Liverpool, Be Grateful For Rafael Benitez!
A lot of Liverpool fans have been blaming Rafael Benitez, the club's manager, for not having won enough silverware in the past few seasons.
Last Saturday's loss to Sunderland was the club's fourth loss and the last straw for them. Now, the fans have been gunning for him and asking for a change of manager. They feel Benitez has not been delivering and it's time he found work elsewhere. They blame his team-selection, tactics and activity in the transfer market for Liverpool trailing 7 points behind leaders Manchester United on the League Table.
What is interesting is that just a few weeks ago, Cesare Prandelli a former football player and the current football coach of ACF Fiorentina, praised Benítez. The Italian Cesare said Benitez was his "role model" for "the way he organises the team and the dressing room."
Liverpool fans having probably spent their Sunday puncturing, kicking and knifing all beach-balls in town without much relief from the pain of the loss. They seem to have decided that it is, in fact, most definitely Rafa Benitez who is to blame for the poor performance. Now, being a Chelsea fan, and having experienced the pain of a loss myself on Saturday, I know how much it hurts and how easy it is to ask for a replacement of the manager. Here are some of the things I think we should consider before we ask for Rafael Benitez to pack his bags.
1. The loss at Sunderland was terribly unlucky. I am not saying that Liverpool played very well but it also can't be ignored that there was only one goal scored in the match (by a beach-ball).
2. Last year Rafael Benitez's Liverpool lost fewer games than the Premier League Champions Manchester United. They finished 2nd on the League Table (call me daft, but that doesn't sound like a terribly bad result to me).
3. Rafael Benitez, in his very first season at the club in 2005 won the Champions League with a very average team. Just to put that in perspective, Chelsea has't won it yet despite having superstars on the team and changing managers more often than Cristiano Ronaldo demands a penalty.
4. Rafael Benitez comes with a formidable track record. He won the La Liga with Mestalla in the very first season. The club hadn't won the league in 30 years and he also won the UEFA cup with them. I don't think 5 years is enough for Liverpool fans to cry drought. Consider, how much time it took for Sir Alex to win some silverware for Manchester United and just imagine how it could have turned out, had the management at Manchester United sacked Sir Alex in those early years (sigh ... if only that would have happened and then Chelsea would have swept in and signed him). Fairies would have danced, chocolates would have grown on trees and in that perfect world we would have all lived happily.
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