SteveT

Can't find any evidence of this at all anywhere. Not found any reports of it in the German press either. The only comment I can find is that he said he wouldn't be looking for a new challenge in football until after the World Cup and seems to have said he won't be returning to the Bundesliga. All very much open to interpretation.

German TV just announced Babbel has been sacked as manager after the 1-1 draw yesterday.

Nope. As always, that honour goes to the Germans.

At least, not proper ones..... The article claims he went to three doctors in Liverpool who could offer no explanation. Turns out the kid had pneumonia and has now been saved by a proper German doctor

Just read in one of the Berlin papers that his daughter's been ill for the last few weeks and at one point he and his wife were afraid she had swine flu. He was in Berlin with his family at the weekend to see a pediatrician. However, speculation about any transfer negotiations was quickly ended. He said he wouldn't be accepting any loan deals. He wants a permanent move, but Hertha can't afford to buy him - and they're really disappointed.

General concesus now is that he tried to change too much too soon at Bayern and wouldn't do things the way their holy trinity of Hoeneß, Beckenbauer and Rummenigge wanted them doing. His approach was described as too modern and too new. And so when results went against him (though he was better placed than Van Gaal has been for most of this season) they sacked him . That said, I still wouldn't want him any where near Liverpool this side of the year 2020

s***house! ! I just refreshed and that came up ! !

Deissler was the first to openly admit he had problems with depression and took some six months off. Sadly but predictably he took serious stick from the terraces when he came back. The saga ended when he openly admitted that depression was the reason he was quitting. He was the first to draw any attention to the problem but not the first victim. Seven years or so ago Guido Erhardt, a player with Mainz 05 and former Bundesliga pro with 1860 Munich and Wolfsburg, committed suicide at the same age and in exactly the same way as Robert Enke. But not being a top level player, it didn’t arouse the same amount of interest. I only heard this story recently. And in the papers a week or so back, I read that Josip Simunic, now at Hoffenheim, has also come out and said he’s struggled with depression at times during his career.

No, sorry if I haven't put that very well. I'm saying the expectations were high because last season showed what the team can do. And it'seems that it isn't just the results people are pissed off with but the nature of the performances as well. So, if Rafa had continued playing in that open attacking way, even with the current injuries, and still got the results we've had recently, would he be getting just as much stick as he is now? Would it be easier to accept the bad results if the performances were entertaining and of the "going down in a blaze of glory" type.

Could this be part of the problem? The expectations after last season's final three months? If Rafa had gone out and had the team play like they did last season and still got the results we've had recently, would there be more or less pressure on him? Would people demand a more cautious approach or is it case of damned if you do damned if you don't ?

No, I don’t want Rafa out. The new manager often does bring success short term, but just as often it leads to a culture of quick changes whenever things start to go wrong and that kills off the chance of any continuity and stability. The whole season has been so disappointing and frustrating so far that all the reactions are understandable. Having read through this entire thread this morning, I am convinced that after-match football discussions were never meant for the internet, but for loud bar-rooms in pubs where people could shout their frustrations out at an annoying volume without really upsetting anyone and any of their more embarrassing statements could disappear the next morning in a haze of stinking beer breath and hangovers. This way no-one else could read them or throw them back in anyone’s face, and the people that actually said them wouldn’t have to spend the next few days, weeks or months trying to justify the rubbish they spouted in a moment of despair.

That article's just a feeble attempt at driving his price down....... Anyway, I still reckon Hertha Berlin will come back on all fours before Christmas if they lose any of their next five matches

Quite agree. Any club that sells Kyrgiakos as a defender deserves to get Voronin as a striker.

And Voronin to score....! !

I wouldn't call that abuse. I never expected him to do anything and he hasn't. If there is a "best of him" to be seen , I just think we've seen it already. Like you do, I think he's not good enough for Liverpool but I don't think he's c*** or anything like that. I would be more than happy for him to prove me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

I said at the time he was signed that Voronin would push this guy hard as Liverpool's biggest Bundesliga failure and I must admit, he hasn't disappointed me. In the failure stakes he really has hit heights he will never reach as a player.

Indeed!

What a bunch of complete tossers! This just makes me sick. Further proof that a sizeable number of football fans haven't got two brain cells to rub together.

yep, that 's the one. All details in the ever reliable "Kicker" You'll love having Dynamo Dresden

There already is. The season just ended was the first one.

When it comes to being "not good enough", no-one was better at that than Carlton Palmer

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He certainly has, but that doesn't seem to make what he says any more intelligent. Believe me, you would be surprised at the nonsense he comes out with most of the time

There's no "seem to" about it. They have more money and clout. Rummenigge and Hoeneß may get a bit of stick over this, but despite decades of spouting verbal diarrhoea Beckenbauer is absolutely untouchable in Germany. He is the one football icon that can do no wrong.

Ah, now I agree with you - unless of course Stuttgart and Markus Babbel win it, in which case it will have been an incredible achievement for a former Liverpool hero