If Benitez leaves...

[Yank-RUGGER]

A prediction:

If Benitez leaves Liverpool at the end of this season to go wherever, because of his choice or the Owners choice thier next manager is waiting...


I feel its gonna be Mourihno...just a feeling.

[xixi]

then you should sack Rafa right now right there!

and get JOSE NOW!

[joey8sg8]

We don't want that shit cheatski manager!

[Yank-RUGGER]

We don't want that shit cheatski manager!


I can see your point ..but he would be amazing there

[lostpole]

Liverpool doesn't have the money to get The special one. Too bad really.
Klinsmann is the one they will get.

[liverbird]

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

[mshankb]

Mourinho would never.

[Mullet&Talon]

Mourinho owes no fealty to Chelsea. Indeed, Roman Abramovich made the place a living hell for him. He would savor the challenge of bringing Liverpool its first league championship in 18 years.

[mshankb]

Mourinho owes no fealty to Chelsea. Indeed, Roman Abramovich made the place a living hell for him. He would savor the challenge of bringing Liverpool its first league championship in 18 years.

Perhaps not to Chelsea FC, no, but he had a supreme relationship with Chelsea fans and moreover... he detests Liverpool. Because they are awful.

[liverbird]

Perhaps not to Chelsea FC, no, but he had a supreme relationship with Chelsea fans and moreover... he detests Liverpool. Because they are awful.

First of all they'll be no opening to fill but I wish I had a bit of whatever you are smoking.

[mshankb]

First of all they'll be no opening to fill but I wish I had a bit of whatever you are smoking.


You have a grocery store near you? They aren't hard to find.

[Dear_Claudio]

I love Liverpool fans still thinking Benitez is superior to Mourinho in any way:rolleyes:

[Teso Dos Bichos]

I love Liverpool fans still thinking Benitez is good in any way:rolleyes:

FYP

[BlackburnRover]

Klinsmann.

I'm not commenting on his ability either way but it's another example of a rich owner bringing his mate in to play with his toys. The people's sport to a rich mens' play thing at the click of a Sky remote.;)

Hopefully it won't happen and it's just the press talking shit ... again.

[el_urchinio]

I love how Mourinho has assumed this Svengali persona and convinced everyone that this "new" style of management is the way to go.

Managing a team involves so much more than what one sees in the papers and on the telly. Lion's share of work happens behind the closed doors and is rather mundane. The greatest manager of the last 20 years or so is not Mourinho, and it's not even Sir Alex. It's Arsene Wenger. Wenger has set up a system at Arsenal that I haven't seen in English football since the days of Shankly and Paisley at Liverpool. A system not dependent on specific players, specific tactics and formations...I could go into detail, but this isn't the thread for it. The point is that the system itself is designed as a long term project and it neither demands nor promises immediate returns, and it is tremendously important that Wenger has been with the club for almost 15 years now.

And this is where my problem with Mourinho and his imitators lies. He makes it seem as if it's possible for a manager to just arrive at any club, and through sheer willpower and ability alone, transform them immediately, which is a gross oversimplifying of the way management works. The worst things is, many people have clearly bought into this, and many important things are ignored.

A manager who arrives at a new club does not start from scratch. He inherits things that are a result of previous events. He inherits a youth academy he had no hand in running, players he didn't buy, a coaching staff he may or may not want to fire, physios, trainers, in short...everything. He finds that training methods and schedules used by his predecessors may not match his, and that players are used to the old way. This goes for tactics as well. A manager needs what I believe to be 5-7 years to put his plan into action.

Football is no longer a game where a single "discovery" can make a manager a genius who stands heads and shoulders above his peers. You can no longer come up with revolutionary new formations and tactics that will leave your opponents in the dust. You can not discover some secret source of great players, abroad or at home. You cannot figure out dietary or exercise regiments that will turn your players into superior conditioned cyborgs. How much a manager can do is directly related to the state the club is in when he takes over, and the amount of support he receives from the ownership.

Alex Ferguson was almost sacked by Man U in the late 80s, I believe on account of a 12th place finish in the league. Even Bob Paisley claimed that he once finished second, thought I've never been able to confirm this. Kenny Dalglish was rewarded for winning the title with Blackburn by essentially being sacked. Within 4 years, the Rovers were relegated. Patience is a virtue that is sorely needed in football today, yet seldom seen.

To wrap up this rant, it is naive to think that by appointing a new manager, a team can with a single stroke guarantee immediate success. For all my issues with Rafa, sacking him will make no difference if the board simply appoint another manager and a year later ask "Where's the title, lad?" Same goes for Chelsea, who will surely sack Ten Cate if he finishes 3rd or worse, Newcastle who just sacked Allardyce, or any other club.

Fans, owners, and the media, all expect messianic figures to arrive and change everything. It doesn't quite happen. I would love to see a team hire a new manager and openly, publicly state that he was 5 years come hell or high water, and that short of relegation, he will not be sacked. I would love to see that.

[Mullet&Talon]

I love how Mourinho has assumed this Svengali persona and convinced everyone that this "new" style of management is the way to go.

Managing a team involves so much more than what one sees in the papers and on the telly. Lion's share of work happens behind the closed doors and is rather mundane. The greatest manager of the last 20 years or so is not Mourinho, and it's not even Sir Alex. It's Arsene Wenger. Wenger has set up a system at Arsenal that I haven't seen in English football since the days of Shankly and Paisley at Liverpool. A system not dependent on specific players, specific tactics and formations...I could go into detail, but this isn't the thread for it. The point is that the system itself is designed as a long term project and it neither demands nor promises immediate returns, and it is tremendously important that Wenger has been with the club for almost 15 years now.

And this is where my problem with Mourinho and his imitators lies. He makes it seem as if it's possible for a manager to just arrive at any club, and through sheer willpower and ability alone, transform them immediately, which is a gross oversimplifying of the way management works. The worst things is, many people have clearly bought into this, and many important things are ignored.

A manager who arrives at a new club does not start from scratch. He inherits things that are a result of previous events. He inherits a youth academy he had no hand in running, players he didn't buy, a coaching staff he may or may not want to fire, physios, trainers, in short...everything. He finds that training methods and schedules used by his predecessors may not match his, and that players are used to the old way. This goes for tactics as well. A manager needs what I believe to be 5-7 years to put his plan into action.

Football is no longer a game where a single "discovery" can make a manager a genius who stands heads and shoulders above his peers. You can no longer come up with revolutionary new formations and tactics that will leave your opponents in the dust. You can not discover some secret source of great players, abroad or at home. You cannot figure out dietary or exercise regiments that will turn your players into superior conditioned cyborgs. How much a manager can do is directly related to the state the club is in when he takes over, and the amount of support he receives from the ownership.

Alex Ferguson was almost sacked by Man U in the late 80s, I believe on account of a 12th place finish in the league. Even Bob Paisley claimed that he once finished second, thought I've never been able to confirm this. Kenny Dalglish was rewarded for winning the title with Blackburn by essentially being sacked. Within 4 years, the Rovers were relegated. Patience is a virtue that is sorely needed in football today, yet seldom seen.

To wrap up this rant, it is naive to think that by appointing a new manager, a team can with a single stroke guarantee immediate success. For all my issues with Rafa, sacking him will make no difference if the board simply appoint another manager and a year later ask "Where's the title, lad?" Same goes for Chelsea, who will surely sack Ten Cate if he finishes 3rd or worse, Newcastle who just sacked Allardyce, or any other club.

Fans, owners, and the media, all expect messianic figures to arrive and change everything. It doesn't quite happen. I would love to see a team hire a new manager and openly, publicly state that he was 5 years come hell or high water, and that short of relegation, he will not be sacked. I would love to see that.

While I agree on the qualities of Wenger, you have got to admit that Jose came in and won 2 titles in a row. That is force of will, not a system developed over the long term.

As for Rafa ... come on ... rotation is killing you guys ... why doesn't he play Torres every single game? This thread should be changed to "When Benitez leaves..."

[Yank-RUGGER]

First of all they'll be no opening to fill but I wish I had a bit of whatever you are smoking.

BBC GOSSIP:

I have been keeping track of of reports on The BBC Football site to see how many of these reported rumors come to fruition. Well its not many but some do.

I said here it could happen...Someone said first Klinesman...then maybe Jose. But since Jurgeon is at Bayern.....

LINK:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/default.stm

At the Bottom ..read it and let the debate begin.


My clear prediction is this...Benitez is GONE soon...If this gossip of Jose contacting Hicks is true}

Hicks didnt like the Anti American feeling he got from Benitez to start

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

This is ridiculous!

Mourinho-Reds Link Denied (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3044705,00.html)

A representative of Jose Mourinho has denied the former Chelsea boss wants to replace Rafa Benitez at Liverpoool.

Mourinho has been linked with several high-profile positions since leaving Chelsea in September but Eladio Parames insists the media speculation has nothing to do with the Portuguese coach.

Reports over the past few weeks have suggested Mourinho is interested in taking over from under-fire Rafael Benitez at Liverpool should the Spaniard get the sack.

But in a statement, Parades said: "These are aberrant and heinous ideas.

"Some media have consistently linked Jose Mourinho's name with various clubs without, as they are ethically bound to do, trying to determine the truth of these reports."

When reading tabloid shite please look for quotes from anyone.

I don't want Rafa to leave, and don't think he should be sacked. Sadly, the media has made it their agenda to have this happen. Hopefully these bad excuses for writers don't infect the minds of the owners, players, and true supporters.

[sildavia84]

I totally agree about Wenger and his talent, not only as a manager, but also as a controller of everything about his team. And about Mourinho, the best thing that he did in the past was the consecution of the Champions League with F.C. Porto, in the year where all the big teams came down surprisingly in quarter finals, this is, Real Madrid, with Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham, etc, and A.C. Milan, losing 4-0 against Deportivo de la Coruña. So, I´m not going to say that Mourinho is a bad manager, but with the players that were signed by Chelsea, paying a lot of money, the normal thing is that Chelsea wins, at least, some title.

[mshankb]

As a bona fide Liverpool-hating Chelsea fan, all I can say is..

RAFA MUST STAY!