I haven't written my Liverpool thought down since the end of April as I didn't want to rant to much. 2009/10 will never go down as one of the most successful seasons in our illustrious history. In fact, looking back on events on the field, there is very little that sticks in the memory that will be played on the LFC TV channel ad infinitum.
On the pitch, the most memorable events probably happened against Sunderland. First was the stunning goal by the beach ball and then at Anfield graced us with a sublime goal.
The only other moment on the field that sticks in my mind, possibly relates more to recent events off the pitch. Of course, there may be absolutely no link whatsoever between the look on Stevie and Nando's face when the Spaniard was substituted at Birmingham and the "mutually agreed" decision for Rafa to leave. However, it did lend credence to those who believed that Rafa had lost the dressing room.
Personally, I think that the decision to find a new manager is the right one. Don't get me wrong, I am not a Rafa hater and to be honest, I find it difficult to find any Liverpool fan that is. However, having heard and read a variety of opinions on various media I am convinced that there are a huge percentage of those that believe Rafa should have stayed, that are blinded to the faults that were evident in the last season.
In 2004 I was excited by the arrival of Mr Benitez. His Valencia team had broken the Spanish stranglehold of Barca and Real on La Liga. Not once, but twice. And with a limited budget. What could he do at Anfield where he would be able to open the chequebook a little wider.
Unfortunately, I think that his transfer dealing was the area that caused me most concern. Of course all managers make good signings and bad signings. And admittedly Rafa, latterly had his hands tied behind his back by the charlatans from America that currently own our beloved club. But I still see plenty of areas that Rafa did badly.
Let's look at his successful signings. In his first summer he brought in Xabi Alonso and little Luis Garcia. both fellow countrymen of Rafa's that were excellent signings. Luis contributions in the Champions League in that first season earned a place in Anfield folklore. Alonso was simply the best passer of a football playing in England at that time. His vision and accuracy were a sight to behold. His goals from his own half and his penalty follow up in Istanbul will long live in the memory. Pepe Reina and of course Fernando Torres were other quality signings from the managers homeland. How Pepe isn't the first choice for the European Nations Champions I don't understand. I believe that he will have a major impact on the World cup in South Africa in the next few weeks and will probably play in the final. Torres is quality through and through. When Liverpool needed a new striker, I was touting Torres as the man to take us to the next level.from half way through the previous season. What a bargain his £20m plus fee looks now.
Other class acts that Rafa has brought to Liverpool must include Javier Mascherano and Daniel Agger. But Rafa has bought his fair share of duds as well. No one would claim that the signings of Craig Bellamy, Andrea Dossena, Jan Kromkamp, Mauricio Pellegrino or Andriy Vorinin were ever the success that were hoped for. All bought to go into the first team and none that mad the impact that would have been wanted.
There are other signings that the jury is out on. Robbie Keane may not have had the immediate impact that would have been hoped for, but i still believe that given more time he would have made the grade at Anfield. And Peter Crouch also left before his peak and could have continued contributing to Liverpool. In both cases I have seen arguments that Rafa had to sell to trade up to the next level. Crouch for example released funds that went on buying Fernando Torres. And I still maintain that the proceeds from the sale of Keane were promised to Rafa but never materialised.
If the problems of Rafa's transfer dealings were ever made apparent it was during the last 24 months. His open courtship of Gareth Barry and, more damagingly, his willingness to allow Xabi Alonso to leave to facilitate the move, was in my opinion, the start of the end for Signor Benitez. I don't know if that is the time when he, allegedly, lost the dressing room, but it did show that he was prepared to tinker with his squad as much as he tinkered with his team selection. I understand that some of his dealings were in order to improve the squad (see Crouch/Torres above) but it was difficult to see how Barry would adequately compensate for the loss of Alonso. The fact that Barry never arrived at Anfield and Alonso had another season in red was not by design and surely would have unsettled the Spaniard and possibly proved to other members of the squad that no one was irreplaceable in Rafa's eyes. Ironically, that season was the closest we came to winning the Premiership under Rafa's stewardship. Alonso played out of his skin, particularly when the shackles were taken off and we attacked for fun, probably playing for the big money move to Real Madrid that materialised at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso transfer dragged on and was eventually concluded, with a higher fee but less time to spend it. Of course everyone had spotted where we needed to strengthen. We needed cover for Fernando Torres, who was ploughing a lone furrow up front since the sale of Robbie Keane,and a replacement for Xabi Alonso. Rafa immediately plunged into the market and spent £17m ..... on a right back. Admittedly, a good attacking right back, but not where we needed to spend such a large sum of money. Alvaro Arbeloa had been a more than adequate replacement for Kromkamp/Josemi and I'm sure that if the right deal had been agreed, he could have played another season. The new midfielder wasn't a direct replacement for Xabi, but had a decent pedigree and might change the way we played but could add an exciting attacking dimension. The only problem was, that Alberto Aquilani was injured and wasn't expected to be fit for at least two to three months. so the new style of play couldn't be implemented straight away.
I know it might seem over simplified, but to me those two signings were the biggest reason why Liverpool failed last season. I have not mentioned the owners much and I know that their mismanagement of our club is the main reason that Liverpool is in the doldrums at the moment. However, I don't accept that Rafa Benitez wasn't given any transfer funds at the start of the season. He just spent what he had badly in my opinion. He might have had to deal to raise money but he did spend over £30m and none was spent on the back up for Nando, which cost us dearly on the pitch. And this isn't a case of hindsight being twenty twenty vision. Most people could see that cover was required at the start of the campaign.
Rafa Benitez can walk away with his head held high and would be welcomed back to Anfield at any time. He has left a legacy with the win in Istanbul that allows us to have 5 stars on our shirt and for that we will be forever grateful. However, I think he had become so far embroiled in a war with the owners that he allowed affairs on the pitch to play second fiddle.
At the end of the day, if we had failed to qualify for the Champions League by a couple of points it would have been seen as a bad year but understandable under the circumstances that the owners had put us in. Seventh place was unacceptable.
And so to the future. Well, we still have the same owners and until that changes I can't see any huge improvement. So who would I like as the new manager of Liverpool. Well that would depend on how long the ownership question takes to be resolved. If it is going to take a couple of months then I think that Kenny Dalglish can carry the mantle until a long term replacement is found. Kenny has the respect of the fans and if there isn't any improvement, his standing with the fans is unlikely to diminish as they are likely to put the blame on the owners. But for a longer term option I don't think Kenny would be willing and that honeymoon period would eventually end and the fans would start to look deeper into any poor results.
If the ownership isn't likely to be resolved for a longer period, then I would like to see Roy Hodgson as a medium term replacement. He has European pedigree but has respect for the tradition of Anfield.
But priority one is to see the back of the Yanks.
