From The Sunday Times December 2, 2007 Back from the brink - Rafa Benitez has had his wrists slapped and realises he has to get on with it, starting at home to Bolton today Jonathan Northcroft Fans call it the “Rafatollah†and it was first borne aloft at the Carling Cup final in 2005. On Wednesday the oil painting of Rafael Benitez was paraded as 2,000 supporters demonstrated outside Anfield. Inside, “Rafa’s going nowhere†and “Ra-Ra-Ra Rafa Benitezâ€, were hymns. On America’s western seaboard Tom Hicks watched Liverpool’s game with Porto over lunch and was as merry about a 4-1 victory as any of the fans. “You could hear the Kop chanting Rafa’s name all the way across the Atlantic,†he joked. By Friday, when he gave his regular press conference, Benitez was smiling too. Differences remain, communicating still needs to be done, but cordiality crept its way back into Liverpool Football Club over the past seven days. A manager has pulled back from the brink and, not for the first time, the old institution has walked on through the storm. Commitments have been re-avowed. Responding to wild stories Hicks is seeking to dispense with his shares, his spokesman said: “Any suggestion that Mr Hicks is planning to sell his stake in Liverpool Football Club is absolutely and categorically untrue.†A back page last Sunday that stated Benitez would be sacked by now and replaced by Jose Mourinho also proved ludicrously speculative. Benitez’s pout at a press conference the previous week, when he repeated the phrase “training and coaching†in response to more than 20 separate questions, seemed adolescent. He was sent to his room by Hicks and co-owner George Gillett, but not kicked out of the house. When the Americans arrive on Merseyside on December 14, for a long weekend during which they will take in Liverpool’s game with Manchester United, they will hold a meeting with Benitez and have some hard words for him, but neither side feels lasting damage has necessarily been done. Benitez is staying so long as the tantrums stop and he sticks to his contract remit. “I think the relationship was really good before. It could be a misunderstanding. It’s just a case of talking and I’m not really worried because I’m a professional, just trying to do my job. I have a lot of confidence we’ll win trophies and I’ll stay here for a long time,†Benitez said. The roadmap to peace was marked out when Parry called Benitez to a summit on Monday. Liverpool’s chief executive relayed a strong message from the owners: carping, of the sort that saw Benitez complain Hicks and Gillett “don’t understand the European transfer marketâ€, must stop. Parry also reminded the Spaniard to limit his involvement in transfer deals. The latter is not a new condition, but spelt out in Benitez’s contract, which runs until 2010. As coach, he is to identify players and those recommendations are the most important inputs in transfer policy, but it is for Parry to handle contracts and money matters and Liverpool’s owners to decide whether to sign the cheques. Hicks and Gillett were concerned when, during the international break, Benitez and his chief European scout, Eduardo Macia, embarked on a flurry of activity. Benitez lined up two Bosman signings he wanted made in January, tried to push through the permanent signing of Javier Mascherano and explored buying Kakha Kaladze for £4m from Milan. The outbursts came when he was told to row back. In Benitez’s view, deals need to be done as soon as possible to avoid losing targets to other clubs. Parry is circumspect. Hicks and Gillett, mindful signings cannot actually be made until the transfer window opens in January, feel that while it is reasonable for their manager to explore options, squad reinforcing should always be a measured process and hard talking can wait until strategic, face-to-face meetings during their visit. Kaladze, for instance, is 30 in February and has for six years been an irregular starter for Milan. There is scope for Benitez to convince his masters but they need to hear a case. Foster Gillett, George’s son and one of Liverpool’s four-man board, was back at his desk at Mellwood on Tuesday following a three-week trip to America, and his return may prove vital to improving communication lines. Benitez and Parry won a European Cup in tandem but they are an odd couple, Parry’s methodical approach contrasting with Benitez’s more impatient instincts. They do not always move smoothly in tandem. Their efforts to keep Steven Gerrard in 2005 left the player “in turmoil†over what he felt were mixed messages, and it took an intervention from former chairman David Moores to convince Gerrard that Liverpool truly wanted him. “It was easier when [Foster Gillett] was here,†Benitez said. Perhaps having the conduit back will reassure the manager who still appears to nurse doubts about his transfer say. Liverpool’s owners approved a record bout of spending in the summer, acquiring Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and, for £26.5m, Fernando Torres. Sources familiar with the situation say there has been no change in Hicks and Gillett’s desire for Liverpool to win the very biggest trophies, which for them is a matter both of passion and smart strategy. Their goal could not be more ambitious: for Liverpool to become the greatest club in world football, popular not just in the UK but Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. It is why they bankrolled signings like Torres’s and handed huge new contracts to key players such as Gerrard. Sources also suggest the owners can see Benitez’s squad needs more depth in certain positions and there will be scope for January signings — so long as they are justified and it is Parry, not Benitez, striking deals. Peter Crouch need not fear for his future. “I do not want to sell Peter,†Benitez said and sources say the owners, knowing Crouch’s popularity, want to ensure he stays. Benitez’s uncertainty about whether Crouch will extend his contract, which expires in 2008, is not caused by Hicks and Gillett, as some reports suggest but because he fears Crouch’s agents want him to move. Stories that the owners have fallen out over plans for the new stadium also appear unfounded with the sources saying their partnership is closer than ever. There are two rival designs for the stadium not because Hicks favours one and Gillett the other, but because a pair of architect firms, Dallas-based HKS and AFL of Liverpool, were asked for competing designs in the interests of getting the best price. “Rafa hasn’t talked to the players about his problem. We know because we read the papers,†said Mascherano. Benitez paid tribute to his squad’s professionalism in performing so well at such an uncertain time. Across the Atlantic it has been noted that since Benitez got back to “coaching and trainingâ€, there has been an upturn in performances and results. Whereas Torres, Babel and Benayoun spent tracts of the early season benched, they are now being used and Benitez’s rotation policy appears to be at a slower spin. Hicks and Gillett are serial team owners, who have dealt with numerous coaches, and know that when a team is malfunctioning you need to make changes. One view of coaching is that a coach should first examine his selection, training and tactics and only afterwards push to buy new players. Benitez was moved on Wednesday. “Have you ever heard in all your life any support for a manager like this in football?†he said. “I do not think I’m Bill Shankly but some say I was fighting for the club over different issues and the people of Liverpool, normally they were fighting against the res . . . so maybe that’s where they find a connection.†Benitez can walk on, but he must tread more carefully. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article2982717.ece
if the last Line of this Article is true it's the best News i've heared all Week.... BENITEZ TOLD TO BUTTON IT Rafa Benitez Sunday December 2,2007 By John Richardson Have your say(0) Liverpool’s rebel boss Rafa Benitez has been told that one more outburst criticising American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will see him axed. Even though the Kop is firmly behind the Spaniard who has brought them the European Cup during his tenure – demonstrated by the support throughout Wednesday night’s Champions League game against Porto – the Yankee duo won’t be stopped if Benitez steps out of line again. Only some hasty backtracking by Benitez in the past few days, saying that he and the owners still share the same objectives and that he is prepared to work closely on transfer targets with chief executive Rick Parry, has kept him in the Anfield job. Hicks, especially, has been ruffled by Benitez’s indications, which began the day after Liverpool’s European Cup final defeat against AC Milan in Athens in May, that the Liverpool owners do not understand the transfer market. And when Benitez repeated the accusation that the owners were dragging their heels over transfer policy a couple of weeks ago, the Spaniard left himself on the precipice. He clawed himself back from the edge with what amounted to a public climbdown, letting it be known that his wife and family were settled in the area and that he had no desire to leave. His stubborn refusal to allow Parry more power in future transfers has also been revised and the experienced chief executive will act as a go-between for Benitez and the Americans over player comings and goings. But it is understood that Benitez has been told in no uncertain terms that one more public condemnation of the owners will result in him being sacked, despite the support he has from the fans. And it is unlikely that Gillett and Hicks would pay all of the £6million compensation he has written into his contract because they could claim that Benitez had been sacked for gross misconduct. However, Hicks was anxious not to fan the flames yesterday when he described the bust-up with Benitez as “a big misunderstanding blown out of all proportion” and insisted he had no intention of selling his stake in the club. Hicks said: “I just want to clear this up. I am not selling any of my shares to anybody. I have no idea why anyone would think that. It was just rubbish.” On the disagreement with Benitez, he said: “George and I are happy to see that it has settled back down. “We’ve a big game against Bolton, a big game against Marseille and a big game with our neighbours to the east (Manchester United on December 16) and the main thing is the team is playing better.” Hicks stressed his relationship with Gillett was as strong as ever, despite rumours to the contrary. “George and I have never been closer. We both were very disappointed and confused as to where that inaccurate information came from. “Owning Liverpool has been great. We’re still enjoying it.” Hicks also responded to criticism that the owners spend too much time in their homeland and stressed that Gillett’s son Foster, a director at the club, looks after their interests. “I guess we are absentee owners – there’s no question about it,” the Dallas-based millionaire told club website www.liverpoolfc.tv. “But Foster returned to Liverpool last week. He’s our day-to-day person to help facilitate communication and we come as often as we can.” The Americans are ready to boost their relationship with Benitez by approving the £17m signing of loan star Javier Mascherano in January.