Well, I hope you're all happy.
This isn't an obituary of Rafa's tenure, because I won't be able to do the man justice, and there will be enough of those anyway. But this rant might be an obituary for the club.
All the tactical nonsense, all the questions over whether Benitez was too conservative, or spent unwisely, or didn't hug the players enough, it's all insignificant. It's all insignificant because of the cancers who still own this club.
I'm sure some actually will be happy that Rafa's gone. I'm obviously not one of you. And given that there will be no long-term hire until the club is sold, I'll be stunned if any of the 'name' managers mooted would even interview, let alone accept this poisoned chalice. Dalglish as interim manager is the best possible situation, and seeing Kenny's legacy tarnished by the "custodians" is just as depressing as Benitez's exit.
Don't believe for one second that this is because of player power. That Torres or Gerrard or Carragher wanted Benitez gone. Each player's on record, multiple times, discussing how Benitez has improved their games – Torres especially. And even if it were true, you can't let the inmates run the asylum in the best of circumstances, but it's even dumber when there's a full-on riot in the yard.
Hicks and Gillett now hold every single card.
I'd bet any amount of money this leads to major players sales, which will pay down debt, so Hicks and Gillett will make a profit. Paying down the debt makes the club more attractive to vulture buyers, and it'll help ensure that Hicks and Gillett make a profit on this institution.
The club couldn't sell any player without Rafa's okay thanks to the contract signed last year. That barrier's gone. No more little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Be prepared for a tidal wave of excrement now that the dam's broken.
I am absolutely heartbroken on a personal and football level. Not for Rafa, who'll get a fantastic job somewhere (probably Inter), and not because he hasn't the third-highest winning percentage of any Liverpool manager this century (behind only Dalglish and Paisley). Not for me, whose predictions and analysis over the last few years has been proven wrong and meaningless. I am heartbroken over what's become of, and will continue to happen to, Liverpool FC. The most decorated club in English football. And it is only going to get worse.
11 comments :
I'm glad to see him go. I fear what the fallout will be, but Rafa needed to go. It's bittersweet for me.
This is a sad, sad day. I don't care what the media was feeding us at the end of his stay at Anfield, but the man is a legend. Thank you, Rafa for all you have done for this club. You'll Never Walk Alone
On the bright side, all the "supporters" celebrating his departure will be latched on to Ceteh or Everton in five years when Liverpool's trying to make up its mind over whether to become the next Leeds or Newcastle.
So it's not all bad news.
Devastated. Simply devastated.
Sad to see...I fear for the future...
Noel said...
On the bright side, all the "supporters" celebrating his departure will be latched on to Ceteh or Everton in five years when Liverpool's trying to make up its mind over whether to become the next Leeds or Newcastle.
Truth.
Perhaps an odd time for it, Nate, but I feel like I should toss out a thank you. For how well you managed to sum things up in this post, certainly, but also for all the posts of yours I've enjoyed over the past few seasons.
It does strike me that that might seem a bit of a funeral sentiment. And that perhaps as such it isn't entirely misplaced.
This feels worse than losing to Everton, worse than getting kicked out of the CL, worse than finishing 7th in the league.
I echo your sentiments that Liverpool's demise has been accelerated with Rafa's departure, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it.
I wonder how the players must have felt.
Gutted.
A bad, bad day for the club.
It does feel like a funeral. I'm getting pissed here in the Manchester evening sunshine - proper wake style.
Nate, you've been a star (and long may you continue, my friend!)
The one thing I'll say - and I've been one of Rafa's staunchest supporters - is that no man is bigger than this club. I felt like this when Keegan left...I'm hoping the chemo phase at this club doesn;t last too long and once the cancer's removed we can all make a full recovery.
YNWA Rafa
Cheers!!!
As Benitez goes, so goes Gerrard? As Gerrard goes, so goes Torres? As Torres goes, so goes Mascherano? I fear that the club squad of next season will look nothing like it did this season, and it will take many years to rebuild. Real Madrid seem ready to snatch Gerrard, and if he goes, I cannot blame him.
say it ain't so.......fuck.
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