I am so sick of hearing about how Rafa Benitez is not to blame for the Barnsley FA Cup debacle, the poor league form and just about everything else that is wrong with Liverpool Football Club. The fact is, he is front and centre the reason why this great club is languishing while Man United, Arsenal and Chelsea are storming ahead.
Matt Le Tissier in his article for Sky Sport believes that the FA Cup disgrace at Anfield was not Rafa’s fault ; that the players on the park should have been good enough on the day and squandered chances by the hatful. This is a simplistic assessment which completely ignores everything surrounding Benitez’ time in charge.
Liverpool were the giants of English and European football for the 1960s, ’70s and 80s with Bill Shankly then Bob Paisley and finally Joe Fagan at the helm. Playing at a stadium where the sign: “This is Anfield” was the last thing opposition players saw before they exited the tunnel onto a pitch, where the famous Kop was waiting for you and sung “You’ll never walk alone”, was intimidating for any team on their visit to the famous stadium.
Nobody left Anfield with a point — a draw was what you prayed for when you met this Juggernaut at your place.
The philosophy was simple. Nobody walked straight into the first team, not even the great Ian Rush. They started in the reserves — the best player for the position rather than a big name player played out of position. Nobody was bigger than the club. If you were the player in possession of a first team jersey it was up to those chasing that shirt to get you out of it. The team sheet seldom changed unless there was a loss of form or injury — and woe betide those who lost their place, it was a bitch getting it back.
It was a philosophy which was underpinned by the famous Anfield boot-room — established by Shanks but phased out by Dalglish when he took over from Fagan in the mid-80s.
It created vicious competition for places, players who sweated blood for the cause and an almost telepathic knowledge of how their team mates played. Nobody was safe, because there was a reserve team crammed full of brilliant players just waiting for you to slip. A Liverpool first team jersey was the most prized possession in England. Perhaps the world.
While Liverpool would still continue to accumulate trophies under Kenny Dalglish, their famous player-manager, the stranglehold was starting to weaken. By 1990 it was all but gone. The managers that followed Dalglish can all be marked down as adequate, an abomination for a club of this stature.
Ronnie Moran, Graeme Souness, Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier and now Rafa Benitez do not have the right stuff.
Regardless of what anyone tells you, the Scousers are among the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in world football. They know that the only trophy which matters, when all is said and done, is the League, now styled the Premiership. A manager who fails to land that has not carried out his mandate. That is the acid test.
Benitez, with his disgusting squad rotation and pathetic passing game is, beyond doubt, the sorriest excuse for a Liverpool manager I have ever seen. Of course, the demands of the modern game require squad management, but don’t confuse that with this garbage. This is football insanity and it’s inventor needs to be institutionalised before this club is banished to mid-table mediocrity forever.
It is inconceivable that he expects players to perform at 110% when they know they’re getting rotated regardless of performance ; How does he expect to build understanding between players who are never on the same team sheet twice in a row? He has made those 11 starting jerseys a raffle where they were once worn with immense pride.
How do you ever achieve consistency, camaraderie and passion between strangers, correct mistakes and teach good habits to players who are constantly being rotated?
Instead of the deadly, well-oiled machines of Anfield past, this is just a squad of players who consistently underachieve at one of the greatest clubs in the history of football.
And for that I blame Benitez.
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