What does it take to knock Sir Alex Ferguson off his perch? Only three men have managed that in 17 seasons: Kenny Dalglish once, Jose Mourinho twice and Arsene Wenger thrice.
Does Rafael Benitez have the capability to join that shortlist? Received wisdom dictates that defeating the belligerent Scot demands the mental fortitude to survive his campaign of psychological warfare.
Received wisdom also dictates that this is where Benitez failed last season, that his premeditated attack on Ferguson's influence over referees and the fixture list in January was an act of hubris followed immediately by the inevitable fall - in this case four straight draws.
Ferguson had got under his skin. The taunts came rolling down the stands: "Rafa's cracking up". Received wisdom is bunk. That Rafa's rant is the hinge on which Liverpool's season turned is a soap operatic way of telling the story: entertaining rubbish. Benitez was perhaps misguided – and, for the most part, inaccurate – when inducing his public spat but, Machiavellian to the marrow, he cannot stop himself. Benitez is hooked on intrigue, inside his club or out. He was trying to be political. The only surprising thing was its brazenness.
Did it mean his team lost all motivation to beat Stoke in their next game?
Did they suddenly think their manager had lost the plot? What if Steven Gerrard's two efforts that hit the woodwork in that game had been struck with marginally more accuracy? Had, perchance, the psychological turbulence affected the flight of the ball? It's all nonsense.
'Mind games' is a convenient catch-all. The only time Ferguson has psychologically crushed an opponent was in the 1995-96 season when his wind-ups reduced Kevin Keegan to tearful on-air humiliation. So it is no surprise that Benitez has said he we would take on Ferguson again this season, should he feel suitably provoked.
"If it's necessary for our club, for sure," he said. "If I have to defend my club I will do it. How to do that is something that you have to analyse in each situation and each situation will be different. I think that we are a top side and we have a history and we are very respectful of other teams and we try to manage in the same way and if we have to fight, we have to fight."
Benitez hardly looked cowed when his side went to Old Trafford in March and demolished Ferguson's team 4-1. The reason Benitez lost the title is boringly simple: they could not close out tight games. In the league, they only won three games 1-0; Manchester United won an astonishing nine by that score. United expected the winning goal to come – Liverpool did not.
Liverpool's edginess going forward is down to there not being enough attacking depth in the squad. When it came to the crunch, and he needed a change striker, a pinch hitter, he was forced to turn to the inexperienced David Ngog.
In many respects, Liverpool are well equipped for the new campaign. The core of the team has been retained and reinforced. Dan Agger and Dirk Kuyt have signed new contracts. Javier Mascherano's Catalan-induced wanderlust has been curbed and Benitez has indicated the club will shortly speak to him about a new deal. Most valuable of all has been Fernando Torres' contract extension, announced on Friday, which commits him to Anfield until 2014.
Doling out lucrative contracts is, of course, an expensive business. But while the recruitment of Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani is believed to have cost £34.5 million, some £35.5 million has been recouped by the sale of six players, including the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Which seems to put Benitez on a net transfer gain of £1 million for the summer.
At the end of last season Benitez said that United had 18-20 players of the same level, whereas at Liverpool he had only 15-18. Yet despite a summer in which he has effectively swapped Alvaro Arbeloa for Johnson and Alonso for Aquilani, he has declared himself satisfied with the numbers at his disposal.
"Maybe we need more experience in one position just in case but the squad is good. We're bringing in Andriy Voronin who is a player who can play between the lines and he has game intelligence and he proved in Germany that he's a good player.
"I think we have enough quality. We have players that maybe aren't so famous or weren't playing too many games in the Premier League. Players like Nabil El Zhar, Lucas, Emiliano Insua, Ryan Babel, they are growing and they have more experience in the Premier League."
Before last season, Benitez felt he needed a £20 million second striker to add subtlety to his attack, having sold a gangling target man who gave them a different attacking option.
In case you need reminding, Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch are in the Tottenham side on Sunday afternoon. If Benitez's change striker is really going to be Voronin then the same old frustrating problems will recur – barring Torres' hamstrings and Gerrard's groin developing miraculous durability.
Liverpool have the best starting XI in the country, and if they all stayed fit all season they would win the title. But the disparity with the second XI, especially in the attacking areas, is vast.
Imagine the various second strings competing in their own league: Liverpool's would struggle to get into the Europa League. And that, to use a memorable phrase, is a fact.
Where's the money?
According to Liverpool’s most recent accounts £21.7 million was injected into the club for transfers after July 2008. About £8m of this was spent on Albert Riera, but it is believed Rafa Benítez was promised £20m to spend when signing his new contract.
Liverpool’s sales since then total £47.5 m. Robbie Keane was returned to Tottenham for £12 m, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa went to Real Madrid for a combined £33.5m
Benítez has spent £17m up front on Alberto Aquilani and £17.5 million on Glen Johnson.
Contract renewals, agents’ fees and signing-on fees may account for part of the remainder, but simple math suggests Benítez should have around £25m more to spend.
His pursuit of Barry and Tevez suggests he thought he did before Tom Hicks and George Gillett agreed to pay back £60m of their £290m loan this year.
Does Rafael Benitez have the capability to join that shortlist? Received wisdom dictates that defeating the belligerent Scot demands the mental fortitude to survive his campaign of psychological warfare.
Received wisdom also dictates that this is where Benitez failed last season, that his premeditated attack on Ferguson's influence over referees and the fixture list in January was an act of hubris followed immediately by the inevitable fall - in this case four straight draws.
Ferguson had got under his skin. The taunts came rolling down the stands: "Rafa's cracking up". Received wisdom is bunk. That Rafa's rant is the hinge on which Liverpool's season turned is a soap operatic way of telling the story: entertaining rubbish. Benitez was perhaps misguided – and, for the most part, inaccurate – when inducing his public spat but, Machiavellian to the marrow, he cannot stop himself. Benitez is hooked on intrigue, inside his club or out. He was trying to be political. The only surprising thing was its brazenness.
Did it mean his team lost all motivation to beat Stoke in their next game?
Did they suddenly think their manager had lost the plot? What if Steven Gerrard's two efforts that hit the woodwork in that game had been struck with marginally more accuracy? Had, perchance, the psychological turbulence affected the flight of the ball? It's all nonsense.
'Mind games' is a convenient catch-all. The only time Ferguson has psychologically crushed an opponent was in the 1995-96 season when his wind-ups reduced Kevin Keegan to tearful on-air humiliation. So it is no surprise that Benitez has said he we would take on Ferguson again this season, should he feel suitably provoked.
"If it's necessary for our club, for sure," he said. "If I have to defend my club I will do it. How to do that is something that you have to analyse in each situation and each situation will be different. I think that we are a top side and we have a history and we are very respectful of other teams and we try to manage in the same way and if we have to fight, we have to fight."
Benitez hardly looked cowed when his side went to Old Trafford in March and demolished Ferguson's team 4-1. The reason Benitez lost the title is boringly simple: they could not close out tight games. In the league, they only won three games 1-0; Manchester United won an astonishing nine by that score. United expected the winning goal to come – Liverpool did not.
Liverpool's edginess going forward is down to there not being enough attacking depth in the squad. When it came to the crunch, and he needed a change striker, a pinch hitter, he was forced to turn to the inexperienced David Ngog.
In many respects, Liverpool are well equipped for the new campaign. The core of the team has been retained and reinforced. Dan Agger and Dirk Kuyt have signed new contracts. Javier Mascherano's Catalan-induced wanderlust has been curbed and Benitez has indicated the club will shortly speak to him about a new deal. Most valuable of all has been Fernando Torres' contract extension, announced on Friday, which commits him to Anfield until 2014.
Doling out lucrative contracts is, of course, an expensive business. But while the recruitment of Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani is believed to have cost £34.5 million, some £35.5 million has been recouped by the sale of six players, including the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Which seems to put Benitez on a net transfer gain of £1 million for the summer.
At the end of last season Benitez said that United had 18-20 players of the same level, whereas at Liverpool he had only 15-18. Yet despite a summer in which he has effectively swapped Alvaro Arbeloa for Johnson and Alonso for Aquilani, he has declared himself satisfied with the numbers at his disposal.
"Maybe we need more experience in one position just in case but the squad is good. We're bringing in Andriy Voronin who is a player who can play between the lines and he has game intelligence and he proved in Germany that he's a good player.
"I think we have enough quality. We have players that maybe aren't so famous or weren't playing too many games in the Premier League. Players like Nabil El Zhar, Lucas, Emiliano Insua, Ryan Babel, they are growing and they have more experience in the Premier League."
Before last season, Benitez felt he needed a £20 million second striker to add subtlety to his attack, having sold a gangling target man who gave them a different attacking option.
In case you need reminding, Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch are in the Tottenham side on Sunday afternoon. If Benitez's change striker is really going to be Voronin then the same old frustrating problems will recur – barring Torres' hamstrings and Gerrard's groin developing miraculous durability.
Liverpool have the best starting XI in the country, and if they all stayed fit all season they would win the title. But the disparity with the second XI, especially in the attacking areas, is vast.
Imagine the various second strings competing in their own league: Liverpool's would struggle to get into the Europa League. And that, to use a memorable phrase, is a fact.
Where's the money?
According to Liverpool’s most recent accounts £21.7 million was injected into the club for transfers after July 2008. About £8m of this was spent on Albert Riera, but it is believed Rafa Benítez was promised £20m to spend when signing his new contract.
Liverpool’s sales since then total £47.5 m. Robbie Keane was returned to Tottenham for £12 m, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa went to Real Madrid for a combined £33.5m
Benítez has spent £17m up front on Alberto Aquilani and £17.5 million on Glen Johnson.
Contract renewals, agents’ fees and signing-on fees may account for part of the remainder, but simple math suggests Benítez should have around £25m more to spend.
His pursuit of Barry and Tevez suggests he thought he did before Tom Hicks and George Gillett agreed to pay back £60m of their £290m loan this year.
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