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The news that Rafa Benitez is on the verge of leaving Anfield shouldn’t come as a surprise or disappointment to anyone. His Liverpool use-by date is up. Perhaps only Sir Alex Ferguson will be upset. Liverpool might finally get its act together.
If ever he was going to restore the club to its former glory after two decades of misery, it was going to be the season before the one just completed, when Liverpool somehow let slip a double-figure lead to their bitter rivals.
That season, with Fernando Torres in full flow, Steven Gerrard bombing on beyond him, Xabi Alonso pinging the ball around with unerring precision, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuijt having career-best seasons and the fullbacks finally offering offensive integration, Benitez’s men dished up some of the most flowing football you are likely to see.
Only Barcelona, La Liga and European Champions that season, were in the same league. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Wolfsburg didn’t come close.
And it still wasn’t enough. We all know the story about too many draws at home, and the remarkable run from Manchester United after the mid-season Club World Championship.
Benitez and his team gave it everything, physically and mentally, dominated the top four league within the league, and, somehow, still came up short.
There was very little chance he could motivate the players to do it all again, with the realistic chance they could put all that physical and mental effort in, and come up short again.
To have any chance, he would need to strengthen his squad and relieve some of the workload from Messrs Gerrard and Torres.
As I wrote at the time on The Roar, Benitez had to keep Alonso and find another front-man to take some of the scoring burden off Torres.
Little else, truth be told, needed tinkering.
But, because the club was suffering financially, funds weren’t readily available.
He had to sell one of his prize assets in order to finance any purchases.
So, after shopping Alonso around 12 months earlier, he sold his main link-up man. Alonso was off to Real Madrid.
With him went Spaniard right back Alvaro Arbeloa, coming off his best season in red, one in which he proved he can be an attacking weapon as well as a solid defender.
Benitez finally had the money he kept claiming his owners wouldn’t give him.
But what was his plan? How would he replace Alonso? Which big-name striker would come in to compliment Torres and add depth to the front-line?
David Villa maybe? Carlos Tevez? Even David Silva?
No, Benitez spent eighteen million Euros on right back in Glen Johnson and another 20 million on an injured Italian attacking midfielder, Alberto Aquilani, who wouldn’t be available till October.
Outrageous waste of money, just as it had been for much of his six year tenure.
Even at the start of the most recent season it was clear Liverpool didn’t have the depth to challenge for the title, and in a World Cup season, how on earth could you expect an injury prone Torres to forage alone up front?
Oh, Andriy Voronin was back, and David N’gog was emerging!
Little wonder Liverpool finished seventh when you consider that Tottenham could choose between Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane.
Manchester City could start Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy, and still bring Roque Santa Cruz off the bench.
Even Aston Villa had more depth in Gabi Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey and John Carew.
Season after season it’s been the same compliant from Benitez; give me money to invest on players.
And season after season he has failed in the transfer market.
Truth is money has never really been the problem. It has been his poor use of it, failure to develop players and an obsession with conservative tactics.
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