Unforgettable Week for Liverpool FC...in a Bad Way

Liverpool are in desperate times right now. Tom Hicks and George Gillette are crumbling this club from the inside out and the supporters are at wits end. This is tough to watch, being Liverpool is above and beyond my favorite club (and many others around the world). Gillette and Hicks needed to find a buyer yesterday...they need to leave now.

Rafa had to shorten his holiday in Sardinia, located in the mediterranean and travel back to Liverpool to negotiate a deal to leave the club. Well that deal turned out to be around the 3-6 million pound mark which is well short of the 16 million in his contract. The news broke as England's team flew out to South Africa. Here is Rafa's statement from Liverpool's official website

Rafael Benitez said: "It is very sad for me to announce that I will no longer be manager of Liverpool FC. I would like to thank all of the staff and players for their efforts. 

"I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager.

"Thank you so much once more and always remember: You'll never walk alone." 

Rafa is poised to sign with Inter any day now. - Telegraph -

Coincidence? Does this mean that Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano, Benayoun, etc. are going to follow? What a mess. News is that Fulham boss Roy Hodgson could take his spot as well as Mark Hughes, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Louis van Gaal. I don't know who would want to climb into that hot seat. Upper management in disarray and a rumored 5 million to spend in the transfer market.

When the news broke, 500 supporters marched and protested around Anfield showing their distaste for the American Owners. Here is a picture from Straitstimes showing fans burning the American Flag.

I saw this and was deeply disappointed. I don't care what the issue is, flag burning is not acceptable. It is a symbol of pride and should be respected everywhere. I know it was directed toward Gillette and Hicks but there are other means of protest. Here is another great article with some pictures from EPLtalk. This sends a very strong message to the owners but it also went too far. Liverpool have thousands of fans in the United States and the act of this minority group of fans shows compete disrespect to our country. The US as a whole is not bringing your club down, Hicks and Gillette are and as an American, I want to see them sell and leave just as bad as you do. 

I hope the coming months bring brighter days to Liverpool. It would be horrible to see them go down the patch of Newcastle and Leeds, unfortunately it's looking more and more like that every day.