Did anybody see this on RAWK:
http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=257694.0
Anyway inevitably a load of people did email the various institutions and one of them that does post emails they receive is Football 365.
Some of the responses from non Liverpool supporters are quite apt:
http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=257694.0
I posted a suggestion last night, and I've received numerous PM's since from various posters, urging me to make a thread specifically for this idea. So here goes.
The idea is that we should all prepare our own individual statements which make it abundantly clear, that we (the fans) are 100% behind our manager, and that our support for him will remain totally resolute, regardless of what anyone in the printed or broadcast media say about him.
These statements don't have to be too long. As long as the message is loud and clear then a few lines or a paragraph should be sufficient. My idea is for us all to e-mail these statements to numerous addresses at precisely 1 o'clock on Friday afternoon. If we can get enough people on board to participate in this, then surely we can make someone in the broadcast or printed media take notice.
If Sky News, The BBC, Setanta, Radio 5, The Times, The Liverpool Echo, Tony Barrett, Guillem Ballague, Christian Purslow, et al (all suggestions are welcome here) were all to receive thousands of e-mails in their inboxes within the space of a few seconds, then surely someone somewhere would have to notice that there is a collective show of solidarity among us, and that we want Rafa to stay.
I suggest that all of our e-mails contain the same subject, header, and footer. For example, something along the lines of this:
Subject: I want Rafa Benitez to stay
Header: Hello my name is (insert name here) and I am a life long supporter of Liverpool Football club.
Then insert your own statement that you wrote in your own words. Remember to make it absolutely clear, that we do not wish for Rafa to leave Liverpool
Footer: I trust you will also be hearing from my fellow supporters. Yours sincerely (insert name)
I’m open to tweaking the subject title, as well as the header and footer. If anyone has any suggestions then don’t hesitate to put them forth. But the important thing is, whatever we decide on, we should all use the same headers and footers to show that we are all together on backing our boss.
I also think that having the same subject title would also strike a chord. Imagine thousands of e-mails descending down your inbox, all with different names and addresses, but with the same subject. It would certainly make me sit up and notice if I was a journo or presenter. It would really show that we are united in this.
He came and carried us in our time of need in 2004, and gave us some of the greatest nights in LFC history. The time has come for us to repay the favour, and do whatever we can to carry him in his hour of need.
I’m going to go trawling the web for as many email addresses as I can find. I’ll post them in here as I go. Once we have a collection of these addresses, (the more the better) then we can copy and paste them into the “send to†pane of our emails. Then at 1pm on Friday we all click send together. We send our message together, and we show everyone and anyone willing to listen, that Rafa has our full support.
I hope you are all willing to get on board with this. It’s well worth the effort if you ask me. Bill Hick Appreciation society recently set up a facebook page demonstrating our support for Rafa, hopefully that might be a way to get even more people to take part in this. I’m also going to send a message to the administrator of the SOS facebook page to ask if they would be willing to post a link to this thread.
YNWA Rafa
Cheers,
Billy.
------------------------------------------------------------
Journalists
Guillem Balague: admin@guillembalague.com
Tony Barrett: tony.barrett@thetimes.co.uk
Bill Bradshaw: bill.bradshaw@express.co.uk
James Lawton: james.lawton@independent.co.uk
Matt Lawton: matt.lawton@dailymail.co.uk
Martin Samuel: martin.samuel@dailymail.co.uk
Ashley gray: ashley.gray@dailymail.co.uk
Oliver Kay: oliver.kay@thetimes.co.uk
Sam Wallace: sam.wallace@independent.co.uk
Dominic Fifield: dominic.fifield@guardian.co.uk
Martin Lipton: martin.lipton@mirror.co.uk
Henry Winter: henry.winter@telegraph.co.uk
Kevin McCarra; kevin.mccarra@guardian.co.uk
Hugh McIlvanney: hugh.mcilvanney@sunday-times.co.uk
Lee Watson: leewatson@guillembalague.com
Rory Smith: rory.smith@telegraph.co.uk
Ben Smith: ben.smith@thetimes.co.uk
Sid Lowe: sid.lowe@guardian.co.uk
Gabreiele Marcotti: gabriele.marcotti@thetimes.co.uk
Simon Jones: simon.jones@dailymail.co.uk
John Edwards: john.edwards@dailymail.co.uk
Ian Ladyman: ian.ladyman@dailymail.co.uk
Newspapers
sportletters@sunday-times.co.uk
sport@independent.co.uk
editorial@dailymailonline.co.uk
sport@tribune.ie
mailbox@mirror.co.uk
starsport@dailystar.co.uk
sports@sundayworld.com (Aldo does a sunday column for this lot)
sport@liverpoolecho.co.uk
mailbox@mirror.co.uk
home.news@thetimes.co.uk
sport@guardian.co.uk
sport@independent.co.uk
btsportsdesk@hotmail.com
newsdesk@irishtimes.com
darwin.templeton@jpress.co.uk
feedback@dallasnews.com
Broadcasters
606@bbc.co.uk
5livesport@bbc.co.uk
u2us@skysports.com
fff@foxsoccer.com
onair@talksport.co.uk
football@bbc.co.uk
tonight@itv.com
Anyway inevitably a load of people did email the various institutions and one of them that does post emails they receive is Football 365.
Some of the responses from non Liverpool supporters are quite apt:
The next logical step for Liverpool is to research the work of a guy called Josef Goebbels in Germany in the 1930's.
They following guidelines should be adhered to:
The leader/manager should not be criticised under any circumstances (balanced debate on topics such as team selection or tactics shall be ruthlessly eradicated). Any criticism will be dealt with by whatever means necessary.
All media that openly criticises the leader/manager is inherently evil and should be destroyed.
The leader/manager should pay no heed to the thoughts of his generals. His judgement is supreme.
The leader/manager should grow facial hair. This shall be maintained however ridiculous.
All problems of the nation/club are without question the fault of the race currently habitating the boardroom/banks of the state/football club.
The leader will in time achieve the goals of the nation/football club by first gaining power/titles in the homeland before conquering Europe and regaining their rightful position as the supreme power.
If these goals are not achieved suitable scapegoats shall be found.
Hugh, 'Heil Rafa', Cork
.I can't believe that there is still such vehement support for el fatso amongst scousers. I know a few Liverpool fans and they are all keen to see the back of him, being decent, intelligent people of a poor allegiance. Are these people real fans or Rafa's PR machine?
I take particular umbrage with Terri Cray's (aka bestest Liverpool fan in da whole wide world) frothing ramblings; I apologise for having the audacity to comment on YOUR club which YOU have been supporting for 30 years(TM) but do you really believe what you are writing? The only player in a Liverpool shirt that still seems to have any faith in the man is Pepe Reina, and I personally believe that this is because, in 20 years time, Reina will look exactly like him - I call him Future Benitez, you heard it here first.
It is not a knee-jerk reaction of plastic fans (who are of course not entitled to an opinion on YOUR football club), it is the reaction of anyone who can engage their brain. Rafa has clearly lost the dressing room, his tactics are questionalble to put it politely, some of his substitutions have been mental, his team plays dour football (unlike last season where Liverpool attacked with real verve and imagination, they now have neither) and has led a team of world class status into seventh place in a season of startling regression. The future now looks very dark for YOUR club.
His CV may be excellent but it is not exactly difficult to realise that Liverpool and Benitez need to part ways, it will be better for them both.
Ah, Liverpool fans - capable of making their own decisions and opinions regarding their manager, but apparently unable to form coherent independent thoughts. Also, just a bit of advice: sending en masse emails proclaiming the British media is cold-hearted, biased, and intrusive, is probably not the best way to go about things. It certainly won't help the situation, and, being honest, makes you all seem a bit precious.
Also, will all of you please get off your high horses? The media is covering this situation with such gusto because it's a good story. One of Europe's foremost clubs, in the midst of a financial mire due to overzealous and ill-intentioned foreign investors, run by a personality-free manager who appears to have completely lost the dressing room, who may or may not depart for pastures greener (or the Serie A) - you couldn't make this stuff up.
Liverpool could of course come under new ownership, buy up a new crop of players this summer, and challenge for the title next year. But right now, the club appears to be on a knife's edge, equally capable of falling back in the other direction - losing their big name players and manager, falling deep into insurmountable debt, and condemned to years of potentially inescapable mediocrity. Admit it, if this same situation was happening to United, you would all be in the front row, pointing and laughing. I realise that this is a difficult time to be a Liverpool fan, but this 'us-against-the-world' mentality has got to go
