Liverpool FC Forum

[supersub]

Rafa Benitez leaves Liverpool as a legend so could critics please stop rewriting history?

By Brian Reade

Published 23:04 04/06/10



Right to the end the professional pundits failed to understand why so many Liverpudlians stayed loyal to Rafa Benitez.

As 500 fans marched on Anfield after his departure, chanting the Spaniard’s name, heads shook at a footballing sub-species bracketed ­somewhere between romantic die-hards and mawkish morons.

To the “expert” eye, these deluded fools had been conned by Benitez’s cunning and blinded to his failings by the glory of Istanbul and the ­criminal incompetence of the American owners.

Liverpool fans they said, once among the most knowledgeable in the world, had clearly lost touch with the modern reality, and were now a sad throwback to the days when sideburned men kicked orange balls.


Well, I’d argue one of the saddest aspects of modern ­football is too many pundits, including ex-players, have not paid to watch a game since those orange ball days. And they’ve lost touch with the fan.

I’m not saying Benitez had to stay. The results and the football last year were shocking, he’s been a major player in Anfield’s destructive civil war, and the number of fans disillusioned with his style and methods was growing.

But to paint his six-year reign as an unmitigated disaster, sustained only by the over-sentimentalising of Istanbul, is analysis at its most skewed and cringeful. By 2004 Liverpool had been relegated to the status of European also-rans. Benitez made the club a genuine world force again.

It wasn’t just that 2005 ­Champions League win (which is shamelessly downplayed as a fluke despite beating Fabio Capello’s Juventus, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan). Or reaching the 2007 Champions League final and the 2008 semi-final. It wasn’t even UEFA elevating Liverpool to Europe’s top-seeded club due to results under Benitez.

It was beating Real Madrid and Inter Milan at the Bernabeu and San Siro (which the Reds had never before done) and Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Magical victories at the very top of world football, which restored long-overdue respect to Liverpudlian hearts.

Ah say the experts, but he didn’t win the league. True. But he got closer than any Liverpool boss in the past 20 years. A season ago he was a whisker away, taking the highest number of points by a runner-up in a 38-game season and the club’s best points haul since 1988.

And he did so despite having the 5th highest wage bill ­in the league, the 5th ­costliest squad, the 5th biggest stadium capacity and a net annual transfer spend of £15million. Which should have made experts ask why Liverpool were ever considered a nailed-on top four side under Benitez, especially when the boardroom was mired in anarchy.

Ah, they say, but he’d long lost the players and the board. So why have Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina signed new long-term contracts within the past year? Why last August did managing director Christian Purslow do interviews purring over Benitez and how he was integral to the club’s future?

Ah, the experts say, but that was before he let Xabi Alonso go, which everyone could see was a calamity. These would be the same experts who, for the previous couple of seasons, claimed Liverpool were a two-man team. With Alonso (on whom Benitez turned a £20million profit) never being mentioned as one of those two.

Ah, they say, but Torres apart, he only signed sub-standard dross and ended up with a shockingly-weak squad. Really?

Liverpool are sending 12 players (13 if you count Milan Jovanovic whose Bosman signing is going through) to the World Cup. Or an entire team: Reina, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson, Babel, Gerrard, Mascherano, Rodriguez, Kuyt, Torres. Subs: Kyrgiakos, Jovanovic.

Eleven Chelsea players flew out to South Africa, the same number as Arsenal, and Manchester United sent eight. Does that look like he’s left Anfield bare of talent?

The truth is Benitez leaves a squad worth many times more than the one he inherited, despite spending less in the past three transfer windows than he’s brought in.

I don’t seek to rewrite history or airbrush Benitez’s ­failings. I saw last year’s football and it stank. I felt the growing anger among players and fans at his bloody-mindedness and knew something had to give.

Which is why it may be best for all concerned that he walks on. But now he has, let’s do him the honour of getting his legacy right.

Rafa Benitez was many things at Liverpool but unlike every manager since Kenny Dalglish, he was not a failure. Indeed a majority of ­Liverpudlians will remember him as a legend.

Because like Bill Shankly, on more days and nights than those expert pundits ever care to recall, he made the people happy.

[supersub]

created this thread for Nanny , it's as good as a pinned topic just here

[JC_81]

Typically good article from Reade there.

[fivecups]

Superb article this.

Strongly recommend his book to those who haven't read it yet.

[Sabre]

Ah say the experts, but he didn’t win the league. True. But he got closer than any Liverpool boss in the past 20 years. A season ago he was a whisker away, taking the highest number of points by a runner-up in a 38-game season and the club’s best points haul since 1988.

And he did so despite having the 5th highest wage bill ­in the league, the 5th ­costliest squad, the 5th biggest stadium capacity and a net annual transfer spend of £15million. Which should have made experts ask why Liverpool were ever considered a nailed-on top four side under Benitez, especially when the boardroom was mired in anarchy.

Ah, they say, but he’d long lost the players and the board. So why have Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina signed new long-term contracts within the past year? Why last August did managing director Christian Purslow do interviews purring over Benitez and how he was integral to the club’s future?

Ah, the experts say, but that was before he let Xabi Alonso go, which everyone could see was a calamity. These would be the same experts who, for the previous couple of seasons, claimed Liverpool were a two-man team. With Alonso (on whom Benitez turned a £20million profit) never being mentioned as one of those two.

Ah, they say, but Torres apart, he only signed sub-standard dross and ended up with a shockingly-weak squad. Really?

Yes, they've been saying a lot of things that can be argued like Brian Reade has done, but more often than not, the kind of the criticism you could read in the english press was this of the experts, not Reade's vision. Except when Tomkins tried to reply, and Tomkins was ridiculized for it.

Nobody can deny this has been an awful season. You can think a change is necessary too. But some critics denied even the salt and the water to Rafa. They wouldn't try to admit ANY good thing about Rafa, they wouldn't try balance all those AHs, Reade comments.

The criticism, the AHs, went so far, that it almost seemed that any manager would do better than Rafa. So it's not a surprise the readers of these critics started to use words like clown or clueless when talking about Rafa.

Now we have what the Doctors that never succeeded in a football bench wanted, Rafa is gone. And we have players like Gerrard, Mascherano, Torres, or Reina. An interesting spine to work on. Let's hope for the club's well being that all those experts were remotely right and we can talk about a stronger Liverpool in 5 years time. I hope they are right.

[neil]

Such a shame the football stank though. The turning point for me was the drogba goal at Stamford bridge in the champions league when we were 2-0 up after losing the home leg 3-1, he just got a stud on the ball a Reina sloppily let it in, we had just swilled man u and real Madrid and if we could have gone through there number 6 was in the bag, so close.

[zarababe]

Rafa Benitez - Legend - he did indeed make the people happy.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Excellent piece by Brian Reade echoes completely the sentiments  shared by most of us who will grieve this departure for a long time

Rafa Benitez won the hearts and minds of us all ,to some he was more part of the make up of Anfield than certain players who had spent best part of their careers playing there ...... he was simply a legend and we accepted him as one of our own and for me personally   I  would include him in such illustrious company as Shanks, Paisley and Dalglish as a manager you just simply felt was SPECIAL

I honestly  feel many fans will come to rue the day we parted company because here was a man who was willing to fight for our cause and whenever possible always retained the best interests of the fans

 

[Reg]

Rafa will be remembered for many good reasons:

1.  Istanbul
2. The manager caught in the darkest period of our club under H&G who had to fight the hardest to get funds.
3. The first manager who had to contend with scheming MD´s - Parry and Purslow.
3. The first manager in 40+ years who was fired for political reasons as 'foreign' clubs do like Real Madrid as opposed to for football reasons.
4. The first manager to be fired before he came to the natural end of his tenure.
5. The first manager who enticed top global footballers to forsake Italy and Spain and come to Anfield.

Most of all, the only manager who will still have fans asking 'what if........' 5-10 years down the road.

I believe we will greatly regret the day we let this lad go, he was Spanish, he spoke funny, but he became one of us and he only wanted success for Liverpool Football Club.

Edited to add the best vid of Istanbul, 5 years on I still want to burst into tears when we get the third!

Rafa's Glory = Istanbul 2005

[dawson99]

Lets not forget West Ham FA Cup final, now that was a good day out in Cardiff

[laza]

As someone who grew complacent with our success in 80s and lived in denial for 90s
Rafa will be remember most by me for putting us back as serious contender for title something despite GH treble efforts I never felt we had during his tenure .

I will forever be shaking my head how we could beat both ManU and Chelsea home and away and still not end up taking the title.
Despite this horrible season that has just past I agree with RBG that I think many fans will rue the day we parted company

[Judge]

nice article

[dawson99]

the man paid 96k into the Hillsboro fund.. the guy is alegend

[NANNY RED]

my new song. to the tune of IN ISTANBUL

HES ONLY ON LOAN
HES ONLY ON LOAN
WHEN WE GET NEW OWNERS
OUR BOSS WILL COME HOME

 

[tubby]

Why is Reade writing for a piece of newspaper like the Mirror? Surely he would be off at somewhere more respectable like the Times or Guardian?

Superb piece though.