It has been a - legitimate - criticism of the club's playing style since the end of the Evans era that heavy emphasis has been placed on defensive solidity, often at the expense of spectacle and, more importantly, attacking prowess. Goals have, for some seasons, been at a premium.
Of course, the flip side to that was that, under Evans, goals were free-flowing at both ends. Houllier was brought in to steady a leaking ship, and did so admirably. Hyypia, Henchoz and Hamann, Houllier's best signings, sealed up what had previously been a distinctly porous rearguard.
Unfortunately, Houllier's nous ran out when it came to attacking signings. Indeed one got the impression that he was uncomfortable with flair; either that, or he didn't recognise it when he saw it. That would certainly explain his description of the lamentable Bruno Cheyrou as "the next Zidane". French, yes; balding, yes. Zidane, not even close. But either way, whether his team's dourness was deliberate or accidental, it eventually cost him his job.
Rafael Benitez, on the other hand, made his name at Valencia with a team that, while legendarily mean and uncompromising at the back - the monster that was Ayala organising team-mates and crunching through opponents in equal measure - also relied on unpredictable geniuses like Pablo Aimar and Vicente twirling and buzzing around a solid-yet-skilful centre-forward in John Carew, whose arrival at Villa is evidence of a sad and premature decline. Those Liverpool fans who, like me, were at Anfield in October 2002 to see Valencia take their team apart, fortunate to witness a mere 1-0 home defeat, will attest to the fact that Benitez' team were more than just miserly defenders. The game at the Mestalla was even more comprehensive, with Aimar's goal frequently making Champions League best-ever lists.
If you sort of squint your eyes a bit, you can imagine that Benitez is trying to recreate something similar with this Liverpool team. In Kuyt and Crouch, he has two big, skilful front-men, each comfortably able to fill the Carew role. This summer has seen a trio of players in Babel, Benayoun and, of course, Torres, who should add the speed of thought and movement that Valencia had and, arguably, Liverpool have lacked in recent years. The array of talent in the centre of midfield (Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano) is now as good as any in the Premier League.
But you felt that the defence was already pretty much in place - Agger, all pace and composure, neatly stepping in to fill the battle-weary Hyypia's shoes; Carragher his usual mix of no-nonsense muscularity and reassuring calm. Indeed this feels like the first transfer window in a while when some mediocre right-back wasn't brought in as a "challenge" to the unflappable, woefully under-appreciated Steve Finnan - Josemi and Kromkamp have come and gone, unmourned. Surely the defence can be expected by-and-large to look after itself for a season or two.
All of which makes Benitez' pursuit of Gabriel Heinze all the more baffling. Certainly, he had one great season at United; and as an international in perhaps the best Argentina team in twenty years, he must have done something right. But since his horrible knee injury in September 2005 he has been a shadow of his former self - his pace has gone, and more significantly he looks to have lost the ferocious edge to his tackling. Even his positional awareness seems lacking, if the repeated rinsings he took at the hands of AC Milan in last year's European semis was anything to go by. On top of that, £6.8million is an awful lot of money for a 29-year-old left-back, even one whose knee works properly.
Still, all of this would make some faint sort of sense if we had a problem at left-back; if someone was retiring, or if the incumbent was in some way inadequate. But that's not the case. Riise is solid there - at least as solid as the post-cruciate Heinze, plus he chips in with a few goals each season and can play at left midfield when we need to tighten up for away games. Aurelio has been unfortunate with injury, which leaves him something of an unknown quantity, but he looked both strong and cultured last season and deserves a proper run in the team. Even Arbeloa, who has not convinced at right-back, looked the part on the left against Barca at the Camp Nou. Why on earth do we need an aging mercenary like Heinze? Is it just to get on United's nerves? Because it's working; but then, even that seems strange. Frankly, if I were Sir Alex, I'd be leaping at the chance to sell a creaking derelict to my fiercest rivals for nearly £7m.