Benitez’s time is up

Liverpool have always proven to be a conundrum to me, especially as a Manchester United fan. Last year they should’ve won the title, but didn’t. The reason? They drew too many games against opposition they should have beaten, plus Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard getting injured at unfortunate times. Perhaps also missing that vital experience or hunger of knowing how to win a title (excluding cup competitions) over a long campaign also didn’t leave them in good stead.

This season the Spaniard’s side have been very disappointing, with it being highly likely the Anfield based club will miss out on the lucrative Uefa Champions League next season, barring a melt-down from Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur, who surprised everyone in beating Arsenal and Chelsea in consecutive fixtures. Harry Redknapp is one wiley old soul isn’t he?

While I’ve never been a particularly big fan of Rafa, what he did bring to Liverpool was a sense that they could compete with the best, with their miraculous Uefa Champions League triumph against AC Milan, after being 3-0 down at half-time, sticking in the memory. While that was a glorious night for Liverpool and English football, since then the home of the Beatles hasn’t experienced the euphoria of another Champions League title, let alone a league championship.

This season, the esteemed BBC football writer Phil McNulty predicted that Liverpool would win the title. After they effectively dropped out the title race after the opening third of the season after losing five games, many pundits (including McNulty, who took a lot of flak from bloggers and fellow pundits) wondered what went wrong.

Their and my conclusions stated the following, in very brief:

1. Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres (with honourable mention to Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina) don’t make a football team. Depth has always been a problem at Anfield, with Rafa’s ‘interesting’ transfer policy not quite helping matters.

2. His tactics (especially squad rotation and a defensive minded style of play) were never going to make things easier. After their demolition of Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League some thought Rafa might be shaking things up…not quite.

3. Anfield is a quite a bit smaller compared to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the magnificent Emirates Stadium, curbing income. They need a new stadium, and the quicker Stanley Park gets going the better.

4. The uncertainty generated by the musings and scuffles between their owners, the Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett. They are now looking to sell, with the club in hundreds of millions of pound of debt (Manchester United be warned…a taste of things to come or it is already too late?). Such uncertainty doesn’t help the mindset of the club’s staff and players.

What also surprised me was the willingness one Alberto Reina, brought from Spain by Rafa to Anfield, told the British media how unhappy he was, and sleighting his manager in doing so. While he was a periphery player in the squad, he wasn’ the first, with Dutchman Ryan Babel also moaning about lack of opportunities. Babel was meant to be a shining light for the future, but his subsequent malaise after setttling at Anfield, apart from asking questions about the player, also asks questions about Benetiz’s man management.

A big question on all Liverpool supporters minds is what happens when or if they don’t make it into the top four? What will Torres and Gerrard do? Will they stay or will they leave? The smart money says that if Liverpool don’t have Champions League football to offer their two best players, they will look elsewhere. While Gerrard should be credited in turning down a big money move to Chelsea a few seasons back, even such a loyal soldier to the Liverpool cause has limits. If they do leave, they will shawn off that touch of world class quality that every team needs if they wish to be successful in the Premier League.

Rafa guaranteed that his side would finish in fourth this year, so what should happen if they don’t? The answer, from a non-Liverpool supporter is rather simple: he will leave or get sacked…or is it really that simple?

Either way, they still have a massive say in the title race with the ‘Pool playing Chelsea at Anfield on May 2. A win there might hand Manchester United the title, who still have a tricky trip against Tottenham coming up. Interesting times indeed, and wouldn’t be ironic that Liverpool would be the ones who hand Man United that record breaking 19th title?