It may seem unfair for a manager’s future to hinge on a game away at Old Trafford and the result of this match alone hasn’t dictated Rafa’s future, but results this weekend including our defeat have now given us a slim chance at best of reaching the Champions League next season.
Even if you’re a fan of Rafa’s and still believe he’s the man to take Liverpool forward, I would get used to the fact that he won’t be here next season whoever is in charge in the boardroom. Hicks and Gillett, already having considered replacing him once, are unlikely to need much arm-twisting to remove him now as long as they can afford to do so. With the club seemingly going backwards and Rafa’s support waning, it wouldn’t be the hugely unpopular decision it would have been 2 years ago.
If new investors are found they will want a return on their investment and there is a fair chance that Rafa will not be trusted with substantial transfer funds in order to achieve this. Tactically sound he may have proven at times during the last 6 years but few could argue he is a magician in the transfer market.
The best outcome for all maybe is for Rafa to be finally given the chance to manage Real Madrid. This may mean he is offered a lucrative contract before being sacked and therefore doesn’t cost us a fortune in compensation. Whatever the order of events, a new manager after the World Cup but before the new season starts is becoming inevitable. Who that will be however is a much harder call. The current contenders are considered below:
Jose Mourinho (Current odds 9/4)
Certainly wouldn’t be welcomed by all after his numerous outbursts whilst at Stamford Bridge but you can’t question his ability nor his own confidence in this ability. Jose has previously expressed an interest in returning to England after Inter Milan and there probably wouldn’t be too many jobs he would consider apart from perhaps Anfield and the Theatre of Silence. However, with such a high reputation it’s hard to see him agreeing to such a move unless he was given reasonable funds to improve the squad and make a genuine challenge for the Premiership and Champions League.
Probability – Those odds seem way too short to me
Kenny Dalglish (Current odds 3/1)
I can only imagine he’s currently 2nd favourite on the basis that we might need a temporary manager if Benitez were to go before the end of the season. With the season drawing to a close and little to play for, this surely seems less of a likely option now. As my boyhood hero, I will always worship King Kenny but having not managed a team for over a decade he would be a very strange choice to turn round our fortunes in the long-term.
Probability – Odds should lengthen over the next few weeks
Alex Mcleish (Current odds 5/1)
Don’t fall of your chair, yes really Alex Mcleish is 3rd favourite to take over as our next manager. Okay so he did very well as manager of Rangers and has done a decent job at Birmingham but he’s hardly got the pedigree of a world class manager that we’d want. However, if there are no major boardroom changes and we’re still running the club on a shoestring this is probably the level of manager we’d go for. Cheaper to get than all the bigger names but hardly the inspiration that Torres and Gerrard might want to stay with us
Probability – Seems a very short price but that’s what worries me
Martin O’ Neill (Current odds 10/1)
Probably most people’s current choice if we went for a British manager. His experience in England is considerable and he has certainly been one of those who has often over-achieved in terms of results and league positions. However, with an American owner who appears to be more supportive and with a good largely English squad he has built, would he really want to walk away from that to a club that may well finish lower in the league this season. A big transfer kitty and the chance of restoring a huge club to former glories may convince him but it’s a long shot. If we get some new funds and can’t get Mourinho then perhaps he’s a decent alternative
Probability – The odds seem about right
Laurent Blanc (Current odds 10/1)
Surprisingly short price for a relatively inexperienced manager. However, he has done very well in France with Bordeaux to overthrow the all-dominating Lyon side of the last few years, but as I’m sure you’re already saying –that’s the French league. Personally I think he’d be an odd choice but as a World Cup winning captain with a decent managerial record so far, he’d probably attract more top class players than Mcleish
Probability – Unlikely
Mark Hughes (Current odds 12/1)
Built up a decent side at Blackburn with modest transfer funds available but hardly set the world alight with the millions available at Man City. In any event he was a Manc for 13 years over 2 separate periods and would hardly be a popular choice.
Probability – Surely not
Jurgen Klinsmann (Current odds 12/1)
Surely only so far up the list because of the initial approach a couple of years ago. He had a shocker at Bayern Munich, lasting only 9 months before being sacked. Though a talented player he has no club management pedigree at all. Let’s hope for our club’s sake that the owners have now dismissed him as a replacement for Rafa.
Probability – Remote, I pray
Gus Hiddink (Current odds 16/1)
Great experience with proven track record but having just agreed to become new manager of Turkey in August, it appears unlikely that he will go back on that agreement. Perhaps at aged 64 he is more suited to a less demanding day to day role of a Premier League Manager and therefore sadly we may have missed our chance with Gus.
Probability – Very unlikely, sadly
Roy Hodgson (Current odds 16/1)
We’d hardly be dancing outside the Shankly Gates if this was the choice but you can’t question how well he has done at Fulham. He’d be relatively cheap considering the level of experience he’s had but I can just imagine the conversation between Torres and his agent –
“It’s alright Fernando, you’ll be okay at Liverpool now. Roy Hodgson is going to be the new manager”
Probability – Did I say how much a liked Alex Mcleish?
Bernd Schuster (Current odds 20/1)
Uninspiring and having been discussing management of Xerez of which he is/was part-owner then hopefully it’s a non-starter
Probability – Bernd who?
Frank Rijkaard (Current odds 25/1)
After proving himself to be a truly vile player for spitting twice at Rudi Voller in the World Cup, he went on to be a well respected and attack-minded manager at Barcelona. He’s also got the name to attract big players but hasn’t obviously had the experience in England. Currently at Galatasaray, surely he deserves better than that.
Probability – Yes okay we’ll take him
The rest of the ‘ahem’ contenders
Marcello Lippi (25-1) – Possible after the World Cup, not a bad choice but expensive presumably
Phil Scolari (25-1) – No, you’re okay thanks
Marco Van Basten (25-1) – No nonsense manager, currently available. I could be persuaded
Bruce Arena (33-1) – Yes, seriously he’s on the list
Steve Mclaren (33-1) – Now this is getting silly
The long shots
Kevin Keegan (40-1) – That’s all we need, a manager for 3 games
Greame Souness (50-1) – Now where did I park that Delorean?
Roy Keane (100-1) – No comment. There might be children reading
David Beckham (500-1) – Well let’s see now. Would we have any tactics do you think?
Not on the list
Jamie Carragher – Maybe 5 years too early, one day though hopefully
Odds courtesy of Skybet
“Arsenal steal bribe and buy out talent and they don’t create it ! When was the last great talent unearthed from their youth academy ? Not a patch on our kids talent ! Y.N.W.A”
Ramsey and Wiltshire?
And how many products of the youth academy (under Rafas tenure) from LFC are playing first team premier football?
I see the deluded “Real Fans” out in force again.
Always mention the easy ones like Torres, Masch, Reina. But here is another list for you retards: (part of his 220M _spend_!)
Josemi Rey
Antonio Nunez
Mauricio Pellegrino
Fernando Morientes
Mark Gonzalez
Jan Kromkamp
Gabriel Paletta
Nabil El Zhar
Sebastian Leto
Andriy Voronin
Ryan Babel
Philipp Degen
Andrea Dossena
David Ngog
Robbie Keane
Albert Riera
Send down Pinnochio perhaps…?
if some of you are saying rafas spent money which indeed even as his biggest fan, he has yes made some mistakes, but have a look at whats taking shape at the academy and under the first team at the reserves. it is happening, he is building something very good. we got ahead of the rest when buying that young kid form qpr, mr sterling, who just looks amazing. take a look at the suddern turn around after ablett left, even then rafa had the academy and reserves picking up silverware, however there are too many young really talented players coming through and the cost is hardly anything, everyone says arsenal are building with all their kids, but we have really yet to see them win anything, rafa is getting it right at development level
Arsenal steal bribe and buy out talent and they don’t create it ! When was the last great talent unearthed from their youth academy ? Not a patch on our kids talent ! Y.N.W.A
I’m glad a few of you out there agreed with my earlier post, some of the alternatives being mentioned are not only a joke, they are also offensive. Check out the win ratio of 56% too – not many get better!
There are also some really stupid comments here – saying things like we haven’t progressed. If that was true, how can we have finished on 82 & 86 points – our best EVER totals. In Rafa’s first season, we were closer to the bottom four than the top. That has definitely changed. We have progressed, if you don’t remember we almost won it last season. Surely anyone who knows football would have thrown 50-60M at Rafa and said, go and win it. It didn’t happen, we replaced players that left, but failed to strengthen the team enough.
My God is this article for real. You’re stating that Rafa is going to be receiving his P45 at the end of the season and you’re suggesting that this is not a bad thing! If those odds are for real I would reccommend all the fake LFC fans to shut up and admire the fact we have one talented manager in charge at the moment.
Its insulting to know that Alex McCleish is 3rd favourite to replace Rafa! Mourinho is not long term solution in my view. He has no vision for the youth and stadium but winding people up.
Get a grip and stop publishing rubbish like this. You’ll save us all a bit of time then.
Long live the King Rafa!
I agree even though rafas not blameless with some of his tactics and negative football at times i still feel that this season was out of his control with the owners being tight as ducks arses, not replacing Alonso, Arbeloa or Hyypia and all the season killing injury’s we’ve had i mean it’s just been a horror season were nothings gone for us, not even beach balls !!! and we have to just scratch it off and go again…
People still don’t get that rafa’s been operating in a third even fourth rate transfer market since arriving in 2005 and that Torres, Reina, Jhonson apart we’ve had to settle for less on every occasion , we wouldn’t even have Mascherano if the whole west ham thing had’nt happened because his agents would have priced us out !!!!
thanks anfield online keep not posting my comments, I just knew u guys r against the right & free opinions
‘We publish all well written, concise and clean comments’.
If you took a little bit more effort in to posting a coherent message then they would all be approved. If we were against free opinions would we have published this article?
Grow up.
If Rafa goes we are well and truely ****ed
The current fools wanted Klinsman.
None of the half decent suggestions above will want the job in these circumstanes and you could also speculate about whose first out the door with Rafa when he goes (Torres for a start) plus also whether we will ever play in the champions league again.
We came within a whisker of winning the league last season which has unfortunately been followed by this blip of a season.
Out of Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea only Chelsea have gone for changing their manager often and it’s starting to show.
The evidence strongly suggests that leaving a manger for the long term will reap the greater rewards and produce long term success
If Liverpool can get Jose, they should bend over backwards and do whatever they can to get him
Who cares what he did in the past? He can get Liverpool back to titles and when he does, NOBODY will hate him in Liverpool
He hates United and beats everyone when at home
Liverpool should pray every night that he is available
Mcleish or Hodgson would be terrible so in that case i’d rather that Rafa remained in charge.Otherwise he’s has his five years,wasted million’s on dud’s and we’ve not progressed so he should prepare to leave.Rafa further shot himself in the foot with the “guarantee” that we’ll finish fourth so can’t complain about anything if he’s sacked now.
Mourinho would be my ideal choice but he’d want a massive transfer kitty that we probably can’t provide unless new owners take charge.Hiddink is too old where as Hughes must be a wind up,Dalglish a possibility but i’d be reluctant!!!.Keegan,no thanks.
I sense that Rijkaard and O’Neill both have the potential to take us forward for if nothing else atleast we’ll see entertaining football.
I’m sick and tired of reading this same old rubbish from fickle so-called fans who obviously have very short memories. Rafa won the champions league in his first season. We came 2nd last season. We would have won it had we not drawn twice against the 11 man defence of stoke!
Look, Wenger hasn’t won anything since 2005. Ferguson didn’t win anything for 5/6 years. In his second season he finished 2nd. The following year he finished 11th. He wasn’t sacked. He was given time. People forget that Rafa is the 2nd most successful manager in his first 100 games. Only Shankly was better.
And with respect to the players he’s bought – Torres, Reina, Mascherano, Johnson, to name just 4, are probably 4 of the best in the world in there positions. So I’m not sure your argument stands up. He’s a quality manager and we need to stick by him.
Well said mike, there maybe some real lfc fans left,,, god bless you mate for speaking some truth.
Well Said Mike, oh and by the way please do not soeak for me Nick Clemons COLUMN, when you state ” martin oneill” well i tell you for the amount of time and money he has had i dont want him anywhere near this great club, thanks. Have you seen the crap football they serve up at villa, so keep your mouth closed when talking for me and other fans who are happy with rafa.
By the way you’re a joke of a fan if you base your written work with facts form sky bet? What are you another richard keys anti-rafa fan, so you have jumped on the band wagon too! Dear oh dear, would the real lfc fans take a seat and the fake ones go please.
The question is – we had a squad that finished second last year. Where were the funds to push us on? Where was the investment? We spent the Xabi money, but didn’t bring in enough to push on that is why we have suffered. The blame lies beyond Rafa – he can only do so much with what he has got – he has brought us so far but he needs money for immediate success and time to see how his youth policy develops. Fergie and Wenger have been granted the same – we should allow Rafa more time also.
Fabio Cappello seems to be missing from the list…
Looking through that list is genuinely scary.
Not one of them have brought success to a club while operating under a sell to buy policy.
Rafa overachieved at Liverpool last season getting us so close to the title and is paying the price for raising everyone’s hopes.
Bad times on the horizon.
Surely the odds you have published contradict your story about Rafa being on his way out. If the most realistic favourites are McLeish & O’Neil then surely we are better with Rafa.
YNWA
With the exception of Laurent Blanc, I think any of the candidates would mean a step backwards from where Rafa is positioning LFC with his long-term policy of nourishing young talent.
Dalglish is of course an Olympian god at Anfield, but I cannot see him having the energy at this stage to undertake such a challenge.
The only one who can claim to have better credentials than Rafa, as well as dynamism and youth on his side, is of course Mourinho. But if you ask me, I prefer Rafa any day…
Will torres and gerard leave,if they fail to reach top four this season.
how about Fabio Capello?