Following a shameful third-place finish last season and an underwhelming start to this season’s Super Lig campaign, the Galatasaray hierarchy have decided to draw a decisive line under coach Frank Rijkaard‘s ill-fated 16 months in charge today.
A statement released by the club this morning reads thusly;
“As a result of talks with technical director Frank Rijkaard, we have decided to part ways. As of October 20th 2010, Rijkaard and his assistant coach Johan Neeskens have left the club by mutual consent.”
Which is quite possibly the most dubious use of the phrase ‘mutual consent’ I’ve heard in a fair old while.
Although his previous record at the Turkish giants is hardly admirable, the final nail in Rijkaard’s coffin was overseeing his team go down 4-2 at home to perennial relegation flirters (though currently mid-table) Ankaragucu on Sunday.
Rijkaard and his decimated charges left the field amidst a hail of jeers from the home supporters, who were chanting in favour of the Dutchman’s instant dismissal as well as the sacking of the entire populous of Galatasaray’s maligned board.
Seems like the ultrAslans got precisely half of the upheaval they were so fervently chasing.
Rijkaard’s timely sacking seems to play straight into the hands of Liverpool’s new owners New England Sports Ventures (NESV), who were – as conjecture would have it – very keen to install the former Barcelona manager as a ‘big name’ successor to dilapidated incumbent Roy Hodgson, who has struggled with an unmotivated outfit since being brought in as a cut-price interim replacement for the outbound Rafa Benitez during the final few months of former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett‘s blighted reign at Anfield.
Is Roy Hodgson now on borrowed time at Liverpool?
NESV are thought to have backed Hodgson to oversee Liverpool’s potential new dawn if the insistence of chairman Martin Broughton is anything to go by but, as we’ve seen before on countless occasions, ‘votes of confidence’ are rarely construed as anything other than ominous by the modern manager.
Rijkaard’s sudden availability will surely be clanging the chimes of impending doom in the back of Hodgson’s mind, especially given the unrest he has stirred by means of his negative tactical decisions and the wretched start to the season that those decisions have directly precipitated.
Fans are currently pawing for ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish to be re-instated, but those calls are made out of a heady mix of desperation and nostalgia. Liverpool need to advance rather than continue their saddening regression, and there are few more progressive coaches in European football than Frank Rijkaard himself.
As a coach, Rijkaard would bring with him an intrinsic propensity toward the kind of attacking, fluent and almost communal (in terms of team performance) football that Liverpool fans now so longingly pine for. He also seems to have one eye on the ‘spectacle’ of any given game, playing to win rather than not to lose – a concept that may now seem very distant to anyone with a vested interest in the recent goings-on at Anfield.
It seems the fates are aligning for NESV, and if they truly are going to sack Hodgson, wouldn’t it make sense to do it now – considering that a ready-made replacement is now lying in wait?
i agree..yeah!..Rijkaard
Now is the right time for Roy to go
i agree..yeah!rijkaard
I think Rijkard is the right man for the job- he’s young, ambitious and has experience of winning things. His experience at Galatasaray suggests he is not always a miracle worker but that is a difficult place to work. I think he’d be more suited to Liverpool and he’d bring a brand of attacking football to the club. Go on NESV- you know it makes sense!
No idea if your statement “are few more progressive coaches in European football than Frank Rijkaard himself” is correct or not, but if he’s so good why was he sacked at Galatasaray and Barca? Liverpool cannot afford to make yet another big mistake….and this would be one.
I said it all summer long, and ill keep saying it till someone hears me. Bring in Pelligrini. Under his reign Real Madrid Got a record(for them) 96 points in the league, only to be beaten by a better side in Barcelona. He is truly a world class manager, who, the last time i looked, has not taken on a new club… He is better than Rijkard by a long shot, not taking anything from Rijkard, as i would have him in a nanosecond over Woy.
Either way, Woys shambolic tenure cannot continue any longer. We are degressing not progressing, and if we give tha senile old fart any more time we could be looking at utter disaster… FUCK OFF ROY.. you were never wanted at our club, and now more than ever, we wish you would just pack up and leave…..
Agreed mate, its what I said all summer long too!!
He was sacked from Barca because they had one poor season and had massive injury problems but won the Cl and 2 la liga tiles Perfect for Liverpool.
At Barca he had 58% win rate and in Gala he had 55%, sacking him with that win % is madness. As for Roy he had 39% in Fulham and at Liverpool 37%. Well you get what you ask for isn’t it? That’s the best Roy can do for Liverpool a measly 39-40% win %. Get Rijkaard, he will bring us up.
yes i agrees to the surgestion of sacking ROY one is that he doens’t knows how to make substitution nesv should pleas do someting about this we are going pretty down the table pleas.
Only take him if he brings Turan with him. Otherwise bring in Pellegrini or Hiddink.
well he is fired at galatasaray…. preveous season he made galatasaray third but this season things are going bad Rijkaard isn’t a good trainer
I am sorry guys but Rijkaard is not a good coach, he has no solid idea what he wants to do, Galatasaray was a powerful team but after Rijkaard took over it went down hill and became a joke in Turkish league.
As a Galatasaray fan, I want to say that the Galatasaray management set up Rijkard for failure. They did not transfer any of the player he wanted to set up his system. We have very incompotent club management. Rijkard “failure” at Galatasaray was only reflection of our joke club management. Here’s a statistic that summarizes everything. Rikjard is the 6th coach that our club has fired in 2.5 years. Rijkard’s only mistake was to accept the job at Galatasaray without making sure that he’ll be able to transfer decent players.
Some managers do well anywhere, relative to the resources they get (e.g., Mourinho, Capello prior to England job, etc).
Some are mediocre/poor managers who just do well once because of a given set of circumstances (e.g., Souness at Rangers all those years ago, Keegan).
I think Rijkard and Woy are both in the latter category. We need somebody like Hiddink who has Premiership experience.
wat ever happens Woy needs to fok off, he lost the dressin room we second off the bottom no attack no defence his purchases bulshit and he stands on the touch line with no plan b 37% win ratio thats utter bull let me ask the question wat worse could Kenny or Rickaard do, if we had a dip in form of just one player I would understand but his whole team is not playing for him well maybe CARRA is but the rest …. come on hes as good as gone….
If we don’t get at least 4 points against Napoli and Blackburn, then it’s time for Roy to leave. It is not an excuse, that we have a brand new coaching staff! I have never seen a top club get such an awefull start after getting a new manager. . .
Y*N*W*A
Roy hasn’t been given enough time to really make an impact at Liverpool, but with the expectation and the dire state of things it is almost impossible seeing him being given the chance…
Frank hasnt exactly been filled with brilliant managerial skill of late, but he has won in Europe and was a top class footballer in his day who will command respect from players and fans alike.
http://the-truth-unfiltered.blogspot.com/2010/10/problem-with-liverpool-fc.html