[quote author=Avvy link=topic=45828.msg1354098#msg1354098 date=1308845584]
Not really.
I was defending Rafa from the assertion that he was to blame for the transfer and wage monies in that he bore culpability for the wasted transfer fees and wages. In so much as he was the one who brought in the players, that much is true.
But he clearly cannot be blamed for the sheer size of the fees and wages wasted as that would have been negotiated between these 'football players' (I use the term fairly loosely), their agents, and of course Liverpool's management.
I don't know if they would have still come here had Liverpool conducted the negotiations more strictly. Maybe, maybe not.
It's possible Rafa might have backed down had he known the size of the monies being expended on these players; it's also possible we'd be talking about milk bottles, sofas and lampshades.
There's plenty for me to criticise Rafa for; I don't need to beat him with this assertion that he's to blame for paying Milan JOvanovic 120,000 pounds to sit on the bench. I blame him for bringing him in.
If you want to talk about the litany of excuses that's been used to justify Rafa's transfer policy, be my guest. That wasn't the crux of my post.
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I agree that Benitez probably wouldn't have negotiated the contracts or fees completely himself, but I don't agree that he would not have at least known.
Whether he was in the room when the negotiations took place I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But he is experienced enough to know that if he is going after players on free transfers then they would be getting big wages. Even we know that Bosman frees get a shit load of wages for fuck's sake so he must have considered it.
Also, this talk reminded me of a bit in Gerrard's autobiograhy when he was talking about his contract. He says that at one point Benitez tried to negotiate the contract with him and asked what Gerrard wanted in wages. When Gerrard said that he had never had to talk to a manager about that kind of thing and preferred to go through his agent, Benitez said that he didn't like agents (hardly a surprise that). So is it likely that this was the only time Benitez tried to have anything at all to do with players' contracts and wages?
