I wasn't too pleased with recent comments from Ronnie Whelan.
http://www.gulfnews.com/sport_extra/world_...t/10211626.htmlLiverpool stalwart Ronnie Whelan believes that Rafa Benitez’s days at Anfield are numbered as The Reds tumble out of the Champions League following a titanic struggle against Chelsea last week.
The Showtime pundit and Liverpool great is not “100 per cent” convinced the Spaniard is the right man to lead Liverpool to success next year. Instead, he would like to see former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at the helm.
“Rafa’s not won a trophy this season,” says Whelan, whose own days as a midfielder at Anfield in the 1980s glory years were littered with trophies. “He has been quoted many times as saying ‘judge me at the end of the season’, well it’s the end of the season and his squad simply isn’t strong enough.”
Whelan believes Benitez has made bad decisions.
“When the Americans [co-chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett in 2006] came in, they gave Rafa a lot of money to spend on players.
“But he obviously didn’t get the right players — the results say so. Jermain Pennant, Alvaro Arbeloa, Lucas Levia and Ryan Babel — I don’t think they are good enough to get Liverpool where they want to go. So should they give him the chance to spend another £40 million (Dhs 290m) and try and get the right players?”
Whelan points to Benitez’s baffling decision to compile a dossier going back four years of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba’s theatrics on the pitch prior to the Champions League clash as an example of strange choices made by the Spaniard.
When the big man from the Ivory Coast scored his first goal of the night from an acute angle to make the score 1-0 (2-1 aggregate), he gleefully ran the length of the touchline to slide in front of the Liverpool bench in celebration.
“People are saying it may have motivated Drogba to score those two goals, but honestly, I don’t think so,” Whelan says.
“I don’t think he needed motivation in the semi-final of the Champions League. I really don’t know why Rafa decided to do that before the game. There were plenty of times in the past when he could have done it if he’d wanted to. I don’t think it was a good idea.”
The game saw Chelsea start with an away-goal advantage following the first leg at Anfield when defender John Arne Riise inexplicably tried to head a low-ball clear and found his own net.
With the score tied at 1-1 on aggregate both sides had everything to play for.
Then Drogba’s goal in the first half put a rather flat-looking Liverpool under more pressure with the aggregate score 2-1.
But the Reds came out fighting after the break with the knowledge that a single goal at Stamford Bridge would put them right back in the fight burned into their minds.
And that goal came 20 minutes into the second half courtesy of nifty footwork from Fernando Torres in the box to level the score 2-2 on aggregate.
With full-time approaching fast, Chelsea defended with all their might aware that another away goal from Liverpool would kill their hopes of reaching a first Champions League final.
Extra-time saw Michael Essien’s joyous celebrations cut short when his bullet-like shot was disallowed for offside but salvation came in the shape of a penalty awarded to the Blues after Sami Hyypia tripped Michael Ballack in the box.
A brave Frank Lampard, grieving the recent death of his mother, stepped forward to slot in a text-book penalty making the score 2-1 to Chelsea (3-2 on aggregate). And less than 10 minutes later, Drogba slotted home another goal to make it 3-1 (4-2).
Refusing to admit defeat, Liverpool kept fighting and Babel, on for Fernando Torres in the second half of extra time, who was apparently suffering a hamstring injury, hit a 30-yard shot which found the top corner.
The game finished 3-2 to Chelsea with the Blues winning 4-3 over the two legs and Liverpool unable to stage a miracle fightback.
Whelan has nothing but praise for the way a grieving Lampard, wearing the black armband of mourning, delivered a sterling performance for his team and took that penalty.
“It shows tremendous bottle to be able to do that,” he says. “When you think about what’s gone on for him and his family. Probably before the game he said to the manager that he wanted to play and do it for his mother, but it takes something extra to step up and take that type of penalty.
“You might have expected him to blast it and hope for the best, but he placed it calmly and that showed great professionalism and presence of mind.”
Chelsea’s win is a result that Whelan, even with all his affinity for Liverpool, believes that Avram Grant’s men richly deserved.
“Chelsea would have been strong enough on the night to take them through to the final anyway, even without that away goal,” he said.
“Liverpool got their away goal too which they felt that they needed and played a lot better in the second half, but Chelsea just seemed to have more conviction.”
With the trophy cabinet sadly bereft of silverware for the 2007-08 season, Whelan says Liverpool’s decision-makers need to think carefully about where they are headed.
“Everything needs to be looked at now,” he says. “We don’t know if the American owners will be there next season or if the Dubai group [Dubai International Capital] will be the new owners.
“Whoever is there will need to decide if they have confidence in Rafa. Personally I don’t.”
And he believes that Liverpool fans, who haven’t been able to celebrate a league title since 1990, won’t care who is in charge providing they spare enough cash to buy new players capable of propelling the club back to their former glory.
“I doubt the supporters will mind who the owner of the club is as long as they are winning trophies. If they give money to the manager and the manager spends it wisely, that’s all the fans care about.”
So if Steven Gerrard et al need a fresh start, whom would Whelan like to see in charge?
“I think Mourinho would be very good,” he says. “Look at the players that he brought to Chelsea. He spent the same amount of money that Rafa did and those players are in the Champions League final now.
“He might be a bit unpopular with some people, but if your team is winning, you don’t care if a few people don’t like your manager,” Whelan said.
