WITH each passing day, it seems the greatest threat to Liverpool’s chances of silverware this season comes from within.
Forget Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Anfield outfit are in danger of becoming their own worst enemy.
The news yesterday that Rafael Benitez has rejected the offer of a new contract will have been met with dismay from Liverpool supporters who have grown tired of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring at Anfield being aired in public.
But the question on the lips of fans isn’t so much ‘why?’. Instead, they’ll be asking ‘why now?’.
Benitez’s timing was called into question last week when, with his team top of the table and well positioned to finally end a 19-year title drought, he launched an extraordinary broadside against Sir Alex Ferguson.
And if the Manchester United manager wasn’t rubbing his hands in delight then, he almost certainly will be now.
Yes, Benitez was completely within his rights to air his grievances about Manchester United and their manager, as he was to reject the contract offer from Anfield co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
But both actions are in danger of derailing a Liverpool championship challenge the Spaniard has impressively spearheaded this season. And ahead of a critical derby double header, too.
Should Liverpool’s season end in spectacular implosion, the last seven days are sure to be regarded as the point where matters began to unravel.
By turning down the new deal, the Spaniard is standing firm for what he believes is right, the granting of more wide-ranging powers that he is convinced can help Liverpool consistently challenge for major honours both home and abroad.
After admitting it was “with great regret” that he has declined the proposal, Benitez explained: “The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive but I know that I am subject to results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have.
I have a lot of experience in football at different clubs and if you do not have a technical director and you are the manager you have to have control of the football decisions. But always within the confines of a budget which is controlled by the owners and the club.
“In this scenario the manager knows the amount money he has available to him and can decide how much he should spend on each player according to the needs of the team.
“The only person who can decide the value of a player to his squad is the manager because he knows what elements are needed to improve the squad.”
While these comments will once again raise questions about his working relationship with Rick Parry, the fact he didn’t mention Parry by name casts doubt over whether Benitez is prepared to work with any chief executive.
Certainly, the Spaniard doesn’t enjoy his judgement in the transfer market questioned by those in the corridors of power, as was apparently the case with Gareth Barry during the summer.
But when the fans did judge him on Barry during the pre-season friendly against Lazio, they were as damning as the Americans over the prospective transfer.
Past evidence suggests Benitez is desperate for almost complete control of football matters, with the chief executive instead concentrating on business concerns.
That virtual autonomy can be unhealthy for a club if left unmonitored, and the key to Benitez eventually agreeing to sign a new deal will be the “balance” that Hicks yesterday conceded must be achieved.
And which other club allows the manager the scope of responsibility Benitez is seeking? The link with Real Madrid does not go away, but presumably the Spaniard would have even less power at the Bernabeu than he enjoys at Anfield right now.
Of course, Benitez is no stranger to disagreements. He fell out with the board at Tenerife and, most famously, his disagreement with Valencia’s director of sport Jesus Garcia Pitarch over the signing of players – “I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade,” bemoaned Benitez – accelerated his departure from the Mestalla to Anfield.
The Liverpool manager even parted ways with Pako Ayesteran, his right-hand man and trusted compatriot for so many years with whom Benitez ultimately felt he could no longer work alongside.
Benitez’s other bugbear is the Academy. The Spaniard wants a greater influence over the Kirkby-based facility than he is contractually obliged at present, a situation he hoped would be addressed in talks with Hicks and Gillett.
However, as with the transfers, the American owners have refused to meet with the manager’s demands.
“I believe the Academy is a very important part of the future of the club,” explained Benitez. “The length of the contract was already agreed and this showed my long term commitment to the club.
“I know the academies of Ajax, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Valencia and they are producing players regularly. The way the system works there means the manager has an input into development and I think this could be the way forward here and we would hope that this would help us make better use of local talent.”
Benitez is an incredibly single-minded, stubborn individual. Those very qualities are key elements to his success as a manager, yet they are also the very same attributes that have undermined his efforts in the past and continue to do so.
Last week, Ferguson dismissed Benitez’s criticisms as those of a “disturbed” man. Now Liverpool supporters must hope its not their team’s hopes of glory that have been disturbed by their manager’s latest actions.
Forget Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Anfield outfit are in danger of becoming their own worst enemy.
The news yesterday that Rafael Benitez has rejected the offer of a new contract will have been met with dismay from Liverpool supporters who have grown tired of the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring at Anfield being aired in public.
But the question on the lips of fans isn’t so much ‘why?’. Instead, they’ll be asking ‘why now?’.
Benitez’s timing was called into question last week when, with his team top of the table and well positioned to finally end a 19-year title drought, he launched an extraordinary broadside against Sir Alex Ferguson.
And if the Manchester United manager wasn’t rubbing his hands in delight then, he almost certainly will be now.
Yes, Benitez was completely within his rights to air his grievances about Manchester United and their manager, as he was to reject the contract offer from Anfield co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
But both actions are in danger of derailing a Liverpool championship challenge the Spaniard has impressively spearheaded this season. And ahead of a critical derby double header, too.
Should Liverpool’s season end in spectacular implosion, the last seven days are sure to be regarded as the point where matters began to unravel.
By turning down the new deal, the Spaniard is standing firm for what he believes is right, the granting of more wide-ranging powers that he is convinced can help Liverpool consistently challenge for major honours both home and abroad.
After admitting it was “with great regret” that he has declined the proposal, Benitez explained: “The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive but I know that I am subject to results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have.
I have a lot of experience in football at different clubs and if you do not have a technical director and you are the manager you have to have control of the football decisions. But always within the confines of a budget which is controlled by the owners and the club.
“In this scenario the manager knows the amount money he has available to him and can decide how much he should spend on each player according to the needs of the team.
“The only person who can decide the value of a player to his squad is the manager because he knows what elements are needed to improve the squad.”
While these comments will once again raise questions about his working relationship with Rick Parry, the fact he didn’t mention Parry by name casts doubt over whether Benitez is prepared to work with any chief executive.
Certainly, the Spaniard doesn’t enjoy his judgement in the transfer market questioned by those in the corridors of power, as was apparently the case with Gareth Barry during the summer.
But when the fans did judge him on Barry during the pre-season friendly against Lazio, they were as damning as the Americans over the prospective transfer.
Past evidence suggests Benitez is desperate for almost complete control of football matters, with the chief executive instead concentrating on business concerns.
That virtual autonomy can be unhealthy for a club if left unmonitored, and the key to Benitez eventually agreeing to sign a new deal will be the “balance” that Hicks yesterday conceded must be achieved.
And which other club allows the manager the scope of responsibility Benitez is seeking? The link with Real Madrid does not go away, but presumably the Spaniard would have even less power at the Bernabeu than he enjoys at Anfield right now.
Of course, Benitez is no stranger to disagreements. He fell out with the board at Tenerife and, most famously, his disagreement with Valencia’s director of sport Jesus Garcia Pitarch over the signing of players – “I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade,” bemoaned Benitez – accelerated his departure from the Mestalla to Anfield.
The Liverpool manager even parted ways with Pako Ayesteran, his right-hand man and trusted compatriot for so many years with whom Benitez ultimately felt he could no longer work alongside.
Benitez’s other bugbear is the Academy. The Spaniard wants a greater influence over the Kirkby-based facility than he is contractually obliged at present, a situation he hoped would be addressed in talks with Hicks and Gillett.
However, as with the transfers, the American owners have refused to meet with the manager’s demands.
“I believe the Academy is a very important part of the future of the club,” explained Benitez. “The length of the contract was already agreed and this showed my long term commitment to the club.
“I know the academies of Ajax, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Valencia and they are producing players regularly. The way the system works there means the manager has an input into development and I think this could be the way forward here and we would hope that this would help us make better use of local talent.”
Benitez is an incredibly single-minded, stubborn individual. Those very qualities are key elements to his success as a manager, yet they are also the very same attributes that have undermined his efforts in the past and continue to do so.
Last week, Ferguson dismissed Benitez’s criticisms as those of a “disturbed” man. Now Liverpool supporters must hope its not their team’s hopes of glory that have been disturbed by their manager’s latest actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment