Topic: Reina is a fucking legend

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

"We have to finish this season in a better position than we are at the moment [ninth] and make sure we build for the next years and try to be competitive," Reina told ESPNsoccernet. "If not, it's going to be difficult for them to keep these kind of players."

A top-four finish is, he says: "Possible; why not? But we have to be sure that we deliver better performances otherwise it's going to be really, really, really difficult."

In going from second to seventh last year, Liverpool regressed. Now they risk being left behind with Reina accepting their five major rivals have greater strength in depth. "We are not probably as strong as Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham can be so that's why we have to make sure we build a better squad," he added.

"At the moment, it's almost impossible to compete for nine months against Chelsea, for example, and that is what I want. The clubs all around England are building proper squads. We have to do the same and we have to be able to compete."

Reina speaks with a sense of realism that Carragher and a searingly honest Gerrard tend to share. Liverpool's start to the season is "not the greatest, obviously. We are not playing well enough, especially away from home, and we have to make sure we improve this aspect otherwise we will be struggling. It's so difficult to go anywhere and beat teams but if we want to be up there at the end of the season, we have to."

While Roy Hodgson's troubled start to life at Anfield has brought criticism of the manager, Reina has stressed the responsibility rests with the players. "Ideas in football are relatively important but what makes a system work are the players. We are the ones who have to show a bit more on the pitch."

As the chants of "Dalglish", heard in the defeats to Blackpool and Stoke, show, Hodgson has yet to win over much of the Liverpool support. But both the club ambassador and the former manager remain more popular than the Londoner.

"Rafa [Benitez] was really beloved in Liverpool," added Reina. "But I think it's about time that the fans get behind Roy and support Roy 100 percent. I don't think it is heavy criticism out there anyway."

Others may beg to disagree. But with Hicks and Gillett and "that mess," as Reina calls it, consigned to Liverpool's past, a new era has begun. Reina was among a group of players to meet John W Henry and Tom Werner, the new powerbrokers. "We were just talking for 20-25 minutes and discussing all the different things at the club," he said. "I think it's positive. They will do good stuff for Liverpool in the future."

The issue, perhaps, is when the future will arrive. Arsene Wenger is among Reina's high-profile admirers and the Manchester City model may offer a greater chance of immediate success that Liverpool's more cash-conscious and organic method.

"I can understand it's going to be a medium, long-term project and you can probably build like [Roberto] Mancini, which is get out the cheque[book] and pay fortunes for players and wages," Reina said. "That is acceptable and you have to respect that but probably is not the best way to do things. I am not blaming Mancini. It's their way, if they win the league nobody will blame them, of course. But these guys, the new owners, are thinking more in the long term and building things little by little, which is understandable."

[Keith Lard]

If Reina think supporters need to get behind Roy, then he is someone that should be trusted 100%. The bitching must stop - we must get behind Roy for the rest of this season.

[will2003]

Pepe Reina will break another long-standing Liverpool record if he keeps a clean sheet against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Heading into the game, the Spanish custodian has managed 99 shut outs in the league in just 196 games - and will reach the 100 mark faster than any other 'keeper in the Reds history should he keep another blank at White Hart Lane.

Ray Clemence holds the current record having reached a tonne of clean sheets in 217 outings.

Bruce Grobbelaar achieved the milestone after 225 matches, while Elisha Scott did so in 283.

Author: James Carroll

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news...-targets-club-record

Close to being the greatest 'ever'.

Personally i think hes already the greatest certainly i've every witnessed.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

If Reina think supporters need to get behind Roy, then he is someone that should be trusted 100%. The bitching must stop - we must get behind Roy for the rest of this season.

The tumbleweed blows across the forum...  meanwhile in an alternative universe where Reina hints at criticism for the manager, 10,000 RAWKites raise pitchforks and light torches and march for the main board.

[Strummer77]

This thread has gone quieter than a Europa league home game.

[Stanfo]

Who will be first to call him a c*nt, even in some round about way.

[CHOPPER]

This thread has gone quieter than a Europa league home game.

Well he has gone against the grain.

[J-Mc-]

Who will be first to call him a c*nt, even in some round about way.

You just did in a round about sort of way.

[Chakan]

Who will be first to call him a c*nt, even in some round about way.

Why is he a c*nt? Cause he is supporting his manager? I happen to disagree with Pepe, I don't want to support Roy as I think he can do a lot of harm for the club. And he has shown me nothing in the time he has been here that he deserves to be the Liverpool manager. Pepe can have his views and his ideas. He seems like the kind of guy who will get behind someone to boost their confidence and give them a shoulder to lean/stand on when times are tough. Maybe that should be a lesson for us all, but for me I can't support Roy I support the club and the team when they play and I hope Roy does well. That doesn't mean I think he is capable of being the manager anymore than Moyes is. I freely admit Pepe is a bigger man than myself. He seems like that kind of person.

[Stanfo]

Why is he a c*nt? Cause he is supporting his manager? I happen to disagree with Pepe, I don't want to support Roy as I think he can do a lot of harm for the club. And he has shown me nothing in the time he has been here that he deserves to be the Liverpool manager. Pepe can have his views and his ideas. He seems like the kind of guy who will get behind someone to boost their confidence and give them a shoulder to lean/stand on when times are tough. Maybe that should be a lesson for us all, but for me I can't support Roy I support the club and the team when they play and I hope Roy does well. That doesn't mean I think he is capable of being the manager anymore than Moyes is. I freely admit Pepe is a bigger man than myself. He seems like that kind of person.

He obviously isn't a c*nt, but everyone else on here who shows any support what so ever for the manager gets called one soon enough, so why don't the Roy haters treat Pepe the same way. I happen to agree with what he says.

[Chakan]

He obviously isn't a c*nt, but everyone else on here who shows any support what so ever for the manager gets called one soon enough, so why don't the Roy haters treat Pepe the same way. I happen to agree with what he says.

Sweeping generalization and it's not black and white.

[Stanfo]

Sweeping generalization and it's not black and white.

You are spot on, sadly reading through most of the threads on this forum and you would think that the world was just that, black and white.

[Keith Lard]

The thing is we are only self-harming by not getting behind Hodgson. This is not the time to replace him. It's better that NESV are given time to conduct a thorough search in the background. Working in the search industry myself, I know that this is how you find the best people. You are vulnerable when a manager is sacked and a gunshot replacement needs to be made. NESV seem like extremely shrewd people that make good long term decisions. I really respect this. If Hodgson performs to Liverpool standards when he is given the backing of supporters and we are in a fairly healthy position around March, he will deserve to be considered for keeping his job. But it's obvious he is under evaluation and if come this time, having been given supporter backing, we are still way off then I am sure they will be discretely searching in the background and make a smart managerial appointment when the time is right.

For now, we need to just support the the team, stop haranguing Roy, be fair to the man, and trust NESV ... it's in everyone's interest and the right thing to do. You never know, we might start to enjoy the positive mood in the forum.

[Keith Lard]

The tumbleweed blows across the forum...  meanwhile in an alternative universe where Reina hints at criticism for the manager, 10,000 RAWKites raise pitchforks and light torches and march for the main board.

I really agree with the sentiments of your post and your signature too. Common sense seems to be the least common thing at times!

[Guz-kop]

Fucking well said from Pepe.

[Trada]

Just because he said it doesn't mean he means it just a part of lets all get behind Hodgson PR going on at the club at the mo.

Pepe says get behind Hodgson nothing wrong with him saying that.

And then Hodgson goes and shoots himself in the foot again this morning with his comments about Spurs and that even before his press conference.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

Trada is a cock.

(just because I said it doesn't mean I mean it though, could just be RAWK PR)

[Trada]

Trada is a cock.

(just because I said it doesn't mean I mean it though, could just be RAWK PR)

It's not RAWK PR I am a cock.

But don't you find it a bit strange players and ex-players have to keep saying get behind the manager.

Usually that is taken for granted.

[Keith Lard]

It's not RAWK PR I am a cock.

But don't you find it a bit strange players and ex-players have to keep saying get behind the manager.

Usually that is taken for granted.

It's tough making that mental transition to admitting that you are a cock ... this forum would be nothing without us cocks ... hehe

People within the club are getting behind Roy because supporters are utterly brutalising the man. He came in at a difficult time and everyone realises he would not normally be regarded as a Liverpool standard manager. But he's not a bad manager and deserves backing in what is probably a transitional role.

[Hunter Thompson]

Reina sounds every inch a Liverpool captain.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

It's not RAWK PR I am a cock.

But don't you find it a bit strange players and ex-players have to keep saying get behind the manager.

Usually that is taken for granted.

Serious answer then.  I think he does mean it.   He is clearly bright enough to see that while he may not rate Hodgson it is in everyone's interest to get fully behind him while he remains Liverpool manager. Remember, this is the man we all believe said "a team has to be all together, like a family" he's right and at Liverpool the family is the holy trinity of players, manager and fans. 

The infighting, the fighting, the deliberately destabilising, it has to stop. 

Shame a few on here are not as insightful as our goalkeeper and future captain.

[petrichor]

come on even pepe is afraid of rawk mods and has to toe the official line

[Redeo]

Pepe. Ultimate legend.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=846305&sec=england&cc=4716

Liverpool's future is a subject that has dominated debate over the course of two, traumatic years. Yet while optimism about the seasons to come has been restored now that New England Sports Ventures have replaced Tom Hicks and George Gillett as the owners, Jose Reina's appraisal of events at Anfield included a few words of warning about the club's prospects in the short term.


GettyImages
Jose Reina's own future has been debated given Liverpool's slump in status
The goalkeeper conceded Liverpool face an uphill task to challenge the five clubs he accepts have stronger squads, placing in doubt an immediate return to their old haunt, the Champions League. The need to strengthen is coupled with his admission that the club's top talents, such as Fernando Torres, could leave without a swift improvement.

The World Cup winner speaks with an authority that comes from his seniority - he has led Liverpool on the rare occasions when both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are absent - as well as his status as the club's reigning player of the year. Reina is one of the loyalists, a player upon whom honorary Scouser status is bestowed. But he stopped short of committing his own future to the club (shrugging "don't know") and it is a question of progress if world-class talents like Torres are to remain.

"We have to finish this season in a better position than we are at the moment [ninth] and make sure we build for the next years and try to be competitive," Reina told ESPNsoccernet. "If not, it's going to be difficult for them to keep these kind of players."

A top-four finish is, he says: "Possible; why not? But we have to be sure that we deliver better performances otherwise it's going to be really, really, really difficult."

In going from second to seventh last year, Liverpool regressed. Now they risk being left behind with Reina accepting their five major rivals have greater strength in depth. "We are not probably as strong as Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham can be so that's why we have to make sure we build a better squad," he added.

"At the moment, it's almost impossible to compete for nine months against Chelsea, for example, and that is what I want. The clubs all around England are building proper squads. We have to do the same and we have to be able to compete."

Reina speaks with a sense of realism that Carragher and a searingly honest Gerrard tend to share. Liverpool's start to the season is "not the greatest, obviously. We are not playing well enough, especially away from home, and we have to make sure we improve this aspect otherwise we will be struggling. It's so difficult to go anywhere and beat teams but if we want to be up there at the end of the season, we have to."

While Roy Hodgson's troubled start to life at Anfield has brought criticism of the manager, Reina has stressed the responsibility rests with the players. "Ideas in football are relatively important but what makes a system work are the players. We are the ones who have to show a bit more on the pitch."

As the chants of "Dalglish", heard in the defeats to Blackpool and Stoke, show, Hodgson has yet to win over much of the Liverpool support. But both the club ambassador and the former manager remain more popular than the Londoner.

"Rafa [Benitez] was really beloved in Liverpool," added Reina. "But I think it's about time that the fans get behind Roy and support Roy 100 percent. I don't think it is heavy criticism out there anyway."

Others may beg to disagree. But with Hicks and Gillett and "that mess," as Reina calls it, consigned to Liverpool's past, a new era has begun. Reina was among a group of players to meet John W Henry and Tom Werner, the new powerbrokers. "We were just talking for 20-25 minutes and discussing all the different things at the club," he said. "I think it's positive. They will do good stuff for Liverpool in the future."

The issue, perhaps, is when the future will arrive. Arsene Wenger is among Reina's high-profile admirers and the Manchester City model may offer a greater chance of immediate success that Liverpool's more cash-conscious and organic method.

"I can understand it's going to be a medium, long-term project and you can probably build like [Roberto] Mancini, which is get out the cheque[book] and pay fortunes for players and wages," Reina said. "That is acceptable and you have to respect that but probably is not the best way to do things. I am not blaming Mancini. It's their way, if they win the league nobody will blame them, of course. But these guys, the new owners, are thinking more in the long term and building things little by little, which is understandable."

For me, this really is at the core of what led him to say this.  While little by little may be prudent, it also has few other implications:
1. focus on long term, and
2. existing star players will suffer in the short term which could very well be until the end of their playing days.
This has to concern the likes of Torres and Reina (if not Gerrard who's now looking for a sweet retirement). What player wants to use his talents for the sake of helping to bring about future glory in which he may ultimately take no part?

[Discipline]

Reina could break a club record on Sunday if he manages to keep a clean sheet, marking 100 shut outs in 196 games- a record no other Liverpool keeper has achieved.

Ray Clemence holds the current record having kept 100 clean sheets in 217 games. Bruce Grobbelaar achieved the milstone after 225 matches, whereas Elisha did so in 283 games.

[Aquilani 4]

Reina: Inter should stick with Rafa

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has urged Inter Milan not to sack under-pressure manager Rafael Benitez, despite his stuttering start to life in Italy.

The Spaniard's position at the San Siro has become a subject of debate with the European champions only sitting sixth in Serie A. But Reina, who played for Benitez for five years at Liverpool, believes Inter could yet win a sixth successive Scudetto and has urged them to heed a lesson from his compatriot's time at Valencia.

"Rafa is a great manager," Reina told ESPNsoccernet. "I remember when he was at Valencia, he had a match to save at the Montjuic, Espanyol's [old] ground, they were losing 2-0 at half-time. They won their game 3-2 and they won the league that season [2001-2].

"It's only five months [into his reign] in Italy. They have to be patient. The mentality down there or in Spain is not the same as in England but if they give him time, he is going to be what he is: a great manager."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=846436&sec=europe&cc=4716

[El Denzel Pepito]

Wise words from Pepe.

[Ray K]

Hopefully he'll be captain next week with SG and JC being injured.

I don't think it would be sacrilege to suggest that he should keep it after they return.

[bigbear]

Hopefully he'll be captain next week with SG and JC being injured.

I don't think it would be sacrilege to suggest that he should keep it after they return.

Watch Dirk grab it.

[xerxes1]

Wise words from Pepe.

He doesn't want him back does he? He's probably right, time to move on. A huge character - but I have never been a fan of goalkeepers as skippers.

[RigBon1892]

I think he had that penalty covered anyway.

[rouge nell]

I reckon he is nailed on to be captain next week, then again not sure if that's the type of thing Roy goes for

[Gnurglan]

Liked that interview above. I understand this mess can't continue. We won't be able to keep Pepe or Torres if it stays like this. And that would be a real shame. Pepe is one of the best in the game and he's a future captain, no doubt about it.

[soxfan]

I think he had that penalty covered anyway.

I agree, Pepe would have saved it. But on the Raul save, Pepe seemed to take a chance moving out and going for the ball. In the end it didn't matter, but I wonder if he would have been better off sitting back in that instance?

Love the guy!

[Machae]

Dont get me wrong, i think Reina is a very good goalkeeper however during his Liverpool career he has been shielded by a very good defence and a top solid midfield (same goes with Cech). However i just feel he is prone to a few mistakes which tend to be costly and (from what i have seen anyway) rarely wins one on one situations.

I actually think Shay Given is the best goalkeeper in the premiership.

[RigBon1892]

Dont get me wrong, i think Reina is a very good goalkeeper however during his Liverpool career he has been shielded by a very good defence and a top solid midfield (same goes with Cech). However i just feel he is prone to a few mistakes which tend to be costly and (from what i have seen anyway) rarely wins one on one situations.

I actually think Shay Given is the best goalkeeper in the premiership.

Fishing?

[Johnnyboy1973]

I actually think Shay Given is the best goalkeeper in the premiership.

He is so good he doesn't have to play.

[Machae]

He is so good he doesn't have to play.

Mancini prefers 11 Defensive midfielders

[rouge nell]

He is so good he doesn't have to play.

 

[SamiSamiHyypia]

Roy Hodgson has confirmed Pepe Reina will captain Liverpool against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday evening.

Deserves it and he'll do a fantastic job. Hopefully a sign of things to come in the next few years!

Good on Roy for the choice too

[farawayred]

Roy Hodgson has confirmed Pepe Reina will captain Liverpool against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday evening.

Deserves it and he'll do a fantastic job. Hopefully a sign of things to come in the next few years!

Good on Roy for the choice too

Obviously he (Roy) reads RAWK.