Rafa Benitez sacked as Liverpool manager

[King Gizzard]

:shocked:

Loads of people are saying it on twitter. Off to Inter then?

Bit of a random time to get sacked.

[Shaun]

Fair enough, really.

[King Gizzard]

Hes been there for ages and it was never his fault. Hes a great manager, wrong decision imo. Its all about the owners. There is going to be ALOT of backlash now

[Stu]

Probably Twitter being reactionary. Google news search says he has been offered a 3m pay deal to leave. Mind you he will probably take it.

[King Gizzard]

Source: MirrorFootball

Rafa Benitez’s Anfield reign is over.

The Liverpool manager was sacked tonight, after the club board came to the decision he had lost the dressing room.

Player power proved his downfall after several of the Reds’ biggest stars, including Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, made clear their loss of faith in the manager.

Some had even stated privately that they would leave if Benitez stayed.

Benitez, who is on holiday in Sardinia, was hanging on only to negotiate his payoff. He has a £16million clause in his contract that must be paid in full if he is dismissed, and the only detail left to be finalised late last night was just how much of that money he would receive.

The Spanish coach could walk straight into another job after his dismissal at Anfield, with Inter Milan keen to make him the replacement for treble-winning manager Jose Mourinho.

And Liverpool have already drawn up a short-list of possible replacements for Benitez, with the highly respected Roy Hodgson and Louis Van Gaal topping the candidates, along with Benfica manager Jorge Jesus, and - before he accepted the Italy job - Cesare Prandelli of Fiorentina.

Sammy Lee, the current assistant manager of the Reds, will step in as a caretaker in the short-term, until a replacement is announced, with the club hoping to find a successor in the next few weeks.

Benitez has presided over a disastrous season, losing 19 matches and seeing his side slip to seventh place in the table, which has caused major damage to the club’s precarious finances.

More seriously though, he lost the support of senior players at the club, with top stars like Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun offering public displays of their lack of belief in the manager.

The board were left with the painful decision of choosing between Benitez and their world class players, and in the end they decided they simply couldn’t trust the manager to spend the money that would be raised by the sale of so many big names.

The five-man Liverpool board made the unanimous decision over the weekend, and they also have the backing of chairman Martin Broughton, who is thought to believe that the club can only move forward by bringing stability to the football side of the club.

Benitez has always been a highly skilled political operator, and his tenure in the final two years was punctuated by an increasingly fraught situation at Anfield, where he was fighting against his own board and his own team.

The directors have decided that situation can’t be allowed to go on any longer, and they will now move quickly to appoint a more statesmanlike manager who can work with colleagues.

The new boss WILL be given money to spend, with around £20million set aside for new players, with a guarantee, too, that any money from sales will be used solely for recruitment.

The likes of Albert Riera, Ryan Babel, Alberto Aquilani and Benayoun could all be sold to raise another £25m or so, and several fringe players will also be sacrificed, to generate a kitty that could be as much as £50m.

Talks will proceed swiftly over a replacement, with Hodgson’s calm approach sure to make him among the favourites, given the turmoil that has engulfed Liverpool in recent seasons.

Benitez has been exploring possible escape routes over the past six months, and he came close to joining Juventus at the end of the season, until the Italians got a new president who favoured a home-grown boss.

But Inter remains a strong possibility, especially given the news in the past two days that their first choice - Fabio Capello - looks likely to remain with England.

This week, the Milan club’s president Massimo Moratti confirmed he is an admirer of the Spaniard, when he said:

“Benitez is a man I’ve always considered very good, but for the moment he is engaged.”

The Reds boss still wants a pay off, and he was juggling those balls last night, as he prepared to accept a lower compensation figure to ensure he remains in the running for the Inter job.

Benitez though, has certain reservations about following Mourinho - one of his biggest enemies in football - but now that he can no longer remain with Liverpool he may feel he has no other choice but to take the poisoned chalice of following the special one.

Late last night, terms were still being discussed over the pay off, with Liverpool’s opening offer well short of the £16million figure the Spaniard wants, and until that money could be agreed, no announcement would be made.

[King Gizzard]

Think that will be Torres gone now too.

[Chels]

That's definately Torres gone and possibly Gerrard as well.

[Brad.]

It was coming, but I wouldn't have expected it now.

[Iceman]

as i said on twitter De-****ing-lighted

[King Gizzard]

Not on BBC or SkySports or liverpools site yet

I remember when Mirror said Mon left a couple of months ago

[Novo]

He has gone

[Iceman]

He has gone

Maybe our king will return to mourn?

[Iceman]

22:22

*****

ye i know what ya mean its even on sky sports now about benitez saying guus hindink might be the replacement

From a mate on FB

[King Gizzard]

Guus Hiddink would be a great replacement but I don't think he'd go there


Sky Sports is just saying that discussions are ongoing over Rafas future

[Jayson]

Was pretty much inevitable after the season Liverpool had. Even though it wasn't completely his fault, the manager always gets the blame when a club has a piss poor season.

[Boothy]

His time ha sbeen up for a while now. Torres will be off and when he goes, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gerrard follow suit too, basically meaning Liverpool are ******ed. His worst decision was selling Xabi Alonso IMO.

[Iceman]

Guus Hiddink would be a great replacement but I don't think he'd go there


Sky Sports is just saying that discussions are ongoing over Rafas future

Nate is clearly rippin the piss with that quote.

[King Gizzard]

Come on England!!!

Good man :)

[Iceman]

:joker: do you feel safe in the fact that nearly every girl on here has hidden football forum coming up in their new posts?

get rid of that quote ill be eaten alive man

[Boothy]

get rid of that quote ill be eaten alive man

LOL! :joker:

[King Gizzard]

get rid of that quote ill be eaten alive man

;)

[Locke.]

Gerrard won't leave because Benitez has, he lost faith in him ages ago and that was clear in interviews. Dunno about Torres, he says he loves the club and the city, guess it'll just depend if his hearts still in it or not.

[Iceman]

;)

your sick you know that, go back to the lesbian one

[bbfan1991]

No surprise:nono:, what are Liverpool going to do now because they were hoping to get Mourinho which obviously hasn't happened and if rumours are to believed wants to be the next Man United when Fergie leaves which should be taken as a pinch of salt.

Liverpool need a clear out of the deadwood, think Gerrard will go to Madrid and Torres will stay.. Benayoun is rumoured to go to Chelsea.

I've read things from some Liverpool fans moaning about the players Benitez brought in, some have been bargains some haven't but he has been given lots of money although there is tension behind the scenes;).

[King Gizzard]

No surprise:nono:, what are Liverpool going to do now because they were hoping to get Mourinho which obviously hasn't happened and if rumours are to believed wants to be the next Man United when Fergie leaves which should be taken as a pinch of salt.

Liverpool need a clear out of the deadwood, think Gerrard will go to Madrid and Torres will stay.. Benayoun is rumoured to go to Chelsea.

I've read things from some Liverpool fans moaning about the players Benitez brought in, some have been bargains some haven't but he has been given lots of money although there is tension behind the scenes;).

Completely agree think they need a massive overhaul

Good backbone to the team, Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres but other than that really its nothing special. I think Kuyt and Agger are great though

[Locke.]

We need to get rid of:

El Zhar, Ngog, Babel, Benayoun, Riera, Maxi.. then all the useless reserves.

[King Gizzard]

I hope Shelvey gets a good few games

[bbfan1991]

Completely agree think they need a massive overhaul

Good backbone to the team, Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres but other than that really its nothing special. I think Kuyt and Agger are great though

I think Babel should stay, he has promise but he's not been given enough chances to show it:(.

Not keen on Lucas.. however it must have felt good that Villa finished above them last season for you;).

[King Gizzard]

I think Babel should stay, he has promise but he's not been given enough chances to show it:(.

Not keen on Lucas.. however it must have felt good that Villa finished above them last season for you;).

I'd rather see Manu falter than Liverpool to be honest - I like Liverpool

and yea at one time Babel was considered one of the best prospects in the world when he was ajax. As a striker. the next Henry he was touted as...but what does Rafa do..stick him on the left and now hes considered just a winger

[bbfan1991]

I'd rather see Manu falter than Liverpool to be honest - I like Liverpool

and yea at one time Babel was considered one of the best prospects in the world when he was ajax. As a striker. the next Henry he was touted as...but what does Rafa do..stick him on the left and now hes considered just a winger

:nono:, it's Man City who are going to be the biggest threat to everyone now

Babel could have played well up front like he did at Ajax if given the chance at Anfield.

[30stone]

:shocked:

Loads of people are saying it on twitter. Off to Inter then?

Bit of a random time to get sacked.

Thought he was going juve?

Least gerrard wont leave now.

[Novo]

Liverpool
Man City
Villa
Tottenham

^ The Scum of the premiership


Everton
Man United
Arsenal
Newcastle
Chelsea

^ The Greatness of the Premiership

[King Gizzard]

Thought he was going juve?

Least gerrard wont leave now.

Juve appointed a new manager on 19th may lol

[bbfan1991]

Thought he was going juve?

Least gerrard wont leave now.

And at least Capello won't be leaving the England job for Inter:D.

[Locke.]

Benitez has officially left.

Liverpool have announced manager Rafael Benitez has left the club by mutual consent after six years in charge.

Benitez, 50, replaced Gerard Houllier as Liverpool manager in June 2004 and guided them to Champions League success the following season.

But last season they made an early exit from the Champions League and could only finish seventh in the league.

Managing director Christian Purslow and former manager Kenny Dalglish are to begin the search for a replacement.

The club says there is no timeframe for an appointment, and will make no further comment until a new manager has been appointed.

Benitez said he was "extremely sad" to be leaving the club.

"I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool," he told the club website.

"I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager.

"Thank you so much once more and always remember: You'll never walk alone."

Newly-appointed club chairman Martin Broughton thanked Benitez for his efforts, but said it was time for a new era.

"Rafa will forever be part of Liverpool folklore after bringing home the Champions League following the epic final in Istanbul but after a disappointing season both parties felt a fresh start would be best for all concerned,' he said.

More to follow

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8719210.stm

Radio stations down here linking us with Graeme Souness as caretaker manager.

[bbfan1991]

Looks like Kenny Dalglish will be taking over as manager with Ian Rush as his assistant at Anfield:p.