Billy Talbot

Not so the norm for the other managers he was supposed to be competing with though - nor the one I'm comparing him with. 2006 we signed Kuyt and Bellamy and Aurelio. Morientes didn't work out but I think anyone would have taken the risk. The signing of Pennant was a total disaster. I disagree that you don't have to spend the money. You do have to spend the money. To improve the squad whilst others around you also strive to improve requires risk. You can't rely on your opponents becoming worse. Yes, but there's a difference in backing the managers choice of player and doing the best to land them, and going out and singing Keane for £20m whilst saying we don't have £18m for the managers primary target. Or playing "hardball" over a couple of million quid for Daniel Alves. That sort of s*** didn't used to happen. ok. I was being lazy, perhaps I should have qualified "lifetime" as "period during which I believe I was cognisant of the importance of a football managers character and talent and their effect on the performance of the football team to which they pertain".

That's just semantics though. Of course he'd want a player rather than no player at all - but it was obvious sometimes he was getting player B not player A, even though he wanted player A. Not to mention the Barry debacle. The impression I got from Dalglish's autobiography was that the club would do whatever it could to sign players he wanted. That coupled with everyone and their dogs wanting to play for us back then meant an entirely different landscape to the one Benitez had to grapple with.

I wouldn't mind but I got hounded for something I never said. With such fine analytical minds as Mr Hodgson present I would have thought that highly unlikely. I thought my maths was bad.

Okay, okay. I was 6. I was still at infant school when Paisley retired.

I'd keep Skrtle, and definitely sell Insua. Other than that I agree, that would be the right thing to do. It's not gonna happen like that though is it. The first bit might go right. I'm really not sure about getting £70m for them though. The second bit, the bit about "spent", that's the bit I don't get.

That's what I'm afraid of. There is a way of looking at Purslows actions that could be described as "just doing his job". The vile cretin that he is. Even he might see wrecking his friends reputation with Liverpool Fans the world over isn't part of his job description.

That would be stupid. No -one did though did they?

Whatever works for you.

I can remember Fagan too. Can't say I remember too much about the way the side worked under him though - regardless of seeing videos. Kenny got to sign who he wanted though - as long as they'd come. Not just the money. The football side would have been much easier to manage then due to the club and the team already on the pitch. Not to mention the opposition. Rafa's job was entirely different - and much harder in my opinion. There is part of me that accepts that I don't give Dalglish all the credit he's due as back then I'd only known Liverpool as a successful side. I think I probably give Benitez so much credit as he brought that back for me after years of feeling let down.

Anyway - my point still stands. I'm 35 now which I know is a whippersnapper to some, but I've seen a fair amount of football in my years and various Liverpool teams. Over the last 20 odd years it does only come down to those two. Although my favourite team was the probably Kenny's 86 / 88 side - I do think if Rafa had been backed the same way Kenny was - we'd still be ranked No.1 in Europe and would have won the Premier League at least once over the last few seasons.

I found the 8th unopened under my desk. I'm superstitious about drinking even numbers.

I was born in 1974. I was referring to Rome in '84 actually, so I was 9 - not 7. coincidently I was probably drinking my 7th or 9th can of guinness when I wrote that post - so please excuse my maths. What's your excuse? And I rate Benitez as a better manager than Dalglish. Although I've got all the time in the world for the King for obvious reasons.

I hate Robbie Earle.

I've been thinking that. I would get drunk that day and enjoy it more than I even do usually. I love Rafa. Straight up the best manager we've had in my lifetime. Although as my uncle George said to me when I said that to him 3 years ago, "Bloody 'ell John, you've seen some s****". Considering I saw the European Cup win in Rome on the TV - that says something. I was only only 7 though. If I owned a football club I'd have Benitez as manager. I'd give him all the time and all the money he wanted and watch the trophies roll in.

If Kelly can come in then this is probably good news for the squad. If not - regardless how limited Degen is - it's another body down.

So basically you're saying put your head in the sand and wait for it all to blow over? Enjoy what you can in the meantime? I think you're dismissing the "doom mongering" because you see that as an obstacle to your enjoyment of supporting Liverpool. Fair enough like - but it doesn't make what's happening go away.

The only way I can see to stop a match isn't through a boycott. A blockade might work though. Sit ins outside the gates.

Been of that mind for a while. I'd be more likely to travel back to Liverpool for a sit in than I would to go to a game now. Giving "support" is part of the problem not part of the solution as far as I'm concerned.

Unfortunately for us it's the brand makes up most of the £800m that t*** wants.

Selling marquee players damages the brand and devalues the club. Selling squad players doesn't. They'll only sell the star players when and if the players themselves push for it. There'll be open season on anyone that's not adding to brand regardless of what they bring to to the football team. That's why they had to get rid of Benitez IMO. Being out of the CL doesn't devalue the brand that much. That'll only start to happen if we spend a few seasons out of it.

It's not about going for the most amount of money possible - that I agree would need them to invest in the football side. It's about risk and maximising the opportunities of making a good amount of money - not the most possible.

I don't think it's about selling the clubs best players, it's about selling the other players, the ones that the sponsors and the TV don't care about. Reina, Agger, Skrtle, Insua, Mascherano, Riera, Lucas, Babel, Kuyt, N'Gog etc, etc. These are all players that I'm sure the board would sell in a heartbeat if given a decent enough offer. None of them would effect our sponsorship deals or TV revenue in the short term. Take any one of them out of the squad without adequate replacement though and we're significantly weaker on the pitch. Take two or three out, or maybe more... If star players leave because of this process they'll be viewed as collateral damage and the "club" still gets the consolation of a hefty transfer fee. We're out of the CL anyway. Prize money and TV for the FA and League Cups are a pittance for a club whose finances are based around the CL. They're vanity cups.

It's not the star players we should worry about - it's the general level of spending on the playing staff. The only way it makes business sense to increase the investment in the playing staff is if it resulted in a top 4 finish. Anyone can see that's not realistic and in real terms (as a proportion of turnover) - investment in our playing staff has reduced over the last couple of seasons. I believe Hicks derives the value of the club from possible sponsorship, possible TV revenue, possible matchday revenue. NOT from the value of the playing staff or on pitch performance. Significant degradation of the value of the club from changes in playing staff or team performance will take longer than the time he sees himself still "owning" the club. I think Hicks will see the loss of star players as unfortunate, but a risk worth taking considering the huge outlay the club makes on players wages. Sacking Benitez makes squad players, the players that Rafa brought here, more open to moves.

Thinking that the two t***s have any regard for "the football" assumes that near future team performance will have a strong influence on sale price. And that the t***s think that too. I don't assume either of these things. Why do you?

I've been saying that for months only to be told that I shouldn't want to keep an manager simply on the premise that I couldn't think of a better option. Surely anyone who did want Rafa gone are now seeing the error of their ways?