Rafa Benitez: SAF's Man Utd Success Down To Money

Discussion in 'Soccer Board' started by 514, Oct 13, 2011.

  1. Wu

    Wu Nope.
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    Thursday, October 13, 2011
    Benitez: Fergie success down to money

    ESPNsoccernet staff


    Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has played down Sir Alex Ferguson's role in the success of Manchester United, insisting that money has been the decisive factor in the club's triumphs and not the Scot's management skills.

    Benitez and Ferguson were Premier League rivals for six seasons, with the pair's relationship in that time somewhat tempestuous.

    And ahead of this weekend's clash between United and Liverpool, Benitez has opened up old wounds by questioning Ferguson's influence on the Red Devils' success in an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside.

    After it was put to him that Ferguson's personality has been critical in driving United forward, Benitez responded: "No, I think it's the money they were spending. If you analyse the transfer record and the history ... Rooney, or Ferdinand, for example ... £30 million for a young player or a centre back.

    "Every year they [United] are very well-off. It's not just because of the interviews or the press conferences; it's because they had money."

    Benitez and Ferguson's troubled relationship came to a head during the 2008-09 season, when Liverpool ran United close before the Red Devils pipped them to the Premier League title.

    During that campaign, Benitez delivered a pre-prepared critique of his opposite number, listing a series of "facts" that suggested Ferguson influenced both the Premier Leage fixture list and choice of match officials.

    But Benitez has once again dismissed the notion that the infamous "facts" press conference was responsible for Liverpool's failure to beat United in the title race.

    "To be fair, I didn't like it when the press was talking about mind games because I was just focused on my team, and the things I had to do for the team," Benitez said.

    "If you say something in a press conference I can guarantee you that it has no impact on another manager. It can happen perhaps one in one hundred times, but the press likes to talk about mind games, but what they don't realize is that you cannot win mind games if you have a bad team.

    "You can be the best in the press conference, but after, if you have a bad team you will lose. It's easy to talk about mind games when he [Ferguson] has a good team and he has won, and that was the case."
     
  2. Sam Elliott

    Sam Elliott Job title: Assistant Bouncer at the Double Deuce
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  3. RoyalShocker

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    Money is the reason why Manchester United was able to survive and prosper in the 90's, it's not the reason Rafa could not lead Liverpool to a Premier League title.
     
  4. Mr. Bananagrabber

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    There are a lot of teams that can bitch about United's spending. Liverpool is not one of them. Since 92, they're net spend is £44,375,000 higher than United's. They have roughly zero Premier League trophies to show for it.

    I respect Rafa as a tactician, but his obsession with SAF still puzzles me. I will never understand him calling a press conference to bitch about Ferguson while his club was at the top of the table. It just reeked of a losers mentality, and ultimately they weren't able to finish the job.
     
  5. RoyalShocker

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    Why, Blake? Why?
     
  6. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    Liverpool's mismanagement from Souness to Houllier is the real reason for United's success. But money was the factor that kept Rafa from winning the title. If FSG had bought Liverpool in 2007, Rafa would have a winner's medal. Only two teams have won since Rafa came to Liverpool, United and Chelsea. There is going to be a third team that wins this year and they're going to win because they had the money to out do United and Chelsea.
     
  7. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    Looks like someone missed the point of this article. I'm confused how Liverpool having spent a lot of money makes SAF a good tactician :idk:
     
  8. Spontaneous Cumbustion

    Spontaneous Cumbustion Well-Known Member
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    Well thats debatable
     
  9. Frank Martin

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    Maybe. But we were the best team in the league in 2008-09. Imagine if we would have had some legitimate depth to our squad?
     
  10. El_Pato

    El_Pato Nunca Caminaras Solo
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    Our net spend was way less than United's. People tend to overlook that.
     
  11. Lambert

    Lambert Well-Known Member
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    With overpaying for English players? You've wasted the money you've gotten outside of Suarez.
     
  12. Frank Martin

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    I'm curious what our current buys have to do with Rafa :idk:
     
  13. Lambert

    Lambert Well-Known Member
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    I know I'm just saying, that if you had the same owner then as you have now this says nothing for your success. You have achieved nothing so far. You are guessing at what you think the owners will achieve in the future and applying that to the past as if it were almost certain.
     
  14. Frank Martin

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    I'm not guessing about the fact our current owners have shown the willingness to spend, and overspend according to you :idk:
     
  15. Lambert

    Lambert Well-Known Member
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    Spending money doesn't guarantee success. My guess is you wouldn't have won no matter the owners. You can spend and spend wisely. Two different things.
     
  16. Mr. Bananagrabber

    Mr. Bananagrabber Well-Known Member
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    [​IMG]

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  17. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    [​IMG]

    As you can see Man United spent 25% net than we did in the 2000s for a total of £38.1 million. That number is skewed because of the Ronaldo sale which only impacted one season of the 2000s.

    When you look at the numbers for the first 9 seasons of the decade you get a more accurate depiction.

    Liverpool spent a net of £125.75 million
    Man United spent £192.9 million

    that's a difference of £67.15 or 34.8% net spend
     
  18. Mr. Bananagrabber

    Mr. Bananagrabber Well-Known Member
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    Rather than waste your time with my own opinions, I'll just quote the same blog you just posted.

    KEY POINTS

    Recently, I posted a transfer spending comparison between Rafa Benitez and Alex Ferguson for the years 2004-2010. It showed that Benitez had a higher gross and net spend during that period. Inevitably, the same old lame excuses started flowing: 'what about before 2004?' 'Ferguson had years to build a team'; and the best one: 'You have to look back to 1990 to get an accurate picture'.

    So - here it is: a comparison from 1990. And what does it show?

    * Contrary to what everyone seems to think, Liverpool has actually spent MORE than Man United since 1990.

    * United dominated the Premier League in the 1990s despite having both a lower gross and net spend than Liverpool.

    I could go on listing countless conclusions but I'm not going to - these figures prove once and for all that using net spend as an indicator of a manager's effectiveness in the transfer market is absolute nonsense.

    The bottom line is this: Man U have spent less on players that Liverpool since 1990, yet they have 11 league titles and 2 Champions League trophies.

    What these figures show is the importance of spending your money WISELY. It's not just about money though; the manager has to be good enough to get the best out of the players he has, and far too often, Liverpool managers have failed in this regard.

    These figures are damning indictment of how poorly the club's money has been spent by *all* LFC managers. £528m spent on players, and what does the club have to show for it? A spend of £58m per trophy. Given the huge amounts of money *wasted* on the wrong players since 1990, it is no surprise at all that the club has not won the league for 20 years.

    Souness had enough money; Evans had enough money; Houllier had enough money, and Benitez had enough money. To varying degrees, all 4 of those managers wasted lots of money on dross, which had a knock on, cumulative effect on the club's ability to consistently compete.

    Now - sit back and watch the Pro-Benitez brigade throw out more desperately lame excuses that in an attempt to argue *yet again* that he hasn't had enough money to compete (!).

    Read more: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/10/exclusive-liverpool-vs-man-united.html#ixzz1aoVfFoQv
     
  19. Sam Elliott

    Sam Elliott Job title: Assistant Bouncer at the Double Deuce
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    Well tomorrow is going to be fun :bananallama:
     
  20. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    I would prefer to hear your thoughts instead of the thoughts of someone not addressing the point I just made.
     
  21. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    We will see. If Charlie Adam is on the team sheet it will probably be a long day for us.
     
  22. Mr. Bananagrabber

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    I don't have the full quotes but I don't see Rafa specifying that he was strictly talking about 2000-2010. He clearly states that all of SAF's success was down to money. I posted a chart that clearly shows that starting with the fist year United won the Premier League (1992) until now (2011) Liverpool have actually spent more money without the results. Clearly money isn't the only variable because during the 90's you were outspending us and still not winning the league. The couple of years before your new ownership are included in the numbers you provided, and it definitely shows. They should absolutely not be discounted, and I certainly won't do that. The problem is that other than that two year blip, Liverpool are spending massive amounts of money and not getting the results on the pitch. I'm not going to write off your new signings yet, but it's going to be very important that they develop unlike your signings for the last twenty years.
     
  23. Mr. Bananagrabber

    Mr. Bananagrabber Well-Known Member
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    Doubtful, our central midfield will consist of two of Anderson/Carrick/Fletcher. Won't be pretty.
     
  24. Mr. Bananagrabber

    Mr. Bananagrabber Well-Known Member
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    Your squad will also be much safer with Rafael chilling on the sidelines for this one.
     
  25. Gunners

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    I now see the difference in winning a dozen EPL titles and 0. Gracios Rafa, you have opened my eyes.
     
  26. Frank Martin

    Frank Martin tough love makes better posters
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    How does Liverpool's poor management of money in the 90s and early 2000s change anything about saf and united?

    saf doesn't strike fear in anyone as a tactician, it is always been his ability to buy players. I don't understand why united fans are sensitive over this.

    So yes Rafa is right it comes down to money and we ran out right as we almost righted our ship. All you have to look is at your cross town rival to see it comes down to money. How poorly has city spent money the past few years and how shitty is mancini? Yet, they are the best team in the league.
     
  27. Sam Elliott

    Sam Elliott Job title: Assistant Bouncer at the Double Deuce
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    See you in 7.5 hours Watson
     
  28. RoyalShocker

    RoyalShocker But I don't wanna be a Nazi
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    Pretty sure saf scares the fuck out of Leonardo
     
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  29. Gunners

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  30. Mr. Bananagrabber

    Mr. Bananagrabber Well-Known Member
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    You will never hear me say that SAF is the best tactician. His relationship with Quieroz shows that even he doesn't believe that.

    I do believe that his man management, and ability to identify and develop talent set him apart. He's been given the money to build a squad, but keeping them hungry and motivated for twenty years can be attributed to his management.
     
  31. Frank Martin

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    Yeah this where it turns into semantics because I believe Rafa means tactics by management.

    There is no doubt saf is great at man management.