Former Liverpool player Ronnie Whelan believes that after Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League, key members of the Reds' squad have given up on manager Rafael Benitez.
Having watched proceedings unfold at Old Trafford over the weekend, Whelan believes the attitudes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres throughout the game underline the fact that the Spaniard's time at Anfield must be coming to an end.
"We saw Torres at his brilliant best for the opening goal but turn into a petulant child as the game slipped away," Whelan wrote in his column for Irish newspaper The Herald.
"We saw Gerrard ghosting around the pitch without much purpose, occasionally bursting into activity but mostly ineffective.
"Players usually know when a manager's time is up and if they're smart, a long time before anyone else realises it. It's now plain to see from their performances against Manchester United that they've had enough.
"Rafa Benitez has nowhere to go now. His best players can no longer muster the belief needed to go to Old Trafford and win against the odds.
"They did it for him last season and many times before when his reputation was on the line but not any more."
Whelan also admitted his belief that the club's star assets — particularly Gerrard and Torres — will undoubtedly be having doubts as whether they should stay with the underachieving club.
"They must be having a hard look now at the future and I'm sure there are clubs all over Europe that would be happy to fork out huge amounts of cash for either or both players — even in these recessionary times," the 48-year-old noted.
The former Irish international is also disappointed that the Reds' academy is no longer producing the sort of players that could help the club through its current crisis.
"It wouldn't be so bad if there was a half dozen young lads pushing up from the Academy ranks and filling in the gaps created by poor work in the transfer market over many years," he added.
"Home-grown talent served Liverpool well for many years but Jamie Carragher and Gerrard are the last to come from that source and they've been in the senior team for over a decade."
Having watched proceedings unfold at Old Trafford over the weekend, Whelan believes the attitudes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres throughout the game underline the fact that the Spaniard's time at Anfield must be coming to an end.
"We saw Torres at his brilliant best for the opening goal but turn into a petulant child as the game slipped away," Whelan wrote in his column for Irish newspaper The Herald.
"We saw Gerrard ghosting around the pitch without much purpose, occasionally bursting into activity but mostly ineffective.
"Players usually know when a manager's time is up and if they're smart, a long time before anyone else realises it. It's now plain to see from their performances against Manchester United that they've had enough.
"Rafa Benitez has nowhere to go now. His best players can no longer muster the belief needed to go to Old Trafford and win against the odds.
"They did it for him last season and many times before when his reputation was on the line but not any more."
Whelan also admitted his belief that the club's star assets — particularly Gerrard and Torres — will undoubtedly be having doubts as whether they should stay with the underachieving club.
"They must be having a hard look now at the future and I'm sure there are clubs all over Europe that would be happy to fork out huge amounts of cash for either or both players — even in these recessionary times," the 48-year-old noted.
The former Irish international is also disappointed that the Reds' academy is no longer producing the sort of players that could help the club through its current crisis.
"It wouldn't be so bad if there was a half dozen young lads pushing up from the Academy ranks and filling in the gaps created by poor work in the transfer market over many years," he added.
"Home-grown talent served Liverpool well for many years but Jamie Carragher and Gerrard are the last to come from that source and they've been in the senior team for over a decade."
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