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Rafael Benitez


Jesse Pinkman

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And what he was saying about the identity of the club being taken away; I mean, really? I don't even know if that's true, re the behind the scenes stuff. Like I said, I wasn't going to argue with him because of what we had to suffer with Pardew, but he certainly didn't provide a convincing argument. Seemed very strange.

 

Wasn't it the Boot Room that was broken up and the likes of Steve Heighway binned that caused a lot of angst.  Dalglish was praising Rafa this week for the work he did with the Academy there which is now starting to bear fruit.

 

We are a different situation anyway - they were failing in comparision to the success they had achieved in the 80s but still doing better than most whilst we are a completely broken club that needs to be rebuilt from top to bottom.

 

 

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I thought it was Souness who got rid of the boot room and tried to move Liverpool forward.

 

Maybe - I just remember there being a lot of upset about Heighway leaving but it could well have been before Rafa's time there.

 

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I thought it was Souness who got rid of the boot room and tried to move Liverpool forward.

 

This is correct. My Everton supporting mate goes all misty-eyed whenever he talks about Souness demolishing the Bootroom. "Fucking great, best thing that's ever happened in football" in a broad scouse accent as a small smile takes over his face until he eventually ha a little chuckle to himself. 

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They got near the title in '09, like. Honestly, where do f***ing c***s like that come from.

 

Yeah, what an idiot. Liverpool got 86 points that season, beat Man U home and away, and only failed to win the league because Man U won something like 22 out of 24 games against the bottom 12. That season is the greatest example of a league winner failing in big games but being completely ruthless in all the others. Do that and "six pointers" don't matter.

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They got near the title in '09, like. Honestly, where do fucking cunts like that come from.

 

I find myself asking the same question of fellow toon fans when I'm at St James tbh.

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f***s sake, man.

 

CgwVjY5WgAAiyc3.jpg:large

What the eff is that? :lol:

I guess the newcastle version of

http://i.imgur.com/8ryUD9G.png

 

which made the rounds a few years back. :lol:

 

Edit: there must be some prior image that inspired both but I'm not familiar with it.

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The Liverpool fan I was watching the game with (:smug:) absolutely hates Rafa. I found it strange, based on what various Red visitors to this place have said, but didn't dispute it on account of our experiences with Pardew.

 

I said "you're in a minority there, surely?" He said no, citing how he ruined the club by binning every single one of the staff - even down to the admin, in favour of Spanish people. "We won the CL but got nowhere near the title, and he had us playing terrible football that's taken years for us to shake off."

 

Seems strange. Is there really a percentage of Liverpool fans who seriously dislike the guy? The irony is, this lad seemed to hate Rafa for all the reasons I'm most excited for - I.e. a complete stripping down and rebuilding of the club.

 

There are some who had absolute hate for him and as far as I could see it stemmed from people who knew players or workers at Anfield.

 

Rafa was sick of things leaking to the press and such, plus he wanted The Academy to produce players who could step up, play the way he wanted them to and forget about winning youth cups.  That cup wasn't important to him, the coaching of the players was.  Heighway had control of the youth set up for 20 years and it's arguable whether enough players came through.  Gerrard and Owen were top players who would have come through anywhere really, but there wasn't enough of the Carras from Heighway.

 

Once he got control he had a Rafas 'night of the long knives' where he got rid of 16 Academy and back room staff.  This is where the hate stems from.

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The Liverpool fan I was watching the game with (:smug:) absolutely hates Rafa. I found it strange, based on what various Red visitors to this place have said, but didn't dispute it on account of our experiences with Pardew.

 

I said "you're in a minority there, surely?" He said no, citing how he ruined the club by binning every single one of the staff - even down to the admin, in favour of Spanish people. "We won the CL but got nowhere near the title, and he had us playing terrible football that's taken years for us to shake off."

 

Seems strange. Is there really a percentage of Liverpool fans who seriously dislike the guy? The irony is, this lad seemed to hate Rafa for all the reasons I'm most excited for - I.e. a complete stripping down and rebuilding of the club.

 

There are some who had absolute hate for him and as far as I could see it stemmed from people who knew players or workers at Anfield.

 

Rafa was sick of things leaking to the press and such, plus he wanted The Academy to produce players who could step up, play the way he wanted them to and forget about winning youth cups.  That cup wasn't important to him, the coaching of the players was.  Heighway had control of the youth set up for 20 years and it's arguable whether enough players came through.  Gerrard and Owen were top players who would have come through anywhere really, but there wasn't enough of the Carras from Heighway.

 

Once he got control he had a Rafas 'night of the long knives' where he got rid of 16 Academy and back room staff.  This is where the hate stems from.

 

Rafa doesn't care for ego or reputations and is very dedicated to his job to the point where he'll make enemies. The media hated him as well. He shows no favouritism and that rubs up the ego of the likes of Ronaldo or Steven Gerrard who need their egos massaged regularly. In effect it's his weakness as a modern manager but he's very old school and expects respect and professionalism but without having the personality of a Mourinho or a Klopp.

 

Most Liverpool fans love him and still do, but there was a massive smear campaign against him towards the end of his time there (from marginalised staff at the club or some players) that drip fed into some fans.

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This lad was vociferous in how Liverpool have failed to bring youngsters through compared to the era prior to Benitez's arrival. He really hates him, like. Called him a cunt in the same way I would Pardew. He asked me if I thought he did a good job at Anfield, at which point I told him I was actually a Newcastle fan. :lol: We were 2-0 down at that point and I was visibly angsty! Weird lad.

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I'm a Reds fan, and I registered here when Rafa signed with you guys. Well deserved point yesterday, and I can assure you the majority of Liverpool fans see you as the second club now (a small prickish minority are ungrateful armchair supporters who somehow don't like him, but that's their problem)! Seeing the opposition fans singing his name was very melancholy for us yesterday - delighted to see him loved but also sad that he's not ours anymore! I fear he may have arrived too late to fix the mess created by McClaren and his dogsbodies in the boardroom, but I hope he stays, and I have a feeling - what with the attachment and fondness he's shown towards the fans, and vice versa - that he may stay whatever happens. Certainly the last couple of weeks provides ample evidence to suggest to Rafa that this squad is good enough whatever happens from here on, and that whatever division they are playing in, there is plenty to build upon. I can't quite believe how much better they look as a team now, considering the last few jokers of managers at Newcastle Utd.

 

One major issue some players have is that he is cold, but this should not be a criticism as that accusation applies only with the egomaniacs in football. As much a hero as Stevie G was, this was something that many of us entirely agreed with Rafa on. It only takes a read of Gerrard's latest autobiography to show how wound up in his own ego he is when he slates Rafa on some occasions. To read Red and White Kop, most supporters were appalled at this. I could go on and on with a list of rebuttals to contradict Gerrard's view on Rafa and, inevitably, his cold relationship with the Spaniard proved to be destructive to the club. Let's just say this - Gerrard (and Carragher) was quite happy to see the back of Rafa. The fact that he had turned Liverpool into formidable challengers again, turned Gerrard into a world class player (his form before and after Rafa didn't compare) and had won a European Cup and FA Cup was neither here nor there - and so such narrow mindedness from Gerrard prove fateful as Gerrard was adamant on his support for Roy f***ing Hodgson to become the boss. And that bit of egomania and disrespect for Rafa partly led us to the doledrums.

 

That said, more often than not, players who need help and a bit of belief go on to greatly appreciate Rafa. Lucas, Mascherano, Torres, Alonso, Kuyt, etc all had the humility to praise him to the heavens as they saw their careers go from strength to strength under his tutelage.

 

I just think Rafa fits your club like hand in glove. It's only good for English football if Newcastle and their fanatic fanbase are big players again and it would be refreshing after the sterile prawn sandwich glory hunting plastics that congregate around a whole host of soulless clubs (such as that franchise Man Utd).

 

We still love him, we still wish him all the best and I love that you guys love him too. Take care of him! And please, it would just be poetic justice if Rafa relegates Allardyce and Sunderland!

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The Liverpool fan I was watching the game with (:smug:) absolutely hates Rafa. I found it strange, based on what various Red visitors to this place have said, but didn't dispute it on account of our experiences with Pardew.

 

I said "you're in a minority there, surely?" He said no, citing how he ruined the club by binning every single one of the staff - even down to the admin, in favour of Spanish people. "We won the CL but got nowhere near the title, and he had us playing terrible football that's taken years for us to shake off."

 

Seems strange. Is there really a percentage of Liverpool fans who seriously dislike the guy? The irony is, this lad seemed to hate Rafa for all the reasons I'm most excited for - I.e. a complete stripping down and rebuilding of the club.

 

There are some who had absolute hate for him and as far as I could see it stemmed from people who knew players or workers at Anfield.

 

Rafa was sick of things leaking to the press and such, plus he wanted The Academy to produce players who could step up, play the way he wanted them to and forget about winning youth cups.  That cup wasn't important to him, the coaching of the players was.  Heighway had control of the youth set up for 20 years and it's arguable whether enough players came through.  Gerrard and Owen were top players who would have come through anywhere really, but there wasn't enough of the Carras from Heighway.

 

Once he got control he had a Rafas 'night of the long knives' where he got rid of 16 Academy and back room staff.  This is where the hate stems from.

 

Rafa doesn't care for ego or reputations and is very dedicated to his job to the point where he'll make enemies. The media hated him as well. He shows no favouritism and that rubs up the ego of the likes of Ronaldo or Steven Gerrard who need their egos massaged regularly. In effect it's his weakness as a modern manager but he's very old school and expects respect and professionalism but without having the personality of a Mourinho or a Klopp.

 

Most Liverpool fans love him and still do, but there was a massive smear campaign against him towards the end of his time there (from marginalised staff at the club or some players) that drip fed into some fans.

 

All I can say is 'thanks a fucking bunch' to those who carried a smear campaign against Rafa at Liverpool.

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