The world's most lethal and exciting striker in my opinion, looks an absolute bargain at just over £20m. Many people were unconvinced about his ability to score a lot of goals at Liverpool, but he has been immense when fit. Rafa had the courage of his convictions to spend that amount of money on Torres, a massive amount for our club, but the general view of the press seems to be that we are lucky to have him. Lucky? Bullshit. Inspired signing? Without a doubt.
Alonso - One of the best deep-lying ball-playing midfielders in the game, was signed from Real Sociedad for £10m, and sold for £30m after 5 years of great service for a massive profit. Again, Rafa gets criticised for not keeping hold of someone who wanted to leave, overlooking the fact that Rafa had the foresight to sign a player who was still unproven at the top level, before turning him into a great.
Mascherano - After a good World Cup with Argentina in 2006, was snapped up by West Ham. But Mascherano had a nightmare in London. Rafa felt he could do a job at Anfield and took a bit of a gamble on signing the midfielder for £18m after an initial loan. And now, is there a better defensive midfielder in world football?
Reina - Signed for £6m from Villarreal. Not many people knew too much about Pepe, but what a key player he has turned out to be for us. Excellent shot-stopper, superb distribution and a top character.
When Rafa has spent big bucks, his record is almost exemplary. Keane was a disappointment but as BHB says he was sold after six months for a slight hit. Johnson and Aquilani have been added this season and both look like they will be at Liverpool for years to come.

Offline benny

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #72 on: November 2, 2009, 12:10:15 pm »
That's why when you hear the shite about Rafa spending 250 million does your fucking head in.It goes to show how much them 2 fucking clowns have put in to our club.If we are getting 20 mil a year for champions league,that covers the net spending,and figures released a while back showed liverpool football club was running at a profit,but kop holdings is eating into the profit paying it's fucking debt.

Offline Paul JH

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #73 on: November 2, 2009, 12:19:38 pm »
When Rafa has spent big bucks, his record is almost exemplary.

Said the same a few games ago. When Rafa HAS been given the big money, no-one can accuse him of being a failure in the market. And even then, people will say we let people go on the cheap when in actual fact, people like Alonso, Crouch, Bellamy (and our top players now) went for or are worth more than what we paid for them.

Just depends on what spin you want to put on his dealings. And most of the time, the media put a negative one on them.
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Offline carling

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #74 on: November 2, 2009, 12:20:19 pm »


Fair play with this post, I don't suppose we could have hoped for a better riposte from a Manc ;).

However the big differences between us and you are 1 - Fergie gets to spent the money when and where he wants to and 2 - he has had a lot longer to get his squad to where he wants it.  For instance Rafa would never be able to spend 30 million on a single player like Berbatov without first generating a lot of the cash from selling.  Similar with Ferdinand, 30 million spent for a centre back who has just done the business for you year after year (until this season I guess), Rafa would never be afforded this luxury should he identify such a player (see Dani Alves for a prime example).

It just depresses me to think what could have been if we had owners who came in with actual ambitions to win the Premier League, and maybe gave Rafa the 20-30 million net a year it realistically would have took to catch up to the Mancs and Chelsea.

Offline ZIPPIE

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #75 on: November 2, 2009, 12:28:12 pm »
I think Rafa might have let one too many of our squad players go which has left us a bit short of options on the bench, but when Aquilani's fully fit that will free up a quality midfielder (Lucas) for our bench as back up, i also think one or two signings in January will make a huge difference, maybe a winger and a quality centre back, Mata of Valencia is being touted around lately, a quality left winger would give us much better balance and would also give us another international Albert Riera for the bench, we are only lacking a couple of players, why people are shouting for Rafa's head is mind boggling ?
The Mancs were in a similar situation years ago when taggart was one loss away from the door, they stuck with him and look what happened to them.
Get behind Rafa !!!

Offline The Red artist.

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #76 on: November 2, 2009, 12:31:18 pm »
Great post lad, well done. Am gonna print this off to show a fair few of me mates who have a go at Rafa, the true picture.
« Last Edit: November 2, 2009, 12:32:58 pm by The Red artist. »
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Offline Dick Emery

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #77 on: November 2, 2009, 12:31:43 pm »
Excellent post and evidence that we've punched above our weight. Trouble is the expectation level is high after last season. He's suffered this year because of 2 factors - injuries and a serious error in his squad balance. Last year we still won games without a back-up forward as we had a solid back 4 and a brilliant midfield. This year our back 4 is a mess and the midfield is weaker, thus making us more suscpetible to defeat and less able to win in the absence of Torres/Gerrard.

Offline Paul JH

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #78 on: November 2, 2009, 12:33:52 pm »
Worst thing Rafa ever did was win the Champions League with a weak team, because it's led to 5 years of glory hunting pricks jumping on his back every time he doesn't win another one or getting it in the neck for 20 years of not winning the league title because HE hasn't won one.
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Offline incredibleL4ever

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Re: Players signed by Rafael Benitez
« Reply #79 on: November 2, 2009, 12:37:52 pm »
The issue isn't how much he has spent or not spent, but whether he get the best he could with the money available.  In particular the lack of strikers and playmakers is our problem.  He did sell Crouch and Alonso (albeit that they both wanted to go coz he had pissed them off) and replaced them with Keane and an injured Aquilani.  He allowed Keane to go.

As regards the media coverage of Rafa's dealings, just remember that United and Arsenal spent less than us (net).  United were of course able to spend big when they needed to.