Stats To Prove Liverpool Boss Wrong

102 Comments

1. February 16, 2009 at 16:01

   kp maybe 4 nuts but rafa is insane says:

   no emotion just facts. Now that’s quite a novel idea for most people of scouseland.
2. February 16, 2009 at 16:02

   Jackson says:

   I’m glad you care so much about our club to write so much about us!! D
3. February 16, 2009 at 16:04

   Timmo says:

   Nice one scott.

   He definately is cracking up. Were watching him slowly rot. I for one hope he gets a new contract. The longer he’s there , the longer the scum continue to be a joke

   “Rafa’s cracking up !”
4. February 16, 2009 at 16:06

   Cally says:

   Haha, yet another topic on little ole LFC.

   Obsessed…
5. February 16, 2009 at 16:08

   dave says:

   Someones a bit obsessed
6. February 16, 2009 at 16:09

   Sean says:

   I think you will find that Fergie at that time had a 30M defender (Ferdinand). 20M attacker (Van Nistelrooy) and a far better squad to start with to name just two….He had invested in the pre 2004 squad heavily so to make comparisons is basically a little silly isnt it?

   Also, dont you pay 5M a season to hire Tevez?

   Also, when Abramovich splashed the cash Chelsea consistently beat you in the leage and silverware….Its only dropped off since he stopped spending

   Any chance of an article on Ronaldo spitting? Thought not..
7. February 16, 2009 at 16:09

   Jon says:

   Hmm the analysis makes no sense, Benitez took over in 2004 and and had to rebuilt the team, Ferguson on the other hand enhance his team since 2004 with more than the amount benitez built a team with. Also where is Texez on th list?

   You are not making logical comparison sir, you article is self centered and lack thoughts
8. February 16, 2009 at 16:11

   Scholesyboy says:

   Cally, only to show again how truly sad the dippers are!
9. February 16, 2009 at 16:15

   Cally says:

   Yeah, I mean we could have whole blogs dedicated to your manager’s every utterance in the media…
10. February 16, 2009 at 16:15

    Mssterg says:

    It seems to me that you’ve researched every player bought by Liverpool, including youth/reserve players at a cost of almost £7m and from the above failed to include a single player bought by Man Utd within the same category (Youth/Reserve).

    Also I think its important to look at both team sheets before Benitez joined Liverpool and the current team sheets to see how many players haven’t been replaced. Man Utd still have Neville/Brown, Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Scholes/Fletcher and Giggs. Liverpool have Carragher and Gerrard.

    Though I appreciate that some of the above are products of a good youth system, if Benitez hadn’t needed to re-build pretty much the entire team and had inherited 5 first team players then he may have spent more on individuals or less overall. Either way Man Utd are the second richest club in the world and that obviously gives some sort of advantage, doesn’t it?
11. February 16, 2009 at 16:17

    donaldo says:

    Try looking at the average spend per player to see the difficulty of building a whole title challenging squad that faces Rafa. If Rafa had the luxury of requiring only 13 players listed for utd, as opposed to the 49 listed for liverpool then things would be different. Basically Rafa started with a quite poor squad and has had to take time to build his squad with lesser resources every transfer window than utd. Given that utd have had a very strong squad since the premiership started the progress Rafa has made is very admirable.
12. February 16, 2009 at 16:17

    cherry says:

    The guy has seen that the Title is now out of his reach and is cooking up excuses. First it was Fergy controlling everything and now this trash. He is really crackin up. Like fergy said, he is certainly disturbed, is it his contract situation? or that he has seen that his bunch is not capable of winning the title?

    Pls excuse me for going off topic, I saw inter play AC yesterday, and was terrible watching two average teams performing below par. If Inter put up a show like that against the best team in the world, it would spell disaster for them. Inter has been getting away with poor performances in serie A but they would surely reach their waterloo on the 24th. I am really not impressed by what I saw. Their best player for the night was maicon, I cant wait for the 24th.
    I think we are lucky to have Inter.
13. February 16, 2009 at 16:19

    Red-Manc says:

    Cally your on a Manchester United Forum, i think your the one obsessed mate you sad scouse tosser.

    Republik Of Mancunia, no scousers wanted.
14. February 16, 2009 at 16:19

    cherry says:

    Cally, stop talkin shite, your fucking mamager is obsessed!! At any given opportunity he talks about united, all dippers are crackin up!!
15. February 16, 2009 at 16:20

    shakey says:

    didn`t you sign alan smith and gabby heinze for about 15 million in 2004 ?
16. February 16, 2009 at 16:22

    lfc 4life says:

    man u had a far better team than liverpool when rafa took over. being honest man u still have a better team than liverpool but the difference is not that much anymore. liverpool have provd already they can beat any other club on there day. (aslong as torres and gerrard are ok lol)
17. February 16, 2009 at 16:27

    Scholesyboy says:

    Cally, do you mean quotes like this?
    ” My greatest challenge is knocking Liverpool off their #@##$$ perch, and you can print that”
18. February 16, 2009 at 16:28

    Mark Moore says:

    Great article scott, just proves how dumb liverpool fans are if they can’t recognize that fergie’s signings are mostly quality and manuel’s are mostly average.
19. February 16, 2009 at 16:34

    Ricky says:

    Just to make sure we take all variables into account.

    Prize Money??

    In the seasons that Rafa has been manager for Champions League.

    2005 – Winners – 31Million
    2006 – Last 16 – 13Million
    2007 – Losing Finalists – 26Million
    2008 – Semi Finalists – 17 Million
    2009 – Last 16 – Minimum 15 Million

    Add that up and erm… that comes too….

    £102 Million. European prize Money….
    Changes things a bit I think..
20. February 16, 2009 at 16:48

    Valentine_80 says:

    Utd have brought in more players than that!!
21. February 16, 2009 at 16:56

    Mike says:

    Statistics, damned statistics and just plain lies!

    I will concede that the figures quoted are correct. However Benitez needed a complete overhaul of his squad, Ferguson had been building his squad for over a decade prior. Because Ferguson only needed to add a few additional players (13 in 5 years) that averages £13 million per player. Whereas Benitez needed to play catch up so brought in over 50 players at an average of only £3 million per player.
    The fact is Benitez needed to hit the floor running and adjust to the Premiership immediately (hence buying players not suitable to the premiership) yet Ferguson was allowed 7years of failure before turning it around for United. When Ferguson retires do you think the board will allow his successor 7 years to rebuild before starting to get it right?
    No manager today is given time like Ferguson has had, its a different era from when he began his career at United. If Ferguson was appointed manager today, based on his early track record he would have been sacked within the first 2 years just like Scolari, Jol, Ramos etc.
    So overall i think Benitez is doing a great job compared to the early years of Ferguson.
22. February 16, 2009 at 16:58

    Anon says:

    More importantly, i think you can calculate the CURRENT WORTH of the players we have bought over the last half a decade. Let me assure you that 75% of our players would have higher net worth in the market (even post calc. for inflation etc) than any Dipper. I mean, Ronny on his own back could bring our net spending on players to negative. While Robbie Keane’s value went DOWN by 5 or so million pounds, in just 5 months!
23. February 16, 2009 at 17:01

    Anon says:

    Mike, Ferguson took a mid level team to the Champions they are right now in those seven years.
    Benitez already had a top 4 club at his disposal, yet he has managed to win nothing of note bar a CL. So your points don’t really add up!
24. February 16, 2009 at 17:04

    North Stand,Tier 3,Back Row says:

    Mike, answer me these honestly…
    Are you happy with Rafa and do you think he is your best bet at winning the league? Do you think that his dealings in the transfer market overall have been good? And do you think he has been waffling and ranting a bit too much the last month or so?
25. February 16, 2009 at 17:06

    gotta hate tiny tears says:

    EVERYBODY SING
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDOWztrFZ6E&feature=channel_page
26. February 16, 2009 at 17:08

    jon says:

    don’t forget the £10m we got from john obi mikel
    difference down to £14.2
27. February 16, 2009 at 17:15

    Rafalution19 says:

    how bias… you united fans are useless and more obsessed with our club than you are with yours:

    Can i ask, why do are you not taking into account the 10 mill you spent on Carlos “the tazmanian devil” Tevez? and the 30 you’ll need to pay just to secure his services? hahaha lets just leave that out why dont we! and besides the point… as a manager, surely you’d need more funds to build your own competitive squad. Fergie spent way more than Rafa when it should have been the other way round seen that the former has spend 2 decades at his club. Dont forget, your manager was on the verge of a sacking before he won you anything. He had won nothing at this stage of rafas reign. Point rafa is trying to make is you can sign 20 – 30 mill pound players every season. We’ve done that twice in our history and yet he is keeping our squad competitive. Fergie will keep on spending but the FACT is we are closing the gap and I’ve sensed united fans, players and manager getting nervous about that this season. Maybe that explains your obsession!
28. February 16, 2009 at 17:21

    Mike says:

    Benitez replaced Houllier who was sacked for failing to build a squad capable of competing for the Premiership. So Benitez had to replace that squad with his own squad, with no Prem experience & a budget of only £20-30 million a season, he had a big task ahead. His competition was (is) a well established Arsenal & United team & a Chelsea team with billions to spend. So just to keep in touch with the top teams was difficult, let alone overtaking them. Now that the playing field is abit more level, with both Chelsea and Arsenal in transition and purse strings tightened, the only real competition is the well oiled and established team of United. The fact Liverpool are within touching distance is a credit to Benitez and his Liverpool team.
29. February 16, 2009 at 17:26

    EastStandManc says:

    Look at it this way Scousers, would you rather have had as short a list of incoming players as United if the quality was equal, if not better, or that massive list you have of mediocrity?

    You’s should’ve spent your money wisely on one or two quality signings like Mascherano and Torres each season rather than 6 or 7 “could-be’s” .

    Don’t let me get in the way of you defending Rafa, though. The longer he stays, the better.
30. February 16, 2009 at 17:34

    seff says:

    First of all a certain Carlos Tevez (30m) somehow failed to make your list. He’s been on your books for 2 seasons now and fact you have yet to actually pay the 30m is just because of the whole Brazillian MSI saga. he’s been a more than integral part of your team and as such has to be accounted for. The fact that the writer neglected to account for him questions the entire article. And i spotted that just by glancing at the list. I’m sure that if someone was to dig deeper more “inaccuracies” will surface..

    And how is it that since 2004 you only got 13 players and let 40 go? either the list is again, “Inaccurate”, or it would mean Ferguson spent heavy in previous seasons, in which case taking 2004 as the starting point for all calculations will never truly provide the prospective the writer was aiming for.

    plain numbers just don’t tell the whole story. 7/13 of the players you bought are proven stars worth anywhere between 15m-30m. That’s a luxury benitez never had. he mostly had to go for cheap players with whom its always more of a gamble. And in that case, which players did Ferguson buy on the cheap and turn into stars? Kleberson? Tim Howard? Djemba-Djemba? and in that respect two out of the three players worth over 15m that Benitez bought are Mascherano (17m) whos is far better than Hargreaves or Carrick will even be, and Torres whom none of Utd’s 30m a pop trio come close to.

    Benitez has made much more with much less, and has closed most of the huge gap Utd had over us in under five years. Ferguson didn’t even come close to that when he was trying to close the gap Liverpool had over Utd in the Dalglish days.

    And to cap things off, how can anyone even question Liverpool inability to compete with Man U in the transfer market?? you have to be a total fool to do that, or be someone with a clear ‘hidden’ agenda (hint, hint).
31. February 16, 2009 at 17:44

    North Stand,Tier 3,Back Row says:

    You didnt answer the questions Mike. I’ll assume by your answer that you’re happy with him, but what about the rest of the questions?
32. February 16, 2009 at 17:52

    BigRed says:

    Diego Forlan (£2m)
    Eric Djemba-Djemba (£1.35)
    Kleberson (£2.5m)
    Quinton Fortune (Free)
    Ruud van Nistelrooy (£11m)
    Alan Smith (£6m)
    Gabriel Heinze (£8m)
    Mikael Silvestre (£750k)
    Louis Saha (Undisclosed)

    Apart from Heinze and Smith, all sold for less than brought
33. February 16, 2009 at 17:54

    Tunnelboy says:

    Mike, firstly thanks for coming on with reasoned arguments and not the usual dipper/bitter drivel! However, the point of the article is that your spending is more or less on a par with us thereby proving the FSW’s statement is ridiculous. Also, 50+ players in less than 5 years is some overhaul dont you think?? And Houliers side weren’t exactly relgation material either
34. February 16, 2009 at 17:57

    notoriousddt says:

    Rafa’s far from cracking up, he’s just taking the heat off his players and deflecting it onto himself, albeit in a slightly more unorthodox manner than most other managers!

    Although you technically haven’t paid the cash for him yet, United have also had a £38 million player playing for them for the last 2 years, which considerably strengthens their squad too but isn’t showing up in your statistics. Add Tevez’s value in and your stats will be skewed a bit more…
35. February 16, 2009 at 18:15

    DantheMan says:

    As a Liverpool fan i can remember when Fergie took over at Utd. Fergie’s number one priority when he took over was to “fu**ing knock Liverpool off their fu**ing perch”. With Liverpool STILL Englands most successful club in terms of trophies, does that mean if he retires in a few years with that still the case, will his reign as Utd boss be regarded as a failure?? Liverpool will still be “on their fu**ing perch” after all.

    Any idiot whoever they support can see how much Benitez has improved Liverpool. Each season they have closed the gap on the eventual league winners..Im not saying he is without faults because he is, but the club has progressed in each of the seasons that he has been there.

    For what its worth i thought the timing of his ‘rant’ against Utd was poor. It was hardly a keegan-esque rant, so a lot of Utd are getting carried away. What he said was absolutely spot on and simply said what hundreds of people within the game havent had the courage to say. However Fergie’s allegiance is to Utd and he will do whatever it takes to make sure Utd win. There is no doubt whatsoever that he intimidates referees, the F.A, but this should be to Fergie’s credit. He is simply doing his best for Man Utd to be successful. Benitez should have kept quiet and took it as the biggest backhanded compliment that could possibly be given out.

    Alex Ferguson was a Mark Robins goal away from being sacked, and look how things turned out after that. Sacking Benitez would set the club back years..Like i said earlier, some of his transfer dealings have been terrible but even Sir Alex has dropped some major bo**ocks in that respect.

    In regards to Rafa not spending 18-20m plus on players, its only now that these sort of players can see that Liverpool are a club going places and competing for major honours. Torres would never have signed when Rafa took over in 2004. Man Utd were very fortunate and very clever to flourish just as all the money came into the game in 1992. They realised the game was changing, especially the financial side of it. As a result they were able to expand Old Trafford, increase merchandising, which ultimately leads to more money and the constant breaking of transfer records (Keane, Cole, Van Nistelrooy, Veron ,Rooney, Berbatov etc).

    Liverpool have been playing catch up on the field, but not as much as they have off the field. Liverpools marketing and merchandising is absolutely abysmal and we are ran by a chief executive who is too busy getting goalkeeping practice at the academy, whilst David Gill is out in Asia whoring the club to new sponsors. (not a criticism by the way of Utd).

    As much as it may hurt most Liverpool fans, it is Utd who the club should be looking to emulate off the field and on it.
36. February 16, 2009 at 18:16

    Mike says:

    He comes across as being frustrated by the political wranglings in the boardroom. Clearly if he was able to splash £30+ million on one player like Ferguson has done plenty of times then he would be happier. Sometimes when you have to settle for your 2nd/3rd choice player because they are cheaper or because the CEO prefers it they dont work out as you would like.
    Is he our best bet to win the title? Yes he is, because if you look at other top managers like Scolari, Ramos, Jol, Raneiri etc they have all failed badly, at least Benitez is within touching distance. Maybe in May we will be champions, either way i fully expect us to have more points than in previous seasons, this is progress surely?
37. February 16, 2009 at 18:20

    Jamiesdad says:

    Scholseyboy ur Republic of manurier came on our news portal mate and as 4 fergie knockin us of our perch kid i think George Graham got in there first.
38. February 16, 2009 at 18:26

    chris2827 says:

    Great stats on the liverpool incomings and goings i think you got almost everyone there.

    Funny thing is you missed alot of Man U players signed, they may be kids but there were signed for big money, unlike the kids you mention in the Liverpool player list. You include the kids in players sold and lets have them on both sides of the list

    Also worth considering the better squad beforehand allowing man u to sell at higher prices
39. February 16, 2009 at 18:34

    old trafford faithful says:

    yo mike … is this all you scousers can do ??? always making excuses.. learning from ur manager now?? and as for u guys not havin the cash to splurge aint our fault now is it??
40. February 16, 2009 at 18:38

    King Eric says:

    Mike – “Clearly if he was able to splash £30+ million on one player like Ferguson has done plenty of times then he would be happier. ” Come on pal you are clutching at straws. Ok maybe not thirty million but he spent 20 on Keane and look what happened there. Completely fucked the bloke up and knocked all his confidence. He is a straight fool and if you dippers can’t see that then what does it say about you?
41. February 16, 2009 at 18:42

    King Eric says:

    “Mike – Maybe in May we will be champions, either way i fully expect us to have more points than in previous seasons, this is progress surely?”

    This is exactly the attitude with you dippers. Happy to settle for second (or third or fourth) best. The reason United fans are sounding arrogant is because 3 months ago this site was inundated with your deluded lot saying how you were gonna win the league and United were looking poor etc etc. Even had mugs on here comparing the squads and concluding how yours was so much better. All of a sudden you all go quiet.
42. February 16, 2009 at 18:44

    dave_pistol says:

    benitez looks like lionel richies dick
43. February 16, 2009 at 18:49

    dave_pistol says:

    i fuckin hate liverpool fans, whenever the argument comes up between a manc and a dipper it always ends in “18 – 5″ they cant take the fact they’ve been second rate for nearly 20 years! i’m happy benitez is there fucking them up the sausage jockey cunt
44. February 16, 2009 at 18:52

    DanS says:

    Nice post Scott. Excellent research on players bought and sold.
45. February 16, 2009 at 18:56

    sanj says:

    cally, this is a UNITED blog. your manager and players talk obessively about united and scott defends united, mostly because the fat spanish waiter pulls facts out of his ass. you’re on OUR blog, commenting on OUR articles, that concern OUR team… you’re the pathetic one.

    “Yeah, I mean we could have whole blogs dedicated to your manager’s every utterance in the media…”

    you’re right, you COULD, but sir alex doesn’t rant about you sad little dippers because after all, we’ve already knocked you off your fucking perch.
46. February 16, 2009 at 19:16

    ฺBGreen says:

    completely non-sense

    United bought only 13 players since summer 2004??? Did ManU get Rafael and Fabio for free? If it’s free, then you should say so. No other players ManU bought for reserves during these 4-5 years? That’s very weird!!

    While you claimed that Liverpool bought 49 players… including all reserve players bought in… So this guy just said that ManU hasn’t really bought any reserve players during the past 4 years. Yeah, right!!
47. February 16, 2009 at 19:29

    sparq says:

    You are a biased d*ck head.
    As I stated in you original blog….

    You’ve included everone of Rafa’s signings over the past 4 years, 25 of which are for the Academy.

    Like I said before, why have you yet again refused to accept you deliberately left out your other signings.

    Your youth signings and Academy signings.

    You also again have failed to include the £10 million plus you’ve spent on Tevez’s registration. Whever he’s your player or not, you’ve still spent over £10 million on him.

    As I pointed out earlier, just 3 players you left out,

    Ben Forster £1 million, and The Silva twins £2.6 Million each and you nearly add £6.5 Million to that total.

    Add the other 18-20 players on top of that and we’ll have a more realistic and accurate picture.

    Muppet !
48. February 16, 2009 at 19:43

    sparq says:

    Also
    Why Include players you’ve sold, who were at the club way before the 4 year period Benitez has been at the club.

    After all, all the players you’ve sold, Fergusson bought.

    By the same judgement, not all players sold were Benitez’s signings.

    You can distort you facts and figures all you want, go to this bloggers original blog to compare Ferguson V Rafa as managers over the past 7 years. Rafa wins hands down.

    That is why this bitter twisted, distorter of facts has started this parallel blog, to hide the truth that Rafa is indeed a great Manager !

    SParq
49. February 16, 2009 at 20:39

    King Eric says:

    Fuck off Sparq you are the muppet. Open your eyes and you will see that Scott has indeed mentioned Foster or Forster as you say.

    “That is why this bitter twisted, distorter of facts has started this parallel blog, to hide the truth that Rafa is indeed a great Manager !” Fuck off you twat, do you really believe this? You must be as mad as the Fat Spanish Waiter!
50. February 16, 2009 at 20:42

    TG4Utd says:

    Scott – you left out the money we recouped from Obi wank anobi going to Chelski. Add that one in and the difference in net spending is bugger all.
51. February 16, 2009 at 20:53

    sparq says:

    As I said King Eric,
    There is nothing to fear but fear it’s self.

    The fact you have to swear is testiment to your fear of us.

    I was referring to the poster’s original blog, no Foster there, just as he’s again failed to rise to the challenge, only mentioning 13 transfers in 4 years.

    Are all you Man United fans, (or is it just you) that actually believe United have sold 40 players ( some even longer than 4 years ago )and yet bought just 13 players in.

    You do the Maths….Dufuss.

    And yes the Fat Spanish Waiter as you put it, is the one to take Liverpool forward.

    Progress every year. He’s turned a 30 plus points deficit, in to single figures. Who knows, we may even end up with the Premiership come May. One thing is for sure, Benitez will knock United off their perch, maybe not this season, but it’s going to happen.

    The only question is whether Benitez can follow Alex Ferguson and keep it going for many, many years.

    Sparq
52. February 16, 2009 at 21:11

    King Eric says:

    This discussion ends now, you are clearly insane.
53. February 16, 2009 at 21:24

    klure says:

    Did you forget about the sale of Mikel to Chelsea? Big money earned
54. February 16, 2009 at 21:50

    vidic will get ya15 says:

    sparq fuck off you deluded wanker, top of the league and thats a fact
55. February 16, 2009 at 21:52

    Cockknocker says:

    Story, good research, yeah my ass. Somehow you forgot Gabriel Heinze being bought for 6.9 mill and Alan Smith for 7 mill, so there’s another 14 mill spent by fergie, but what’s 14 mill between friends, are you like Roman there, it’s only a drop in the ocean. Facts are Facts, at least try and get them right, it’s a bit like what’s six minutes of extra time when there should hardly of been two (Sheffield Wednesday at OT to help secure PL, anyone) OT may well host the next Stevie wonder impersonation contest.
56. February 16, 2009 at 21:56

    husseyin says:

    you are talking about a manager who has already built his team vs a manager who had to Clear an old squad, so the comparisons are not comparable. FACT.
57. February 16, 2009 at 21:58

    Rafas-Rant says:

    Fuck me you worked hard on that list mate!
58. February 16, 2009 at 22:00

    Jake says:

    well done on the research Scott, most of my Liverpool mates think Benitez is living in a fantasy land too, bit of a shame that Republik of Mancunia only seems to attract the unhinged margins of LFC’s support…
59. February 16, 2009 at 22:02

    Scott the Red says:

    Sean – Chelsea bought Shevchenko and Ashley Cole in the summer before we won the league. Buying a £30m striker is dropping off with the spending? Moron.
60. February 16, 2009 at 22:02

    Whiteside10 says:

    There’s always one…
    I usually enjoy the banter amongst Arsenal & Chelsea fans that come on this site, while most Liverpool fans can make me laugh with some of the shite they come up with… Step forward Mr Sparq.
    Firstly, I was quaking in me boots to learn that all United fans are scared of Liverpool’s challenge for the league this year – there was silly ol’ me thinking United was in danger of turning this race into a procession… And as for BeneathUs hanging about to forge a new scouse dynasty, I’d be surprised if he’s on these shores in five years time, let alone 20. He’s come out earlier effectively saying that he wants to manage Real Madrid – I think his words were it would be “the icing on the cake” (and he would know – he’s eaten enough of them)…
    Anyway, I couple of points I’d like to add. Firstly, all this debate about money. I mentioned earlier about fans of some other teams joining in here, and I wondered what Arsenal fans thought of his whinges that he doesn’t have enough money. And before anyone mentions that Arsenal haven’t won anything in four years, Wenger has still managed to build a team that have gone though the season unbeaten, won two league titles in the last six years – all with a fraction of what Rafa’s spent, as well as playing a brand of footy that’s pleasing on the eye – summat that can’t ever have been said of Rafa’s teams… So it can be done – it’s just that Rafa’s a defensive-minded coach…
    And can I also add that the money spent on a player doesn’t alway equate to their quality… take for example Ryan Babel. Cost £11.5mill. Cristiano Ronaldo? £12.8mill. Is there only a million quid’s difference in quality? Course not…. And as for getting one pound 35p for the Djemba twins – Villa were hard done by!!! Only joking, Scott! Good article…
61. February 16, 2009 at 22:03

    Its in my blood says:

    Sparq- you dick head, your complaints should be directed at the hospital where FSW had his recent op. A nurse repeatedly asked him to provide a sample bottle to no avail. Just before his op he said in his FSW english” i have a full bottle in front of me “. Sadly for him he received a full frontal lobotomy. FACT!
62. February 16, 2009 at 22:21

    BrisbaneRed says:

    Benitez will never win the EPL. He doesn’t know enough about football. As I’ve said many times, when SG finishes his playing career, he’ll be ‘Pool’s best post-war home-grown player never to have won the title.
    Any ‘Pool fan who thinks Benitez has the core of a title winning team at Anfield must be completely deluded. Even if Benitez had £150m to spend on new players – which he’ll never have considering his woeful record in the transfer market – he would not be capable of creating a title winning team. He’s been at Anfield for 5 years and there isn’t a decent full back there in spite of them buying several. In fact I don’t think there’s anyone at Anfield who really knows and understands the role of the full back in modern day football.
    The whole club are out of touch with reality as are many of their fans. In fact the way things are going UTD could have won 30 championship titles before ‘Pool win their next one.
63. February 16, 2009 at 22:26

    Jake says:

    all these comparisons are pointless because we’ll never get through to those that don’t want to listen…I would like to say that for me the only things that guide my opinon of Benitez is firstly his personalised and irrational attacks on other managers and teams…Teams sometimes Ferguson has been guilty of but never enough to have the other manager feeling the need to respond in the next match…managers, well there was some stuff with Wenger but it was never irrational and never personal..they’re quite amicable now, can’t see that ever happening after what Benitez has said about Ferguson…Finally, team selection, with Ferguson twice a season I might call it right, god knows how many times I call it wrong…I watched Liverpool about four times within a few weeks recently and I think I called every occasion right whilst Benitez didn’t…things like playing just one striker against an Everton team with none….mystery … Lucas….mystery… the point is I have nothing to do with Premiership football and never will have but I can give a better team selection more times than the man that works with these players all week…that tells me he is a poor manager. In defence of the idiot, he’d fucked up so royally against Portsmouth that he had to change it which is something the stubborn plantpot rarely does so there might be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for Liverpool fans…but I doubt it, he seems a bit thick…things like coming out when Gerrad got his hamstring injury and blaming the media and other people saying he should be played all the time for why he played him in that game…great leadership
64. February 17, 2009 at 00:14

    seanmc26 says:

    Liverpool fans are only getting used to caring how their team does in the league for years it was fuck it i dont mind once united dont win. And for all you dippers when chelsea won the league SAF was building his 4th great team. The difference is he has the mix of big signs and youth players perfect, liverpool squad was so good up until 2 months ago now where the fuck is your squad try winning matches when 11 players that would walk in to most teams are injured NOW FUCK OFF to liverpoolfc.tv or whatever stone you lot slide out of
65. February 17, 2009 at 00:16

    Liam says:

    I don’t know why we are all complaining about Rafa. I, as a United fan, am delighted with his management of ‘Pool. I hope he stays for 20 years. I hope he gets his big budget too so that he can have no complaints when he loses again

    3 in a row – May 2009 it’s coming
66. February 17, 2009 at 00:33

    Mic says:

    Anyone noticed ever since Rafa started changing the Liverpool squad more and more they’ve not won anything? The first season and the CL win had like 2 of his own player, since he’s added the team haven’t really got better bar Torres. Rafa didn’t need to change as much as he has done, ever since he got his hands on the Liverpool team he’s wanted he’s done sod all with them. I can’t help but think Gerrard maturing and getting better coincides with Liverpool doing better in the league.

    I love how Liverpool fans come onto a United board to tell them we’re obsessed, obviously missing the irony.
67. February 17, 2009 at 00:33

    chrisw says:

    What really leaps out from these figures is that United have concentrated their spending on a small number of expensive players and Liverpool have spread their money on a large number of cheap and mid-price players.

    Benitez’ philosophy has been to amass a large squad of good professionals (but not big stars) and constantly rotate to keep them fresh. Ferguson has a smaller squad and much less rotation with a few big name players who nearly always play. No prizes for guessing which strategy has worked best when it comes to winning the Premiership.

    United make more money than Liverpool but they rarely spend it all on the team. Pre-Glazers the money just piled up in the bank or was paid out in dividends. Post Glazers it goes to pay of the interest.
68. February 17, 2009 at 00:37

    oohaahcantona88 says:

    Winning that European Cup in 2005 was a blessing in disguise because as now seems likely Sir Rafa Benitez will be granted an extended stay of execution for up to a further 5 years! This is brilliant news. Lets hope he wins the Uefa Cup next season then that will give him an extra 4 or 5 years.

    Lets face facts, the only trophy these Liverpool fans really want is the one that has sat in our Trophy Cabinet 10 times since they last won it (I’m not differentiating between the old first division championship and the Premier League however much Sky would have me believe, and however much it would actually increase the Liverpool premier league trophy abyss)

    I just can’t understand how the Liverpool board could reason that Rafa Benitez has done a good job. Some of you dippers help me out?
69. February 17, 2009 at 00:47

    united24/7 says:

    listen im sick of listenen to you scousers talk shit for fuck knows how long i mean what the fuck have you won the last 18 years?a european cup…..ok but thats it really and you seem proud of that!im not surprised givin your high standards…the truth is you are no were near united and as long as that smelly peter kay with a goatie look alike stays at anfield then that wont change.you got 3 great players in torres and gerrard and carragher(scouse tramps)but thats it the rest are wasters.grow the fuck up and stop telling us about all this shit you won when the beatles were about.united have been the best team in england for the last 17 years and that is FACT(ask benitez)oh and one more thing why do you wear rockport shoes with a tracksuit i mean that is fucking rare but its ok lads as retards can get away with it.
70. February 17, 2009 at 01:21

    swissred says:

    to be honest, i’d first like to know: where is the point in discussing about who spends how much on players? i mean the statistics above are quite interesting to read but that’s it, you cannot build an opinion from it… there are still players with undisclosed fees, loans, player salaries… incomes from other sources than transfers or “abramovichs”.
    for me the only statistic that means anything is the number of silverware won. and nobody could argue that there united are far better off than pool in recent years…
    c’mon let him get as crazy as he likes, as long as we take all the trophies from him, i’m fine
71. February 17, 2009 at 01:50

    Marq says:

    ya, let the dippers remain bitters. we jus enjoy the show ahead. hope rafa stays thou, he’s good for a laugh
72. February 17, 2009 at 05:02

    Laos Red says:

    Swissred, totally agreed.

    I for one can give a shitless how much money Fergie spends on transfers as long as the money is earned through the Club’s success. Fergie is simply spending the money that the club has ‘earned’ and made available to him. And if not for Fergie, United probably wouldn’t have earned as much as they did.

    Unlike Rafa, Fergie never needed to single out the owners for not providing money to buy players.

    The owners never had any trouble providing the money to Fergie because the club is generating so much income. Just think about it, how can United manage to spend $ on recent players despite the club being in a huge debt and an unstable global economy? United never needed a sugar-daddy like a few of our ‘blue x 2’ rivals have, and probably never will. Thanks to the fantastic youth talent which Fergie has acquired/developed over the years.

    You dippers need to get it through your thick heads that we are in no way obsessed with your circus. This article is in response to the FSW flapping his yap about us. And thank you Scott for using actual Facts, and not made up ones. It’s just logical argument really, if you knew what it was.

    Its sort of childish to drag someone into a debate/argument, than label the person ‘obsessed’ when that person is simply setting the record straight.

    If you can’t handle the heat, than don’t start the fire.

    Now jog on and restrain yourselves from committing violence…..
73. February 17, 2009 at 05:40

    dazjoe says:

    How the fuck did Rafa have to rebuild an entire squad like? In 2002 Liverpool finished runners up with a team containing the like’s of Owen, Hamann, Carragher, Hypia, Gerrard, Dudek, and Riise. The basis of a title team was there, Benitez just had to tinker slightly, instead he made massive changes and bought a load of shite in. And as for rebuilding, how many world class players has Ferguson had to replace over the years? Schmeichel, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Stam, Ince, Keane, Kanchelskis, Beckham, Yorke, Hughes, Cole, Solksjaer, Sheringham, V.Nistelrooy, Cantona. He just gets on with bringing in new players to replace old, no bother, but when the fat cunt has to, it’s different somehow?
74. February 17, 2009 at 06:38

    Anon says:

    The word “fact” has clearly made a big impact in scouse-land it seems! is it just me, or is it the every second word that these urchins seem to using?!
75. February 17, 2009 at 08:36

    Red Ranter says:

    Just to make the stats more accurate, you are missing the da Silva twins who cost a combined £5.2m + Davide Petrucci £200,000.

    Even then we still are marginally better off overall than Liverpool and have more trophies of significance than them, since 2004.
76. February 17, 2009 at 09:19

    daveob82 says:

    @ sparq

    26 of the 40 players sold came through the youth team….. We unlike you have an excellent academy. Hence this year we have brought through Evans, Cambell, Wellbeck, Gibson…. all in one season…. Who have you brought through?? I won’t count the likes of the Da Silvas, Petrucci, Macheda, Possebon because I know that you will start trying to complicate things regarding transfer fees even if they are amounts such as 200k….. I am going to keep it nice and simple for you..

    Its like a school.. when one class of 30 leaves there is another one waiting there to replace it… THATS HOW WE SELL 40 PLAYERS YOU CLOWN

    Personally I hope that the Liverpool Board sorts out his contract……
    (A) It gives average players a chance to be signed by a premiership team….
    (B) It gives the whole league a good laugh at this clearly unstable manager of yours.
    (C) It will keep you lot dreaming of winning the league, won’t happen but I guess you need something….

    He is a cup manager because he is gets his teams to sit behind the ball get a goal and then defend that goal…..

    We may have won a lot of games 1-0 this season but that is nothing to do with us defending and then countering…. It has to do with the fact that every team we play, parks their Bus in the box for 90 minutes…….
    I hope you lot come to OT and try to play football!!!!!
77. February 17, 2009 at 10:16

    Chris Ant says:

    We also made £12 million on Jon Obe Mikel so its only £12.4 million difference between United and Liverpool transfers
78. February 17, 2009 at 10:47

    North Stand,Tier 3,Back Row says:

    Some of the scouse comments on here are pure deluded. Ive waded through the shite, and had to comment on a couple of issues.
    First off, to the scouse twat that said when United beat Sheff Wed in 1993 that the injury time should of been 2 mins instead of 6 mins (it was actually 7 mins), do your research. The referee actually went off with an injury in the 2nd half, and the linesman became the ref, and a 4th official came in as lines man, that took about 3 mins alone, the rest is made up by the other injuries that occur druing a game, and the constant time wasting that Chris Woods and the rest of the team were warned about on 3 or occasions (as quoted by the ref himself).
    Some other muppet said that if Fergie retires now, would his tenure be seen as a failure because he didnt knock Liverpool off their ‘fucking perch’ by eclipsing the 18 titles yet… Are you on drugs? The man has built teams thats completely dominated English football for almost the last two decades, like ye used to do, hence he replaced ye at the top of the footballing tree with us, thats what he meant. I doubt even Fergie thought he would go on and win 10 or more league titles in the next 20 odd years.

    And to the other scouser that states that Mascherano is better than Hargreaves or Carrick? No chance. He is a very good defensive midfielder, but he isnt a patch of the footballer of the other two. He breaks up attacks, but offers nothing with the ball. He cant pass (apart from the 10 yard sideways pass), he cant score, and he offers nothing going forward. Hence why ye struggle to break teams down, especially at home. When the opposition dont attack, he becomes null and void. Alonso, on form is excellent and you could try argue his case, but not for that Argie rat.
79. February 17, 2009 at 11:06

    AZY says:

    in the end liverpool = shit

    its sadder for liverpool fans to visit a united blog.
    coz they cant win week in week out..
    enjoy the trophies that comes in every season to united.

    liverpool baboon fans still lives in the past… people dont aknowledges and respect a team that isnt the current cream of the crop.

    infact why dont you celbrate your last league trophies…woooo go liverpool its been more then a decade since we won the league

    while at united
    THE CURRENT CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND
    CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE
    CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

    we will celebrate till the end
    and FACT: the trophies are staying at old trafford.

    F U C K LIVERPOOL……
80. February 17, 2009 at 11:37

    ahmadd z says:

    funny they say united are obbesed..

    rafas obsessed with united, talking about us week in week out..
    so does caragher evry month or so visiting the united is better then liverfool train.
81. February 17, 2009 at 14:22

    malx316 says:

    Can anybody name the team when Benitez took change as lets face it apart from Carrager, Hypia, Gerrard and Owen the team was poor and apart from these four the team had no assets where as United had a team and more worth 5-20million per player.
82. February 17, 2009 at 15:45

    Liam says:

    So you call Keane, Howard, Fortune, P. Neville, Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher, O’Shea, G. Neville all 5-20m players? There were also Solsjaer who cost about 5m and I’m sure there are some that I’m forgetting. Shut up please. Ferguson has had to rebuild his team from when he finished 3rd in the league (notice how that is seen as a failure). I’d like to see the wages that those 50- odd players amassed before they were shipped out. Would probably make the figures a whole lot more interesting…
83. February 17, 2009 at 16:14

    suhayl says:

    ahhhhhhhh…seriously you could have a field day with these delude muppets. And blimey ive posted 100′s of comments myself down the last few months. but is it worth me posting them again and again, only for the dippers to become quite or start ranting like their fat spanish waiteress.

    naaaaa dont think its worth it…

    cos dippers = deluded.

    …me phones ringing..some scouser wanting to sell me some knocked off dvd players….typical dippers never learn..never change there colours
84. February 17, 2009 at 17:20

    sparq says:

    Talking about it’s like school.
    My point is, like school, here’s a maths lesson for you,

    Silva twins (That’s 2 players £5.2 Million (2.6m * 2)
    Foster …………………………£1 Million
    equals………………………….£6.2 Million

    So 3 players cost £6.2 million.

    With this logic, how much do the other 20 odd players your blogger deliberately left out cost ?

    Again no mention to tevez’s £10 Million registration fee.
    (Oh, we don’t own him, so obviously we haven’t spent £10 million on him) But your accounts beg to differ.

    My point Morons, just how much money has Taggot (Fergie) spent in the last 4 years compare to FSW ?

    Not 1 of you so called fans can actually tell the blogger this, he hasn’t a clue either. So once again Can anyone actually come up with a true comparison ?

    This was the sole reason for you idiots bein on this forum in the 1st place. so stop ducking out of this argument and answer the question…….

    Or admit defeat yet again and start a new parallel thread….yet again.

    sparq
85. February 17, 2009 at 17:24

    North Stand,Tier 3,Back Row says:

    Sparq, seriously, will you just fuck off ya annoying sad scouse bastard…
86. February 17, 2009 at 17:55

    Stephen says:

    Thats a very funny Taggart/Fergie gag, worth logging on for just for that, will tell my mates that one.
87. February 17, 2009 at 18:29

    dozer says:

    LIVERPOOL HAVE SPENT MORE THAN US

    http://transferleague.co.uk/
88. February 17, 2009 at 18:49

    sanj says:

    “According to the excellent and thorough TransferLeague.co.uk, since Benitez took charge of Liverpool in 2004, he has spent an impressive £215,490,000 on players, receiving £98,030,000. Our rudimentary maths tells us that amounts to a net spend of the not inconsiderable sum of £117,460,000.

    If one is to be fair – and we are nothing if not fair – one should knock off the £14million paid for Djibril Cisse in 2004, as that was Gerard Houllier’s deal, but even then Rafa’s net spend tots up to £103,460,000.

    By way of comparison, those big money bullies Chelsea have a net spend of £131,150,000 in that time, while Manchester United – the trampling behemoths cited by Rafa – have splashed £93,300,000.

    Simples.”
89. February 17, 2009 at 18:58

    old trafford faithful says:

    All you fuckin scouse muppets should realize we on top and your manager is a fat spanish wank who pulls figures outta steven fuckin gerrard’s ass … and SIR ALEX is the best manager ever and dun compare ur shite manager to the greatest manager of all times
90. February 17, 2009 at 20:20

    EastStandManc says:

    Let’s get this clear:

    Net Spends since 2004 (according to TransferLeague.co.uk):

    Chelski: £131,150,000
    Liverpool: £103,460,000
    United: £93,300,000

    Even if we include Tevez’ loan fees at £10m as Sparq so desperately wants, we’ve still spent less.
91. February 17, 2009 at 21:09

    sparq says:

    SanZ and Dozer, you are morons.

    1st In this original article the total amount is higher than the reported £169 Million on the so called “excellent transferleague.co.uk”

    2nd transferleague figures only go up to July, you Di*k heads.

    On that point United are missing the £20 Million Plus spent in January, never mind the fact Liverpool didn’t buy anyone and yet sold Robbie Keane for £13 – £15 million.

    You lot are so obsessed with Liverpool.

    You compile a list of Rafa Benitez’s players bought over the last 4 years, you then add up the cost, and deduct the amount recouped via players he’s sold in the same period. (Thats’s not Obsessive now, is it….Not much)

    I repeatedly challenge you fu+k wits to make amends for your b*ll sh*t list of players that Taggot (Fergie) has bought over the same 4 year period.

    Guess what, not 1 of your shower of sh*t supporters can provide the correct list……Here’s a clue, it’s more than the 13 on your pathetic web site…….I even provided 3 other names for you…..And Guess what, it’s more than 16 players too.

    Shall I do it for you,

    Reluctantly I would, just to prove a point, but to be quite honest, I really (we Liverpool fans) don’t give a sh*t about Man United.
    Envious of the past 10 years or so, hell yes. But not so obsessed that We would sing about you every week.

    You’ve been doing it for years.

    I just love winning arguments / debates against you closet Obsessed Liverpool fans.

    Last and final chance then, can anyone of you “brain dead, can’t understand a question or a challenge retarded Man United fans” actually produce the List of Players (Complete list, Youth, Reserve Laby Boy Brazillian’s ect.)

    There are loads of you, I am just one annoying, but know what ‘am talking about Liverpool fan, surely between you, you can muster an IQ of above 30, and produce an accurate list to compare against Benite’s 51 players bought and 55 players sold.

    Thought not, so fu*k Off !
92. February 17, 2009 at 21:28

    sanj says:

    “Reluctantly I would, just to prove a point, but to be quite honest, I really (we Liverpool fans) don’t give a sh*t about Man United.”

    hahahahaha- mate, look how many times you’ve posted on a united blog.
93. February 17, 2009 at 21:28

    King Eric says:

    Oh no not you again. did you not learn anything last night? The reason we “braindead” (I would rather be brain dead than scouse) aren’t providing you with accurate figures is probably because we really don’t care all that much. We know what the figures are but its the Silverware that really matters, surely? We don’t sing about you because we are obsessed we just like taking the piss out of you dippers and winding you up and it sure works. Have you not noticed that not ONE other dipper has backed you up pal, testament to the fact they are probably embarrased by you. Its Taggert not Taggot.

    Please just fuck off!
94. February 17, 2009 at 22:46

    Liam says:

    The fact that you think that we made a list of Rafa’s purchases underlines your stupidity. Do they not have google and copy and paste facilities in Liverpool?

    Noticing how you keep going on about the Da Silva twins and Foster(who is mentioned in the OP), why not include the 12m that we made off Obi Mikel? You like to go on about Tevez’ registration fee, would Mascherano’s not cancel that out? But you just stand by Benitez while we take all the trophies, that suits me just fine.
95. February 17, 2009 at 22:49

    Liam says:

    I think these individual purchases should prove a point. Dirk Kuyt (£9m) and Lucas(£5m) cost £3m more than Vidic and Evra
96. February 18, 2009 at 01:48

    Jake says:

    sparq’s not even scouse…he’d give scousers an even worse name if he was…problem you have sparq is that a lot of Liverpool fans I know (some of who are actually scouse) are concerned about Benitez…but I’ve yet to meet a United fan concerned about the title race…conclusion = We are in a far better all-round position than Liverpool and will be for the foreseeable future.
97. February 18, 2009 at 05:24

    Laos Red says:

    Sparq, as hard as it may be, I will try to be nice and avoid using insults.

    Many of us just can’t be bothered searching for your useless figures, because ultimately they are irrelevant. Fortunately we’re all wise enough to realise that no amount of stats and figures will satisfy you, for you will just come up with another excuse to blindly defend your incompetent manager.

    The point of the article is that spending a lot of money DOES NOT equal success. It takes a lot more than money to develop and run a successful club.

    Scott is bringing up these numbers to show that Liverpool’s spending in the recent years has been (more or less) on par with that of United. Yet we’re still light years ahead of your lot. All your manager tries to do is blame his failures on not being able to spend money in transfers (among other things – Man United), when in fact he has been spending a lot of money, (more or less) to the same degree as united.

    It’s just sad to see that there are still a few supporters like yourself that are willing to blindly defend an incompetent manager when being confronted by rival supporters. If you consider yourself a true supporter, than you should open your eyes and realise that even your own supporters are saying the exact same thing we are saying.

    It’s time to wake up and smell the coffee son. The real kings of football have taken the throne, and we are here to stay.
98. February 18, 2009 at 08:43

    klauq says:

    yeah when you give them one hard fact, they will always try to find another excuse.. first they wanted to see the net bought – net sold, and then net wages.. blah blah blah…

    I think you scouse lot should just HANG ON to the fact that you have only 1 season left.. and you are afraid to know THAT 1 fact you still have will be meaningless too. tick tock tick tock

    just deluded.

    “He’s crackin up, he’s crackin up, he’s crackin, Rafa’s crackin up!”
99. February 18, 2009 at 12:05

    Simon Mac says:

    Why do these lists seem to have all of Liverpools Youth purchases on and none of Man UTDs. Also I can’t seem to find Park Ji Sung, Louis Saha, Carlos Tevez (admittedly on loan but you must be paying Jooarbchim something for him) Fabio Da Silva (and his brother) e.t.c. e.t.c. on the MAN U bought list . . . . Come on, if we’re to do a comparison lets make it fair
100. February 18, 2009 at 16:27

     sparq says:

     Hey Gays, sorry Guys, It’s me again..

     Hey Liam, or El Stupido as you should be called from now on.

     1st yes we do have copy and paste facilities on goolge, but luckily we don’t need it. We just get Liverpool obsessed Man ‘Ure fans to complie the list for us (As top of the page, and the only reason you’re reading any of this in the 1st place)

     Now if you we’re to get a new thread started, and call it say….Trophies won in the last 4 years, Benitez V’s Ferguson, I would concede defeat.

     Until then Shut the F@ck up, D:ck head !

     Laos RED,

     Good comments.

     Thank you for not being insulting.

     Remember the Eighties ?
     Remember just before You beat Forrest in the F.A Cup ?

     Remember Chanting “Fergie Out, Fergie Out” also remember singing the good old “Sack The Board, Sack The Board” ?

     Well guess what, luckily for you, the Board stuck with Alex Ferguson.

     He went on to become the Longest serving Premiership Manager, and (Up for debate on another thread, and at a later time) One of the most successful managers in English football, of all time. ( There’s only Bob Paisley and Alex Ferguson to decide between)

     Well I am honest.

     Not all Liverpool fans will agree with me.

     But Benitez has made progress each year at Anfield.

     In his 1st year, we finished a disgusting 31 points behind the Champions.
     You say you’re light years ahead of us.

     I just don’t see it.

     Better than us? Certainly. I’d even say much better than us.

     But at this moment in time, you’re just 2 points ahead of us in the Premiership.

     As I said before (Original thread by Scott the c*nt, sorry RED, the one before he kept ducking my question and so started this one “liverpool-boss-has-cracked-fact” )

     I quoted
     “it’s easier to maintain an already Champions winning team !”

     I still stick by that.

     But whilst in a transitional managing spell at Anfield, Benitez has made steady progress each year.

     Should United win the League this year, Rafa has still improved the team, yet again. Progress each year..

     So excuse me for defending my Team and Manager.

     YNWA

     Sparq
101. February 19, 2009 at 00:34

     Steve says:

     Can anyone give me a link to Rafa’s quotes please?
102. February 20, 2009 at 15:35

     suhayl says:

     typical dippers…deluded like there manager……cerebral problems come to mind