Totally agree ,Rafa's name being even mentioned in a poll of this kind is mental ,the man was a legend and provided more than a leg up to get us back were we truly belonged ,punching our weight against the European heavyweights. Rodgers for all his faults got us playing exciting and beautiful football ,if only his ambition and appetite for Europe had been expressed as equally ? Still ,that being said,he still doesn't warrant being an option in this thread.
We were the number one seeded team in Europe under Rafa. He created one of the finest teams of all time 08-09. He won things & did most of it under financial constraints. Rafa was absolute class for us. I wouldn't put Rodgers there either. For all his shortcomings & the eventual sad end, the 2013 - 14 season was full of joy for me. Suarez deserves more credit for it, but I have to give Brendan some credit. I voted for Roy. Awful football & his attitude made those six months utterly depressing.
Easily Hodgson. Souness won a trophy, and his playing career has to count for something. Hodgson was a terrible fit for manager and he didn't make a tough situation any easier for himself. It feels disrespectful that Rodgers is even an option, he led a title challenge to the final day in his second season after taking over a side that finished 8th. He also brought Henderson along well (though it took some convincing) and I don't think Henderson becomes the captain he became without him.
Yup, second, thirded and fourthed....Rafa shouldn't even be mentioned in a poll of this kind, took over a club going nowhere and turned us into one of the most feared sides in Europe, no one fancied playing us in Rafa's time here. Fella is a Liverpool legend. Rodgers did as well as expected, we all often forget how close he came to actually deilivering the title to us. Gerrards slip, Hendersons red card and suspension as much to blame as his naiviety and greeness. Hodgson is a walkover in this thread though, the fella was never ever in a million years the right man for the club, then his negative atitude, his slagging protests off, his sucking up to Fergie and his disasterous interviews which were as cringy as ****. I would be surprised if a single Liverpool fan honestly thought we had a worse manager than him in our entire history...thank **** it was only for a few months as that was the most depressing (football wise) few months of Liverpools history.
Who wanted to sell Henderson to Fulham? I'm sure it was Rodgers. But I'm not going to hold that against Rodgers, because in fairness, it spurred Henderson to become the player he is now. It is laughable that Rodgers is even in the poll or mentioned in the worst manager for Liverpool like what others have said. Same goes for Rafa, I don't think without Rafa we wouldn't be where we are now, without him, for what he did to this club, under the circumstances that he was in to boot.
I showed our son that list, him being a Liverpool man and he said the same as others, Hodgson was a tosser and he said Raffa was the best because he made Liverpool feared in Europe and if he had stayed he would have got the title for Liverpool.
I recall it. Rodgers was a dumbass to even consider it because Henderson suited his style perfectly. At least he changed his mind and in the end it helped him and it helped Liverpool over numerous seasons. I think it was half because FSG weren't giving a lot of money to get players in that Summer. He wanted to use Henderson as a makeweight for Dempsey.
I'll respectfully disagree. This poll is about opinions, and opinions are garnered through different epochs, experiences, and therefore sets of eyes. Not what the online herd want you to say either. If I choose to compare the attitudes and successes of managers like Shankly, Paisley and Moran, to that of Rafa Benitez, simply because I was alive through those eras, then I'd probably have a different idea of what a great and average manager might be. How success is judged. If I compare that point of view with any Liverpool fan under 40 years old, then many of you have only seen us win the league once, and the European Cup a couple of times. In your era, the distance between trophies and league titles is measured in decades In my era, it became boring to win the league again. Robbing ourselves of 3-4 more European successes after Heysel, its not that unfair to say. So yeah, one man's legend, might well be seen as another man's 'meh' or worse. Benitez might rightly sit as one of the current crop of (under 40 year old) Liverpool supporters heros, because he put us back on the European map, be it ever so briefly, in 2005. He hardly made us a force in the league for any lengthy spell, and never won it ever. I can also see why people think including his name on here might irk a few, but I personally found his style to be any of divisive, egotistic, and self promoting or self indulgent, during his stay. A me first, me most important attitude. My way or the highway. His player / signing legacy at the club was hardly stellar either. Torres, Alonso, Masher, Skrtel, Agger, Garcia, Reina and Kuyt being the only ones who ever established themselves at the top level for either Liverpool, or their country. Some of these players where not considered to be that great a the club in fairness, depending who you speak to, but I liked most of them. The rest were a litany of dross and poor signings. Benitez managed to distance himself from many of his better players too (Alonso, Agger, Gerrard, Carra), so plenty of my self interest comments are not misguided. To use the word "Legend" on Benitez, when compared to the likes of proper legends, champions and builders like Shankly, Paisley and Moran is just wrong on every level, and is more typically an adjective used by fans who were born in the premier league era. Benitez won the European Cup against all odds, while his side finished 37 point off the league title. A complete one off. There was no way his management style would bring any concerted trophy or title success to this, or any club he has meddled with since. You did not have to be some sort of genius to see his management style was not optimal, at any club. I grew up in an era when Liverpool could not stop winning leagues and cups. When Wembley was our second home. Not winning the odd Champions League and league title here and there over 40 years. Sorry I'm 60, vindictive and owl.
An attitude typical of any Liverpool supporter born in the last 40 years, who has seen the club win but one title, and 2 champions League finals. What does your son think of Klopp, I wonder. Klopp has been 100 times better for Liverpool, than any previous manager at the club since Kenny Dalglish. The club has had substandard managers for some 25 years prior to Klopp. One need only look to the trophy cabinet for proof.
Lol, imagine doubling down on arguing that a Champions League winning manager is one of the worst in a club's history.
Hardly! I took issue with the word "legend" being ascribed to Benitez, and simply stated in my own post (earlier in the thread) that I didn't like him that much. That it would probably not be popular to say so. So, don't make it up for "likes". Liverpool fans under 40 years old have never seen our true legends. Again, a 2005 champions league title that was akin to Wimbledon beating us in the FA Cup final. Many would state he'd have won **** all without Gerrard in his side. Certainly wouldn't have got to Istanbul.
Luckily enough so did I ,watched my first game from the pen ,been a season ticket holder some 30 plus years. I just think it's extremely churlish to dismiss Benitez after the rebuilding job he took on. Every Kopite is of the opinion he gave us back our pride. Liverpool were just a well run machine and we motored through winning practically everything ,even through the change in managers it was flawless and the procession of trophies seemed ceaseless. Every Liverpool manager before Souness had made their bones in the boot room ,Souness failed badly in attempting to change that philosophy ,but he was right Liverpool were standing still and feared transition ,he just wasnt the right manager to affect those changes and he tried to do it too quickly. Benitez had to oversee a much more severe period of change than even Houllier. He brought in players like Torres ,Garcia ,Alonso ,most albeit from Torres on a shoestring budget. Rafa gave us back our identity and fashioned our European resurrection and he done it with class ,under the worst owners in our lineage and for that alone I and many Kopites share the opinion he's a legend. So we disagree fella ,but don't assume 'before you're about to pull up a soap box' you're the only one the wrong side of 55 with a story to tell ? Other than that ,I sometimes refuse to argue with fans over the qualities of Rafa ,because however discernible it was to Kopites some people just never got it and they never will and to be perfectly frank it's been done to death. So in summation ,it's alright to disagree ,because I'm f*cked if we will ever concur over this ,let alone concede any ground.
Benitez is unquestionably a legend. People will talk about Istanbul in 20, 30 or 40+ years time. It's arguably the greatest moment in the club's history, especially for younger fans. David Fairclough is a bonafide Liverpool legend based almost exclusively on that goal against St. Etienne so to say Rafa isn't a legend for only winning the CL and FA cup is crazy to me.
So? I think its a wild stretch to try and discount the achievements of a manager on a hypothetical scenario.
What screwed Rafa over was Hicks and Gillett. The owner prior wasn't particularly great either. Liverpool had no right being in a Champions League final in that period, let alone reaching two and winning one. If you start discrediting managers who win you a Champions League then you are basically ****ing Chelsea.
Hate to break it to you fella, but I too saw the lot, the 70s, 80s, etc...and I called Rafa a "Legend" Calling him a legend doesnt mean youre saying for instance he's better than Shanks, Paisley and co...just that he holds legendary status at our club, which he does. You seem to ignore the fact he had to try and manage the club during the cancer twins ownership, a pair or twats that did their utmost to destroy us...who stopped any chance of real progress from the club, just as we were ready to peak again. Klopp, Shanks, Paisley or Dalglish would have struggled to win the league under their ownership. He also managed the club during a time when United, Chelsea and Arsenal were all very strong being managed by the trio of Fergie, Wenger and Jose. You expect him to win leagues v those three whilst the club was owned by a pair of batshit crazy Yanks tearing the club apart?
