|
To ignore this or to say we have gone backwards in any way is stupid. We have come a long way since the 'dark days' of Gerard Houllier, no longer is our position in the top four in doubt, we are now considered one of the top clubs in Europe again and heavy investments are not being made on unknown players from France.
How much more can one man do in three seasons? Benitez has won one Champions League, took us to the final of another, won one F.A. Cup, took us to the final of a league cup, won one super cup, and won one charity shield. Oh and all the while we have made significant progress in the Premier League, finishing with our highest ever amount of points in his second season.
So what can be wrong? You listen to some fans or certain sections of the media and Rafa is nothing but an idiot who doesn't know his best team or how to get the best out of Steven Gerrard. All the while Arsene Wenger is a genius and Sir Alex Ferguson has created the best Manchester United team ever, with apparently no trouble.
Consider this, at the start of the season, I and many other fans thought that with new investment and Liverpool finally becoming a side that can actually pay £20 million plus on a word class player that we could get close to winning the league, we could be a challenger come the end of the season. Yet after only twelve games, lying only six points off top, no defeats, a great away record, another good defensive record, eight goals from Fernando Torres, five from Yossi Benayoun and promising performances from Ryan Babel, not to mention demolition of Derby County and Besiktas respectively, we are meant to believe that we are in crisis? Why all of a sudden do we have to win the league or we are deemed a failure?
Ok so Tom Hicks believes him and his co-owner George Gillett have spent 'significantly,' but spending around £50 million pounds (around £20,000,000 for Torres, £10,000,000 for Babel, £5,000,000 for Benayoun, around £5,000,000 for Lucas give or take £5,000,000 for youth players and appearances) whilst recouping around £25 million, (£8,000,000 for Cisse, £8,000,000 for Bellamy, £4,000,000 for Luis Garcia, £4,000,000 for Mark Gonzalez) is not really a 'significant' investment for a top European club challenging for honours on all fronts. While we were enjoying are most expensive pre-season, Manchester United were casually adding around £60 million worth of talent to an already championship winning squad, Chelsea were adding another £15 million to a squad that already cost around £200 million and Arsenal were readying talent they have been blooding for around 4 years.
Despite this Benitez is still expected to take the league by storm. Realistically how can Liverpool ever catch up when Man Utd don't bat an eyelid when paying £36 million for two untried youngsters, Nani and Anderson. Benitez is trying to close a 17 year gap in the space of four years. Chelsea, despite all their troubles this season are still in another financial league to just about everyone, while Arsenal, despite what we are led to believe, have still managed to spend millions on untried youngsters for the last few years, including £12 million on a 16 year old they only play sparingly. Arsene Wenger has had 10 years to build his youth academy and impact his style of play on his youngsters; Benitez is being questioned on his after just three. Also it is worth noting that despite being told that Wenger is a genius and unearthed diamonds such as Cesc Fabregas do you really believe that no other scout in Europe knew about him? Wenger didn't unearth a gem, he just took a gem that everyone else knew about and offered him a nice contract and the promise of first team football at an earlier age than Barcelona could.
People may not always agree with me when it comes to my views on other clubs, but I think it is necessary to understand the amount of time Wenger and Ferguson have been given. If Benitez was sacked where would we go then? Another new manager, new backroom staff, the inevitable clearout, new tactics, more money spent and the need for time. We would only find ourselves in this position four years down the line with questions being asked again about whether to stick or swop.
It is also worth noting how much profit Benitez could make on the signings he has made, players who may be unwanted, such as Peter Crouch and Momo Sissoko, could be sold at a very good profit to fund new signings.
It is imperative that we sign Javier Mascherano, I don't think there is a Livepool fan who dosent agree with me on that one. If all is true and Benitez has nearly tied this deal up then our American owners should not hesitate to release the funds to finish the deal. I think by waiting until two weeks before the window opens they are showing naivety and a severe lack of football knowledge, Mascherano and any other potential signings could have long gone by then.
Finally we cannot ignore the injuries that have restricted Benitez already this season, record signing Fernando Torres has been out injured, Xabi Alonso has missed the last eight weeks, his injury arguably costing us the game against Arsenal, and first choice centre back Daniel Agger has been out. Agger's injury could have hurt us more that any, Sami Hyypia's advancing years could have cost us more points than we realise.
So it is time to back our manager, not just financially, but from the support of our fans. He deserves the chance to spend big on players of his choice, to take us closer than we have ever been before, and I truly believe it is just a matter of time before he lands us the 'holy grail,' the Premiership title.
