Courting Rafa

[AreliusIV]

She wanted to see Paris, you took her to see Palace. She wanted Chanel No5, you gave her Kronenbourg 1664. She wanted appreciation, you gave her the clap. In short, you are the opposite of what Liverpool FC want to be. Because Merseyside's reddest have spent the last few weeks trying to prove themselves worthy of their belle - not easy when Rafa Benitez's ears have been caressed by sweet whispers emanating from Real Madrid and Internazionale, for whom money is no object and promiscuity no bad thing.

Today, amid rumours that Real want Rafa to become their seventh boss in three years and Inter want him to bed down in Serie A, Liverpool parked themselves under the Spaniard's balcony and began publicly serenading him, not just with pretty words ("we're delighted with the excellent job he's done so far, etc") but also with a one-year contract extension that will keep him at Anfield till 2010. "We are wanting to hang on to Rafa," cooed chief executive Rick Parry. "What Rafa wants to do is win trophies and be sure that the club matches his ambition, which we do."

Happily for Liverpool, Rafa is no fly-by-night strumpet. Or so he says, anyway. Because this afternoon he moved to end speculation that he'd elope with a filthy-rich foreigner if Liverpool couldn't bankroll a bumper summer spending spree, and insisted he'd stand by his men. That's right: though Liverpool's long quest to find a sugar daddy has so far borne about as much fruit as a rubber doll with a vasectomy, Rafa is keeping the faith. "We will try to do our best to sign the best players," he declared, adding: "I want to stay at the club for a lot of years. I have the same idea as them. They know we need to improve and to find investors. They are working and I have confidence in them." What a reasonable man. Did he really spend £7m on Peter Crouch?

[prk166]

It's funny to see all the folks linked with Real Madrid. I didn't think Rafa would go since he was probably smart enough to see it as a big mess that as manager he wouldn't be able to clean up. Maybe that will change since Perez stepped down. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

[keyph]

Maybe they should pick up Jergen Klinsmann. He seems the perfect man to "go down with the ship" so to speak. :headbang: