Redray

Of all the criticism levelled at Benetiz, the allegation that he is overly self-centred and egotistical sits the most uncomfortable. It is always a question of degree but the evidence suggests the contrary is true. It must be the case that an element of selflessness that prevented him from leaving even before his renewed contract.

Is Phil Boersma available? Might be time for him to step up.

You seem to minimising his achievements there the best you can. "We were fourth best but he made us third best. Okay we have had success in Europe but he failed to make us the greatest side in Europe." It seems you are saying he has limits in terms of skills and aptitude for the job but fail to take in to account the fact that his fact that his tenure at the club is marred by stunningly bad ownership and management of a football club. None of his predecessors had to work under these tumultuous conditions so your dismissal of any comparisons with Shankly are accurate in at least this respect. Your synopsis is flawed unless you feel he would still not have faired better under more favourable circumstances.

Possibly. Seems to be purposely overplaying the Juve link by allowing it to fester. This could be for a variety of reasons. Doubt if he would feed the media such an obvious line in view of his contempt for them.

If/when he does go i'd be surprised if was to an Italian club. Their domestic game is on the slide and he strives for greater things.

Burlesque?

Quite possibly. Consider the alternatives carefully though. A run of games under Kenny where we are not battling and conceding goals for fun wouldn't exactly lift the gloom would it?

Wouldn't take a great deal to do worse than being unbeaten in 5 and have taken 11 out of possible 15 points.

A very good one.

They've just sacked Ferrara and appointed Zaccehroni until the end of the season so that is now out of the question.

Perhaps also a case of the players we have got not yet doing what he wants them to. Maybe the is the crux of it, as hinted by Torres; “He always demands more. Maybe there are players who get sunk by that but personally it helps me. When I’ve scored two or three goals, he tells me that I’ve played badly, that I didn’t help at the back.” http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/torres-hails-genius-of-benitez

He wouldn't do it, but maybe he should. <BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">http://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/liverpool-fc/127789-john-aldridge-urges-rafael-benitez-to-speak-out-over-liverpool-fc-turmoil.html<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break">

Yeah it was while back. 1991 to be precise.

Thought it was obvious we played firstly not to give anything away and secondly to possibly nick one if we could. As things panned out, we ended up concentrating on the former and the latter became more unlikely. So though we looked pretty unimpressive Rafa basically got what he set out to achieve. His asperations of this match were questionable but not a sacking offence.

There is no denial of anything. Just a statement that he is not for sale.

This was on another site a few weeks back. Seems even more relevant now; MAY 1970 Liverpool are simply not good enough. Knocked out of the League Cup in Round 3 by Manchester City, embarrassed in Europe against Setubal and humiliated by 2nd Division Watford in the F.A. Cup, we somehow limped to a lowly 5th position in the League. All this from a team carrying so many expectations of a genuine title challenge following last year's 2nd placed finish. Instead we have gone backwards, collapsing down amongst the also-rans, beaten 11 TIMES in the League alone! Surely for a club of Liverpool's stature this is unacceptable and something must change. Many of the players in the squad are either no longer good enough, or simply never were to begin with. There are suggestions that Shankly has several promising youngsters who show signs of progressing, but we need quality players now, not sometime in the future. We must also question the training/coaching methods at the club, given the continued poor performances and bad results - maybe the players are not coached properly to begin with - so perhaps a change of manager and backroom staff will revitalize them. The fact remains that this season has been a shambles, with one terrible result following another; the real question is, can Bill Shankly recover from this situation and return us to where we belong, or has he run out of ideas and the time has come to replace him? I will always be grateful for what Shanks has achieved for this club. He rescued us from the doldrums in Division 2 and brought us two League titles and an F.A. Cup, but that was a long time ago, and only the most loyal fans could see this team regaining such glorious success. It is 4 YEARS since we won anything, during which time our main rivals have won the League and European Cup. Do you really think this team is capable of beating the best sides in Europe when we can't even progress beyond SETUBAL! Yes he produced some wonderful memories for all of us - perhaps he was the right man for the job to bring us from Division 2 and return us to the expectation of trophy success - but as with lots of other managers, it's possible he's taken us as far as he can. Maybe we need a fresh perspective to take the next step towards winning the League AND European Cup (the one we all want if we're honest). There are many other great managers out there including Ramsey (World Cup winner) and Busby (former LFC Captain, so would probably be interested). Perhaps one of these or even any top manager would be able to take us further than Shankly. I'm sure many fans' views on this matter are clear one way or the other, but for any of those who still cannot decide if Shankly should be sent back to Scotland, or given time to turn this around, I'll summarize a few key points: For the sack: - Been here for ages but this team simply not good enough - Haven't won ANYTHING for 4 years - Rivals won League and European Cup as we languish in no-man's-land - Defeats to WATFORD and SETUBAL are unacceptable for Liverpool - If we delay sacking him, the great manager we need may be unavailable - Last season we finished second so WHERE IS THE TITLE CHALLENGE? - Gone backwards under Shanks since early successes and no nearer title - We haven't signed ANY world-class players lately while rivals have many - If we delay any longer there may be nothing left to rebuild - At any other top club he'd have been sacked ages ago For giving him time: + He achieved great success before therefore can do it again + We are Liverpool fans; we are not impatient, disloyal and short-sighted + Responsible for some of our greatest ever achievements + 'Put Liverpool on world map' as a great club + Signed some brilliant players some of whom are already legends + Believes in putting the fans and players BEFORE the board/owners + Loves this club and as gutted as the fans over current woes + He's won 2 League titles before, of course he can do it again + Made us one of Europe's top sides and beaten great teams several times + Never had as much money to spend as some rivals yet still won big trophies + There ARE some good youngsters coming through, lets see what they do + Big changes produce more turmoil than success historically Whatever your opinion I believe the time has come to make up our minds: Are we happy being also-rans or do we want the success we deserve? If we fail to make the correct decision, just imagine what the rest of the Seventies may yield for this wonderful club. Instead of League titles and (hopefully) European Cups, we may become just another top-flight team whose only successes occurred so long ago that our younger fans will never taste the glory of winning a major trophy. We may even fall back down to the 2nd Division! Bill Shankly was the right man at the right time for Liverpool, but has his tenure come to its natural conclusion? Do we need to ACT NOW before we spend decades regretting what might have been? --------------------

What is the point of all this sack him now nonsense? It's not going to happen so why bleat on about it. Just get behind the team and the manager and see where we are at the end of the season.

Rafa Benitez agent has had no Juventus contact by David Randles, Liverpool Echo RAFA BENITEZ’S agent has dismissed rumours linking the Reds boss with Juventus. Speculation surfaced this week that the Italian club are set to make Benitez an offer to replace current Juve boss Ciro Ferrara. However, the Spaniard’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon, says he has had no contact with the Serie A club and that Benitez is focused on Liverpool. “I’ve had no contact with Juventus or with any other Italian club regarding an interest on Rafa Benitez,” said Qulion. “There have been rumours linking Rafa to Juve just as there have been reports linking (Guus) Hiddink to Juve. But they are all media speculation and there is no truth in it. “Rafa has a four-year contract with Liverpool. He feels he has the strength to continue with the team and he is fully focused on guiding them up the table.”

We'd be a crack volleyball outfit.

Kyrigiakos Ngog Maxi

Thought we were boss at the start of the game. Just need to keep it going for another, say, 85 minutes or so per game and we will be fine.

Bit better since Ngog came on and there are tiring. We can win this.

Biggest flop since Aqualani.

Pay attention to his posts. Steven Gerrard of course.

You explained away the reason why Fergie gets less flack than Wenger by stating it is possibly because he has won the FA cup, 'lots'. It seems Fergie has not won it lots more than Wenger.