I think Rafa did a great job thus far

last SG · 2010-04-11T16:28:21+00:00

Over the years, Rafa has done a decent job. He got Liverpool into 2 Champions League finals, won 1, and also had 1 FA cup and multiple top 4 finishes.But u...

SpamBox SG

Discuss =P

youyayu SG

his the best manager ever

ASKL! SG

why so?

club18 SG

i sense a troll

SpamBox SG

why so?

Why not?

Players brought - http://www.lfchistory.net/stats_transfers_by_manager.asp?list=Get&manager_id=20&InOut=1&submit1=Submit

Players sold - http://www.lfchistory.net/stats_transfers_by_manager.asp?list=Get&manager_id=20&InOut=0&submit1=Submit

Considering the value of the squad he took over in 2004 and now, considering the transfer budget he's given each season, I think he's done a pretty good job.

ASKL! SG

i didn't read what's in the link.

but if you're talking about like, the fa cup and the CL against west ham and ac milan respectively, those were because of gerrard if you see properly.

then if you're talking about signings, i believe rafa has signed over hundred of players(correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm sure it's somewhere around that amount) and how many are left?

SpamBox SG

i sense a troll

No I'm just surprised at the amount of hatred here and wondering what's the source of them all. Maybe you can convince me to hate him too?

but if you're talking about like, the fa cup and the CL against west ham and ac milan respectively, those were because of gerrard if you see properly.

then if you're talking about signings, i believe rafa has signed over hundred of players(correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm sure it's somewhere around that amount) and how many are left?

1 - And Gerrard was considering joining Chelsea in 2004 (and 2006, but that's another story) after Owen left to Madrid. Guess who convinced him to stay?

2 - He had to sell to buy - because liverpool couldn't afford big-name players all at once. (see man utd / chelsea) Sissoko for Mascherano, Bellamy for Torres, Murphy for Alonso etc.

The exact number of players is 56 bought, 67 sold.

Probably another 10-20 youth players were purchased but wasn't listed - this is him working for the future of liverpool and trying to unearth a superstar while they are still young and cheap (see arsenal)

ASKL! SG

i see many youths. not really but still young.

el zhar, n'gog, pacheco(i kinda like him though), nemeth, ayala, kelly, spearing and plessis.

other than n'gog(a flop) who else you think has played much this season? and mind, elzhar is 23 or 24 already

ASKL! SG

and i agree with the 'who persuaded him to stay' part
yea you noticed the great signings as replacement for the leaving or aging players but how about the flops.

you're talking in one perspective only.

SpamBox SG

el zhar was injured pre-season and has only been back the past month.

nemeth's out on loan.

ayala is kept out due to insua being eased into the squad (there, 1 ex-youngster who's playing regularly now with an senior argentina cap to boot)

kelly's conveniently injured several times when johnson wasn't around (search around the prematch reports and you'll find enough of them), hence it's hard to introduce him especially when the back 4's often disrupted due to soto's suspension or agger/skrtel injuries.

n'gog wasn't suppose to play much this season - rafa was promised by the americans the sale of players will go back to the transfer kitty (hence he sold keane) but they did a u-turn afterwards.

as for spearing and plessis, who do you want them to replace? lucas, mascherano, benayoun, aquilani, or our captain?

finally, i agree with the flops (esp keane) but how about the signings that developed to be world class players now?

if i'm talking in one perspective you're talking in the extreme end of the other.

ASKL! SG

wow, you rendered me speechless.

let me tell you something, i used to be like you, rafa supporter.

wait.. that was around.. september.. oh wait thats the time this season started right?

k about keane. keane > n'gog no doubt.

i know keane is a flop but if he didn't sell keane, i would think things would be better now, by abit.

like i said before, n'gog has no composure, no creativity, no pace, no nothing.

fine, he sold keane, he got 20million, he bought a half fit aquilani. isn't that the last thing he should do? buying a half fit player in hopes of salvaging a fourth spot from a poor start?

As romanista2001 SG

yes Rafa did very well indeed..............

after all, when it comes to signing the most number of flops and wasting most money on them, Rafa truly has no equal..............

and apart from winning a most dubious Champions League final in which Milan most probably threw the match after conceding 3 soft goals to Liverpool..................Rafa has won nothing.............

if there's a Nobel Prize for football, sure no one deserves it more than Rafa.

for 2009-2010 season, i think Rafa should win 2 awards..........

1) Flop of the Season

2) Clown of the Year

kenn3th SG

flame thread

SpamBox SG

I'll try to explain this as simple as I can.

Throughout the previous seasons, Rafa has always been given +/- 20mil transfer funds per season plus any amount he generated from player sales.

Hence:

Feb 2009 - Sold Keane for 16mil (expecting 36mil available at end of season: 16mil from sales + the usual 20mil every year)

June 2009 - Bought Johnson for ~6.5mil (plus 11mil for crouch, expecting 29.5 mil transfer funds left)

July 2009 - Sold Leto for 3mil (expecting 32.5mil)

5 Aug 2009 - Sold Alonso + Arbeloa for 33.5mil (expecting 66mil)

7 Aug 2009 - Bought Aquilani for ~17mil to replace Alonso (expecting ~49mil left)

(between 7 Aug to 21 Aug) - American owners refinance loans and decides not to give Rafa any transfer funds this season. Also, the profits from Alonso's sale used to repay owners' loans (you'll be pissed if you understand what's going on)

21 Aug 2009 - Somehow coughs up ~2mil to purchase Soto as replacement for Hyypia.

Imagine the owners stick to their word and gave Rafa the money as usual - who do you think he would have signed? It's no coincidence we were linked with some of the more expensive strikers during that same time period.

My dates may not be 100% accurate but the facts are - Rafa was promised funds but then denied and hence messing up his plans - if you want I can look up some of the interviews during that time period where he let his frustrations show.

I'm not a 100% rafa supporter. I booed when he took torres off and facepalm when he play lucas again and again earlier in the season. But I'm surprised at some of the posts made here suggesting how he done totally nothing for the club or how he should be sacked etc.

Personally this season liverpool had been horrible, partly due to the injuries and insufficient squad depth (read: MONEY NOT ENOUGH). However, I think he done a great job overall considering the two clowns we have as owners and an inept ex-CEO.

SpamBox SG

and apart from winning a most dubious Champions League final in which Milan most probably threw the match after conceding 3 soft goals to Liverpool..................Rafa has won nothing.............

Is that the source of all the hatred for him? Because he won nothing?

As romanista2001 SG

the fact is most of his signings are flops...............only the very big names he signed like Torres and Mascherano has worked out...................

after signing so many players at huge cost...............the team still depends on 2 guys...........Gerrard and Torres...............one of them can't play, the team is half-dead...............both can't play, the team is buried...............

does all that sound like the workings of a good coach ?

SpamBox SG

the fact is most of his signings are flops...............only the very big names he signed like Torres and Mascherano has worked out...................

The fact is most of his signings are CHEAP, because liverpool doesn't have a bank account like man utd or chelsea. Despite this, he has managed to sign several good players like Reina, Agger, Benayoun. Some worked out but were later sold - players like Crouch (doesn't want to play second fiddle to Torres), Alonso (still pissed off from the barry saga), Bellamy / Sissoko (sold to purchase better players since liverpool were ummm broke)

after signing so many players at huge cost..............

Misleading. Hard to sign players at huge cost when we dont have the money in the first place T_T.

My point is, there are other teams who can sign 10-20mil+ 'fringe' players and put them on the bench. Or play them and when they didn't work out, throw them into the reserves for a few months. However, liverpool is NOT RICH ENOUGH to do that, hence when a transfer doesn't work out Rafa needs to sell them to cut his losses and use the money to improve the squad further.

As romanista2001 SG

anyway, Rafa needs to go......................managers like Moyes and O'Neil have much less money to spend but yet Everton and Villa are doing so well...................their squads are still much weaker than Liverpool on paper.......

Liverpool should get Avram Grant.............that guy is quite something, can stabilize the team..............working on a budget shouldn't be a problem for him.

SpamBox SG

They also won absolutely nothing since joining the respective clubs.

Why not use Man City and Tottenham as examples instead? Oh wait.. you can't =D

CannyOng SG

I can't believe until now still got Liverpool fan believe in him??

Must be some Man Utd fan troll disguise as Pool fan, is it??