Source: Daily_Mail
IAN LADYMAN: Liverpool's 2005 feelgood factor has worn thin
Liverpool fans have always had a succinct way of expressing their support for manager Rafael Benitez. 'In Rafa We Trust,' they say.
One wonders now, though, if the limits of that loyalty have been reached. One Champions League trophy in 2005, however uplifting and magical a memory, and one FA Cup triumph a year later do not represent a reasonable return on five years of emotional and financial investment on Merseyside.
Rafa Benitez
Liverpool fans have always given full backing to Rafa Benitez - but their patience may now be wearing thin
Benitez has always been a peculiar Liverpool manager, never connecting either with his players or with the Anfield community in the manner of many of his predecessors. A clinical, unemotional man, the Spaniard has been tolerated, admired and forgiven largely because of the European trophy he secured in such thrilling fashion in Istanbul four years ago.
HAVE YOUR SAY...
Is it time for Liverpool to sack manager Rafa Benitez? Liverpool suffered yet another defeat when they lost 2-1 at home to Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday. Rafa Benitez vows that he is the man to revive Liverpool but the supporters are starting to lose faith in the Spaniard. Is it time for the axe to fall on the Reds manager?
Rafa Benitez
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
That night is becoming a distant memory, though, and Benitez's limitations have become more apparent as the weeks have stretched into months and years.
The Barclays Premier League title should have been won by Liverpool last season. That it was not was arguably down to him. That it is unlikely to be won this year, either, definitely is.
Benitez may argue that he has not spent as much money as some of his rivals, but he has certainly spent enough and bought enough players. This is undoubtedly his team, a team that is presently not good enough.
Without the remarkable striker Fernando Torres to field against Lyon on Tuesday, Benitez used Dirk Kuyt, David Ngog and Andriy Voronin as forwards. With the exception of Kuyt, these are the not the type of players a Liverpool manager should be falling back on just because his main centre forward is absent.
In England today, players such as Craig Bellamy, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane are flourishing. These are forwards bought - and then sold - by Benitez. They could not prosper at Anfield but can excel elsewhere. Why is this? Is it because of the coach?
Dirk Kuyt
Anfield anguish: Dirk Kuyt suffers after the defeat to Lyon
Benitez has also bought numerous wide players during his time at Liverpool and even more full backs. The names read like a cast list from a European and South American football B movie. Babel, Riera, Pennant, Insua, Aurelio, Arbeloa, Josemi, Kromkamp, Degen, Gonzalez.
Some are proven internationals, others are doing well elsewhere. None has been successful at Anfield.
Each transfer window, Benitez pleads for more money. But maybe the time has come to stop. He has bought some good players - Torres, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Martin Skrtel, Javier Mascherano and, in his earlier days, Luis Garcia.
But he has not bought enough of them and he certainly has not been able to mould them into a fully functioning team.
Tuesday's 2-1 defeat against Lyon must have been a miserable night at Anfield but the really sad thing is that few would have been surprised by what they saw, especially as Liverpool have now lost four consecutive games for the first time since 1987.
Benitez has fought a long battle with Liverpool's American owners in a bid to gain total control of playing affairs. He got his way and this is what he has given his public.
He is failing, and the result of Sunday's meeting with Manchester United at Anfield should not be viewed as decisive. Because whatever happens, his time looks to be up.
