More than any other who has passed through the boot room since 1974, Rafael Benitez walks in the shoes of Shanks.
Like the son of Ayrshire, the Spaniard's connection with the Liverpool fans is almost messianic.
Their unconditional love of the coach who delivered a fifth European Cup and, until Saturday evening, had positioned Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League is the basis of his strength at the club and allows him to fire bullets in any direction he chooses.
This team are the most convincing built at Anfield in his 4½-year reign and represents the best opportunity yet to end a championship famine that stretches back to 1990. Liverpool's emergence as genuine championship contenders coincides with a critical juncture in the Anfield power struggle.
Benitez is warring on two fronts. Unless hiskidney stones have passed into his brain, we must conclude that the fights he has picked most recently with Sir Alex Ferguson and subsequently with Rick Parry are strategic. The two men are intrinsically linked in the thinking of Benitez. In order to suppress the former he must subordinate the latter. Only one man can run Anfield is his premise, and that man is not chief executive Parry.
If Benitez pulls off the double coup the Shankly Gates will become part of a pair at any new stadium. Failure could see him on his way. The threads of this sporting and political drama have converged on a week of weeks for Merseyside. Liverpool host Everton in the Premiership on Monnight and the FA Cup at the weekend; two matches that threaten to wrench football's gaze temporarily from Manchester City's transfer policy and the Luis Felipe Scolari opera playing out at Chelsea.
The Premier League table tells us that the gamble Benitez took with Ferguson has not paid off. The talk has shifted to the importance of being top in May rather than January, which represents a shift in tone. Benitez was proud to tout Liverpool's standing over the festive period. If we are top at Christmas we are 80 per cent there was his boast.
Parry may prove less implacable than Ferguson. The memory of Liverpool's flirtation with Jurgen Klinsmann is all the fuel Benitez needs to up the ante with the club's American owners. Were Benitez to get what he wants – control of the transfer budget – Parry's role is emptied of importance at a stroke. His would be the signature on the cheque but that is not power. Influence in the decision-making is.
Whether it is desirable to invest absolute control in the hands of Benitez is something that will be exercising the minds of Tom Hicks and George Gillett before the proposed meeting with Benitez after the derby double. And the players. Many in the Liverpool squad have found it difficult to comprehend the manager's rational and judgment. One day in favour, out the next.
It took Steven Gerrard more time than he would have liked to convince Benitez that he was more than a right-sided midfielder. Xabi Alonso was almost the makeweight in a deal that would have brought Gareth Barry to the club. His performances at the hub of the Liverpool midfield since his return from injury make a nonsense of that equation. And the purchase of Andrea Dossena for £8 million hardly makes the case for Benitez to have blanket control of the company purse.
Benitez clearly has something. Like Ferguson at Aberdeen, Benitez took a regional force in Spain, Valencia, and shattered the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona. When the good times roll, idiosyncrasies are seen as strengths. When the balance shifts those same characteristics are viewed as eccentricities, unreliable elements not to be trusted.
The arrival in pole position of United adds a twist Benitez could have done without. Ten days ago, when Benitez rolled out his charge sheet against Ferguson, United were eight points behind, albeit with three games in hand. That unsolicited leap from left field is looking none too bright now.
Silence would have served Benitez well enough after Ferguson's predictable observation about Liverpool's capacity or otherwise to handle the pressure of a championship run-in with a team packed with title virgins. Were he not sufficiently discomfited by Liverpool's position and consistency this season, Ferguson would not have bothered poking Benitez with his stick. He doesn't have much to say about Portsmouth, West Ham or Sunderland. It was therefore a compliment, not a slight.
Monday's game is the one Liverpool can least afford to lose. Everton are unbeaten since falling to a last-minute goal against Aston Villa in the first week of December, a run that includes four consecutive wins. Liverpool, unbeaten in 10, remain favourites, which at a crossroads such as this with the need for points paramount, only adds to the burden.
Benitez must handle expectation as well as hope. David Moyes enters Anfield under the radar. Few expect him to reverse a trend that has seen Everton win only two of the last 18 derbies. Signs mean something in this town. Anything other than victory will be seen as a bad omen in the red half.
Like the son of Ayrshire, the Spaniard's connection with the Liverpool fans is almost messianic.
Their unconditional love of the coach who delivered a fifth European Cup and, until Saturday evening, had positioned Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League is the basis of his strength at the club and allows him to fire bullets in any direction he chooses.
This team are the most convincing built at Anfield in his 4½-year reign and represents the best opportunity yet to end a championship famine that stretches back to 1990. Liverpool's emergence as genuine championship contenders coincides with a critical juncture in the Anfield power struggle.
Benitez is warring on two fronts. Unless hiskidney stones have passed into his brain, we must conclude that the fights he has picked most recently with Sir Alex Ferguson and subsequently with Rick Parry are strategic. The two men are intrinsically linked in the thinking of Benitez. In order to suppress the former he must subordinate the latter. Only one man can run Anfield is his premise, and that man is not chief executive Parry.
If Benitez pulls off the double coup the Shankly Gates will become part of a pair at any new stadium. Failure could see him on his way. The threads of this sporting and political drama have converged on a week of weeks for Merseyside. Liverpool host Everton in the Premiership on Monnight and the FA Cup at the weekend; two matches that threaten to wrench football's gaze temporarily from Manchester City's transfer policy and the Luis Felipe Scolari opera playing out at Chelsea.
The Premier League table tells us that the gamble Benitez took with Ferguson has not paid off. The talk has shifted to the importance of being top in May rather than January, which represents a shift in tone. Benitez was proud to tout Liverpool's standing over the festive period. If we are top at Christmas we are 80 per cent there was his boast.
Parry may prove less implacable than Ferguson. The memory of Liverpool's flirtation with Jurgen Klinsmann is all the fuel Benitez needs to up the ante with the club's American owners. Were Benitez to get what he wants – control of the transfer budget – Parry's role is emptied of importance at a stroke. His would be the signature on the cheque but that is not power. Influence in the decision-making is.
Whether it is desirable to invest absolute control in the hands of Benitez is something that will be exercising the minds of Tom Hicks and George Gillett before the proposed meeting with Benitez after the derby double. And the players. Many in the Liverpool squad have found it difficult to comprehend the manager's rational and judgment. One day in favour, out the next.
It took Steven Gerrard more time than he would have liked to convince Benitez that he was more than a right-sided midfielder. Xabi Alonso was almost the makeweight in a deal that would have brought Gareth Barry to the club. His performances at the hub of the Liverpool midfield since his return from injury make a nonsense of that equation. And the purchase of Andrea Dossena for £8 million hardly makes the case for Benitez to have blanket control of the company purse.
Benitez clearly has something. Like Ferguson at Aberdeen, Benitez took a regional force in Spain, Valencia, and shattered the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona. When the good times roll, idiosyncrasies are seen as strengths. When the balance shifts those same characteristics are viewed as eccentricities, unreliable elements not to be trusted.
The arrival in pole position of United adds a twist Benitez could have done without. Ten days ago, when Benitez rolled out his charge sheet against Ferguson, United were eight points behind, albeit with three games in hand. That unsolicited leap from left field is looking none too bright now.
Silence would have served Benitez well enough after Ferguson's predictable observation about Liverpool's capacity or otherwise to handle the pressure of a championship run-in with a team packed with title virgins. Were he not sufficiently discomfited by Liverpool's position and consistency this season, Ferguson would not have bothered poking Benitez with his stick. He doesn't have much to say about Portsmouth, West Ham or Sunderland. It was therefore a compliment, not a slight.
Monday's game is the one Liverpool can least afford to lose. Everton are unbeaten since falling to a last-minute goal against Aston Villa in the first week of December, a run that includes four consecutive wins. Liverpool, unbeaten in 10, remain favourites, which at a crossroads such as this with the need for points paramount, only adds to the burden.
Benitez must handle expectation as well as hope. David Moyes enters Anfield under the radar. Few expect him to reverse a trend that has seen Everton win only two of the last 18 derbies. Signs mean something in this town. Anything other than victory will be seen as a bad omen in the red half.
No comments:
Post a Comment