Rodgers' Liverpool vs Benitez's Liverpool

Which one do you think was better?

Tough one actually

Benitez got a team to consistently be one of the best sides in Europe, I'm not sure Rodgers will be able to match those achievements but we'll get the chance to find out soon.

On the other side, Benitez only got close to winning the league once while Rodgers has done it pretty much immediately.

Football wise, watching Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano together was amazing and no need to point out what is so good at the current team.

Conclusion is that it is too early to tell. In a one off match I don't know who I would back to win. Rafa usually had an answer but SASAS is proving pretty damn hard to defend against for everyone.

too early to say

hopefully Rodgers'.

ATM Benitez, his side was one of the best in Europe, but on the other hand it was a complete snoozefest at times with not many goals, cue cotr with his besiktas 8-0, I think he almost won the league when opponents were a lot stronger, thats for sure. Many teams are in transition, well except for Arsenal being 4th place material, thats still the same.

rodgers

Benitez was a fat Spanish waiter that played boring football and got lucky every time we won a trophy under him or reached a European Cup final. I thought everyone knew this?

Fey wrote:ATM Benitez, his side was one of the best in Europe, but on the other hand it was a complete snoozefest at times with not many goals, cue cotr with his besiktas 8-0, I think he almost won the league when opponents were a lot stronger, thats for sure. Many teams are in transition, well except for Arsenal being 4th place material, thats still the same.

  
Of course the Benitez team was better. This was back when the English empire ruled European football. Now the top teams have deteriorated considerably. Benitez beat the teams in the world with what is the worst team on paper to win Cl, imo. That is far more impressive than winning the English league in its current state.

Maybe the league was better and maybe Rafa's team would win in 2 legged cup tie, but Rafa would not have won the league then, or now, or 20 years ago, or 20 years in the future. If Rodgers wins the league then he has surpassed him for me because he has done something that is literally impossible for Rafa to do.

Rafa can only win La Liga titles over Barca and Madrid, he clearly could never win a title with Liverpool and literally would never have done that if he stayed another 50 years. He might have won 14 more European Cups in that time though.

Luis wrote:Rafa can only win La Liga titles over Barca and Madrid, he clearly could never win a title with Liverpool and literally would never have done that if he stayed another 50 years. He might have won 14 more European Cups in that time though.

I don't dispute any of that.

barca and real weren't really barca and real when he won the league to be honest.

Barca perhaps, they had a tough time from 2000-04 after they lost Figo and went through a few managers.

Madrid in 2001/02 was a great side though. Deportivo were also a pretty good side back then.

I genuinely think that Benitez was a genius tactically. Particularly for cup-ties he seemed to be able to analyse the opposition and set up to neutralise them so well.

But his problem is man-management, he just seems to alienate people around him and gradually descend into paranoia.

Benitez had better players - I would only pick Suarez, Sterling and Coutinho in a combined team with the 08/09 side - but Rodgers teams play nicer football and he is a more likeable bloke.

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:Barca perhaps, they had a tough time from 2000-04 after they lost Figo and went through a few managers.

Madrid in 2001/02 was a great side though. Deportivo were also a pretty good side back then.

This was back in the golden age of Spanish football. He won the league twice back then. Incredible and then to win with the worst Cl winners I have seen is even more incredible. In comparison United for the first time is weak and without Ferguson. Chelsea is good but clearly work in progress. City is a good side but hard to make sense of them really. They should be the best side in the league but as Kimbo has pointed out they are not particularly impressing neither in England and even less so in Europe.

Of course it is too early to compare because Rodgers is just getting started with his team. Next season he will compete on several flanks and I doubt they will be able to have such a good season unless they bulk up during the summer.

Roger Hunt wrote:I genuinely think that Benitez was a genius tactically. Particularly for cup-ties he seemed to be able to analyse the opposition and set up to neutralise them so well.

But his problem is man-management, he just seems to alienate people around him and gradually descend into paranoia.

Benitez had better players - I would only pick Suarez, Sterling and Coutinho in a combined team with the 08/09 side - but Rodgers teams play nicer football and he is a more likeable bloke.

I can't argue with this, though Sturridge would probably start:

Reina (for his first 3 seasons)

Arbeloa
Carra
Agger
Aurelio

Mascherano
Gerrard
Alonso

Sturridge
Suarez
Torres

I would go for.

I don't think Rafa would have done as well with this current side. Sterling, Sturridge, Flanagan, Henderson and Allen all seem to thrive on man management and the support from the manager. Rafa was never interested in cuddling players, he saw them as chess pieces to win football matches. Rodgers probably wouldn't have done well with the champions league winning team; trying to get players like Biscan, Traore and Baros to play 'death by football' wouldn't of been easy.

The ultimate test will be next season in Europe. If we do the unthinkable and pull off this title Rodgers will go down in history as a Liverpool legend regardless of what happens from then on in but Liverpool fans have a special relationship with the European Cup. We pride ourselves in being able to compete with any club from around the world so Rodgers must master the tactical side of the competition. I think he is learning tactically all the time though , there's been some good examples of him utilising players in the right games during this winning run; he knows when Allen is suited to a game or when Sterling is a better option ahead of Coutinho and vice versa.

Roger Hunt is back??!!

It's like the the Backstreet Boys have reunited

;-)

Just back to gloat while Man U are shit.