You have to wonder whether Parry has simply been scarred after Houllier's '10 games to greatness', Diouf, Diao, Cheryrou, Cisse transfers. Having said that, you can't say Benitez isn't justified in trying to put pressure on the board to act. I think three players are all we need - a world class No.9, Carlos Tevez, and a world class winger or wide mid either on the left or the right.
From The Sunday Times
May 27, 2007
England is Rafa’s priority
Hugh McIlvanney: The Voice of Sport
It was always unrealistic to think that foreign conquest could go on compensating for domestic inadequacy. Ultimately Rafa Benitez’s management of Liverpool will probably be defined by success or failure in locations less exotic than Istanbul and Athens. Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth and Fulham come instantly to mind. Last season Liverpool were beaten in Premiership matches in all of those places (plus five others) while gaining only 22 of the 57 points that were at stake when they played away from Anfield. That dismal litany is perhaps the handiest illustration of how far Benitez’s squad fell short of being respectable contenders in the country’s top league. When they finished in third position, level on points with Arsenal at 68 but narrowly ahead on goal difference, they were humiliatingly distant from Chelsea’s 83 and Manchester United’s 89.
The most telling riposte to such statistics is, of course, to reach for even worse figures, to recall that after Benitez’s first season in charge, 2004-05, Liverpool’s points aggregate when coming fifth in the Premiership was 58, 37 inferior to Chelsea’s. Yet the Champions League trophy was carried back to Merseyside that summer. Which puts us squarely in the old minefield of comparative glory. In Athens last week somebody lobbed a nicely loaded question at me: wouldn’t Manchester United be happy to swap the English title they have just won for the European crown? Yes was the automatic answer. But the response would have to be altogether different if we asked whether United and their supporters would fancy exchanging their nine Premiership triumphs for a single continental championship. Benitez deserves immense credit for adding so dramatically to Liverpool’s magnificent tradition of achievement in Europe, with two appearances in the Champions League final in three years.
But surely nobody is suggesting the Spaniard has such a special talent for operating in the greatest club tournament that his team’s struggles in their own backyard needn’t be a cause for concern. Potency in the Premiership is not only a natural basis for challenges in the wider arena but an enriching context for anything accomplished there. Having been masters of Europe five times (it has taken the combined efforts of United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa to equal that total) is especially satisfying for Liverpool because their 18 national titles also constitute a record. Back in their period of sustained dominance in what was then the European Cup, when they won four finals between 1977 and 1984, they were consistently powerful in the First Division, collecting six championships during those eight seasons. Now Liverpool’s chances of flourishing on one side of the Channel while they remain mediocre on the other must be extremely limited. And even if they could do that, an English championship drought dating from 1990 would amount to a nagging accusation. Benitez unhesitatingly concedes that being competitive in the Premiership is an inescapable priority, hence his slightly ominous demands for his American employers to finance a drastic overhaul of player resources. His determination to make substantial changes won’t be diminished by the knowledge that in Greece on Wednesday Liverpool looked far more like winners than they did in Istanbul two years ago. Whereas they succeeded against Milan then because the match was miraculously distorted by six unimaginably freakish minutes, they lost in midweek because they could not muster the killing thrust to dispose of blatantly beatable opposition on a night when Carlo Ancelotti’s men exhibited only isolated traces of the skill, and scarcely any of the urgency and assurance, that had demolished an underperforming Manchester United in their semi-final.
Surrendering a goal to a grossly deflected free kick at the end of a first half they had thoroughly controlled was a monstrous psychological blow for Liverpool but there was still plenty of time to punish decisively the uncharacteristic uncertainty and incompetence in the Italian ranks (Andrea Pirlo was giving the ball away as if he had heard it ticking, Kaka was largely subdued by Javier Mascherano, Clarence Seedorf and Rino Gattuso were inconceivably peripheral and, in spite of Alessandro Nesta’s authoritative interventions, there was a susceptibility to disorder at the back). However, the required penetration never materialised.
Jermaine Pennant’s liveliness didn’t produce enough effective deliveries from the right wing, Dirk Kuyt was a blunt instrument in his spearheading role, the tactic of deploying Steven Gerrard in close support of Kuyt was increasingly unproductive — it might have yielded more if the captain had elected to drop a little deeper and come at defenders as a surging force — and neither Bolo Zenden nor subsequently Harry Kewell could offer inspiration from wide on the left. So the good work in midfield of Mascherano and the impressively creative Xabi Alonso went unrewarded.
Milan were frequently uncomfortable but seldom in clear danger of being broken and eventually a moment of brilliance from Kaka and Filippo Inzaghi was conclusive. Running through that story of frustration there was, as perhaps its core element, the stubbornness of Benitez. Single-minded adherence to his individualistic view of how his team should play has served Liverpool well, at least in Europe, but he can be guilty of damagingly perverse, mainly conservative prejudices. Several showed in Athens, none more influential than the delaying of the introduction of Peter Crouch until the 78th minute. When the manager launches into the promised summer clearout at Anfield, maybe the jettisoning process should include a few of his own eccentricities.
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From The Sunday Times
May 27, 2007
Power vacuum
Angry Rafa Benitez can’t sign players – because there is nobody at Anfield to write a cheque
Jonathan Northcroft
Rafael Benitez kept blowing his nose as he spoke to the press on Thursday. His complaints about the transfer inertia of his football club’s hierarchy were caustic; a savaging with sniffles. In the lobby of Athens’ Pentelikon Hotel sat Steven Gerrard, ashen, bent forward, chin resting on folded arms. The strain of losing a Champions League final attacked manager and captain physically.
You are supposed never to walk alone at Liverpool. You celebrate and suffer as one, but infuriating Benitez was a feeling he had been deserted. Tom Hicks, George Gillett and their families were already on their way home to the US. Benitez made it clear he no longer believed Rick Parry could deliver signings: what about Gillett’s son, Foster, installed by the new owners to run Anfield? “Yes,” glowered Benitez, “but he is not here now.” Foster was on the plane with Pops. When did Benitez need him? “Today.”
Liverpool finished 2006-07 not only trophyless but with a power vacuum swirling at its heart. Benitez’s polemic about the need to spend big and change the club’s “structure” after defeat by Milan was more than just an attack on Parry, as it was reported. The manager has succeeded, with his usual painstaking effort, in coaxing at least two “top-class targets” to the verge of joining Liverpool, only to have to keep them waiting while superiors dally. Benitez spent a long time hinting to journalists at the root problem until finally being pinned down. He kept saying he trusted Hicks and Gillett’s promise to fund signings, so why no transfers? Is the money in Liverpool’s bank account, but there is nobody to sign the cheques? “Okay,” Benitez nodded. “You know.”
The manager has grown apart from Parry, Anfield’s chief executive, over several issues, including Liverpool being committed to two friendly tournaments, in Holland and Asia, this preseason. Benitez suggested Parry no longer has authority to push transfers through. Foster Gillett will not be Liverpool’s managing director until August. With Parry a lame duck and power held by absentee barons without their own man on the ground, the club feels paralysed. “We can improve the squad, but we have to do it now. It’s a crucial time. We can’t say, ‘We’ll see what happens in August’. Then you will lose your targets,” Benitez said.
He may seem like the avuncular propietario of a neighbourhood tapas bar but Benitez is as political as Jose Mourinho. On the surface throwing barbs at Gillett and Hicks seems unwise, given the my-way-or-the-high-way culture of American business leaders, but Benitez’s attack was carefully worked out. The Americans’ strategy relies on building a new Anfield, with a 70,000-plus capacity, and they need the fans with them. But the supporters are with Benitez and so are the players, Jamie Carragher and Gerrard especially.
Rather than admonishing him, the Americans have already moved to placate Benitez. Late on Friday there was a transatlantic conference call involving Foster and George Gillett, Hicks and his son Tommy, Parry and Benitez. “We had a long call and agreed on actions to be taken with our own players and with possible new players and we are all comfortable with our plan,” said Tom Hicks. He excused Benitez’s ire in Athens: “He was very upset the day after the match.”
Benitez’s challenge to the owners is to back up their words with action. The current stasis is affecting Liverpool’s most important players. Despite reports that Gerrard and Carragher had extended their contracts, nothing has been finalised. There is delay over new deals for Xabi Alonso and Jose Reina. On Wednesday night in Athens, Benitez held a powwow with Gerrard, Carragher, Reina and Alonso. They are his inner circle, the players around whom he sees Liverpool’s future being built. “We were talking about the game, the quality of the opposition players, the tactics we had. Xabi, Reina, Gerrard, Carra want to know that you have good players ready to sign. The problem is if we spend time, if we waste time, we can’t sign the players we want,” said Benitez.
Were Gerrard and company as “frustrated and angry” as he? “Yes. The players must be happy and have confidence in the team.” Should Liverpool worry about losing some of the quartet if the impasse over new contracts continues? “Could be. Because they are good players and they could have some offers.”
Benitez is about to go on holiday for a week but will continue working via his mobile phone and said he would be “disappointed” if at least one new signing is not clinched by the time he gets back. His previous three seasons at Liverpool make him pessimistic. A lack of funds in the pre-American era, coupled with what Benitez sees as Parry’s less-than-dynamic modus operandi, saw the manager put a deal in place for Nemanja Vidic, only to be gazumped by Manchester United. Simao Sabrosa was so keen to join Liverpool last summer he was sending messages to Benitez until transfer deadline day, but ended up staying at Benfica. He is back on Benitez’s shopping list along with Gabriel Milito, Jefferson Farfan, David Silva, David Villa and Samuel Eto’o.
Athens exposed the best and worst of the present Liverpool. Through effort rather than technical flourishes they had Milan pinned down until Filippo Inzaghi’s lucky opener. Yet they are also limited, lacking invention and personnel to alter a defensive gameplan at 1-0 down.
If Benitez gets the big money and quick action he wants, especially after being so bolshie, it will be his make-or-break moment. The idea he has already spent £100m is creative accounting by his critics. Benitez’s net spending is £44m over three seasons. For that he has twice finished above Arsenal and won as many trophies as Manchester United. “You must be clear. I am happy with the new owners. I trust them and they want to finish as high as possible because they are winners – this is one thing I like about them. But they need to understand the business here. We have just signed Lucas Leiva, a top-class midfielder, 20, the Golden Boot in Brazil. There was another big club after him but we did a fantastic job. It’s not always a question of the amount you pay, but how quickly you move.”
Rafa Benitez in the transfer market
- Since Rafa Benitez joined Liverpool in June 2004 he has signed 29 players. He has also unloaded 36, thereby cutting his net outlay to around £44m. His signings are:
Josemi (Malaga £2m, now Villareal), Luis Garcia (Barcelona £6m), Xabi Alonso (Sociedad £10.5m), Antonio Nunez (R Madrid swap, now Celta Vigo), Mauricio Pellegrino (Valencia free, now Alaves), Fernando Morientes (R Madrid £6.3m, now Valencia), Scott Carson (Leeds £750,000), Jose Reina (Villarreal £6m), Mark Gonzalez (Albacete £4.5m), Boudewijn Zenden (Middlesbro free), Antonio Barragan (Sevilla free, now Deportivo), Mohamed Sissoko (Valencia £5.6m), Peter Crouch (So’ton £7m), Godwin Antwi (Zaragoza free), Jack Hobbs (Lincoln free), Paul Anderson (Hull free), Jan Kromkamp (Villarreal swap, now PSV), David Martin (MK Dons free), Daniel Agger (Brondby £5.8m), Robbie Fowler (Man City free), Craig Bellamy (Blackburn £6m), Gabriel Paletta (Ban? eld £2m), Fabiano Aurelio (Valencia free), Jermaine Pennant (Birmingham £6.7m), Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord £9m), Nabil El Zhar (St Etienne free), Alvaro Arbeloa (Deportivo £2.6m), Francisco Duran (Malaga free), Javier Mascherano (West Ham free)
Possible targets: Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza, defender) £8m Jefferson Farfan (PSV, striker) £10m Simao Sabrosa (Ben? ca, winger) £12m Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona, striker) £30m David Villa (Valencia, striker) £35m
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/liverpool/article1845157.ece