about them booting out Pugwash.
If there was one person everyone else in the country get behind as Liverpool manager it was Rafael Benitez. Under the Spaniard we all knew the club were going in the right direction – down.
So most fans around the land will be saddened by yesterday’s news that the club hierarchy have come to what is by far the most sensible decision – for the club alone – for some time, to cough up enough cash that Pugwash would listen to them when they said “now bugger off”.
Of course there are those in La-la-Scouseland that won’t blame him for anything because it’s easier to shout about a pair of Yanks. Overlooking everything in the process.
A manager that lived off two flukes. Lets’ face it the Champions League, not only did they fluke winning it, they fluked getting there but added to that Benitez did so with Houllier’s team, only two of that team were not bought or brought through by the previous regime. And remember the side he put out – Kewell anyone??
That side he them dismantled so he could buy his own team, something he did with a lot of money, forget all the whinging by him and others about finances at the club, he forked out about £220 million over the last few years and what we have is the worst Liverpool side in living memory. Since Shankly took a shambles of a club out of the old second division after a few years have they fielded a worst starting XI than the lot that finished 7th this season? No.
He whined and moaned about having full control over the buying and selling of players, it was one of the main reasons that he left Valencia, being under a director of football but the last 6 years have shown that Valencia were right to reign in his powers.
For all the talk that they couldn’t do a Leeds, oh because they have the history and the trophies. Well the history almost matches, Revie came in not long after Shankly and lifted the side to the top. Leeds just didn’t win the trophies they should have during that period. The history is irrelevant now as it was created by Liverpool being happy to appoint the bootroom boys to the top job, where Leeds seemed to want a “big name manager”, it buggered up Leeds then and it’s done for Liverpool now. But go back a few years to Leeds drop out of the top flight after missing out on Champions League, they were in debt. Check. Managerial upheaval. Check. Before the fire-sale Leeds had a squad of top class players. Err no.
But it’s not just the players Benitez bought, it was how he played them. Nothing sums up his period in charge more than the look on his captains face when requiring a goal the manager brought off the only striker he had, one of the only world class players at his disposal for Ngog.
(excuse the shite music)
That look says it all. How many players were played out of position by Benitez? Widely regarded as one of his worst signings the Brazilian Lucas, a completely different player when playing further up the park was never a holding midfielder but week in week out there he was just in front of the defence.
There is though one thing Pugwash did get spot on. His captain. Benitez wanted a formation and a style of play based on keeping possession, being Spanish they like that sort of thing, not very English is it keeping the ball. The main stumbling block for this was the captain, Mr Scouse Steven Gerrard. His position is the centre of the park, the problem being keeping the ball isn’t Gerrard’s strong suite. Profligacy is. Whether it’s the Hollywood ball miles past the intended target or battering a short pass to a player 10 yards away as if they are 100. The way Gerrard gives up the ball couldn’t work within Pugwash’s system and ideals, so he was shifted up behind Torres to get him out of the way.
Anyway for those that are happy to see the end of the fat Spanish waiter, Captain Rafael Beneathus Pugwash, Spurs will take all the thanks going, after all it was the opening game of this season gone, nine months and two weeks ago, that was the beginning of the end, when we stuffed them at The Lane, they never recovered and we slid effortlessly into their Champions League spot.
Just a shame because it was good watching him destroy the club while the fans sung his name.