Problems within Anfield?

[Morph]

I’ve been reading several articles lately and things do not seem great behind close doors, that are the vibes I am getting from Rafa’s comments to the press unless they have been manipulated in such a mannerism to suggest that there is problems behind the scenes at Liverpool, which would suggest a power struggle.

Rafa is usually a calm and collective manager who won’t reveal too much information to the press about the goings on within the club and he is usually straight talking and straight faced when it comes answer questions from the media, but it seems our manager has become a bit emotional recently and has suggested the blatant obvious that we need to spend, spend, spend in the summer months and how the club has changed and how it needs to change. Then you have Rafa suggesting there is going to be an overhaul at the top end of the club and it will trickle through the seams down to the foot of the club i.e. the fans. Rafa has mentioned new charts which consist of business and football and how both of these sections need a radical improvement.

Hicks and Gillett have mentioned several times that they need to back the manager in all aspects of what he wants to do and there are suggestions that the threesome report to each other on the telephone on regular occasions no doubt contributing to surge of CO2 admission and costly telephone communication bills.

So where is the middle man? Is he off on holiday again? Has he been cut out of the picture in favour of one or two of the American’s sons? Has Rafa thrown down the gauntlet and said “We do things the Benitez way or I am going to go to club which appreciates me”. After all he did leave Los Che, because of the feeling he wasn’t supported enough in every aspect he deems of grave importance. Is Parry not up to the job? Is he delivering too little, too late, being wasteful, being lax? Has Rafa finally had enough of Rick Parry?

Maybe we are in for a major overhaul of not just the playing squad, but the staff and the CEO of Liverpool football club.

All thoughts are welcome as our articles and theories to link what seems to me as being just as much a problem as the ‘mediocre playing squad’.

http://http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2089017,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6696155.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/teams/l/liverpool/6686935.stm

[liverbird]

I have felt for some time that Parry is a big part of our problem.

The first part was that Moore's while wealthy wasn't really a big business, financial individual. He did spend but couldn't at the highest levels. Hopefully the new owners can do a bit better.

Parry is, I feel, the target of the "slow to react" jibe by Rafa. As you point out, he is often on holiday when players like Owen, or almost, Gerrard aren't signed. But Benitez isn't going to be running the stadium, concessions, intrnet site, or sponsorship negotiations. The new owners are not absentee but they aren't going to do these things. I do think that Parry has about three years as one or more of the owners sons step into learning "the new family business".

Finally, this is all part of everyone explaining why we lost in Greece and won nothing this year. I agree with many of Morph's posts that you don't always have to spend big to win, but for Benitez it is at a feeling that he needs two or three more really good players. Not a couple of UK boyhood Reds who are available through a buyout clause or because their teams been relegated and they are "damaged goods" in one way or another.

[Morph]

Chris Bascombe has suggested that Rafa and Parry are not on speaking terms and use a middle man to communicate with one another, which suggests Rafa has conflicting views with Parry over the business end of transfers. Parry is far too lax for my liking and a lot of what Rafa says seems like one big swift kick in the knackers of Auntie Rick.

Rafa to me does seem like someone who wants to control everything, he seems like a control freak, a perfectionist, a master chocolatier without the qualifications, a Red Tsar in his own right and Parry is a thorn in the side of his master plan. I think Rafa wants the same control Fergie has on United and to a large extent the control Wenger has on Arsenal, what he fails to realise is, that he isn’t in a position to be controlling every foundation of the club. He wants to dictate the wage structure, the transfer budget, the first team, the academy, the scouting of talent as well as running the first team.

Then there is the case of backroom staff leaving, Heighway has yet to be replaced, McParland is off to join Sammy Lee at Bolton, so there are two positions in which have been lost and need to be replaced, although reports suggest Benitez wants a firm strong hold on the club and I am not so sure if I like such an idea of a dictator at the clubs helm. Has he effectively driven such backroom staff out of the door through the wanting of complete control? This is what I have to ask myself, when I read such articles and each passing article highlights and places another piece of the jigsaw in the puzzle. It seems a toss up of either a) Rafa is ignoring their recommendations or b) Parry’s inability to act on their recommendations; therefore they are jumping ship to good old Sammy Lee or are just resigning. These are all very strong roles within the club and will need to be sorted out in the summer; it’s unusual to find so many backroom departures in such a short space of time. I’m wondering whether Rafa has been promised the world and the stars and has yet to be given either.

It does make me somewhat uncomfortable to hear Benitez stating the entire infrastructure needs to be changed and new ideology needs to be put in place for the future, to me he is not someone who should be making such decisions. His sentiments are spot on, I cannot disagree with them, but I don’t want Liverpool to become Rafa Benitez FC, there needs to be checks and balances and a separation of powers, which is why there are many difficult and significant roles within the club.

As for Parry, there is good question for his resignation, there have been several reports even from the horses mouth (Rafa) that Parry is pretty much ‘slow on the up take’ and ‘lax’. According to some more prominent members in the Liverpool fan base, who have connections, Rafa is fed up and angered with Rick’s lax and slow up take on dealing with summer targets, according to what I have read on previous forums at previous times, Parry has prioritised differently from Rafa. Rafa wants his signings done and dusted as soon as possible, Parry wants to wait and be cautious and this has led people like Vidic to sign for United because Liverpool were too late coming in for such bids.

I suppose one would take such accusations with a pinch of salt if it was a rare occurrence or if one person was coming out stating such an issue, it’s the fact that several people and even Rafa to a lesser extent has levelled such criticisms towards Parry, which begs me to question whether he should be kept on as Chief Executive or not. When you think that we've missed out on players for quite a while now, spent ridiculous amounts on complete dung and paid stupid wages, you have to wonder how much truth there is behind this levelled criticism.

These players turn up at Liverpool, everyone realises just how crap they are and you can't give the twats away. Houllier was responsible for bringing the dung in, but Parry had the final say, including contracts and other minor details.

People have been joking about Parry jetting off to the Bahamas for a luxury holiday at the end of the season or having his mobile fun switched off and being uncontactable at the most crucial point of the clubs season, the transfer window, you have to question two things a) his commitment to the club and b) his professionalism. I respect the right that he is entitled to holiday, but surely it would be best to wrap up the transfers earlier as possible and then jet off on an expensive cruise around the West Indies? This then leaves wild speculation being made and transfers lingering around like bad smell and as a result the player ends up at another English or European counter part and we end up signing our second choice target.

We haven’t and never have exploited the market properly and by this market I am referring to the global sales market, we could have made so much money from Istanbul if the club had used their intelligence, who is the marketing manager? Probably Parry’s best friend and who is this marketing manager’s boss? Rick Parry, now if your marketing department is failing miserably, you sack the marketing manager, it makes sense. Not to Parry it doesn’t he is more than content at using his small green grocers business plan and not a corporate business plan which our English and European counterparts are using.

I haven’t the slightest clue if all this is factual, it’s as clear as day that something isn’t right and there needs to be a change and I think Parry needs to be cut out, because Rafa has basically placed the gauntlet down, its either him or Rick and I know who I would keep.

[ForeverRed]

Perhaps Rafa has a sense of entitlement after doing so well in his first two years with the club and has a clear plan laid out in front of him that he sees as being roadblocked.

Then again, it's difficult to find a right balance of managerial control over the club and some checks from the top that don't compromise his "vision". I just hope this doesn't have any negative effects.

[Twenty26Six]

There is a lot of stuff in these posts... lot of it is good.

I see it _one way_. Rafa Benitez brough us to TWO European Cup Finals in THREE years, with less talent than most of the top clubs in Europe.

Clearly, he knows what he is doing. He deserves the keys to the ship, in my opinion.

[Morph]

I agree with you guys to a certain degree, I do think you are right here, I would just like to see a new Chief Executive, a new head scout and a new Academy chief, so there are some checks and balances put in place to curb any dominance from the management. Rafa does indeed have a valid right to be stressed and annoyed at how certain things are run within the club after all, the youth academy is in ruins, and the Chief Executive is lax about transfer dealings and he has ensured Liverpool is marketed to its maximum levels and countless other problems can be traced back to Rick Parry.

I think I should highlight the small fact that Benitez was right to sack Heighway if what I have been reading around the Internet. I have read on several occasions that Heighway did well by the players and not the club. Apparently he got away with it under Moores, but when the Americans waltzed in Rafa made sure some culling behind closed doors took place. From what I’ve heard and please don’t take this as factual knowledge, because it isn’t, Rafa and Heighway have never seen eye to eye, just like his predecessor Houllier never saw eye to eye with Heighway and you have to ask yourself, what’s going on when two managers, known for glowing youth policies (Houllier in particular) fall out with Heighway. Perhaps Heighway wasn’t ruthless enough, a bit like Auntie Rick in many ways.

Heighway according to several people on different boards around the net, claim that Heighway was rather similar to Evans, he got attached to his players and had his favourites and regardless of their quality, he stood by those players and most will never manage to don the rest shirt for the Liverpool senior team because they simply aren’t good enough. The Youth Academy should be aiming higher and should be run more effectively and more efficiently than it has been thus far. There should be much more activity than there is, players coming and goings, ins and outs in the transfer window. People on this board have mentioned that we need to spend big, we also need to spend small on young players who can work their way up through the ranks and break into our first team, it’s not great for a club of Liverpool’s stature to keep signing players from abroad and not having any gems in the youth set up.

I’m starting to come to the conclusion that Parry is a small time businessman and we’ve been run like a small time business, like a café in New York, Paris, London or Rome, you know the café that look very high tech, yet is very simple, tables made of glass and steel, but constructed to look like solid silver and this has been the problem. Everything from the ticket office to our marketing is of a modest key, some could be cynical and point out low key it all depends on how you weigh things up doesn’t it? We need to get out of this small business mind set, we can remain our status as a club and a club in which its supporters can be proud of having, without having the small corner shop or convenience store mentality, god help Bill Gates if he had the small business mind set, he’d be stuck in his bedroom as I type. Lots of things will have to change, some will be for the better and some will be for the worse, we must take rough with the smooth.

As for Parry, I think he was kept on for continuity; it’s good to have a familiar face around who knows the ins and outs of the club and how things operate, I am just wondering whether Foster Gillett or one of Hicks’ many sons is lining up to take over from Parry when their work permits come through (if they haven’t already) or when they have a better understanding of football and how its operates in terms of business, this cannot be an easy thing to pick up in one day, it will no doubt take time. Parry and without being too critical although I am well within my right is slow, out of touch, complacent and too friendly. The Gerrard fiasco is just typical, sure Gerrard was to blame for to a certain degree, for being naïve about Liverpool not wanting him, to being an insecure person who has spent much of his life wrapped up in cotton wool. Where was Parry when Gerrard was waking up every night in a cold sweat having nightmares about moving to smoggy London? Parry was off soaking in the sun, with his mobile turned off, drinking Pimms at Pimms o’clock. It was David Moores who had to step in and steer the ship to safety, otherwise Gerrard would have handed in a transfer request and left.

The ticket fiasco’s at major events involving Liverpool, the Owen ordeal, which saw Parry not show an ounce of backbone or ruthlessness, the inept and costly stadium fiasco, missing out on Simao and Alves deals which will now see us potentially shelling out a ridiculous amount of money on both players.

I don’t think this will be resolved until Parry steps down, yet we have no one in his place to take over the reigns and no one with the know how and the ruthless business streak who can come in, settle down and put us back on the map. As I say, either one of the Bosses’ eldest sons, will no doubt take up the reigns after a competitive game of rock, paper scissors, with a best out of three, but we’ll have to wait and if Parry doesn’t get his finger out, Rafa is off to Real Madrid or elsewhere where a club will share his vision and share his taste for glory.

Parry is a nice man, he is the type of man you can trust, he’s the type of man you can have a drink with, go to the races with, but he is too nice for my liking, this might have been acceptable twenty years ago, but football is changing, the culture and the nature of contemporary world football is about business, finance and capitalism, it’s no longer about nice guys. Hell Uncle Bob was a nice, humble, individual, but you wouldn’t dare cross his line because you were straight out the door, whether you were Hansen or Dalglish, it wouldn’t matter. Parry isn’t like this he is far too soft and gentle and nice and you cannot be good at such a job if you aren’t set in your ways and you aren’t ruthless. As Matt Clark pointed out to me, Evans was a nice manager, but nice managers never make great managers. I would hope Parry is given a role which is more suited to his ability or is eased out of the door with his ability left in tack.

I was thinking about Rafa and his desired role in the club and what he wants done and I think I have taken the media spin to the tenth degree here, lay off me I am a naïve, know it all, know nothing eighteen year old football addict. To me Rafa wants everything scoped and encompassed into his own vision, rather like the control Wenger has on Arsenal. Wenger dictates how Arsenal is run and the people he has appointed share the same vision as him, therefore conflict is kept at a bare minimum, sure it will no doubt exist, but everyone within the club from top down to bottom up are pulling in the same direction. At the moment we have the middle man pulling one way the top men, the second from top man pulling a different way to the former and the latter pulling in a different way from the bottom and the bottom pulling in a different way from the lower middle. It was only a matter of time before something gave way and it’s the middle man in the equation, the pillar and the post of our success in recent times has snapped, because of the pressure and the conflict of interests, does this make him a control freak?

Yes it does, is he asking for too much authority, you could argue this way after all he has been quoted as ‘saying’ he wants to rule the roost and run the youth set up, I would like to think he wants a collective ideal where everyone sees the future of Liverpool in the same light.

So I wouldn’t say Rafa wants complete control, obviously he wants a group of yes, yes coaches who share the same vision, but I think Rafa wants continuity throughout every aspect of the club and he is prepared to get rid of interests which conflict repeatedly with his own, Heighway has had the chop and Parry is next on the cards. Either way, I’d rather we lost a long servant such as Heighway than Rafa, Stevie will be remembered fondly, but we need to break the mould and capture more trophies and sign better players, we won’t manage this if there is contrasting and conflicting views at every corner of the club.

Maybe Rafa is being authoritarian in many ways, in many ways I think he is right to do so, but there does need to be some checks on him, there does need to be a level of conflict on such issues, but not conflicts which involve mass failings in the process. One thing is for sure, all is clearly not right behind closed doors and Parry to me seems to be the major obstacle blocking Rafa’s ‘master plan’.

[liverbird]

I agree with you guys to a certain degree, I do think you are right here, I would just like to see a new Chief Executive, a new head scout and a new Academy chief, so there are some checks and balances put in place to curb any dominance from the management. Rafa does indeed have a valid right to be stressed and annoyed at how certain things are run within the club after all, the youth academy is in ruins, and the Chief Executive is lax about transfer dealings and he has ensured Liverpool is marketed to its maximum levels and countless other problems can be traced back to Rick Parry.

I think I should highlight the small fact that Benitez was right to sack Heighway if what I have been reading around the Internet. I have read on several occasions that Heighway did well by the players and not the club. Apparently he got away with it under Moores, but when the Americans waltzed in Rafa made sure some culling behind closed doors took place. From what I’ve heard and please don’t take this as factual knowledge, because it isn’t, Rafa and Heighway have never seen eye to eye, just like his predecessor Houllier never saw eye to eye with Heighway and you have to ask yourself, what’s going on when two managers, known for glowing youth policies (Houllier in particular) fall out with Heighway. Perhaps Heighway wasn’t ruthless enough, a bit like Auntie Rick in many ways.

Heighway according to several people on different boards around the net, claim that Heighway was rather similar to Evans, he got attached to his players and had his favourites and regardless of their quality, he stood by those players and most will never manage to don the rest shirt for the Liverpool senior team because they simply aren’t good enough. The Youth Academy should be aiming higher and should be run more effectively and more efficiently than it has been thus far. There should be much more activity than there is, players coming and goings, ins and outs in the transfer window. People on this board have mentioned that we need to spend big, we also need to spend small on young players who can work their way up through the ranks and break into our first team, it’s not great for a club of Liverpool’s stature to keep signing players from abroad and not having any gems in the youth set up.

I’m starting to come to the conclusion that Parry is a small time businessman and we’ve been run like a small time business, like a café in New York, Paris, London or Rome, you know the café that look very high tech, yet is very simple, tables made of glass and steel, but constructed to look like solid silver and this has been the problem. Everything from the ticket office to our marketing is of a modest key, some could be cynical and point out low key it all depends on how you weigh things up doesn’t it? We need to get out of this small business mind set, we can remain our status as a club and a club in which its supporters can be proud of having, without having the small corner shop or convenience store mentality, god help Bill Gates if he had the small business mind set, he’d be stuck in his bedroom as I type. Lots of things will have to change, some will be for the better and some will be for the worse, we must take rough with the smooth.

As for Parry, I think he was kept on for continuity; it’s good to have a familiar face around who knows the ins and outs of the club and how things operate, I am just wondering whether Foster Gillett or one of Hicks’ many sons is lining up to take over from Parry when their work permits come through (if they haven’t already) or when they have a better understanding of football and how its operates in terms of business, this cannot be an easy thing to pick up in one day, it will no doubt take time. Parry and without being too critical although I am well within my right is slow, out of touch, complacent and too friendly. The Gerrard fiasco is just typical, sure Gerrard was to blame for to a certain degree, for being naïve about Liverpool not wanting him, to being an insecure person who has spent much of his life wrapped up in cotton wool. Where was Parry when Gerrard was waking up every night in a cold sweat having nightmares about moving to smoggy London? Parry was off soaking in the sun, with his mobile turned off, drinking Pimms at Pimms o’clock. It was David Moores who had to step in and steer the ship to safety, otherwise Gerrard would have handed in a transfer request and left.

The ticket fiasco’s at major events involving Liverpool, the Owen ordeal, which saw Parry not show an ounce of backbone or ruthlessness, the inept and costly stadium fiasco, missing out on Simao and Alves deals which will now see us potentially shelling out a ridiculous amount of money on both players.

I don’t think this will be resolved until Parry steps down, yet we have no one in his place to take over the reigns and no one with the know how and the ruthless business streak who can come in, settle down and put us back on the map. As I say, either one of the Bosses’ eldest sons, will no doubt take up the reigns after a competitive game of rock, paper scissors, with a best out of three, but we’ll have to wait and if Parry doesn’t get his finger out, Rafa is off to Real Madrid or elsewhere where a club will share his vision and share his taste for glory.

Parry is a nice man, he is the type of man you can trust, he’s the type of man you can have a drink with, go to the races with, but he is too nice for my liking, this might have been acceptable twenty years ago, but football is changing, the culture and the nature of contemporary world football is about business, finance and capitalism, it’s no longer about nice guys. Hell Uncle Bob was a nice, humble, individual, but you wouldn’t dare cross his line because you were straight out the door, whether you were Hansen or Dalglish, it wouldn’t matter. Parry isn’t like this he is far too soft and gentle and nice and you cannot be good at such a job if you aren’t set in your ways and you aren’t ruthless. As Matt Clark pointed out to me, Evans was a nice manager, but nice managers never make great managers. I would hope Parry is given a role which is more suited to his ability or is eased out of the door with his ability left in tack.

I was thinking about Rafa and his desired role in the club and what he wants done and I think I have taken the media spin to the tenth degree here, lay off me I am a naïve, know it all, know nothing eighteen year old football addict. To me Rafa wants everything scoped and encompassed into his own vision, rather like the control Wenger has on Arsenal. Wenger dictates how Arsenal is run and the people he has appointed share the same vision as him, therefore conflict is kept at a bare minimum, sure it will no doubt exist, but everyone within the club from top down to bottom up are pulling in the same direction. At the moment we have the middle man pulling one way the top men, the second from top man pulling a different way to the former and the latter pulling in a different way from the bottom and the bottom pulling in a different way from the lower middle. It was only a matter of time before something gave way and it’s the middle man in the equation, the pillar and the post of our success in recent times has snapped, because of the pressure and the conflict of interests, does this make him a control freak?

Yes it does, is he asking for too much authority, you could argue this way after all he has been quoted as ‘saying’ he wants to rule the roost and run the youth set up, I would like to think he wants a collective ideal where everyone sees the future of Liverpool in the same light.

So I wouldn’t say Rafa wants complete control, obviously he wants a group of yes, yes coaches who share the same vision, but I think Rafa wants continuity throughout every aspect of the club and he is prepared to get rid of interests which conflict repeatedly with his own, Heighway has had the chop and Parry is next on the cards. Either way, I’d rather we lost a long servant such as Heighway than Rafa, Stevie will be remembered fondly, but we need to break the mould and capture more trophies and sign better players, we won’t manage this if there is contrasting and conflicting views at every corner of the club.

Maybe Rafa is being authoritarian in many ways, in many ways I think he is right to do so, but there does need to be some checks on him, there does need to be a level of conflict on such issues, but not conflicts which involve mass failings in the process. One thing is for sure, all is clearly not right behind closed doors and Parry to me seems to be the major obstacle blocking Rafa’s ‘master plan’.

You may be a "naïve, know it all, know nothing eighteen year old football addict" but damn you write and think well. Excellent post which I think precisely sums up the state of play.

[revelationx]

I think the problems are overplayed by the media. There is no major problem at all. The recent stories stems from various interviews Rafa made immediately following the Athens game. Now Rafa is going to be a bit annoyed because all his hard work ended up in a narrow loss. Rafa's tactical plan worked pretty well - Milans 'best midfield in the world' TM was essentially nullified as was Kaka. Liverpool dominated the play but were unable to create or convert adequate chances whereas Milan took their few chances and won. Milan had 3 shots on goal and scored 2. Inzaghi is the only player on Earth who has had one shot in a match and yet scored 2 goals! So Rafa was a bit p1ssed off. The failure of the plan was caused by Inzaghi's clinical finishing and Liverpool's lack of attacking prowess. Liverpool do not have the attacking players of most other CL contenders. One of the reasons for this is money, in the last 3 seasons Rafa has been frustrated in signing players who he had worked hard on establishing relations with and persuading them to sign for Liverpool. Last season it was Simao and Alves who Rafa was in close contact with a view to signing them. However for the sake of £3 million or so each we missed out on Simao and Alves. Similarly Rafa was poised to sign Walcott and Vidic but missed out due to money issues and the lack of swift decisive execution of a deal. Now it is clear that Rafa has subsequently had to settle for cheaper 3rd choice players like Pennant and Palleta.

Rafa has had to watch as Chelsea and Man Utd have spent big on Carrick, Hargreaves, Essien, SWP, Sheva etc. He is also expected to compete with and finish higher than these teams who consistently can buy bigger. Now with the takeover Rafa has the funds to do the same but is reiterating the need to move swiftly to obtain the players he needs. It is definitely the case that Rafa knows exactly who he wants by now and has communicated this to the Board. It is also very likely that Rafa has been in contact with these targets or their agents and so knows what their requirements are to sign for Liverpool. Rafa wants the board to act quickly to show these targets that the club share his commitment to signing them. We do not want to enter in a bidding war but rather to make a swift deal for our targets. Rafa was just making a point that the new administration is rightly making changes to the baord in between seasons but the next few weeks are very important to make valuable progress in signing his primary targets. While the players may go on holiday now the management staff should not put their feet up until certain commitments and agreements have been made.

I am certain that Rafa has done the setup work for at least two players who are ready to join if all requirements can be met. His urgency suggests that these players do not play in Spain or Italy who are still engaged in their Leagues. This suggests targets who are in demand but play elsewhere - perhaps Tevez or Simao?

The situation in Valencia and Rafa leaving there was very different. Rafa had no control over which players were bought and sold. He would pinpoint the need for a right back and specify the player or two he wanted and the Director of Football Pitarch would instead sign an unknown left winger. Also the Managing Director Llorente was trying to approach other coaches behind Rafa's back in order to replace him. All this despite Rafa giving Valencia their most successful season ever. At Liverpool Rafa is in complete control over choosing transfer targets and nominating the selling of players. He is also in the process of shaking up the reserves and youth setup and thus is really moulding the organisational side of the club in addition to the playing side. Rafa is committed to the club and is letting the American contingent that they must finish their board reorganisation swiftly so that the opportunities in place for the next few weeks are not wasted.

To sum up - I think reports of a breakdown in a relationship between Rafa and Parry are overstated. Parry may or may not leave soon but I expect him to stay. I also expect one major signing before 2 weeks.;)

[AndSomeAreAngels]

Good god Morph, you're prolific.

[Morph]

Revelation,

Isn’t everything overplayed by the media? I think there is a problem, whether its major or not remains to be seen, but all I can say is when a club like Liverpool misses out on its target through a lax attitude from the Chief Exec and when the youth set up is in melt down and people at the club are all pulling in the opposite direction then there is a problem, it doesn’t matter how over played or under played it is, there is a problem and it all comes back to the Chief Exec and his lax attitude.

The stories have come from Rafa’s frustration at losing the Champions League, but it also comes from him missing out on his transfer targets because Parry spends the end of May and the rest of June on a holiday somewhere with his mobile phone switched off. Robbie Fowler in his autobiography stated that Parry couldn’t be contacted at the crucial part of his move to Leeds. As I said in a previous post Gerrard arrived back in Liverpool with the team on the 26th of May 2005, and his contracted wasn’t tied up until July and he almost went to Chavski during that time. There is a problem where with the manager wanting one thing and the Chief Exec doing the complete opposite. You’re focusing one match, a Champions League final, I am focusing on a decade of Rick Parry, the millions wasted and the fact the Youth Academy is up the creek and the fact that Rafa has pretty much thrown down the gauntlet.

You’re right money has been an issue; it was an issue because Rick Parry decided to dither on decisions of making a move on Simao and Alves. Parry moved in for Simao on the dawn of the last day of the transfer window. As you say for the sake of £3m we lost out, but had we moved in for them around about this time, Rafa would have had more time to negotiate a deal and contract with the players. You again are right, we could have signed Vidic and we would have, had we put a bid in when he became available again, Parry sent the fax off at a time where United had offered Vidic a deal, by then it was too late. Rafa wouldn’t have to settle for his second or third choice players had Parry been quickly off the mark. You seem to agree, yet don’t believe this is a problem, I think it’s a major problem which needs a swift address.

We aren’t even disagreeing here, you say Rafa wants quick transfers and he does, but he’s not getting them from Parry, Parry ultimately has to do the work to sign him, he contacts the club, he organises meetings between the players and Rafa and the players agents, and he offers the contracts, he is far too lax and even Houllier had a pop at Parry on several occasions in the press about his lax attitude. Again the part about the management not going on holiday is correct, try telling that to Parry who is no doubt going to swan off to a luxury Villa off the coast of France, with his mobile turned off.

Rafa has all his transfers planned, it doesn’t make a difference if Parry doesn’t act in a quick time, if he leaves it until late July or August then we’ll have to settle for second choice targets. The situation at Valencia is different, but will Rafa see it that way? I don’t see it, if you want to sign players and you’re Chief Exec or Director of Football is either signing different players or taking ages to get things done, and then you still are losing out on players. Rafa is committed to Liverpool, but if he isn’t getting things done his way or isn’t getting what he deems as suitable support from the likes of Parry then he will resign and there will be a hello of a lot of clubs all lining up to try and get Rafa as their manager.

Paul Usher a well known Liverpool insider believes there has been a break down in communication between Rafa and Parry and Rafa has cut Parry out of the equation and is dealing with the powers to be directly and not indirectly which is usually the case. It’s obvious that Parry’s role within the club is without a shadow of a doubt in question and if he is to step down or forced out of the club, I won’t be saddened to see the back of him, he is simple not the man who will work alongside Rafa. Rafa is dictorial and Parry is a laissez faire type man and there is clash there, Parry has come out and said there is no problem with Rafa, why would he come out and say this? He’s come out and said Simao is a target and that Liverpool hasn’t made a bid for him. There is a power struggle in certain areas of the club and there is some unrest, whether its as bad as made out, it’s something which cannot be ignored. Parry is little more than a shop owner who sells the odd item of food to a passer by, he’d be great at Wolves with Steve Morgan but we are Liverpool and we need to be run more efficiently, more effectively and we need to maximise the name, Parry is unable to do this and he must go.

[Morph]

You may be a "naïve, know it all, know nothing eighteen year old football addict" but damn you write and think well. Excellent post which I think precisely sums up the state of play.

Good god Morph, you're prolific.

Thank you. :)

[LiverMorgh]

Morph, mate, nice posts...but you keep repeating the same thing. Takes too long to read them.

I agree, Parry has got to go. Too lazy, not ruthless enough, if our ambition is to finish top.

[Wingtips1]

There is a lot of stuff in these posts... lot of it is good.

I see it _one way_. Rafa Benitez brough us to TWO European Cup Finals in THREE years, with less talent than most of the top clubs in Europe.

Clearly, he knows what he is doing. He deserves the keys to the ship, in my opinion.

rafa benitez has also not even come close to mounting a serious title challenge.
he inherited a ridiculously talented team in Valencia, and won two league titles. he inherited a solid team in Liverpool, has spent a sizable sum of money and has no title challenge to show for it. he doesn't even seem as if he any more clue about winning in the league today than he did 3 years ago. if he does not put in a challenge this year after all his bitching, he will be shown the door.

[Morph]

rafa benitez has also not even come close to mounting a serious title challenge.
he inherited a ridiculously talented team in Valencia, and won two league titles. he inherited a solid team in Liverpool, has spent a sizable sum of money and has no title challenge to show for it. he doesn't even seem as if he any more clue about winning in the league today than he did 3 years ago. if he does not put in a challenge this year after all his bitching, he will be shown the door.

Apparently George Gillett has come out and said ‘Liverpool might not be able to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership’ now this would hardly be Rafa fault would it? Rafa has no doubt angered certain quarters of the playing base; Gillett’s comment would suggest that he is backing down over backing Rafa completely. If this is the case then we are in trouble and G&H were all talk and no walk, which is a bit worrying, because if Rafa doesn’t get things done in the transfer window, he’ll step down and we’ll be back to square one.

Rafa has done no bitching, he’s just fed up of the fact he puts 20 hours a work in a day and doesn’t get the support he feels he needs from the people who are running the club. Several insiders have suggested that no talks have been held with players yet, because the money is there at the moment, so what’s going on? Are Gillett and Hicks all talk and how comes there has been no talks with the likes of Tevez and Simao yet and they haven’t been playing football for a week or so, so if things get delayed we’ll get into a bidding war and things will go up in smoke. I’m expecting broken promises and disappointment in this transfer window.

I hope I am forced to eat my weight (9st 6) of humble pie, but I have a bad feeling I won’t be eating humble pie and that we’ll end up with several modest and adequate players.

Rafa won’t be sacked for his comments, if anything he’ll have his hand forced by our powers to be and he’ll step down and we’ll have to look for a lesser manager in the game. I don’t understand how Gillett can back out of such a promise when he and Hicks spend $325m per baseball or hockey player and now according to the Liverpool way (I think) the new stadium will be 68k and will be able to be expanding to 80K, a far cry off of Hicks’ promise that it will be between 70k and 78k with option to expand.

[liverbird]

Apparently George Gillett has come out and said ‘Liverpool might not be able to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership’ now this would hardly be Rafa fault would it? Rafa has no doubt angered certain quarters of the playing base; Gillett’s comment would suggest that he is backing down over backing Rafa completely. If this is the case then we are in trouble and G&H were all talk and no walk, which is a bit worrying, because if Rafa doesn’t get things done in the transfer window, he’ll step down and we’ll be back to square one.

Rafa has done no bitching, he’s just fed up of the fact he puts 20 hours a work in a day and doesn’t get the support he feels he needs from the people who are running the club. Several insiders have suggested that no talks have been held with players yet, because the money is there at the moment, so what’s going on? Are Gillett and Hicks all talk and how comes there has been no talks with the likes of Tevez and Simao yet and they haven’t been playing football for a week or so, so if things get delayed we’ll get into a bidding war and things will go up in smoke. I’m expecting broken promises and disappointment in this transfer window.

I hope I am forced to eat my weight (9st 6) of humble pie, but I have a bad feeling I won’t be eating humble pie and that we’ll end up with several modest and adequate players.

Rafa won’t be sacked for his comments, if anything he’ll have his hand forced by our powers to be and he’ll step down and we’ll have to look for a lesser manager in the game. I don’t understand how Gillett can back out of such a promise when he and Hicks spend $325m per baseball or hockey player and now according to the Liverpool way (I think) the new stadium will be 68k and will be able to be expanding to 80K, a far cry off of Hicks’ promise that it will be between 70k and 78k with option to expand.


I am sure that Gillet was backing off from any statement that we will, or have to, win the league next year. He was speaking of a long term plan to win a lot of things. I don't think what he said can be interpreted as a lack of commitment to spend or to back Benitez.

By the way, it was Hicks who spent $252 million on a single player, but that was a ten year contract that included his pay packet -- not the price of purchasing just the player's contract. And I am sure Hicks wouldn't do it again. That player was later swapped with another club although Hicks' club is still paying part of his salary.

Lastly, don't believe every thing you read in the British press.

[Morph]

Thanks for tip and the facts, you couldn’t PM me info about the New Deal for an up and coming exam? That’s pushing it? Okay. :D

I interpreted Gillett’s comments as one of backing out of strong commitment, which is easy to understand after all he is new to the ball game of running a club and he is learning all the time, I just don’t want us to get to the position where Rafa doesn’t have the financial backing of the board, a lot of people elsewhere have interpreted these comments as comments of a back out or one that shows he’s jumped the gun, either way the fact that several people with strong links with the club have come out and said that no contracts have been drawn up and no move on players has been made and you have United who have wrapped up Hargreaves already, are you not worried?

I just don’t share, the same optimism when it comes to the transfer windows, we’re all getting carried away throwing every name we can think of into the hat and come August, I have a feeling we won’t have signed many of the names we all want, that’s all.

I’m just not 100% at ease with things in Liverpool at the moment, it’s partly down to the media and partly down to other more knowledgeable supporters who are airing their concerns.

[liverbird]

Thanks for tip and the facts, you couldn’t PM me info about the New Deal for an up and coming exam? That’s pushing it? Okay. :D

I interpreted Gillett’s comments as one of backing out of strong commitment, which is easy to understand after all he is new to the ball game of running a club and he is learning all the time, I just don’t want us to get to the position where Rafa doesn’t have the financial backing of the board, a lot of people elsewhere have interpreted these comments as comments of a back out or one that shows he’s jumped the gun, either way the fact that several people with strong links with the club have come out and said that no contracts have been drawn up and no move on players has been made and you have United who have wrapped up Hargreaves already, are you not worried?

I just don’t share, the same optimism when it comes to the transfer windows, we’re all getting carried away throwing every name we can think of into the hat and come August, I have a feeling we won’t have signed many of the names we all want, that’s all.

I’m just not 100% at ease with things in Liverpool at the moment, it’s partly down to the media and partly down to other more knowledgeable supporters who are airing their concerns.

PM me your questions -- I'm a little young for the New Deal but not my mum and da. I also have an advanced degree in American history:D

[Morph]

How did you manage that, I have to learn all the events from 1865 to 1980 and all I can remember is the stuff I watched in Forrest Gump. :D I'll PM you a little later, I am reading a book about it, its just words at the moment.

[Twenty26Six]

rafa benitez has also not even come close to mounting a serious title challenge.
he inherited a ridiculously talented team in Valencia, and won two league titles. he inherited a solid team in Liverpool, has spent a sizable sum of money and has no title challenge to show for it. he doesn't even seem as if he any more clue about winning in the league today than he did 3 years ago. if he does not put in a challenge this year after all his bitching, he will be shown the door.

You've never come close to winning an EPL title either. Yet, you seem to think that your opinion should be trusted.

See my point?

The man inherited a shit squad, with horrible chemistry. In 3 years he has Won an FA Cup [which is a domestic competition] and gone 1 for 2 in European Cup Finals. Those are far better credentials than anyone since Dalglish. The only other manager at Liverpool that started from scratch and succeeded was Shankly. That was in '59. Time are a'changin'.

In this modern era, you need money to compete. United have purchased: Ronaldo, Rooney, Saha, Ferdinand, Vidic, Van der Sar, Carrick. At what cost? Chelsea have purchased: Joe Cole, Makelele, Robben, Drogba, Mikel, Essien, Carvalho, Cech, Duff. At what cost? Who have we gone after that has a) cost as much or b) had the capacity to make as much an impact??

Benitez has accomplished more than Houllier could ever hope to, in less time. All without a comparable budget to the other "Big" clubs. That needs to change.

He made apple pie out of cow pies. I've every faith in the man to get it done.

[liverbird]

How did you manage that, I have to learn all the events from 1865 to 1980 and all I can remember is the stuff I watched in Forrest Gump. :D I'll PM you a little later, I am reading a book about it, its just words at the moment.

well when I sat the degree 1975 was the present so ...... I only needed to know through about 1960.:D