I have mixed feelings when it comes to Rafa. On one hand, he did get us to two Champions League finals in three years, on the other, he does silly things that keeps us at #4 (or worse) and gets us knocked out of the FA Cup.
What silly things? Well, here's some graffiti at the training ground that offers an example. And no, that's not one of my Photoshop exploits.
The DIC takeover rumors simply won't go away. The latest speculation is that George Gillett will sell his share and that will put pressure on Hicks to give up his end. That seems a much likelier possibility as Gillett has been embarrassed by Hicks and reports a few weeks ago were that Gillett's son, who was in Liverpool to oversee the club, had packed his bags.
Adding more fuel to the DIC fire is the speculation that they are already looking for a replacement for Benitez. Names like Jose Mourinho and Frank Rikjaard have been floating around, but the one rising to the top is Martin O'Neill. The interest stems from his ability to get the most out of players with a limited budget. Is he capable of managing a top club and performing in Europe? That remains to be seen.
The rumor mill has spat out a ray of hope. Supposedly, after the loss to Barnsley, Rafa informed the team that the rotations will stop and that the strongest XI will take the pitch from here on out. Maybe he had a moment of clarity. Maybe he sees the writing on the wall. Or maybe, like so many other rumors, it's just bullshit. I, for one, hope that it is true. The boys better be hungry this afternoon and able to take out some anger on Inter. We need to put up some big numbers before going to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in a match where we could very likely be without Gerrard and Carragher.