In one of the most brilliant performances in the history of the World Cup, England's array of world
class players easily dispatched Slovenia (population 2m) with a breathtaking masterclass of
awe-inspiring attacking football. After such a mind-blowing result, England must surely be odds-on
favourites to win the World Cup.
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Taking into account all players bought and sold over the last 6 years, what was former Liverpool
manager Rafa Benitez's best ever XI?
My best Benitez's XI:
Formation - 442
--------------------- Reina
Finnan ---- Carragher --- Hyypa ----- Riise
Garcia ------ Alonso ---- Gerrard ---- Benayoun
------------- Crouch ----- Torres
Subs: Agger, Bellamy, Kuyt, Mascherano, Fowler, Skrtel, Pacheco, Aquilani
I don't think Gerard Houllier's back-four was improved upon during Benitez's reign.
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In its bid to make Liverpool FC the first Premier League club in the UK to be purchased by its own
fans, the board of ShareLiverpoolFC has confirmed that it has managed to raise the funds required
to underwrite the costs of organising and delivering a full share issue.
This is great news, and ShareLiverpoolFC's approach is infinitely preferable to the negative,
confrontational and divisive approach of 'Spirit of Shankly'.
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Liverpool FC has raised season ticket prices by 7%. Predictably, The Daily Mail (and other press
vultures) have seized the opportunity to put a negative spin on the situation. Some fans will also
(inevitably) use the news as yet another stick with which to beat the Owners. Seriously though,
what's the big deal?
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According to alleged Liverpool website 'Empire of the Kop', Kenny Dalglish has just been 'turned
down' for the manager's job, and lo and behold, the evil mastermind behind this treacherous
decision is the scheming, machiavellian agent of destruction, Christian Purslow. How convenient!
The latest senior figure at Anfield to be the target of a baseless fan-led smear campaign just
happens to diss a club legend.
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When it comes to over-used, inaccurate Liverpool fan clichés, the ‘spade in the ground' argument
against Tom Hicks and George Gillett is the worst. You can guarantee that during any discussion of
the Owners, someone will say ‘but they promised a spade in the ground in 60 days!' Apparently,
the fact that the stadium was not started in that timeframe means H+G are liars, and forever
deserving of criticism and ridicule.
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Javier Mascherano has made a brazen ‘come and get me' plea to former Liverpool manager Rafa
Benitez, who seems to be on the verge of taking over at Inter Milan. One particularly illuminating
comment stands out amid the Argentinean's glowing eulogy.
"With Benítez at Liverpool I experienced three incredible years.
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According to the relentlessly depressive doom and gloom brigade, no decent manager will want the
Liverpool job vacated by Rafa Benitez. Liverpool FC is (apparently) a ‘poisoned chalice'; a
footballing ‘Chernobyl' that has been irradiated by the nuclear impact of Tom Hicks and George
Gillett. Any fair-mined person can see it's all baseless, overwrought nonsense, spread (mainly) by
fans pushing the Anti-H+G agenda.
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A new low was reached last night at Anfield as a small minority of rabid Liverpool 'fans' burned
the American flag outside the Paisley Gates. Led like sheep by divisive, agenda-driven extremists
'Spirit of Shankly', a series of flags were burned in an embarrassing display of misguided loyalty
(to Rafa Benitez) and irrational hatred towards the club's owners.
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Liverpool has released an official statement confirming the departure of Rafa Benitez:
The Statement
"Liverpool FC today confirmed that Rafael Benitez is to leave the club by mutual consent. Mr
Benitez relinquishes his position as team manager after six years and the Board of Directors would
like to place on record their grateful thanks for his services and wish him all the best in his
future career.
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In the 6th article of a 7 part series, I take a look at how Rafa Benitez's transfer spending
between 2004 and 2009 compares to Aston Villa's spending over the same period.
SERIES GOAL
* To accurately report the gross/net spend of the UK's top clubs since 2004.
* To dispel the myth, exaggeration and misinformation surrounding the transfer spending of the UK's
top clubs.
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On the 30th May 2004 (before Benitez was appointed), I wrote a post on ThisIsAnfield.com arguing
that Martin O Neill should get the Manager's job ahead of Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho. 6 years
later and my view has not changed; and now that Benitez is finally leaving, the need for a manager
who is able to inspire and motivate is more pressing than ever.
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The news that the club wants to pay off Rafa Benitez to leave the club has been leaked to the press
tonight, but I revealed that Benitez was definitely on his way out of Anfield a month ago, on the
site's Facebook page.
Even before last season ended, certain influential members of the board had completely lost
confidence in Benitez.
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In the 5th article of a 7 part series, I take a look at how Rafa Benitez's transfer spending
between 2004 and 2009 compares to Spurs' spending over the same period.
SERIES GOAL
* To accurately report the gross/net spend of the UK's top clubs since 2004.
* To dispel the myth, exaggeration and misinformation surrounding the transfer spending of the UK's
top clubs.
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When Rafa Benitez signed Glen Johnson last summer, I argued at the time that it was a waste of
money. Many fans - including me - also questioned the wisdom of spending such a large amount of
money on a player that Liverpool (arguably) didn't need. I keep hearing from fans how Johnson was
such a great signing; how he enhanced the team etc, but I truly don't see how that's the case.
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