Uninspiring, pathetic and a complete lack of conviction are just a few of the sentiments that could be used to sum up Liverpool’s loss to Chelsea on Sunday. Speculation is also currently rife that manager Rafa Benitez has managed his last game for Liverpool in front of the Kop.
If that speculation is indeed true, then it is only good news for Liverpool.
Benitez has been in charge at Anfield for six seasons and has failed to thus far to deliver Liverpool the trophy it craves – the League Title. Their last championship success came in 1990, and since then, the balance of power in English football has moved from Liverpool to bitter rivals Manchester United.
Fans of Benitez will point to the 2005 champions’ league success as evidence of his managerial prowess. That win, though, needs to be put into perspective.
Liverpool was trailing AC Milan 3-0 at half-time in that match and scored three goals in six chaotic minutes. Most would say that Milan lost that final rather than Liverpool won it.
The defeat to Chelsea guarantees that Liverpool won’t even be competing in that competition next season.
With Benitez, it seems a constant case of three steps forward, then three steps backwards.
Benitez has only once come genuinely close to winning Liverpool the league. That being their second place finish last season. Aside from that, they have never challenged Manchester United or Chelsea during Benitez’s tenure.
Benitez continues to fail to learn from his mistakes by constantly rotating the starting 11, thus minimising the opportunity of players striking up effective partnerships. His signings, also, leave much to be desired after his time at Anfield.
His only good signings have been that of Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Jose Reina.
He signed Alberto Aquilani for 20 million pounds in the summer despite the injury prone midfielder being injured and unable to play for two months.
In 2008, he signed Robbie Keane for 20 million pounds and then, inexcusably, sold him back to Tottenham just six months later for only 15 million pounds. Hardly a competent business move.
Dirk Kuyt might run around the field with the energy of a golden retriever chasing a tennis ball on the beach, but he doesn’t do enough of what he was signed for – putting the ball in the back of the net.
Other poor signings include Ryan Babel, Jermaine Pennant, Fernando Morientes, Antiono Nunez and Jan Kromkamp.
Currently, Liverpool is as far away from the pacesetters of English football as they’ve ever been in the last 20 years.
Gerard Houllier was sacked in 2004 because he hadn’t won Liverpool the Premier League despite winning a myriad of cup competitions.
After the same time period as Houllier, Benitez’s track record is worse. It’s time for Rafa to go.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
Kai Havertz has scored twice against his former team and Ben White also got a brace as Arsenal brushed aside a dismal Chelsea side…
Frankly, it was a bad look for Hayes. She appears like a grumpy and frustrated manager as her tenure at Chelsea is coming to an end.
Earlier in the season, Liverpool winning this fixture would be close to a foregone conclusion - but Chelsea have players who can win trophies.
Sam Kerr is reported to have agreed to a new deal to extend her medal-strewn stay at English champions Chelsea on the day her…
Nathan Ake's 88th-minute tap-in has helped Manchester City end their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo and progress into the FA Cup fifth round after a…
