Despite LFC's announcement that Rafa signed a contract extension until 2014, there was no mention made of whether he got all the things he was asking for. It's no secret that the sticking points in the contract talks concerned the amount of control which he would have over certain affairs at LFC.
To a lesser extent part of the problem centred around Rafa having more control over the running of the youth setup. Rafa has already hugely revitalised the youth setup, bringing in some exciting talents. Hopefully he'll now have more of a say in the running of it, and LFC can benefit from that in the future.
But the primary sticking point had to be in the transfer market and I wonder just how much control he will have now in the transfer market. Surely he must have been given some sort of assurances that he would be allowed determine a players value and actually buy the players he wants (within budget).
I can only assume he got what he wanted, otherwise I doubt he would have signed. It's great news that he's staying with us and hopefully it'll soon be followed up by a number of players commiting their futures to LFC also.
12 comments:
I heard about it on Sky News last night. Couldn't believe it. It really is great for our club, and with Rick Parry leaving and Hicks/Gillet maybe leaving too, then I can see a very bright future for our club.
If anything it seems like a knee jerk reaction to the admittedly great victories over United & Madrid.
I would have preferred to see how the rest of the season plays out before committing to Rafa.
Don't get me wrong, I like Rafa Benitez but this is his 5th season and I'm still not convinced he's good enough to win us the Premier League.
Dummy, the problem is that everyone wants the premier league right now!
let's be rational, it's not an easy task, and it's true Benitez has been here for 5 years but let's not forget he had to build the squad from scratch with a limited budget. any fool will see the progress we've been making every year. and keep in mind the progress the premier league has made by looking at the CL...with the squad we would be winning the league in the 90s like utd did almost every year, but chelsea, united and Arsenal are not making it an easy job.
have faith mate, there are no managers around in Benitez' calibre, give him more time and we will be celebrating title no 19!
Its about time and well overdue. I was getting sick and tired of all the rumours in the media this year. This should provide us a nice foundation for the future.
@simon - I wonder who our next owners will be ? As long as they get started on a stadium asap and also invest in the squad then i'll be a happy man.
@dummy - I'd rather have waited as well, but it's done now, here's hoping it works out for us.
@cracking up - and now he's got himself a few more years ;-)
@roger - I hope you're right
I know there has been a lot of bumps along the way and Benitez might not be everyones cup of tea but I think overall he has done a fantastic job for us. This is going to prove very important to the club.
Agger and Kuyt are 2 more people I would like to see committing their futures to the club.
Right on Marcus. You are absolutely right. We should be concentrating on getting a good goal scoring forward as a replacement for Torres just in case he gets injured (touch wood!)
We SHOULD NOT be searching for a CB next transfer season and we should bind Agger ASAP. I am sure Kuyt was just waiting for Rafa signature. He will sign the contract extension in the near future.
Abhiram, I think it would be an understatement to say we need another quality striker in case of injury to Torres. Or even just a winger who can function well as a striker.
I'd also like to see Pacheco next season who even though he lacks experience could be very exciting as a winger / striker.
We also need another right-back as Degen is shit.
Thats all great news and I think its very comforting that Rafa signed the contract. Obviously he got what he wants, I believe we can win the premiere league this season and seasons to come. I'm being optimistic but this is what i feel.. Lets see what happens on Sunday and then we will know how far can we go..
I just hope that our squad becomes stronger and they keep the same momentum and commitment towards each match as they did the past week..
Cheers guys
YNWA
@marcus & abhiram - Agger is one who I definitely want to stay with us, Kuyt has grown on me a bit this season, and I'd like him to stick around as a squad player. New wingers / strikers are definitely hugely required.
@tawfiq the red - I gotta admit, I'm still dreaming of us winning the Premier League this season, every game is going to be a bit nerve wracking at this stage.
I am sorry but I find Rafa's five year contract depressing, his performance this season was a disgrace, if we ever stood a good chance of taking the Prem League it was this one, instead what did we see? Insane substitutions, poor tactics and an inability to creatively change game plans, his vindictiveness in the Keanne saga, his waste of limited funding in buying players with questionable football skills and then playing them over and over again. Now near the end of the season everyone has woken up and is now trying to rescue it, we had it in the bag...& what did we do? We threw it away. The point is he is here now & we must hope for the best after all it could have been worse we could be sitting a certain Manager who shows his lack of class by chewing gum with his snappers wide open for over 100 minutes...now that's disgusting!!....maybe its cud and not gum, after all where where would all the ManUre come from?
@bruce sa red - you've got some very valid points there, and I know there's been times this season where I've expressed less than positive thoughts about Rafa, but we're stuck with him now and may as well try make the most of it.
Post a Comment