Topic: Rafa knocks back contract

[smicer07]

I don't think he should have total control at all ... but ultimately it shouldn't be left to Parry to decide wether we are paying one or two million too much, or waiting for him to return back from a holiday to sign a player. If Raffa had a clear idea of his budget, etc he could work around it.

I don't think there are any signs to say Raffa will adopt a Houllier type approach, where he just won't admit to his mistakes and keep bad players on for the sake of his own ego. Raffa has shown a ruthless streak to dispense with players to keep his budget afloat on buying improvments. But on the negative aspect, he really did buy some turkeys this season. Let's say he wants to give Heskey a £80,000 a week contract for 4 years ... you do need someone to reign that type of insanity in. The point being, as in Houlliers case, the damage done by one manager can linger on for years.

Parry won't go ... and he can't be sacked unless both and Gillette and Hicks agree, and Gillete won't want to lose Parry's vote. So the middle ground would be to give Raffa more control, but not complete control. And no doubt that will happen.

Simple, hey ...

It's Rafa 

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I don't think he should have total control at all ... but ultimately it shouldn't be left to Parry to decide wether we are paying one or two million too much, or waiting for him to return back from a holiday to sign a player. If Raffa had a clear idea of his budget, etc he could work around it.

I don't think there are any signs to say Raffa will adopt a Houllier type approach, where he just won't admit to his mistakes and keep bad players on for the sake of his own ego. Raffa has shown a ruthless streak to dispense with players to keep his budget afloat on buying improvments. But on the negative aspect, he really did buy some turkeys this season. Let's say he wants to give Heskey a £80,000 a week contract for 4 years ... you do need someone to reign that type of insanity in. The point being, as in Houlliers case, the damage done by one manager can linger on for years.

Parry won't go ... and he can't be sacked unless both and Gillette and Hicks agree, and Gillete won't want to lose Parry's vote. So the middle ground would be to give Raffa more control, but not complete control. And no doubt that will happen.

Simple, hey ...

He won't have total Control. He doesn't want total control. He hasn't asked for total control.

[mainstandred]

To be fair your post before was pretty stupid..

The 'him walking out' 'Won't hurt blah blah blah'

He doesn't want to 'walk out' to 'hurt the fans'

He wants a situation at the club that is best for him, his job as manager and the club.

What the hell is supposed to be wrong with that?

I'm really struggling with your point of view here. Do you think he's just doing this 'for a laugh' or 'with no purpose'?

Ok mate i understand what your saying no problem with that but is the manager having total control of all transfer dealing the right way , when 99.9% of all top european teams either have a CEO or sporting director who will get a list of players of a coach/manager and try to get the players he wants .  .

[JordanTUTEE]

Of course you're suggesting it. You've just bloody said it (Twice)

Well technically a chief executive could do the same exact thing in all honesty.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Ok mate i understand what your saying no problem with that but is the manager having total control of all transfer dealing the right way , when 99.9% of all top european teams either have a CEO or sporting director who will get a list of players of a coach/manager and try to get the players he wants .  .

He wont' have and doesn't want total control. He still will be acting within contraints set by and agreed with the board. It's just instead of a middle man negotiating with the board, he would report to the board directly.

He doesn't want more money - or more bargaining powers. He just wants whatever is available to be negotiated and then his targets to be achieved using the pre-agreed wages and transfer fees - including shipping out players no longer required.

All the controls are still in place. All the documentation and process will be still there and available.

[JordanTUTEE]

Ok mate i understand what your saying no problem with that but is the manager having total control of all transfer dealing the right way , when 99.9% of all top european teams either have a CEO or sporting director who will get a list of players of a coach/manager and try to get the players he wants .  .

Just because Europe adopts this approach doesn't make it right. Alot of these European teams, have egotistical board members on board (See Madrid) who interfere far too much, and end up buying players the manager doesn't want.

The main problem i can see with the approach of Raffa doing alot of the deals, is his workload is going to increase massivley. He already takes training, when the likes of Fergie, even Houllier don't even take training. And then to add this workload is massive.

[GBF]

He doesnt want total control unless there is someone more effective than Coco.  He sees Coco dragging down decisions on contracts and transfers.  He prefers someone else more effective or he'll do Coco's job in that area which he will need control.  So either we find a proper director of football or give Rafa the keys to drive the car

[Gedo]

seriously, if rafa can't be trusted to buy players, as some of you seem to think on here, and think the CEO should have the final say, why don't we fuck rafa off and stick rick parry in as manager, after all he's done such a sterling job as CEO and preventing rafa from actually building the squad he wants.

So what your saying is that Parry's a better judge of a player than Rafa

[robbie96]

I wonder how different this side would be if Rafa was allowed to buy who he wanted? 

[xerxes]

Of course you're suggesting it. You've just bloody said it (Twice)

Ok let me spell out exactly what I think, since you don't want to get it. Managers should not set fees, because historically it has been demonstrated that this allows corruption. Rafa is a manager. Therefore Rafa should not set fees. It's not personal, it's just business. Do you dispute this logic?

[mainstandred]

He wont' have and doesn't want total control. He still will be acting within contraints set by and agreed with the board. It's just instead of a middle man negotiating with the board, he would report to the board directly.

He doesn't want more money - or more bargaining powers. He just wants whatever is available to be negotiated and then his targets to be achieved using the pre-agreed wages and transfer fees - including shipping out players no longer required.

All the controls are still in place. All the documentation and process will be still there and available.

well then Andy the person to go is Rafa benitez because the two Americans will not be leaving for some considerable time due to no one in the world having any money to buy football clubs at this moment .

And the reason i say this is the club has only chairman in name and the representative of the owners is CEO rick parry  so without a physical presence of a owners/chairman the man in charge is parry .

And horrible that he is he is the man in the seat and if Rafa can't work with him well it will be benitez who goes .

That my point all along yes ok maybe benitez has a point but the set up of the club means rick parry is the boss not hicks and not gillett as there is no day to day presence from them at the club  if Rafa can't or doesn't want to work with parry then unless the americans sack parry which i can't see then benitez position becomes untenable .

Which i think is mostly parry and owners fault but some of it is down to complete stubborness from Rafa Benitez which we have seen in abundence recently .

[4-2-3-1]

I wonder how different this side would be if Rafa was allowed to buy who he wanted? 

                  Reina

Alves     Carra   Vidic     Evra

           Masch  Barry

Kuyt        Gerrard    Simao/Mancini

                Torres

 

[mainstandred]

                  Reina

Alves     Carra   Vidic     Evra

           Masch  Barry

Kuyt        Gerrard    Simao/Mancini

                Torres

 

yes and the biggest crime of selling alonso

[SteveZissou]

re-Shankly Boy and Gedo insight


After years of articles many of us have been aware of the power struggle behind the scenes. I myself have seen such politics first hand (but, not at Liverpool) and these matters sometimes take years to solve... sometimes the matter can get worse each year (depending on who won the political battle). It's the owners responsibility to solve this problem. It's going to be very difficult to solve this because they're based on the other side of the world and have little knowledge of football or the club. This means the club is vulnerable to certain individuals abusing their roles.

[red annie]

It isn't a question of who sets the fee that allows corruption. It is the quality of the contract and the overseeing of the transfer of funds.

In business all major deals are usually overseen by teams of lawyers who make sure the money goes to the right places.

Why can't the CEO be corrupt? Is it just a preserve of managers? Of course not. That is why the lawyers are paid obscene amounts of money to shuffle papers around; because they can be held professionally accountable if any deal they sign off is demonstrated to be corrupt.

[redrockydennis]

So what your saying is that Parry's a better judge of a player than Rafa

it's pretty much what some people on here seem to be saying.

[StormyDog]

Can't we just offer King Kenny the role of Chairman and let Coco do what he does best (whatever that is), while Rafa picks targets and give an indicator of how much to spend (value to the club).
 

[robbie96]

                  Reina

Alves     Carra   Vidic     Evra

           Masch  Barry

Kuyt        Gerrard    Simao/Mancini

                Torres

 

Think we'd be talking about number 23 by now with that lot 

[yafoy]

Ok mate i understand what your saying no problem with that but is the manager having total control of all transfer dealing the right way , when 99.9% of all top european teams either have a CEO or sporting director who will get a list of players of a coach/manager and try to get the players he wants .  .

>we have never been like 99.9% of the all europe, thankfully...Rafa wants control, just like Shanks did when he started it all...behind RAFA all the way ...we have to keep the "holy trinity" (Supporters-Players & Manager) ..tight, cos those "ïn the office" have other agendas ...

[shanklyboy]

so it is Carte Blanche for benitez , seen and heared all this before when houllier was in charge  about he wants to change it his way is the best so on and so on , that's why it took 4 years to get rid of diao 3 to get rid of cheryou who was on 80 grand a week in 2003 .

If Rafa Benitez loves the fans and the club like he says then he should sign the contract as him walking out on the club will not hurt the owners ,will not hurt rick parry and wont hurt the players  , the only ones who would be hurt are the fans so why put the supporters who have total belief in him through the mangle to prove a point .

 

As I've already said, people will see what they want to see.
Why else do people like you perpetuate this 'total control' myth.
Despite several requests nobody can show me where Benitez has asked for that yet the myth seems to be increasingly perpetuated.
I wonder why that is?

Maybe you would be happy for him to sign a contract that prevents him from doing his job properly so that you can get in on every thread and have a go at him.
Nothing I have said or can say will change your myopic viewpoint.
So just carry on.

[shanklyboy]

shanklyboy - Thank you for this post!

It is clear that Rafa loves our club and wants what's best for it. I won't go into the subject of whether he is or isn't the right man since I already stressed most of my thoughts here (and they are nothing like the custom title the mods gave me).
If Rafa truely wants to gradually make our youth system an integral part of the senior team and will look after the young lads (starting with some of those who are on-loan) than he has my full support on this one.

However, how does that fit with his past handlings? such as:
A. Just before giving Darby, Spearing and Kelly some pitch time against PSV away saying: "We have to send out a squad with four local players because of the regulations, so that does not make it easy." (link)
B. Overloading the youth and reserves teams.
C. Development minutes he himself gives comparing with other clubs (link).

I'd really love to believe what he said in his recent interview about the academy but I must admit I'm quite sceptical.

In regard to transfers, I think the best thing that can happen is hiring someone who will deal with transfer negotiations (removing Parry from that role and letting him focus on other things). Someone who Rafa will trust to do the job quickly and effectively.
Also, I think it's crazy that 3 non-footballing men can decide whether a player should or should not be bought unless his price is higher than the budget. However, fans basically want Rafa to have no one questioning his transfer decisions when they themselves questioned them just this past summer with the Alonso/Barry saga.
Although I can certainly see the benefits (ie Alves), I haven't yet made up my mind whether giving him total freedom will be as good as most believe it will be.

That's probably another thread altogether.

[mainstandred]

As I've already said, people will see what they want to see.
Why else do people like you perpetuate this 'total control' myth.
Despite several requests nobody can show me where Benitez has asked for that yet the myth seems to be increasingly perpetuated.
I wonder why that is?

Maybe you would be happy for him to sign a contract that prevents him from doing his job properly so that you can get in on every thread and have a go at him.
Nothing I have said or can say will change your myopic viewpoint.
So just carry on.

you continue with your rose tinted view then theres a happy balance in your opinion . Because if as you say my view is myopic then your is rose tinted .

[Joe Rogans Chin]

I've tried to stay out of this thread as much as I can as I didn't want to have to keep responding to some of the drivel that seems to creeping into every other post since Rafa's press conference last week. It's not that easy when you see things repeated  30 seconds after SSN have said it and another myth is perpetuated ad infinitum and ad nauseum.
So I'm going to give an honest opinion based on fact. People can take it or leave it but those that know will understand. Those that want to just use any platform of perceived negativity to have a crack at Benitez will continue to do so because its been festering in their heads for too long to change. Those that only have an opinion dependant on what they see in the media will only change their opinion when they are told what it is by the same.

I've worked with Rick Parry and as you say Alan there is far more to this man than just being an accountant. His commitment to Liverpool F.C is undoubted and his workload would make most of us buckle after a week.
The job he inherited from Peter Robinson was one of if not THE biggest challenge to anyones abilities in recent football history.
The lack of foresight from his illustrious predecessors over many years has probably got more to do with our current plight than people care to see. Simply because it's easier to blame the 'clown' than anyone else. There is no smoke without fire though and therein lies part of the story.
Behind the scenes, he has worked tirelessly to haul our club back to where we once were. Both in terms of financial muscle and administrative excellence.
His ability to do this has been questioned many times within the club and some of the methods employed have actually left us further behind and not even close to be drawing level with our competitors.
Part of the blame for this has been the remnants of Liverpools administrative past. How things had to be done 'The Liverpool Way', while still dragging the club into the modern day. Liverpool as a footballing business model would be the team equivalent of the 2nd Division when Parry arrived while our main competitors were swanning around The Champions League, such was the ground we had to make up.

The problem with Parry is that his role and responsibilities have changed dramatically at the same time as we tried and failed to play catch up. So no sooner did we look as though we were getting there,then he was loaded with further responsibilities. This created difficulties, compounded by the changes in the managerial structure of the club and the rapid responses needed in the modern game. He was in effect doing 3 jobs.
One he was qualified for as an accountant. One he had experience of, effectively, as a senior administrator with the Premier League  and one he was never going to manage effectively alongside the other two. That was as C.E.O of Liverpool F.C.

How a club like Liverpool F.C could be the only one who didn't employ a marketting executive until Ayres was appointed is testament to the reliance of keeping things done a certain way so as not to rock the boat. They didn't learn by past mistakes. See the farcical 'joint manager' roles of Evans & Houllier as further evidence of that type of reasoning.

The job was too big for Parry but nobody within the club was prepared to change the situation. Instead more responsibility and therefore more power was given to Parry.

Once Benitez arrived at the club, things started to change almost immediately.
Benitez realised that from a footballing aspect the club was not geared up to the needs of the modern game and certainly not to the needs of Liverpool F.C. Some of the things Benitez was informed were in place when he was offered the managers position were clouded in half truths. Many of those things were paramount to Benitez in his decision to come to the club. They represented many of the things he saw as being vital for the club's long and short term future.

Benitez came to the club believing there was a platform for him to put his ideas in place and take the club to where they told him they wanted to be. The reality of what he found was so far removed from the initial promises. Initially this was put down to clashes of personality, which in some cases it was. However Benitez found himself running down blind alleys at almost every turn.He was continually meeting Parry down there. The main stumbling blocks being cash, the buying and selling of players and the youth structure. All things that a footballing man needed to run smoothly and effectively. Benitez was renowned for being one of the widely respected youth coaches during his time in Spain and this was a major part of his CV. Yet he was told to keep his nose out at Liverpool. The fragmentation of the senior and junior set ups at the club was beyond his comprehension. As was the fact that he, as manager was being prevented from having any effective input in to it's running or effectiveness.
Benitez decided to restructure those areas he was 'allowed' to and that started some major problems.
He effectively bypassed the youth system and brought his own players in, to train with the senior squad. Once Steve Heighway left,many of the successful youth team were promoted to the reserves and therefore came under his overall control.

He still didn't have any real input into the youth set up which was being overseen and run by Rick Parry. Parry's reluctance to sanction or back the overhaul of the youth system has been a major problem for Benitez. A none footballing man effectively preventing a football man from doing what he was brought in to do in the first place.
It is well known within the club that Benitez wants to develop our own players. He is extremely passionate about it, yet feels this won't happen quickly enough under the present structure.Even though that long term the club will benefit both financially and in terms of having a local heart to the club. Something that he spoke of only today.

On top of all of this is the farcical situation regarding protracted transfers we are all aware of. This all came to a head, just before the Gerrard fiasco made the headlines. Parry's reticence to get the Gerrard's contract sorted out was seen within the club and by Rafa in particular as an indication of how much power Parry thought he had. This was a further indication of his lack of footballing mentality. He was actually prompted to get this sorted from within the club but still dragged his heels.This caused major problems internally and is the catalyst for many of today's difficulties. The almost catastrophic outcome was seen as a watershed. It wasn't!

On top of that Benitez had the unfortunate misfortune of having to go through Parry for every transfer.
I'm not going into who they were, but certain players at home and abroad had approached Liverpool F.C and had agreed to come after speaking with Benitez only for the deal to fall through after Parry became involved. Some were high profile, some were not. The biggest deals having been well documented. Some equally as big which have not been.were already agreed with players without massive wage demands or contract terms only to fall away yet again. This caused severe professional embarrassment for Benitez and restricted the progress of the team.

Once the takeover came about and the club was restructured once again, Benitez was once again made promises regarding transfers.Certain operating procedures were put into place by Hicks  & Gillette to try and smooth things along. Without going into too much detail about what they were here, they failed when the H & G relationship started to wobble. The operating procedures fell by the wayside, which Benitez wasn't happy about as they appeared to be working. Once H & G lost the day to day 'hands on ' contact with club matters,apart from Ayres 'input', things reverted to type and Parry just went about things The Parry Way.

As I said initially, Parry works tirelessly for the club. However he is not the man for the job. Certainly not working with Benitez, or any other forward thinking manager, who knows the buck stops with him under the current structure.
As the public face of Liverpool Football Club, you couldn't meet a more insipid, grey, uninspiring man. He is the archetypal accountant, who's lack of personality and charisma is exactly what you would imagine it to be by his public image.

Fuck me about as damming as you could get.

If anyone who reads this and doesn't think Rafa has always had LFC's best interests ahead of his own, they want their heads testing.

[lfcmaster]

I've tried to stay out of this thread as much as I can as I didn't want to have to keep responding to some of the drivel that seems to creeping into every other post since Rafa's press conference last week. It's not that easy when you see things repeated  30 seconds after SSN have said it and another myth is perpetuated ad infinitum and ad nauseum.
So I'm going to give an honest opinion based on fact. People can take it or leave it but those that know will understand. Those that want to just use any platform of perceived negativity to have a crack at Benitez will continue to do so because its been festering in their heads for too long to change. Those that only have an opinion dependant on what they see in the media will only change their opinion when they are told what it is by the same.

I've worked with Rick Parry and as you say Alan there is far more to this man than just being an accountant. His commitment to Liverpool F.C is undoubted and his workload would make most of us buckle after a week.
The job he inherited from Peter Robinson was one of if not THE biggest challenge to anyones abilities in recent football history.
The lack of foresight from his illustrious predecessors over many years has probably got more to do with our current plight than people care to see. Simply because it's easier to blame the 'clown' than anyone else. There is no smoke without fire though and therein lies part of the story.
Behind the scenes, he has worked tirelessly to haul our club back to where we once were. Both in terms of financial muscle and administrative excellence.
His ability to do this has been questioned many times within the club and some of the methods employed have actually left us further behind and not even close to be drawing level with our competitors.
Part of the blame for this has been the remnants of Liverpools administrative past. How things had to be done 'The Liverpool Way', while still dragging the club into the modern day. Liverpool as a footballing business model would be the team equivalent of the 2nd Division when Parry arrived while our main competitors were swanning around The Champions League, such was the ground we had to make up.

The problem with Parry is that his role and responsibilities have changed dramatically at the same time as we tried and failed to play catch up. So no sooner did we look as though we were getting there,then he was loaded with further responsibilities. This created difficulties, compounded by the changes in the managerial structure of the club and the rapid responses needed in the modern game. He was in effect doing 3 jobs.
One he was qualified for as an accountant. One he had experience of, effectively, as a senior administrator with the Premier League  and one he was never going to manage effectively alongside the other two. That was as C.E.O of Liverpool F.C.

How a club like Liverpool F.C could be the only one who didn't employ a marketting executive until Ayres was appointed is testament to the reliance of keeping things done a certain way so as not to rock the boat. They didn't learn by past mistakes. See the farcical 'joint manager' roles of Evans & Houllier as further evidence of that type of reasoning.

The job was too big for Parry but nobody within the club was prepared to change the situation. Instead more responsibility and therefore more power was given to Parry.

Once Benitez arrived at the club, things started to change almost immediately.
Benitez realised that from a footballing aspect the club was not geared up to the needs of the modern game and certainly not to the needs of Liverpool F.C. Some of the things Benitez was informed were in place when he was offered the managers position were clouded in half truths. Many of those things were paramount to Benitez in his decision to come to the club. They represented many of the things he saw as being vital for the club's long and short term future.

Benitez came to the club believing there was a platform for him to put his ideas in place and take the club to where they told him they wanted to be. The reality of what he found was so far removed from the initial promises. Initially this was put down to clashes of personality, which in some cases it was. However Benitez found himself running down blind alleys at almost every turn.He was continually meeting Parry down there. The main stumbling blocks being cash, the buying and selling of players and the youth structure. All things that a footballing man needed to run smoothly and effectively. Benitez was renowned for being one of the widely respected youth coaches during his time in Spain and this was a major part of his CV. Yet he was told to keep his nose out at Liverpool. The fragmentation of the senior and junior set ups at the club was beyond his comprehension. As was the fact that he, as manager was being prevented from having any effective input in to it's running or effectiveness.
Benitez decided to restructure those areas he was 'allowed' to and that started some major problems.
He effectively bypassed the youth system and brought his own players in, to train with the senior squad. Once Steve Heighway left,many of the successful youth team were promoted to the reserves and therefore came under his overall control.

He still didn't have any real input into the youth set up which was being overseen and run by Rick Parry. Parry's reluctance to sanction or back the overhaul of the youth system has been a major problem for Benitez. A none footballing man effectively preventing a football man from doing what he was brought in to do in the first place.
It is well known within the club that Benitez wants to develop our own players. He is extremely passionate about it, yet feels this won't happen quickly enough under the present structure.Even though that long term the club will benefit both financially and in terms of having a local heart to the club. Something that he spoke of only today.

On top of all of this is the farcical situation regarding protracted transfers we are all aware of. This all came to a head, just before the Gerrard fiasco made the headlines. Parry's reticence to get the Gerrard's contract sorted out was seen within the club and by Rafa in particular as an indication of how much power Parry thought he had. This was a further indication of his lack of footballing mentality. He was actually prompted to get this sorted from within the club but still dragged his heels.This caused major problems internally and is the catalyst for many of today's difficulties. The almost catastrophic outcome was seen as a watershed. It wasn't!

On top of that Benitez had the unfortunate misfortune of having to go through Parry for every transfer.
I'm not going into who they were, but certain players at home and abroad had approached Liverpool F.C and had agreed to come after speaking with Benitez only for the deal to fall through after Parry became involved. Some were high profile, some were not. The biggest deals having been well documented. Some equally as big which have not been.were already agreed with players without massive wage demands or contract terms only to fall away yet again. This caused severe professional embarrassment for Benitez and restricted the progress of the team.

Once the takeover came about and the club was restructured once again, Benitez was once again made promises regarding transfers.Certain operating procedures were put into place by Hicks  & Gillette to try and smooth things along. Without going into too much detail about what they were here, they failed when the H & G relationship started to wobble. The operating procedures fell by the wayside, which Benitez wasn't happy about as they appeared to be working. Once H & G lost the day to day 'hands on ' contact with club matters,apart from Ayres 'input', things reverted to type and Parry just went about things The Parry Way.

As I said initially, Parry works tirelessly for the club. However he is not the man for the job. Certainly not working with Benitez, or any other forward thinking manager, who knows the buck stops with him under the current structure.
As the public face of Liverpool Football Club, you couldn't meet a more insipid, grey, uninspiring man. He is the archetypal accountant, who's lack of personality and charisma is exactly what you would imagine it to be by his public image.

you have made an interesting comment about joint managers
but forgot that we have joint owners which is making things difficult

who is in charge of our club ?

[LiamG]

Am i right in thinking Rafa just wants to control bids for players etc ?

[yafoy]

As I've already said, people will see what they want to see.
Why else do people like you perpetuate this 'total control' myth.
Despite several requests nobody can show me where Benitez has asked for that yet the myth seems to be increasingly perpetuated.
I wonder why that is?

Maybe you would be happy for him to sign a contract that prevents him from doing his job properly so that you can get in on every thread and have a go at him.
Nothing I have said or can say will change your myopic viewpoint.
So just carry on.

is right! - Shanks demanded the same before he joined LFC & Rafa has the similar mentality ..and hes who I support v "the office"

[lawrie]

yes and the biggest crime of selling alonso

I think Rafa only ever wanted to exchange Xabi (a previously underachieving player) for Barry because he thought he'd make around £8m on the deal which he could then put towards a winger - You see its all about our lack of money in the end

[Liam_Harker_Memorial_Fund]

i totally agree Rafa only wants the best for the club no issue of money,has every manager of every club has ambitions and Rafa is being relistic in sayin that he thinks we can win premiership

It wasnt lon ago that we were all slaggin the yankee doodle dandys as wel as gimp parry and all siding with Rafa the gaffer

btw guys im new to this any 1 know how many post you have to do before start your own thread

thanks in advance

[Alf]

Fuck the title for another year then.

I would rather secure Rafa than win the title this year.

Who died and made you Freddie Shepherd.

What happened last year with Rafa and the owners ended any chance we had of competing for the title last season. Here we go again.

[yafoy]

Who died and made you Freddie Shepherd.

What happened last year with Rafa and the owners ended any chance we had of competing for the title last season. Here we go again.

nah, the players have to accept their responsibility for missed chances last season, and so far this too, BUt we are still in witha great chance of Number 19..thanks Rafa!

[the_red_pill]

He wont' have and doesn't want total control. He still will be acting within contraints set by and agreed with the board. It's just instead of a middle man negotiating with the board, he would report to the board directly.

He doesn't want more money - or more bargaining powers. He just wants whatever is available to be negotiated and then his targets to be achieved using the pre-agreed wages and transfer fees - including shipping out players no longer required.

All the controls are still in place. All the documentation and process will be still there and available.

That's how I see it, Andy. Why do people automatically assume that because Rafa says he wants more control, it means he wants to do most or all of what Parry's doing re. transfers? I'm a tech manager and it's so infuriating that when the salesperson goes and negotiates a deal, they throw in everything incl. the kitchen sink just to get the client to sign. If I interfere and let it known- to the sales manager/general manager that we cannot promise such a thing, since it's not within our area of business and the work required is not in my own - or my team's job descriptions(implying we should get paid extra); it's basically ignored on the grounds that we're selling a 'service' not a product. In the end, I have to spend hours upon hours to get these promises sorted out- me and my team do the work at the end of the day, but we get a set salary at the end of the month, while sales get commision and meantime, we also carrying the risk of the customer walking if we do not live up to the salesperson's promises.

Now, I'm not as stupid as to suggest I be sales manager as well(just as Rafa prolly does not want to be CEO as well), I would just like more control over some matters, such as the authority over the salesperson to say decline a 'promise' if its something we cannot provide and is going to require more resources in terms of hours, manpower and expertise than is financially sensible or to refuse demands of support based on the products we sell and our technical expertise and/or resources.

Faling that- another alternative is for the company to install a sales manager who is willing to 'work together' instead of letting her ego get in the way and are only thinking about selling without thinking of/discussing how we will honour those commitments.

I think that's what is being demanded by Rafa. Failing that, the club should get a person in that respects Benitez more. Like Gill, Dein etc... at other clubs.

[Shaded Red]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N162879090117-1125.htm

Journalist: Firstly Rafa, you've had another operation this week - how are you?
 
Benitez: Much better - getting better.
 
Will you be okay for Monday?
 
[Smiles] Yes, I think so. I will not play but I think I will be okay.
 
You revealed on Friday that you've rejected your new contract. What were the reasons?
 
I think I was very clear. I told the owners and then I explained why in the Echo. Now I can tell you that I already have an agreement with one club - Liverpool Football Club - for one and a half years. We have finished the conversations about the contract for now and we can talk about Everton.
 
Is your argument with the owners?
 
I will talk about Everton - I don't have any problem with the owners.
 
Is this resolvable though, Rafa?
 
The game against Everton? For sure.
 
But Liverpool fans are concerned...
 
I will talk just about Everton.
 
So has your build-up to Everton been affected by all this?
 
No, I don't think so. Yesterday we had a day off. We don't have any problems. I've talked with my staff and we're preparing for the game as always.
 
How much influence will Everton have on the title race, because they play yourselves, Manchester United and Arsenal over the next couple of weeks?
 
All the teams we play against are good. Everton are in form, they are playing well, winning games and not conceding goals. It will be important for us to play well and beat them. It will be difficult.
 
Do you feel you have an advantage, with the game being at Anfield?
 
Yes, always.
 
Why is that?
 
Our fans are the best in the world. They will be behind the team, supporting the team. Maybe if we don't play at our level they will be disappointed, but they know that the way to win titles is to stay behind the team.
 
Can I just ask you about the transfer news regarding Jermaine Pennant and Daniel Agger?
 
Pennant - we have agreed with Portsmouth. We are waiting for news but I think it will be okay. I think he'll say yes and everything will be sorted. Daniel Agger - I had a conversation with him two days ago. He wants to stay. He isn't thinking about money - he's thinking about staying. In our last conversation he told me he was waiting for our phone call. I can guarantee that his commitment to the club is 100 per cent and he still wants to stay.
 
So is the AC Milan deal off?
 
We were not talking with AC Milan. I talked with his agent before and they are waiting for us. The player is really happy with us. He knows we have a strong team and he wants to stay.
 
Moving on slightly - £100million for a player. How will that affect the top four?
 
It will be more difficult to sign players if the prices go too high but we're not thinking about signing any players right now so, for this month at least, it's okay.
 
Okay, finally from me, can you just assure Liverpool fans that you'll be here for a long time?
 
Clearly I will be here, as long as I don't have any problems in the hospital! I will be here against Everton and hopefully for a lot of years.
 
How much do you look forward to these games against Everton?
 
It's always something different when you play against Everton. The atmosphere in the stadium is always really good. The fans can enjoy - especially if we win. Hopefully we can do this and it will be a fantastic game. If we do win, normally that would give more confidence to the team.
 
Have you learned more about the derbies as you've spent more time in the city?
 
Yes, clearly - every single year. You get to understand the reason for the rivalry and why each team wants to win. Hopefully we can win.
 
Will you be watching the Man Utd game today to see the result?
 
I will know the result because you (journalists) will tell me!
 
But it won't affect you or the players?
 
No. It's important to understand when people talk about your position in the table that you don't win the title in August or January. You need to keep calm and know that if you want to win the title it will be in May. To have Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and United in the title race at this stage is normal.
 
When you walked in you had a big smile on your face and you were buoyant. Is this a big weekend for you - are you looking forward to it?
 
Yes, I have a lot of confidence in my team, I am really happy here and, touch wood, I don't have to go to the hospital again.

[Daranoza]

What happens when Rafa asks for a table and is given a lamp? Does he walk, like he did at Valencia?

Judging on his past history, he is not averse to doing so, which is why this needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed sharpish. For that to happen, either Hicks or Gillette has to buckle because I get the impression (based on absolutely no evidence, granted) that this is just a little war between those two.

Gillette chose Parry. Hicks chose Rafa. There has to be sides and those are the sides that have been drawn up.

The question is - who will cave first? If it's Gillette then, fair play. Most likely Rafa stays. What if it's the fat one?

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Ok let me spell out exactly what I think, since you don't want to get it. Managers should not set fees, because historically it has been demonstrated that this allows corruption. Rafa is a manager. Therefore Rafa should not set fees. It's not personal, it's just business. Do you dispute this logic?

Yes absolutely because nowadays it's all documented.

[Eeyore]

All Rafa is asking for is the same as the Managers he is competing with. Do the likes of

Whiskey Nose
Wenger
Scolari
O'Neill
Moyes

Have to get their transfer targets approved by a incompetent Muppet like Coco. No they don't it's between the manager and the Board the way it should be.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

All Rafa is asking for is the same as the Managers he is competing with. Do the likes of

Whiskey Nose
Wenger
Scolari
O'Neill
Moyes

Have to get their transfer targets approved by a incompetent Muppet like Coco. No they don't it's between the manager and the Board the way it should be.

"a incompetent Muppet like Coco"

That is astonishing. Parry might have his faults - but overall I think that he did and does a lot of good stuff for the club.

And petty name calling like you've just demonstrated is prety childish.

[Gazza-LFC]

I honestly believe that there is only two managers in the world that could replace Rafa in my eyes they would be Mourinho and O'Neill but i hope the entire issue gets resolved A.S.A.P I think Rafa could be here for the next ten years and make a huge success of it.

[SteveZissou]

Well, this story has certainly taken nearly everyone's attention away from the Ferguson episode.  Not a single question about that in the interview.  I regard that as a relief for now.

Rafa's been doing some talking with Hicks who knows a thing or two about shifting headlines, and at the same time playing cards against Parry.  All this time at the hospital has certainly moved Rafa's tactics off the field. I'm one who finds this interesting, rather than frustrating

[Dr Cornwallis]

I think its 99% certain Rafa will get his way.  The owners will realise that its far better to lose Parry than it is to lose Benitez.  The only other option for them is to replace Parry with a CEO that Rafa trusts.
If we lose Benitez over this situation then the owners wont know what's hit them.  Fans will revolt, players will leave, it'll be Armegeddon.

[Dr Cornwallis]

I honestly believe that there is only two managers in the world that could replace Rafa in my eyes they would be Mourinho and O'Neill but i hope the entire issue gets resolved A.S.A.P I think Rafa could be here for the next ten years and make a huge success of it.

I dont want either here.  As far as managers go I would take a leaf out of the Pep Guardiola book.  But that's not going to happen, he's staying.