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MAY 31
Liverpool close on
new boss
BBC Sport Online
Liverpool will announce their new coach within the next two weeks,
chief executive Rick Parry said on Monday.
Parry said on Sunday a manager would be in place by the end of June, but
has brought that forward by a fortnight.
That could mean negotiations have begun with either Valencia's Rafael
Benitez or Charlton's Alan Curbishley.
"There will be an announcement about our new manager in two weeks," said
Parry. "Further to that I do not wish to comment on speculation."
Benitez, who led Valencia to the Spanish title and the Uefa Cup this
seaosn, is favourite to replace Gerard Houllier, who was sacked earlier
this month.
But Valencia are fighting to keep their manager, and have offered him a
new contract.
Curbishley, who has been in charge at Charlton since 1991, has also been
tipped to move to Liverpool.
But Jose Mourinho, who has confirmed he is leaving Porto for an unnamed
English club, is likely to choose Chelsea ahead of Anfield.
MAY 30
Owen and Gerrard "furious" with dodgy claims
Kop Talk
Liverpool duo Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard are furious that they are
at the centre of reports which suggests that they are pulling some strings
at Anfield with regards to the appointment of the new manager.
Neither player has made any kind of input as to who should be brought in
despite reports suggesting that they are putting names forward. Obviously
both have opinions like every other member of the squad but they just want
to concentrate on playing football and leave such managerial decisions to
the board.
Speaking to KopTalk this morning, our source said: "Mikey and Stevie are
furious with quotes coming out of Anfield that makes it sound like they
are some kind of prima donnas. Yes they have opinions but so does everyone
associated to the club.
"Both of them are confused as to why the board are trying to paint such a
picture. The only thing they can think of is that the club want supporters
to feel that they undermined Gerard Houllier but that wasn't the case.
"Stevie was close to tears when the news broke that the gaffer had been
sacked and Mikey admitted for the first time that he would now try
delaying signing his new contract until after Portugal."
MAY 30
Parry keen to
appease Reds stars
Ananova
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has revealed Steven Gerrard and
Michael Owen will be consulted over who should replace Gerard Houllier in
the Anfield hotseat.
Owen has admitted he will wait to see who the new boss is before signing a
new contract while Gerrard has also made it known that he is keeping a
close eye on the managerial search.
Parry told the News of the World: "There may be some discussion with them
as far as the new manager is concerned. I don't think a particular player
will be asked to pick a name but I feel it is perfectly realistic to allow
them some input. If whoever comes in has the senior players' respect
they'll have a good start. If they don't it will be tough."
Parry admits he is fearful of both players quitting the club if the Reds
continue to fall short of competing for top honours in the Premiership and
the Champions League.
"It has to be a concern Stevie would be tempted to move away. You have to
be concerned about losing players when you're not successful - and
finishing fourth, for Liverpool, is not successful," quotes The Times.
"While we're not successful you'd be mad to think we don't have issues
with our top players. We can't stop Stevie joining Manchester United or
whomever if he really wants to go.
"That's not to say we wouldn't fight tooth and nail to keep him. We would,
and I've no doubt his greatest desire is to win trophies here. But
ultimately winning trophies - wherever - is what players want.
"I think Stevie and Michael would like to win a League title with
Liverpool, but they have to be convinced we're moving in the right
direction.
"The selection of a new manager is part of the process of keeping them.
Maybe getting rid of players who haven't performed will be as well."
MAY 30
Parry:
Telling GH he was out was hard
By Paul Eaton - LFC Official Website
Rick Parry has admitted telling Gerard Houllier he was leaving as
Liverpool manager was the hardest thing he has ever done.
Houllier's six year reign as Anfield boss came to an end last week when
the Reds announced they had parted company with their manager, and Parry
admits it was an emotional moment when he told Houllier his time at
Liverpool had come to an end.
Parry said: "It was tough but I couldn't fudge it. I just told him:
'Gerard, there is no way of dressing this up. I can't make this sound any
more palatable but this is what the board want'. It was very emotional for
both of us.
"At the start of the season, he asked me: 'Will the board be under
pressure if we finish fifth?' I told him: 'Of course'. He then said: 'You
will tell me early if they want to make a change?' I promised I would let
him know straightaway.
"If there was a surprise, I think Gerard felt a Champions League place was
good enough for him to stay on.
"That was also the perception outside Liverpool but the board felt that
would have been a cop-out - the easy decision but the wrong one.
"It is very sad but the fact we have parted company with Gerard will lift
our fans. He will never come to terms with that, but sadly that is how
many feel."
Parry is now excited by the future under a new Liverpool manager who will
aim to take the Reds forward.
He added: "Once you move to the next chapter it has to be exciting.
Whatever happens, we are not going to make a bad appointment.
"We need to be in the Champions League but the status and stature of the
club is very important. A lot of young up-and-coming managers grew up when
Liverpool were THE team. It is important the new manager understands the
club's tradition but there is a balance.
"You don't want to overplay the 'doing things the Liverpool way' routine.
The heritage of Liverpool in the 70s and 80s was about winning, not
looking back.
"Bill Shankly was an innovator. There wasn't much before he came so we
have 30 years of heritage, not 100 years of marble halls. We want to get
back to the tradition of winning trophies.
"There are enough attractions at Anfield to tempt someone here. There will
be a lot of expectation and pressure on the new manager but I'm confident
this will be a bright new start for Liverpool FC."
MAY 30
Benitez
targets Ayala and Aimar for Anfield revival
By Jason Burt - The Independent
They were handing out ice creams outside the Mestalla stadium in
Valencia on Friday afternoon. It was a farewell gesture, to fans and
assembled journalists, from the 32-year-old striker Juan Sanchez, who has
been released by the Spanish champions after several years of service.
Inside the stadium and the atmosphere was a little chillier, despite the
warm Mediterranean sun.
The final training session of the season was taking place and the air was
not as light as should be expected from a club who had just won their
second league title in three seasons as well as the Uefa Cup. The doors
were closed. Unusually, no one was allowed in. Officially, the reason was
because the coach, Rafael Benitez, was carrying out fitness tests on his
squad before they reassemble on 12 July.
Unofficially, both Benitez and the club's president, Jaime Orti, were in
dark moods. A meeting took place after the session between the Valencia
director Manuel Llorente and Manuel Garcia Quillon, the agent representing
the 44-year-old coach. The topic of conversation was clear: what were
Valencia willing to offer to stop Benitez accepting a lucrative four-year
deal to move to England and coach Liverpool? The fact that such
negotiations took place caused a ripple of alarm back at Anfield.
Orti has a reputation as a no-nonsense chairman. Benitez, despite his
astonishing success in having brought the club their first championship
for 31 years, has twice faced the sack at Valencia.
Initially Llorente offered a two-year contract extension but it was not
enough, not least because it fell far short of the financial terms offered
by Liverpool. Benitez also wanted something more elusive, something
clearly available at the Premiership club. He wanted greater control of
the buying and selling of players and that would mean the removal of the
club's powerful, if abrasive, director of football, Jesus Pitarch. Benitez
has found the relationship intolerable. At the beginning of last season,
after the signing of one player whom he had not asked for, he famously
said: "I wanted a sofa and they bought me a lampshade."
Liverpool still intend to bring in Kenny Dalglish into a new technical
director's role but that would be much less interventionist. The meeting
broke up and it was reported that Benitez was more likely than ever to
leave. Then, overnight, it transpired that Orti was perhaps willing to
contemplate the departure of Pitarch if it meant the coach stayed. Talks,
sources say, will reconvene tomorrow and are delicately poised.
It is a worrying development for Liverpool. Last Monday they sacked Gérard
Houllier, safe in the knowledge they had landed their number one target,
Benitez. The chief executive, Rick Parry, despite the reluctance to remove
Houllier, felt happy as he left for a family holiday, and the local
newspaper, the Liverpool Echo, by nature cautious, felt confident enough
to splash that Benitez was on his way.
The odds are that he probably will still move and, excitingly, it appears
he plans to bring the playmaker Pablo Aimar and the defender Roberto
Ayala, a perennial Real Madrid target until Walter Samuel signed. They are
names to quicken the pulse of Liverpool fans and ones which would appease
the criticism from within the dressing-room from the captain, Steven
Gerrard, and the striker Michael Owen, whose contract negotiations have
reached a delicate stage. Owen is one of Benitez's main champions - the
way Valencia disposed of Liverpool in European competition left a deep
impression.
Interestingly, other Liverpool players, chiefly Gerrard and the midfielder
Danny Murphy, have made plain that their first choice is Alan Curbishley
and they would prefer a British coach after six years under Houllier. The
Charlton Athletic manager does have a get-out clause in his
three-and-a-half-year contract, signed in February, if approached by
certain named clubs, including Liverpool, which would allow him to leave
for modest compensation.
Curbishley clearly has his admirers in the boardroom, not least because of
his success in the transfer market, but Liverpool executives are nervous
at his lack of European experience, especially with a vital pre-qualifying
tie for the Champions' League to negotiate. Failure would be a disaster.
Incredibly, Liverpool are understood not even to be considering Celtic's
Martin O'Neill. It is also growing apparent that O'Neill wants to remain
in Glasgow for one more season.
According to Benitez's agent, several other European clubs are interested
in his client. Although that is hardly a surprise, and although Benitez
has said coaching Liverpool would be a "dream", it is clear he intends to
keep his options open. His contract expires at the end of next season but,
under Spanish law, there is no need for compensation to be paid if he
moves. Benitez would merely have to provide a 15-day notice period.
That means the decision clearly rests with the coach. Benitez, partly
through courtesy, is also waiting for a meeting of Valencia's shareholders
on 6 June and that will determine what money is made available for next
season. Even that is complicated. Valencia are £70m in debt and there has
been talk, subsequently denied, that several powerful shareholders want to
file for bankruptcy.
If Benitez does leave, the club may attempt to lure Claudio Ranieri back
or Monaco's Didier Deschamps, who played at the Mestalla at the end of his
career. Deschamps was expected to join Juventus last week, after the
European Cup final, but that was before Fabio Capello's shock appointment.
It is all part of what may be a bewildering pan-European managerial
merry-go-round this summer.
Moving to England may be a risk for Benitez. He has worked for a
succession of Spanish clubs - unearthing Raul while the coach of Real
Madrid's B team - and winning promotion to the Primera Liga with
Extremadura and Tenerife in 2001 before introducing an attractive,
attacking style at Valencia. There have been failures as well - at
Valladolid and Osasuna. Liverpool will hope, if he does come, they are not
added to the list.
MAY 28
Benitez deal a step
closer
By Chris Bascombe - Liverpool Echo
Rafael Benitez's switch to Liverpool moved a step closer following a
meeting between the Valencia director and the manager's agent.
Talks between Benitez's representative, Manuel Garcia Quillon and main
director Manuel Llorente, failed to convince the boss to remain in Spain.
It has been claimed the promise of a new contract and improved relations
between Benitez and his board could force an about turn and entice him to
stay.
But the terms he'll get at Anfield from next season are far superior to
those in Spain.
While Valencia are said to be prepared to offer him a new two- year
contract, Liverpool will give him four seasons to return Liverpool to the
top of the English and European game.
The wages on Merseyside will also be much more rewarding.
And Liverpool don't need to assure their manager there will be no
interference in the recruitment and sale of play-ers as that's a
deep-rooted tradition at the club.
Crucially, the Valencia director yesterday warned Benitez the financial
conditions at the club will not change next season.
That's believed to be a crucial factor in the 44-year-old's decision. He's
become increasingly frustrated with the economic restraints he's working
under.
After the meeting in Madrid, his agent Quillon said today: "We spoke to
the director yesterday, but there is nothing to say. We have neither
advanced, nor backed down. Now it's up to Benitez."
Spanish daily 'Marca' also report today that Llorente was informed of the
interest in their manager from European clubs, including Liverpool.
And the club is also at loggerheads over star striker Mista, who is out of
contract next season.
Mista wants a five-year deal, but the club are only prepared to sign him
for a further four seasons.
Last season, Benitez hit out at the club when they failed to sign his
prime target and recruited a player he didn't want.
"I wanted a sofa and they bought me a lampshade," he said.
MAY 27
Dalglish
would have kept Houllier
BreakingNews.ie
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish revealed today that he would not have
axed manager Gerard Houllier.
The Frenchman lost his job this week after failing to win the championship
despite leading them to the Champions League and winning trophies at home
and in Europe during his tenure.
But Dalglish, who won almost everything there is to win in the game as a
player and manager at Anfield, believes the club should not have parted
company with Houllier.
He said: “I thought he would have been there next season but unfortunately
it was not my decision and now they have got a decision to make.”
Dalglish believes that Houllier’s successor will be lucky to get his hands
on a “great” rather than “difficult” job.
Valencia coach Rafael Benitez heads a glittering array of names being
linked to the post including Martin O’Neill.
“It’s quite a crucial time for them to make sure they make the right
decision,” Dalglish added.
“That’s not just for who’s coming in but also for the situation with the
Thai people as well. It’s not a difficult job, the manager’s job, – it’s a
great job and whoever comes in is going to be lucky.”
Current Celtic boss O’Neill is the second favourite for the job but
Dalglish refused to join the speculation.
The Scotland legend added: “You might as well throw Martin’s name in
because everybody else is. Martin is more eloquent than me and I’m sure he
can speak for himself.”
Dalglish, himself, has been given odds on what would be a sensational
return to management but he admitted that no-one at Anfield had approached
him about any position.
“They must have run out of names to get to me,” he smiled.
“I have never had a conversation with them as regards any position at
Liverpool.”
MAY 27
Unreal
times as Houllier takes leave
By John Thompson - Liverpool Echo
To say it felt bizarre is to understate the moment.
Walking with Gerard Houllier up the steps from the tunnel, past the 'This
is Anfield' sign and out onto a pitch bathed in warm sunshine, to watch
him shake hands with Rick Parry and gaze upon the empty Kop for one las t
time, seemed unreal.
Here was a man who had heard the Kop sing his name with such belief and
affection so many times, yet who was now being relieved of his job.
He had plotted the downfall of Manchester United repeatedly, when for so
long it seemed Liverpool could never beat them. He'd turned the club
around on and off the pitch and won four major trophies, including a UEFA
Cup.
Yet still he was being guided, politely but firmly, to the exit door.
Time for one last look? A quick word with the media? Yes, of course, not a
problem.
So where did it all go wrong for Gerard Houllier?
He for one, insisted it has nothing to do with the fact that he
collapsed with a ruptured aorta at Anfield on October 13, 2001.
Nonetheless, you cannot help but wonder whether such a traumatic episode
played a part. Things were never quite the same for Gerard Houllier after
that time, try as he did to keep going.
Monday's parting was a million miles from the heady days of Liverpool's
cup treble, when Houllier was building a side and the curve was an upward
one. It was a time when he gave Liverpool fans one of the most enjoyable
years they have ever known.
Even until last week, Houllier wanted to carry on and Liverpool could have
given him one more chance. But it would have been a massive gamble on
behalf of Parry and the board.
Never mind Houllier's past record or the fact Liverpool finished fourth.
The truth is that watching football matches at Anfield for almost 18
months has been a painfully flat, almost soulless experience nearly every
time.
Despite world class players like Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen, there
were too many bad buys and mistakes made. The team's self-belief was
clearly affected, the supporters left dispirited, venting their anger
through the media and calling for his dismissal, yet never indecent enough
to do so within earshot of him at Anfield.
The Kop knew Houllier had tried like hell to give them what they
craved. The last thing they wanted to do was to revolt openly at Anfield
against a man who had nearly died for their cause.
So it was left to Parry to do his job and for the board to call time.
Every decent Liverpudlian wanted Houllier to succeed and deliver them the
Premiership. Each will be sorry he didn't - but mightily relieved
something has now happened to interrupt the stagnacy of the spectacle
being put before them. Already there is excitement at the prospect of
Benitez coming.
No. Liverpool fans would rather remember the good times under Houllier, of
which there were plenty, than the fragile, unhappy shadow of a side and
the excuses which went with them.
That way Houllier will always be warmly welcomed and respected at
Anfield as one of the Red family, which is the very least he deserves.
MAY 27
Benitez link played
down
BBC Sport Online
The agent of Valencia coach Rafael Benitez has again insisted that no
negotiations have taken place with Liverpool about the manager's job.
It has been widely reported that Benitez is favourite to succeed Gerard
Houllier at Anfield.
But Benitez's agent Manuel Garcia Quilon told BBC Sport: "Liverpool have
not contacted me or the Valencia coach.
"There have been no talks, Benitez is still at Valencia and, as far as I
know, he is staying there."
On Wednesday, Benitez dismissed speculation that a move to Liverpool was
imminent.
The Liverpool Echo claimed that the 44-year-old would definitely be the
club's next manager.
But Benitez told Valencia-based Radio Nou: "I am in no hurry to go to
Inter Milan, Barcelona or Real Madrid, or any other club.
"I want to stay at Valencia. It's already a big club. It's clear that I'm
not looking for a team."
Liverpool's board still appear to have made the man who this season won
the Uefa Cup and Spain's La Liga for the second time in three years their
unanimous first choice to take over from Houllier.
And if Liverpool pull off the coup, it is likely to persuade Michael Owen
to sign the new contract currently on offer at Anfield.
Owen is a massive fan of Benitez and Valencia after they beat Liverpool
home and away in the Champions League two season ago.
The England striker has revealed he will wait for a new manager to be
confirmed before deciding on a new deal, but is certain to be impressed if
Liverpool land Benitez.
Charlton's Alan Curbishley is believed to be the leading British front
runner.
Earlier this week, Valencia president Jaime Orti had vowed to resist any
approach for Benitez, who has one year left on his current contract.
But it has since been claimed that Benitez has a get-out clause in his
contract which allows him to leave at 15 days' notice.
