Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez endured a turbulent time at Anfield. There were the highs of Istanbul along with the lows of a 7th place finish last season.
What Liverpool fans would give now for such a lofty finish.
Yesterday saw Liverpool slump to yet another embarrassing defeat as they were beaten 2-1 at home by newly-promoted Blackpool. Benitez’s replacement at the Liverpool helm, Roy Hodgson, has guided Liverpool to their worst start for 57 years as they wallow in the relegation zone with only 6 points to show for their lacklustre efforts.
Hodgson’s disastrous start to his Liverpool tenure is a far cry from some of the heady heights that the club reached under Benitez whose Liverpool legacy is fraught with contradiction.
He will forever be remembered by the Liverpool faithful for his pair of incredible victories against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League and West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup but his legacy goes far deeper than that.
Benitez made a number of mistakes as Liverpool boss and these mistakes will haunt his memory for many years to come. Despite making a few excellent signings in the transfer market, Benitez’s indifferent acquisitions became something of a hallmark in his time at Liverpool.
In addition to his dubious signings, there were also questions marks about his man-management skills. He managed to force arguably Liverpool’s best player last season Yossi Benayoun out of the club by refusing to play him while succeeding in being the catalyst for the departure of Liverpool favourite Xabi Alonso in 2008.
He has often come across as distant and stubborn, a trait which led him to reportedly lose the confidence of the dressing-room.
However, Liverpool’s failings under under Benitez weren’t entirely his fault. He was being increasingly restricted by the politics at the club.
The board refused to back Benitez in the transfer market with the club routinely failing to secure a number of Benitez’s top targets. Benitez clashed repeatedly with chief executive Rick Parry over the club’s transfer policy and over the signing of Robbie Keane who was signed at the behest of Parry without the full backing of Benitez.
His authority was to be further undermined by the club’s decision to not so secretly meet with Jurgen Klinsmann over the possibility of the German taking over from Benitez should he leave the club.
With the club in a continual state of limbo with regards to its ownership and its finances, Benitez’s job became untenable. The owners were now desperate to sell and brought in Christian Purslow and Martin Broughton to oversee the process. In so doing, it became evident that in order for them to make the club attractive to any potential buyer, they would need to get rid of Benitez.
The club needed to present a fresh opportunity for any potential buyer and they couldn’t do that with Benitez still at the helm.
However, the introduction of Hodgson hasn’t brought about the desired effect for the Liverpool board. If anything, they are in a worse position now than they were with Benitez. The October 15th deadline set by RBS for any potential investment is fast-approaching with absolutely no sign of any fresh interest in the club.
For all his failings, Liverpool miss the uncompromising nature of Benitez in these times of trouble. Benitez wasn’t afraid to confront his players with a couple of home truths if it needed to be pointed out and I’m not sure whether Hodgson is the type of manager who can do the same.
Hodgson has wavered between staunch defiance and sober admittance in the face of Liverpool’s dismal start. He seems uncertain at how to motivate the players in this time of crisis and has dealt poorly with the media.
Benitez was always forthright with the media and used it to his advantage. He exposed the failings of Hicks and Gillett through his interaction with the press and played out his clashes with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the eyes of the media.
In contrast, Hodgson has been rather timid in his dealings with the press. He failed to react swiftly to Ferguson’s claims that Fernando Torres made “an absolute meal” of John O’Shea’s challenge when Liverpool faced Manchester United two weeks ago.
While Benitez and Hodgson have their issues, the common denominator for both is the players. Hodgson’s Liverpool team is not unrecognisable from that of Benitez’s and some of the blame for Liverpool’s lowly position has to be placed at the player’s feet.
Many of the players who are failing to perform now are the same players who failed to perform for Benitez. There is no excuse for international players of Liverpool’s calibre to lose to Northampton Town and Blackpool. The players need to help Hodgson out by playing with pride and intensity, two things that have been severely lacking so far this season or else Liverpool could find themselves in even deeper trouble than they are now.
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